Chapter 53: Easier Said Than Done

Yes, out of respect for the great “Easy to Know, Hard to Do,” Shi Qingqing decided to make their account the first one she would work on as a substitute player.

This was, in a sense, a small privilege for the legendary account.

The gameplay in Sovereign Online was rich and varied: daily PVE tasks, daily PVP challenges, 25-player raids, 40-player raids, casual entertainment, life skills, monthly tournaments, seasonal competitions, annual championships, and so on. (For those unfamiliar with games, it’s actually easy to understand—these are just various gameplay modes: PVE is player versus NPC monsters, PVP is player versus player, and raids refer to large groups working together to defeat bosses.)

Shi Qingqing picked up a daily PVE quest.

This one was simple and didn’t require quick reflexes.

She opened up “Easy to Know, Hard to Do’s” equipment tab for a look.

“Wow! As expected of a top-tier account! Everything’s top-notch! Gear, gems, spirit treasures—every piece is rare and valuable, and all the skills and manuals are maxed out. Tsk tsk, extravagance without limits!”

In less than five minutes, Shi Qingqing had finished three quests and obtained several types of quest materials.

She only needed to wait for two mini-bosses to spawn.

“Easy to Know, Hard to Do” was a defensive warrior, not known for speed. With too many people around the mini-bosses, she tried twice but couldn’t secure the kills.

She mocked herself, “Damn these slow fingers! Who told you, a clumsy-fingered substitute player, to keep at this job? Serves you right…”

Yet again, she failed to grab the boss.

At that moment, her phone notified her of a group called “Hiking and Climbing Sports Club” sending out red envelope bonuses. She managed to grab two small ones—eighteen cents and twenty-two cents.

After those two red envelopes were sent out, the group started discussing where to go hiking this weekend, and no more envelopes appeared.

Shi Qingqing thought this group seemed nice.

Her mother’s health wasn’t great; it wouldn’t hurt to take her out for some hiking and exercise now and then.

She returned to the game, fully focused on competing for the boss monster…

Suddenly, a friend message notification appeared at the bottom of her friends list.

She clicked to see that someone named “Solemn Slaughter” was messaging her.

[Private chat] Solemn Slaughter: We’re missing a main tank for the fourth big boss, the Millennial Corpse King, in Blood Moon Abyss on Normal difficulty. Hurry and fill in. (MT refers to the main tank, a defensive warrior role.)

Wow, could she be seeing things? Solemn Slaughter?

The greatest legend in Imperial Capital Storms, ranked number one in overall strength!

A special class—Dragonkin—capable of both melee and ranged combat.

Dragonkin was an awkward class in Sovereign Online: in melee, it was outperformed by Berserker Warriors; at range, it couldn’t match Ice or Fire Mages.

But this master had single-handedly made Dragonkin the number one damage-dealing class!

Truly, only legends mingled with legends. Birds of a feather, as they say—how depressing.

[Private chat] Easy to Know, Hard to Do: Sorry, I’m just a substitute player.

Blood Moon Abyss was a 25-player mega-raid, and the Millennial Corpse King boss was notoriously hard. According to guides and forum posts, if things went wrong, they’d be stuck in an endless cycle of wipes and restarts.