"Yu Zhuzhu, the college entrance examination is only a few months away. Let me test your knowledge."
During the meal, Yu Zhun picked up a mouthful of food and put it in his mouth. Assuming the posture of a strict parent, he calmly asked, "How should one deal with the Blazing Fire Demon Rhinoceros, one of the three major bosses in the Newbie Area?"
"Bah!" Yu Zhu spat out a fishbone, mercilessly exposing him. "You're obviously planning to challenge the Blazing Fire Demon Rhinoceros but don't want to read the guide I prepared for you, right?"
Exposed, Yu Zhun didn't panic in the slightest. "Think about the eighty thousand yuan I earned this time."
"Fine, I'll spell it out for you." Yu Zhu rolled her eyes, her expression turning slightly serious. "Don't think that just because you smoothly defeated the Black Rock Snake, the other bosses will be easy.
"In fact, the Black Rock Snake is a mechanism monster. As long as you control your damage and fight it slowly, it's much easier to deal with than the other two bosses.
"The other two, however, don't have such special mechanisms.
"Every year, the Newbie Area has a death rate of around forty percent, and over half of those deaths are related to boss subjugation.
"You absolutely cannot let your guard down."
Everyone on Blue Star could enter the Divine Revelation World at the age of eighteen, but Divine Revelation players made up only three percent of the total population. This was precisely because the vast majority of players would quickly die in the Divine Revelation World. Just the Newbie Area alone had such a high elimination rate. Outside the Newbie Area, dangerous dungeons and various trials had even higher elimination rates.
"I understand." Hearing Yu Zhu's solemn tone, Yu Zhun also grew serious. Although he had an SSS-rank talent, he didn't dare to be careless.
"You can't spend that eighty thousand randomly," Yu Zhu pondered for a moment. "First, buy three pieces of Level 5 Green Equipment, and then buy an [Avoid Battle Stone]. This way, it will be much safer when you fight the Blazing Fire Demon Rhinoceros."
"I've already prepared them." Yu Zhun nodded. However, what he had prepared were three pieces of Blue Equipment. As for the [Avoid Battle Stone], he had three on hand, which was definitely enough. Moreover, this eighty thousand was the money left over after preparing everything.
"That's good." Yu Zhu breathed a sigh of relief, assuming Yu Zhun had used the eighty thousand to buy the items she just mentioned. Immediately after, she began explaining the characteristics of the Blazing Fire Demon Rhinoceros.
"As the only pure magic boss among the three major bosses in the Newbie Area, the Blazing Fire Demon Rhinoceros boasts the highest damage and possesses a unique [Scorching] mechanism.
"Being attacked by the Blazing Fire Demon Rhinoceros will stack layers of [Scorching]. Each layer of Scorching deals one point of damage to the player per second.
"The more stacks you have, the faster your health drops.
"Furthermore, as long as you are within its lair, a layer of [Scorching] is applied every fifteen seconds.
"Therefore..." Yu Zhu looked at Yu Zhun. "The Blazing Fire Demon Rhinoceros is completely different from the Black Rock Snake. You absolutely cannot drag out the fight.
"The longer it takes, the lower the success rate of the subjugation."
Yu Zhun nodded. A quick and decisive battle? That suited him perfectly. He would just finish it with a One-Hit Kill.
"Also, your profession presents a bit of a problem," Yu Zhu said, a thoughtful look on her face. "Since fighting the Blazing Fire Demon Rhinoceros requires keeping the battle as short as possible, Assassins—who need to remain in [Lurking] for a long time before striking—aren't very popular in parties.
"If you want to find a reliable team, you'll need to prove that you possess enough combat capability without relying on [Lurking]."
"It's fine." Yu Zhun shook his head and smiled. "I don't need to find a team."
"That's good." Yu Zhu assumed Yu Zhun had already found a suitable party. "There is another way to resist the Blazing Fire Demon Rhinoceros's [Scorching], and that is to bring along a Priest with the [Purification] skill.
"[Purification] can clear out all stacked layers of [Scorching], which is highly effective when fighting the Blazing Fire Demon Rhinoceros."
Yu Zhun looked thoughtful. If he remembered correctly, Su Yue had this skill. However, there was no need to bother her. The damage per second from [Scorching] wasn't actually that high; it was only when the battle dragged on for several minutes that the total damage would become terrifying. Yu Zhun wouldn't take that long at all. He could just tank the [Scorching] and get it over with.
"You'd better memorize the Blazing Fire Demon Rhinoceros's skills." Yu Zhu glanced at him, counting on her fingers as she prattled on. "Its three skills usually follow an attack pattern during a subjugation..."
-----------------
The next day. At the Blazing Flame Volcano in the Newbie Area.
Looking at the volcano straight ahead that seemed ready to erupt at any moment, Yu Zhun could already feel the heat wave hitting his face before even stepping inside. However, even the intense heat was no match for the enthusiasm of the players. In front of Yu Zhun, there were no less than a dozen parties of players lining up. It was probably because it was the weekend that there were more people here to subjugate the boss. Fortunately, the speed of subjugating the Blazing Fire Demon Rhinoceros was fast. Even with a dozen or so teams ahead, he wouldn't need to wait too long.
Yu Zhun sat alone in a corner, waiting quietly. Quite a few teams mistook him for a solo player looking for a party. But after seeing his profession, these teams quickly looked away. Just as Yu Zhu had said, the Assassin profession was not popular in subjugation teams for the Blazing Fire Demon Rhinoceros.
Not long after, three miserable-looking figures ran out of the Blazing Flame Volcano as if fleeing for their lives. The moment they stepped out, they immediately began cursing profusely.
"Damn it, what kind of trash teammates were those? They got themselves killed and almost dragged me down with them!"
"I said no Assassins! No Assassins! Damn it, they wasted one of my subjugation chances and a health potion!"
"You still have the nerve to talk? You were the fastest one to run away!"
"..."
From the angry banter of these three, the bystanders watching the drama were able to roughly piece together what had happened. This team had recruited two Assassins, but the two Assassins hadn't contributed much during the battle. This led to insufficient damage output and ultimately resulted in a failed subjugation, with seven members dying instantly.
For a moment, everyone felt a lingering fear. Subjugating bosses was just like this. One never knew when they might bite the dust. Although the rewards were high, the risks were equally staggering.
Many couldn't help but glance at Yu Zhun sitting in the corner, secretly glad they hadn't invited him into their team after realizing he was an Assassin.
Yu Zhun, who had been happily enjoying the drama, noticed these looks of relief, and his face instantly darkened.
Hey now... He was just enjoying the drama; how did he end up catching strays?
"Hey, bro, I advise you not to waste your time here. You saw what happened to that team just now," one of the guys spoke up loudly. "Assassins really aren't welcome here. Instead of wasting time, you might as well go check out the other two bosses.
"Maybe a team over there will take you."
"Your intentions are good, but save your breath." Yu Zhun's eyelid twitched. "Teammates? I don't need them at all."
Hearing this, a burst of sneers immediately erupted from the surroundings. An Assassin wanting to fight the Blazing Fire Demon Rhinoceros without teammates? It was simply the ravings of a lunatic.