Genius Chapter 19: Instant Fame

Chapter 19: Instant Fame

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

As soon as the full server announcement was made, all players were stunned. Receiving the Celestial Gate’s gift was understandable, but what was with the whole server’s level regression? Was Celestial Horizon’s official development team filled with newbies? How dare they implement such a discouraging mechanism in the game!?

[What the hell is the Misty Sea Realm? We can’t even find it on the map. What’s the point?]

[Is this a joke? Isn’t the Apocalypse supposed to raise levels? But they start by reducing us by 10 levels.]

[Developer: I’ll first downgrade you by ten levels so you can level up by twenty.]

[Fun fact: Celestial Horizon’s developer is ApexMind.]

[The forum is already filled with complaints and players planning to quit. Which game dares to play like this? ApexMind really botched this one and made everyone furious.]

[No preparation given, just a sudden announcement. And who are those four players anyway? Never heard of them.]

[There’s a live stream of the Misty Sea Realm on StarNet!]

The entire Celestial Horizon game community was in an uproar. It was the first time they encountered a punishment of reducing levels across the whole server, and this punishment was related to their hard-earned progress in the Apocalypse mission that took them more than half a month to unlock.

More and more people flooded into the live stream, and the emotions of all players were fully stirred up at this moment.

[WTF… Server-wide level reduction.]

[I heard we can watch the challenge here. Someone explain the situation.]

[Currently, four players are challenging a level 38 Misty Sea Demon with an overall S-class rating. The team consists of a summoner, an array master, a physical swordsman, and a healer, without a main tank warrior.]

[Is this for real? A server-wide level reduction? ApexMind wouldn’t lie, right?]

[This is too exciting. Celestial Horizon’s developers really dare to play like this.]

Meanwhile, the Misty Sea Cave, now referred to by ApexMind as the Misty Sea Realm, was undergoing drastic changes.

The mist in the middle of the cave condensed completely, forming a mist demon resembling a sika deer that landed on the shattered stone stele. It raised its head and antlers, and dark green mist rapidly spread out from it as the center.

“Jump!” Yu Zhen’s sharp voice rang out instantly.

The four people inside the cave simultaneously executed the same action, dodging the area-wide group attack. The Misty Sea Demon’s fierce eyes locked onto them, ready to unleash its attacks. The newly arrived players got a clear view of the entire cave, watching as the Misty Sea Demon gracefully swung the mist around it like long whips, hurling them straight at the two closest players.

“Fuck! Run!” ClearWind’s heart was in his throat at the sight, “Dude! To the left!”

Su Mo nimbly leaped off the platform, diving straight into the deep pool below.

The exposed rocks in the deep pool became his foothold, and as he barely stabilized, the Misty Sea Demon’s mist whips lashed out repeatedly, forcing him to make a second jump across the dangerous surface of the deep pool.

Boom—

The impact of the long whips directly shattered the stone blocks.

ClearWind, seeing this, said, “I’m going down to help. ScarletFruit, find a safe spot for healing.”

ScarletFruit quickly summoned a healing flower. “There aren’t many footholds, be careful.”

No sooner had he spoken than the newly summoned healing flower was eroded by the deep pool water below, stacking a continuous damage-dealing debuff. He was stunned, “Don’t touch the water! It’s toxic!”

ClearWind, startled by his shout, almost lost his footing and fell into the water.

The Misty Sea Demon’s long whip switched targets, swinging straight at him. He rolled to the side just in time to avoid the attack and cursed, “This boss has a hell of a reach! It can hit me from here.”

Su Mo dodged another strike, taking a moment to assess the overall situation. The cavern map was larger than he had estimated, and the boss’s attack range was seven or eight meters longer than that of a typical dungeon boss. One whip could sweep through almost all visible areas. Moreover, this was an intelligent boss; it could pinpoint players’ weak spots and targeted whoever was at a disadvantage with precision.

This exceeded the intelligence of a typical dungeon boss, making it feel as though they were facing a creature with the intellect of a normal adult human.

“Jump!” Yu Zhen’s voice rang out again.

Su Mo leaped high, narrowly avoiding the Misty Sea Demon’s attack. He shouted to the others, “3 seconds, it strikes every 3 seconds.”

ClearWind dodged while cursing, “3 seconds… I don’t even have a place to hide in 3 seconds.”

