Chapter 163: Purging of Stratholme
This little Deathwing was a rare growth-type pet. Given the simulator's track record of only producing top-tier quality, even though he didn't expect it to grow into the world-ending Black Dragon King from World of Warcraft, it was still a creature with battle potential worth looking forward to—who knows, maybe it really could become a second Black Dragon King.
For the first time, Molly's normally cool voice in his mind wavered outside of winning card games: "Is that… the Red-Eyes Black Dragon?"
Zhou Ning: …
This bratty little sister must've played so many card games she's hallucinating. Red-Eyes Black Dragon? What's next—Slifer the Sky Dragon?
But taking a closer look… it did resemble one a bit. This little black dragon even had red eyes. Zhou Ning couldn't help but laugh—no wonder she mistook it.
After chatting casually with Molly for a bit, Zhou Ning thought it over and tore off a piece of black bread to feed it. Unexpectedly, it wasn't picky—one gulp and it was gone.
[Little Deathwing's affection toward you has slightly increased. Current affection: 52]
Alright, not bad. Easy to raise. Looks like it's an omnivore too—can even eat black bread. Definitely a keeper.
Zhou Ning was rather pleased, so he tossed the whole piece of black bread to it and let it eat freely. The little black dragon didn't hold back—it buried its head and chowed down just like Bobby. Just as long as it didn't follow Bobby's example and smear poop all over the walls, it was fine.
Molly: …
"Can you please feed it something decent? From what I know, dragons eat meat."
"I'll do better next time," Zhou Ning replied with a smile. He didn't expect his onboard nagging granny to have such a soft spot.
Time to check the rewards!
[Detected: Player has perfectly cleared Empire Tempest. You now have one opportunity to retain a talent from the simulation in the real world. Proceed with selection? Yes / No]
Honestly, it was a bit risky… if he got saddled with a gray-tier talent like "Dyslexia," that'd be a disaster. This Yes/No prompt was actually a thoughtful touch. But Zhou Ning didn't believe his luck could be that bad.
Yes!
[You have received a Purple-Tier Talent: Criminal Genius]
Criminal Genius: You are a born criminal mastermind. Your plans are always meticulous and infused with a touch of madness.
Zhou Ning: …
Well, that works too. Probably won't use it, but hey, better to have more skills than not.
After tallying up his haul, Zhou Ning reopened the simulator panel. Both the New Map and Template tabs had a little red dot—clearly, something new had unlocked.
He clicked on the map tab first. Sure enough, a new map had appeared after Empire Tempest:
A bold name: Clashing Blades and Iron Steeds. Obviously a war-themed map. No mistaking it this time! Maybe his "Rampaging Tiger Zhou Ning" would finally get a chance to shine.
Even better, it was dirt cheap—only 80 traversal coins. The simulator was finally showing some mercy. That was 20 coins cheaper than Empire Tempest.
Next, he turned to the Templates tab. Finishing the last map had unlocked a new function he hadn't yet explored.
Looking at it more closely now, he noticed that every template he owned now displayed a level.
Architect Zhou Ning was a white-tier template, Phantom Thief Zhou Ning was blue-tier, Mad Clown Zhou Ning and Rampaging Tiger Zhou Ning were both purple-tier. Surprisingly, the Ordinary Office Worker Zhou Ning—which had performed so pathetically it left him traumatized—was also purple-tier, and even had a higher rating than the others. Unbelievable.
In the temporary templates, Godfather Zhou Ning and Chivalrous Hero Zhou Ning were also purple-tier. The only orange-tier template was Dark Knight Zhou Ning. At first, Zhou Ning hadn't understood why, but then he remembered the dazzling "Money Power" talent… ah, of course—money can move heaven itself!
As for the newly unlocked template fusion feature, Zhou Ning read the description. It was actually pretty straightforward:
"Players can spend 10 traversal coins to combine three cards of the same tier into one new card. There's a 70% chance the level stays the same and a 30% chance it increases by one tier."
