Chapter 4 : Chapter 4
Chapter 4: A Hell-Difficulty Dungeon Wager! Two Million!
“A bet?”
As if he had just heard a joke, Zhao Xuan sneered, while the female secretary beside him whispered, “Young Master Zhao, I heard Ye Ze’s teacher, Liu Boyan, bought a rare summoning skill book at the exchange...”
That only made Zhao Xuan even more arrogant.
“A rare summoning skill? And that is all the confidence you have to wager against me?”
Ye Ze did not waste words. “If you do not dare, then stop talking.”
He had seen plenty of rich second-generation heirs like this. On top of that, Zhao Xuan had spent years suffocating in second place, desperate to prove his own strength.
There was no need to say more. He only needed the slightest provocation to explode.
Sure enough, Zhao Xuan’s eyes looked as if they wanted to devour someone.
“Do not dare? How could I, Zhao Xuan, not dare?!”
“I am afraid a poor bastard like you cannot even afford enough to bet with!”
By now, the voices calling for dungeon teams at the entrance had grown quieter, and more and more people turned to look.
A wager between the regular division and the regular division was rare enough already!
Especially after class advancement.
Most students in the regular division came from ordinary families. Let alone whether they could win a bet, many of them could not even afford the stakes in the first place.
Ye Ze remained completely calm. He took out a card and recited the balance from memory:
“One million eight hundred twenty-four thousand seven hundred fifty.”
“My stake.”
The instant Ye Ze pulled out the card, the crowd finally realized:
“He really dares to bet!”
“Wait, how does a student from the regular division even have more than a million?”
“I work part-time every day to save money, and I have just over thirty thousand in my pocket...”
“I heard Ye Ze gave quite a few guilds some money-making ideas before. Things like group-buying equipment through Pinduoduo-style deals, or having Rogues work part-time as couriers. He earned a fair amount of dividends from that.”
“Damn, what a genius...”
When Zhao Xuan saw the stake Ye Ze had produced, his brows knit slightly, and he was momentarily speechless.
He really had not expected Ye Ze to have that much money!
Although his summoned beasts, skills, and equipment were all luxurious, those had all been prepared by his family.
His own spending money was only five or six hundred thousand.
The more than two million still on his card had been given by his family for today’s crystal stone purchases and dungeon expenses.
But then he reconsidered...
He had an Exceptional-quality Windchaser Wolf, and he had even learned two additional Exceptional attack skills!
At most, Ye Ze only had a single Rare-grade summoned beast...
The advantage is mine!
He immediately took out a card as well. He could not even be bothered to read out the exact amount like Ye Ze had.
“There are at least two million on this card!”
“How do you want to compete?”
The moment he heard the number two million, Ye Ze’s eyes lit up.
“Simple. The novice dungeon. Whoever clears it faster wins!”
Money was one part of it.
But he had not forgotten his real goal: clear the dungeon, level up, and grow stronger!
He needed to make full preparations for the college entrance exam ten days from now.
Zhao Xuan gave a cold snort.
“Hah! You want me to waste my time like you, farming a Normal-difficulty dungeon?”
“I will not waste time like that!”
“My first dungeon run will be at least Nightmare difficulty!”
At those words, the surrounding students were instantly filled with envy.
The novice dungeon was divided into the following difficulties: Normal, Advanced, Hard, Nightmare, Calamity, and Hell.
The higher the difficulty, the greater the experience gains and the better the rewards.
But aside from rich heirs like Zhao Xuan, who started with luxurious equipment and a full set of skill books...
ordinary people would never even consider a high-difficulty dungeon.
But in the very next moment, Ye Ze’s words stunned everyone again.
“I am competing with you in solo clear speed for the Hell-level dungeon.”
Hell level? This man had gone mad!
The crowd instinctively turned to look at the Hell-Difficulty Dungeon clear record:
【Hell-Difficulty Dungeon: No clear record.】
And he wanted to compare clear speed?
Solo, no less?
He should worry about whether he could clear it at all first!