He jumped up again, precariously balancing on a stone pillar.

ScarletFruit didn’t dare to descend, opting to heal whenever the others dodged into his vicinity. “ClearWind, your balance seems off.”

“I never passed balance in PE class,” ClearWind admitted, just before accidentally stepping into the deep pool. The corrosive water instantly ate away a third of his health, and he scrambled onto a wider platform, “…This is gonna kill me!”

The players in the live stream were watching with bated breath. These four were the hope of the entire server. Although everyone would suffer from the 10-level regression, nobody enjoyed being unexpectedly sabotaged by ApexMind. The idea of letting four players decide the server’s fate was universally frustrating. But seeing the hidden map’s difficulty in action, their curses turned to concern. Facing this challenge themselves, they likely wouldn’t fare any better.

This was ten times harder than a normal dungeon—frequent skills, near full-screen debuffs, scattered, tiny footholds barely wide enough for one person to stand on. Dodging skills alone was nearly impossible, let alone fighting the boss. It was sheer insanity! Even with 20 people, let alone 100, it would be a miracle to clear this!

[My god, how do you fight this? There’s no room to stand.]

[There are footholds, but they’re tiny. It’s like testing infinite parkour skills.]

[Someone said it strikes every 3 seconds. You can’t dodge in time, let alone cast skills…]

The top players watching from the exploration group were silent for a moment. Although ApexMind adjusted the boss’s level and difficulty based on the challengers, the primary challenge mechanisms remained unchanged. In such a high-difficulty environment, ordinary players wouldn’t last through ten exchanges.

“The healer’s position is good. It’s high enough to avoid the boss’s mist whips.”

“Timed it— the boss only targets one person. The other two still have a chance to attack.”

“Hard to say. The boss targets randomly. It requires immense concentration from the players. One mistake and they’re hit from behind.”

“This difficulty is a bit high for a 20-man challenge base. Few footholds, fast whips—one lapse in concentration and it’s over.”

Indeed, one mistake meant instant death. At their current levels, a single whip would knock them into the water, where the cumulative damage would instantly deplete their health. This setup demanded precision teamwork and command for a 20-man elite team to attack the boss methodically. Otherwise, merely dodging skills would lead to a team wipe.

CloudTraveller pondered, “No, in this situation, the four of them actually have an advantage.”

Fewer people meant more choices for footholds, making the boss’s whips more predictable.

Inside the cavern, ClearWind had no choice but to keep running around the platform, shouting as he went, “I haven’t stopped, why is this boss so fixated on me?!”

“Keep running, don’t stop. If it likes you that much, let it chase you a bit longer,” Su Mo took the opportunity to summon Soul Rabbit and White Tiger. As soon as the pets and summoned beasts hit the ground, they charged at the boss.

Yu Zhen, timing it perfectly, deployed two arrays onto the boss.

ClearWind was dumbfounded, “Aren’t you supposed to be figuring out how to save me?!”

“An excellent sacrifice creates opportunities for teammates to attack,” Su Mo encouraged, “Don’t worry, we remember that you’re great.”

ScarletFruit, understanding the importance of tanking in a team, added, “It’s fine. As an excellent swordsman, you need to get used to kiting the monster alone.”

ClearWind stumbled again, but got back up and kept running, “Thanks, but I’m not really looking for that kind of encouragement.”

[I’m clearly nervous, but why is the livestream making me laugh?]

[This scene is chaotic and a bit funny.]

[The livestreamer’s falling is ugly, but his positioning is good. At least he’s not dead.]

However, the Misty Sea Demon’s skills weren’t limited to the long whip. When the boss’s health dropped to 90%, it changed tactics again. In addition to the fixed three-second mist whip, the boss added a full-screen horizontal AOE (area-of-effect skill), with toxic waves rippling out from its center, hitting three times.

Just as Su Mo was channeling to summon other beasts to aid in the attack, the toxic waves came unexpectedly. Su Mo, perched on a stone pillar in the deep pool, leapt high and reached for a long stone outcrop. However, the stone was too slippery, and he slid down, falling towards the pool!

“Careful!” ScarletFruit called out from above.

Yu Zhen glanced slightly, witnessing the perilous moment.

At that instant, a summoning totem appeared in the air, and Zephyr Hawk materialized. As Su Mo fell, he landed on the Zephyr Hawk, executing a mid-air double jump, narrowly avoiding the toxic wave’s attack.

