SoloMan, puzzled, asked, "Bigbucks, how do you know this dungeon so well?"
"I've been here before!" Elliot casually replied.
"You've been here once and you're this familiar with it? That's amazing!"
"Yeah, it's worth the money. A hundred bucks for two hours."
"I have this strange feeling, this dungeon is pretty easy!"
That was indeed a misconception. Elliot knew full well that the monsters here were much stronger than the regular 10-level ones outside. If the team wasn't careful or their coordination failed, they could easily wipe.
Luckily, everyone had decent gear, and they cleared out the monsters by sticking to the edges of the cave.
Finally, they arrived at the boss's lair. The boss was a tree monster rooted to the ground, level 10. Its thick trunk had hollow eyes, and countless vines wriggled like tentacles.
Tree Demon!
Boss (Un-tamable)
Level: 10
"This dungeon, the hardest part is dealing with the small monsters. They can easily wipe the whole team. The boss isn't that tough though. Just wear him down slowly. When his health reaches half, stop attacking and drink healing potions. Got it?"
"Got it!"
"By the way, when he dies, he will scream. When that happens, jump!"
"Got it!"
"Let's start!"
Under Elliot's command, the team began taking turns attacking the Tree Demon. No one had the role of tanking or aggroing monsters, so they all took turns drawing the boss's attention. Every time their health hit half, Elliot would remind them to back off and drink potions.
Meanwhile, he controlled the Century-old Zombie to attack. Unfortunately, the poison effect from the zombie didn't affect the boss, or else it would have been ridiculously powerful.
The boss's health bar steadily dropped: -78, -65, -72.
Soon, the boss's health reached zero, and with a crash, the massive tree collapsed.
"We did it! That was fast!"
"That was totally worth the hundred bucks!"
Everyone was thrilled by their success in completing the dungeon. But Elliot suddenly shouted, "Jump!"
At the moment the Tree Demon died, it let out a tragic scream. The ground around them suddenly erupted with spikes.
Luckily, the spikes disappeared quickly with the death of the boss. The system notification sounded.
Congratulations! You have defeated the Tree Demon and completed the job change quest.
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
"If we hadn't jumped, we would've all wiped right there!" someone said, still shaking.
After the Tree Demon's death, a pile of golden items appeared on the ground.
"I can't believe it, there's equipment! An unexpected reward!"
There were over a hundred gold coins, and most importantly, a yellow-grade piece of equipment.
Tree Demon's Spirit (Accessory)
Grade: Yellow
Level Requirement: 10
Magic Attack +110
Mana Regeneration +1
Item Score: 746
"I can't believe it, a 746 score yellow item!"
"This... how do we split this up?"
Elliot hadn't expected the Tree Demon to drop a yellow item, especially one with mana regeneration. What luck!
SoloMan spoke up, "I think the equipment should go to the captain. Without him, we wouldn't have completed this so quickly!"
"Yeah, the captain's definitely awesome, but we paid money for this! This item is ranked fifth on the leaderboard!"
Currently, only the top ten items on the leaderboard were yellow, and with a score of 746, the Tree Demon's Spirit was valuable.
"Why should the captain get it? We all completed the dungeon together!" one of the others protested.
SoloMan quickly responded, "I think the captain deserves it. He led us through, and we wouldn't have finished so fast without him."
Elliot was frustrated—he had forgotten to change the loot mode when forming the group. The loot was set to random, and now he had lost control of it.
Not wanting to waste time, he suggested, "Let's just divide the money."
"Hmm, that's a good idea! Money's the most straightforward thing anyway."
"So, who wants this piece of equipment?"
"I don't need it! I can't afford it!"
Everyone hesitated, exchanging looks. SoloMan was the first to speak, "I'll take it. I'll buy it for 100,000 gold coins. Is that alright with everyone?"
"100,000? Isn't that a bit low?" someone else asked.
"It's not too low. It's just a level 10 item. In a day or two, it won't be worth much anymore."
"You think it's low? Then why don't you offer more?"
