TSA Chapter 59

Unfortunately, the White Tiger King Boss didn’t realize that the people before it were eyeing its pelt. With a majestic roar, it crouched and launched itself toward the group.

Gu Le immediately raised his shield to block, but the White Tiger King’s strength was terrifying. With just one clash, he was sent flying, slamming into a thick tree and losing over 300 HP in an instant.

“This tiger is way too strong!” Gu Le winced as he climbed back up. His left hand, gripping the shield, was slightly numb—evidence of just how powerful the boss’s attacks were.

Still, he charged back into battle. If even he couldn’t tank the boss, no one else could. He slashed at the White Tiger King, dealing a mere 34 damage before getting swatted away again.

The boss wasn’t just strong—it had a high physical defense. Plus, being five levels higher than Gu Le, the level of suppression was brutal.

After several exchanges, Gu Le refused Ran Qi’s healing, preferring to drink health potions instead.

If the aggro wasn’t stable, healing might cause the boss to switch targets and charge at Ran Qi. With a priest’s pathetic defense, he wouldn’t survive even a single claw strike.

Gradually, Gu Le adapted to the boss’s attack patterns. Using agile footwork and shield blocks, he skillfully kited the boss while occasionally landing hits, successfully holding its aggro.

The others had been waiting for this moment. As soon as Gu Le stabilized the aggro, they immediately joined in the assault, unleashing a barrage of skills upon the boss. At the same time, Ran Qi’s healing spell landed on Gu Le, pulling him back from the brink of death.

However, the boss’s defense was incredibly high. Even Night Owl struggled to deal significant damage, leaving the team with no choice but to chip away at its health bit by bit.

Fortunately, Night Owl’s Firewall and Glacier effectively restricted the boss’s movements. No matter how unwilling the White Tiger Boss was, all it could do was let out furious yet powerless roars. Its attacks barely posed a threat to the group.

Meanwhile, its HP visibly declined at a slow but steady pace. Finally, after half an hour, the White Tiger Boss let out one last enraged roar before collapsing unwillingly. Aside from the generous experience rewards, a gold treasure chest appeared on its corpse.

Naturally, opening the chest was Ran Qi’s responsibility.

[System] Congratulations, players! You have obtained the special outfits [White Tiger Crown] and [White Tiger Hood].

[White Tiger Crown]

Grade: S

Description: The crown of the king of beasts. When equipped, it activates the hidden attribute [White Tiger’s Might], which intimidates beast-type monsters and doubles attack damage against them.

[White Tiger Hood]

Grade: S

Description: The toy of the king of beasts’ cub. When equipped, it activates the hidden attribute [White Tiger’s Protection], which automatically forms a transparent shield around the wearer upon taking damage, reducing incoming damage by 50% for five minutes. Additionally, it increases affinity with beast-type monsters, preventing them from attacking the wearer proactively.

At first, everyone was a little disappointed to see that the chest only contained two decorative accessories. After all, they were all practical-minded players—no matter how good the appearance, it wouldn’t be of much use to them.

But after reading the item descriptions, their eyes lit up instantly.

“Oh my god, these are incredible!” Soul Chaser nearly drooled over them. One could double attack damage, while the other could directly halve incoming damage—far more valuable than any set equipment or skill. No wonder they were S-grade items!

“Brother Ran’s luck has never let us down!” Plume Ink chuckled, his eyes filled with envy.

“Who wants them?” Night Owl glanced at the group. Since they had obtained the items together, everyone had a right to claim them.

“For maximum efficiency, I think Boss should take the crown, and Brother Ran should have the hood,” Sword at Fleeting Time suggested.

“I agree!” Soul Chaser raised both hands. “A crown is obviously most fitting for our boss!”

The crown’s attributes were undeniably powerful. Anyone would be lying if they said they didn’t want it. However, Night Owl was the strongest fighter on the team. If he wore it, its benefits would be maximized. As for Brother Ran, he was the team’s indispensable healer. The hood’s damage reduction would significantly improve his survivability in dungeons, making it the best choice for him.

“Sword at Fleeting Time is right!” Plume Ink and Gu Le voiced their agreement as well.

With that, the item distribution was settled. The golden crown gleamed brilliantly in the dark surroundings. Wearing it, Night Owl exuded an innate nobility, like a true prince—his regal aura beyond words.

The others immediately showered him with praise.

“Boss was already handsome, but with this crown, he’s even more dashing!”

“Haha, exactly!”

“Brother Ran, hurry up and try the hood!” Soul Chaser urged.

Under everyone’s expectant gazes, Ran Qi put on the hood.

His silver-white hair, smooth as silk, cascaded over his shoulders. Normally, he had the serene and holy appearance of a priest, but after donning the hood, his entire aura shifted. His face remained cold and indifferent, but the soft white fur lining the hood added an unexpectedly cute touch. Paired with his strikingly beautiful ice-blue eyes, he now looked like an elegant Ragdoll cat brought to life—combining aloofness with an adorable charm.

