15
The Eternal Spring—the name sounds very nature-themed, and indeed this dungeon has some connection to elves.
The pre-dungeon checkpoint is a winding waterway in the forest. The character Wulan follows the main group, taking the floating water buff from the guide at the entrance and a short-duration shield ball to avoid poison damage, standing at the distant gathering point.
As a pre-dungeon for a hundred-person raid, this checkpoint is naturally not so simple. The elite monsters at the watchtower can deal fatal damage. Fortunately, the system isn't that cruel; as long as you don't cross the vigilance line, the monsters won't attack. Even if you enter the attack range, there are a few seconds before the fatal attack triggers.
The trouble is that when there are too many people, it becomes crowded. The monsters require a tank (T), and to deal damage, you need high-damage professions. However, if there are too many melee characters, it's problematic. The poison buff from the elves overlaps, and the shield bearers can push players into the water, leading to an unavoidable situation where there's no chance to dispel the poison—falling into the water results in an explosion of poison damage.
"Two elemental mages with the best gear need to come out, along with a ghost general. For the berserker in our party, strip off your gear and put it back on. Healer, be careful with the health—don't over-heal. When the main tank steps up, immediately activate your berserk and sell blood. Everyone else, watch your casting distance and supplement the damage."
Each small monster platform is not very large, just enough for three or four people. The chosen profession for the leader is somewhat controversial, but the strategy seems sound.
Before entering the dungeon, Zhongqing already glanced at the gear of the same profession in the party. Surprisingly, her elemental mage's gear is the best. However, considering this character has been left in the club, and with no level cap opened in the last two years, it's understandable that unused equipment could accumulate to appear decent.
Not to mention, the weekend raid isn't a true elite group from the Wheel of Reincarnation guild.
With a brave leap, the main tank jumps into the middle of the small monsters' group and immediately activates a taunt. Zhongqing promptly unleashes Flame Storm and sets up a Firewall.
She casts her spells quickly but silently furrows her brow— the main tank's taunt was too early.
The knock-up effect of the brave leap is sufficient for either elemental mage to cast a control spell. After the ghost general's buff is applied, it would be best to activate the forced taunt and let the damage dealers unleash their burst.
Fortunately, the berserker has good gear, and after stripping and re-equipping, their health is kept below 50%. The passive buff from Blood Awakening significantly raises the execution damage.
It seems like the small monsters are defeated quickly, but this waterway is quite long. By alternating the main tank to avoid waiting for skill cooldowns, they finally finish the pre-dungeon just in time for dinner.
"Alright, everyone log off for a meal. We'll start the boss raid in an hour."
Before the leader finishes speaking, a few players have already logged off. Zhongqing notices that Gudi is already standing behind her, presumably planning to guide the newcomers, and he takes his account card from the login machine and puts it in her locked drawer.
"Are you adapting well?"
As a newcomer, she can't just come in and say that the tank's skill level is a bit lacking. A main tank is always carefully selected in any guild, so she can only nod in response.
"That's good." Gudi brushes his hair, feeling quite pleased as he stands next to a beautiful girl. The glances from the surrounding players make him feel more accomplished than when he was the guild leader in a new area, even though the girl had just wiped the floor with him in the arena.
"Let me tell you, while our cafeteria may not compare to certain food giants, it's definitely among the top three in the league."
"Because you have money?" Zhongqing murmurs as she looks at the cafeteria's decor.
Although most of the team's buildings are in a black, white, and yellow color scheme, appearing somewhat refined, this cafeteria has a very nonlinear design with some bright red accents.
She wonders who came up with this design.
"The team is overall quite young, you know? Our boss, despite being involved in the entertainment industry and making investments, believes that eating well is essential for working hard. He specifically hired some skilled chefs."
Zhongqing mentally notes this as a plus for Wheel of Reincarnation.
Compared to the cafeterias of Jia Shi, Wei Cao, Thunder, and Yan Yu that she has experienced, the one in Wheel of Reincarnation indeed feels quite exquisite, even if that elegance somewhat stems from the small sizes of the serving dishes.
As she walks over to join Gudi and a few others from the guild who will be raiding together, she notices several members of the main team from Wheel of Reincarnation entering the cafeteria.
The most eye-catching among them is undoubtedly the most handsome one in the front row.
Unlike One Shot in a Thousand's aggressive play style, Zhou Zekai appears silent and gentle. However, the contours of his face give him a somewhat cold demeanor when he isn't speaking. Perhaps to match a recent advertisement campaign for the team, there's a streak of dyed hair in his otherwise natural color, adding a touch of flair.
"It's a bit rare, usually teams eat at different times from us." Gudi whispers.
"If you stagger your dining time with us, wouldn't that leave you with nothing left?" Zhongqing blinks and notices that the small blonde boy sitting across from her has piled his tray so high with food that it's nearly overflowing. The young man diagonally across from her, who looks quite upright, has three servings of double-skin milk on his tray.
"That stings a bit, doesn't it?" The small blonde boy puts on a wronged expression, but he doesn't seem to take offense at Zhongqing's remark. Her appearance gives off a sense of distance, and her joke at the dining table helps bridge that gap.
It seems he isn't shy, and the conversation flows easily.
Zhongqing slightly raises the corners of her lips. Her emotional intelligence is high, and she can see how to handle the situation so that her sometimes advantageous and sometimes disadvantageous appearance does not create barriers.
But then again, the members of Wheel of Reincarnation do live up to their reputation as the "god squad" of the league.
What Zhongqing doesn't realize is that the conversation among the main team members sitting several tables away has shifted to her.
"That pretty girl over there—she's new, isn't she?" Du Ming, feeling a bit guilty for staring, thinks about looking again but is afraid of being caught and can only keep his head down to finish his meal.
"She's sitting with Gudi, so she seems to be part of the guild department."
"Hmm." Zhou Zekai points to the chat in the internal Wheel of Reincarnation group on his phone. The main team generally doesn't participate in that group chat, but they are still added to it. A quick scroll through the morning messages reveals minimal discussion.
"Why isn't she in the technical department? You rarely see anyone from the guild department." Du Ming sighs, stealing another glance at Zhongqing.
Staying with someone like Gudi, any girl will stand out, especially with Zhongqing's looks.
"She's not fast with her hands but plays strategically. Is she like the female version of Yu Wenzhou?" Jiang Botao of Wheel of Reincarnation feels something is off but can't quite put his finger on it.
However, since she is from the guild department, it has nothing to do with them.
What they should be focusing on is how to deal with the Micro Grass team.
Although Micro Grass narrowly lost to Blue Rain last season, indicating a lower response level to trash talk, with new members debuting this season, they certainly have vulnerabilities in terms of cooperation that can be exploited.
Theories are one thing, but reality is another.