My Computer Leads to an Instance Dungeon-Chapter 149 - 124: Act 2: ’Bloody Lord’! The Price of Becoming Extraordinary

Fang Zhen had a unique understanding of battle reports. To him, they were the equivalent of having an off-field technical coach.

The role of a coach was essential.

The world's top athletes, whether it was Tyson, Jordan, Kobe, Agassi, or Ronaldo, all needed professional coaches. And not just one—they needed technical coaches and a head coach.

Could Tyson's coach outbox Tyson himself? Obviously not.

But as an old saying from Xia Country goes, "The spectator sees the game more clearly than the player."

Looking at a problem from a third-party perspective often reveals the subject's blind spots and weaknesses—or perhaps not weaknesses, but distinct traits.

Even if a coach's practical skills were inferior to the athlete's, as long as they grasped the correct theory and had practical experience, they could still help a top-tier athlete improve their performance, enhance their strengths, sharpen their skills, and correct their mistakes.

The Instance Dungeon Life Game had a battle report function, and at only 5 Merit per report, Fang Zhen felt it was a great value. Besides, he had no one to discuss things with; he truly needed some reliable feedback.

"Battle report transmitting… Transmitting…"

"Battle report transmission complete."

"Game Battle Report

Dungeon: [Ancient Castle Caverns]

Difficulty: [Standard Difficulty for a Normal World]

Clear Time: [3 Days]

Player Fang Zhen's Behavioral Pattern: [Strengthened self while leveraging in-dungeon forces and technological advantages for a swift clear.]

Map/Scenes: [Wilderness, Ellick Town, Valley, Ancient Castle Caverns]

Player Teammates/Factions: Highland Barbarian Swordsman Jilenna, Whig Society Curse Seal Master Gwendolyn, support combatant Mark

Dungeon Clear Process:

Key Event 1: [Battle of Righteousness in the wilderness; rescued the farmer William and indirectly earned the trust of Curse Sealer Gwendolyn.]

Key Event 2: [Battle in the valley; obtained the cerebrospinal fluid of an Abnormal Ghost and learned the Gang Zan Seal.]

Key Event 3: [Proactively participated in developing the Secret Medicine Blood Burst, gaining a massive technological and alchemical advantage.]

Key Event 4: [Hired Jilenna, concentrated forces, and united with Gwendolyn to assault the Ancient Castle Caverns and eliminate Maticvia.]

Result:

Victor(s): [Player Fang Zhen and his team]

MVP: [Player Fang Zhen]

Best Teammate: [Curse Sealer Gwendolyn]

Highlights:

[Highlight 1]: Mastered the techniques of in-dungeon resource exchange and situational leveraging, gaining Gwendolyn's aid and unlocking clues to the Whig Society.

[Highlight 2]: Proactively complemented technology with alchemy to create the Secret Medicine Blood Burst.

[Highlight 3]: Made effective use of skill items.

Trait Analysis:

[Trait 1]: Insufficient base defense.

[Trait 2]: Over-encumbered. Streamlining recommended.

[Trait 3]: Operates at peak effectiveness when fighting in a team.

Suggested Directions:

[Suggestion 1]: Define personal combat role and focus resources on reinforcing key strengths.

[Suggestion 2]: Address insufficient carrying capacity from multiple angles.

[Suggestion 3]: Establish stable technological support and seek new synergies by combining it with the unique aspects of each dungeon world.

[Suggestion 4]: Unlock new dungeon worlds based on core needs.

"

Fang Zhen quickly finished reading the battle report.

He stroked his chin, thinking it made a lot of sense.

The Jilenna he hired was also a good fighter, but when it came to contributions from others in the dungeon, Gwendolyn's were the greatest. He had no objection to that.

At least some of the credit for the Blood Burst Secret Medicine had to go to that master of Curse Seals and alchemy. Gwendolyn was truly deserving.

The most valuable parts of the report were the highlight analysis, trait analysis, and suggested directions.

The highlights were things to build on, while the traits could be selectively improved or discarded.

As for defining his combat role, it wasn't that Fang Zhen hadn't thought of it. Rather, the circumstances back then were different from now, making it a lingering issue.

At first, he thought he could only enter dungeons alone, so his development had to lean towards being a "Hexagon Warrior." He had to follow the Barrel Theory—he couldn't afford to have any weak points.

Having a weak point could easily lead to utter annihilation.

But now there was a combat partner program and he could have stable teammates. That meant he could let go of a small part of his need for security and pursue combat efficiency.

The other suggestions in the report were also quite pertinent; they almost perfectly matched what Fang Zhen was already thinking.

His current pain points were insufficient defense and his carrying capacity.

The defense issue could be solved by pursuing Alchemy Full Body Armor, but carrying capacity was still a major problem.

He needed to carry more and more things, but he only had two hands. At most, he could carry a backpack, and at best, hire another Combat Servant.

If he wore plate armor, he wouldn't even be able to use a backpack.

But a Combat Servant wasn't suitable for every scenario. If he couldn't protect it, it could easily be targeted by enemies. And the enemies were clearly getting stronger. If a Combat Servant unfortunately died, he could easily lose its equipment.

The best solution Fang Zhen could think of was still a spatial item.

Whether for buying guns or solving his encumbrance problem, a spatial item was the best option.

Before, he didn't have enough Merit, and his strength wasn't high enough, so he hadn't searched for spatial items.

Now that his strength was past the rookie stage, he could consider using some Merit to search for which dungeon world might contain a spatial item.

As for technological support and creating synergy between the tech trees of different worlds, Fang Zhen had some budding ideas, but they weren't mature yet. He planned to tackle another one or two dungeon worlds and accumulate some capital in the real world before making further plans.

