Chapter 39: The Azure Dragon Forest: A Perilous Grind

Three individuals, each harboring their own motives, stepped into the enchanted forest.

Despite their prior heated arguments, which had nearly culminated in a complete falling out, these three had now, quite inexplicably, “reconciled.”

It appeared that when a group plagued by internal strife suddenly faced a more formidable external threat, they invariably regrouped, uniting as one against the common foe.

The very fact that the Shamatte-styled individual had survived until this point, and appeared rather pleased about it, served as undeniable proof that he was no ordinary opponent.

Furthermore, within this game world, every player potentially harbored undisclosed secrets and possessed an array of unforeseen abilities.

Even Xingxing, who had always seemed rather inexperienced, had summoned the courage to challenge White Tiger alone.

This particular individual, about whom the others knew absolutely nothing, was undoubtedly an unstable bomb waiting to detonate.

“So, this is the Azure Dragon’s territory, then? The Azure Dragon Forest—it’s quite self-evident, isn’t it? Xue Hu, are you certain there’s no immediate danger here?”

Hank, after glancing at the system prompts, cast a wary gaze around.

“I don’t see the Azure Dragon anywhere.

It wouldn’t just suddenly leap out and ambush us, would it?”

“No, that won’t happen,” Xue Hu clarified, writing on her wooden board.

“Every type of monster maintains its own distinct alert radius.

As long as we avoid stepping into the Azure Dragon’s specific warning zone, it won’t launch an attack.

The Azure Dragon resides within the central heart of the ‘Azure Dragon Forest’; we are currently only at its periphery, ensuring we absolutely won’t draw its aggression.”

“That’s reassuring,” Kabasiji began, a perplexed expression settling upon his face as he turned to Xue Hu.

“But why, then, are we grinding for experience here?

The monsters in this area are considerably higher level, making them far from easy to defeat, aren’t they?

What’s more, wouldn’t it be disastrous if we inadvertently stumbled into the Azure Dragon’s alert range?

Out there, we have monsters ranging from Level 170 to 180.

Given our current Level 160 and our equipment, wouldn’t it be much simpler to farm those?

Grinding against monsters around Level 190 here feels somewhat perilous.

What if an elite monster spawns and we find ourselves unable to overcome it?”

“No, we absolutely must grind here,” Xue Hu asserted, shaking her head before she picked up her wooden board to write.

“While the monsters here are indeed of a higher level, the experience points they yield are commensurately greater.

Though they present a challenge, we are hardly novices.

To enter the ‘Azure Dragon Forest’ from the village, one must pass through this very spot.

If we were to grind outside, that individual could easily slip past us, unnoticed, and attempt to capture the Azure Dragon, which would be disastrous.

Our strategy of grinding *within* this area, however, changes everything.

Each time a map is switched, there’s a brief loading interval.

During this period, even though that individual would be invincible, their character model would remain stationary at this teleportation point for a short duration, allowing us to detect their presence immediately.”

“Enough chatter, then; everyone, let’s get to grinding! If we don’t grind now, it’ll be too late to level up!”

Hank, by this point, had already engaged a cluster of serpentine monsters.

Despite their high levels, the creatures inhabiting this particular forest all retained their primitive beast forms, rather than adopting anthropomorphic appearances, which struck them as somewhat peculiar.

Perhaps this unusual characteristic stemmed from the presence of the Azure Dragon within these woods; with such a formidable entity nearby, lesser monsters might not dare to casually assume human guises.

Regardless, to the players, these monsters were merely collections of high-level data.

While a Level 160 character engaging a Level 190 monster certainly proved challenging, this difficulty primarily manifested in the raw damage numbers.

During daylight hours, these creatures possessed no discernible intelligence.

As such, players who could master their attack patterns were capable of grinding without sustaining any damage whatsoever.

Even an accidental hit was rarely fatal, and as long as they recovered swiftly and avoided frequent missteps, their lives remained largely out of danger.

An entire morning elapsed.

While battling Level 190 monsters proved significantly more arduous and time-consuming than confronting Level 170 ones, the experience points reaped were, by comparison, astronomical.

Consequently, when both Hank and Kabasiji simultaneously ascended to Level 170, a sense of astonishment washed over them—they had scarcely imagined that their leveling progress today would not only avoid being slow but would actually surpass their usual pace.

Xue Hu, for her part, was also tantalizingly close to reaching Level 170.

It seemed plausible that if they maintained this intense grinding throughout the day, she might well achieve Level 180 by nightfall.

This marked the fifth day.

Should they sustain this impressive leveling trajectory, they could potentially approach Level 200 by the sixth day, thereby ensuring they would undoubtedly reach Level 200 and be prepared to challenge the Azure Dragon by the morning of the seventh.

Naturally, everyone among them understood that while this game ostensibly allotted seven days, the practical duration was closer to six and a half.

No one would be so foolish as to attempt capturing the Azure Dragon at night, considering that nocturnal monsters were exponentially more powerful than their daytime counterparts, and the Azure Dragon itself might prove utterly insurmountable after dark.

At this juncture, one might once again offer a silent lament for Xingxing.

Had she chosen to challenge White Tiger during daylight hours, perhaps none of these complications would have arisen.

However, fearing that revealing her true objective would lead to obstruction from others, she had instead clandestinely ventured out at night to pursue her mission.

Yet, in this world, there existed no ‘what ifs.’

Her disastrous miscalculation had not only cost her own life but had also inadvertently become a cautionary tale, a negative lesson for others to internalize.

Consequently, just past two o’clock in the afternoon, a lone figure materialized at the entrance of the ‘Azure Dragon Forest.’

After pausing for a brief moment and observing that no one else was in sight, the individual summoned a magnificent white “great cat” and, mounting it, galloped off towards the deepest reaches of the ‘Azure Dragon Forest.’