Super Righteous Player-Chapter 160 - 158 Trouble seeking grandfather, No trouble old bread (Third update)_1

Chapter 160: Chapter 158 Trouble seeking grandfather, No trouble old bread (Third update)_1

Annan had fallen asleep shortly after he returned.

Even though he didn’t feel the exhaustion from staying up late, and his body could rest in the nightmare...

Annan’s common sense told him that a proper sleeping schedule was obviously necessary.

After all, he was just an ordinary person.

Moreover, for some reason, Annan couldn’t wake up from the nightmares at six in the morning as the ordinary people or players of this world did.

Instead, he had to clear the nightmare before he could fully wake up...

For Annan, there was no need to enter the nightmare in the wee hours of the morning.

Under strong self-discipline, Annan woke up promptly at eight in the morning.

After having breakfast and exercising with Tan Juan’s sword as a Swordsman should, Annan accessed his player data:

"Hmm, 80% of the players levelled up last night..."

Annan muttered to himself, "It seems that either Jiu’er or Old Goose really found a stable way to clear the trial and summed up a strategy. Otherwise, with their varied abilities, it would have been impossible for nearly all of them to clear it within a few hours..."

At this point, Annan suddenly noticed something.

"... Eh, they’ve already reached level nine."

After completing the main quest ’The Calamity of Roth Fort,’ all the players had reached level seven. A few active players—like one one, Jiu’er, Delicious Wind Goose, and Wandering Child—had separate missions and higher contributions, and after killing Gerald, they had already advanced to level eight. Now, after clearing a nightmare, they had reached level nine.

The players who had died during the raid on Gerald were the same. They fell from level six to five at that time, but the quest experience distributed by Annan was just enough for them to rise from level five to seven, yet not enough to go from six to eight...

This distribution of experience was actually calculated in advance by Annan.

The purpose was to standardize the levels.

So that scattered "level sixes" wouldn’t emerge among a sea of "level sevens" and a handful of "level eights."

Such disparity would have caused dissatisfaction among the level six players.

Even if Annan compensated them with more favors, it would be the same.

Because they were lagging behind in levels—and this was very clear, visible many times every day. Each time they noticed this, they would be somewhat concerned... and over time, resentment would brew.

While the obvious "level difference," could be seen easily, the difference in experience percentages within the same level was less visible.

By using the "level standardization" approach combined with "special individual status elevation," Annan could effectively head off disputes among players in advance, while letting a few capable and controllable high-level players assert more influence and authority within the player community.

This technique would become even more apparent after their four people progressed to the Transcendent stage.

Suddenly, Annan paused.

"Wait a second, if they’re already level nine..."

He and Salvatore had four more days. After that, they were to return to Roth Fort to wait for the birth of the baby who might be the reincarnation of Michelangelo.

And the cooldown time to re-enter after clearing a nightmare was precisely seventy-two hours, which is three whole days.

Which means... these four players, if they only used "Nightmare: Gallery" to level up, would only be able to reach Swordsman LV10 (MAX) in ten days and would not be able to advance—they’d miss the crucial opportunity for progression.

But if they could level up once more... would they be able to take on the progression trial then?

Annan fell into thought.

Should he give them some experience?

Or should he distribute a batch of experience to the players, allowing them to advance and then follow him to make a move?

... No, that wouldn’t be appropriate.

Annan quickly dismissed the idea.

If there were fewer players, they could form a small squad. As team leader, Annan could still control their actions to some extent.

But once the players formed a group army... that would truly be like unleashed wild dogs, uncontrollable, unpredictable, unstoppable.

It was damn like a swarm of insects.

And Annan was still uncertain whether Michelangelo was friend or foe, or what kind of people he would meet this time. Rather than a powerful and completely uncontrollable force, Annan preferred to have elite players accompany him.

Yes, elite players—

"I’ll set up a trial for them."

Annan whispered to himself, "If they can pass it, I’ll find a way to let them advance..."

He remembered that he still had a test up his sleeve that he could use.

A trial that was enough to test their adaptability—

Yes, the nightmare that had formed after the death of the hunter "Justin," Viscount Barber!

