Chapter 276: Unknown Mysterious Species (Combined) [Side Activities Chapter] (Update 29)

Below the girls' dormitory building, female students came and went as they went up and down the stairs, while quite a few male students lingered downstairs, craning their necks to wait for the girls they liked.

When anyone's gaze passed the handsome, clean‑cut youth standing downstairs, it would instinctively pause for a moment—not only because his handsome, clean face seemed to glow in the scattered sunlight, drawing affection, but also because of his player identity.

At one moment, a flicker of smile appeared on the youth's face, and the boys and girls secretly watching couldn't help but feel their hearts jump; following his gaze, they looked toward the figure coming down the dormitory stairs, revealing expressions that were not surprising.

"Have you been waiting long?" Lin Yue stepped forward quickly, hands behind her back, looking at Qin Chuan and smiling as she spoke.

"Not really, I just got here myself not long ago." Qin Chuan said, but his gaze fell on the girl's outfit, asking, "Why did you change into a different set of clothes?"

"That long skirt for class isn't suitable for combat!" Lin Yue, obviously pleased with Qin Chuan's focus, spun in place, letting her round, fair thighs peek out from the swinging short skirt, and asked, "Does it look good?"

"It looks good." Qin Chuan's expression was sincere, "I suggest welding it onto you."

"No, that won't do—what if something even better shows up later?" Lin Yue's smile widened, "Come on, let's head to the dungeon strategy area."

Behind the two, Zheng Xiaoyu stared speechlessly at the sky, following closely step by step.

The dungeon strategy area is a section of campus that Yan Da recently demarcated, prepared specifically for students tackling dungeons.

Making this plan serves two purposes: on the one hand, to avoid unnecessary trouble caused by students suddenly disappearing and reappearing when entering and leaving dungeons on campus; on the other hand, to coordinate with the Special Affairs Group's work.

The Special Affairs Group set up a gear‑trade point in the dungeon strategy area, allowing students who earned rewards from clearing dungeons to easily sell unwanted items, and also to purchase common supplies offline using Special Affairs points.

This approach also offers many benefits, such as easing team formation; after a one‑ or two‑day pilot trial within the colleges, the Special Affairs Group is ready to roll it out across the entire Yanhuang State.

Although the plan had only been made a few days ago, the dungeon strategy area was already bustling.

Many students held up signs with big characters recruiting teammates, while groups of three to five gathered to chat; in a corner resembling a campus supermarket, quite a few students were queuing—that was the Special Affairs Group's gear‑trade point.

The appearance of Qin Chuan and his two companions naturally drew the attention of every student there.

Without lingering, the three vanished from the spot in an instant.

"A newly appeared S‑rank dungeon is currently being cleared!"

Someone let out an exclamation, and everyone present instantly showed looks of amazement and yearning.

"Thud~"

Qin Chuan lightly stepped on the soft grass, turning his head to nod at Lin Yue and Zheng Xiaoyu.

Lines of text rapidly appeared before their eyes.

【Dungeon: Migru Sleeping Plain】

【Dungeon description: Everyone in Migru's territory knows that the Sleeping Plain is a place that must never be stepped on, especially for lone wanderers—here you will never wake up again.】

【Dungeon rank: S‑rank】

【Lateral difficulty rating: ★★★】

【Dungeon boss: Lost People·Salma, Dreamland Guardian·Beklondon】

【Dungeon talent: Gnomon (Gold)】

【Equipped title: 【Red】Abyssal Disaster】

【Minimum dungeon clearance requirement: Awaken Lost People·Salma】

【Dungeon clearance time limit: 58:45:23】

【Give up this clearance】

【00:00:10】

Looking at the text before him, Qin Chuan's expression turned strange.

Because this dungeon's clearance requirement was unexpectedly not to kill, but to awaken.

Before this, he had never encountered such a situation, and according to the dungeon information compiled by the Special Affairs Group, nobody else had either.

"Awaken?" Lin Yue showed a thoughtful expression, "No matter what, let's first find the dungeon's main clue."

Having said that, she pressed her palms together, and a hazy light enveloped her.

After a moment, a notification popped up before Qin Chuan's eyes.

【Main dungeon clue discovered】

At the same time, a humanoid warrior in heavy armor riding a unicorn appeared before the three, coming from the direction indicated by the first talent of the Gnomon.

Without waiting for the opponent to arrive, another notification appeared before Qin Chuan's eyes.

【Main dungeon clue discovered】

Following the indicated direction, Qin Chuan saw a kite blown by the wind high in the sky.

Gnomon plus Prayer—it's just utterly unreasonable.

Qin Chuan and Lin Yue had already noticed this yesterday while clearing an A‑rank dungeon.

