Chapter 42: Chapter 42: The Despair-inducing Boss
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Seeing Li Yao stand up, a suddenly surprised voice said, “Big brother, wait a moment.”
Confused, Li Yao asked, “What’s up?
“My sister-in-law called me, you guys wait for me, just a bit, I’ll be right back.”
Seeing Li Yao nod his head, her eyes twinkled with excitement as she logged off.
Feng Yi also spoke, “Well, we’ve been pioneering for such a long time and I’m tired, the live stream will be temporarily closed. When we go back to adventuring, we will restart it. Hope everyone can understand. In the meantime, you guys can watch other teams pioneering.”
After finishing her statement, Feng Yi closed the live stream and then, with no ladylike grace at all, lay down next to Li Yao.
“You’re not carrying yourself quite well.”
Feng Yi gave him a glance and said, “Do I need to keep up appearances in front of you?”
Li Yao awkwardly touched his nose without further comment. For two people who had lived together for two years, they had become extremely familiar with each other.
Television studio.
Tian Na said with a wry smile: “Xiayao is still the same, always individualistic.”
“Indeed, her livestreaming room exploded.” Upon seeing the mixed reactions in the barrages, KB was also shocked.
At this moment, the studio had switched to the live broadcast of another guild. Yet, Tian Na’s thoughts were still with Li Yao and his team’s adventure, her heart uncomfortably tangled as if scratched by a cat’s claw.
Suddenly, watching other people even seemed tasteless to her.
“KB, I have a question for you.” Tian Na glanced at the script sent by the director.
“Please, go ahead.” In his heart, KB felt relieved, hoping Li Yao’s team wouldn’t go adventuring anymore.
“So, do you think Prairie Fire will be crazily pursued by various guilds and clubs? Would their salary reach the treatment of an ace professional player?”
KB thought about it earnestly before saying, “After today, he will definitely be solicited by various clubs and guilds. But as for the salary, pardon me for being blunt, not to mention an ace salary, I doubt it could reach that of an ordinary professional.”
There is a standard of measurement in this world.
They are divided into newbies, veterans, experts, master hands, reserve players, professional players, top players, and ace players.
Although the definitions are vague, various guilds and clubs have their own evaluation methods.
“No wonder you always refer to him as a master hand.” Tian Na suddenly realized.
KB smiled, “A master hand may not be inferior to a professional player. It is just a generalized notion for great experts. However, professional players are recognized athletes, acknowledged by the law. As a professional player, apart from the high commissions, the athlete status is also very coveted, allowing one to enjoy many benefits. The number of slots that major clubs can apply for is limited, and the process is fraught with difficulties.”
“But didn’t you just now and so many fans praise his operations as demonic?
Why can’t he even become a pro player?”
KB shook his head and said, “It’s simple. Prairie Fire’s approach is only suitable for the wilderness. Teams focus on PK and instance records. Although Prairie Fire is brilliant today, he did not show talent in this aspect. However, some guilds would definitely show interest, but I guess he would not join. By the way, Stars, who is also a master hand, has a chance to become a professional player, but he too, must start from the reserve.”
“I see, the perfection of system security has also made the selection process stricter. Prairie Fire has performed brilliantly today, but his influence and performance value are still not enough, right?” Tian Na concluded.
“That’s the point. To say something that might offend Prairie Fire, how many people’s videos catch fire every day? How many Television stations are singing praises for others? And how many players do we have in the population? Those who watched our program today are just a drop in the ocean. The influence is minimal. ”
Tian Na smiled and did not continue this topic. As a qualified presenter, there are some things the guests can say, but they cannot.
On the dome above.
“These people have gone too far.” The quiet-enduring voice of the team suddenly blared with Shadow Dance passionately saying, “Sister Xia is unjustly accused of acting superior by merely closing the live stream early. What’s even more outrageous is the constant provocation of people who say the Boss can’t even reach the second platform and is intentionally finding excuses to delay time and figure out a strategy.”
“Why bother with them? They’re just annoying. They’d be better off leveling up with the time they have.” Li Yao nonchalantly retorted.
Feng Yi looked at Li Yao surprised and asked, “If this was before, you would’ve exploded with anger.”
“Boss, you’re a celebrity now. They are damaging your reputation, and yet you aren’t angry?” Shadow Dance shrieked as if the maligned was him.
“Celebrity.” Li Yao chuckled, “You hold me in too high regard. What counts as celebrity at my level? One day’s fame, maybe. Plus, you need to understand that this so-called live broadcast adventure competition is barely better than an unofficial match out in the wild. There’s not even a regular panel of judges. Can you guess why that is?”
Shadow Dance, who was just in his teens, and clueless about such details, wondered aloud, “Why?”
“Because the influence is too limited. Taking the Light Faction’s live competition as an example, I doubt that many in our Dark Camp even watch it. Same thing with us, while the Dark Camp might claim to participate collectively, there are hardly any players who have really passed the trials. In the end, it’s basically a lively event among the High Elves. Even within the High Elf race, not many people participate. Now, tell me, what kind of celebrity am
Shadow Dance scratched his head and said, “There’s still the livestream and television studio, right?”
Li Yao laughed, “Alright, first let’s talk about the television studio. This is merely a sub-channel of the station, so naturally its influence is limited.
Secondly, the majority of viewers are older, mainly from the neutral faction. Then there’s Xiayao’s livestreaming room, they’re coming to see Xiayao, they just happen to see me, I’m merely a familiar face. Their shouts and praises should not be taken seriously. Given that our adventure this time carries no competition value, the teams couldn’t care less about me nor am I interested in the benefits that the guilds offer.”
Feng Yi revealed a faint smile before continuing, “I didn’t expect you to become this pragmatic. You’re right, your current fame is too hollow. Moreover, those who know your name are simply a small fraction of the total. They may call you a master hand now, but maybe later when forming a team, they may not even invite you when they see you as a Hunter.”
“That’s exactly the point.” Li Yao looked at the leisurely clouds in the sky and said, “This time, we’re really just trying to give Xiaoyao studio a hard time, while trying to get some television exposure.”
He knew very well that he was after Titan’s treasure. He didn’t care about this so-called reputation as he figured, after today, hardly anyone would remember him anyway.
Over eight-hundred million people were already playing the game, not to mention the one-hundred billion people yet to join. Today was trivial at best. At most, he may have gained some minor fame in the High Elf territory.
He still needed to earn enough esteem, establish a guild, create a club, form a team, and compete in the National, International, and Olympic competitions. “I’m coming up,” dongs the youthful voice of a happy girl, asking, “do you guys know what I just did?”
Li Yao feigned curiosity and asked, “What’s that?”
“I’ve got the carnival contestant tickets. Haha, I can meet you and sis Xiayao in real life and sit with you,” the girl bragged.
“What about me? I want to go too,” Shadow Dance said enviously, “I’ve got money, can I buy a ticket?”
“What do you need to go for? Just stay at home and watch TV” she mumbled, then said, “Bro, you need to make a name for us at the event so we can form a guild.”
“Sure. We will get the guild quota this time,” Li Yao promised.
In “The Ancient God World”, not everyone could establish a guild. One needed credentials and fame, and that was why he was working towards obtaining the Platinum badge for the carnival tickets and, more importantly, to improve his reputation.
If he performed well in the carnival competition, he’d earn points. Everyone had a ‘Reputation Score’ under their personal profile in real life. Only when it had reached a certain level could they create a guild in the game.
Ordinary players in “The Ancient God World” could only create mercenary groups accommodating up to forty people. The creation of guilds was linked to their real-life prestige.
“I’m starting the live stream now, ” Xiayao announced.
“You two, go up to the platform and make some space for me,” Li Yao said, bringing out a rope with an iron hook at the end. “Watch this, Shadow Dance.
This is a Hook Lock. Your goal, as a rogue, is to master this better than me, the
Hunter.”
There was an old saying: “A rogue who can’t use a Hook Lock isn’t a good rogue.” With a Hook Lock, a rogue could climb trees and walls and move quickly on roofs, turning his fantasies into reality.
After Li Yao presented the Hook Lock, most of his viewers finally got the idea.
Li Yao carefully began to spin the Hook Lock while gradually letting out more rope.
It was as if a fan was spinning above Li Yao’s head, and it was growing longer, eventually extending dozens of meters in radius.
Once the Hook Lock was long enough to reach the column closest to the second tier, Li Yao swiftly let out a segment of the rope.
With its momentum, the Hook Lock looped around the column several times and then securely clamped onto the edge of the column with an inscription.
“You guys can go all the way up the dome now,” Li Yao declared before he attached another rope to the tip of the dome and quickly clambered up to the second platform—tying a rope from his waist to the top of the dome here.
This created two rope links between the platforms. Still unsatisfied, he attached a rope to the columns on the two platforms. Three rope passages had appeared intentionally between the two platforms.
“Brother, why did you make three ropes? One would be enough,” the
bewildered girl asked.
Back on the second podium, Li Yao said, “Of course, it’s for the boss. The boss patrols between the second and third platforms. We have to eliminate it.”
He then shared the boss’s data:
Arcane Guard
Rank: Level 11 Junior Boss
Health: 75,000
Skills: Arcane Explosive Fist, Arcane Heavy Punch, Arcane Stomp, Arcane Whirlwind, Arcane Frenzy, and Arcane Explosion.
Everyone was awestruck by the boss’s data. A party of four had 75 ,ooo hit points—wouldn’t a party of five have over 100,000?
Everyone was speechless. Typically, a level-4 boss would have just over 10,000
75,000 HP for a level-Il boss? It was beyond desperate. A level-10 monster itself could one-shot every player, let alone this boss.
All viewers and spectators sharing the same thought: the Prairie Squad’s journey might end here.
Tian Na couldn’t make a word. She muttered, “KB, lead the commentary.”
KB replied with a bitter smile, “What’s there to comment? At this stage, defeating this boss is impossible.”
“Didn’t you also say before that the Prairie Squad wouldn’t be able to ascend the platform? Be careful not to be proven wrong again,” Tian Na added, quoting a comment from a spectator.
KB was helpless but couldn’t vent his frustrations on the audience. He calmed himself down and said, “Yes, they reached the top, but this is a boss we’re talking about. Not even heavy crossbows could bring it down. So, what’s their plan? Be cautious and—yes, die. Let’s say, okay, Prairie Fire is capable, but what if he manages to control the boss for one minute, two minutes, or even ten? Their level-5 damage would barely scratch the boss, maybe two or three points at most. Remember, the boss’s HP is 75,000.”
No one could counter this. The task seemed impossible, and it seemed that the Prairie Squad wouldn’t advance any further. Many spectators chose not to continue watching. Even those guilds who had been following Xiayao’s live stream withdrew—everyone believed that this boss couldn’t be defeated.
If they couldn’t kill a single boss, what was the point of wiping out all the minions? It still wouldn’t count as successfully pioneering….