The Great Thief

“Today’s aim is very simple. Just wipe them out at the third stage.”

It was the second day that Blackwing’s Nest had been opened by Ruling Sword. Lu Li had now formulated a strategy targeting the little Red Dragon.

“Charge!” Azure Sea Breeze yelled as he rushed up to the front.

Azure Sea Breeze was an outstanding Main Tank. Apart from having the required skills, a good mentality and appearance were also extremely important. Someone like Azure Sea Breeze was indomitable. He was always filled with an edgy, enthusiastic spirit, and was able to improve the team morale. His spirit was like that of Lu Li’s.

Like before, they were unable to advance to the third stage.

They had no choice but to admit that even though Lu Li had always overestimated Little Red Dragon, it was only when they really started to fight that they knew that this Boss was actually quite different. What the walkthrough said about the difficulty of little Red Dragon didn’t seem very accurate.

Of course, there was a chance that from here on, the System would make the little Red Dragon weaker. What Lu Li was encountering now was a version that hadn’t been weakened yet.

When Lu Li and co. were fiercely opening up the Instance Dungeon that day, it wasn’t just them and a few other teams. There was also another group that no one would have expected.

The people in this group were of all different types. Some were wearing suits and dress shoes, some seemed rather posh, some didn’t seem to care about their appearance at all, and some gave off a malodorous stench from their bodies, as though they hadn’t showered for days. They looked like they were in a large, loop-shaped conference room. In the middle, there emerged a multidimensional, 3D image. It was currently displaying Ruling Sword’s battle.

These people were part of the game company’s design personnel. By examining the players’ battles, they were analysing the result of the Instance Dungeon.

The previous Molten Core could be considered the first large-scale group Instance Dungeon, while Onyxia’s Lair which followed could be considered the second. The current one, Blackwing’s Nest, was the third. This group of people had used painstakingly poured hours into the design of these three Instance Dungeons. Some of them, just to take care of a small detail, would spend a few days in the office without sleep or rest.

The last two Instance Dungeons were a great success.

They had put the players in a difficult situation. They had made those players who were successful receive the attention of thousands. This further motivated those players who would not admit defeat, making them even more passionate and hot-blooded.

However, the board was not satisfied with this group at all.

They just couldn’t understand this group of guys.

They made such laughable demands. Actually, with the demands, they had to ensure that they maintained a degree of difficulty, but they also had to give hope to the players and the possibility of being able to pass the Instance Dungeon within a reasonable amount of time.

Could it be that they didn’t design this Instance Dungeon well-enough?

If they said this Instance Dungeon was too hard, well, Ruling Sword was able to defeat their other Instance Dungeons. They were a guild that had only been established for a year. Furthermore, those who participated in Instance Dungeons were usually more inexperienced players. There were even two high school girls who weren’t even adults yet.

“When did they pass Onyxia’s Lair?” one of the men in a suit asked.

“A few days ago. Onyxia’s Lair has how been defeated by seven guilds in all, with approximately 10 or 20 groups. They are mainly…from the Alliance. From the Horde, there’s only Glory Capital and Gale Legion,” came the response next to him, spoken with deference from the boss of the Design Department.

“The Dragon Slayer’s Roar does ruin the balance a little,” the man said as he stroked his chin, which was freshly-shaven.

“A little, but it’s not too big of an effect. Glory Capital, as the second one to finish its duties, also let the Horde enjoy this kind of benefit. Although it didn’t add as much as the Alliance’s, Sorrowless announced it to all Horde players, so more of them were able to receive it.”

“Does this have any impact on the Instance Dungeon?” The man was not satisfied with the roundabout response.

“It doesn’t have much impact, but we can’t do anything about this. There’s no such thing as a perfectly equal game, sir.”

Although the Design Department boss still spoke respectfully as before, even an idiot could hear the stubbornness in his tone.

Of the representatives sent from the board, it was evident that this guy with the suit and dress shoes wasn’t stupid.

They couldn’t criticise the game too much. They merely had the right to know what was going on.

I don’t have any other opinion, but you need to listen to the voices of ordinary players. This game isn’t just for a small group of people.”

“Sir, I promise you, we’ve turned the four words “Game for All Players” into a hanging scroll and hung it in front of the door of the Design Department. And…” the person responsible for the Design Department responded, then continued to patiently explain, “The AI has a huge calculating capacity. It naturally adjusts the difficulty of the Instance Dungeon and the Boss’ data. Next time the System updates, you, sir, will see more teams succeed in the Molten Core, Onyxia’s Lair and the current Blackwings’ Nest.”

“Alright, alright, apart from believing you all, what else can we do?” the man asked helplessly. “When would you say Ruling Sword would be able to defeat this dragon?”

“I can’t say for sure, but Lu Li, without a doubt, is a genius at gaming. The Red Dragon won’t be much of an obstacle for him.”

The person responsible for this kept speaking as he pointed to the current players’ battle.

“With three clubs working together, they’ve got enough resources, enough manpower, sufficient equipment, and they’ve also got the Dragon Slayer’s Roar. And they’re continuing to advance…”

“The First Clear has always been Ruling Sword’s. This isn’t anything particularly amazing,” the man sighed.

“Sir,” the person responsible from the Design Department spoke icily, “This is a very balanced game. We shouldn’t be the ones to determine who gets the First Clear. The AI won’t allow us to interfere with the game. I trust the board also doesn’t want to interfere with the progress of the game either.”

The man in the suit coughed.

“I think you misunderstand what I mean. I just…” he continued to explain nonchalantly.

“What we’re doing right now is already peeking into the game. I hope the board does not put forward any more similar demands.”

The person responsible for the Design Department turned off the projection, and the exciting, chaotic warfare of Blackwing’s Nest disappeared from right in front of their eyes without a trace. The achievement of victory seemed to be ripe for picking, so much so that everyone on all sides wanted to interfere and take it.

Lu Li didn’t know about all this arguing and scheming, but even if he knew, it wouldn’t really affect him.

At least in his memory, the game, as it had gone on for the last three years, still maintained fundamental equality. Furthermore, the game company could do less and less to interfere with the content of the game. Supposedly, the code that the design team wrote into the game could be deemed unreasonable by the AI and it would send it back to be written again.

Of course, if Lu Li knew that his own game’s content was being secretly looked at, he might make a complaint to the relevant supervisory department of the game industry.

After fighting for a whole morning, you could say the whole team was comfortably in the third stage. Furthermore, they could reserve more and more people who were able to fight. The other groups at the back also performed very well, which meant that at least there wasn’t a problem with anyone’s equipment. Just from listening to the commanding, it wasn’t as obvious as one might think that there was a disparity between the quality of the groups.

The third stage was the easiest for the whole team to die.

One second, they were fighting well, so well that Lu Li almost thought they had a chance to directly take down Little Red Dragon. But the next second, the whole team was killed just like that. Lu Li himself would just be damn shocked.

The most important thing was targeting. Those who had been targeted would definitely die, which meant the Main Tank often needed to be changed.

The issue of changing the Tank had the risk of increasing hate and disorder. Furthermore, this type of thing was so ridiculous, as it could lead to someone dying in an instant, just like that.