Chapter Fifty: Tragedy

“You’re going too? This is a high-risk operation.”
“A big action like this doesn’t interest you?”
They spoke at the same time, then fell silent once more.

A few seconds later, Chu Cheng spoke first:
“They offered me 10 gold and 10 points to join the operation.”
“That much?”
“But it’s not easy money. If they’re paying such a high price to bring me in, I’m not just there to watch. Either I’m leading the charge in the front lines, or I’m tanking the boss. Either way, it’s dangerous.”
Zhang Chunlei nodded. “True. The boss inside is way too strong.”
“If you’re going, be careful.”
“I will.”

Ending the call, Chu Cheng put the matter out of his mind and went to bed.

The next morning, after a quick meal and preparing some food, he set out again—today’s destination was elsewhere.

When he arrived at the outpost gate, he saw a massive group assembling, perhaps fifty or sixty people at a glance. Zhang Chunlei, Wang Weilong, and the others were all there, even the Yu Hong squad he’d seen yesterday was among them.

The forward base was the main hub for early events in this instance; at least seventy percent of the students from the seven classes were stationed here.

As Chu Cheng passed by, someone in the crowd called out loudly, “Chu Cheng!”

Sun Yu walked over, his face earnest. “Are you really not going to reconsider? We’ve joined up with more than a hundred and forty people; there are over ten tank-class players, five mages, two healers, and more than ten teachers or assistants watching over us. Plus, we’ve prepared an extraordinary-grade magic scroll with immense power. The risks aren’t as high as you think.”

Chu Cheng was a bit surprised by their lineup, but still unmoved. He shook his head. “No, you all go ahead.”

He waved, turned, and left.

“So? Still no?”
“No.”
“Coward. Forget about him. With so many of us, and the teachers there to help if needed, we’ve got this.”
Chu Cheng left the outpost, his figure soon disappearing into the wilderness.

But as he got farther from the wasteland, the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Unable to shake it off, he messaged his homeroom teacher, explaining Class One’s invitation and asking the question that troubled him: “Isn’t this operation extremely risky? A lot of people are bound to die. How could the school approve this?”

Duan Yuqin replied quickly: “Since your first entry into the Realm of Chaos, the school has done everything possible to protect you all, and has repeatedly warned you of the dangers within the realm. It’s now the third year—if you don’t get into a higher academy, you’ll be entering society, where dangers in public instances and realms are ten times worse than what you face now.

Everyone must take responsibility for their actions, and every choice carries its own risks.

This joint operation has received official approval. Our instructions are to oversee the situation and minimize losses as much as possible.”

Chu Cheng...

The teacher’s words made it clear: the school also believed this was a high-risk operation and expected casualties among the students. Yet, the school did not intervene and tacitly accepted the losses to come.

“All right then!” Chu Cheng felt a certain relief at his own caution—sometimes, prudence is its own kind of wisdom.

Pushing the matter from his mind, Chu Cheng oriented himself and set off in a chosen direction.

Two hours later, he arrived farther north along the Embroidered River, following the paths trodden by alien tribes deeper into the mountains.

Thanks to Class One’s joint operation, nearly every capable team had been recruited, leaving him without competition today. He could focus entirely on wiping out the alien tribes in the mountains.

Centaur, orc, gnoll, boar-man, goblin—tribes large and small occupied the mountains. In the storyline two months later, most would be summoned by the orc chieftain to join the allied army, defeat the human coalition at Blackwater River, and in three months breach the Cross Fortress, leading to untold human casualties.

Now, clearing out these tribes not only earned him renown but also weakened the orc alliance and reduced the pressure for the decisive battle two months hence.

The mountain tribes weren’t large—none matched the scale of the previous centaur clan, but there were more of them, over twenty in total.

Each tribe, depending on its size, offered at least 200 reputation points, larger ones 250 or 300. Altogether, more than six thousand points could be gained, with far less risk than attacking the Blackstone Fortress.

What took a team of twenty, he could handle alone with ease.

He enjoyed all the experience from the slaughter, leveling up rapidly.

He didn’t return for four full days, staying deep in the mountains, wiping out the last orc tribe marked on his map. His level had soared to 21, up three levels.

With previous savings, he now had 30 free attribute points.

At this level, he was without peer in the school.

Wang Weilong at level 17 was among the top tier, with the highest perhaps at 18 or 19—still several levels behind him.

Upon returning, he tallied his gains: his reputation had reached 7,200—revered status was at 5,000, worship required 20,000, leaving 12,800 to go.

The efficiency was astounding—but no one could replicate it.

No one else could single-handedly wipe out a two- or three-hundred-member tribe as easily as drinking water, claiming all the reputation for themselves.

This showed how difficult it was to reach worship in this instance.

Now Chu Cheng was certain: no one would surpass him in this regard—unless Class One stormed the distant orc and centaur capitals in the far north.

“A few more days, ten or fifteen, clearing out all threats on the great wasteland and my reputation will top 10,000.”

“I wonder how their attack on Blackstone Fortress went. Did they take it?”

Full of curiosity, Chu Cheng strolled leisurely across the great wasteland, heading back to the northern outpost.

Upon reaching the outpost perimeter, he tried to contact Zhang Chunlei, but received no response.

He was a little surprised, but thought little of it, assuming Zhang was busy.

Returning to the outpost, he sold off his miscellaneous loot—including a dozen level-ten blue items—ate, and went back to the inn, but still received no reply from Zhang Chunlei.

Only then did he begin to suspect something was wrong and messaged his homeroom teacher for an update.

Duan Yuqin replied quickly: “He was killed in battle.”

“???”

Chu Cheng immediately understood. “Did something go wrong with the operation?”

“Yes,” came the answer. “They used tactics to lure the orcs out of Blackstone Fortress and fought them in the open, but were defeated head-on. The teachers intervened, and Pan Yue from Class One used a one-time extraordinary magic scroll to fend off the orc army, allowing them to retreat.

But in the chaos, over thirty students died, and an assistant from Class One was killed covering their escape.”

Hiss—

“So many casualties...”

At least a dozen, he reckoned, would be lost forever.

A lesser resurrection scroll cost 100 gold—not every family could afford that price.