As the voice faded, Zhou Tianqi was stunned for a moment before reacting.
"One million it is!"
"If I win, you give me the money; if you lose, you apologize to me publicly."
He spoke in a hurry, terrified that Qin Chen might suddenly back out.
It was only a million, after all. He could scrape it together if he gritted his teeth—it was all the savings his family had given him for the time being.
Besides, Qin Chen stood no chance of winning.
What did a mere Mage who could only throw fireballs have to compare against his hidden-class Psychic?
Moreover, he had just acquired a blue-tier skill book bought for him by his family, along with a blue-tier piece of equipment.
His strength had increased vastly.
He was extremely confident that he could clear a normal-tier dungeon all by himself.
When Qin Chen heard that Zhou Tianqi actually had a million, a surge of excitement filled his heart, and he suddenly found the other guy much more pleasing to the eye.
How mischievous.
Why didn't he say he had a million sooner?
He wasn't the kind of person to be blinded by money.
He simply had a passionate love for it.
Qin Chen thought it over. Since he was planning to enter a Calamity Level dungeon to level up anyway, he said,
"Then let's have a contest to see who can last longer inside a Calamity Level dungeon."
"How about it?"
"What... a Calamity Level dungeon?"
Zhou Tianqi froze completely on the spot.
"That's right, or are you scared?" Qin Chen asked with a puzzled look.
"A Calamity Level dungeon it is, then! I want to see just who can last longer."
Recovering from his shock, Zhou Tianqi let out a cold snort. He assumed Qin Chen knew he couldn't win, and was deliberately choosing a Calamity Level dungeon to try his luck and gamble on outlasting him.
The Calamity Level dungeon was the highest difficulty.
To this day, no individual or team had ever managed to clear it.
Because the Calamity Level recreated real Fierce Beast invasion events on a one-to-one scale, the difficulty was astronomical, even though the dungeon's level restriction was capped below Level 10 so students could trial it.
Yet the difficulty remained terrifyingly high.
Believing he had seen right through Qin Chen's petty trick, Zhou Tianqi wore a look of disdain.
Wasn't it just a contest of who could turtle up longer in a Calamity Level dungeon?
He was confident that he, a hidden-class Psychic, would be at least a little better off than some squishy Mage.
The outcome of this contest was beyond any doubt.
The advantage was entirely his!
When the surrounding onlookers saw that the two of them were actually going to compete in a Calamity Level dungeon, their eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
Had these two lost their minds?
This was a Calamity Level dungeon.
This wasn't some children's game of make-believe.
The Calamity Level difficulty had never been cleared by anyone.
Not long ago, a fully geared elite team had refused to heed the warnings and wanted to test the waters.
As soon as they stepped into the Calamity Level difficulty, they were completely wiped out in less than a few minutes.
They hadn't even caught a glimpse of the boss, getting utterly flattened by just a handful of trash mobs.
Terrified that Qin Chen might renege, Zhou Tianqi immediately used the academy's Betting Stone as a witness.
The Betting Stone was an alchemical product that served as an official notary for parties wagering against each other. Anyone who violated the agreement would be afflicted by a debuff from the Betting Stone, reducing their status attributes by a direct seventy percent.
Of course, the Betting Stone only worked on players under Level 10, but it was a perfect fit for the two of them.
A ferocious grin flashed across Zhou Tianqi's face.
He could already picture the scene of Qin Chen kneeling before everyone to apologize to him.
This time, not only would he vent the stifling anger of having been suppressed by Qin Chen before, but he would also make Qin Chen lose all face in front of a massive crowd.
What an absolute windfall!
He had been looking forward to this day for a very long time!
He would deal with Qin Chen first; as for the goddess Su Li, he would figure out a way to win back her heart later.
How could someone like Su Li ever fancy a piece of trash with a combat power of only five?
Previously, she must have simply been constrained by social graces and felt obliged to help out when she saw Qin Chen being bullied.
As the two placed their palms down, the Betting Stone instantly verified their wager agreement.
A notification message immediately popped up on both of their data panels.
[Wager successfully established!]
[Contestants: Qin Chen, Zhou Tianqi]
[Wager terms: A competition to trial the Calamity Level dungeon; the winner claims the stake.]
[Consequences of breach: Any party violating the agreement will suffer a continuous one-month effect where their status attributes are directly reduced by seventy percent.]
......
The surrounding crowd wore expressions of utter disbelief.
"Did those two really place a bet?"
"This is Calamity Level difficulty! Even a trash mob in there is practically on par with a normal-tier Boss."
"Qin Chen could easily have avoided this bet. Why does he have to be so stubborn? What harm would it do to swallow his pride for a moment?"
"Sigh, still too hot-headed and impulsive."
"Well, we're in for a good show now. I'm sort of curious if a squishy Mage like Qin Chen can even survive a single brush with the mobs?"
......
On the other side, Qin Chen's face was plastered with joy.
One million.
He hadn't expected it to fall into his hands so easily.
He couldn't help it—he was terrified of being poor.
Although Uncle Su gave him some pocket money every month, it was never enough.
Sometimes, just grabbing a bite to eat on the street with Su Li or buying some snacks would wipe out his allowance entirely.
And that was even factoring in Su Li's own pocket money.
Qin Chen never imagined his luck would be this good today.
Earlier, an unexpected arena match had netted him twenty thousand in prize money.
And now, he was effortlessly picking up another million in cash.
It seemed the heavens must have looked at his impoverished and destitute state, found it simply unbearable, and deliberately sent him some money.
One million two hundred thousand should keep him going for quite a while.
Qin Chen muttered to himself.
With enough money, he could finally buy some materials or gear suited for a Mage.
Suddenly, he remembered the blue-tier skill book Su Li had given him.
Qin Chen reached directly into his pocket and pulled out the skill book.
[Meteor Technique: Summons a meteor to plummet from the sky, crashing down upon enemies and dealing abnormal damage.]
Without a moment's hesitation, he used it on the spot, gently tearing the skill book apart as it dissolved into a beam of light that entered Qin Chen's body.
[Ding! You have successfully learned the skill Meteor Technique!]
Since he was heading into the dungeon anyway, he might as well sharpen his spear right before the battle; learning an extra skill was always better than having none.
Ignoring the strange looks from the surrounding crowd, Qin Chen walked straight up to the dungeon entrance.
He pressed his palm firmly against the heavy stone doors of the dungeon.
[Do you wish to select Calamity Level difficulty?]
[Confirm!]
[Warning! The Calamity Level difficulty has a vast disparity with your current level. Please exercise extreme caution.]
Following Qin Chen's confirmation, the heavy stone doors slowly creaked open. A flash of white light vanished in an instant, transforming into a dark red aura carrying a terrifying coercive pressure that swallowed Qin Chen whole in a single gulp.
Qin Chen's figure vanished from the dungeon entrance in a flash.
Nearby, feeling the terrifying aura emanating from the Calamity Level dungeon, Zhou Tianqi unconsciously took a few steps back out of fear.
A lingering trace of regret stirred in his heart.
He shouldn't have been so rash as to choose the Calamity Level difficulty.
Yet the wager was already signed; backing out was impossible.
With no other choice, he gritted his teeth hard, forced himself forward, and—mimicking Qin Chen—placed his hand against the heavy stone doors of the dungeon.
He had made up his mind: as soon as he got inside, he would turtle up and try his absolute best to survive past the five-minute mark.
The dark red aura appeared once more, instantly swallowing the terrified Zhou Tianqi!
The contest between the two had officially begun!
.....