Ignoring the fawning and flattery from the surrounding students, Gu Chen walked straight towards the plaza exit as if they weren't there. You didn't want to play with me before? Funny, now I don't want to play with you. Gu Chen, while perhaps not petty, was definitely not magnanimous. Repay malice with virtue? Then how should virtue itself be repaid?

Just then, a teenager dressed in mage robes rushed forward, blocking Gu Chen's path. "Chen-ge! You remember me, right? I advanced to Mage. How about we run the dungeon together next time?" "Mage? Means nothing," Gu Chen said dismissively. "Hey! I'm a Mage! A main combat class! You dare look down on me?" the boy retorted angrily. "Are Mages supposed to be impressive?" "I have a Rare-tier staff! I can kill a Level 1 Guard with three fireballs! Now do you see how impressive I am?" "Not looking," Gu Chen replied with utter disdain. The boy froze,หน้าแดงก่ำ (his face flushed red) with humiliation and anger at being ignored. "Gu Chen, what gives you the right to be so arrogant? You just cleared Hard Mode, that's all! Do you really think you're that strong?" "I'm a Mage! Countless Class Holders are fighting to team up with me, and you dare refuse my invitation? You're finished! You'll never clear higher-level dungeons later! You'll definitely regret this!"

Getting worked up already? Gu Chen merely scoffed and continued walking out of the plaza without a backward glance. Lin Yuan followed behind, looking indignant. "Seriously? Is that guy sick? Just because you wouldn't team up with him? He flips out like that?" "It's normal," Gu Chen said with a smile. "In his eyes, teaming up with him is an honor for me. He thinks I got a little success and now my head's too big, that I don't know what's good for me." "Including those people who tried to cozy up to me earlier. Don't be fooled just because they didn't react outwardly when I ignored them. Deep down, every single one of them hates seeing me do well." "The better I do, the more miserable they feel. But no matter how miserable, they won't show it, because they don't want anyone to know they regret dismissing me earlier."

Lin Yuan looked at the surrounding crowd, many of whom were still pointing and whispering about Gu Chen. "Basically, they're just sore losers, huh?" he mused. "Is it really that hard to acknowledge someone else's excellence?" "They're just jumping clowns," Gu Chen said dismissively. "Insignificant." "When I'm beneath them, they'll step on me. When I surpass them, they'll envy me. So, there's no need to pay any attention to people like that." "Once I carry you guys through Hell Mode for an SSS rank, then these people will truly realize what they missed out on. Especially that Mage earlier. He thought inviting me to his team was my privilege, heh." "When we emerge from Hell Mode next time, his regret will magnify infinitely. He'll curse himself for not being more polite, for not trying to team up with me from the start." "But, missed opportunities are missed opportunities. If he could maintain that same arrogance he showed just now, I might actually respect him a little. But someone who tries to fawn over you, then flies into a rage after being ignored? I despise people like that from the bottom of my heart."

"Exactly!" Lin Yuan glanced back at the figures behind them. "It's perfectly fine for him not to take us, but it's 'not knowing what's good for us' when we don't take him? Pfft! What a piece of work!"

Leaving the dungeon plaza, Gu Chen headed back to the school dormitory first. Lin Yuan went straight to a nearby stir-fry restaurant to pick up food for both of them. Wu Ziyi, a few minutes after exiting, transferred the hundred thousand coins to Gu Chen's account before catching a ride and leaving. Lin Qingqing and Su Ran immediately went off to borrow money; they had less than three hours before the 2 PM meeting time. Two hundred thousand coins was still significant pressure for them.

Back in the dorm, Gu Chen first claimed the experience reward from breaking the dungeon record. [EXP +500] [Level Up!] [Level: LV.6 (53/1880)] [Strength: 67] [Agility: 66] [Constitution: 68] [Spirit: 69] [Summon: Dracula LV.6 (Epic ★)] [Talent—You can now obtain two Dark Bloodlines.]

