Make me leave the team? My beast girl and I can win easily.

The runes on the altar lit up one by one against the dark red sky.

Starting from the outermost edge, it slowly spreads along the rune grooves.

One, two, ten...

When all the runes were lit up, the entire altar began to shake violently.

Rumbling--

Suddenly, the ground in the center of the altar cracked open, and sand and stones gushed out like a fountain.

The crack grew wider and wider, and something emerged from within...

A giant scorpion.

The scorpion was about the size of a small car, and its entire body was covered with a dark gold carapace.

The most terrifying thing was its tail—

The scorpion's tail, longer than its body, was raised high, its stinger as thick as an adult's arm, gleaming with a ghostly green venomous light.

The pincers are like two giant iron hammers; a casual swing can create a whistling wind.

"Sand...Sandstorm Lord!" The assassin boy's voice trembled.

"Watch out!" The bespectacled boy instinctively took a half step back and raised his staff.

"Who alerted the BOSS?"

"I don't know!"

Although the other four looked bewildered, they quickly got into battle mode.

After the enormous creature fully emerged from the ground, it raised its head and let out a deafening roar.

The sound waves were like a real shockwave, stirring up a cloud of dust that made everyone almost lose their footing.

The five members of the "Bond" team turned pale, instinctively about to unleash their skills—

They thought the boss battle had already begun.

"Don't be nervous," Lin Yu's calm voice came through. "It hasn't started yet."

"Huh?" All five of them were taken aback at the same time.

"This is just the instance determining that we've passed the fourth area, and then the 'Sandstorm Lord' appears," Lin Yu explained. "It hasn't entered combat yet."

Upon seeing the altar, Lin Yu recalled information about the "Sandstorm Monarch".

The Dawn Squad had previously run this dungeon quite a bit in order to farm equipment.

As if to prove his point, the giant scorpion simply stood in the center of the altar, showing no intention of attacking.

The five people breathed a sigh of relief, their hearts still pounding.

They hadn't even cleared the third area in their previous three runs, so naturally they hadn't seen the final boss.

Seeing it with my own eyes now, I realize how terrifying it is.

Just that size, that imposing presence...

"I've only planned two points for the BOSS battle, so listen carefully."

Lin Yu's voice drew their attention back.

"First, the 'Sandstorm Lord' will summon a wave of minions every thirty seconds. The minions are five sand scorpions with about 6000 health."

"I require all DPS players to save their AOE skills and use them only when the mobs spawn."

"Clear them out in one go; we can't let them interfere with the main battlefield."

"Second, once the 'Sandstorm Monarch's' health drops below 300,000, it will enter the second phase."

"We have to take it down within 30 seconds, or we'll enter the 'poison fog' mechanic, and you might not be able to get through it."

"I require everyone to slow down their attacks and slowly whittle down the boss's health when it drops to 330,000."

"Once all skills have cooled down, I'll restore your health to 300,000."

"Then everyone went all out and took down the BOSS as quickly as possible."

Lin Yu looked around at the five people: "Did you understand?"

"Understood!" the five answered in unison, their voices slightly tense.

However, after experiencing that crushing battle, they had developed absolute trust in Lin Yu's command.

"Okay." Lin Yu nodded. "After the three-second countdown, Xue'er will go and engage the monster."

He looked at Lin Xue.

Lin Xue nodded slightly, gripping the longsword with both hands, her silver-white armor gleaming.

"three."

She took a deep breath.

"two."

Slightly bend your knees and lean your body forward.

"one!"

The silver figure shot out like an arrow.

Almost simultaneously, Lin Yu released the "Alchemy Furnace Protection".

Seven illusory alchemy furnaces flew out, providing everyone with a thick shield.

"Let's start the war!"

Lin Xue had already rushed to the edge of the altar.

She didn't attack directly, but stopped ten meters away from the Sandstorm Lord and swung her longsword—

"Duel Order!"

A golden beam of light shot from the tip of the sword, striking the Sandstorm Lord precisely in the head.

[Duel Order in effect: Forces the target to attack themselves for 10 seconds]

"hiss--!!!"

The Sandstorm Lord winced in pain, its crimson compound eyes instantly locking onto Lin Xue.

The enormous pincers were raised high, then slammed down heavily.

boom!!!

The explosion created a deep crater in the sand, and the shockwave sent the surrounding sand and rocks flying several meters high.

But Lin Xue had already rolled to the side to dodge.

As she stood up, she flicked her longsword upwards, drawing a spark across the scorpion's carapace.

-312!

The damage isn't high, but it firmly holds aggro.

The three-person attack team, which was already prepared, immediately took action.

Fireballs, arrows, darts... all sorts of skills rained down on the Sandstorm Monarch.

The damage numbers floated up in strings, at an extremely fast frequency.

