Chapter 7: Dark Night Cat Demon
Glory supports voice chat directly and it sounds extremely realistic, with just one channel: Current. The distance between characters directly affects the volume of voices, as the system has its own set of algorithms for sound propagation. There is no background music in the game—only realistic sound effects like wind and rustling leaves. Once you put on headphones, the sense of immersion is incredibly intense.
The one shouting was probably Zhongyuemian, who had also seen the system notification about the appearance of the hidden boss, the Night Demon Cat. After Ye Xiu typed "haha," he heard Zhongyuemian's voice: "Speak up, why are you typing?"
"Someone's sleeping nearby, so I can't talk," Ye Xiu typed, then pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, skillfully flicking one out and tilting his head to light it.
"Oh," Zhongyuemian replied in understanding, then asked, "What about the others?"
After the other three players spoke up, Zhongyuemian expressed his disappointment first: "No girls!"
Amidst laughter, the team set off.
The Greenwood Forest was a small dungeon designed to help new players familiarize themselves with the game. How difficult could it be? Besides, Zhongyuemian was clearly not a newcomer, leading the way and clearing enemies smoothly. After Ye Xiu's Junmoxiao cast two healing spells as a Saint, Zhongyuemian immediately assigned him the role of a pure support. In reality, there was no need for the classic tank-healer-DPS trinity in such a low-level dungeon, but Zhongyuemian was clearly accustomed to this style and directed the team accordingly. He served as the main tank drawing aggro, the other three as damage dealers, and Junmoxiao was appointed as the logistics manager.
Amidst the sounds of combat and the shouts of teammates, the five-person team advanced. Ye Xiu's skills were polished, and his positioning was clever, earning him high praise from the leader. But Ye Xiu's mind was elsewhere—when was the last time he had teamed up with friends to clear a dungeon? How long had it been since he'd felt this way?
Watching the monsters fall one by one, Ye Xiu's thoughts drifted. There was too much to remember. The adventures in Greenwood Forest even took him back a decade.
The friend he had met when Glory first launched, the one who stayed up all night discussing the game's innovations and future with him. He had seen through everything, predicted everything, and planned everything—only for a single unexpected update to shatter all his dreams and hopes, leaving behind only this unfinished weapon, the Thousand Mechanism Umbrella.
"You should have been the most talented and accomplished player in Glory..." His fingers brushed lightly over the keyboard, and with a flick of the mouse, Junmoxiao's heal landed precisely on Zhongyuemian. While Zhongyuemian praised the timely heal, Ye Xiu's mind was far from the game.
"Alright, next up is the Night Demon Cat," Zhongyuemian said after cutting down the last small monster. The moment Ye Xiu heard "Night Demon Cat," his focus snapped back. Hidden bosses didn't always appear after clearing the entire dungeon; sometimes, guided by the system, they could show up midway through a scene. And this time, the Night Demon Cat was indeed about to appear.
"The Night Demon Cat's attacks have a chance to inflict a curse status. But it's just a curse—nothing scary. However, it's fast, so it might take a bit for me to draw its aggro. Hold on for a while, everyone, stay calm and don't panic," Zhongyuemian laid out the tactics.
Everyone nodded, and Ye Xiu didn't say much—Zhongyuemian's plan made sense.
"There's no system announcement yet, everyone. We might just become the first to kill the hidden boss in the tenth district's dungeon!" Zhongyuemian encouraged the team with excitement in his voice.
"Move out," Zhongyuemian commanded, and the team continued forward. The already dim Greenwood Forest grew even darker as a patch of clouds covered the sun overhead. The sound of footsteps on the forest floor was especially clear. No one spoke; everyone was fully focused on their surroundings.
"Yangguan, stop looking at the sky. The Night Demon Cat isn't going to fall from the heavens," Zhongyuemian suddenly remarked. Glory is a first-person perspective game, and the screen essentially shows a realistic human field of view. With detailed visuals, looking up at the sky would make the character tilt their head, and Zhongyuemian couldn't help but criticize when he noticed the teammate Yangguan constantly gazing upward.
Amidst everyone's laughter, Ye Xiu suddenly heard a rapid rustling from the edge of the forest. It wasn't the sound of footsteps, but of a body brushing against leaves and branches.