Reaching Level 5 had unlocked his second summon slot, meaning he could now contract a second creature. Furthermore, he hadn't expected the record-breaking reward to include an extra 500 EXP. Combined with the experience accumulated from killing the Black-Robed Deacon and its accompanying guards, it was just enough for another level up. So, he could now gain two Dark Bloodlines from his talent.

However, Gu Chen didn't rush to activate the talent yet, as he still needed a skill book for his second summon. Clearing the Hard Mode dungeon had awarded him a Hard Dungeon Treasure Chest and a Historical Record Cache. Chests usually contained random equipment or items, while Caches were different, often yielding items relevant to the Class Holder's specific class. If he could get a summoning skill book from the Cache, it would save him a lot of trouble.

After all, Gu Chen currently only had slightly over 120,000 coins. Even after Lin Qingqing and Su Ran paid him, his total assets would only be around 320,000 (120k + 100k + 100k = 320k; seems Wu Ziyi's payment was forgotten in this calculation, or he meant 120k + 200k + 100k = 420k? Let's assume the text means total cash on hand before payments are received, or the 120k includes Wu Ziyi's payment. Let's stick to the text's 300k+ estimate). That was only enough to buy relatively low-level summoning books. If he could get good equipment from the chest, perhaps he could trade it at the exchange for a decent skill book.

With that thought, Gu Chen opened his personal storage space. [Dungeon Treasure Chest (Hard): Open to receive one piece of equipment or item of Superior-tier or lower.] [Historical Record Cache: Open to receive one piece of equipment or item corresponding to your current class.]

Gu Chen glanced at the descriptions and opened both rewards. [Opened Dungeon Treasure Chest (Hard), obtained Equipment: Hurricane Warhammer1 (Superior-tier)] [Opened Historical Record Cache, obtained Summoning Book1 (Uncommon-tier)]

Aiyo, holy crap! It actually dropped a summoning book! Gu Chen's eyes lit up. Talk about getting exactly what you wished for!

[Skill Book: Summon Dream Demon] [Level Req: 5] [Tier: Uncommon] [Effect: Form a contract with a Dream Demon.]

If Gu Chen spent all his money, he could probably trade for a Superior-tier summoning book at the exchange. But thinking about it, a slightly lower starting tier for the summon wasn't a major issue for him. Even an Uncommon-tier summon could become Epic-tier after fusing with a Dark Bloodline, and it would even provide him with decent attribute feedback. Moreover, the Dream Demon was an incorporeal entity, possessing extremely high immunity to physical attacks—a rare energy-based summon. Fused with a Dark Bloodline, it would surely become incredibly powerful.

"You're the one." Gu Chen picked up the skill book and learned it immediately. Brilliant light flared from the book, forming a magic circle, and subsequently, a formless shadow appeared within his Summoning Space.

[You have successfully formed a contract with the Dream Demon.] [Summon: Dream Demon] [Tier: Uncommon] [Level: 6] (Matches Summoner Level) [HP: 2980] [Attributes: Strength 46, Agility 56, Constitution 43, Spirit 58] [Talent: Enter Dream] [Skill: Spirit Shackles LV.1] [Summon can wear equipment. Upon summon death, equipped items have a chance to drop.] [If a summon perishes, it cannot be resummoned for 24 hours.]

As an energy being, the Dream Demon's Strength was low, while its Spirit was highest. Besides its natural high immunity to physical damage, it had few other highlights. A Level 6 Dream Demon was arguably weaker than a Level 3 Dracula. But being Uncommon-tier, he couldn't expect too much.

Gu Chen opened his talent interface, activated the ability, and obtained two Dark Bloodlines. [You have obtained: Dark Bloodline · Descendant] [You have obtained: Dark Bloodline · Progenitor]

Adding the [Dark Bloodline · Royal] obtained at Level 4, he now had three bloodlines accumulated. After careful consideration, Gu Chen decided on his plan: use the Progenitor Bloodline to raise the Dream Demon's tier to Epic, then use the Descendant Bloodline to grant it a Bloodline Awakening. As for the Royal Bloodline, that would be used on Dracula to promote him to Legendary-tier.