Infinity, The Arcade Age

"ROAR!"

With an ear-piercing scream, the orc centurion wildly swung his mace and charged directly at Qin Ming.

Despite being smarter than the average orc grunt, the centurion's intellect was still severely limited. If one enemy couldn't be caught, it was easier to target another.

Without hesitation, the centurion focused his aggression on Qin Ming, initiating a headlong assault. Unfortunately for the centurion, he had chosen the wrong opponent.

Watching the lumbering brute barrel toward him, Qin Ming rolled his eyes and casually raised his revolver.

Bang!

The deafening shot echoed across the battlefield. The centurion staggered, blood gushing from his forehead, his eyes wide in disbelief as he glared at Qin Ming.

The moment of shock passed, and he snarled, lifting his shield as he began another charge.

But Qin Ming's second shot caught the edge of the shield, throwing it off balance. The third round punched through the centurion's shoulder, eliciting a roar of pain.

When the centurion finally closed the gap, Qin Ming's fourth shot shattered his kneecap, sending the orc crashing to the ground.

Struggling to rise, the centurion looked up only to find the barrel of Qin Ming's revolver pressed firmly against his forehead.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The centurion collapsed lifelessly, his massive body hitting the ground with a thud.

Seeing their leader felled so decisively, the remaining orcs immediately panicked. The once-fearsome horde scattered, fleeing the village in disarray.

The villagers, who had been hiding in their homes, began to cautiously emerge. Realizing the danger had passed, they erupted into cheers, grateful for their unexpected salvation.

The other adventurers, battered and bruised from their skirmishes, limped into the street. They surveyed the carnage, their faces etched with frustration.

The mage, who had been hurling twisting energy blasts earlier, cursed under his breath.

"Damn it! What kind of rotten luck is this? A C-level world right off the bat!"

The archer beside him heaved a sigh.

"C-level difficulty on the first mission is rare. Normally, only large-scale mission worlds are this challenging. We've definitely hit the jackpot."

While the two adventurers lamented their situation, the dual-pistol-wielding woman turned her attention to Qin Ming. Her gaze fell on the revolver holstered at his side, and her eyes lit up.

"Wait... Is that a Therion Revolver? What a gem! Are you a veteran adventurer?"

Her words caught the attention of the others, who immediately glanced at Qin Ming's weapon. The envy on their faces was unmistakable.

The Therion Revolver was a coveted beginner artifact in Nightmare Space. Naturally, it piqued their interest.

Qin Ming's eyebrow twitched as he swiftly pulled his coat over the revolver.

"I'm not a veteran. Just a lucky newcomer. This is my fifth mission. You can call me Hyena."

"Oh? Only your fifth mission? Well, you're certainly lucky. Let me introduce myself—Hawkeye, seventh mission."

"Tank, sixth mission."

"Air Cannon, sixth mission."

After each adventurer introduced themselves, they turned to the dual-pistol woman. She smirked and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Dual Gun Lady, ninth mission."

The group froze at her words.

Tank, the heavily armored warrior, exclaimed in shock.

"Wait! Ninth mission? That means this is your last low-level task! Your next mission is the promotion task, isn't it?!"

"Bingo." She nodded, her expression serious. "I have no idea how tough it'll be, but I know it's going to be a nightmare. So, I'm here to grind as much as I can this round. What do you say, everyone? This is a peace mode mission, and the difficulty is high. Why don't we team up?"

With a friendly smile, she extended her hand.

The other adventurers exchanged glances. None of them refused the offer, each reaching out to clasp hands, sealing the temporary alliance.

Qin Ming, too, chose to shake hands.

The mission's difficulty was already proving troublesome. The centurion orc he had just defeated could have easily been the main boss in other low-level worlds.

If the mini-boss was this formidable, what kind of monster would the main boss be?

Additionally, the other adventurers clearly had more experience than him. Especially Dual Gun Lady, who was on the verge of her promotion task.

Qin Ming knew little about promotion tasks; information on them was scarce and expensive. Most of his resources were spent on self-improvement, leaving little room for buying intelligence.

This partnership was a chance to gain free help in combat while also extracting crucial information about the next stage of his Nightmare Space journey.

As the five adventurers solidified their alliance, the grateful villagers gathered around them.

Though they knew little about the strangers who had come to their rescue, the villagers couldn't deny the bravery of their actions.

The village elder personally escorted the group to the local tavern, where bread, roasted meat, and malt beer were served as thanks.

Seated at a long table, Qin Ming took the opportunity to ask about Nightmare Space's mechanics, subtly steering the conversation to gain insights.

According to Dual Gun Lady, Nightmare Space missions operated under five primary modes:

Peace Mode: Cooperation is encouraged, and adventurers cannot harm one another.

Kill Mode: Adventurers can attack one another, competing for resources and spoils.

Combat Mode: Focuses on battling plot-based enemies in tournament-style challenges.

Contest Mode: Limited slots for task completion, with rewards based on speed and efficiency.

Deathmatch Mode: Teams of adventurers are pitted against each other, with only one side emerging victorious.

Missions were further categorized into three types based on scale:

Small-scale Worlds: Like Dragon King Warriors or Knights of the Round, accommodating up to five adventurers.

Large-scale Worlds: Examples include Fatal Fury, allowing dozens of participants.

Mega-scale Worlds: Accommodating hundreds of adventurers at once, though Qin Ming had yet to encounter one.

As for the elusive promotion task, Dual Gun Lady remained tight-lipped.

All she revealed was one chilling detail: every promotion task started at B-level difficulty.

This revelation left Qin Ming deep in thought.

Promotion tasks were no joke. Knowing the stakes, he resolved to extract every possible advantage from the current mission.

(End of Chapter)