Lin Yu himself also began to release the "Purple Flame Elixir".

The first shot hit the Sandstorm Lord's left pincer joint.

-9133!

-9107!

-9191!

The massive damage numbers restored the confidence of the "Bond" team.

The Sandstorm Lord has many attack patterns:

It can strike with its pincers, sting with its scorpion tail, pounce, summon small scorpions, and cause ground fissures that generate area-of-effect (AOE) damage.

But these attacks hit Lin Xue...

The damage wasn't actually that high.

The double pincers slammed down, and the scorpion's stinger struck Lin Xue, causing her shield value to drop slightly.

The summoned scorpions were stunned by Lin Xue's "Ground Smash" as soon as they appeared, and were quickly cleared by the AOE skills of the three damage dealers.

As for the Earth Shatter AOE—its range is indeed large, but its damage is indeed low.

Lin Xue was hit by several ground fissures, but her shield value remained above one-third.

"Too stable..." Nana muttered to herself, gripping her staff.

As the therapist, she should have been the most anxious person.

But now, she finds herself with nothing to do yet again.

Lin Xue only lost shield value; her health remained unchanged, and she was at full health throughout the entire fight.

Her only purpose is...

Stand aside and watch.

During the battle, a minor incident occurred.

The assassin made a positioning mistake while dodging the ground-shattering area-of-effect attack.

He intended to jump back to avoid it, but his foot slipped, and instead of avoiding it, he fell towards the center of the crack.

"Watch out!" Nana exclaimed.

But it was too late.

boom--

The ground cracked open beneath his feet, and the shockwave sent him flying.

He tumbled several times in the air before crashing heavily onto the sand.

"It's over..." The assassin boy closed his eyes, awaiting the death signal.

But three seconds later, he opened his eyes in confusion.

He's not dead?

He looked at his status bar:

My shield value dropped by a quarter, but my health is...full.

"I...can I really carry this much?" He stared blankly at his hands.

As a fragile assassin, I only lost a little shield after taking a hit from the BOSS's skill?

"What are you daydreaming about?" Lin Yu's voice came, tinged with a hint of helplessness. "Focus on your output."

"Yes...yes!" The assassin boy quickly got up and rejoined the fight.

This little incident allowed the five members of the "Bond" team to completely let go of their psychological burden.

Turns out... with a senior student around, it really is easy to beat them!

The battle continues.

While Lin Yu was outputting her own attacks, she was also observing Lin Xue's performance.

He noticed that Lin Xue was very serious.

With her tankiness, she could withstand all of the BOSS's skills without any problems.

But she was still trying her best to dodge, block, and move around.

Continuously analyze the skills of the "Sandstorm Monarch" and improve through trial and error.

"Is he cherishing the opportunity to fight...?" Lin Yu's heart stirred slightly.

He remembered that before Lin Xue took human form, she was just an ordinary magical beast.

Every day, I stay in the pet shop, watching my fellow animals play and frolic.

After transforming, she was finally able to fight, protect others, and do more.

Therefore, she cherishes every opportunity to fight.

As for Lin Yu herself...

He almost never dodges skills.

The main problem is the skill "Purple Flame Elixir," which has a very long casting delay.

There's no way to avoid it, so I might as well tough it out.

Anyway, he has over 8,000 health points, plus over 20,000 shield points from "Alchemy Furnace Protection," and various damage reduction effects...

Some of the damage was also transferred to Xue'er through the "Sacred Heart Link".

It's fine to let the Sandstorm Lord attack for a few minutes.

The Sandstorm Lord's health is steadily decreasing.

500,000...450,000...400,000...

When the boss's health dropped to 330,000, Lin Yu immediately ordered, "Stop using skills!"

"Everyone slow down your attacks and wait for your skills to cool down!"

Lin Yu herself had already stopped.

Because "Purple Flame Elixir" has a burning effect for ten seconds.

He was worried that the sustained damage would be too high, burning the BOSS into the second phase, which would disrupt his plans.

The others immediately followed suit.

The rate at which the BOSS's health decreases has slowed significantly.

10 seconds later.

"My skills are ready!"

"I'm all better now!"

"Cooling down!"

The three people reported in turn.

Lin Yu glanced at the BOSS's HP: 308852.

"Ready." He raised his hand, purple flames igniting in his palm. "Once this hits, everyone unleash your full power and advance to the second phase."

"yes!"

"Purple Flame Elixir!"

A burst of purple flame roared out and struck the Sandstorm Lord precisely in the head.

-9157!

Health has dropped below 300,000!

"roar--!!!"

The Sandstorm Lord let out a deafening roar.

Its body began to swell rapidly, its carapace changed from dark gold to crimson, and the poisonous light from its tail stinger became blindingly bright.

