Soon, the two arrived at the entrance of the first area’s boss dungeon, a cavern nestled into the mountainside.
The dark cavern exhaled a chilling wind, sending shivers down one’s spine, yet the bustling crowd rendered the potentially terrifying scene utterly devoid of fright, for many players eager to challenge the boss had already gathered there.
This was, of course, to be expected, as one could not advance to the next area for further adventure without clearing the boss dungeon.
Even though this game offered virtually no main quests, main story boss dungeons still existed; after all, no one would linger indefinitely in the Starting City.
Yan released Alice’s arm, slowing his pace as he scrutinized with keen interest the teams preparing to conquer the boss.
“Hey~ little brother over there!”
A resonant voice called out to Yan, who paused, glancing left and right to confirm no one else stood behind him, then pointed to himself with a questioning look.
“Yes, you, the long spearman.”
No sooner had the words left his lips than a player wielding a sword and shield, a friendly smile gracing his features, approached Yan.
“You’re here for the boss too, right? Care to join our team?”
Yan’s gaze swept past the man’s imposing frame, landing on the two players standing behind him.
‘These must be his teammates,’ Yan thought, his eyes returning to the Sword-Shield Player before him, then back to the two behind him, and immediately, he understood.
“You feel your team’s damage output isn’t quite enough for the boss, don’t you?”
Yan chuckled good-naturedly at him.
“Ahaha, to be frank, I’m the tank in our team, and the other two are a mage and a priest.
Our damage is still a bit lacking for the boss.”
The honest Sword-Shield Player scratched his head, a sheepish grin spreading across his face.
“But with you, there’ll be no problem at all.
The long spearman’s physical damage is reliably strong, and you seem quite powerful, little brother.”
“Eh? How can you tell?”
Yan panicked, hastily checking if there was anything too flashy on him that might draw unwanted attention.
“Hahaha, I just guessed.
You look like you’re really familiar with full-dive VR games.
Just now, you judged our team’s insufficient damage output simply by looking at our equipment, which is why I said that.”
“Oh, I see…”
Yan felt a wave of relief.
Then, he offered the Sword-Shield Player a friendly smile and a polite response to his request.
“I apologize, but I can’t join your team.”
“Eh!? Why? Is it because of the boss’s abnormal status effects, you’re afraid I won’t dodge them?
Don’t worry, I’m an abnormal status resistance tank; tanking this boss won’t be a problem at all.
You can just focus on dealing damage, little brother.”
The Sword-Shield Player spoke hurriedly, seemingly thinking Yan was looking down on his ability to tank the boss properly.
“No, no, it’s not that I’m looking down on you.
It’s my own situation,” Yan said, seeing his earnestness, and quickly fabricated an excuse.
“I’ve already made plans to team up with someone else for this dungeon, so I’m afraid I can’t join you.”
“Is that so…”
A hint of disappointment clouded the Sword-Shield Player’s expression; it seemed this wasn’t his first time meeting with rejection.
After all, in the early boss stages of this game, the presence of tanks and priests was significantly diminished.
This was because a casual four-person team composed of a few physical damage dealers could easily clear such boss dungeons, while tanks and priests, due to their low damage, found both leveling up and progressing through stages to be difficult.
“Speaking of which, abnormal status resistance tanks are quite rare.
Keep up the good work, I support you.”
Yan said with a smile to the Sword-Shield Player.
“Mm, thank you.” The Sword-Shield Player’s expression softened slightly, and he offered Yan a faint smile.
“It’s just that the boss’s attack patterns have been adding more and more abnormal status skills lately, and it seems player-versus-player combat is gradually gaining popularity.
Perhaps the previously more widespread HP-focused tanks and physical resistance tanks will gradually lose their appeal.”
“Mm-hmm, quite farsighted, aren’t you?
It seems this isn’t your first VRMMORPG game, is it?” Yan regarded the Sword-Shield Player with admiration, affirming his conjecture.
“Indeed, in the future, abnormal status resistance tanks will become the strongest tanks.
After all, player-versus-player activities will gradually increase, and contending with players, who are unpredictable and often wield control skills, proves far more challenging than facing a monotonous boss with a fixed attack pattern.
And that’s when the era of the abnormal status resistance tank will truly begin.”
“That may be true…” The Sword-Shield Player let out a wry chuckle.
“But it’s so difficult for tank players to level up in the early stages, and my friends chose mage and priest.”
“Your team certainly will have a tough time in the early stages.”
Yan pondered for a moment, his eyes idly wandering among the scattered groups of players nearby.
“How about you try inviting that player?
I think that player would be a better fit for your team than I would.”
Yan raised his hand, pointing in a direction.
The Sword-Shield Player followed his finger and saw a lone archer standing among the groups of players, looking like a lotus emerging from water.
“Alright, I’ll give it a try.”
With that, the Sword-Shield Player walked towards the female archer player.
