Chapter 3: Pain is Temporary, But Coolness Lasts Forever!

Chapter 3: Pain is Temporary, But Coolness Lasts Forever!

Though his heart felt uneasy, Chen Mo had no choice now.

If he opened the next box, there was still a chance to get something great.

If he refused? Zero possibilities.

"Damn it, let's do this!"

He took a deep breath and placed his hand on the second grid from the left.

Click!

Prompt: Obtained Dragon's Challenge1*!

[Title Stats]

Name: Dragon's Challenge

Rarity: Rare

Type: Title

+67 Physical Attack

+60 Magic Attack

+130 Independent Attack

+60 Strength

+60 Intelligence

+60 Stamina

+60 Spirit

+350 Max HP

+24 HP Recovery per Minute

+350 Max MP

+24 MP Recovery per Minute

+3% Attack Speed

+3% Movement Speed

+3% Casting Speed

+15% All Elemental Enhancements

+2% Evasion Rate

+10% Physical Crit Rate

+10% Magic Crit Rate

+2% Accuracy

+20% Town Movement Speed

...

Dragon's Challenge was a Lunar New Year title from Dnf's 2017 spring package.

Though introduced in 2017, even by 2024 — the year Chen Mo had time-traveled to — many players still used this title. Some even claimed, "Dragon's Challenge will dominate for another decade!"

Such was its overwhelming power!

But here's the problem.

Even if this title was legendary, it was still a 2017 design.

Now Chen Mo stood in the year 2009.

Could anyone logically explain how a 2009 player could get a 2017 title?

"Another wasted chance? This... this is just ridiculous!"

Despite his preparation, after two consecutive useless rewards, Chen Mo felt cold sweat trickling down his back.

Two of three chances gone.

If the last attempt failed, he'd have no startup capital for his business plan.

Even his simple plan to celebrate with fast food would vanish.

"Looks like I need some black magic here!"

Muttering a curse, Chen Mo clasped his hands together and began chanting.

"3.14159265358979..."

After several seconds, he suddenly raised his hand and slammed his mouse on the center grid of the warehouse.

Prompt: Obtained Hellen Emperor's Seal x9,999,999!

Hellen Emperor's Seals were materials dropped only by dungeons rated forty and above.

They served two main purposes: crafting equipment and Awakening progression.

Rarer to find in high-level maps and constantly in demand, by the 60-level era, each seal consistently traded around 1,000 gold.

At 1,000 gold each, one million would be 1 billion gold.

With the current in-game exchange rate of 1:15...

"Phew!" Chen Mo finally exhaled.

This time he hadn't landed anything earth-shattering, but with ten million seals, his future plans were set.

"Now I've got startup funds. But what should I stock up on in Dnf's third chapter?"

"Bro Mo, I'm coming, which server are you on? I'll log in and find you!"

As Chen Mo brainstormed new business opportunities, Wang Lei had already returned and sat beside him.

"I'm on server 15, Gelant Forest. Come join me!"

"O come on!" Wang Lei nodded, booting up his PC.

While waiting for the game to load, he leaned over and peeked at Chen Mo's screen.

Next second —

"What the hell? Ghost Knight? Bro Mo, are you planning to change classes?"

"Sword Soul", Chen Mo replied, puzzled. "What's wrong with that?"

"Sword Soul?! No way, absolutely not! You'll regret it if you go Sword Soul!"

Why was Wang Lei so worked up?

Because in this era, Sword Soul wasn't yet the "developer's darling" class future players would praise.

Currently, Sword Soul had painfully low damage output and absurd restrictions:

First usable skill — Shadow Sword technique — unlocked at level 20.

Even then, the skill's mana cost made it unaffordable.

Using the Phantasm Blade buff risked draining weapons to zero durability instantly.

And...

"Hey Bro Wang, what class do you think I should go then?" Chen Mo asked curiously.

"Obviously go Asura! Better yet, Bro Mo — delete this Ghost Knight while you're still low level and play Toxic King or Grenadier instead! That's the optimal build!"

Wang Lei's recommended classes were meta-right now.

What he didn't know was these classes would soon face brutal nerfs:

Asura would become a meme-tier joke.

Grenadier would cycle between gutter-tier and marginal relevance.

Toxic King wouldn't recover for decades, even enduring jokes about failing red 12 enchantments on basic equipment.

"Bro Wang, those classes do have stronger damage than Sword Soul", Chen Mo smiled. "But they're missing one thing..."

"What?" Wang Lei asked.

"Style! None of them look as cool as Sword Soul. Their models are worse, their skills are worse. For me, damage fades, but coolness is forever! What do you think, Bro Wang?"

"Whoa!" Wang Lei blinked, then nodded. "Damn, you're on a whole new level, Bro Mo!"

"Exactly!"

As they bantered, Wang Lei's login finally completed.

"Bro Mo, I sent a party invite. Accept it!"

"Coming right up!"

While accepting the invite, Chen Mo checked Wang Lei's character info.

Character Name: Liu Huaqiang.

Aesthetically... criminal.

Left Equipment: Full Wrath Spirit Set.

Currently, Wrath Spirit was the best non-legend, non-speedrun gear for Berserkers — a full set costing millions.

Weapon: 50-grade purple greatsword — Hell Lotus Blade.

Half a million gold investment.

Bracer: The classic three-quest set — Rose Vine Bracelet, Frosted Hare Amulet, Loth Queen Ring.

By current standards, this was a comfortable middle-class build.

Except for one absurdity.

This powerful character suffered a 30% Cof Value penalty.

Practically crippled.

"Bro Mo, did you complete all three quest slots? If so, I'll enter the dungeon now!"

Wang Lei started moving toward Gelant Forest, but Chen Mo stopped him.

"Wait! Let's become master-disciple first, or we'll get Cof Value penalties!"

In his previous life, Chen Mo had reached 40% Cof Value due to ignorance — going years without a single purple gear drop.

He refused to repeat that mistake.

"What the hell? I thought you've never played Dnf before! How do you know master-disciple removes Cof Value?" Wang Lei asked, stunned.

Crap, slipped up!

But Chen Mo quickly improvised.

"Hey, I actually played last year but got banned for cheating. Didn't want to admit it", he lied.

"Cheating? What kind? Any stable hacks?" Wang Lei asked eagerly.

Chen Mo: "..."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end