Phase 2 of the BOSS battle has begun!

"You have angered me, all of you, die!"

It cried out to the sky, its body trembling violently.

The next second, countless black spikes shot out from the gaps in its carapace, covering the entire altar area like a torrential rain.

A full-screen attack that cannot be dodged!

The five members of the "Bond" team instinctively crouched down with their heads in their hands—a natural human reaction when facing danger.

But the expected health deduction notification did not arrive.

They looked up and saw the spikes hitting the shield with muffled "thud thud thud".

The shield value dropped slightly, but the health... is still full.

Each person only suffered a little over one hundred points of damage.

For them, who possess over two thousand shields, this damage is nothing more than a tickle.

"Nana, apply the buff." Lin Yu's voice remained calm.

"Huh? Oh!" Nana finally realized what was happening and quickly released her buff skill.

At the same time, Lin Yu also gave everyone the "Blood Activating Pill" and "Spirit Enhancement Pill" buffs.

"Now—" Lin Yu's voice suddenly rose, "Give them a good beating!!"

"kill!!!"

The five roared simultaneously, unleashing all the pent-up emotions in their hearts through their skills.

The bespectacled boy unleashed a barrage of fireballs, one after another, almost like a machine gun.

The archer girl's "triple shot" was so fast that it left afterimages.

The assassin boy frantically weaved through the tail of the "Sandstorm Monarch," each backstab resulting in a critical hit.

Lin Yu's "Purple Flame Elixir Fire" bombarded the enemy relentlessly, as if it were free.

The Sandstorm Lord in Phase 2 is indeed much stronger.

Its attack speed has nearly doubled, and its pincers swing very quickly.

The frequency of area-of-effect skills has also increased significantly, with various AOE attacks such as Earth Shatter, Howl, and Sandstorm taking turns to be used.

But it was facing a tank whose shields were impossible to destroy.

Well, actually, it can't even break through other people's shields.

What made it most desperate was that it tried several times to devour the summoned baby scorpions to heal itself—

This is its survival skill; devouring one will restore 2% of its maximum health.

But as soon as the little scorpions appeared, they were all stunned by Lin Xue's "Ground Smash" and then quickly wiped out by AOE.

I didn't get to eat a single one.

"Hiss...hiss..."

The Sandstorm Lord's cries grew weaker and weaker, and its movements became increasingly sluggish.

Its shell was covered with cracks, its left pincer was broken, and its tail drooped limply.

Finally, after Lin Yu's fifty-seventh "Purple Flame Elixir" hit its mark, this behemoth that ruled the Crimson Desert collapsed to the ground.

[System notification: The Sandstorm Lord has died]

The battle is over.

The runes on the altar gradually dimmed, and the dark red sky began to fade, returning to normal night.

Then, the story begins.

A 30-second cutscene, featuring a dying scorpion, tells the history of this desert:

This place was once an oasis, and the Sandstorm Lord was originally a sacred beast that guarded the oasis.

But it was later corrupted by dark forces and turned into a monster that destroyed everything.

Warriors fought bravely, one after another, but all perished in the desert...

It's a very cliché story, but the five members of the "Bond" team watched it with great attention.

This was their first time clearing a level 15 elite dungeon and the first time they had seen this cutscene.

Lin Yu: "This is poisonous, you can't eat it!"

The force of 553 almost couldn't move the 250 bear.

As for the cutscenes, he'd watched them far too many times.

When the notification "Dungeon cleared" appeared, the five people looked at each other, stunned for a few seconds.

Then...

"We...we beat the game?" The bespectacled boy's voice trembled.

"We beat the game! We beat the game!" The assassin boy was the first to jump up.

"Aaaaaaah!!!"

"Our bond..."

"The power of bonds!"

The five people hugged each other and cheered wildly.

Laughter, weeping, and shouts mingled together, echoing across the empty altar.

They had tried three times before, and each time they were wiped out.

They thought this copy was an insurmountable mountain for them.

But now, they not only cleared the level, but also only took...

"Nine minutes..." the chubby boy muttered, looking at the statistics. "The entire dungeon only took nine minutes..."

When they were playing this dungeon before, they were still fighting the desert wolves in the second area nine minutes into the game.

Now, you can clear the entire dungeon, including the final boss, in nine minutes.

This gap...

"Awooo!"

The cheers woke up the little bear, who was trying to fall asleep again.

The little guy waved his bear paws and barked a few times in dissatisfaction.

Lin Yu patted her head: "Alright, alright, I'll take you out for something delicious tonight."

Lin Xue inserted her two swords into the scabbard on her back and walked to Lin Yu.

Her armor was covered in sand and monster blood, and her silver hair was somewhat disheveled, but her eyes were as bright as stars.

"Master..." she whispered, "thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?" Lin Yu asked.