[Holy shit!!!]

[Summoned beasts can be used like this?!]

[Is that an extreme summon? I know summoners can move while channeling, but this timing? Less than 0.1 seconds, right?]

[Wow, this preemptive timing! Who’s playing this summoner? This move is more impressive than FireworksAndLanterns.]

Su Mo’s heart raced, but after the instinctive maneuver, he found himself in an eerily calm state. To be honest, his positioning relied entirely on the game’s speed attributes and light-footedness skills. In real life, he couldn’t match ordinary people’s physical prowess. His muscle memory was not as developed, but his mind and mental strength were superior.

The brilliance of a holographic game lies in this: movement capabilities rely entirely on linking to the human brain. As long as one’s mind is quick enough to coordinate all limbs, they can achieve the impossible. This is a level of extremity that real-life environments could never provide—in the face of imminent death, a desperate struggle for survival.

Just now, at the brink of danger, he achieved complete calmness.

“ScarletFruit, summon the tree,” Su Mo commanded.

ScarletFruit quickly summoned—flowers for healing and trees to restore players’ health and mana. The range of his summoning tree was limited, so he placed it at the maximum distance. “Guys, the summoning tree is up!”

Su Mo and Yu Zhen moved simultaneously, dodging skills while staying within the tree’s range. ScarletFruit seized the moment to replenish their mana and health, his concentration fully stretched.

“Poison wave in 15 seconds,” Su Mo reminded.

Yu Zhen added a damage-boosting array. “Keep going, its skills aren’t finished yet.”

There were now two summoned beasts on the field, along with the Soul Rabbit, significantly boosting their attack power. The Misty Sea Demon’s health dropped to 85%, but the challenge was far from over.

The poison waves and mist whips continued. ClearWindIsHere remained the Misty Sea Demon’s favorite target. Dodging skills with extreme precision, he performed triple jumps on the three-meter-wide platform, as lively as a monkey. If he weren’t shouting for help while running, he might have won the best kiting award.

A 3-second long whip and a poison wave every 15 seconds.

In a rare moment of respite, ClearWind complained, “Who knew my first hidden map run would be like this? If I had known that playing a physical Swordsman would involve kiting, I would’ve chosen to be a docile accessory, like a healer.”

ScarletFruit retorted, “Wanna switch places? You can try healing.”

ClearWind backed down, “Just heal me, please.”

The Misty Sea Demon’s health dropped to 80%.

With a shriek, four minions appeared and charged at the players. Though their health was low, their damage was incredibly high. One bit ClearWind, reducing his health by half. In a panic, he used skills to kill the minion, only to face another poison wave and long whip, dropping his health to unsafe levels.

“Fruit, help!” ClearWind changed direction, running toward ScarletFruit.

ScarletFruit struggled to fend off the minions’ damage while healing. His healing attacks were slow, requiring him to heal himself after every two hits. Now, he also had to spare some healing for the others. “After this, I never want to run this dungeon again.”

Su Mo summoned the Zephyr Hawk to assist. “You focus on healing; we’ll handle the minions.”

ScarletFruit was moved. “Bro, my daily offerings of ten portions of rations weren’t in vain. Did I finally win you over?”

Su Mo replied nonchalantly, “With conditions. Consider adding one more?”

ScarletFruit pulled back his gratitude. “Bro, ever heard of taking advantage of someone in distress?”

[This boss doesn’t have many skills, but the frequency is too high.]

[Long whip targeting, three-stage poison waves, and minions—there’s no time to attack.]

[Not just kiting; how are the summoner and array master managing this? The boss’s aggro is always on the array master, relying entirely on defensive arrays and skill dodging.]

[Did you see the damage output list? The summoner accounts for 65% of the team’s damage.]

[With that damage ratio, there’s no over-aggro. The array master doesn’t have taunt skills. How are they maintaining aggro?]

The boss evaluated in S-class basically didn’t get interrupted by skills, nor did it succumb to negative effects from skills. It means common states like dizziness and sleep didn’t work. Array masters and summoners had to fight against monsters under such conditions, which required a lot of courage.

“In the summoner’s repertoire, there’s a bear carrying a taunting skill, but it seems Momo hasn’t learned it yet,” explained FireworksAndLanterns. “This lineup is also clever; summoners are actually the least likely to attract hate. As long as they control the output of their summons well and evenly distribute hate, they won’t cause an ‘ot’ situation. ReturnToSimplicity probably considered this point, hence feeling completely confident in fighting monsters.”

