"Ahh.. here I thought we would have a serious chance against the Nian Boss." Xia Mao yawned as he found himself in one of the beds of the Luxury Recovery Instance. The fluffy pillows and cushy beds were the best and most comforting way to relax after a defeat. (They also made the taste of victory feel even sweeter)
"Come on, let's get going. We should be able to put in one more game before I have to go back to prepare for the new year. Maybe, I too can slip in a short nap when I reach home and hopefully before my children visit me later in the morning." Jing Yu said as she felt revitalised. After her quick shower, she was ready to go for one more round.
"Sorry, but I don't feel like it. That previous one was way too strenuous for my liking. Besides, it's a new dungeon, it will take some time until people find a way to defeat it quickly." Xia Mao grumbled while putting the blanket over his head. Despite already having a grandkid, this grandfather sometimes still acted like one big baby.
"Did you forget that we can resume where we stopped now?" Zi Dan asked as he reentered the room. He had gone out for a moment and came back with a cup of coffee from the vending machine. "By the way, when I was out, I overheard some people talking about Bu Dong being in one of the recovery rooms. I hastily checked his stream on Pandaflix, and his group was defeated before being able to damage the Nian."
"I don't know about the others, but it seems he might be leading the only Pandawan group that is competing in the dungeon right now. It looks like we have the advantage since our group managed to damage the Boss with the boat in the beginning. We even have more of those firecrackers at hand, so if we give it our best shot perhaps we can beat their group to it!" Zi Dan added excitedly.
"I mean, I wouldn't mind getting the first clear, but this bed feels too heavenly. It would be a sin to leave it." Xia Mao yawned loudly. After which he slowly grabbed another pillow from the bottom of the trolley bed like a cat reaching for its toy and pulled it up as if his strength waned with every second away from the bed.
"Hmmm... Actually, he is right, why are we pushing ourselves so much? Didn't we originally come here as part of our retirement exercise? Sure, getting the first dungeon clear would be nice, but we should not strain ourselves that much. Perhaps I should just visit the dungeon supplier store that is close to my house." Knowing their friend long enough, Jing Yu decided to use some psychology tricks on him.
"Heh, the dungeon instances at other places can't hold a candle to Boss Jin's dungeons. They are absolutely boring, unable to design a worthy opponent. I don't think I will patronise them ever again." Xia Mao mentioned as he continued to slack in his bed.
"Then what about the money and Panda Medals you spent getting that Dragon Slaying Scimitar? Don't you want to retrieve what you lost?" Zi Dan joined Jing Yu's attempt to motivate their lazy friend.
"Can't we just try again tomorrow? If it's that important to you, why don't you just team up with Bu Dong? Is Kong Xian there with him?" Xia Mao proposed, and Zi Dan shook his head, telling him that the team consisted of Bu Dong, the Yue siblings and two Panda Mercenaries. The Pandawan Kong Xian which they drank together in the Salamander Lord's Keep Raid was not with him.
"Well, isn't that perfect? I recall Kong Xian mentioning that Bu Dong doesn't mind making new friends, so as long as you tell him we are friends with his friend, it should be alright." Xia Mao elaborated and suddenly, speaking of the Devil himself, Bu Dong came in. He had heard his name coming from the recovery room when he was opposite of their ward buying some Panda Soda via the vending machine.
"Were you guys talking about me?" Bu Dong asked, and his eyes squirted momentarily. "Wait… aren't you the guys who fought with us at the forefront of the Salamander Lord's Keep? I remember seeing you. You must be the uncles that helped Kong Xian with his part of the fight, right? I personally watched that raid a few times since it was a limited fight. It's a shame Jin hasn't brought it back in its original form. I would have loved to try out your portion of the fight, too."
"I feel you. His first iteration of raids is always completely unique." Zi Dan agreed as he greeted the teenage prodigy. "They might be harder in nature, but it feels satisfying being able to clear it. The toned-down version for the masses just doesn't have the same feel if you know what you're missing. Not to mention, the rewards we've earned from that original emergency raid was way better too."
Bu Dong was quickly welcomed into their recovery room, and they talked a bit in regards to the current Nian Dungeon.
"What?! You can do that? I thought those sea waves were unapproachable, and we had to follow the compass to reach the island safely. But did you really manage to hurt the Boss with it? The Nian seemed pretty tough when we encountered it."
"To be honest, we didn't do it on purpose. For some reason, my handle was spoiled or something. Maybe it had been mishandled or sabotaged, but we had a lucky break because of it, reaching the Boss and damaging it. We've been facing an injured Nian ever since, making it easier to deal with her at the end of our side quests." Jing Yu replied.
"Only it seems that Boss Jin is not planning to let us finish him, I erm mean her quickly. Keep forgetting the lore states that Nian was a mother... Anyways, I think he wants us to go to where the main quest is if we want to face off with her. Despite his injuries, the beast was always healthy enough to run off." Xia Mao added to the discussion from the bed. "Say, my friends here would like to join your team in the dungeon if you plan to continue after resting up that is."
"Oh, eh okay. My pals had to go back home to prepare for the Chinese New Year visit, as such, I am by myself at the moment. So sure, I would love to join you guys. I'd much rather let someone new get the first dungeon clear than letting Xiong Da get another one under his belt." Bu Dong muttered the last sentence and the Elders believed it was some internal competition between the Pandawans. Yet, it was just Bu Dong and Xiong Da's mini face-off.
"We would be honoured to. Let's join forces! It will be easier to fight with Bu Dong around." Zi Dan looked at the rest of the group, but Xia Mao just retracted back under his blanket.
"With the four of us, there won't be enough space for a healer and tank since the recommended party size is five. So count me out and go have fun." Xia Mao argued, but Zi Dan did not want to leave his pal alone. It would be a shame if they actually completed the dungeon and he wouldn't be part of it.
"How about I fill in as the healer? I did learn some basic healing chi techniques when I was younger, and with my cultivation now, it should be equivalent to an advanced chi heal. I can also sponsor the potions for this round!"
"Oh my, so generous? What's gotten into you, Zi Dan? You are usually at odds with Xia Mao, and now you are patronising him." Jing Yu questioned, and the Blind Cheetah merely shook his head.
"I just want to get a first clear of a dungeon once. I mean we finally have a Pandawan with us, won't it be better if we go together and possibly stand a much better chance against Nian?" Zi Dan responded, slightly embarrassed that he is actively trying to coerce the whole group. The others in the room believed it was his desire to earn such an achievement, but Jing Yu was sensing something more. Like Xia Mao, Zi Dan always want to keep things easy and simple. From the dungeon runs, she knew that he was not the kind who likes to do much hard work. Thus, for him wanting to do a dungeon so desperately showed that there was something up. Even Xia Mao also find it very odd but kept quiet for the moment as he let it linger at the back of his mind.
"Urgh, fine, let's do it together. But we take it slow! The last time you rushed, we got swarmed by the monsters. And you take orders from me, little boy!" Xia Mao scratched his head and stretched a little while giving out his conditions to join the raid.
"Hah! In terms of Boss Jin's dungeon experience, I probably know more than you." Bu Dong rose to the challenge, hoping to raise the competitiveness of the group a little. He was previously sulking that he did not have the chance to complete the dungeon since his circle of friends were usually from the Pandawans group.
But seeing that he got lucky to team up with the Pandarens that Kong Xian talked highly about, he believed this group combination might have a chance to win this. (with his help.)
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