Yan thought there was no reason for that player to refuse to join their team; after all, for a main damage dealer like an archer, a team with a tank, a priest, and a mage was the best choice.
As expected, though the distance was a bit far, preventing him from hearing what they were saying, Yan could see the archer ponder for a moment before nodding.
The earnest Sword-Shield Player’s face was alight with a brilliant smile.
The Sword-Shield Player smiled and waved at Yan, seemingly thanking him.
The archer, too, seemed to have heard something from her new teammates and gave Yan a polite nod.
Yan smiled and waved back in response.
He turned and continued towards the cavern entrance.
Just as he prepared to step into the boss dungeon alone, seizing a moment when no one was paying attention, a team of players suddenly teleported out of the boss room, appearing beside Yan.
“How did you heal that person!?”
A furious bellow detonated beside Yan’s ear, causing him to frown involuntarily.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
The petite female player, clad in a pristine white priestess robe, frantically apologized to the enraged Greatsword wielder.
Her short pink hair swayed with each frantic bow of apology, and anxiety painted her delicate, pale face crimson.
“We were kind enough to bring you along to farm the boss, and this is how you repay us!?” The Greatsword wielder roared furiously at the girl.
“If you can’t heal properly, then don’t heal haphazardly!
Do you realize your chaotic healing caused the boss’s aggro to reset, leading to our total wipeout?!”
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
Seemingly intimidated by the man’s loud shouting, tears welled in the girl’s eyes, and she could utter nothing but apologies.
“You!”
“I say, little brother, isn’t that enough?”
Yan couldn’t bear to watch any longer.
He interrupted the Greatsword wielder, who was about to shout again, and pulled the girl behind him.
“So what if you got wiped by the boss once? It’s no big deal.
There’s no death penalty, after all.
Wouldn’t it be better if everyone played together amicably? Why such a temper?”
Yan tried his best to force a smile, narrowing his eyes as he spoke to the Greatsword wielder.
As the saying goes, one doesn’t strike a smiling face.
The Greatsword wielder snorted in indignation, seemingly calming his agitated emotions somewhat.
“Fine, if that’s how it is, then we’ll leave her.
If you want to take her to fight the boss, go ahead.”
With that, the group stomped away from the cave entrance, seething.
“Um… thank you.”
The girl timidly tugged at Yan’s sleeve, thanking him in a voice so faint it was barely audible.
“It was nothing, truly.”
Yan turned around, smiling as he looked at the girl.
“It looks like your previous teammates looked down on you.”
“It’s not their fault.
It… it’s because I’m too clumsy…”
The girl hung her head in self-reproach, tears threatening to spill from her eyes once more.
“Doesn’t everyone grow from a novice, step by step?” Yan instinctively ruffled the girl’s hair.
“So, don’t blame yourself too much.
You’re just not familiar with this game yet.
Once you gradually get used to it and grow, you’ll find this game is still quite wonderful.
So, please keep at it, alright?”
“…”
The girl kept her head down, seemingly too preoccupied to respond to his question.
His query went unanswered, and he regarded the girl before him with confusion, his hand movements never ceasing, until he saw her cheeks flush crimson.
Only then did he belatedly withdraw his right hand, which had been gently stroking her head.
‘Isn’t it completely inappropriate for me to pat a girl I just met on the head!? That’s suspicious, isn’t it!?’
“Ah, this… that…”
Yan frantically scrambled for an explanation for his impolite gesture.
“Um… actually, you remind me a lot of a very good friend of mine, and I just did it subconsciously.
I apologize.”
He hadn’t the nerve to say she reminded him of his childhood friend.
“N-no… it’s fine.”
The girl whispered, seemingly forgiving him, but the blush on her cheeks, however, lingered.
The two fell silent once more.
“R-right, how about I take you to fight the boss?
I’m pretty strong, and it can be my way of making amends for my earlier rudeness.”
Yan said, breaking the awkward silence that was rapidly solidifying between them.
“Eh? Really? I… I’m really clumsy.”
A flicker of surprise crossed the girl’s face, vanishing almost instantly, before she spoke with self-reproach.
“Don’t worry.”
Yan gave her a brilliant smile, and for some reason, her heart inexplicably settled.
“I’m very strong; we’ll definitely clear it.
Just relax.”
With that, Yan sent the girl a team invitation.
Her previous team had apparently already kicked her out.
“‘Tian Jiu’, huh? That’s a lovely name, truly beautiful.”
Yan praised her sincerely.
“No, no… Yan’s name is very nice too…”
Tian Jiu blushed furiously at his straightforward compliment, hastily waving her hands.
“Alright, stop exchanging empty compliments here.
Let’s go fight the boss quickly.”
Alice suddenly popped out between them, making the suggestion.
“Oh, okay!”
Yan nodded, leading the two into the cavern.
Meanwhile, the boss inside the cavern had yet to realize the monster ten times more terrifying than itself it was about to face.