Elliot knew 100,000 was more than enough, and it was actually a bit high. The equipment's attributes were decent, but nothing too special.
"Fine, 100,000 it is."
Elliot changed the loot mode to auction-style, and after everyone agreed, SoloMan quickly purchased the Tree Demon's Spirit for 100,000 gold coins.
"Ha, this dungeon was such a breeze."
"I made 2000 bucks. That feels good! Captain, let's team up again sometime!"
"Alright, I'm off to the new map! See you guys there!"
The rest of the group happily left the team.
Once they were all gone, only SoloMan and Elliot remained in the cave. SoloMan sent Elliot a trade request. To Elliot's confusion, SoloMan gave him the Tree Demon's Spirit.
"Huh? What's this for?"
SoloMan smiled, "Bigbucks, I know you're a merchant. Help me sell this, okay? I switched to Sword Earth, and this gear isn't useful to me."
Elliot squinted his eyes. "You don't fear me taking it for myself?"
"Ha, that's not it, brother. I'm planning to start a guild, and I want you to join! You've got leadership skills, you're decisive, and you understand the game in a unique way. Trust me, if you join my guild, I'll make you part of the high ranks."
The high ranks of SoloGang—Elliot had heard of it. The people in the top positions were paid well, earning tens of thousands of dollars a year.
However, Elliot shook his head. "Sorry, I'm a businessman. I prefer to stick to business and avoid the conflicts of guilds. This item, I can't accept it."
Elliot tried to give the item back, but SoloMan refused the trade. "No problem, just sell it for me. I don't need it right now. When you sell it, I'll take half."
For once, Elliot was on the receiving end of a good deal.
Elliot accepted the trade without hesitation. "Don't worry, I'll give you the money. I'm a Shady Tycoon, but I'm not a scammer!"
SoloMan laughed. "Haha, Bigbucks, you're too funny. Alright, see you in the big map!"
"Oh, by the way, I've always wanted to ask you something."
"What's that?"
SoloMan asked curiously, "Why do you always have your pet attack while you just stand by and watch? Why don't you fight yourself?"
This question again. Elliot chuckled and replied, "It's not worth it for me to get involved."
"Ha! You're a real character. I give you a full score! See you!"
After leaving the team, they were both teleported out of the dungeon. More players had gathered outside, many of them regrouping after failing their attempts.
Elliot, however, had advanced ahead of the others, making up for the time lost when he had been busy setting up a stall. He quickly reached the merchant NPC in the corner where the job change was to take place.
The NPC said to him, "A cunning merchant, huh? You've earned the recognition of all the masters. Remember, you're a merchant. Cunning is fine, but don't cheat or ruin your future."
The merchant NPC lectured Elliot before finally allowing him to change jobs.
Ding! Congratulations, Player Bigbucks, you have successfully changed to a Big Shady Tycoon!
Big Shady Tycoon: The system will grant you a Level 3 main city shop.
Shop: Cannot be traded, cannot be transferred!
You have unlocked a new active skill: Revive Henchman.
Revive Henchman: Revive a dead henchman, cooldown: 10 minutes.
Ding! Congratulations, your henchman has evolved into a Thousand-Year Zombie! Attributes have increased, and all skills have leveled up by one!
After the job change, Elliot's attributes were significantly boosted. He opened his character profile.
Player: Bigbucks
Level: 10
XP to Next Level: 100,000
Health: 1150
Mana: 690
Attack: 0
Defense: 139
Movement Speed: 18
Skills: Summon Henchman, Revive Henchman
Elliot's attributes had improved greatly, but it was his Thousand-Year Zombie that truly stood out.
Henchman: Thousand-Year Zombie
Health: 2000
Mana: 0
Attack: 840
Defense: 1390
Movement Speed: 18
The defense stat alone was enough to leave Elliot stunned.
"At this point in the game
, you're probably the strongest tank, right?!"
Ding! Congratulations on your job change! Please use the teleportation array to head to the main city!