Chương 15: Rapid Improvement

You had to hand it to Zhang Fan -- the guy was a solid big brother. He'd taught Xiao Chen a lot today.

"Big Bro, isn't it kinda... not cool to steal a Boss?"

"What's not cool about it? We're putting in damage, contributing to the guild."

"Alright, I'll follow your lead!" Cool or not, the idea was pretty tempting. The level-60 Boss was incredibly tough. It took nearly half an hour of grinding from the high-level veterans just to get its HP low. BOOM! Amid a deafening explosion, the mountain-sized demon ape crashed to the ground. Then Xiao Chen saw a team broadcast: [Zhang Fan has slain the Undead Demon Ape! All team attributes +1!] Hearing that notification, Zhang Fan practically exploded with rage.

"The hell?! Why'd it have to announce my name?!" Without that broadcast, he could've played dumb and kept his mouth shut. But now? No choice -- he had to make a gesture, or he'd piss off way too many people. [You received team distribution: +10 Silver Coins!] Xiao Chen had to admit it -- Brother Fan was one cheap son of a gun! A level-60 Silver Boss? Even one piece of loot was worth over ten thousand gold. Of course, he wasn't about to say that out loud. He just gave Zhang Fan a thumbs up.

"Brother Fan, so generous!"

"Brother Fan's not the kind of guy who hogs everything. Everyone gets a share! Though abilities vary, it's the thought that counts." Xiao Chen's damage was genuinely dead last, yet he still received a massive amount of Contribution Points and EXP -- way more than he'd get grinding mobs on the wall. [You gained +10, 000 EXP! Contribution Points +20!] Killing a level-60 Boss took half an hour. Traveling from one Boss to the next took over an hour.

During that downtime, Xiao Chen just followed Zhang around, dropping grenades. Before long, a golden light flashed beside Xiao Chen -- Zhang Fan had leveled up too.

"Brother Fan! There's a level-50 elite skeleton over there!"

"Lure it into arrow tower range and kill it." Why arrow tower range specifically? To prevent kill-stealing, of course -- arrow towers had way more range than any player.

"Got it!" Xiao Chen was pumped. Today he had a shot at splitting a level-50 elite evenly with Zhang Fan. The mob was easier to take down than expected. Between Xiao Chen and the Skeleton Archer, their combined damage output was no joke. The skeleton elite summoned over a hundred skeleton copies -- and Xiao Chen responded by dumping thousands of Magic Grenades on them, blasting most of them to dust. [EXP +6, 000! Silver Coins +326! Undead Core Crystal x6!] A pack of level-45 mobs had delivered some seriously juicy rewards. And that elite had already lost nearly half its HP!

"Brother Fan, looks like we might not even need the arrow tower!" Mobility was seriously limited for elite mobs when they were surrounded by their minions.

"Good. Let's just grind it down from here." Hovering over a hundred meters up, all they had to do was spam attacks. Thanks to Multi-Shot, Xiao Chen's damage output was pretty respectable. He was also clearing surrounding mobs, and his kill count kept climbing. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. [Kill Credit +1] [Gold Coins +5! Undeath Flame (Black Iron Grade) x1!] Seeing that drop, Xiao Chen could hardly believe his eyes.

Talk about getting exactly what you needed! One drop worth over two thousand gold. Little Strong's grade could advance again -- up to Bronze Grade.

"Brother Fan, a Black Iron item dropped. Let me give you some gold for it." It was a Black Iron item, sure, but Xiao Chen definitely couldn't reveal it was a special drop. Still, Zhang Fan had been carrying him, helping him level -- not giving something back felt wrong.

"Elite mob drops are all RNG. Whoever gets the kill, gets the loot. You're lower level, so I won't split gold with you this time."

"When you've grown stronger later on, you can send more gold my way. Summoners are broke, man. Always starved for cash." That poverty plea -- was that a hint for something?

"Xiao Chen, I can't say this about everyone, but you? I'm certain you'll make it big." Hearing that, Xiao Chen was taken aback. Honestly, it was probably the first time in his life anyone had said that to him. Being overlooked was Xiao Chen's normal.

"Why do you think so?"

"Because you're scared enough of dying to always hide way in the back during fights." Well. He'd take that as a compliment.

"In this world, as long as you stay alive, you keep getting stronger. You might not have stood out before, but when everyone else from your batch is dead and you're still breathing? That's when people have to start taking you seriously."

"Stay alive. And when you have money later, just send it over. The more, the better."

