Chapter 625 - A Rif (1/2)

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After the events of the school-wide gathering in Conviction, Zhao Shiyu and her clique managed to gather enough people to form a team. Of course, she was the leader. They ran dungeons regularly and obtained quite a bit of decent equipment. However, as time went by, small annoyances turned into internal conflicts until no day went by without heated arguments. The main issue was that the loot was not being divided up fairly. Zhao Shiyu believed as the ones who created the team, she and a few others deserved a larger portion of the spoils. This, of course, didn’t sit well with the other members. It was the topic of numerous arguments. Before long, mutual distrust built up and a clear rift formed within the team.

Zhao Shiyu had personally spoken to a few of the disgruntled members and temporarily quelled the discourse. Since those ill-treated had nowhere better to turn to, they could only swallow their grievances and stay in the team. However, a deep seed of resentment had long since taken root in their hearts.

Zhao Shiyu, for all her arrogance, had little to no self-awareness. She, Fu Guangtao, and Bai Jun thought they were being smart by pulling small tricks and secretly hogging the good equipment for themselves. However, no secret could be kept forever. Several members of the team were actively looking for a way out.

Zhao Shiyu and the 17 other members in her clique were discussing strategy for their next dungeon run at the back of the classroom. The desk was piled high with sheets of paper. The dungeon they wanted to run had long since been fully explored, cleared countless times over by the elites of the various major guilds. So, there were many tips and tricks floating around on the internet, which they had compiled together in one place. After making some more preparations inside the game, they would be ready to set out.

Even though Zhao Shiyu and her team weren’t good enough to be considered top elites, they were still fairly strong among second-rate players. In addition, they didn’t blindly run into harder content, instead making comprehensive preparations for every next dungeon run. At this moment, however, there were a few voices of dissent.

“I still don’t think we’re ready to run Arachnid Abyss. That dungeon is clearly too difficult for us to clear. We don’t have the DPS! I say we need to run Mysterious Cavern at least 20 more times to better equip our Mages. Only then do I think we’ll be ready to challenge such a high level dungeon!” a somewhat chubby male student said. His face and ears were somewhat flushed from arguing back and forth. His name was Chu Chenghao. He played a Paladin and was only slightly behind Zhao Shiyu, Fu Guangtao, and Bai Jun in level. Since he was generally amiable and did things fairly and openly, many students had a good impression of him.

“No need! Our damage is already good enough. As long as we can clear Arachnid Abyss, our gear will rise to another level. Continuing to run Mysterious Cavern is only a stupid waste of time!” Fu Guangtao fired back.

“You guys are really full of yourselves. It’s pretty obvious we’ll wipe if we run Arachnid Abyss in our current state. A team that only goes at the pace of its few strongest members won’t last long. Have you ever heard of something called teamwork? If we go to Arachnid Abyss now, what will we need just to survive? Hmm, let see—Poisonbite Necklaces, Ivory Life Rings, Flame Gems… need I go on? Do you think anyone in our team but yourselves could possibly afford these things? Why risk our lives in Arachnid Abyss for so little gains? We should grind in Mysterious Cavern for a bit longer, so that our weaker members can replace their current shabby weapons and armour with better ones. Like this, the entire team will grow stronger, not just you few.”

Many of the weaker members sunk into deep thought. Items like Poisonbite Necklaces and Ivory Life Rings were all fairly precious. They definitely couldn’t afford the burden. In the end, all the benefits would go to the stronger members like Zhao Shiyu, Fu Guangtao, and Bai Jun anyway. Meanwhile, they would be lucky to get table scraps even after overworking themselves to death. Realizing Chu Chenghao was standing up for their interests, they were deeply moved.

Seeing that Chu Chenghao’s words were effective, Fu Guangtao inwardly cursed. He then tried to tempt the weaker members. “All the drops in Mysterious Cavern are dog crap. You can find them for sale everywhere in the marketplace. If we can clear Arachnid Abyss, we can get even better stuff!”

“True. You certainly can find weapon and armour drops from Mysterious Cavern available for sale in the auction house. But who’s going to pay for it? You? Because we certainly can’t afford to. Since you want us to run Arachnid Abyss so badly, maybe next time a Poisonbite Necklace drops, we can sell it and use the gold to buy new equipment for our weaker members. How about it? It’s starting to get pretty clear that you guys only care about getting good equipment for yourselves. I’m not willing to needlessly risk my life just to satisfy your selfish whims. Anyone that wants to go can go, but I’m out.” Chu Chenghao was fed up.

“Tsk, it’s always you saying no to this and no to that. Last time, it was because of you that we wiped on an easy dungeon like White Bird Gorge. We’ve already wasted too much time in Mysterious Cavern. If we had moved on to Arachnid Abyss earlier like I said we should, my equipment would be a million times better than it is now. Who the hell do you think you are!? I’ve been getting real tired of your shit lately! Do you think I won’t smash your face in!?” Fu Guangtao glared.

“I’d like to see you try! You think I’m afraid of you?” Chu Chenghao hardly batted an eye at Fu Guangtao’s provocation.

Fu Guangtao didn’t dare to actually try anything in the Top Military Academy.

“Don’t think of yourself too highly. Do you think I need someone like you in my team? I know a bunch of people in the management faculty. I can easily find a Paladin twice as good to replace you at any time. Leave if you want. No one will miss you.” Zhao Shiyu coldly snorted, shooting Chu Chenghao a look of disdain.

“I’m a bit busy tonight, so I won’t be running Arachnid Abyss with you guys. Sorry,” a slim male student suddenly said. He played an Arcane Mage. He didn’t have the courage to burn all bridges with Zhao Shiyu, Fu Guangtao, and them. So, he used this excuse to tactfully withdraw.

“Me too. I can’t make it either. My parents need my help.”

“Same here.”

…

The people backing out were the low level members who had frequently been subjected to unfair treatment since joining the team. Naturally, they sided with Chu Chenghao.

Seeing the support he was getting, Chu Chenghao was deeply moved. He couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh. So goes the adage, an unjust cause will find little support, while a just cause will enjoy support from all around. Zhao Shiyu, Fu Guangtao, Bai Jun, and their lot had crossed the line. They had turned the team into a tool to only benefit themselves, never once thinking about helping the other weaker members.

All of a sudden, half the members in the team sided with Chu Chenghao in protest. Zhao Shiyu became anxious. She stared at one of the male students with puppy eyes and asked, “Chen Mo, you’re not coming either?”

Zhao Shiyu wanted to persuade a few people to change their minds. One of her targets was Chen Mo, whom she knew was secretly in love with her.

Chen Mo simply remained silent.

Seeing that the team was close to not having enough members to run Arachnid Abyss, Bai Jun immediately stepped in to intervene. He said with a kind smile, “Let’s not get hasty here guys. I’m sure we can all sit down and talk it out. If we really can’t come to an agreement, we’ll switch to another plan.”