To ascend, I had no choice but to create games

Chapter 460: Chapter 272: Duel of Justice (Part 2)_2

“I don’t think that’s what Fang Cheng Studio meant.”

“You’re not him, how would you know?”

“But…”

“Come on, let’s see what method should we use to deal with the level below!”

Up next, Mukuai 1234 witnessed just how outrageous a player from Xiemen Waidao could be.

He fully exploited the narrow staircase advantage—if he could beat a monster he would, if not, he’d flee to the entrance and then cook food. If a monster was turned into food, he’d taste a bit, and if it wasn’t problematic, he’d eat it up; if there was an issue, he’d chuck it in his backpack to see if it could be used for alchemy.

...

The last level was even more exaggerated.

The boss on the bottom level was a gigantic toad, its bulky body sprawling on its throne, refusing to budge but only commanding its minions to constantly bring it food.

Upon detecting a player, it summoned variously colored toads at random, thwarting Xiemen Waidao’s cooking battle strategy.

Seeing this, Mukuai 1234 was about to offer Xiemen Waidao a suggestion when she heard Xiemen Waidao say, “Let’s go mining.”

“What?”

Dragging Mukuai 1234 along, Xiemen Waidao ran to the 29th floor, found a spot above the toads, and began mining there. @@novelbin@@

Though it was nominally called mining, in reality, it was just digging a hole in the ground.

After enlarging the opening a bit, Xiemen Waidao looked down and saw it was right above the toad boss’s mouth, so he took out all the toxic food from his pockets.

Mukuai 1234 knew without being told by Xiemen Waidao what she was supposed to do.

She numbly squatted beside Xiemen Waidao, helping him throw all the toxic food down.

These heavenly morsels, cooked by Xiemen Waidao, were much better than raw ones, and the toad boss, unable to resist the godsend treats, ate until it poisoned itself to death.

Once the boss was dead, the remaining minions were no issue. Xiemen Waidao cleared the entire dungeon unscathed, the effect was remarkable.

Whistling a tune on his way downstairs, Xiemen Waidao happily collected the spoils of war and then, with a stunned Mukuai 1234 in tow, headed for the third-tier dungeon.

A few hours later, Xiemen Waidao left the third-tier dungeon satisfied, followed by a dispirited Mukuai 1234.

Although her level was still quite low, the gear she wore had already been replaced with equipment corresponding to the third-tier dungeon. Although she didn’t obtain the extremely despicable and shameless equipment that she wanted, it was barely good enough.

Above third tier was the fourth, where players were even fewer.

At the entrance to a fourth-tier dungeon, Xiemen Waidao ran into his good friend, Liuzi.

Liuzi had just died once, and was now analyzing the gains and losses with Goddess of Art.

Seeing Xiemen Waidao approach, Liuzi looked over in confusion and asked, “You… cleared the third-tier dungeon?”

“Yep, under my unscrupulous tactics, the dungeon boss was a pushover and fell swiftly under my blade,” Xiemen Waidao boasted.

“It was a real horse,” Mukuai 1234 added from the side, “He blew up the room’s wall and lured the Flame Horse in. The plant-based boss had no time to react before being devoured by the horse.”

“That actually works!” Liuzi exclaimed in astonishment.

Mukuai 1234 nodded stiffly, “I thought the same, but it really worked.”

Staring at Xiemen Waidao, Liuzi felt like this place was seemingly made for this guy.

Well, it’s good to have a despicable person around. The monsters in the fourth-tier dungeon were numerous and strong, clearing it truly required some effort.

After reflecting on this, Liuzi explained, “The boss of this fourth-tier dungeon is quite troublesome. Starting from the fourth tier, the bosses have their own AI, can use tools and the environment, and are quite difficult to defeat.”

“So what? We charge in as a united front, four against one in the name of justice. No need to be scared,” Xiemen Waidao confidently proclaimed.

“No, that won’t work, it’s an arena where it’s located. The whole place enforces one-on-one combat, forbids the use of weapons and armor, and backpacks are disabled. Besides, the opponent’s stats are very strong, making it tough to overcome.”

“Is that so… Let’s go take a look”

The four of them quickly formed a team and entered the dungeon.

Having grinded for a long time, Liuzi’s equipment for the area was already top-notch. It was like slicing through vegetables, and in ten minutes they reached the lowest level.

