1:30 a.m.
It had been nearly eight straight hours since Dawei began grinding in earnest. He was bleary-eyed, his fingers slightly numb, but his arrow never stopped flying.
Above all, he was close.
The leaderboard showed that Shanwei Liuli was still climbing—but slowly. Stuck on Floor 27 of the second region. That was Level 57 in total, facing mobs at Level 42.
Dawei knew what that meant. Starting from Floor 15 of the second area, the mobs only gained +1 level per floor. Floor 27 meant 42-level mobs and a boss gatekeeper. The difficulty spike wasn't small—especially for someone running an equipment-based strategy like Iris.
"She's good," Dawei murmured. "Definitely a top-tier player. But the attribute point build is finally shining."
For him, Floor 42 was a breeze.
Thanks to hours of building passive power and non-stop skill refinement, Dawei faced the mobs like a tank with twin miniguns.
And he refused to log out.
At Alice Studio…
Chen Ke'er was quietly fuming.
Even with her early game advantage—rushing floors with optimal gear—she was now struggling hard. Floor 42's mobs were more like mid-bosses than regular enemies. Her rapid-clear momentum had turned into a grueling crawl.
The worst part?
That "low-key garbage player" was about to catch up.
"If he gets ahead of me… I'll never live it down."
She could feel it in her muscles. The fatigue, the anger, the frustration. Every swing of her weapon now felt forced, desperate. The gap was closing, and there was nothing she could do.
Sophie, appearing in silk pajamas, crossed her arms. She wasn't here to scold—she was here to protect the studio's investment.
"You're exhausted, Ke'er. Let Xiaoxin take over. That's an order."
Chen Ke'er wanted to protest, but she knew the truth—if she made a mistake now and died, the loss could be massive. This account was more than just numbers—it was a ticket to Dragon Clan endgame access.
She sighed and stood, forcing a smile. "Yeah… I'll rest. Just don't let him pass me."
Xiaoxin gave her a cheerful thumbs-up. "Don't worry. I've got this. That low-key guy's been lucky so far, but luck runs out."
Meanwhile…
Dawei crushed a mob with a perfectly-timed double shot. A brilliant blue glow burst over his character.
[System Prompt: You have received Storm Shooting Skill Info.][System Prompt: You have received Storm Shooting Skill Info.][System Prompt: Player is absolutely lucky!][System Prompt: Congratulations! You have comprehended the S-Level Skill — Storm Shooting!]
Dawei blinked.
Then sat bolt upright.
"S… rank?"
He opened the tooltip like a gambler flipping a winning hand.
[Storm Shooting – S-Rank Skill]:Attack Speed +40%Attack +30Hit Rate +70%Duration: 3 secondsCooldown: 6 minutesSpecial: Each hit deals two additional hits of 70% base damage.Current Level: Master. Can be promoted.
He stared in silence.
Then let out a laugh—loud, hoarse, triumphant.
"Finally! This is it. This is the bridge to god-tier!"
The numbers were no longer flat. They were percent-based, scaling exponentially. And the two extra hits per attack?
"If I hit for 100… I'm dealing 240 per shot. That's before crits. Before passives. Before aura bonuses."
This was no longer a simple skill. It was a weaponized war engine.
And it was designed for lone wolves like him.
No team buffs, no group synergy. Just raw, personal power. The kind of ability that let you erase bosses before they had time to roar.
He checked his stats again.
Level: 7 (Base attack +21)
Equipment: +10
Attribute Points Invested: +23
Total Raw Attack: 146
Effective Output w/ Blast Shot + Artifact Bonus: 480
Attack Rate: 2 hits/sec x 3 seconds = ~3,000 damage window
"Three seconds of hell. If it bleeds, it dies."
He grinned wide.
"And this time? It wasn't even from the goddess' favor. This one was all me."
He paused.
Then sighed with one tiny regret.
"Too bad it needs a ranged weapon. If I could combo this with my dagger's +30% artifact boost... the screen would just turn red."