Chapter 142: Regarding the Level 20 Standard Dungeons (Part 1)

Listenwind City was not particularly large, but renovating it was no easy task. After all, it was the city they lived in, and even without Zhao Nan explicitly saying anything, the players voluntarily set aside their various quests. Wherever help was needed, they stepped right in. Hauling and lifting, the grunting and groaning figures of Chosen Ones could be seen everywhere.

Following the clearance of the dungeon, Zhao Nan reaped many benefits, and so did Listenwind City. The city's level increased by one. Although this was seemingly a simple transition from Level 1 to Level 2, it transformed Listenwind City completely.

First was the city wall. Massive cyan stone bricks were laid together with absolute precision, and the height had increased by nearly half compared to the original. The thickness of the wall was also doubled, and a crystal-clear, ten-meter-wide moat had appeared. At the bottom of this moat, countless sharp stone stalagmites stood densely packed, enough to make anyone's heart skip a beat.

On top of the city walls, the number of arrow towers had doubled, and the towers themselves looked much more menacing. Every single arrow tower was now equipped with a giant ballista. The bolts fired by these heavy ballistae had an extremely long range and were exceptionally effective against targets both in the air and on the ground.

Furthermore, the maximum capacity for recruiting city defense guards had increased significantly.

Once the city reached Level 2, the healing potions and mana recovery potions available for purchase changed as well. Previously only available in small sizes, they were now medium-sized, and various commonly used potions had undergone varying degrees of upgrading.

The temple's level also increased by one, unlocking a prayer function. During monster sieges, the City Lord could sacrifice specific items to grant the players across the entire city various stat bonuses.

Normally, according to standard progression, for a city to advance from Level 1 to Level 2, it first had to conquer a Level 20 standard dungeon, then ensure that over seventy percent of the city's players reached Level 25, and finally complete a special task assigned by the system to the City Lord. However, Listenwind City had taken a shortcut this time, saving a considerable amount of time.

For Zhao Nan, the benefits of this incident extended far beyond a mere increase in the city level; the most crucial change was the shift in mindset. Regardless of whether you kept your level low or left the map unexplored, disaster could still strike out of nowhere, leading to situations like this special dungeon. They had survived this time with a bit of luck, but who could guarantee they would make it through safely the next time?

Seizing this opportunity as the City Lord, Zhao Nan broadcasted a message across the city the very next day, driving home the idea that failing to grow stronger meant waiting for death. The City Lord’s passionate speech caused the Deputy City Lord, who knew his true personality all too well, to chuckle secretly beside him. Yet, the effect was astonishingly good.

Next came the anticipated conquest of the Level 20 standard dungeon.

On the day following the mobilization, a full raid party of one hundred members, watched off by many, filed one by one into the entrance of Listenwind City's Level 20 standard dungeon. As the back of the last person disappeared, many people felt their hearts leap into their throats.

Although they had decided to continuously explore and develop the map, the casualties suffered during the conquest of the Level 10 dungeon were still fresh in their memories.

……

……

Zhao Nan naturally knew what the Level 20 standard dungeon in Dongyuan City was like. However, he had no idea what Listenwind City’s Level 20 standard dungeon held in store. Yet, given his current abilities, while the dungeon boss might be formidable, the grunts along the way could not possibly stop him.

The map of a standard dungeon mostly consisted of mazes and the like. Therefore, upon entering the Level 20 standard dungeon, Zhao Nan did not feel overly surprised. Facing a completely unfamiliar dungeon, however, he could only walk every step with extreme caution.

"The unknown is always the most dangerous."

Two flame dragons roared and surged through the labyrinth corridors. Filled with blazing fire that threatened to swallow the entire passageway, their power, enhanced by various buffs, far exceeded their normal limits. Five huge stone monsters in front of them were easily incinerated and destroyed by the flames.

Zhao Nan gained thirty experience points, glanced at the path ahead, shook his head, and turned around to beckon. From the dim corridor came Ye Anya, a self-proclaimed thirteen-year-old loli with snow-white long hair, walking leisurely toward him.

Zhao Nan tried to soften his voice as much as possible and asked, "Are you hungry?"

The little loli shook her head and yawned, indicating that she actually just wanted to sleep.

Zhao Nan looked around and said somewhat helplessly, "Even if I'm not afraid of these monsters, I doubt you'll be able to sleep peacefully in a place like this. There's no way I can fight without making noise."

The little loli tilted her head in thought for a moment, then nodded as if having made some decision. She reached out her hand, causing a ripple in the air before a phantom appeared. The phantom gradually solidified, turning into a cat-girl wearing formless black attire, with a pair of cat ears on her head, a long tail swaying behind her, a white smiling mask on her face, and a thin rapier hanging at her waist.

Zhao Nan clicked his tongue in amazement.

