Analyze

‘Ding! You and your party have killed Black Claw. Obtained 24,050 EXP (50 points Party Bonus)!’

“Wah, its finally over!” Screams of joy filled the air, Sky Shaman smiled proudly as he saw 9 of his party members celebrating after defeating the first boss. Sky Shaman then switched to the guild channel and announced, “Hardcore Mode. First boss, Black Claw. Defeated!”

“Oh yeah!” the guild channel was filled with cheering.

“As expected of the master! The official China’s number 1 tank! It hasn’t even been a day and you have already conquered the first boss of Hardcore Mode!”

“Haha. Our guild Sky High is really the strongest!”

“Those guys from The Dominators must be crying by now!”

“Guildmaster bro, bring me along when you enter Hard Mode please! I’m still wearing a lot of White-Wood equipment!”

“…”

Everyone in the guild was discussing and chatting passionately, and Sky Shaman could not help but smile proudly. He asked casually, “How are The Dominators doing over that side?”

“Their elite team was wiped not longer than 5 minutes ago according to their members. They are still stuck at the first boss!” said a Hunter with a longbow hanging on his back. A tag on his head stating, ‘World Pursuer, Sky High’.

“Very well, we’re one step ahead of them!” Sky Shaman let out a smile. “However, we mustn’t let our guard down just yet! The Dominators has always been our archrival, which means they are strong! We must never stop improving ourselves! We must get the second and last boss to obtain the global announcement for our First Clear achievement and let everyone know that our guild, Sky High, is the strongest in every single game there is!”

“We will get the First Clear server announcement for the China server! But we will not stop there! We must also get the World’s Top 8 server announcement too!”

“We are the strongest!”

“Hurrah!”

4 of the team members were touched by Sky Shaman’s speech, their faces flushed with excitement!

“Server Announcement: The party ‘Lost Paradise’ has successfully conquered the Bangar Crypt (Hardcore Mode), obtaining the First Clear server announcement (China Server)! Their names will be eternally etched in the Hardcore Mode First Clear Achievement Board!”

“Server Announcement: Player Crimson Fire (Party Leader) has obtained the reward for being the first to clear (China Server) Bangar Crypt (Hardcore Mode)! Obtained system reward of 10 gold pieces, 1 Skill Point, and all races’ reputation points increased by 500 points!

“Server Announcement: Player Zhan Yu (Party Member) has obtained the reward for being the first to clear (China Server) Bangar Crypt (Hardcore Mode)! Obtained system reward of 10 gold pieces, 1 Skill Point, and all races’ reputation points increased by 500 points!

“Server announcement…….”

The server announcement channel began to flood with announcements.

“What!? Impossible!” Sky Shaman’s faced changed instantly. His legs went limp, almost to the point where he could fall down at any time.

In his face! Right in his red, shameful face!

At that moment, the entire guild channel turned dead silent.

Once the Achievement Board was open, Lost Paradise’s party name could be clearly seen.

[Hardcore Mode First Clear Achievement] (China Server)

1. Bangar Crypt

First Clear Party: Lost Paradise.

Party Leader: Crimson Fire, Bandit, Lost Paradise.

Party Members: Zhan Yu, Guardian, No Affiliation.

Ocean Despair, Sacred Knight, No Affiliation.

Phantom Day, Berserker, Lost Paradise.

Defiant Monk, Sniper, Lone Desert Smoke

Hundred Shots, Beastmaster, No Affiliation.

Slim and Handsome, Beastmaster, No Affiliation.

Snowy Death, Bandit, No Affiliation.

Flame Emperor, Pyromancer, Lost Paradise.

Silky Snow, Priest, Lost Paradise.

“Guildmaster…” The 9 party member’s face turned bitter as they looked at Sky Shaman. The First Clear achievement for Hardcore Mode had been claimed and therefore all of them lost their will to continue.

As a guildmaster of a top-tier guild, Sky Shaman had a natural ability to judge and analyze a situation calmly. He began his analysis and said, “This party has 4 members from Lost Paradise. Even their party name is Lost Paradise. However, they have 5 non-affiliated members and a Hunter that belongs to another guild. If I guessed it right, this should be a pub party!”

“Pub party? Master, can pubs even raid Hardcore Mode?” asked the party members. If party that was comprised mostly of pubs could successfully conquer the Hardcore Mode, then what were the top-tier guilds’ elite teams doing?”

“Look at the composition of the party. There is only one tank!” Sky Shaman narrowed his sight, revealing a surprised and disbelieving expression.

“It’s real! There is only one Guardian. The other Warriors are of the Berserker and Sacred Knight specializations!”

Sky Shaman took a deep breath and exhaled. He was a Guardian himself. He knew the boss’ difficulty in the Hardcore Mode better than anyone else. Even the most recent Black Claw that they had just defeated could only be done because he and the other tank had been cooperating in other games, forming an unspoken bond between them. Only then were they able to solve the issue of the <Death Stare> stacking that would normally cause entire parties to fail.

But that party only had one Guardian. How did he endure the <Death Stare> throughout the battle and survived?

“If I’m not wrong, the secret to their success lies in that party’s tank! Pursuer, try your best to obtain information on each member of this party, especially the Guardian, Zhan Yu!” Sky Shaman’s expression cleared and said, “Disband the party. We have lost Bangar Crypt, but in the next dungeon, we will fight to regain our honor! In these coming days, I want all of you to keep to a strict training schedule! Even if you were able to, you are not to allow your names to be listed in the Level Ranking Board. I’m giving all of you 7 days. After 7 days, all of you must reach Level 20. We will be the first guild to claim Marzerway’s Lair!”