CloudTraveller also said, “The main connection point of their lineup lies in the summoner. The summoner serves as the main output position. Besides attacking the boss, they also need to help clear small monsters and, when necessary, support the Swordsman in pulling aggro. With such concentration, their mental strength should be quite high.”

“More than that!” FireworksAndLanterns exclaimed, engrossed. “Having high mental strength is one thing, but have you seen Momo’s movement speed? Summoners naturally have short legs, so for him to have such high speed indicates he hasn’t invested as many attribute points into physical attack as other summoners. Physical-based summons thrive on attack speed, which means he hasn’t relaxed his control over the summons while dodging skills.”

Listening to the argumentative voices in the channel, Apple chimed in when they got a chance, “Depending on the situation, they might still have a chance to pass.”

CloudTraveller cautioned, “Don’t let your guard down. If this boss goes berserk, they’ll be in trouble.”

Boss going berserk was the most terrifying outcome in a situation of numerical disadvantage.

As time ticked away, under everyone’s attention, the boss’s health dropped to 60%. At this moment, the boss summoned more minions, twice the amount from when it was at 80%. Su Mo, noticing this, swiftly evaded skills and focused on assisting others in killing the minions.

“123 jump… 123 jump,” ClearWind continued counting, jumping and swinging his sword.

Just as the minions were about to be killed, he suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of unease. Then, the boss’s whip struck directly at him, knocking him into the water, where the poisonous depths began to corrode him.

[player ClearWindIsHere has died, updating instant challenge participant count (3/4)]

With ClearWind’s death, the entire livestream page turned monochrome, and the perspective switched to a bird’s-eye view.

“The whip, 2 seconds…” Su Mo barely finished speaking when the whip came at him. He swiftly jumped aside, shocked, “No, the timing of the skill is changing.”

The boss’s Misty Whip skill, initially every 3 seconds, changed to every 2 seconds, then reverted to every 3 seconds.

223, 332, 323… the pattern of the skill changes became irregular.

The unpredictable variations in the skills disrupted the sequence of all four challengers’ skills, directly resulting in ClearWindIsHere’s death and escalating the challenge environment from difficult to hellish.

Lying on the ground, ClearWind hadn’t yet grasped what happened. It was only after hearing Su Mo’s explanation that he realized he had been outsmarted by the boss. “Damn, is this boss too intelligent? It knows we can dodge, so it immediately changes its tactics, and with irregular changes at that. It’s impossible to rely on skill alone to get through this.”

In other words, without preemptive anticipation, the boss’s skill became even more dangerous.

[With unpredictable skill changes…]

[What do they do without skill prompts? Can they bring a healer for resurrection?]

[Didn’t you guys notice the boss’s state? After one person dies, its attack power increases by 5%.]

[If this stacking continues, with a 20-person team taking turns dying, towards the end, one skill from the boss could directly wipe the main tank. This demands high awareness and operation skills from the entire team.]

[Is the difficulty of the Apocalypse really this high? There aren’t many skills, but the level of complexity in these skills is simply top-notch.]

The players in the livestream room instantly felt a sense of despair, as if the fate of a server-wide level drop was looming before them. 

[I’ve seen many players heading to the main city, to try entering the instance. Don’t give up!]

[Alert — it seems like Apple has opened an alt account; they’re also in the main city.]

[It’s only been 20 minutes; there’s still some time before three hours. The livestreamers have tested the skills for us, so it’s up to the other experts now.]

[Wait! They haven’t given up! They’re still attacking!]

The challenge in the cave continued. After ClearWindIsHere’s death, there were only three people left in the room. 

Anxious emotions seemed to spread within the voice channel. ScarletFruit gritted his teeth and said, “I still have a resurrection skill. Let me handle the whip; I’m slow, so the whip should target me.” 

Just as he was about to jump down, a calm voice sounded in the channel. 

“Don’t move. You stay up there,” Yu Zhen said, “If the whole team dies, we all get expelled. If you stay alive alone, our team won’t get expelled. We still have two and a half hours left, and your task is to heal and recover your strength and stay alive.” 

