A Commander’s Reflection and Refined Strategy

Despite everyone having revived, their statuses had not fully recovered, and some skills were still on cooldown. Thus, they waited patiently outside the safe zone.

Lin Shenyue apologized, her voice tinged with regret. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t account for the dungeon’s environment, which resulted in such significant losses for everyone.”

Xu Linglong immediately cut her off, a frown creasing her brow. “Yue’er,” she interjected, “even as a novice, I know a dungeon like this can’t be cleared in a single attempt. Besides, we only lost a bit of experience this time. It’s really nothing to worry about.”

Divine Wind nodded in agreement. “Yue’er, you did exceptionally well this time,” he stated. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t have lost so few people.”

Embracing the Moon, Clear Breeze remained silent, yet his expression revealed not a hint of dissatisfaction with their failure. For him, even as a gaming expert, past failures in other games were not uncommon.

Finally, Ye Jue spoke. “Yue’er, you are the commander I personally appointed. If you were to give up over such a minor setback, wouldn’t that imply my decision to appoint you was entirely mistaken? No commander is infallible. As a leader, I hope you learn from past mistakes, rather than letting a small error undermine your confidence.”

Facing the collective reassurance, Lin Shenyue took a deep breath, her mood steadied.

Since their dungeon attempt had failed, a period of reflection and summary was essential, so everyone gathered. Naturally, Ye Jue, despite knowing the reasons for their failure, wished for Lin Shenyue to identify the overlooked issues herself, and thus listened quietly.

After a moment of thoughtful silence, Lin Shenyue spoke. “First, and most importantly, I overlooked the dungeon’s fundamental nature: it’s situated atop a volcano.” The first boss, the Lava Giant, didn’t directly summon lava; otherwise, its power wouldn’t have been so dispersed. Instead, the boss used Ground Tremor to shake the earth, causing molten rock to erupt. However, perhaps to prevent the first boss from becoming unmanageable due to constant lava, the eruption was designed to recede after ten seconds.

Lin Shenyue continued her meticulous analysis. “Secondly, our team’s coordination is still unpolished. While everyone possesses excellent individual awareness, a cohesive team spirit is lacking. When retreating, we didn’t consider each other’s positions, which led to a general disconnect within our formation.” Ye Jue nodded subtly upon hearing this. The issues Lin Shenyue described were common to all new teams, typically overcome through a gradual period of adjustment. However, it was clear they didn’t have the luxury of time for such a slow process.

Lin Shenyue pondered for a while longer before concluding, “While we could overcome these issues through prolonged practice, I believe I have a more effective method. Firstly, the core of any team comprises the tank and healer; all team actions revolve around them.” Hearing this, Ye Jue was somewhat surprised. Although this knowledge was foundational, such team-oriented insights didn’t become widely disseminated until a month after the game’s launch. For Lin Shenyue to observe this from a single dungeon run, even with their previous co-op experiences, truly spoke to her innate suitability as a commander.

“Therefore, in our subsequent actions, everyone must ensure they remain within a 10-meter radius of me, even if a sudden situation arises. From this starting point, melee combatants, particularly Xu Linglong, need to maintain optimal distance from Peerless Karma Fire, ideally around 2-3 meters. For ranged players, 7-8 meters is best.” Lin Shenyue had carefully considered these distances. They were designed to allow Ye Jue to manage the others effectively while still enabling everyone to deal damage. Although a charge skill has a range of 10 meters, warriors generally avoid charging such a long distance. Firstly, charging requires time, and the further the charge, the longer it naturally takes. Secondly, a 10-meter charge results in a momentary stun, an effect that can be devastating for skilled players.

Ye Jue couldn’t help but nod in approval at Lin Shenyue’s strategic layout. This formation was already approaching the sophistication of mid-to-late game team compositions. However, with the emergence of various other classes later on, each member’s role would differ, leading to some variations from Lin Shenyue’s current plan. For now, though, this arrangement was flawless.

Lin Shenyue, having finished her explanation, watched Ye Jue intently. She exhaled in relief once she received his affirmation.

Following this summary, the group resumed their challenge. This time, their formation showed a marked improvement. Compared to their previous loose connections, a clear sense of coordinated teamwork was now palpable. Lin Shenyue and Ye Jue, though seemingly unconnected, served as the implicit core, with the three players positioned between them acting as a bridge.

When the boss’s health dropped to 80%, it finally unleashed the skill that had caused their previous defeat. However, this time, everyone was perfectly positioned. Divine Wind and Embracing the Moon, Clear Breeze stood together on a small mound, while Xu Linglong and Ye Jue were paired. Crucially, Lin Shenyue could heal all four of them. This time, the boss’s attack was easily overcome. After the lava receded, they swiftly reformed their ranks and continued engaging the boss.

However, given that the boss was a formidable foe with high health and defense, depleting that 20% of its HP took them a full ten minutes. After all, this was the first boss of a difficult dungeon, comparable in challenge to a normal dungeon’s third boss, but significantly more durable.