Chapter 1767: Hero Mode
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Chapter 1767 – Hero Mode
In the quiet, dilapidated hall, Centurion Dynasty’s members only snapped out of their daze after s.h.i.+ Feng and his team had entered the first underground floor.
“So strong! They actually managed to enter the ruin despite going up against the enraged Frost Ape Chieftain! It’s no wonder why they can reach the third underground floor!”
“Why are they here again? Didn’t they just head back to rest some time ago?”
“That’s Asura’s commander leading the team! It seems that Asura plans to go all out in the raid.”
“This is going to be interesting. I’ve heard that Hecate has also started raiding the Snow Ruin with everything they’ve got and has reached the fourth floor already. I wonder how Asura’s raid team will fare?”
“Although Asura is powerful, this is the Snow Ruin, where a team’s overall strength matters more than the individual. I’ve heard that Hecate’s main branch dispatched quite a few of its experts to ensure the Guild’s success in the raid. In terms of overall strength, Hecate’s raid team should be far superior to Asura’s. Asura will likely have a difficult time restoring its lost reputation.”
“Indeed. The Snow Ruin’s difficulty multiplies with each floor. Asura’s team has been stuck on the third underground floor for several days now. Even if Asura’s commander joins the raid, they’ll probably still fail to beat the third floor’s Boss.”
…
Centurion Dynasty’s members debated as they watched Asura’s members depart. Although the Asura adventurer team had displayed frightening strength thus far, it was still only an adventurer team. Its foundations couldn’t compare to Hecate’s.
“Asura plans to compete with Hecate for First Clear?” Sky Slicer revealed a smile as he watched s.h.i.+ Feng’s group disappear. “It seems that we’ll have to take advantage of this situation.”
Sky Slicer shared the opinion that Asura was no match for Hecate in the struggle for the Snow Ruin’s First Clear. This was because he had already acquired some internal information regarding Hecate, so he knew just how powerful its current raid team was. The team had 19 Tier 2 players alone, and the Guild had gathered the majority of its top combatants for the raid.
Meanwhile, including s.h.i.+ Feng, Asura’s raid team had 13 Tier 2 players. Among them, three had only recently been promoted. Just in terms of Tier 2 combatants, Hecate had quite the lead over Asura.
It was safe to say that the Asura adventurer team had no hope of catching up to Hecate.
However, Asura wasn’t entirely out of options if it wished to catch up. It could increase its count of Tier 2 experts, but that was impossible to do in a short time. The only other way to increase its Tier 2 player count was to seek external aid. Meanwhile, Centurion Dynasty had the second-highest Tier 2 expert count in Cold Wind City, with a total of three. The other Guilds and adventure teams didn’t even have one.
Asura would definitely seek cooperation with Centurion Dynasty to increase the number of Tier 2 players in its team. Naturally, Hecate would do the same. After all, if Asura gained the help of three additional Tier 2 players, the adventurer team would pose a significant threat.
…
Once the Asura adventure team entered the Snow Ruin, Carnage, who currently fought on the fourth underground floor, received news of Asura’s return.
“They’ve convinced their commander to help to restore their reputation” Carnage could not help but laugh when he read the report his subordinate had sent. “Unfortunately, the Asura adventurer team no longer has a chance! Hecate will claim the Snow Ruin’s First Clear!”
Raiding the Snow Ruin was not an easy task. Players would face different challenges on each floor and would have to find different ways of progressing. Moreover, as players descended into the ruin, not only would they face stronger Guardian Bosses, but the Bosses’ resp.a.w.n rate would also grow longer.
The Bosses on the first and second underground floors would resp.a.w.n in one and two hours respectively. On the third floor, however, the resp.a.w.n time would increase to four hours. Since the fourth floor was one away from the last, it’s Guardian Boss would require 48 hours to resp.a.w.n.
The system had set such long resp.a.w.n times to prevent other teams from disturbing the raid. In addition, the Snow Ruin’s Final Boss was incredibly tough and required a lot of time to raid
Meanwhile, Hecate’s team had reduced the fourth-floor Boss’s HP to 50% already. They basically had this raid in the bag and would almost certainly progress to the fifth floor.
Even if Asura reached the fourth floor, the adventurer team’s efforts would be a waste. Not only would Asura fail to learn about the fourth-floor Boss, but it would also have to waste a full day for the Boss to resp.a.w.n. During this time, Hecate’s team could research the Final Boss and find a way to defeat it.
In other words, Asura’s raid progress would lag behind Hecate’s by at least two days. This was not an easy gap to bridge. Furthermore, some of Hecate’s experts, who had left to challenge their Tier 2 promotions, should finish their Promotion quests and return to the Guild before the team raided the Final Boss. Then, Hecate would have even more Tier 2 players on its team.
