Chapter 23: Let's Run a Dungeon Together

After searching through the forums without finding any information on other level-10 players, Liu Kongkong opened Lonely as a Song's profile page and discovered the guy already had over ten thousand followers.

He had also posted a second thread, which was nothing but self-congratulatory rambling about how deeply he understood the game — all fluff, no substance. The comment section was flooded with insults.

Even bad fame is still fame, he supposed. Satisfied that his own ID hadn't appeared anywhere in Lonely as a Song's posts, Liu Kongkong closed the page. It was better to keep his ID off the forums as much as possible. The more people who knew about him, the greater the chance of being exposed as a player — and once that happened, if someone doxed him, his real life would be thrown into chaos.

"I bet that guy sees me as part of his strategy guide," Liu Kongkong figured, guessing at Lonely as a Song's intentions. If anyone was willing to pay for a leveling guide, he'd spill everything.

Looks like I'll need to do something about that.

Turning the thought over in his mind, he idly scrolled through gaming news as the sky outside brightened. He took a shower, boiled some dumplings for breakfast, then climbed back into the Game Pod.

"Time to keep making money! Hopefully the dungeon will drop all their gear!"

He was quite confident in the dungeon called the Path of Reincarnation. As long as players went in, they'd have to shed at least a layer of skin before getting out.

He logged in.

Since he'd come online earlier than usual, it wasn't yet opening time. The tasks he'd assigned to the shop manager were already done, so he put the weapons and equipment into storage. Since the shop manager could only craft basic gear, Liu Kongkong made a few extra weapons himself. As for iron armor, a few pieces from yesterday still hadn't sold, but he went ahead and crafted several iron chest pieces and leg guards anyway, applying [Beauty is Justice] to all of them.

"You bought my helmet — can you really sleep at night without completing the set?!" These pieces were specifically prepared for yesterday's frustrated customers.

He also forged fifty iron weapons. Those required level 7 to equip, so not many players could use them yet, and he didn't bother making too many. Compared to stone weapons, iron weapons just had slightly higher Attack — up to 8 — which was theoretically negligible for players like Night's Gentle Chill.

But Liu Kongkong wasn't about to let them ignore it!

The Path of Reincarnation dungeon required level 7 to enter. After grinding all night, most of those players should have hit that requirement by now. All that was left was getting them to actually go in.

With the boost from [Time is Money], the equipment was finished quickly — right as opening time arrived.

He threw open the doors immediately.

Sure enough, just like every other day, a crowd was already waiting outside.

Over the past few days, all the players had noticed that the blacksmith shop was the hardest place to buy from in the Starter Village. Every other shop restocked quickly, but this Liu Dameng always looked like he had all the time in the world — he'd even spent time standing at the door watching players fight instead of working.

Ambitious bunch, Liu Kongkong thought, eyeing the crowd. They were all players dissatisfied with the trash weapons from quests, eager to level up fast. He recognized a few of the IDs, and of course the most familiar faces were the ones at the front.

"Good morning, Master Liu!" Big Dumb Duck greeted Liu Kongkong cheerfully. He'd arrived early today and secured the first spot in line. He'd clearly heard yesterday evening's system notification, so he came to probe for information and check for good equipment. He'd also sent people to ask the other NPCs.

"Mm." Liu Kongkong gave a cryptic nod. Given the persona he'd built up over the past few days, he couldn't very well change his attitude now. He casually put the weapons and equipment on the shelves.

"Holy shit, what kind of gear is this?! Why does it look so badass?!"

Several sets of iron armor instantly drew everyone's attention. Big Dumb Duck and Night's Gentle Chill, standing at the front, both had their eyes go wide.

Thorn Chestplate, Thorn Leg Guards? The names were obviously part of the same set as the two players' face guards. But did this thing have a set bonus? Both of them glanced at their own face guards — and sure enough, no set effect.

Just for looks, then? They checked the stats on the chestplate and leg guards: same as the face guard, slightly higher defense than ordinary cloth armor, and the same familiar price — one gold coin.