"Thank you for letting me experience the joy of fighting again," Lin Xue said earnestly. "Before, when I was in the shop, I could only watch the other cats play."

"Now... I can fight, I can protect my master, I can do many things."

Lin Yu was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

He reached out and gently touched Lin Xue's head, smoothing her messy hair.

"It'll get even more interesting from here on out," he promised. "We'll go to more dangerous places, defeat more powerful monsters, and see a wider world."

Lin Xue's eyes brightened even more.

At this moment, the statistics leaderboard for the entire instance pops up:

Lin Yu remains the top damage dealer and healer, while Lin Xue remains the top damage absorber.

The chubby guy actually racked up some damage taken because he got hit by a few AOE skills.

Although it can't compare to Lin Xue, it's at least not zero.

Only Nana...

Her treatment volume is still zero.

Throughout the entire boss battle, everyone only lost shield value, while their health remained full.

Due to the game mechanics, it's impossible to heal someone at full health.

She didn't even have the opportunity to receive treatment.

"Nana..." The archer girl patted her shoulder, wanting to comfort her but not knowing what to say.

"I'm fine." Nana smiled bitterly. "I'll probably never forget this day for the rest of my life."

As a healer, I didn't use any healing skills throughout the entire dungeon...

I don't know if this counts as a disgrace to the pastor.

But from another perspective, isn't this a kind of honor?

Only in a battle where the opponent is absolutely crushed will the healer be so "leisurely".

"As agreed, these materials are for you." Lin Yu handed the rare materials dropped by the BOSS to the boy with glasses.

These include materials such as "Heart of the Sandstorm Lord," "Venomous Stinger," and "Dark Gold Carapace Fragment," all of which are needed to complete the school quests.

"Thank you, senior..." Chen Ming said somewhat embarrassedly.

The boss also dropped a level 20 excellent weapon, a blue longbow.

"This weapon..." Lin Yu thought for a moment.

The Heavy Artillery Destroyer is a subclass of the "Archer" category, so using a bow and crossbow is perfectly acceptable for them.

But the Heavy Cannon Destroyer has a more suitable weapon – the "hand cannon".

That was a heavy ranged weapon specifically designed for this type of profession. It was much more powerful than a bow, but its rate of fire was slower.

"Let's sell it," Lin Yu decided.

He's short of money right now; this bow should sell for 3000.

As for the bear's weapon after transforming...

We'll talk about it later.

We should at least get her a decent "hand cannon".

The higher the damage output of the team, the higher the efficiency, and the faster they can earn money.

Lin Yu wouldn't hesitate to invest in this area.

"Thank you, senior!" The five bowed and expressed their gratitude with utmost respect.

"Go on, go turn in the quest." Lin Yu waved his hand. "The first-clear reward chest should yield some pretty good stuff."

"yes!"

The five bowed again and then left the instance in high spirits.

They needed to go to the school administration office as soon as possible to hand in their tasks and receive the long-awaited first-pass reward.

At the entrance to the instance, only Lin Yu, Lin Xue, and the still dazed little bear in her arms remained.

"Let's continue with the level 10 dungeon," Lin Yu said. "Our goal is to get Little Bear to level 10."

An hour later.

In the level 10 normal dungeon "Swamp Ruins", as the swamp hydra's massive body collapsed, a white light flashed across the bear's body.

[Bear Level: 9→10]

"Finally reached level 10."

Lin Yu glanced at the time; it was already 2 a.m.

He was exhausted after playing the dungeon for seven hours straight.

Lin Xue, on the other hand, was still full of energy.

In contrast, the little bear was fast asleep in her arms.

"Let's go." Lin Yu took Lin Xue's hand. "Let's go out for a late-night snack and then go home."

"Home..." Lin Xue repeated the word softly, a warm smile appearing in her eyes.

For her, home is wherever the owner is.

The two left the instance area and stepped onto the stairs leading back to the ground.

Night had fallen, but a few students were still walking along the school roads.

When they saw Lin Yu and Lin Xue, they would take a second look—one a handsome young man holding a pink teddy bear, and the other a beautiful silver-haired girl with a cool and aloof demeanor.

Lin Yu didn't care at all.

He was already planning for tomorrow.

The little bear is level 10 and can now use the Transformation Pill.

The S-class heavy artillery destroyer is about to make its debut.

Tomorrow, I'll take Lin Xue and Xiao Xiong to continue leveling up, and then we can try the level 15 hard dungeon.

I'm sure Xue'er will find it very interesting.

"Xue'er, what would you like to eat?" Lin Yu asked.

"It's up to Master to decide," Lin Xue said obediently.

"Then... let's go to the night market at the east gate of the school. I heard there's a good barbecue place there."

"it is good."

The two figures gradually disappeared into the night.