This nightmare, the old baker of Darry Garden might not have fully purified yet. There could be a few chances left.

If Annan asked for it, he should be able to get the key.

Then, he’d let these four players enter the trial.

Annan remembered that the number of deaths in a simple dungeon should not be many... Once you die a certain number of times, you would be kicked out and enter a cooldown, unlike the Gallery dungeon which could be brute-forced with lives.

It is important to know that players have been tackling "Nightmare: Gallery" all this time. This is a bona fide Twisted difficulty dungeon.

Twisted difficulty, that is, a difficulty where even Gold-tier professionals can fail.

In other words, although the players were only level five, under Annan’s malicious guidance, they had been challenging a dungeon meant for those over level thirty for several days.

And Justin is only at the Bronze tier.

The nightmare that formed after his death would inevitably be of simple difficulty.

Just like the "Traitor" nightmare that Annan initially entered. As long as you collect clues normally, you could mostly clear it after dying at most once.

Using this simple dungeon was perfect for testing their level of caution, how much they valued their lives, and their intelligence gathering abilities.

If they could clear this dungeon, they could return to Frostwater Harbor, and once the cooldown was over, they could rush through a dungeon and advance to Bronze tier.

By then, a team of six Bronze tiers would be formed.

With four sturdy tanks in the front that are not afraid of death and can revive, plus Salvatore who can provide support and act as artillery, and the very capable controller Annan, things would be much more stable.

Due to the lack of reliable tanks in previous battles, Annan had been forced to charge out wielding a kitchen knife. Now that he had acquired the Hand of Elves... This plug-and-play dual-core CPU that allowed Annan to channel two spells at the same time would enable Annan to change classes on the spot to a Death Singer—first casting a slow wall, then walking over it with Frost Nova at his feet, a thought that was just cool.

There was just one issue that had not been resolved...

Annan currently did not know what classes a Swordsman could advance to at the Bronze tier, what the conditions were, or how to advance.

Even his own Swordsman class hadn’t advanced yet...

After all, you can’t reset skill points in this world.

Even though Annan needed their help now, he didn’t want them to change classes into something with a bleak future just like that...

This was just the beginning.

Since Salvatore was not convenient to disturb at the moment, Annan decided to go to Roth Fort and ask Daryl Garden... no, Grandfather Daryl.

Of course, before that.

Annan planned to rush through the Gallery once more—his CD had refreshed, and it would be a waste not to use it.

Being able to level up reliably every three days, wouldn’t that be wonderful?

If it weren’t for the new troubles stirring up at Roth Fort and the pressing matter regarding the rotting husband in the Royal Capital, the safest idea would actually be to ignore everything, let the players grind at Frostwater Harbor for forty to fifty days, and wait until they all reached level 20 at the Bronze tier peak before making a move...

The reason it was the Bronze tier peak was that currently, the players still lacked the technique to reliably clear nightmares beyond the third floor.

"Let’s just clear the second floor this time."

Annan murmured, "If my guess is correct, it should be possible to rush through in half an hour..."

Then he stripped off his clothes, locked the door, and lay back on the bed.

Annan whispered softly, "Bone Lord..."

The next moment, something somewhat unexpected happened to Annan.

"...I’m listening."

A deep, raspy voice with an echo rose within Annan’s mind.

But Annan did not immediately fall into a nightmare.

He was taken aback for a moment, then it dawned on him.

So Annan added, "Let me enter the Gallery Nightmare."

At this moment, the Bone Lord finally uttered his second sentence:

"As you wish—"

The next moment, rows of data began to appear before Annan’s eyes:

[Detecting unpurified Nightmare Shard]

[Level Requirement: Below Gold tier]

[Profession Requirement: None]

[Special Requirement: None]

...

But suddenly, Annan saw a line that had never appeared before:

[This dungeon has 6 save points, each death increases corruption by 2%]

[Save Point Acquired: Elle Morrison (3rd Floor)]

[Please select a Nightmare entrance—]

[First Floor]

[Third Floor]