"If You Want Your Money Back, Then Show Yourself!"

The dungeon was cleared in a mere three seconds.

In those three seconds, Lucas and Bella's levels rose to 12, while Dauntless went from 11 to 13.

Winter, on the other hand, went from level 8 to 11.

After securing the first clear, Lucas wasted no time, skillfully opening the treasure chest and distributing the loot.

First clear rewards were generous, and securing it also triggered the naming effect of Lucas's talent, granting additional bonuses.

Although it wasn't a world-first clear, the rewards were exceptionally rich due to the naming mechanic.

This time, the chest yielded three silver-quality items, four bronze-quality items, and 130 gold coins.

Additionally, there was a \[Galloping Bird Horn], which was a pretty decent mount in the early game.

Among the three silver items, there was a dagger that could trigger a bleed effect on critical hits. Winter stared intently at that dagger.

Even if she didn't say anything, her eyes betrayed her desire.

Lucas distributed the spirit-boosting ring to Bella, Dauntless replaced his level 5 bracers with level 10 ones, and equipped all the bronze gear he could, adding some constitution to make himself more resilient.

His stats increased once again. Dauntless's strength was now nearly 2000, and his constitution was 340.

His health reached 5100.

Bella's spirit also increased to 1120.

However, Winter, at level 11, only had 82 agility, and her best equipment was a level 3 bronze-quality dagger.

The equipment gap was too significant, so much so that Winter's gaze nearly reached out and grabbed the silver dagger that dropped from the dungeon.

She stared intently, her eyes screaming that she wanted it.

Dauntless was startled by Winter's gaze, and he couldn't help but think, "Why are this woman's eyes so wide?"

After the other items were distributed, it was finally time to determine the ownership of the dagger.

\-------------------------------------

**Bleeding Silver Spike (Silver)**

* **Equipment Level: 10**

* **Agility +90**

* **Sub-stat: 10% Critical Hit Rate**

* **Effect: After causing a critical hit, inflict an additional bleed effect, dealing damage equal to the main stat value over 5 seconds.**

\-------------------------------------

Lucas twirled the dagger in his hand and smiled. "No one in our guild needs a dagger, so let's sell it at the auction house. We'll split the gold coins equally."

Hearing this distribution plan, Winter hesitated. Her palm opened and closed.

She had essentially been carried through this dungeon.

According to the unspoken rules of Epochal World, she didn't have the right to participate in the item distribution.

Being carried and receiving experience points was already a good deal.

But even knowing this, Winter still felt a hint of humiliation.

She was a renowned second assassin. In the old servers, she was invited to be the main DPS for dungeon runs, and people paid her for it.

Today, she was being carried through a dungeon? And she didn't even have a say in the distribution of the loot?

"Wait."

"I'll buy this dagger."

Hearing Winter's words, Lucas looked at her.

"1000 gold coins, take it or leave it."

"You!" Winter frowned at Lucas's price.

"If you don't want it, I'll put it up on the auction house."

Winter bit her lip.

Normally, a silver-quality dagger wouldn't sell for 1000 gold coins.

In the early game, most players used copper and silver coins for transactions.

After all, 1 gold coin was worth 100 yuan.

But…

Winter frowned. "Deal! But I don't have that many gold coins. Can I transfer World Credits directly?"

"Sure."

"Alright, I'll transfer it to your game account."

Epochal World supported game account transfers, which could be directly withdrawn, making it very convenient.

Buying gold with World Credits was the same thing.

Winter initiated the transfer directly.

A notification popped up in front of Lucas: \[Your account has received: 100,000 Epochal World Credits]

Epochal World Credits could be withdrawn 1:1 as World Credits. Its only function was that.

In Epochal World, there was no support for recharging to buy additional items. Everything depended on the player's ability to obtain them.

After the transaction was completed, Lucas said directly to Dauntless and Bella, "That dungeon's done. Next one. We're already behind schedule. Let's try to reach level 20 before anyone else reaches level 10."

Winter didn't reveal any emotion, but she was a little overwhelmed.

Reach level 20 before others reach level 10? Was this person even human? And he called that behind schedule?

Winter glanced at the leaderboards. These people already occupied the top three spots on the level leaderboard.

Moreover, it was a massive gap. Currently, there were fewer than 50 players at level 10 on the level leaderboard.

And the number of players in Epochal World accounted for nearly 80% of the world's population, a total of 11 billion.

Even the number of players in the third server, which had just launched, should be around 3 billion.

And Azure and his team were in the top three out of these 3 billion. With such a ranking, Azure could still say they were behind schedule.

