While Tony was locked in a life-and-death struggle inside the dungeon, outsmarting and outlasting the relentless boss, the outside world was in chaos.
The Global Awakening Event had detonated like a bomb across every corner of Great Xian and beyond, turning reality into what felt like a massive, freshly launched MMORPG. Millions of newly awakened players rushed to dive into dungeons, yet most of them had no real understanding of what they were walking into.
Many were like the yellow-haired kid from Tony's earlier party or the clueless college students—they jumped in thinking it was some kind of thrilling VR experience. The result? Instant annihilation.
Zero-tier dungeons offered no mercy. Some unlucky souls spawned directly in front of the boss, others got mobbed by waves of vicious monsters and hostile NPCs seconds after entry.
The longest anyone lasted? Less than a minute.
The world was drowning in wails of despair. If dungeon difficulty could be rated, the forums would have already dragged it down to an all-time, record-breaking low.
"Spawn my ass! What kind of inhuman difficulty is this?!" The bespectacled young man who had been decapitated earlier finally lost his cool after being ejected from the dungeon. The once-proud and composed "elite intellectual" façade shattered as he cursed violently.
He was convinced his strategy hadn't been flawed—it was simply that the boss had been absurdly overpowered.
Going online for answers, he found the internet ablaze with the same frustration. Misery loved company, and seeing the rest of the world getting stomped as badly as he had made him feel slightly better.
Then a new notification popped up on his phone. [Official Forum for Awakened Players is now live.]
Heart racing, he immediately clicked the link and logged in. The forum was global, connecting awakened individuals from every nation. For now, it mostly served as a hub for sharing experiences, but future features promised trade markets, mission boards, and more.
He entered the discussion section and went straight to the hottest topic: the Blood Battle at Lin Fortress. The top thread, pinned in bold red letters, screamed at everyone:
"DO NOT ENTER THE DUNGEON!
DO NOT ENTER THE DUNGEON!
DO NOT ENTER THE DUNGEON!"
The content was short but sobering: "Given the extreme difficulty, we advise all players to hold back. Wait for proper strategies before wasting your precious revival attempts."
The warning wasn't foolproof—plenty still ignored it—but at least it helped curb the carnage.
Scrolling down, another thread caught his eye:
"God, the kind of teammates I get… I'm losing faith in humanity."
Curious, he tapped it. Hundreds of comments were vented about incompetent party members. Thinking back to his squad, he could only sigh. Same pain, same suffering.
The matchmaking system felt like pure chaos, a hell-mode lottery that threw together the most random and ill-prepared groups imaginable.
Then another post: "Shocking news! Great Xian's population of a billion stunned—this ONE trick lets you clear the dungeon easily!"
He snorted. "Clickbait trash. Like hell it's that easy."
But curiosity made him peek, and what he saw left him speechless.
Some guy had walked into a dungeon holding a kitchen knife he'd forgotten to put down. To everyone's surprise, the knife came with him into the instance. Sure, the boss shattered it in a blink, but the revelation was huge.
The replies went wild:
"Learning this, life changed!"
"Imagine taking a real gun inside…"
"Dream on. Firearms are Tier 1 at least, can't bring them into a Zero-tier dungeon."
Through rapid experimentation, the community pieced together two rules:
Real-world items could enter the dungeon if their tier matched or was below the dungeon's level.
You had to physically be able to wield the object.
No fantasy of mowing down monsters with SMGs. Still, shields, bows, and real steel swords—all viable. The news breathed fresh hope into a previously despairing community.
New recruitment posts popped up:
"LF1M, need an A-rank or higher talent, must bring own gear."
"S-rank Defense talent leading. Reliable teammates only."
For B-rank players like Glasses Guy? Forget it. At this early stage, people wanted only the best of the best.
Meanwhile, the Storm and Thunder Squad rose to fame on the forum. Known for having all S-rank talents or above, led by a terrifying SS-ranked captain, they became the community's hope for a breakthrough.
After extensive preparation and gearing up, they entered Lin Fortress to chart out the dungeon.
Thirty minutes later, they updated their post: first attempt—failure. They'd barely held off the boss but suffered critical injuries. They split up to scout the area, one member perished, and the others barely escaped with their lives.
At least they confirmed that injuries vanished once you exited, regardless of severity.
They weren't discouraged. From the beginning, they hadn't expected to clear it on their maiden run. The lack of intel made it impossible. They were there to pave the way for future clearings.
Boss intel emerged: estimated stats around 70 across the board, demonic cultivation perfected, sword techniques lethal. An apex predator.
Two hours later, Storm and Thunder reentered with better composition and gear. The forum held its breath, refreshing the dungeon records page every few seconds. So far, no one had cleared any of the ten Zero-tier dungeons.
Yet, even with full confidence, the second attempt failed. They survived longer, stayed grouped, avoided ambush tactics, but eventually succumbed to the fully recovered boss. Only two members escaped alive.
The forums erupted.
"What kind of nightmare dungeon needs five SS or even SSS talents to clear?"
Some elite teams switched dungeons entirely. Even the Storm and Thunder Squad admitted this boss was no joke, but vowed to return stronger.
And then—while everyone waited for their third heroic attempt—a world-shaking announcement rang in every awakened player's ears.
[World Announcement: Congratulations to Tony, Alex, Mark, Ethan, and Lily for clearing the Trial Dungeon: Blood Battle at Lin Fortress.]
Storm and Thunder Squad: "What?!"
The entire forum: "???"
The bespectacled young man, watching from the sidelines, blinked. "Huh… someone cleared it… and one of them has my name?" He couldn't help smirking, imagining the embarrassed faces of the top-tier squad.
Threads exploded with speculation:
"They only cleared it thanks to Storm and Thunder sharing all their intel!"
"Half the credit belongs to them. Even in failure, they're heroes."
"I say the whole clearing team should kneel and thank Storm and Thunder—fair's fair."
He chuckled and hit send on his comment, just as a new notification chimed in his ears.
Congratulations, you have cleared the Trial Dungeon: Blood Battle at Lin Fortress. Rating: F. Rewards: Growth +10, Strength Crystal x1.]
[First Clear Bonus: Despite your negligible contribution, you are granted extra rewards: Strength Crystal x1, Agility Crystal x1, Constitution Crystal x1, Spirit Crystal x1.]
Glasses Guy froze, mouth hanging open. "Wait… what?"