"Got it. I'll remember that." Xiao Chen owed him several favors now. When he had the ability, he'd definitely pay them back. After successfully taking down one elite, they immediately went for a second, then a third. Aerial mobility was simply broken. Every time Wang Zhen's group killed a Boss, Xiao Chen and Zhang Fan could bag two elites in the same timeframe. Later, Xiao Chen tried sniping Boss kills with grenades too, but the ground team was clearly on guard now. Every attempt failed.

For the elites, Xiao Chen intentionally let a few kill credits slip by, and in the end only picked up two level-50 Bronze pieces of equipment. Six level-60 Bosses surrounded the territory, and they were all cleared within a single day. Every Boss kill triggered dividends for the entire team and boosted guild Contribution Points significantly. More defensive towers would be built soon, and the guild territory's functions would only get more comprehensive.

"We'll clear another wave of level-60 Bosses in ten days. For now, everyone back to defending the walls." Six Bosses slain. Every participant walked away with solid gains. This day was probably the fastest Xiao Chen had ever improved. A full level gained in one day? That was absolutely insane. For the next few days, no one led squads outside to hunt level-60 Bosses. Xiao Chen tagged along with Zhang Fan, hunting elite mobs wherever they found them -- even level-30 elites got taken down if they showed up.

When they ran into dense packs of high-level mobs? Magic Grenade bombardment, of course. [Ding! Level +1! All Attributes +1! Free Attribute Points +5! ATK +500! Attack Speed +0. 1!] Every ten levels brought significant improvements, and Attack Speed increases were exactly what Xiao Chen needed most. [You have reached Level 40! You are now a core combatant of Blue Star!] [Please continue fighting hard and contribute to defending Blue Star!] [Planar Vault Reward: +1, 000 Gold Coins!] That generous reward caught Xiao Chen completely off guard. He'd almost forgotten about the Planar Vault entirely. Making it to level 40 was already a massive achievement in itself. With this windfall, he could finally buy all six remaining Basic Class Skill Books. Money in hand, Xiao Chen spent it immediately -- all six Basic Skill Books, used right away. [Your Attack Range +10 meters!] [Your Multi-Shot +1!] [Your Multi-Shot +1!] [Your Attack Range +10 meters!] [Your Attack Range +10 meters!] [You have awakened the skill 【Power Strike】!] ``` 【Power Strike: 10% chance to deal double damage. 】 ``` Thirty meters of extra attack range in one go -- hitting 90 meters total! Septuple Shot, attacking seven targets at once. Another massive upgrade. Power Strike was solid too -- great for boosting Boss damage output. All in all, Xiao Chen was very satisfied. 【Xiao Chen | LV40】 Total Attributes: 3, 216 ATK: 5, 306 | HP: 9, 800 | DEF: 625 Attack Range: 90m | Attack Speed: 0.

58 These were his base stats without buffs. Factor in all the territory bonuses and his attack power practically doubled. Skill books maxed out, Xiao Chen gave his remaining two hundred gold to Zhang Fan. He had to show some appreciation -- Zhang Fan had helped him tremendously. The gains from elite hunting alone were worth way more than two hundred gold. For the following month, Xiao Chen ran with Zhang Fan every single day. Up before dawn, back after dark.

The number of Magic Grenades Xiao Chen had thrown exceeded a million. One month later, Xiao Chen's level had shot up to 45. Zhang Fan was even more absurd -- he'd hit level 60, out-leveling Xiao Chen despite being the same starting point. No helping it. The guy had three summons. One person with the firepower of three -- there was no competing with that. Plus, he was already preparing to buy his fourth summon. Summoners had a rough early game, but once they got rolling? Absolutely terrifying.

If possible, Xiao Chen would've been perfectly happy leeching EXP forever. But obviously, that wasn't realistic. Once Zhang Fan hit level 60, he couldn't keep grinding with Xiao Chen anymore. Higher levels meant greater responsibilities.

"Xiao Chen, after I buy my fourth summon, I'll be heading into Tier-7 Dungeons. Don't go outside the walls by yourself -- grinding on the walls works just fine."

"The teleportation array in the territory is almost complete. Traveling back to the city will be much easier from now on."

"Thanks, Brother Fan!" Xiao Chen meant it sincerely. Zhang Fan had bailed him out at critical moments more than once.

"No need for thanks. Between us, we can just talk money."

"Remember -- when you make it big, send gold." No drawn-out goodbyes. Zhang Fan simply left the guild territory. He didn't wait for the teleportation array. He just flew straight back to Tiannan City. Having a flying summon? That was the definition of broken.