Reincarnation NPC, but Arknights

This person is a girl in real life, but she's obsessed with playing male characters, so her behavior in the game always feels awkward. She was the first player to set foot on Rhodes Island, which was considered a hidden map in the early game.

With his title as the head of the Northern Cross Private Logistics Messenger Company's office in Wangbatuozi, this guy thrived on Rhodes Island. He didn't even participate in the main storyline; he just spent his time on Rhodes Island taking on missions and learning skills.

She first underwent a 30-day training camp for new operators with Instructor Dobermann, then mastered a decent rapier, and even managed to learn a few Originium Arts spells in the caster department.

In short, with her joining the team, and the incredibly lucky captain, Zhai Mao, the players became arrogant. They felt that although they couldn't be said to be indiscriminately killing everyone, they were at least somewhat capable and that clearing a dungeon shouldn't be a problem.

Since it's a newly released game, with its difficulty set in a gradual manner, it shouldn't be too difficult.

"If we fail to clear the game within 5 team wipes, I'll eat this grilled sandworm leg right here and now!"

Before entering the dungeon, Zhai Mao confidently set a goal in front of his viewers in the live stream.

At the entrance of the instance, the five people were teleported directly inside.

Upon entering, they found themselves in a void, with particles constructing a game scene around them.

Please select the difficulty level.

[Scene being built]

[Enemy Introduction: "The Emperor's Blade," a manifestation of a certain will of Ursus. The most terrifying military force on the land of Ursus, with horrifying legends of similar creatures circulating throughout the land. A single individual is enough to wipe out several squads. There is no possibility of defeat.]

They once eradicated the demons of the Northern Plains, isolating the alien race from civilization; they also slew princes and nobles, ensuring that glory was not tainted by the dust of rebellion. Each member of the Inner Guard is a nation in themselves, and the land beneath their feet is the territory of Ursus.

"Huh?" The coffee cup stared wide-eyed at the system description. She turned to the team leader, Otaku Cat, and said, "Hey, Pigeon, what dungeon did you choose? Something's not right with this."

"White Night's solo mission... um, that's about it. As for the difficulty..." Otaku Cat's voice trailed off.

"Say it!" Coffee Cup, having already sensed something was wrong, tugged at her friend's clothes and shook the petite Felin character back and forth.

"I accidentally chose Nightmare difficulty..." the otaku cat muttered.

All I can say is that this person really didn't do it on purpose. Although the viewers in the live stream were making a fuss, they were focused on the dungeon. Zhai Mao had turned off the chat function, so she was just confused.

This girl may have incredible luck, but God is fair; while opening one door, He closes another. She's easily confused and has a terrible sense of direction. At first, many people thought she was acting, deliberately creating a persona, but later they realized she genuinely is stupid.

"We're doomed..." Coffee Cup slapped her forehead, knowing that her captain had done something stupid again.

"There's nothing I can do about it. The Nightmare difficulty option button is so eye-catching, especially in bright red, that it's hard not to click it." Knowing he was in the wrong, the cat could only mutter under his breath.

"It's alright, we're strong, we're not completely helpless. Let's cheer up and face the challenge!"

The coffee cup pumped its fist, cheering on its companion.

Then, once the scene was complete, they entered the instance.

"Why aren't there any monsters...?"

"It feels so quiet..."

After walking a long way, they finally met the boss.

……

Then there is no more then.

The jet-black energy spear pierced through them, pinning them directly to the snow.

The terrifying damage instantly emptied their health bars, and several unlucky players were kicked out of the dungeon...

Chapter Thirty-Three: Sea Cat, You're Inhuman!

"Hilarious! You guys just set your goals and already sent them out?"

"Holy crap, what kind of B-damage is this?!"

"One skill and he's dead?!"

"There are four bosses? Four of those 'Emperor's Blade' attacks appeared all at once. What is this?! Can players these days even beat this game?!"

"#Check the Pharaoh's mental state. Is he really okay? He's crammed so many bosses in all at once."

"Hilarious, the Pharaoh's bed was full of the emperor's sharp blades."