"That's such a rip-off — one piece of gear costs over ten thousand yuan," players in the back grumbled. But others pushed back.

"It's not that bad. Some games charge that much just for a cosmetic skin through gacha. At least this thing has actual stats, and decent ones at that..."

Big Dumb Duck's mouth twitched as a sudden idea struck him.

"Hey, Master Liu — how many pieces of this gear do you have in total?" The memory of yesterday's thirty-one-piece incident was still fresh, and he didn't dare push his luck with this blacksmith.

Liu Kongkong gave a cold snort. "Three sets of the Thorn series, and one set each for the other classes."

One set is two pieces, so twelve gold total. Big Dumb Duck exhaled in relief, then bellowed: "I'll take all of it!"

Night's Gentle Chill froze. Are you seriously this insufferable? I'm wearing the face guard, and you're buying up all the chest pieces and leg guards? And why does a Warrior need Sorcerer gear? Night's Gentle Chill didn't personally care that much, but his message inbox from Ye Weinuan was already blowing up.

"Heh, want some?" Big Dumb Duck grinned and showed off the gear to Night's Gentle Chill, then turned back to confirm with Liu Kongkong that no more stock would be listed today before smugly leaving the queue.

The Secret Realm was already open, and his party members needed equipment too. The gear was pricey, but the stats were solid — and it was a bonus that it annoyed Night's Gentle Chill. Worth it.

Wait — the Secret Realm! He suddenly remembered the other reason he'd come today! He turned around to find Night's Gentle Chill already standing in his old spot, smiling and gesturing for him to go to the back of the line.

Damn it! Got too caught up celebrating! Big Dumb Duck's face darkened, but instead of rejoining the queue, he whistled and planted himself right next to Night's Gentle Chill.

Night's Gentle Chill had been about to ask Liu Kongkong about the Secret Realm, but when he turned and saw Big Dumb Duck hovering like a ghost that refused to leave, he was afraid of being overheard and froze up.

"Are you buying something or not? If not, move — you're blocking my business." Liu Kongkong wasn't having any of it.

"Buying. I want twenty iron weapons — eight longswords..." Night's Gentle Chill rattled off the numbers. Twenty of his people had already reached level 7 alongside him, and he'd come today specifically to look for decent weapons. Seeing iron weapons at just 80 copper coins each, he bought them without hesitation. These were ordinary weapons, so he wasn't worried about stock running out and didn't complain.

Big Dumb Duck still hadn't left. Noticing Night's Gentle Chill glancing at him, he even spoke up: "Don't mind me. Buy your stuff. I leave when you leave."

Bastard...

Night's Gentle Chill gritted his teeth, but he couldn't afford not to ask.

"Master Liu, I was wondering if there's anything you need help with — the harder the better, the higher the requirements the better!" He finished speaking and silently prayed it would be a quest dungeon.

Here we go, Liu Kongkong thought, suppressing a grin. He put on a serious expression and said, "Nothing I particularly need help with, but since you're so eager, there's a piece of information you might find useful..."

"Wait! Master Liu — dear Master Liu! Could you maybe say the rest of it quietly, right in my ear?!" The moment he heard that opening, Night's Gentle Chill knew this was the information he'd been after. And since it wasn't a quest, if other people heard it, the competition would multiply instantly.

Before Liu Kongkong could say another word, Big Dumb Duck at his side panicked first: "Just say it out loud! What's with the whispering?!"

"Ahem — after leaving the Starter Village, head north, pass through the forest, and behind a small waterfall, there's a Secret Realm called the Path of Reincarnation! The treasures inside might be of great use to you all!!" By the end, Liu Kongkong was practically shouting. He looked down when he finished — and there was no one in front of him anymore.

That fast? Liu Kongkong glanced over at the other shops and NPCs. Only a handful of players remained at each of them. Everyone else had bolted.

"I forgot to mention the level requirement..." He was also genuinely surprised — he'd assumed the other NPCs' Secret Realms wouldn't be set up yet. Apparently, everyone had worked through the night to get them finished.