Chen Ke'er slammed her hand on the desk.
"That just proves he's on auto-grind! Come on—this is the Dragon Clan's endgame map. Who hangs up in a zone like that? Especially with another player competing head-to-head?" Her voice was sharp with frustration.
Her implication was clear: Dawei was too casual. No matter how good his gear or instincts were, if he didn't grind with focus and discipline, he'd crack under pressure.
"Casuals like that?" she scoffed. "They might shine alone, but sign them to a team, and they become liabilities. They don't take orders, don't respect calls, don't commit when it counts."
Sophie tilted her head. "You sound oddly... personal about this."
Ke'er crossed her arms.
"If I had an account like Tushen's, I wouldn't waste it hiding in the shadows."
She trailed off, realizing she'd just said too much. Jealousy flared behind her eyes, and she bit her lip. Sophie gave a knowing smile, but didn't press further.
"…Let it go," Sophie said. "Honestly, even if we offered, he might not accept. Some players value freedom more than fame."
Ke'er muttered, "Who says no to a seven-figure contract?"
Meanwhile, inside the Endless Tower…
Floor 5.
The shadows parted, a glint of blue light sparked—and Dawei broke through.
[System Prompt: Congratulations! You have comprehended Master-level Wind Speed Shooting.]
[Wind Speed Shooting has evolved into — Blast Shot.]
Dawei blinked. Then broke into laughter.
"I'll be damned! So there is a Master tier! And it's not even called Wind Speed anymore. It's straight up Blast Shot! That's how you know it's getting serious."
He pulled up the new tooltip.
[Blast Shot — Master]:Attack Speed +30%Attack +20Hit Rate +45%Duration: 3 secondsCooldown: 8 minutesCurrent Level: Master. Can be promoted.
He whistled.
"Speed boost? Strong. +20 attack? Nasty. 45% hit rate?!"
His eyes widened.
"The cooldown even dropped from ten to eight minutes... Damn, this is the real deal."
He thought back to how his Absolute Accuracy gave him +10% permanent hit. Now that Blast Shot provided a +45% hit bonus on top of that, he was nearing pinpoint perfect aim.
"If the next tier's God-level, it's going to be hell unlocking it. That 10% bonus cap means I'm only halfway there."
He scratched his head.
"Man… and here I thought god-level was too easy. I take that back. I really, really take that back."
After several hours of grinding, Dawei finally looked up from the screen. His stomach growled. A glance at the clock confirmed it—he'd spent the whole afternoon pushing skills, not levels.
He made a bowl of instant noodles, wolfed them down in minutes, and returned to the game with a fresh mindset.
"It's easy to see life as a tragedy if you're a pessimist," he said aloud as he logged back in. "But if you're an optimist—hey, I'm already a Master. God-tier's just around the corner."
Compared to the hundreds of millions of players struggling with F-rank dailies and entry-level raids, he was already in the top 0.001%.
That thought calmed him.
"I'm not here to rush. I'm here to master."
Now, Dawei didn't even care about experience. Clearing mobs? That was a bonus. The real goal was to perfect his toolkit—reach God-tier skill proficiency and become untouchable.
With his artifact dagger for burst, crossbow for control, and Wind Speed Shooting now evolved into Blast Shot, he'd become a walking storm.
And so, like a sword being slowly sharpened, Dawei continued slicing through the tower—calm, confident, and now fully committed.