“I agree; the situation isn’t dire enough to use the resurrection skill yet,” Su Mo said, dodging the whip again, as the Zephyr Hawk, which had died, was summoned once more. “Can you handle it over there?” 

Yu Zhen bore the brunt of the boss’s damage. “I can handle it, but if one more person dies, it’ll be difficult.” 

In other words, if their team wanted to clear the challenge, they had to ensure that the next three people made no mistakes. Su Mo summoned Solitary Wolf, and at this moment, three summoned beasts and one pet appeared in the cave. 

Soul Rabbit, with high attack and agility, repeatedly endured waves of poison attacks, unlike the summoned beasts, who weren’t as lucky as Soul Rabbit and were repeatedly summoned by Su Mo after each death. The continuous summoning depleted Su Mo’s mana, and at this moment, the Misty Whip aimed directly at him. 

“Momo!” Yu Zhen shouted. 

Su Mo stepped back and leaped onto another stone pillar with a swift lightness technique. The misty demon clearly had no intention of letting him off easily; after one whip strike, another came every two seconds, with a series of fast, fierce, and relentless attacks. The visible slowdown in the boss’s health bar showed that the main output was entangled by the boss’s skill, and their output couldn’t keep up. 

At this moment, ScarletFruit moved to the side and used a swift lightness technique to create maximum distance and cast a healing spell on Su Mo. As the boss’s misty whip swept over, he dashed away, scrambling back to the safety zone above. 

ClearWind, viewing ScarletFruit’s actions from a bird’s-eye view, couldn’t help but be amazed. “Your fleeing skills are impressive.” 

“It’s been honed over these past few days,” ScarletFruit accepted the praise candidly. “But I can’t go any further; this is my limit, bro.” 

“Enough,” Su Mo said, executing a triple jump to dodge the poison waves and the long whip, landing safely on the edge of the deep pool.

[It was tough; the array master’s health is only half remaining.]

[The summoner is struggling too. Without the Swordsman to divert the monsters, most of the whips were aimed at him. Although there was a tree to help restore health, prolonged focus would also lead to exhaustion.]

[I’m so anxious. How are the others doing?]

[Nothing has triggered yet; we haven’t figured out the mechanism of this map.]

Thirty minutes had passed, and the boss’s health was at 50%. Just as the health remained at 50%, a new wave of changes occurred in the cave. The long whip, poison waves, and small monsters were released simultaneously. The dark green poison gas spread almost instantly. Yu Zhen instantly chose to dodge the skill and activate the defensive array. However, the small monsters immediately rushed towards the summoner in a disadvantaged position.

[!!!]

[Help, I’m done for!]

Seizing the opportunity, Su Mo jumped up instantly. In that moment, he rapidly scanned the terrain of the cave in his mind, identifying landing points, vulnerable attack areas, and spots unfavorable for a second jump… Yet the attacks were swift and fierce; he barely had time for detailed consideration, instinctively leaping aside.

——And landed steadily.

Boom——

The second attack followed closely. All summoned beasts in the arena were wiped out. Soul Rabbit barely survived a round of attacks, and Su Mo leaned back to avoid the whip, skillfully retreating to another protruding rock. As the whip swept across, he smoothly executed a jump, landing on a fallen rock with one foot and continuing with three consecutive jumps.

[Damn!!!]

[Wow, what a summoner!]

[Fuck, I’m so nervous.]

In the vast cave, the narrow and cluttered footholds became the summoner’s only choice at this moment. His movements were fluid, stepping on the rocks one after another smoothly, completing multiple jumps before the attacks landed. The summoner didn’t stop; he didn’t even have time to think. His body moved ahead instinctively, dodging one attack after another within the limited space, with his health dropping to a critical 5%, enduring this round of onslaught.

[My goodness, he actually made it through!]

[I thought he was dead with every whip from the boss.]

[Amazing, what a positioning showcase by the summoner!!]

[He’s still summoning, help, I’m so excited!]

Su Mo summoned three summons again, and as they landed, they orderly rushed to clear the small monsters within the map. He had a moment to run to ScarletFruit vicinity for a heal, then plunged back into the tense combat.

Dodging, jumping, attacking.

The completely disrupted boss’s skills became unpredictable, and he almost instinctively completed round after round of attacks. At this moment, a defensive array appeared beneath his feet. Yu Zhen managed to fit him with an array shield, giving him a moment to catch his breath.