…
Meanwhile, s.h.i.+ Feng and his companions stood on the only teleportation array in the teleportation hall on the Snow Ruin’s first underground floor.
“Esteemed adventurers, some of you already have the third underground floor’s mark. You may teleport directly to the third underground floor. However, the Guardian Boss has yet to resp.a.w.n. Do you still wish to head to the third underground floor?” a translucent elder’s soul, who stood beside the teleportation array, asked s.h.i.+ Feng’s group.
“It still hasn’t resp.a.w.ned?” s.h.i.+ Feng frowned slightly. He then continued, “Then, send us to the third underground floor’s Hero Mode!”
s.h.i.+ Feng’s declaration stunned his team members.
“Commander! That’s the Hero Mode!” Lifeless Thorn could not help but panic when he heard s.h.i.+ Feng choose the Hero Mode.
The Snow Ruin was a special Regional Dungeon that had two difficulty settings: Normal and Hero. The two modes were independent and players would be sent to different s.p.a.ces depending on the mode they chose. However, players only needed to clear the Normal Mode to reach the next floor. Aside from the better drops, Hero Mode didn’t offer any benefits. However, this mode was far more difficult than Normal Mode. Most importantly, players would be barred from challenging the difficulty for a full week after each attempt…
But before Asura’s members could dissuade their commander, s.h.i.+ Feng confirmed the teleportation to the third underground floor’s Hero Mode.
In the blink of an eye, the team arrived on the Hero Mode’s third underground floor.
Looking around, the team didn’t spot any monsters roaming around the floor. Instead, a single, eight-meter-tall, six-armed Frost Ape quietly stood in the center. The ape wielded a longsword in each of its hands. Meanwhile, a magic barrier had sealed off the gate to the fourth underground floor. This was nothing like Normal Mode.
…
[Frost Ape Warlord] (Humanoid Creature, Specialized Archaic Species, Grand Lord)
Level 63
HP 160,000,000/160,000,000
…
Gasps slipped from the players when they saw the Frost Ape Warlord’s Attributes.
The Hard Mode Frost Ape Warlord was much stronger than the Boss in Normal Mode. In Normal Mode, the Frost Ape Warlord was only a Level 62 Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. It only had 120,000,000 HP and four arms, as well. However, not only was the Frost Ape Warlord before them a Specialized Archaic Species, but it also had six arms and 160,000,000 HP…
Of the players present, only s.h.i.+ Feng maintained his composure.
Other players might be intimidated by a Hero Mode Regional Dungeon, but s.h.i.+ Feng, who had raided Otherworlds’ Hero Mode Regional Dungeons in the past, knew that there wasn’t much of a difficulty difference between this mode and Normal Mode. The combat power of the monsters inside the Dungeon would increase by roughly 20% to 30% only. Their HPs as well would increase between 30% to 50% only.
Now that his team’s Basic Attributes had increased by 15%, clearing the Snow Ruin’s Hero Mode wasn’t exactly impossible. Furthermore, he had originally wanted to raid the Snow Ruin’s Hero Mode. He was accelerating his plans.
A Specialized Archaic Species? After glancing at the Frost Ape Warlord, s.h.i.+ Feng took out a bunch of weapons and pa.s.sed them to his team members. “From now on, everyone is to use the weapon I give you and listen to my instructions. If you don’t listen and use the weapons casually, I’ll banish you from the adventurer team!”
Hearing s.h.i.+ Feng’s determination, his companions couldn’t help but shudder.
However, upon receiving the weapons, aside from Lifeless Thorn and the other members who had visited the continent of G.o.d’s Domain, these players gasped in astonishment. The Attributes on the weapons s.h.i.+ Feng had just given them were simply amazing. These new weapons were much stronger than their current weapons.
As they watched s.h.i.+ Feng hand out the weapons, Lifeless Thorn and the others, who had been quite anxious, beamed.
Others might not realize exactly how powerful these weapons were, but they knew. These Mana Weapons could dramatically boost their combat power and allow them to exert power that could transcend tiers. Now, they’d even be able to take on a Mythic monster without fear, much less a Grand Lord ranked Specialized Archaic Species.
Unfortunately, since Mana Weapons weren’t indefinite, they couldn’t be used casually.
“Alright, now that everyone has a Mana Weapon, let’s get to work! Solitary, you’ll start the raid!” s.h.i.+ Feng commanded once everyone was properly equipped.
“On it!” Solitary Nine licked his lips as he excitedly charged at the Frost Ape Warlord.