As long as Lin Yue adds the second blessing of Prayer to herself, during the period when triple luck is active, the main dungeon clue will approach her in various reasonable yet coincidental ways, while the first talent of the Gnomon can instantly determine the clue's position.

"That kite." He pointed at the kite in the sky, and Qin Chuan advanced toward the armored warrior whose strength was at the peak of the epic stage.

【Dungeon creature: Phantom Guard】

In the instant he flung off his Azure Snow Gauze and threw it at the opponent, Qin Chuan had already condensed an ice blade in the extreme cold, while a black ring on his right index finger suddenly burst out black mist, instantly enveloping him and his foe.

Abyssal Ring, the environment shifts! Red title Abyssal Disaster activates! All damage becomes unblockable true damage! A pallid blade slash sweeps outward, splitting the opponent under the Frost‑Freeze status in two.

The black mist dissipated, and Qin Chuan sheathed his blade.

The Phantom Guard turned into seven‑colored specks of light and vanished, leaving only a colorless crystal behind.

【Congratulations, player, you have discovered the main dungeon clue: Dream Crystal】

Meanwhile, Lin Yue manipulated the gale and easily plucked the drifting kite from the air.

After picking up the kite and giving it two glances, her expression gradually turned serious.

"Qin Chuan, look." She handed the kite to Qin Chuan.

【Congratulations, player, you have discovered the main dungeon clue: Lost One's Soliloquy】

As the prompt appeared, Qin Chuan also saw the clear handwriting on the white kite.

These words quickly transformed into content he could understand, lines appearing before his eyes.

【It's over, everything is over】

【The clan chief said, if we are not the victors, we must bear the punishment of defeat】

【I am unwilling to accept】

【Clearly we are the side with the greatest advantage】

【Just a little more, and we would have been the victors】

【How wonderful it would be if all this were a dream】

【No, this is all a dream!】

The inscriptions on the kite end here, leaving only Qin Chuan with his brows tightly furrowed.

He handed the kite to the curious Zheng Xiaoyu, then immediately turned to Lin Yue and asked, "What do you think these words mean?"

"The preceding content is very clear." Lin Yue spoke softly, "The 'lost ones' should refer to the dungeon boss we need to awaken, the Lost People·Salma."

"Their clan 'failed,' perhaps they suffered a loss in some battle or conflict?" Lin Yue showed a thoughtful expression, "The only uncertain part is the last two lines."

"They seem to want to escape reality, obsessively treating everything as false."

"Of course, it's also possible that their clan's defeat is truly a false dream."

"I think it's the first possibility." Zheng Xiaoyu also finished reading the text, hearing this she said, "Putting myself in their shoes, I might also have the desire to escape."

"Then let's tentatively assume it's the first possibility." Qin Chuan smiled, "Let me first see where this dungeon boss that needs awakening is located."

Third Talent of the Sundial Needle activated.

In an instant, Qin Chuan saw on the map two light points extremely close to each other.

It seems the two dungeon bosses are together. Qin Chuan opened the light point corresponding to the Lost People·Salma, and soon saw a graceful figure lying silently in a crystal coffin.

She was a girl with a third eye on her forehead, exquisite features, pink long hair flowing freely, wearing an elegant long dress.

At this moment, her three eyes were tightly shut, her expression calm yet filled with deep sorrow, a tear hanging at the corner of her eye, frozen together with her body.

Qin Chuan's brows gradually furrowed tightly.

He sensed no trace of a powerful aura from her.

But at the same time, he could not determine which race she belonged to.

By now, the total number of dungeons cleared by humans has reached five figures; piecing together the background information of each dungeon makes it easy to learn about some conditions of other worlds.

So far, only six races have appeared in the dungeons.

Moon Spirits, Half-demons, Dwarf Demons, Dead Ghosts, Crystal Clan, and Dragon Clan.

They each have their own racial traits and specialties; Qin Chuan is confident he won't mistake them.

But the Salma before him does not belong to any of those six races.

She has no ominous aura around her, so she cannot be a mutation of a race affected by an ominous aura.

Moreover, she shows no signs of being a mutation.

Qin Chuan pondered for a moment, then turned his gaze to another light point.

Dreamland Guardian Bekerland

He was a man with moon-blue skin and silver-white long hair, his face already very aged, gazing blankly at the coffin before him, his expression unusually gentle.

Bekerland obviously noticed Qin Chuan's gaze, glanced at him from afar, but immediately turned his eyes to Salma lying in the coffin, his eyes full of deep affection.

It seemed as if, in this world, nothing besides her lying there was worth his attention.

Moon Spirit...

Qin Chuan withdrew his gaze, turned his head to the two women, and said, "Let's set off."

