Chapter 64 - The Public Boss

There’s a low-rank champion in the beginner public secret realm, Qianyan Mountain Range! Hurry up!”

“The guild is calling me! I’m skipping the meal.”

The restaurant erupted into chaos, and Lu Ran’s group furrowed their brows at the sudden noise.

A moment later, Lu Bing’s expression shifted as she checked her messages.

“Lu Yi just messaged me. A low-rank champion dragon-blooded creature, a Redrock Dragon-Tailed scorpion, appeared in the Qianyan Mountain Range public secret realm, and he’s asking us to come check it out.”

“A Dragon-Tailed scorpion?” Xiao Wu’s eyes widened at the commotion around them.

“Seriously? A dragon-blooded creature?”

“Screw this, we need to move! We won’t stand a chance if we get there too late,” Lu Dingding exclaimed, already halfway out of his chair.

Lu Yi shook his head, though. “I don’t know if we’ll have much of a shot anyway. Those big guilds always take over these kinds of situations. We probably won’t be able to compete.”

Public secret realms were different from normal secret realms or Ascension Realms. Their entrances were in the transport square, not in private rooms.

Moreover, public secret realms had no limit on the number of entrants. As long as a beastmaster met the secret realm’s level requirement, even a hundred or a thousand could enter at the same time, unlike normal secret realms, which capped team size at four.

In public secret realms, creature projections were spawned randomly. Only sometimes would rare creatures appear, dropping significantly more valuable resources with a much higher drop rate compared to normal secret realms.

These rare extraordinary creature projections found in public secret realms were affectionately called “raid bosses” by veteran beastmasters.

Raid bosses were incredibly strong, but since public secret realms had no cap on the number of participants, even the toughest bosses could be worn down by sheer numbers unless they were overwhelmingly powerful.

So, when a rare creature showed up in a public secret realm, it was like a walking treasure trove. Even if you couldn’t take it down on your own, you’d call in every friend and ally you had to help claim the loot.

The Redrock Dragon-Tailed Scorpion was a Rock-attribute creature infused with draconic traits and classified as a low-rank champion species. Though not a true dragon, even a trace of dragon lineage made it incredibly valuable, which explained everyone's excitement.

“We should at least go check it out. Lu Yi wouldn’t have called us if the situation weren’t still in flux,” Lu Bing said.

After a quick moment of deliberation, the four from Lu Village abandoned their half-eaten meal and scrambled outside.

As they left, they yelled out to Lu Ran, “We’re heading out! Feel free to order whatever you want, and we’ll cover the bill when we get back!”

And just like that, they were gone. Even though they’d all been complaining about being hungry.

“Wow.”

Lu Ran was left speechless, watching his fellow villagers ditch him.

So much for relying on old friends

.

A raid boss lured them away just like that. They didn’t even invite me along! What, were they worried they’d have to babysit me?

Sighing, Lu Ran decided not to order food after all. Instead, he followed the crowd out of the restaurant.

“Might as well check it out. Even if I’m too late, it could be fun to watch.”

At the transport square, the entrance to the Qianyan Mountain Range public secret realm was crowded. This secret realm was only accessible to apprentice-level beastmasters, and because the mountain range had no fixed resource points or reliable leveling zones, it hadn’t been claimed by any major guilds.

The only real draw was the occasional rare creature spawn, like the one happening now. One by one, people paid the required crystals to teleport into the Qianyan Mountain Range.

Even though most knew they had no real chance of landing the final hit on the public boss, the allure of watching the battle unfold was irresistible. For some, spending 100 crystals just to witness the spectacle was more than worth it.

The group from Lu Village had already sprinted ahead, clearly serious about trying to take down the boss. Lu Ran followed them to the transport square, curious to see what all the fuss was about. Considering how fast news traveled, the boss would probably be dead by now.

The main reason Lu Ran decided to come along was that the entry fee for public secret realms was low. Still, he didn’t expect to gain much from it. Although public secret realms had more resources than normal ones, they also had far more participants.

With so many people swarming in like bandits, the chances of getting anything worthwhile were slim. He’d have better luck running normal secret realms.

Upon entering the secret realm, Lu Ran followed the crowd to the boss’ location. When he arrived, there were already over a hundred people gathered around. Surprisingly, the Redrock Dragon-Tailed Scorpion was still alive and kicking.

“No way, the fight isn’t over yet?”

Lu Ran quickly spotted the group from Lu Village and squeezed through the crowd to join them.

“What’s going on?”

In the clearing ahead, he saw a massive dark red scorpion, at least six or seven meters long. It was far larger than any of the creatures Lu Ran had encountered in previous secret realms.

[Name: Redrock Dragon-Tailed Scorpion]

[Attribute: Rock]

[Species Rank: Low-rank Champion]

[Level: 11]

At the moment, the scorpion was locked in a standoff with a team of five beastmasters. The onlookers, numbering in the hundreds, seemed to be held back by the presence of this team.

“You came too? Well, it’s not a bad idea to watch.” Lu Bing turned to Lu Ran.