"Nonsense, this is Nightmare difficulty, and this dungeon is not recommended for players right now."

They entered at lightning speed and were defeated at lightning speed. The effect of this show was simply amazing. The key point is that the coffee cup was just planting a flag and cheering, and then it knelt down the next second. The whole group was killed. It's really hard to believe.

As a popular streamer, Zhai Mao has a large following. Many viewers watch his streams, and when he makes a fool of himself, the chat is flooded with comments.

……

Actually, the Otaku Cat Squad is just a microcosm of countless players.

Although the system had already warned that the three dungeons in White Night were extremely difficult and easy to die in, it was essentially telling players not to go in and give away free kills, and to just stick to the main storyline.

However, as you know, players are creatures that the more you try to stop them, the more they want to try. They are born with a destructive and rebellious nature towards rules.

Since they can't die anyway, they go around courting death; their curiosity is higher than the sky.

"You don't want to give me advice, huh? I won't!"

"Who am I? I served in the military on Reach, drove Titans on the border, killed demons in Devil May Cry, lit the fire in Dark Souls, and inherited the power of the Dragon's Blood in Sekiro... Don't underestimate us gamers."

"If you show us your health bar, even if you're a god, we'll kill you!"

Therefore, as soon as the instance was released, a group of people entered the three unique instances in the core city of Chernobog.

Among them were some self-confident experts, and others who just wanted to see what was inside the dungeon.

Even many popular streamers and content creators have been arrested.

then……

Then there is no more...

Even players today would probably be no match for Garsen, let alone Black Serpent and Inner Guard.

Players who tried a few times experienced the difficulty of the dungeon for the first time.

The game's official tips were quite effective; it has to be admitted that they are indeed no match for them right now.

The forum was buzzing with excitement among the players.

Posts about dungeon difficulty suddenly surged to the top of the trending list.

It even suppressed the popularity of "White Night".

[Bai Mobai: It must be poisonous. I died as soon as I went in, without even getting a good look at what the monsters looked like.]

[tornado: Yours should be the Imperial Guard, the Emperor's Blade. Mine was the leader of the Reunion Movement, called the Undying Black Serpent. I went in and got burned to death by her.]

[Bai Yang: Black Snake is pretty good-looking, and the inner guards are quite handsome, but my boss is a minotaur, and he has a bunch of elite monsters under his command...]

[Null: God (TM) Minotaur, that's called Sarkaz, they're demons.]

With a large number of players, they quickly discovered the final bosses of the three dungeons, as well as the challenge content at each difficulty level.

The most notably difficult dungeon is the Nightmare difficulty, where players must face four Inner Guards simultaneously.

Super double!

One is already unplayable, but now there are four! This is unacceptable!

Furthermore, the number of players allowed to enter the instance is limited; this instance can only accommodate a maximum of 13 players.

Obviously, for today's players, this kind of dungeon is almost impossible to complete.

After several attempts, they had no choice but to give up. The players even began to question whether the Pharaoh was mentally sound…

The Pharaoh is directly blamed for everything!

However, the other two dungeons are still worth challenging.

Mercenary leader Garson is clearly weaker than the other two; the difficulty lies in his elite monsters and henchmen, who are incredibly annoying as they summon minions. With proper strategy and handling, there should still be a chance to clear the game.

As for Talulah, although she's also instantly killed upon entering, at least she has lines and can talk to the player. The scholars at the Valletta Academy deduced the plot from the boss's lines, and combined with the level description, concluded that this boss has likely been possessed.

Ordinary players don't care about all that. Talulah is already popular enough among players, but the "Black Serpent" in the dungeon is even more feminine, which makes her popularity soar even higher. Many players enter the dungeon just to see the boss up close.

If they hadn't died so many times and run out of experience points, these guys would probably have continued trying to die.

The first two were fine, but when players encountered the inner guard, they all said, "What the hell is this 'Emperor's Blade'?"

However, being players themselves, a group of players who joined the 1.0 version main storyline early on immediately recognized the inner guard.