'This battle report is pretty useful.' Fang Zhen was quite satisfied with the information it provided. It looked like a minimalist report, but it contained valuable insights.

At that moment, a new dialog box popped up from the Instance Dungeon Life Game.

"During dungeon settlement, it has been detected that player 'Fang Zhen' has triggered a key plot point. Act II of the 'Ancient Castle Caverns' dungeon can now be unlocked.

Act II is a time-delayed dungeon that will become available in twenty-two days.

You may act freely during these twenty-two days, choosing to undertake other dungeon missions or to rest.

Notice: This is a limited-time dungeon. If you do not choose to begin within twenty-two days, all subsequent content for this world will be permanently lost. After starting, if you fail to clear it within a certain time frame, it will automatically close and the content can never be accessed again.

Notice: As you have unlocked Act II, you have the privilege of unlocking partial information in advance. You may spend 5 Merit to obtain partial dungeon information early.

This information is incomplete. Full information can be unlocked with Merit after you choose to begin Act II. Merit spent to unlock information in advance will not be refunded."

"I knew it. There was bound to be an Act II, heh." Fang Zhen smiled.

It was just as he'd expected. He felt a sense of mastery, as if he was starting to grasp the patterns of the Instance Dungeon Life Game.

Of course he had to spend these 5 Merit. His full-body Alchemy Armor depended on the Alchemists of the Whig Society in the Curse Seal World. If he wanted to reasonably boost his defense without further burdening his already over-encumbered self, he absolutely had to enter Act II of the Curse Seal World.

Fang Zhen clicked 'Yes,' spending 5 Merit to unlock the information.

"You have spent 5 Merit and unlocked partial information for the subsequent Act II of the 'Cave Castle' dungeon.

Act II is titled 'Bloody Lord,' with a difficulty of Hard in a Normal World setting.

Notice: Based on an analysis of your previous performance in the dungeon world, clearing Act II 'Bloody Lord' will be considerably difficult. Please strengthen yourself.

Within the 'Bloody Lord' dungeon, you may encounter unprecedented special abilities. It is recommended you enhance your Spirit resistance or acquire defensive items.

Please act with caution. Or, choose to give up.

Special Notice: In this dungeon, the player may encounter a fate worse than death.

However, a higher-level world is inevitably accompanied by greater risks, but also greater rewards.

You can also slowly accumulate dungeons and advantages to clear this with ease in the future. However, we must specially remind you that while you are taking your time to prepare, no one can ever know what you have missed.

No one will ever know what he or she missed on another timeline.

Fate has already secretly placed a price tag on everything.

Whether you choose a common, stable life and live out your days in peace, or spread your wings and soar, becoming Extraordinary and transcendent—it will all be determined by your choice.

We advise you to follow the true voice within your heart, so that you are not left with regret or sorrow at the end of your fated path."

"Huh?"

Seeing that the unlocked information came with so many details and suggestions, all delivered in a very serious tone, Fang Zhen couldn't help but sit up straight, his own posture becoming a bit more formal.

After reading these descriptions, two images surfaced in his mind.

Maticvia's half-human, half-beast appearance, and the images from the diary carved into the stone wall before Maticvia's human consciousness faded—both flashed through Fang Zhen's mind.

"What the notice said about 'a fate worse than death'... it means that if I fail, I might be turned into a monster just like Maticvia by Bloody Lord Ellick, right?"

Fang Zhen understood the implied message.

His brow furrowed slightly.

Maticvia's fate had been tragic. He had a boundless future, but he challenged an opponent beyond his capabilities, leading to a miserable end. It truly felt like it would have been better to die a glorious death; at least then, he could have retained his human dignity.

Clearly, the Instance Dungeon Life Game was hinting to Fang Zhen that this kind of end could befall him as well.

But the game wasn't trying to dissuade him; it was giving him a choice.

After thinking for a while, Fang Zhen's furrowed brow gradually relaxed.

He knew what he had to do.

There's an idiom about Ye Gong's love for dragons, and everyone knows what it means.

Fang Zhen knew he was no Lord Ye.

Fate had given him a chance. Whether he could catch the winds of destiny depended on his true character and inner core.

Fang Zhen knew the Instance Dungeon Life Game system hadn't offered this choice without reason.

He knew many people like that.

Some were in their studies—they worked hard and got good grades, but when it came to a crucial exam, they'd catch a cold or run a fever and be unable to perform at their best.

There were people like that in work and even in recreation.

His childhood friend Wang Donglai was a bit like that. Wang Donglai was great at pool, almost good enough to compete at an amateur level. He had even cleared a table in one break playing snooker. But as soon as it was a competition, his performance would plummet. He couldn't even play at a tenth of the level he showed when practicing at home.

This could be explained away as nervousness or pressure, but in Fang Zhen's view, it was really about not being prepared for high-level, high-pressure competition. They weren't prepared for success either.

Sometimes, success itself can be frightening.

At this moment, Fang Zhen had an epiphany.

'This 'Bloody Lord' dungeon... it might be a watershed moment in my Instance Dungeon Life. If I cross it, I'll truly have a chance to become Extraordinary. If I can't, I'll probably be stuck running in circles at the level of standard dungeons in normal worlds.'

And he couldn't delay.

Fang Zhen's life experience in other areas told him that with this kind of test, the more you delayed and prepared, the more you'd get trapped in an endless cycle of procrastination and preparation. In the end, you'd accomplish nothing, and your morale would just sink lower and lower.

"Heh," he suddenly chuckled.

In that instant, Fang Zhen made a decision.

He decided he would clear the 'Bloody Lord' dungeon and earn the right to become Extraordinary.