"It's here." Ye Xiu realized typing might be too slow and shouted out muffledly—his mouth was still holding a cigarette! At the same time, his fingers tapped twice lightly, and Junmoxiao jumped backward and turned in one fluid motion, facing the direction the Night Demon Cat was coming from.
Seeing Junmoxiao's actions, everyone knew this brother, who had been silent until now, had spoken up at the critical moment to give a warning.
"Everyone, fall back!" Zhongyuemian shouted, but instead of retreating, he moved forward—intending to make himself the Night Demon Cat's primary target.
The other three also stepped back, standing in line with Junmoxiao and keeping several body lengths away from Zhongyuemian. Everyone held their breath, but the rustling sound of the Night Demon Cat darting through the forest had also stopped at that moment.
"What the—" Teammate Yangguan had just uttered two words when a black shadow shot out from the forest with a sharp cat's cry, pouncing straight at Zhongyuemian, who was positioned at the front.
"Here we go!" Zhongyuemian showed no fear and swung his sword. The Night Demon Cat was small and fast, making it a real test of the player's precision. Ye Xiu had long since assessed the skill level of these four players. He estimated it might take some time for Zhongyuemian to hold the cat's aggro and even suspected that he might end up drawing aggro himself through healing. But that would be fine—Ye Xiu could handle the Night Demon Cat alone.
However, Zhongyuemian got lucky. His sword strike was timed perfectly, hitting the Night Demon Cat mid-pounce. A follow-up side roll dodged the cat's lunge, saving Junmoxiao from needing to use the healing spell he had ready.
The Night Demon Cat missed after being struck but reacted swiftly, spinning around to swipe again. Zhongyuemian raised his sword to block with a loud "clang," the blade clashing with the cat's claw. He slid back half a step, then immediately countered with an upward slash.
Nice! Ye Xiu couldn't help but exclaim inwardly. The timing of Yuè Zhōng Mián’s block as a swordsman was spot-on, and the uppercut counter was executed without a hint of sluggishness—clearly the mark of a highly skilled player. Had he misjudged this person? Yuè Zhōng Mián’s skill level was higher than he had initially thought!
After launching the cat demon into the air with the uppercut, Yuè Zhōng Mián followed up with a consecutive thrust, a ground-splitting shockwave, and finally a ghost slash that sent a dark purple arc of light slicing through the shadow cat demon, flinging it away. The combo drew cheers from the team. Yuè Zhōng Mián, however, didn’t let his guard down for a moment. He chased after the boss, landed two more sword strikes, and then shouted, “Start the kill!”
The three damage dealers were already prepared and immediately began unleashing their skills. Yuè Zhōng Mián also stopped dodging and weaving around the shadow cat demon, instead relying on Jūn Mò Xiào’s healing abilities to withstand the attacks, keeping the shadow cat demon locked in a stable position.
The situation was holding up well. The cat demon’s wails echoed through the forest one after another as it took a beating, and the team was thrilled. The three newcomers had already learned from Yuè Zhōng Mián along the way just how valuable a hidden boss could be. Everyone eagerly pummeled the shadow cat demon, but Ye Xiu felt a flicker of unease at that moment.
“It’s at red health! Keep the heals coming!” The shadow cat demon’s health quickly dipped below one-tenth, a state players commonly called “red health.” Many bosses had a few tricks up their sleeves in this state. Gremwoods was just a beginner dungeon, so the bosses there didn’t have such abilities, but the shadow cat demon was different—it was a hidden boss, after all. It would be unworthy of the title if it didn’t have any surprises.
However, the shadow cat demon’s change was relatively straightforward: it went berserk, boosting its attack speed and damage slightly. This meant the healer’s workload would increase.
Ye Xiu estimated that at Yuè Zhōng Mián’s level, if he just avoided tanking everything head-on and focused on evasion, the remaining one-tenth of health wouldn’t be too difficult to shave off. Yet, to his surprise, Yuè Zhōng Mián stubbornly continued to take the hits, and his counters seemed a bit half-hearted.
“Out of mana?” Ye Xiu glanced at the team interface, but that clearly wasn’t the issue. So the sudden drop in Yuè Zhōng Mián’s performance seemed to confirm his earlier suspicions. Just as Ye Xiu was about to speak up, he heard Yuè Zhōng Mián yell, “Oh shit, the aggro’s gone haywire!!”