"Aren't these the same group of men in overcoats and carrying knives who confronted Bai Ye back then?!"

Players commented that they recognized these guys; Bai Ye had fought them before.

Soon enough, players found the player's gameplay videos and streamer recordings on Bilibili, a pink-themed video sharing website.

Sure enough, in the video, they saw the NPC boss, Bai Ye, fighting alone against "The Emperor's Blade".

At the beginning, it was Bai Ye and an inside guard in a one-on-one solo match. It was clear that Bai Ye was not at a disadvantage and seemed to be in complete control.

After a fierce battle, neither side could gain the upper hand.

Then came the exciting part: suddenly three more bodyguards appeared beside him, and four boss-level enemies surrounded Bai Ye.

Then Bai Ye confronted them.

After a series of maneuvers, they broke free of the encirclement. Patriot appeared, and the two faced the enemy simultaneously.

This high-definition video faithfully records the integration movement in the permafrost and the encounter between White Night and the boss.

From the player's perspective, the series of highlighted red danger warnings, as well as the unfortunate players who were casually slaughtered by the inner guard boss at the beginning of the video, were all captured in the video.

Even the lines Bai Ye speaks during battle can be heard clearly.

Speaking of which, Bai Ye's lines are definitely a source of ridicule.

Not only are there chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) moments, but also all sorts of references and tributes. It's practically another Ready Player One, full of Easter eggs.

"The lines you designed for Bai Ye are so cool, 'Are you asking for the name of Death? It's Death's party time now, dance to your death!' As expected of you, you never lose a verbal battle!"

"Why are the villain's lines so weak? They feel a bit perfunctory. Even the monster models are exactly the same. Did they just copy and paste the models?"

In fact, the interior guards all look exactly the same.

With uniform restraints and weapons, and faces hidden, it's impossible to tell who's who.

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Peak Plan

(September 918th is an important day, and to commemorate it, I've decided to add an extra chapter.)

-------------------------------------

After enduring the brutal beatings of three sidestory dungeons, players finally settled down and started playing the game properly.

Players who hadn't accepted the main quest in version 1.0 all started looking for ways to challenge dungeons. Elite players from various game guilds and strategy groups also got busy.

In fact, they didn't even enter those three dangerous dungeons in the first place. These guys' only goal was to clear the main story dungeons, achieve the first kill, and reach the top.

Meanwhile, online discussions about the dungeon continue to be heated. Given the ridiculously difficult dungeon and Bai Ye's previous video of soloing a boss in the open world, players inevitably have a question:

Just how strong is this NPC, Bai Ye?

During the public beta, Bai Ye wasn't that outrageous yet; most of the time, he had to personally engage in hand-to-hand combat with the thugs.

However, the wind wall cast by the happy wind man later surprised the players.

As the official version of the game was released, Bai Ye's strength also increased. Then, as version 1.0 progressed, his moves became increasingly cool and his aura became more and more imposing.

However, players ultimately lacked a concrete understanding. They didn't know Bai Ye's specific attributes and skills, and could only guess by comparing various videos.

Now, the Valletta Academy's aquarists can finally proudly declare that players have a clear understanding of the strength of the White Night.

The boss "Emperor's Blade" can easily kill players, but Bai Ye can fight them without being at a disadvantage, and even fight four people at the same time later!

Clearly, the number of bosses in Nightmare difficulty dungeons is simulating this situation.

In other words, to clear the Nightmare difficulty dungeon, the combined strength of all 13 players must be equal to that of White Night at that time, just to have a chance of success...

With the boss "The Emperor's Blade" as a reference, players can roughly get a sense of just how strong Bai Ye is.

"Although it's an NPC, it's still boss-level."

"As expected of an awesome big shot, just follow his coattails."

Players are always very enthusiastic about comparing strengths and weaknesses in various animal fights and electronic cricket battles. They like to compare combat power and argue about it based on various reasons. Usually, neither side can convince the other.

However, unusually, players reached a consensus on the strength of Bai Ye, confirming that he was indeed an important NPC specially set up by the system, and his strength was extremely powerful!