Winter complained in her heart. Lucas turned to look at her and asked, "Are you coming along?"

Partying up wouldn't reduce the experience each person received. If a monster was worth 100 experience, then everyone would receive 100, not 25 points for each of the four people.

And Winter didn't have a guild. A guild carrying a solo player would still record the clear with the guild's name, so there was no loss in taking Winter along.

Winter hesitated for a moment, but ultimately nodded. "Yeah, I'm coming."

She really couldn't resist this leveling speed. As a skilled player, Winter understood the importance of being ahead in levels.

Whether it was a mistake or not, Winter vaguely felt like Azure was teasing her.

This feeling was like falling into honey and milk, waiting for her to fall.

At this rate, she would turn into the shape of Godslayer Guild.

Winter shook her head and dismissed the terrible thought, thinking, "How could I have such an idea? It must be because I've been watching too much nonsense lately."

After getting Winter's agreement, Lucas smiled and said, "Alright, let's go to Bear Forest. There are more dungeons there."

\-------------------------------------

In just one hour, Godslayer Guild had successively completed the first clears of two dungeons.

Moreover, the latest record was an abstract 3 seconds.

What was even more surprising was that Winter's name was on the clear record this time.

Winter's name was well-known in the first server. A cold assassin, a great beauty, cold as an iceberg, unapproachable, and merciless when she killed.

She did what she was paid to do, never joined any guilds, and had always appeared as a lone wolf.

Even S-rank talent holders from major guilds had fallen to her blade.

And today, even such a strong player had joined Godslayer Guild. Just how strong was Godslayer Guild now?

"If Godslayer Guild originally had three S-ranks... plus Winter, an assassin who could defeat S-ranks with her skills... Doesn't that mean Godslayer Guild had four S-rank powerhouses now?"

"Holy crap? Isn't that too awesome?"

"No, Winter shouldn't count. She's at most 0.5 S-ranks. She only takes assassination missions. In a head-on battle, she's unlikely to be a match for a true S-rank talent holder."

"Has anyone reached level 10 to unlock the leaderboards? Where is Godslayer Guild ranked now?"

"The only ones who can reach level 10 now are probably the elite teams from the eight major guilds. Clearing a level 5 Nightmare dungeon can indeed get you to level 10."

"Holy crap? Look! Godslayer Guild posted an announcement!"

In the community, an announcement was pushed to the highest heat.

*Godslayer Guild is Recruiting, Only Accepting S-Ranks, Hidden Origin and Stargate Guilds Pay Up*

The poster of this thread was none other than Azure.

Seeing this news, countless players couldn't help but gasp.

This was too arrogant.

Only accepting S-ranks? Even the eight major guilds wouldn't dare to say that they only wanted S-ranks.

Moreover, wasn't this notice openly poaching members from the eight major guilds?

Excluding activation codes, there were only ten S-rank talent holders in total. If Godslayer Guild snatched them all, how could anyone else play?

But the problem was, the other guilds were unhappy but could only hold it in.

Godslayer Guild had already taken the records for two dungeons, and they were both extraordinary records.

First clear and clear time records were the best advertisements for a guild, symbolizing a guild's solid strength.

People had scales in their hearts.

When joining a guild, they would naturally choose the guild that benefited them the most and had the best prospects.

And Godslayer Guild's two first clears were undoubtedly adding more and more chips to the scale. The more chips, the higher the probability of S-rank talent holders going to Godslayer Guild.

\-------------------------------------

**Hidden Origin Guild - Guild Base**

Hidden, upon seeing the news on the community forums, scowled. This was already the third time they had been urged to repay the debt.

The first time was that sentence Azure shouted after coming out of the dungeon.

The second time was the video spread by that Solo Eye Breaker, which ended with Lucas urging them to repay the debt.

And the third time was now. Lucas didn't forget to urge them to repay the debt even while posting recruitment requirements.

Hidden scratched his hair.

He suddenly remembered what Lucas had said to him before leaving: "But I think you might not want to see me soon."

At this rate, their Hidden Origin Guild would become a discredited guild that couldn't even afford 1 million gold coins.

The community discussions were now filled with questions like "When will Hidden Origin Guild pay up?" And news stories like "Hidden Origin Guild Faces Financial Crisis, Unable to Pay the 1 Million Gold Coin Bet".

As a result, the quality of Hidden Origin Guild's recruitment hadn't met expectations. The number of A-rank and B-rank ordinary members was far fewer than the other guilds.

"Damn it, repay the debt, repay the debt, repay the debt... You're nowhere to be seen, where am I supposed to pay you back?"

Hidden was going crazy.

