Chapter 537: A dangerous beauty

( 20 hours later )

Bruised and battered, the best rankers staggered through the dimly lit corridors of the dungeon, finally reaching the guardian rooms.

Their armor were scuffed, weapons dulled, and weariness from the long journey was etched into their faces.

They were the first to arrive at the end of the road, however, since they were the fastest to travel their path, they arrived at their destination much earlier than the rest of the pack.

A majority of the countless rankers still struggled somewhere behind them, and this made their early arrival somewhat useless, as the looming sign at the end of the road declared : [ At least 100 rankers are required to open this door ].

Upon reading the sign, those who had reached this point had no choice but to wait, their progress stalled until enough others arrived to unlock the next phase of the trial.

Exhaustion weighed heavily on them. After battling a relentless onslaught of monsters for 20 straight hours, most were far beyond their limits. Typically, a full day of gaming for them spanned no more than 12 hours, with few ever engaging in constant combat for more than 7 or 8 hours without a break.

In any other situation, they would have logged out long before now. But today, the second rankers’ special event bound them to the game world, pushing them into uncharted territory far outside their usual routines.

“This was brutal, but oddly satisfying. I leveled up 43 times!”

“43? That’s like three months of grinding packed into a single day, haha. Totally worth the exhaustion. I hit 47 myself—”

The rankers exchanged excited chatter. Those who had arrived at the gates first were the most skilled, having earned far more levels than the rest.

But as more rankers trickled in, it became clear that each latecomer had gained slightly fewer levels than the last.

By the time the 100th ranker arrived, the ranker in question had only managed to gain 29 levels from the event so far, which was a far cry from the 47 that the one who gained the most had achieved.

**********

At last, once the 100 rankers needed to unlock the gate had assembled, the first guardian room to open was the one guarded by PinkLotus on the East path.

Despite the East path filled with perilous traps, somehow it proved to be the fastest path to traverse, as those skilled enough to avoid the traps managed to breeze through with minimal trouble.

As the door to her guardian room opened, without any warning, the rankers on that path were yanked from the dungeon’s dark corridors and thrown into a vast, open green field as across from them stood their opponent—a fairy-like guardian, her delicate form belying the massive HP bar that floated visibly above her head, flashing ominously.

“Is this who we are supposed to face? Ain’t no way I can hit her, she’s so damn pretty”

“That’s it…. This game has finally nailed what the perfect human should look like, this is Aphrodite herself!”

“Forget defeating her, I want to wrestle her in the most physical way possible”

“Holy hell, I’m a girl and straight, but my heart still skipped a beat when I saw her…. She’s so perfect. So, so perfect”

“I concur, I’m an asexual monk, but I’m ready to ditch my beliefs if she says yes to accepting my hand in marriage”

“Don’t you dare have any ideas about her monk. That woman right there is your sister in law, she’s destined to be my partner”

Just as PinkLotus had feared, instead of taking her seriously as a challenge and an opponent, the moment that the rankers saw her, they began treating her as a prize and a trophy to conquer, which caused her blood to boil in rage.

Their dismissive remarks stung deeper than any blade, fueling the anger that simmered beneath her composed exterior.

Without a word, she raised her hand, and the air around her shimmered with energy.

[ Sword Tempest ]

The spell burst to life, and in an instant, the gentle breeze that had previously whispered through the green field transformed into a swirling storm of blades.

The rankers had no time to react as razor-sharp swords of pure energy materialized from the storm, spinning in a violent vortex around PinkLotus, before shooting out in every direction with terrifying speed and precision.

The nearest fighters—warriors clad in heavy armor—were the first to fall.

Their shields and defenses, designed to withstand monster attacks, crumpled under the sheer force of the assault.

Screams echoed across the field as the swords from PinkLotus’s vicious attacks tore through their defenses, leaving nothing but shredded armor and lifeless bodies in their wake.

A talented mage at the back tried to summon a barrier to protect the group, his hands glowing with arcane energy, but it was already too late.

A blade sliced through his defenses as if they were paper, ending his spell mid-cast as he collapsed to the ground, blood pooling beneath him.

Just from a single attack, PinkLotus claimed the lives of over 25 top rankers and did so rather effortlessly.

“Talk more and none of you will survive–” she warned, as it was at this moment that the other rankers realized that they were not fighting a pretty doll, but rather a true merchant of death.

“Everyone be careful, her good looks are surely just for deceiving!”

“She’s powerful, and worth a lot of levels, so what if she’s pretty?, I’m not ready to let my gaming career suffer for you simps”

“Let’s focus on the basics guys!! tanks and knight’s first, swordsmen and rogues after and finally mages and archers at the back.

If we are to take her down, we need to work as a unit–”

The rankers said, as after PinkLotus’s opening attack everyone understood that she meant business.

———

/// A/N – Apologies, I made a mistake in the last chapter when I said Jacob was on the East path, Jacob is actually on the West path, the same as the one Luke is defending. ///

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep