Chapter 246: Top Ten in Levels

Judgement's message took Lan Qingyou by surprise.

The Witch Clan had a one hundred percent success rate, while other races only had a ten percent chance?

That couldn't be right!

The appraisal skill hadn't mentioned anything like that.

But Judgement definitely wouldn't joke about something like this.

However...

The Tower: "They were originally custom-made consumables for the Witches of the Witch Clan. The fact that others have even a ten percent chance of success when using them is already quite high."

Consumables and success rates—anyone who had ever played a video game knew that a ten percent success rate was actually pretty impressive.

Even Judgement expressed understanding regarding this point.

The Sun: "I'll need some on my end as well."

The Star: "Count me in."

The Moon: "I want some too."

The Tower: "@The Moon, get out of here. You just want to stock up on goods again, don't you?"

The Moon: "You're actually wrong this time. Did you forget that I have a Witch working under me? I'm asking for her."

The Tower: "Oh, right. I completely forgot about the Witch on your end."

Since she had given them away to the other Witches for free, Lan Qingyou didn't want to play favorites and directly sent one to The Moon.

She had mainly crafted these things while practicing her magic arrays. Aside from the slight cost of the monster hides, the labor cost was practically zero.

On the final day of the Mana Tide, everyone was relatively free, or rather, taking a rare and well-deserved break.

They chatted freely about their future activities and developments, and the day simply slipped away amidst the playful banter in the group chat.

[Ding! Congratulations to Li Huai, Vivian Nadasdy Bathory, David Angel, Esmeralda, Lan Qingyou... for ranking in the top ten in levels this month. Reward: Level +1 for all members, and a choice of 1 A-rank Magic, 1 A-rank Tool, or 1 Book.]

Many people suffered from insomnia on the night the Mana Tide ended.

It wasn't for any complicated reason; tonight was simply the day the very first leaderboards were published, so everyone wanted to see what the rewards would be.

When they saw that it was just the same old three options plus a level increase, they felt a bit disappointed.

"What the hell? It's just this stuff again. What a load of crap."

"A free level up is still pretty good."

"Sure, higher levels are great, but everyone is only in their teens right now. An extra level doesn't change much."

"Heh, you're just saying it's useless because you didn't get it."

"I really don't get it. An A-rank magic spell or an A-rank tool—just those two alone are things most people dream of. Why is everyone acting like it's no big deal? Is there something wrong with my brain?"

"There's nothing wrong with your brain. It's just those idiots who couldn't get the rewards acting sour over it."

"But you can only choose one. It feels like a prank from the world's will."

"It's more than just a prank. It honestly feels like they're exploiting the top players."

"Pfft! Isn't that a good thing? I was already sick of looking at those guys anyway, especially that Witch. Damn her."

"Who gave you the courage to mock the top players?"

"You're laughing at the top players, but look at yourselves. You're just a bunch of cannon fodder that the world's will abandoned long ago."

"Oh? Does that mean you aren't cannon fodder, sir?"

"I'm nothing special, just top one hundred on the level leaderboard."

"Well, damn."

Those words instantly shattered the defenses of quite a few people.

Just like that person had said, top players were top players. Whether you liked them or not, it wouldn't change the facts displayed on the leaderboard.

They either had to risk their lives desperately grinding Dungeons and hunting monsters, or give up the combat route early on and find another way to make a living.

After all, as things slowly developed, people had gone from huddling together for warmth to forming actual communities. Moving forward, the Supreme Council would definitely push for urbanization. When that time came, they would need people for everything from the primary sector to the tertiary sector.

And those who weren't suited for combat could perfectly fill those gaps.

But...

In a world overflowing with extraordinary powers, who would willingly accept being ordinary and fading into the masses?

Lan Qingyou, on the other hand, didn't share these worries.

What might have seemed like a thorny dilemma—or perhaps an enviable problem—to others, simply didn't affect her.

As if it were just a matter of routine, she immediately chose an A-rank Crystal Pen. After all, she could just choose again next month, so it made sense to pick the item that provided the biggest immediate boost to her current strength.

...

The Mana Tide was finally over. When Lan Qingyou woke up the next day, the very first thing she noticed was the rise in temperature.

Gurgle, gurgle—

Pushing open the window of her sixth-floor bedroom, Lan Qingyou saw the melted snow gathering into small streams, while a spring breeze carrying a hint of lingering chill brushed against her face.

However, the chill was no longer biting and harsh like before. Instead, warmed by the strengthening rays of the sun, it carried a faint scent of spring, breathing life back into the entire Kalim Continent.

Judging by the warmth of the sunlight, it was a seamless transition from winter straight into spring.

Yet, even though it had gotten warmer and the snow was rapidly melting away, the temperature hadn't actually risen all that much.

It had essentially spiked from minus ten degrees Celsius to the mid-teens.

It was the perfect temperature for outings, hunting, and picnics.

Still, probably no one cared about something as trivial as "shedding a couple of layers of clothing" right now.

If one were to ask what the hottest topic was these days, the word "Dungeon" would undoubtedly take the crown.

With Lan Qingyou's team acting as role models, the number of people diving into Dungeons was no longer small.

New Dungeons were being discovered practically every single day.

However, due to transportation issues, these newly discovered Dungeons were almost exclusively explored by locals.

Naturally, the members of Tarot Manor were no exception to this trend.

But since they were the ones who controlled the core technology, they pretty much just teleported back and forth everywhere they went.

For the most part, they kept the Dungeons they personally discovered to themselves instead of sharing them.

They quietly cleared them out in private.

For example, High Priestess had her subordinates use the two Dungeons near her territory to level up, while she spent her free time lurking in the group chat to fish for information from Chu Yuan.

Unlike the previous Undead Bay, these were mostly small Dungeons, or rather, ones without any hidden bosses.

Because of this, the members of the Manor were practically wiping out one Dungeon a day.

That's right, wiping out.

The kind of clearing method that permanently closed the Dungeon down along with it.

After a few days of this, Chu Yuan, the one providing the intelligence, was the first to lose his mind.

After all, he needed to make a profit from providing information. Even though everyone screaming as they charged in and effortlessly smashing their way through the clears was highly satisfying and entertaining—and earned him a cut of the profits—there was a glaring issue.

The problem was that a closed Dungeon became a one-time deal, whereas an open Dungeon was a long-term source of revenue.

Anyone could do the math on that.

As a result, Chu Yuan implemented a strict rule: they had to leave at least one monster alive in every Dungeon to act as a "seed."

Everyone was highly dissatisfied with this.

Given their combat prowess and clearing speed, "leaving one alive" was genuinely a bit too difficult for them to manage.

What did it mean to flex without trying?

This was the ultimate humblebrag.

Other people could spend days trying to conquer a Dungeon without even catching a glimpse of the final boss. Meanwhile, this group just strolled through like they were window shopping, and even complained that holding back was too much of a hassle.

Of course, the most important factor was that the loot from these Dungeons simply couldn't compare to their first run in Undead Bay.