Chapter 465: Difficulty Upgrade, Choosing to Return

Chapter 465: Chapter 465: Difficulty Upgrade, Choosing to Return

Seraphina Sullivan felt utterly helpless.

After listening to Chet Lucius’s explanation, she understood just what kind of people these so-called Dungeon Destroyers were.

She thought back on her own experiences in every dungeon.

She had always been cautious, treading on thin ice, terrified of exposing her identity as a Player.

In the Monster Apocalypse dungeon,

she had desperately maintained the persona of an "ordinary survivor" in front of Sharon Lynn and Dr. Ford.

She was afraid of revealing the slightest abnormality.

And now, in just a few minutes, these "Dungeon Destroyers" had torn that delicate balance to shreds.

She could even foresee what would happen next.

An increase in the dungeon’s difficulty meant the dangers of this world would become even more terrifying.

"They just left and expect us to take the fall?"

Flora Sullivan had figured it out too, her small face flushing with anger.

"Some ’Destroyers’ they are! So despicable!"

Seraphina didn’t respond.

She looked at the soldiers in the distance cleaning up bloodstains and carrying the wounded.

She looked at the pools of blood on the ground that hadn’t been wiped clean yet.

She looked at the ordinary survivors huddled in corners, trembling.

Seraphina suddenly spoke, her voice as calm as if she were discussing the weather.

"Chet Lucius, if the system directly increases the dungeon’s difficulty because of what those people did, will you still stick around?"

Chet Lucius leaned against a nearby wall, arms crossed. Hearing her, he raised an eyebrow. "Depends on the situation."

Seraphina turned to look at him, her gaze probing.

"I’ve run into situations like this a few times before."

Chet Lucius’s tone was flat, as if he were telling someone else’s story.

"Some Players with rocks for brains, thinking they’re hot stuff because they have a few Abilities, show off in front of the Native People and end up triggering a hidden penalty mechanism.

But the system can be interesting sometimes.

When it increases the difficulty, it also releases a batch of high-reward compensation quests.

If the reward is tempting enough, it’s not out of the question to stick around and take a gamble."

The moment he finished speaking,

[BING—]

A cold system notification sound.

It exploded without warning in the minds of all Players who had not yet left the "Monster Apocalypse" dungeon!

[Severe rule violations detected within the dungeon (malicious exposure of supernatural Power by Players, slaughter of key NPCs, destabilization of world order). Activating dynamic difficulty adjustment mechanism!]

[Monster Apocalypse dungeon difficulty increased! New disaster event added: Blight Beast Frenzy!

In three days, Shelter No. 3 will be besieged by a large-scale Blight Beast horde!

The intensity and duration of the siege will be determined by the number of remaining Players in the dungeon and their behavioral records!]

[To compensate for the difficulty increase, the system is issuing a limited-time compensation quest—]

[Quest Name: The Last Bastion]

[Quest Details: Assist the military of Shelter No. 3 to survive the upcoming Blight Beast Frenzy. Ensure the main structure of the Shelter is not breached.]

[Quest Reward: Follower Slots ×10. Upon completion, you may select up to 10 Native People from the current dungeon, sign a ’Follower Contract’ with them, and bring them out of this world to permanently join your faction!]

[Time Limit: Until the Blight Beast Frenzy ends or the Shelter falls.]

[Accept?]

Seraphina was stunned.

"Follower slots? Take... ten people?"

She repeated the words subconsciously, her voice laced with disbelief.

Chet Lucius also dropped his nonchalant expression, his brow furrowing slightly. "This reward... is interesting. But it’s also pretty useless."

He looked at Seraphina and analyzed, "In the past, large-scale dungeon quests like this would reward either Skill Books, rare equipment, or attribute points.

A reward that’s just people... this is the first I’ve seen of it.

And they’re giving out ten slots right off the bat."

"But the problem is,"

he paused, a hint of mockery in his voice,

"what would you do with them? Our own world is also a post-apocalyptic wasteland. One more person is just another mouth to feed.

You have to worry about their food, drink, and lodging.

These people might have some skills, but they’d be a burden, dragging their families along."

"You’re not actually thinking of building your own personal faction and kingdom, are you?"

Though he spoke idly, his words struck a chord.

In Seraphina’s mind, information about an item she had buried deep in her memory suddenly surfaced.

[Item: Emperor’s Crown]

[Effect: Kingdom of Dreams. Upon use, you can open an independent Dimensional Space and establish your own Kingdom of Dreams.

You will become the ruler of this kingdom, with the authority to set its basic laws, allocate territory, appoint officials, and more.]

[Requirements:]

1. Have at least 1,000 Players as your direct subordinates.

2. Reach Level 5 or higher.

3. Have at least 100,000 ordinary people.

Establishing a kingdom...

It wasn’t that she had never thought about it.

But the conditions, especially the first one—"one thousand Player subordinates"—had made her lock that ambition away.

Level 5 was something she could slowly grind for, and 100,000 people could be gathered over time, but one thousand Players...

Those were "peers" just like her—individuals with their own minds, who could turn on her at any moment!

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to; it was that she couldn’t do it right now.

Seraphina shook her head, pushing the stirring thought back down.

"Forget it," she said softly. "It’s too difficult. Thinking too much about it is just asking for trouble."

Chet Lucius didn’t press the issue.

He stood up straight, brushing off non-existent dust from his clothes. "I’m not going to accept this quest.

Who knows what the scale of the Blight Beast tide in three days will be. Besides..."

He glanced at the soldiers in the distance reinforcing their fortifications.

"We helped Dr. Ford develop the Barrier Breaker Potion. That’s already given this dungeon a fighting chance against the monsters.

What happens next is up to them."

He turned his head and looked at Seraphina seriously. "Let’s add each other as friends.

It was a pleasure working with you this time.

I hope we get the chance to be in the same dungeon again."

Seraphina nodded. With a flicker of intent, she sent a friend request.

System prompt: [Player ’Chet Lucius’ has accepted your friend request.]

The next second, Chet Lucius’s figure dissolved into a soft white light and vanished into thin air.

Clean and decisive, without a moment’s hesitation.

Seraphina stood where she was, silent for a moment.

In the distance, Dr. Ford and Beau Soto were in a heated discussion inside the temporary command post, the formula for the Barrier Breaker Potion and a list of limited raw materials spread out before them.

Sharon Lynn had been settled in the inner residential area. Apparently, her parents had been found in the registration system, and they would be reunited after the Blight Beast tide.

’Save the world?’

’I don’t have that kind of ability.’

’The halo of a saint is too heavy a burden for me to bear.’

"Flora," she called softly.

"Right here, Boss!" Flora immediately bounced over, her eyes sparkling. "Are we leaving?"

"Yeah." Seraphina took one last look at the world where she had spent over a month, at the ordinary people desperately reinforcing their defenses to survive, at the gray, hazy skyline from which monsters could emerge at any moment.

Then, she retracted her gaze.

"Let’s go."

She mentally communicated with the system—

[BING! Player Seraphina Sullivan, confirming departure!]