Since leaving Ashwood Forest, Azure had disappeared.

They could only see his legend on the world first clear announcements.

In this early recruitment phase, reputation was crucial, and many new players hadn't joined guilds yet.

This phase was a good opportunity to absorb fresh blood.

However, now that they were labeled as a discredited guild, the public relations of other guilds weren't forgetting to kick them while they were down and stir up trouble.

For example: "Hidden Origin Guild is in Trouble, Tottering and About to Disband" and "Shining Guild is Recruiting, the Most Trustworthy Guild!"

...

Even the talent department had reported back that some A-rank talent players who were originally interested in joining had withdrawn their applications.

Now, Hidden Origin Guild wanted to get rid of this discredited name as soon as possible, but the problem was, Azure wasn't showing up!

Hidden sent a message to the intelligence department: "Haven't you found Azure yet?"

"Reporting, guild leader, we didn't see Azure and his team in Pioneer Plains. They seem to have left."

While Hidden was still thinking about countermeasures against Azure, another world announcement popped up in front of him.

\[Congratulations to players: Azure, Dauntless, Bella, Winter for clearing the Level 11 Nightmare Difficulty Dungeon - Grizzly Den]

\[Clear Time: 00 hours 00 minutes 13 seconds]

\[Godslayer Guild has achieved the first clear of Grizzly Den!]

Seeing this record, Hidden's mouth twitched.

I'm looking for you all over the place, and you're just getting another dungeon first clear?

And another 10-second-level clear time?

\-------------------------------------

**Bear Forest - Grizzly Den**

Bear Forest was a level 11 area. The monsters here were mostly bears: high attack and health, but slightly slow speed.

They posed a strong threat to most players.

However, for Lucas's team, these bears posed no threat at all. They quickly reached the dungeon area by slicing and dicing their way through them.

Entering the dungeon, Bella skillfully cast Meteor Shower. The whole process of killing the boss went smoothly.

In just 13 seconds, they cleared the dungeon.

After leaving the Grizzly Den dungeon, Lucas and the others updated their equipment again.

Winter had a cold face because she had spent another 200,000 yuan to buy equipment from Lucas.

While she still had some money, Winter wasn't the boss of some big guild. Spending 200,000 yuan on a silver piece of equipment still made Winter feel a pang of pain.

What's more, none of this equipment had been used yet. Bella basically killed the monsters as soon as they entered the dungeon.

In other words, there wasn't even any time to enjoy it.

However, she had to admit that after seeing Bella's performance time and time again, Winter was a little tempted.

"Azure, can you really get special weapons if I join your guild?" Winter thought that Bella and Dauntless's strength largely came from their special weapons.

Lucas smiled slightly. "Of course. Do you want to join?"

Winter gazed at Lucas, and after a moment, she sighed. "Never mind."

She didn't know what she was holding onto, but the habit of not joining a guild made her subconsciously resist joining Godslayer Guild.

Once a habit was formed, it was hard to change.

To be honest, she couldn't find a reason to convince herself to refuse.

Refusing was completely an unconscious habit.

For Winter, Lucas was just taking her to dungeons, like the whispers of a demon, murmuring in her ear: "Join Godslayer Guild. If you join, you can get the exclusive weapon you've always dreamed of."

Winter shook her head and stopped thinking about it.

Lucas wasn't in a hurry; he knew Winter's personality.

Lucas didn't say much about Winter's refusal. Instead, he looked towards the next dungeon and said, "Let's go, next one."

This made Winter feel a little disappointed.

If Lucas had invited her one more time…

As she walked, Winter opened the community forums and found that they were full of news about Godslayer Guild.

This guild, which had appeared in players' sights for the first time, had become the focus of all players' discussions.

After all, they had taken the first clears of two dungeons in less than ten minutes.

They entered the third dungeon: [Giant Bear Cave (Nightmare)]

This dungeon spawned monsters in waves.

Like Ashwood Forest, the boss would only appear after clearing several waves of monsters.

Just when Winter thought that she would finally have a chance to show off in a dungeon that couldn't be cleared in one go, *Boom!*

A meteor fell, instantly clearing out a wave of monsters.

But then, the second wave of monsters appeared.

Just when Winter thought that Bella was about to enter a period of weakness, Bella raised her spellbook again!

*Whoosh!*

Another meteor fell from the sky.

This made Winter's pupils contract involuntarily.

What kind of monster was this player named Bella? Summoning two meteors in a row? Even for an S-rank talent, that was overpowered, right?

*Boom boom!*

Two waves of meteors fell, and the sea of fire raged.

The third wave of monsters didn't even need to be actively cleared. They were burned to death by the continuous fire shortly after they were born.

