Survival in the Core: I'm writing a guide for the entire server.

"...What happened?"

From a daze to full awareness, it only took a moment, just like before.

Recalling the flood of information that had just poured in, Lin You looked at the giant, pulsating gel mass in front of her with lingering fear.

Or, to put it another way, "overloaded sludge in the incubation stage".

This thing gave him a very familiar feeling.

It's like the evil species that appear in the 25th floor of the Guardian's Rift, also known as the Crimson Corruption.

Before Lin You could have any more time to think, the enemy had already appeared.

A huge mass of gel-like material was ejected from the overloaded sludge.

Surprisingly, the color of the overloaded sludge was incredibly filthy.

But the gel it sprays out is as blue and pure as the sky.

Until a golden crown studded with rubies landed on the gel.

Lin Youcai then realized the enemy's identity.

"This is... the Slime King?!"

Yes, the "formidable foe" mentioned in this chief's room.

It was none other than the Slime King that Lin You had defeated when he was level 10!

……

[Infamous - King of Slimes]

[Level: 30 (Ancient God Creation)]

【Life: 53550】

[Defense: 35]

[Skills: Gel Warp, Ground Slam, Crimson Barrage]

[Additional Information: When its health drops to a certain level, the Infamous Slime King will summon the Crown Gem to assist in the attack.]

……

"Wow, these numbers are up to par with the previous version."

Lin You glanced at the message from his "old friend" and pulled out a pistol again.

This time it's not Commander Midas, but the "Phoenix Blast Gun" made from Hellstone Ingots.

This gun has a faster rate of fire, making it a better fit for the Frostshatter deck's combat style.

Unfortunately, I'm also at my 'strongest' state right now.

Resonance deck switching.

Shattered Frost + Steel Grip

The main deck is Frostshatter, and the side deck is Steel Grip.

The main strengths are high damage from Frostbite and high damage from basic attacks.

"Come on, viewers in front of your screens..."

"Guess how many minutes it will take me to finish this fight?"

……

Lin Yuan City, the underground black market.

"This contestant named Lin You is indeed extraordinary."

"Facing such a formidable opponent, he can still interact with the live stream audience in a relaxed tone~"

"In that case... the outcome of this battle will determine the content of the next bet!"

It serves as a hub for the gray industries in Lin Yuan City.

For an event of the scale of Star of the Earth, the underground black market is bound to get involved.

Even the official event organizers have betting options.

The black market, of course, was not to be outdone.

All bets placed here are in platinum coins.

This is not the small-scale betting activity on the event page, where you can only bet a maximum of 100 gold coins.

The Star of the Earth competition is just past the halfway mark, and its popularity is rising.

Both the Duel Arena and the Secret Realm Speedrun events have reached the Top 100 stage.

The black market will naturally also pay attention to contestants with high popularity.

With nearly a million viewers, Lin You's live stream naturally became a key target of the black market.

"Miss Fia, there is a message from Boss Augustus."

A waiter quickly approached Fia, who was presiding over the gambling game, and whispered something.

Fia unfolded her folding fan, using the ornately decorated fan pages to conceal the surprise on her face.

"The black market's top contender for the tournament died in the secret realm?"

"How could such a problem occur in a secret realm personally created by the Clay Sculptor..."

"...I understand. Keep this quiet for now."

After the waiter left, Fia turned her gaze back to the magic crystal screen that was filled with live streams of popular players.

At some point, the live streams of several contestants had already been turned off.

At first, she thought it was just another ordinary elimination, just like the enthusiastic gamblers in the casino.

It now appears that... these contestants had their live streams forcibly interrupted.

The outcome is likely to be dire.

Just then, a burst of cheers, tinged with occasional frustration, erupted from inside the casino.

"5 minutes! It only took less than 5 minutes!"

"Yay! I won!"

"Lin You, well done! I've really struck gold this time!"

"Damn... who is this guy? How can he be so powerful?!"

"With such strong combat power, why not participate in duels and win a championship? Why bother with speedrunning dungeons?"

Looking at the numerous gamblers, some excited and some angry.

A hint of indifference appeared in Fia's eyes.

After a moment, she turned her gaze to the focus of the atmosphere.

The live stream shows Lin You cleaning up the battlefield after the battle has ended.

"How long can you hold out?"

……

"Even the infamous Slime King couldn't hold out for more than 5 minutes."

Lin You took the slime-covered treasure bag from the Mini Skeleton King and shrugged.

The Infamous Slime King's strength is roughly equivalent to the Eye of Cthulhu on Extreme difficulty.

Once its health drops to a certain level, the gem on its golden crown will automatically fly out and launch an attack like a drone.

However, the Crown Gem doesn't attack very frequently, and there's a clear glowing indicator before it attacks.

For Lin You, who had already undergone the Torch God Trial, this level of attack posed no threat whatsoever.

After just three uses of Frostbreaker, the lively and energetic Infamous Slime King was reduced to a lifeless puddle of slime.

[Hint: You have completed the "Leader's Room", score +1000]

Current score: 1215 (ranked #1)

"This score, no one should be able to catch up with it anytime soon."

Lin You casually opened the Slime King's treasure bag.

The things inside looked very familiar.

Ninja outfit, ninja pants, gel, healing potion, slime grappling hook...

"An extra item?"

Lin You curiously picked up a palm-sized gem and examined it closely.

This was a loot he had never seen before when he was farming the Slime King.

If nothing unexpected happens.

This should be the exclusive loot of "Infamous Slime King".

……

【Crown Jewel】

Grade: 30 (Purple)

[Requirement: Player level > 25]

[Effect: Restores (Constitution x 0.1) health per second. This effect is reduced by 90% when you are affected by any debuff.]

……

Lin You decided to retract her earlier slander against the infamous Slime King.

This isn't a weakling, it's practically a money-giving boy!

"My current physical attributes are D-grade with 100 points."

"That translates to a total attribute value of 300 points."

That means it restores 30 health points per second!

"Even with the debuffs, it still has a recovery rate of 3 points per second..."

"This thing is just a purple accessory?!"

Lin You glanced at the skill bar and suddenly had an idea.

"In certain situations, it might be possible to combine it with this skill."

"It seems choosing the combat room was the right decision."

Just this one piece of jewelry alone is enough to make participating in the Star of the Earth competition worthwhile.

The only downside is that the event dungeons can't be repeatedly farmed using dungeon refresh cards.

"I wonder if I'll be able to run into the infamous Slime King a few more times."

As she pondered this, Lin You opened the selection interface for the floor fragments.

[Hint: Please select 1 floor fragment]

……

[Fragment 1: Combat Room (Level 1, Contaminated)]

[Note: You will encounter a group of servants of the God of Gel, and your next selected "Battle Room" will be upgraded by 1 level.]

……

"Contaminated?!"

Lin You paused for a moment, then looked at the other two options.

[Fragment 2: Combat Room (Level 1, Contaminated)]

[Fragment 3: Combat Room (Level 1, Contaminated)]

"Wait, why are they all combat cells?"

……