The ambiance of the entire dungeon indeed felt different than before.

In the dungeons of the first three tiers, the distribution of monsters was random and illogical; the neighbor of a plant-based boss was actually a Flame Horse. Such circumstances led to the possibility of speedrunning the dungeons.

But in the fourth-tier dungeon, Xiemen Waidao noticed clear signs of an ecosystem.

The dungeon featured sunflowers that emitted light and plants that thrived off those sunflowers. These plant monsters would become the food for herbivorous monsters, which in turn would become prey for higher-level monsters.

The deeper they ventured, the more the surrounding monsters exhibited signs of civilization. They even saw some Half Orcs living there, who would immediately flee with their companions upon realizing they were no match for Liuzi.

Watching the monsters scurry into hiding, Xiemen Waidao couldn’t help but say, “The AI of these monsters is really something.”

“Indeed, but the bottom level is where the real marvel lies.”

When they finally reached the bottom floor, Xiemen Waidao found that it was actually a giant ancient Roman Colosseum.

There was no one in the spectator seats, and the vast arena was empty and eerily quiet, with fires placed around the area casting ominous shadows.

Although the light was dim, a massive figure sat quietly in the darkness on a stone chair. Even without showing its face, the presence exerted an extraordinary oppressive force.

Upon entering the arena, Xiemen Waidao found his weapons automatically stored in his bag, all his equipment forcibly removed, and his backpack locked. This severely weakened their power.

After all, this was an equipment-centric hack-and-slash game, and without their gear, their strength was significantly diminished.

“This is a special effect of the arena. All items will be locked and no equipment can be used,” Liuzi explained, “Be careful, it’s coming.”

No sooner had he spoken than the ground began to tremble.

Amid the intense shaking, the boss opposite stood up and started walking over.

As it approached, the crushing feeling of oppression intensified. A giant Minotaur, three meters tall with glistening muscles under the firelight—as if oiled—appeared before them.

But in contrast to its rugged appearance, the Minotaur greeted them quite kindly, “Liuzi, we meet again.”

“Yes, I’ve come to challenge you once more,” Liuzi nodded.

Xiemen Waidao tugged at Liuzi and whispered, “How did you get so familiar with it?”

“You get familiar when you visit often. Just watch on the side for now, I’m going to have a bout with him.”

Moving his arms, Liuzi stepped forward.

The Minotaur didn’t hesitate either, charging up and then throwing a punch.

Liuzi parried the punch and closed in fast, landing a blow at the corner of his opponent’s mouth, splitting the lips and drawing a streak of blood.

The Minotaur licked the blood from the corner of its mouth and kicked, sending Liuzi flying.

“Wow.”

Xiemen Waidao had his fill of blood-spattered scenes, thrilled by the raw hand-to-hand combat, but he could also see that Liuzi was indeed outclassed.

The opponent’s attributes were too high, his combat skills too advanced. The fight was completely one-sided, turning Liuzi into a rag in no time.

After tossing Liuzi out of the ring, the Minotaur spat out a mouthful of blood, then raised its hoof and said to Xiemen Waidao, “You, want to challenge me?”

“Can I?”

“I love fighting, I live for it, and fear no challenges. Physical combat is the romance of men, and it’s my favorite sport. I can tell you enjoy the rush of blood just as much, so come over here quickly!”

“Alright! But you got one thing wrong.”

“What?” asked the Minotaur, puzzled.

“I do enjoy the sensation of bloodshed, but not my own.”

Jumping into the arena, Xiemen Waidao stood at the edge and said to the Minotaur, “I just found a bug actually, but I never thought it would be useful. Seeing you, though, I know how to use it now?”

“What are you talking about?” the Minotaur asked, confused. “Come on over and fight me.”

“Wait until I’m done showing off. To put it simply, because of some bugs, certain special objects can be equipped, including living beings, but only if the other party agrees.”

“What?”

“What I mean is, Mukuai, come here!”

Resigned, Mukuai 1234 from the stands sighed, then leaped into Xiemen Waidao’s hands.

With Mukuai 1234 equipped, Xiemen Waidao proclaimed majestically, “Come, Minotaur, let us engage in a one-on-one duel!”

“Do you even realize what you’re holding?”