Su Mo said, “Thanks.”

Yu Zhen replied, “45% left.”

In the live stream room, players watched the black and white perspective of the battle scene, their hearts hanging high, especially with the summoner and array master’s health bars fluctuating like a rollercoaster, each drop of health making them anxious.

Thousands of players gathered in the main city near Misty Woods, one after another attempting to jump off the cliffs in the map, yet none managed to enter the Misty Cave. Apple even brought a team, but they returned empty-handed. “This hidden map shouldn’t have a random mechanism, otherwise, with so many people trying here, the probability of not a single person getting in would be low.”

CloudTraveller said, “If it’s not random, it might involve items.” He redirected his gaze back to the live stream. “Momo or ScarletFruit, one of them must have the item to enter the Misty Cave.”

“Well, that’s tricky. We don’t know where to find the item,” Apple said, looking at the global countdown. Less than a third of the time had passed, yet they couldn’t even figure out the map mechanics. “What about Kawaii’s side? Has she deciphered anything new?”

“No clues. This item should be from Newbie Village, and it’s probably recently dropped,” CloudTraveller frowned. “Now we can only rely on them.”

In the realm of the Misty Sea, Su Mo and Yu Zhen completed a series of precise collaborations. With the healer in the back, the only ones on the offensive were the two of them, engaging in a 2v2 challenge against the Misty Sea monster. An hour ago, Su Mo hadn’t imagined this scenario.

The arrival of the Misty Sea monster didn’t give them time to prepare. They quickly familiarized themselves with the monster’s skill mechanism and the map overview during the intervals of ScarletFruit’s healing and ClearWind’s delaying of monsters. To be honest, getting the boss’s health down to 45% couldn’t have happened without teamwork.

As time passed, the boss’s health dropped to 20%.

Another wave of group attacks arrived, this time with a faster skill range. Even ScarletFruit, who was originally in a safe position, lost half of his health. Su Mo and Yu Zhen were struggling with around 10% health left.

ClearWind lay on the ground, afraid to speak and distract his teammates. But seeing their precarious health, he had already foreseen failure. As the boss’s health decreased, the damage became more severe. With their current health, they might not last until 10%.

ScarletFruit said, “I might not be able to heal you guys.”

He was carrying three small monsters, and his available time was running out.

[They’re all low on health.]

[It’s so difficult.]

“No worries, the boss has no more tricks,” Su Mo dodged the skill, summoned three summons again, and during the available time, he also grabbed the Myriad Palace Insight. This time, it wasn’t luck, but a rare boost to physical attack power.

This was the greatest luck.

[Still 18% left!]

[How much time has passed?]

[58 minutes!]

[This is incredible! Four people managed to get 18% in 58 minutes!]

[The output of this summoner alone can match four physical Swordsmen. Plus, with an array master providing damage boost, they’re like an eight-person team when performing perfectly.]

Yes, when performing perfectly. In this team of four, the physical Swordsman died when they had 50% health left. The healer was just a support, with almost all the pressure falling on the two frontline tanks. At 15%, the boss erupted with an ultimate skill again. The two frontline tanks were left with only 5% health.

The Misty Sea monster roared again, and Su Mo’s gaze shifted slightly. Not good!

At 10%, just as the boss was about to unleash its ultimate skill, ScarletFruit gritted his teeth and jumped down from a high point, directly using the only group healing ultimate skill on the two tanks. He managed to raise their health to 75%, averting the crisis of a wipeout. Meanwhile, four or five small monsters chased after him. ScarletFruit led them around the central platform, using his short legs as a healer to buy time for the other two.

“Scarlet!” Su Mo was a bit surprised, watching him stubbornly running on the platform. He dodged an attack with a leap and said straightforwardly, “Can you keep up?”

ScarletFruit gritted his teeth. “Don’t worry, I’ve been practicing my escape skills these days. Even if I die, I’ll die behind you guys. I still have the resurrection skill.”

[The healer has a big heart. If he hadn’t healed just now, we would’ve been wiped out.]

[I’m amazed too. He actually saved the big healing until now.]

[If you think about it, the livestreamer who dies first in the group is actually the weakest?]

ClearWind, lying on the ground, read the barrage in the livestream room and was speechless. Thanks, I guess, but you don’t have to say I’m weak.