That… felt awfully familiar…
Zhou Ning couldn't help but smirk. He'd seen this system in at least four different pay-to-win mobile games.
This simulator game had completely mastered the sleazy mobile game playbook. Impressive.
At the moment, his template collection was still limited, so the fusion feature wasn't immediately useful. But one thing was clear—it would be very handy down the line…
Judging from Dark Knight's performance, orange-tier templates were clearly rare and powerful. If you could use three purple-tier templates to make one orange, you'd hit the jackpot no matter how you sliced it.
After wrapping up his analysis of the latest rewards, Zhou Ning took out a pocket watch, popped it open with a snap, and checked the time—it wasn't even 11:00 yet. Young men were full of energy, and it was nowhere near time for a break.
He hesitated for a moment, then put away the still-digesting little Deathwing and pulled a Stratholme Purification Summoning Stone from his inventory. He chose to use it.
A small, pitch-black stone tablet appeared in his hand.
[Lv50–Lv60 Dungeon Summoning Stone — Purging of Stratholme]
[Description: Once a magnificent and sacred city—the birthplace of the Paladin Order—Stratholme now teeters on the brink of disaster. If it falls to the undead plague, it could spell catastrophe. Can you fend off the undead army and… purify the city?]
[Type: 5-Player Dimensional Instance]
[Current Completion Count: 0]
[Highest Completion Rate: 0%]
[First Clear Party: None]
The instance's level range was lower than he'd expected. In World of Warcraft, Purging of Stratholme was a level 70+ dungeon. But in this simulator's apocalyptic setting, it had been adjusted to 50–60, which matched his current level perfectly.
Not that he was curious or anything—this kind of summoning stone would eventually become available to players. He just wanted to check it out ahead of time so he could set a backstory that made sense for the world.
When he tapped on the small stone tablet, an entry prompt appeared in his field of vision. Without hesitation, Zhou Ning confirmed, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from the spot.
…
Zhou Ning's vision blurred as the scenery shifted. He found himself in a wide, open plain. Nearby, a young knight with a golden mane wielding a warhammer, a burly warrior with a massive sword strapped to his back, and a stunning young woman were crossing the grasslands.
Zhou Ning immediately realized these three must be the simulator's versions of the characters involved in the Stratholme event: the blond one was Arthas, the one who looked suspiciously like a young Liam Neeson was Varian Wrynn, and the sweet-faced, busty girl in a blue cloak had to be Jaina.
According to the summoning stone's description, this scenario was a projected reenactment of a legendary episode from another world. As for the actual events—he already had a pretty good idea.
A prompt appeared on his screen:
[You are a follower of Arthas, a knight of the Silver Hand. Your mission is to protect the key fortress of the kingdom's northwest—the sacred city of Stratholme—from an undead invasion.]
[Instance Objective: Survive this instance. Reward: 50,000 EXP]
[Optional Quest 1: Kill Gnoll Hogg and his undead forces. Reward: 60,000 EXP]
[Optional Quest 2: Eliminate 100 reanimated zombies. Reward: 70,000 EXP]
[Optional Quest 3: Protect Arthas from turning into an undead. Reward: 80,000 EXP]
[Optional Quest 4: Defeat the Clown and his undead minions. Reward: 140,000 EXP]
[Instance Achievements:
Achievement 1: Zombie Siege! Kill 100 reanimated zombies within 1 minute during the Stratholme Purification.
Achievement 2: Curtain Call! Defeat the Clown during the Stratholme Purification.]
[Instance Failure Condition: Death]
[Note: Death within the instance does not count as real death. You may only challenge this instance once per day. Defeat the final boss to earn experience and equipment. Use each chance wisely.]
Oh?
Zhou Ning raised an eyebrow. So you could get equipment in this instance?
Well then… no way he's getting any rest now.
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