“That’s the Galaxy Guild. They were the first to find the Dragon-Tailed Scorpion. Right now, everyone’s holding back because of them, but it seems like they’re having trouble taking it down on their own. If they give up, it’ll be a free-for-all, and anyone will be able to land the final blow,” she added.

The five battling the scorpion all wore uniforms bearing a six-pointed star logo, marking them as members of the Galaxy Guild. Lu Ran’s gaze lingered on one figure in particular, and he fell silent. This was not because of the logo, but because he recognized one of the participants.

It was none other than Pluto, the same kid who had challenged him to a duel before.

At that moment, he was commanding his Lightning Eagle to rain down lightning strikes on the scorpion. However, the scorpion seemed completely unfazed, shrugging off the golden lightning as if it were nothing.

“

Gawk!!!

”

The scorpion hissed menacingly as it shook off the lightning attacks, its eyes filled with savage fury.

“Damn it!” Pluto cursed under his breath.

The scorpion seemed immune to his attacks, and the other four members of his team weren’t faring any better. Their familiars could barely scratch the scorpion, and none of them dared to get too close in fear of its power.

The scorpion, on the other hand, was wary of the large crowd around it. Reluctant to provoke a mass assault, it had stuck to a defensive stance, avoiding any sudden moves. And so, the stalemate continued.

“Pluto, can you handle this or not? Just give up already and let everyone else take a shot! Whoever lands the last hit will just be lucky,” a beastmaster from the crowd called out.

Pluto ignored him.

“That scorpion is tough!” Lu Yi said, his voice filled with admiration.

“Pluto’s Lightning Eagle is ranked second on the Heavenly Familiar Ranking. Its combat power might even rival the top spot, and yet it still can’t break through the scorpion’s defenses.

“Even though it’s not a true dragon, the Dragon-Tailed Scorpion still has a hint of dragon blood in it. Dragon-attribute creatures are known for their incredible physical defense and energy resistance,” Lu Bing remarked.

“If it weren’t afraid of the crowd, that venomous tail of it could easily wipe out the Galaxy Guild,” Lu Dingding added.

The scorpion was proving to be a formidable opponent. A level 11 Champion-ranked creature was a nightmare for any team of beginners in the Qianyan Mountain Range. At this point, it seemed like the only way to take it down was by overwhelming it with sheer numbers.

But that was precisely what Pluto didn’t want to do. He had discovered the scorpion first, so why should he let anyone else steal the kill?

Everyone was giving the Galaxy Guild some space for now. However, if this dragged on for too long, Pluto would lose face. He couldn’t defeat the scorpion, yet he refused to give it up, which would make him look like a fool.

Just as Pluto was mulling over his options, he received a message.

[Pedestrian A: Bro, you seem to be in trouble. Can’t handle that scorpion?]

If it had been anyone else, Pluto would have ignored the message, but this was coming from Pedestrian A—the same guy who had knocked him off the top spot on the Heavenly Familiar Ranking. He was different.

His eyes scanned the crowd until he found Lu Ran watching from nearby. Pluto quickly replied.

[Pluto: Don’t worry, our guild’s beastmasters will be here soon. We’ll grind it down together.]

If an entire guild couldn’t defeat a low-rank champion, then... well, they’d have to deal with that when it came.

[Pedestrian A: You can’t handle it? And you really think you can take me on?]

Pluto felt a surge of anger. How dare this guy mock him?

[Pluto: What do you mean? You think you can beat it?]

[Pedestrian A: Why don’t we make another deal? If I can single-handedly take down the Dragon-Tailed Scorpion, doesn’t that prove I’m stronger than you? And if I win, you’ll give me that Lightning Awakening Fruit. Plus, I want whatever resources the scorpion drops. Just don’t come looking for trouble afterward.]

Pluto was furious. He had never met someone so shameless! He laughed in exasperation.

Lu Ran thinks he could take down a low-rank champion with an intermediate-transcendent species?

Pluto gritted his teeth.

[Pluto: Fine. Let’s see if you can actually pull it off.]

If Lu Ran suddenly appeared and couldn’t even defeat the scorpion, Pluto wouldn’t have to be the only one to suffer embarrassment. Meanwhile, realizing Pluto had accepted his challenge, Lu Ran was taken aback.

Wait, that actually worked?

A wide grin spread across his face.

Awesome! This could turn out well.

Since Pluto had agreed, he no longer felt pressured about stealing the boss. If another guild were taking it down, he’d have to be more cautious. However with Pluto, that was a different story.

The Dragon-Tailed Scorpion had formidable defenses, but Lu Ran sensed that the problem lay with Pluto and his team’s weak attacks. That golden lightning was nowhere near as powerful as his Storm Slash.

Of course, Lu Ran understood that that was because the latter came at a significant cost. After all, it was a technique that left Captain Doofus with a mouthful of teeth as collateral. No normal beginner would dare take such risks.

“Time to disguise myself.”

However, Lu Ran realized that with so many people around, it might be troublesome to go out in the open. He didn’t want to attract unwanted attention, so he pondered a moment before pulling a black windproof mask from his backpack and putting it on.

“Uh, Lu Ran, what are you doing?” Lu Bing asked, noticing him.