Casanova: A Badge of the Earth Hero? No way, the one I encountered was a Moon Hero, and unfortunately, it happened right at full moon, when he is strongest. He managed to defeat me then. Any other lunar phase, and he definitely wouldn’t have beaten me!
Hal: Oh, he must have swapped badges afterwards.
Isaac: Wait a minute... what are you guys talking about? A newbie took down both of you?
Hal: Yeah, it’s really bizarre...
The Black elder stared at the chat, puzzled. The number 2459 indicated that he was a newbie who had just joined today. A newcomer facing his first game, and he managed to consecutively take down two seasoned players who were among the top three?
What puzzled him even more was that after playing for the first time, the opponent had swapped badges, changing from the popular Badge of the Earth to the much harder-to-use Moon Emblem...
The fact that the opponent swapped badges suggested that this person had substantial gaming experience, grasping the gameplay in just one match, thus he switched to a more suitable badge!
Thinking this, the Black elder suddenly became alert.
Because he himself used the Moon Emblem, he knew very well how difficult this branch was to use. It required relying on experience and luck to ensure that every boss battle just happened to coincide with the full moon, an incredibly challenging feat, arguably making it the most difficult of the nine classes.
The only reason someone would switch to this division must be that they possess corresponding Moon series items!
"Could it be, this person is the one who just surpassed me?"
The elder immediately thought of this possibility and hurriedly asked in the group chat.
"Nova, what floor were you defeated by that newbie on? And around what time?"
"On the twenty-second floor, about... 15 minutes ago," Casanova answered.
The Black elder was shocked; the timing also matched up.
Could it really be him?
And if that was indeed the case, he now had no time to be complacent: the opponent played only two rounds, yet had already surpassed what many of them had fought for over several days. If this pace continued, wouldn’t he end up claiming all the first-time trophies?
He didn’t even need to wait for the future; right now, the opponent might make it through the 30th floor and soon hit the major hurdle of the 40th!
The elder quickly returned to the game, challenging the monster at the base of the 30th floor.
[You’ve reached the central area of the 30th floor.]
[A ScorpLion (5 stars) intercepts you...]
[This battle’s lunar phase is: Full Moon.]
[Under the enhancement of the full moon, your abilities are significantly boosted.]
[After a fierce battle, you narrowly defeated the Hellhound, HP -96, remaining HP: 5/181.]
[Your HP is below 10%, Moon’s Healing is triggered, under the illumination of the full moon, your HP automatically recovers to 50%, current HP: 90/181.]
[You obtained ’Divine Crystal’*625, ’ScorpLion Statue’*1.]
[’Eye of the Moon Goddess’ is triggered, under the illumination of the full moon, a beam of moonlight projects down, guiding you to a highly concealed small door at the barren thirtieth-floor stone wall.]
[You step forward and push open the small door, discovering the ’ScorpLion’s Treasure Vault,’ from which you obtained Potion of Divine Power*2, Divine Crystal*1221.]
This time luck was on his side, narrowly defeating the boss and also triggering the Moon Eye, leading to a huge rewards explosion.
However, the elder couldn’t afford to revel in these rewards, as he immediately checked the leaderboard.
[You have cleared the 30th floor of the Hero’s Tower, current rank: 2nd.]
"Just as I thought, second!"
The elder’s eyebrows twitched as he read this, meaning the opponent had also cleared the 30th floor boss and was now on his way to the 40th floor!
Now was the time when every second truly counted; he had no time to waste chatting in the group.
The old man hastily controlled his character to step onto the 31st floor and continued to explore in a rush.
On the other hand, Mu You was unaware that someone was chasing his progress and was methodically advancing as usual.
The battle with the Scorplion Statue had been quite tough and had nearly turned disastrous. Upon entering the 31st floor, he distinctly felt an increase in difficulty. After each battle, his remaining HP remained at a critically low level. Moreover, his energy was beginning to deplete more than it could be replenished. His energy value continued to decrease, and if this went on, sooner or later he would be unable to cast Divine Arts.
Mu You had already anticipated that he was approaching his limit. His speed of improvement could no longer keep up with the pace at which the monsters’ strengths were increasing. The ultimate challenge for him in this match was probably the 40th floor, and given the previous difficulties, there was a high probability that he wouldn’t be able to get past the boss of that floor.
Having no other choice, Mu You just had to keep pushing forward, stumbling from the 31st floor all the way to the 39th floor.
And just as he took the last step on the 39th floor...
[You continue to move forward and unexpectedly encounter another hero at the junction ahead!]
[Your Omniscient Crystal automatically relays detailed information about the opponent: ID 1, Archbishop of the Moon, 11 points in Potion of Divine Power, 8 points in God’s Defense, HP 54/181, Energy Value: 31/121, highest floor reached: 39th floor, current ranking: 1st.]
[It is clear that the other party has just noticed you, and both of you lock eyes for a moment, both stunned.]
[So, when paths cross, what will you choose to do?]
Mu You was startled, to encounter another player here?
Moreover, the other person was also a Moon Hero like him!
Mu You was quite surprised. The Moon Hero, a class that was difficult to manage, was chosen by someone else other than him, who had the support of a Divine Artifact, and could even reach such a high floor...
Mu You immediately guessed that the other person might also have a moon-related Divine Artifact, and it was also the kind brought in from outside the tower...
As for the current option, there was no need to think, it definitely had to be combat; with only one step away from the 40th floor, whoever won the fight could earn the double reward of the 40th floor—this was a real narrow path encounter!
[After a brief silence, both of you chose to attack each other!]
[Moon Scepter triggered, locking the lunar phase for this battle as: Full Moon.]
[With the boost from the full moon, both of your abilities are significantly enhanced...]
The opponent was not at full strength, both their health and energy were severely depleted, but Mu You was in a similar state, having only about one-third of his health and energy left after continuous fierce battles.
Under such circumstances, Mu You felt somewhat nervous about the battle.
Because his Divine Artifact locked the lunar phase, which the opponent could also benefit from, but he didn’t know what the opponent’s Divine Artifact was. If it turned out to be an offensive type, then he might just have to admit defeat...
[...After an extremely fierce struggle, both of you fought until you were out of ammunition, and in the final moment, you were defeated by the 1st hero in an ultimate counter-kill!]
[You have died and all the enhancements obtained in the tower have been retrieved...]
Mu You clicked his tongue, truly losing the battle.
However, the prompt seemed to imply the gap was not large, so...
Mu You turned back time.
[Time flows... After an extremely fierce struggle, you were killed by the 1st hero in the final moment...]
[Time flows... You were killed by the 1st hero in the final moment...]
After several rewinds, he was killed by the opponent each time, showing that the opponent’s raw strengths slightly surpassed his own.
However, Mu You refused to believe it, thinking that such extremely marginal prompts should provide an opportunity for overturning the outcome.
Mu You tediously rewound time, pressing the watch over ninety times, and finally...
[...After an extremely fierce battle, you executed an ultimate kill on the 1st hero in the final moment! Remaining HP 1/191.]