“How does it look?” Ran Qi asked his teammates after putting it on.

“It looks amazing! Absolutely amazing!” Soul Chaser clutched his nose as if trying to stop a nosebleed.

“Yeah, yeah, it couldn’t look better!” Gu Le laughed while nodding vigorously.

Ran Qi felt like their reactions were a bit strange, so he turned to Night Owl. “Night Owl, what do you think?”

“Cough.” Night Owl let out a soft cough, raising a hand to cover the amused smile at the corner of his lips. “It looks… very good.”

Ran Qi: “……”

Do you really think I can’t see you secretly laughing?

Ran Qi immediately opened the game panel and switched to panoramic mode, finally seeing how he looked at that moment.

The White Tiger Hood had a great design, made entirely of snow-white fur—pure, soft, and smooth. However, on top of the hood, there were actually two round, fluffy white ears.

Who knew what the game developers were thinking? Those soft little ears even twitched slightly with his movements…

It did look nice, but it was just too cute. If a girl wore it, she’d probably love it. But… he was a guy!

Ran Qi was so embarrassed by the appearance that he couldn’t even lift his head. With every little movement, those round ears bounced slightly, jiggling like jelly, making people want to reach out and ruffle them.

Even his little dragon seemed to love its owner’s new look. It flapped its tiny wings and landed on his head, pressing its chubby belly against the soft hood. Its eyes narrowed slightly, looking utterly content.

“Hahaha, even Xiao Bai likes it!” Gu Le couldn’t hold back his laughter again.

Night Owl’s gaze was also fixed on Ran Qi’s head. His fingers curled slightly into a fist—he was seriously tempted to reach out and touch it.

Ran Qi kept a straight face and swiftly put on his black invisible cloak, wrapping himself up from head to toe. Now, forget the fluffy ears—not even his face was visible.

Everyone looked disappointed, but when they checked the time, they realized it was about time to log off.

“It’s already past eight. We should log out.”

Night Owl and the others needed to get some rest. They couldn’t afford to crawl out of their gaming pods right before the match started. No matter how strong they were, underestimating their opponents was not the mindset of a true warrior.

Besides, they hadn’t even checked out the dorms arranged for them by the tournament organizers. They’d been in the game since yesterday morning and hadn’t even changed clothes. They planned to return, take a shower, change into fresh clothes, and then head to the competition.

“Alright, I’ll call Jiangnan and the others.” Sword at Fleeting Time immediately sent a message to Jiangnan, telling them to log out together.

However, Ran Qi and Gu Le couldn’t go to the dorms with them, since it was only accessible to registered competitors.

“We’ll head straight to the venue then. See you there,” Ran Qi said.

“Alright, see you later.”

The group logged out of their gaming pods, settled the bill, and headed toward the entrance of Star Gaming Lounge. As they passed by a vending machine, they noticed that the originally fully stocked inventory was almost completely emptied, with several people lined up to buy something.

“Huh? Why is there a line just to buy a nutrition drink?” Soul Chaser muttered.

“It’s because they released a new flavor, and it tastes amazing! You guys haven’t tried it yet?” Gu Le perked up, looking excitedly at them. “Tomato flavor! Sweet and sour!”

“Not yet…” The group exchanged glances, but without hesitation, they immediately decided, “Let’s buy some and give it a try!”

Even though they had eaten a full dinner yesterday, after a whole night of gaming, they were feeling a little hungry. It was the perfect time to try out the new flavor.

Since there were so many of them, buying one by one would be troublesome. Night Owl lined up, and when it was his turn, he simply bought twenty bottles at once.

The fresh tomato flavor was a completely new and surprising taste, and the group’s eyes lit up with delight.

“This is really good! If only all nutrition drinks tasted like this in the future.” After finishing his drink, Soul Chaser immediately opened StarNet Mall, intending to order a batch to take back to school. However, he quickly realized that not only was there a purchase limit, but the stock was already completely sold out. Frustrated, he complained, “Why is it always limited stock and sold out? Are they trying to create artificial scarcity? Damn merchants!”

“It’s probably because there aren’t enough raw ingredients…” Ran Qi spoke up to explain, since this was actually his own family’s business—he couldn’t let people misunderstand.

“That makes sense.” Soul Chaser didn’t dwell on it and simply added the product to his favorites. Once it was restocked, it would be purchased automatically.

After saying their goodbyes, Ran Qi and Gu Le headed directly to the competition venue.

The second round of the regional tournament was essentially the semifinals. Today, three-quarters of the remaining players would be eliminated, so the audience turnout was even greater than yesterday. Ran Qi and the others thought they had arrived early, but to their surprise, people were already lining up at the entrance.