ScarletFruit still had the resurrection skill. Instead of using it to revive ClearWind, he saved it to help the other two tanks in case of emergencies. But the condition was that he couldn’t die. If he died, the resurrection skill would be wasted. Before using the resurrection skill, he had to hold on and buy time for the others.

After a few rounds, ScarletFruit successfully got used to the rhythm of pulling monsters, running around the central platform with a group of small monsters.

ClearWind said coldly, “Scarlet, can you stop stepping on my corpse when you run?”

ScarletFruit joked, “Don’t blame me, who asked you to die here?”

Su Mo noticed the change in the boss’s status and saw that the mist on its body had condensed significantly. He said coldly, “Scarlet, give the resurrection skill to ClearWind.”

“Are you not leaving it for yourselves?” ScarletFruit asked.

Yu Zhen also said, “Give it to the Swordsman. The boss’s health hasn’t changed much, and we need to take it down in one wave.”

ClearWind was touched. “Thanks for trusting me. I’ll try my best to pull the monsters when I’m up.”

Su Mo said, “Get up and fight the boss, why pull monsters?”

ScarletFruit said, “Yeah, don’t snatch the revival.”

Su Mo was speechless.

“Alright, boss. Wherever you point, I’ll strike,” ClearWind said.

ScarletFruit dodged the skill, and within the 0.1-second window, he gave the resurrection skill to ClearWindIsHere. ClearWindIsHere got up and, dodging a whip, successfully helped ScarletFruit kill two small monsters.

[They’re still joking around at this time!]

[I didn’t pay attention. The health is only at 8%!]

[I thought they were going to be wiped out, but these four managed to hold on!]

[Wow, we have hope now!]

With the health at 5% and the entire team still alive, the players in the livestream room became excited. More and more people joined to watch. Just at that moment, a countdown suddenly appeared above the Misty Sea monster’s head, a one-minute countdown. The dark green mist around it turned reddish, indicating a 10% increase in the boss’s skill damage.

This 10% damage increase, combined with a move landing on the main tank, directly broke through the defense array of the array master, dealing 80% damage to UnchainedWanderer!

Yu Zhen’s pupils shrank, quickly retreating to avoid the next move, and said sharply, “Countdown’s red blood!”

Countdown’s red blood, commonly known as boss frenzy, increases its attack power, becoming deadly.

In Celestial Horizon, boss frenzy is divided into two types: the first is from the start of the attack, with a set time to kill the boss, for example, if it’s set for 30 minutes and they don’t defeat the boss within that time, it enters the red blood phase. The second type is a percentage of health red blood. For example, if the boss’s health is 5%, the countdown starts; if they don’t kill it within the set time, the boss enters red blood.

The Misty Sea monster obviously combines both types. The first countdown is a three-hour countdown from System, and the second countdown starts when the boss’s health bar reaches 5%, lasting for one minute.

“We can’t finish it. Our output isn’t enough,” Su Mo encountered this kind of boss frenzy for the first time, which combines both types. In the terminal games he played before, he also encountered boss frenzies, but those were within his predictable range. After fighting for so long, their average output per minute had almost reached its limit. With no other factors at play, they couldn’t improve it.

That being said, Su Mo didn’t give up at this moment. He controlled the summons to the extreme, tightly biting onto the boss’s slowly decreasing health.

Yu Zhen said, “Try again.”

He activated two layers of damage enhancement directly, his mana dangerously low.

ClearWind exclaimed, “I won’t let it kill me!!!”

This caught everyone off guard. It was completely impossible to deplete 5% of the boss’s health within 1 minute, especially in such a difficult situation.

[My god… endured until 5% health, but couldn’t survive the berserk for 1 minute.]

[They’ve made it this far, they’re already strong, and there are only four of them!]

All eyes were fixed on the boss’s health bar, second by second passing, the constantly jumping numbers filled them with dread.

Time’s up!

Boss’s health: 2%!

The Misty Sea Demon soared high into the air, spewing out an unprecedented thick mist, a full-screen critical hit, wiping out all player health!

A wail filled the live stream room.

[Ahhh!!! Just 2% more!]

[They’ve worked so hard, only to get stuck here.]

[Dang it, are we destined for a server rollback? I want to go to the forums and rant at the developers now.]

[Even the game’s official system is faulty, giving control to ApexMind doesn’t follow any rules.]

[The boss’s health hasn’t reverted! It’s still at 2%!]