Although Salma lay in the coffin, Qin Chuan could feel that she had not fallen.

No matter what her identity is, awakening her will make everything clear.

The two women naturally had no objections, closely following Qin Chuan's steps, quickly heading toward the dungeon boss.

But after a moment, Qin Chuan stopped his steps.

"Wait a moment!" his expression suddenly turned solemn.

"Our position hasn't moved."

On the map, the light point corresponding to his current position did not shift at all as he and the two women moved.

They were still in the original spot, at the very edge of the Migru Sleeping Plain.

Without the marker from the Sundial Needle's Third Talent, Qin Chuan would not have noticed this at all.

Cold sweat "whoosh" poured from his forehead.

This dungeon, which exists everywhere with special properties, is certainly not simple.

"No movement?" Lin Yue's expression changed slightly, she moved her hand a few times in the air.

In the next instant, her expression became especially solemn.

"Qin Chuan, it seems… we have all fallen asleep."

"What?" Qin Chuan's pupils contracted.

A line from the dungeon introduction flashed across his mind like lightning.

"Here, you will never be able to wake up."

"I have a blue title that grants 20% resistance to illusion-type abilities." Lin Yue spoke softly, "After wearing this title, I sensed that the place we are currently in is illusory, not truly existent."

"But I cannot see the true situation."

"So… we fell asleep as soon as we entered, entering the illusion?" Qin Chuan's brows furrowed instantly.

If it weren't for the "Give up this challenge" option still lit, meaning they could leave at any time, Qin Chuan would suspect that this dungeon was being manipulated by an ominous aura.

【00:00:09】

At the moment of time stop, Qin Chuan lying on the ground opened his eyes.

The scenery around had undergone a drastic change; the soft grass was gone, replaced by a desolate, silent plain.

Qin Chuan saw Lin Yue and Zheng Xiaoyu lying beside him; apparently because they wore the title that resists illusion, the sleeping Lin Yue slightly furrowed her brows, while Zheng Xiaoyu slept very soundly.

One second passed, the scene returned to before.

A hint of helplessness appeared in Qin Chuan's eyes.

Time Stop can make him clear-headed, but it's meaningless.

We can't just keep using Time Stop to walk all the way to the dungeon boss, can we? Obviously, the way to clear this dungeon still lies in this terrifyingly realistic illusion.

He couldn't help but gaze at the colorless crystal he was holding.

If the kite is an informational clue, then what is the Dream Crystal in his hand?

"Let's take it step by step." Lin Yue pulled Qin Chuan's hand and spoke softly.

"Hmm." Qin Chuan nodded, his eyes locking onto a Phantom Guard approaching from that direction.

Using the same trick again, the second Phantom Guard quickly fell, turning into seven-colored light points.

However, those seven-colored light points did not dissipate; instead, they swiftly flew toward the Dream Crystal in Qin Chuan's hand, giving the originally colorless crystal a hint of extremely pale seven-colored hue.

Qin Chuan and the two others' eyes instantly lit up.

At last, they saw a glimmer of hope.

What would happen if they killed more creatures and let the Dream Crystal absorb them?

Qin Chuan unhesitatingly activated the Sundial Second Endowment.

"Let's go over there!" —

Qin Chuan's body split into two, and the two Breaking Frost Slashes he unleashed instantly killed a Phantom Commander whose strength far surpassed that of a Phantom Guard.

A large amount of seven-colored light points burst forth, merging into the Dream Crystal that already shone with a very bright seven-colored light.

In the next instant, the Dream Crystal seemed to break through some critical state, suddenly bursting with bright light while emitting a low hum.

"Hum—"

Qin Chuan, tightly gripping the Dream Crystal, immediately felt the emergence of a guiding force.

"How is it?" Lin Yue beside him asked curiously.

"The Dream Crystal seems to be guiding me that way." Qin Chuan pondered for a moment, pointed in a direction, and said, "Let's set off."

At present, this is probably the only way to clear this dungeon.

Following the Dream Crystal's guidance, the three eventually arrived at a flower sea.

Countless flowers of various colors, too many to name, grew here; swaying gently in the breeze like waves on the sea, the mingled fragrance of many blossoms refreshed the spirit.

Lin Yue and Zheng Xiaoyu exclaimed in surprise, drawn by the beautiful sight before them.

But Qin Chuan's gaze first fell upon a girl in the flower sea, dressed in an elegant long gown, dancing gracefully.

The breeze blew apart her scattered pink hair, revealing the girl's smiling eyes and the vertical pupil at her brow.

Her seven-colored irises held a dreamlike beauty that made one's heart race. —

Monthly ticket request at month's end! (End of chapter)