58 - I’m Surrounded by My Own Pets!

"Alright, let's give it a try..." The star sand lay dormant, and Lian Xing opened the challenge panel once more. Commander-level Nest—Star Plain, highest clearance record: 7 hours, 24 minutes, and 57 seconds. This time, she set her sights on the most popular dungeon in virtual combat. The popularity stemmed from the Star Plain dungeon having an incredibly detailed walkthrough available. Even for players with less skill, the strategy could be copied to clear the dungeon and rapidly level up their beasts. The comprehensive guide was pinned in the comments section. [Star Plain Dungeon, maximum team size of four; allowed battle beasts: four each. It's recommended that each player use one main combat beast.] [Note: All beasts in this dungeon are elemental types. If a beast master has no strategy for dealing with elementals, it's advisable to click the top right corner to exit and not waste time.] [The Star Plain dungeon is divided into three stages: the Star Plain, the Star Altar, and the Star Graveyard.] [The first stage, the Star Plain, is the most complex and tedious, with a straight path that takes less than 30 minutes. However, numerous high-level elementals roam the plain. They must be drawn in and defeated individually. Loud battles attract dozens of elementals quickly, leading to potential team wipes.] [Even if your commander-level beast is strong, facing endless elemental artillery fire can reduce you, the beast master, to mere ashes.] [Around 400-600 high-level elementals need clearing in the first stage. Rushing won't work as attracted elementals will follow to the next map, leading to a dead end.] [Spending approximately five hours moves you to the second stage, Star Altar. Here, face ten high-level and one commander-level elemental, "Star Priestess." Once she is near defeat, she will flee and summon 30 more high-level elementals. You must defeat at least half within five seconds, or face total annihilation in a tight space.] [The final stage, Star Graveyard, features three elemental commander bosses simultaneously. The tricky "Star Priestess" reappears, summoning 30 high-level elementals. Someone must drag these away, buying time for others to defeat the Priestess.] [The other two bosses are manageable. "Lunar Diva's" full elemental form dissipates briefly every minute—take your time. "Star Guardian" randomly attacks players on the map. Communicate warnings, or unexpected deaths will occur.] [Got it, comrades? Start your challenge!!!] Lian Xing skimmed the strategy guide, confirming that the Star Plain map and beast evolution contest strategy were identical. The challenge lay with all the elementals, not the three commander bosses themselves. Elemental attacks could penetrate and cover a wide area, easily taking down fragile beast masters. Regardless of how strong the commander's beast is, it wouldn't help much. Annoyingly, the second stage required high efficiency and speed in a narrow space, barring defensive beasts. This left beast masters vulnerable, like walking naked in freezing snow, prone to quick death. "Alright, let's test our current strength with the Star Plain..." "Begin the challenge—" With the press of the challenge button, Lian Xing's body transformed into a beam of light and vanished. --- --- [Star Plain] [Background: A fervent elemental specialist beast master released all her beasts before her death. These abandoned beasts returned to the site where they first met their master and bred numerous elementals, hoping that one day an elemental king would be born among them!!] [These elementals rampage across the Star Plain, killing wild beasts of every other type, severely upsetting the ecological balance. Drive them out as soon as possible, no time limit.] Under a starlit night sky, the figure of a blonde bun-haired girl slowly formed. Before her lay an endless plain; from her vantage point, countless elemental light dots clustered hundreds of meters away, uncountable in number. Abruptly, a curious voice came from her side. "Hey, little sister, are you a student at Youlan Academy?" Lian Xing turned her head leisurely, meeting the astonished gaze of a chestnut-haired older woman, her eyes fixed on the uniform. Oh? Did she just get auto-matched with a wild teammate...? She nodded mildly, and the woman across from her became visibly excited. "Sister, I'm also a graduate of Youlan Academy!!!" "You...?" Facing a woman well into her twenties, Lian Xing blinked uncertainly. The chestnut-haired woman, noticing Lian Xing’s reaction, sheepishly stuck out her tongue. "Hehe, that was seven or eight years ago. Back then, I was a vibrant young girl too, but at the time, I couldn't even secure a team spot, only to watch helplessly as the main team got eliminated in the first round of open qualifiers~~~" "After graduation, it took me seven or eight years to raise my first commander-level beast. I can't imagine how students with commander-level beasts are even born now~~~" "Speaking of which, sister, which seat are you? Since you’re training with the Star Plain map, you must be a main team