[What’s the use? Can you guys find a way in?]

Su Mo paused for a moment of thought, his perspective turning black and white. The lofty Misty Sea Demon looked down on them, as if a god overseeing its subjects.

[Ding—Crimson Venom Core detected in the mist. Do you wish to expend the key and activate the special resurrection mechanism of the Misty Sea Realm?]

Su Mo was suddenly startled, pressing the resurrect button without hesitation. His perspective cleared again, the Misty Sea Demon looking down from above. Su Mo grasped his wand and summoned Soul Rabbit to attack head-on.

The rabbit flicked its ears and unabashedly slapped the Misty Sea Demon. Its target of hatred shifted from the deceased UnchainedWanderer to Soul Rabbit. The boss’s health began to drop, various attacks coming one after another.

Su Mo leaped high to avoid an attack, wielding his wand to summon White Tiger. The misty whip lashed out, but the summoned Solitary Wolf took the blow for him. He didn’t miss the opportunity, summoning Zephyr Hawk to assist in the attack after Solitary Wolf’s demise.

“To the left,” a voice appeared in the voice channel.

Su Mo managed to dodge to the left just in time, avoiding the whip.

“Jump,” Yu Zhen calmly commanded.

Su Mo relaxed, listening to his voice to dodge the skills, focusing more on offense. “Alright.”

Initially, everyone had given up, but suddenly, a quiet conversation emerged in the voice channel, instantly attracting everyone’s attention.

[Whoa! Look! The summoner is still alive!]

[What the heck, how did he survive?]

[Oh my god, he’s actually using Soul Rabbit to tank the boss.]

[…I’m speechless, the summoner is too strong!]

“Amazing,” ScarletFruit said.

“Incredible,” ClearWind added.

The full-screen berserk had ended, but the boss’s damage enhancement was still in effect, and skills were still devastating. If the earlier part relied on the cooperation of all four players, then the last 2% of the boss’s health was solely sustained by the summoner. Not only did he have to evade all the skills, but he also had to control Soul Rabbit to hold the boss’s aggro and output damage in such a perilous environment.

“Top-left pillar,” Yu Zhen calmly directed. “Poison Wave.”

Su Mo jumped onto the pillar, evading three waves of poison, then summoned Solitary Wolf with a wave of his hand.

“Minor enemies.”

Su Mo’s Zephyr Hawk slowed them down.

Second by second, the boss’s health slowly decreased—

1%, 0.78%, 0.64%… 0.25%, 0.13%, 0.05%…

0.01%!

“You have successfully slain the Misty Sea Demon.” The Misty Sea Demon collapsed with a thunderous crash, dissipating into thick smoke.

Su Mo stood on the platform, panting heavily, his gaze fixed upward.

The voice of ApexMind resurfaced in everyone’s ears—

[momo], [ScarletFruit14], [UnchainedWanderer], [ClearWindIsHere] have completed the Misty Sea Realm challenge, successfully advancing the Apocalypse series progress, unlocking the progress to 100%. The entire server receives gifts from the Gate of Apocalypse, raining down abundant experience. Server-wide settlement in progress, all participants in the Apocalypse progress unlocking receive [Gate of Apocalypse Treasure Box]. Challengers receive special rewards from the Misty Sea Realm, obtaining [Misty Sea Realm Special Quest].

Cheers erupted in the voice channel as Su Mo silently watched the reward notifications pop up one by one, his mind blank. He opened his backpack; the [Crimson Venom Core], which had been crucial in the critical moment, was now damaged. However, upon rechecking the description, a line of explanation had been added to this previously undescribed valuable item—

[Crimson Venom Core (Damaged)]: The heart of the Misty Sea Demon. Carrying this item can unlock the special map, Misty Sea Cave, and enter the Misty Sea Realm.

The reward obtained from the Guardian Deity in the Inked Landscape challenge turned out to be the source of the final map of the Apocalypse mission. Su Mo checked his backpack for rewards. Apart from the [Misty Sea Realm Special Quest] that everyone had, there was another special reward.

It was an egg, crystal clear, with a lustrous light green hue.

At this moment, a new notification suddenly appeared—

“You have disconnected.”

A sharp alarm rang in his ears, and Lele’s anxious electronic voice seemed to come from a distant place. Su Mo’s vision went black, his hands gripping the edge of the sofa tightly.