-5291

-5192

-5921

-5929

Two overlapping seas of fire dealt more than 10,000 damage per second.

Even for a level 14 Nightmare difficulty dungeon, the monsters didn't have that much health.

The third and fourth waves of monsters were directly killed by the fire sea created by the meteors.

Winter didn't have a chance to act.

After four waves of monsters, the boss finally appeared.

\-------------------------------------

**Bison Bear**

* **Level: 18**

* **Health Points: 235,000**

* **Skills: Ground-Shaking Shockwave, Roar, Death Blow, Pounce, Meatball Press**

* **Trait: Abundant Life - Restores 50% of the damage taken within 5 seconds of being damaged.**

* **Description: A giant bear with abundant vitality, possessing extremely strong recovery abilities.**

\-------------------------------------

Winter was about to move and attack, but Lucas rushed out before her.

The weapon in Lucas's hand had somehow turned into a giant sword.

\[Majestic Five-Stage Slash] was initiated, and a surging Dragon Soaring Sword Draw slashed through!

This attack was immediately followed by a basic attack.

And this basic attack had been replaced with the charged attack basic attack.

Then, the subsequent four-stage slash followed by basic attacks: Horizontal slash A, vertical slash A, diagonal slash A, diagonal slash A…

Glorious and dazzling.

It was hard to imagine that such fluid and smooth operations could be performed with a giant sword.

Giant swords had always been synonymous with clumsiness.

In the end, the giant sword that Lucas diagonally slashed up with was transformed into a splitting downward strike!

\[Earth-Shattering Smash]

At the moment when Earth-Shattering Smash struck the top of the boss's head, Lucas flipped his wrist and changed his grip on the giant sword.

\[Dragon Soaring Sword Draw] - Diagonal Sword Draw

A diagonally sweeping sword aura rippled out, completing the final finishing combo.

In just over a second, Azure unleashed a combo so fluid that it couldn't be seen clearly with the naked eye.

And with a giant sword.

Only the damage numbers could be seen floating out in layers.

-65812

-7839

-8959

-10239

-108,427

...By the time they reacted, the boss was already lying on the ground.

Even a master like Winter didn't see exactly what happened.

\-------------------------------------

**Dragon Soaring Sword Draw: Charge for 1-5 seconds, unleash a drawing sword strike, dealing 4-50 times strength damage, range 5-50 meters, cooldown time: 9 seconds, each use of a full charge attack during the cooldown reduces the cooldown by 1 second, no cost**

\-------------------------------------

Dragon Soaring Sword Draw and Dauntless's talent were a perfect match.

Only a full charge could reduce the cooldown time, which meant spending time charging. As a result, this cooldown reduction effect rarely reduced by more than a few seconds.

But with special weapons, Dauntless could reduce the cooldown of Dragon Soaring Sword Draw even with normal attacks.

Like Lucas, who was fast enough to unleash two consecutive Dragon Soaring Sword Draws in one second after completing a set of combos.

In Epochal World, a good combination of talents, skills, and equipment could completely produce an effect greater than one plus one equals two.

Some mechanics seemed useless, but as long as they were matched with a certain talent, they could become extremely powerful.

As the Bison Bear fell, the final boss was killed by a set of combos, and the familiar world announcement popped up again.

\[Congratulations to players: Azure, Dauntless, Bella, Winter for clearing the Level 14 Nightmare Difficulty Dungeon - Giant Bear Cave]

\[Clear Time: 00 hours 00 minutes 21 seconds]

\[Godslayer Guild has achieved the first clear of Giant Bear Cave!]

\-------------------------------------

Winter looked at the world announcement that appeared in front of her, and instead of joy, she had a thought: "It would be better if these dungeons were more difficult."

This made her feel like a freeloader.

After leeching several waves of experience, Winter felt a little embarrassed.

She probably understood Lucas's plan: He wanted her to owe him several favors.

And Winter was reluctant to give up this opportunity to level up quickly.

Being able to lead so many levels at the start of the server was undoubtedly a huge advantage, and only a fool would give up such an advantage.

This favor, I'm afraid, has to be owed.

But then Winter patted her face. Never mind, I'll just owe it. If I owe too much, then I can only join their guild naturally.

It was time to distribute the equipment again.

This time, the number of silver equipment that dropped was actually as many as 5.

The higher the dungeon level, the slightly more equipment would drop.

However, all of them were equipment that Lucas, Bella, and Dauntless needed. Seeing this result, Winter felt relieved instead.

Then, she suddenly realized that she was actually glad that the equipment she needed didn't drop.