Somewhere else - The Dominators’ raiding team.

“Boss, our brother in Sky High said that their elite team has defeated the first boss!” said Circular Piglet hurriedly. It was not a strange thing, as both Sky High and The Dominators were rivals. They had always been at each other’s throats in almost any other MMOs. They had always been fighting endlessly to be China’s best guild. And now, their skirmishes had also brought them to ‘God’s Miracle”.

Humble Gentleman was calm. He said, “Don’t be so agitated. Being one step ahead doesn’t assure a guaranteed victory. It’s still going to be a battle to determine who would have the last laugh!”

“Hey, hey!” Circular Piglet shyly scratched his head, “It is still not a good feeling to lose to them!”

“If you don’t feel good losing to them, then get your sh*t together, you stupid swine! If it wasn’t because of your careless mistake, we wouldn’t have been completed wiped in the last fight now, would we?” lectured Humbly Gentleman as he laughed.

“Aw, come on boss. Don’t remind me of my past mistakes. I’d already apologized for that a hundred times. I thought there was an earthquake, and that’s why I disconnected!” explained Circular Piglet.

“And? Was it really an earthquake?”

“No… it was my pet cat. It jumped on top of my head!”

“You stupid little pig. Remember! You’re our tank. You’re the wall that protects us! Before you are allowed to fall, you must always prevent the boss from attacking us at all costs! Understood?!”

“Understood!”

“Hm. If there really was an earthquake, you better stay strong. Do not worry about a tiny earthquake. If push comes to shove, I’ll personally dig you out from your house!”

Everyone was laughing at Humble Gentleman’s joke. The atmosphere lightened up and no one felt depressed for losing the fight.

“Server Announcement: The party ‘Lost Paradise’ has successfully conquered the Bangar Crypt (Hardcore Mode), obtaining the First Clear server announcement (China Server)! Their names will be eternally etched in the Hardcore Mode First Clear Achievement Board!”

“Server announcement…”

The atmosphere turned silent!

“F*ck, who are these people? They actually managed to conquer Hardcore Mode!?”

“Is it Sky High?”

“No. These people do not belong to Sky High’s elite team. Just look at the Achievement Board… Holy cow! Lost Paradise? From which hole did this low-tier guild dig out of?”

“Since when was a low-tier guild this strong?”

The Dominators guild channel was suddenly bursting with talks and discussion.

“Boss…” Circular Piglet showed a bitter face. As if they had lost something that they did not even know, the members shared the same bitter expression. They were full of desire, trying to get their hands on the First Clear server announcement. But just when they were about to start their battle, the announcement was taken away from them. What else could they feel? To make matters worse, they lost to an unknown, low-tier guild!

Shame! Such a huge shame!

Humble Gentleman took a deep breath, laughing as he said, “Well, at least it wasn’t anyone from Sky High right? Think about it from their perspective. They thought they had the upper hand against us. Who knew they were only scooping water with a straw basket! They’re surely feeling much more despair!”

Circular Piglet and the rest of them laughed, some of them sounded forced but at least it was better than the worst case scenario.

“Do a little background check on those people. Especially that warrior called Zhan Yu. To be able to endure Hardcore Mode bosses is no easy feat. He must be a pro among pros! Heh. To think that a person like this remains unaffiliated with any guild! Zhang Lan, go and make contact with him! Get him into our guild! Oh yeah, try and get the rest of the unaffiliated players from that party to join us as well. If they could survive that mode, they would naturally prove to be quite extraordinary themselves.”

Similar reactions and conversations occurred simultaneously amongst the top-tier guilds throughout the entire China server.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yang and the rest of the party were indulging in their own version of excitement.

‘Ding! You have obtained the title, Crypt Slaughterer!’

The titles themselves were useless, as they do not possess any addition to the Attributes nor provide any special effects. However, to have a rare title hanging over your head could attract quite some attention. The Crypt Slaughterer title could only be obtained by players who obtained the First Clear achievement. Naturally, it is extremely rare!

Zhang Yang turned off and disabled the friend request and stranger private messaging function to avoid being disturbed endlessly. After the excitement wore off, he would turn it back on again.

“We really did it!” If the ever-calm Crimson Fire was filled with excitement, the others were already bursting from it.

Zhang Yang ran over to the back of Dadarerda’s throne. He took out the pickaxe and started mining a glowing golden vein.

‘Ding! You have used <Mining> on Plain Copper Vein. You have obtained Plain Copper Ore x3, Moonstone x2. Your Mining skill has increased by 2 points!”

This Plain Copper Vein will only spawn here in Hardcore Mode, after the death of Dadarerda!

Zhang Yang eyes glowed. Plain Copper Ore itself was already a rare vein and the Moonstone was part of the possible loot from mining the Plain Copper Vein. This is a rarity among rarities. Truly priceless!

“Wah Zhan Yu bro. You’re too mean. You could have at least left me one of those veins to mine! At least I could increase my <Mining> skills!” said Phantom Days as he walked over, laughing as he spoke. Fortunately, he did not see the items Zhang Yang had excavated, otherwise there would be a hard time for Zhang Yang to talk his way out.

Zhang Yang laughed and shifted his attention to Fatty Han. “Fatty, time to loot the corpse and get our equipment!”