Zhao Xuan froze for a moment.
Then he burst into laughter. “I get it now!”
“You picked a difficulty no one can possibly clear, thinking that if we both fail, you will not lose?”
“Naive! Truly naive!!”
He immediately sent the female secretary to fetch a Notary Robot.
This was a special creation made by one of the academy’s master machinists, capable of notarizing wagers between two parties.
War Academy did not prohibit students from gambling against each other.
“Since this is a dungeon challenge, then whoever lasts longer in the Hell-Difficulty Dungeon wins!”
“Heh. Now you cannot back out anymore!”
A trace of madness showed in Zhao Xuan’s eyes.
He wanted to lock the wager in immediately!
This time, not only would he defeat Ye Ze on the spot and make him lose all face, he would also pocket more than another 1.8 million in spending money!
Although he would waste one opportunity to enter the dungeon, the gain far outweighed the loss!
After Zhao Xuan finished speaking, the round little Notary Robot, which looked like a penguin, emitted a mechanical voice devoid of emotion:
【Wager confirmed! Solo Hell-Difficulty Dungeon bet!】
【Parties to the wager: Zhao Xuan, Ye Ze!】
【Even if both parties fail, the one who lasts longer inside the dungeon shall be declared the winner!】
【The winner shall receive all stakes!】
“Wooo—! That is insane!”
“They really bet on it! Ye Ze is in for it now!”
“Exactly. He thought it would be enough to choose a dungeon nobody could clear, but he forgot they were also comparing survival time!”
“...”
But at this moment, no one saw the slightest change in Ye Ze’s expression. On the contrary, he looked especially delighted.
Two million!
After his parents died in the line of duty when he was seven, he had been forced to find ways to survive. He had racked his brains for every idea from his previous life that might make money.
But unfortunately, this was a world of Class Users!
With ideas but no strength, all he could do was make wedding clothes for others!
He had walked on thin ice for more than ten years, and in the end, he had only managed to save 1.82 million.
Thankfully, it could now finally serve a purpose...
His savings had a chance to double!
Now that the wager had been made, Ye Ze had no intention of wasting any more words.
He walked straight to the last of the six dungeon entrances—the Hell difficulty, a blood-red interdimensional gateway!
The mere aura emanating from it made quite a few students instinctively back away.
【Ding! You have selected the Hell-level dungeon. The difficulty is extremely high!】
【Are you sure you wish to enter? Please consider carefully!】
“Yes.”
【This dungeon strongly recommends forming a team. You are currently solo. Would you like to proceed to the team formation interface?】
“No. Stop wasting words and let me in.”
Perhaps the state was worried that students might throw their lives away on impulse, because Hell difficulty came with several warning prompts in succession.
But Ye Ze was no reckless fool. He never did anything unless he was certain.
Besides, opening a Hell-difficulty dungeon required 300 crystal stones, worth three million on the market!
He had finally gotten one free chance. There was no way he would waste it.
Ye Ze lifted his foot and stepped into the blood-red dungeon entrance.
Seeing him act without the slightest hesitation, quite a few students even began to admire him a little.
“Ye Ze really did dare to go in!”
“If it were me, I would probably hesitate for half a day...”
“Not just you. Did you not see that even Zhao Xuan from the regular division hesitated a little?”
As soon as those words were spoken, Zhao Xuan, who was lingering at the Hell-difficulty entrance, stiffened slightly and cursed inwardly:
“Is it not normal to do a bit of mental preparation when facing a blood-red Hell difficulty?!”
But obviously, compared with Ye Ze, who had just walked in without the slightest hesitation, he did seem somewhat cowardly...
Gritting his teeth, Zhao Xuan finally stepped into the Hell-Difficulty Dungeon as well.
The watching crowd grew excited.
It was not only because this was a wager between the regular division and the regular division. The combined stakes, nearly four million in total, were enough to be called unprecedented in the history of War Academy!
The Notary Robot spoke once more:
【The wager is now in progress. Both parties’ dungeon times have officially begun to be recorded...】