The little loli pointed forward. The masked cat-girl shook her curvaceous figure, transformed into a streak of black shadow, and sprinted away into the maze corridor ahead.

"What is this one?"

Zhao Nan had always been extremely curious about the little loli's origins, including her class, skills, and so on. Of course, apart from knowing her name as a Night Moon Musician, he knew virtually nothing else.

Soon, the little loli handed him a piece of paper. Zhao Nan took it and gave it a glance, seeing five delicate little characters written on it: "Pet Shadow Assassin."

"She can scout the maze paths?" Zhao Nan quickly understood the purpose of Ye Anya's action.

The little loli nodded, lowered her head, and wrote again. This time it wasn't words, but a mischievous face expression. The face had long hair and looked somewhat similar to the little loli herself. Zhao Nan was stunned for a moment, reached out to pat the little loli's head, and apologized, "I'll be more careful next time."

"Remember the lesson well!"

Zhao Nan smiled and put away the note containing the warning written by the little loli along with the doodle of the mischievous face. Over the past two days, Finina had developed a new hobby: collecting everything the little loli had written or drawn.

She claimed these were precious memories, and on the back of every single note, she would write down what expression the loli had worn at the time. Give it enough time, and she might even compile it into a sort of growth memoir.

Having tucked away the note, Zhao Nan simply sat down right where he was.

Entering the dungeon this time seemed a bit unlucky. As the raid group advanced, someone accidentally triggered a trap, and with a flash of light, without even time to react, the entire raid party was split apart. Zhao Nan and Finina were separated as a result, while he accidentally ended up in the same area as the little loli.

Fortunately, the team channel was still functioning. After contacting each other and realizing none of them knew where they were, they discussed it briefly and decided to continue exploring the maze from their respective locations. Whether they happened to cross paths midway or not, they would eventually meet at the end of the maze.

……

……

Finina was somewhat dissatisfied with their current situation. The stone monsters they occasionally encountered in the maze were officially called 'Guardian Stone Giants', with levels ranging from 24 to 27. Aside from having high defense, they were relatively slow in both attack power and movement speed, so defeating them was no difficult task for her.

However, moving forward in this almost aimless fashion—unable to tell whether they were advancing or retreating—was what truly annoyed her.

"Sister Finina, drink some water."

Yanan poked her head out from behind, holding out a water pouch. Ever since they got separated, all the monsters along the way had been soloed. Although Yanan could temporarily fight back by transforming through Pandora, once the skill effect wore out, she was left powerless. After all, her level was still slightly low, and she didn't possess any particularly powerful hidden class.

Watching Finina sip the water with her lips pursed, Yanan's gaze gradually grew hazy. She softly whispered, "Sister Finina, you are truly so beautiful. No wonder Big Brother Zhao Nan has never left your side. If I were a man and had someone like you, I'd never let go either."

Finina smiled faintly and said, "But Xiaoyou has always treasured you just as much."

Yanan shook her head violently, looking exasperated as she complained, "That blockhead? No way, absolutely not! If he even had half of Big Brother Zhao Nan's qualities, I'd thank the heavens!"

Finina couldn't help but burst into a chuckle. These two had been through life and death together, remaining steadfastly devoted to each other even in the most desperate times. Though Yanan would never admit it out loud, if anyone ever tried to replace Xiongyou with someone else, she would probably be the first to object.

With her thoughts seen through, Yanan lowered her head and began to pout playfully. The two women walked through the maze; despite having nothing to fear, they still found it rather boring.

Chatting casually, Yanan said, "By the way, Sister Finina, with Big Brother Zhao Nan being so amazing, do you ever worry that he might change his mind one day? You might not know how high his popularity is inside Listenwind City right now. As the City Lord, able to ride dragons, and holding the strongest combat power, who knows how many women are talking about him behind his back. Some delusional ones even say they wouldn't mind being mistresses, completely shameless! It's so disgusting to watch!"

Finina rolled her eyes playfully and feigned surprise, "Oh? So he's become that popular, has he?"

Yanan nodded vigorously, "You bet! And it's not just Big Brother Zhao Nan. Look at Xiongyou's attitude—there are women fluttering their eyelashes at him all day long. It makes me so mad!"

"So after all that talking, you were actually worried about Xiaoyou."

Finina chuckled. If she couldn't see through the other person's true feelings after saying all that, then the six years spent in the time-constrained dungeon would have been completely wasted.

"Hmph, as if I care about him!" Yanan's face flushed slightly, sticking out her tongue in a charming display.

"Ah, I remember Nan describing something like this once." Finina tapped her chin with her finger, gazed up at the maze ceiling, and suddenly smiled, "That's right, this kind of behavior is called 'tsundere'."

"Get out of here... Since when am I tsundere!" Yanan feigned annoyance and lashed out, but suddenly let out a soft gasp, "Hey, there's a door over there!"