member, right? Why didn't I see you in last year's competition broadcast?" "..." "..." "Well, I'm a freshman this year, currently in the 11th seat~~~," Lian Xing replied bashfully, exuding the demeanor of a well-behaved girl. Hearing this, the chestnut-haired woman was stunned, glancing at the semi-transparent white stockings hugging the flesh of the fifteen-year-old Lian Xing. Is it okay to dress this boldly at such a young age? But boldness at 15 is just right, after all, what’s the use of waiting until you’re 150 to be turned to ashes? And now that I’m in my twenties, I can't seem to ignite anymore, just watching others burn brightly while I have no market left!!! "11th seat, impressive, way better than I was back then~~~" "You should squeeze into the second team spot, right? I'll be watching the Youlan Academy league match broadcast, looking forward to your performance~~~" The chestnut-haired woman praised while summoning her beast. Behind her, a black bodily form constructed of swirling dark crystal blades materialized. Commander-level Elemental—Ten Hooks Nightmare!!! Without a fixed party for pulling, it’s challenging to clear the first Star Plain stage. Thus, she didn’t boast about taking Lian Xing through. Most folks played the dungeon by quick exp runs, gaining as much as they could before the crowd gathered, not bothering with clearing. "Sister, I'll head out first~~~" With that, the chestnut-haired woman boldly ventured with the Ten Hooks Nightmare into the elemental-laden plain. Upon her entering, the swirling dark blades exploded like a black storm, skewering a few nearby high-level elementals instantly. Indeed, the commander-level elemental's power was horror-inducing; compared to high-level elementals, it was sheer superiority! Seeing her attack's prowess, the chestnut-haired woman wore a grin of satisfaction. This rare chance to showcase in front of a junior, show her the world of a commander-level, she wouldn't let it pass easily. However, as the black storm's noise amplified, so did the swarm of surrounding elementals. “BOOM!” Unexpectedly, a lightning strike sliced past the Ten Hooks Nightmare, striking the woman severely. With the thunder's flicker gone, the mummified remains of the chestnut-haired woman fell flat. [Player "Forever 16" has fallen.] Switching to spectator mode post-death, her face darkened. Her record was 47 killed typically; today's haste to show off left only 30, a bit humiliating…… Despite some embarrassment, she lingered, observing the actions of the blonde bun-haired junior. And now that the bossy chatterbox was downed, Lian Xing exhaled deeply at last. It was time to test the Scarlet Palace Lord's range and power... “BOOM!!!!” In an instant, Lian Xing summoned the Crescent Bore Hammer alongside the Scarlet Palace Lord. The deep crimson sun rings flanking the Crescent Bore Hammer's ears plummeted heavily into the depths of the pit. The outer star ring was so vast that it threatened to slice right through the user, if not for its friendly fire protection, making it impossible for the Crescent Bore Hammer to be thrown otherwise. "Wait, could it be...?" Seeing the giant-eared jade rabbit appear, the player with the ID "Forever 16" was left in stunned disbelief. Wasn't this the same trending creature from today, the one with the super golden halo and the Crescent Bore Hammer!? But... The sun weapons they wield were entirely different... Could this not be the same one? Half convinced, she checked her teammate's ID, revealing it indeed wasn't the super golden halo but the strongest moonlight rabbit. "I see, so it’s someone jumping on the trend?" "But how did this little sister learn the evolution conditions for the Crescent Bore Hammer? Blind luck?" "Forever 16" muttered to herself, puzzled. After evolving, the new sun weapon Scarlet Palace Lord hadn’t been integrated into Lian Xing’s battle projections as it was classified as an entirely new beast and couldn't simply overlay the golden halo’s template. For Lian Xing to update her battle projection from golden halo to Scarlet Palace Lord, she would have to personally challenge her previous version. "Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh—!!!!" In disbelief, the chestnut-haired woman watched as the Crescent Bore Hammer began madly swinging its ears, spinning its two red spiral sun rings, letting the expanded star ring halos pierce through its body repeatedly, creating an overwhelming, reverberating noise. As the cacophonic sounds erupted, four to five dozen elementals nearby were instantly drawn in, speeding towards the player spawn point on the hill of the plains. Could it be that she intended to take on over 40 high-level elementals at once? Observing the Crescent Bore Hammer’s reckless noise generation, "Forever 16" couldn’t fathom what this rookie was attempting. Yet, the owner, the blonde-bunned girl with starry eyes and white stockings, Lian Xing, only maintained a calm and serene smile, extending her arms toward the Crescent Bore Hammer in a gesture of embrace. In her mind, she even felt that the elementals converging at once weren’t enough...