Chapter 106: Smart People Have Already Started Competing for Second Place!
After helping Lin Shiqing tidy up her dorm room, it was already evening. Su Chen did not do anything else and instead went home to catch up on some sleep.
Early the next morning.
The grand auditorium of Sky Dome Academy was large enough to accommodate over ten thousand people. Embedded in the dome was a giant lighting Formation that illuminated the entire venue as bright as day.
The freshman opening ceremony had already been underway for half an hour.
On the stage, Vice Principal Lin was facing the microphone, passionately reading his speech.
"Students! You are the future of humanity and the hope of Daxia! On this land full of danger and opportunity, we must carry forward the spirit of fearing no danger and bravely scaling heights..."
Down below, Su Chen's eyelids were already starting to droop.
Good grief, this familiar formula, this familiar taste.
He had thought that in this world of global job advancement, the opening ceremony would feature some fancy tricks.
After all that, no matter which world it was, leaders' speeches all followed the exact same template.
Su Chen adjusted his sitting posture, trying to lean back against the chair more comfortably.
Just as he was about to fall asleep, Vice Principal Lin finally finished that forty-minute-long nonsense.
"Next, we invite Director Zhao Hongtao of the Academic Affairs Office to read out the specific rules for tomorrow's freshman selection tournament!"
As soon as his voice fell, a burst of enthusiastic applause suddenly erupted from the audience.
Compared to those flashy slogans, the freshmen were obviously more concerned with the selection tournament that affected their personal interests.
Zhao Hongtao did not take out a script, his sharp gaze sweeping across the entire venue.
He didn't even use a microphone, and his booming voice directly exploded in everyone's ears:
"Students, listen up! Tomorrow's selection tournament is not only your first lesson upon entering the academy, but also a life-or-death battle that decides how many resources you can obtain over the next four years!"
"The rules are very simple!"
Zhao Hongtao held up three fingers.
"First, squad format! Up to five people per group, free Formation! If you cannot find a team, you can solo!"
"Second, the location is the simulated dungeon in the academy's back mountain. A large number of monsters ranging from Level 10 to Level 25 have been deployed inside. Kill monsters to obtain academic credits; the higher the monster's Level, the more credits you get!"
"Third, and most importantly!"
"Inside the dungeon, plundering is not forbidden! You can hunt members of other squads. As long as you defeat or force the opponent out of the Secret Realm, you can seize all their points!"
"Furthermore, the school has also set up a Hunter Squadcomposed of sophomores. Just like you, they will also fight monsters and hunt other squads!"
"..."
Boom!
The entire auditorium instantly exploded into chaos.
"Holy crap! Plundering is not forbidden?!"
"This mechanism is too thrilling!"
"Does this mean that even if I work hard grinding monsters all day, I might still have them snatched away by someone else in the end?"
"The sophomore Hunter Squad? What the heck, how is anyone supposed to beat that?"
"..."
The surrounding freshmen had already started discussing excitedly, and ambition flickered in the eyes of quite a few people.
"Brothers, tomorrow let's form an all-output lineup and go straight to rob others!"
"Forget it, let's play it safe and bring a priest and a frontline tank. Our goal tomorrow is the top ten!"
At this moment.
An assassin in the row ahead of Su Chen turned flushed red with excitement.
He said loudly to his companion beside him, "What are the top ten? I am a top student from Nanhai City No. 1 High School! I must take first place in tomorrow's selection tournament! I want all the instructors to see my strength!"
"Right! With our strengths combined, first place will definitely be ours!"
His companion, a Fire Mage, also chimed in.
However.
Just as they were speaking with high spirits.
Not far away, several freshmen turned their heads in unison, looking at them with gazes as if looking at idiots.
They were precisely the city top scorers who had participated in the college entrance examination playoff.
"First place?"
A warrior named Li Lei sneered and looked at the swordsman as if looking at a fool.
"Brother, take my advice and stop dreaming. For our batch, just work hard to compete for second place."
"Exactly, keeping our place in the top five would already mean our ancestral graves are smoking with auspicious vapor, let alone first place."
An archer nearby also shook his head and sighed along.
The assassin was stunned, then his face turned red, and he said unconvinced, "What do you guys mean? We are all freshmen, why should we have to compete for second place? Are you guys scared?"
The Fire Mage also clamored, "That's right! Surrendering before even fighting, do you guys even deserve to be called top scorers?"
Li Lei did not get angry even after being scolded; he just looked at them with a gaze full of pity.
Scared?
What the hell do you know about being scared!
Have you ever seen a freak who clears thousands of Abyssal Flame Demon Guards with a single skill?
Have you ever seen a monster whose damage value is even longer than a BOSS's health bar?
Li Lei opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but thinking of the confidentiality agreements issued by the military and government, he could only forcefully swallow his words back down.
He sighed, his gaze passing over the crowd, and cast a subtle glance at Su Chen, who was yawning in the back row.
"Don't ask why."
Li Lei patted the assassin's shoulder and said earnestly, "Tomorrow when you enter the dungeon, you will know."
The assassin was completely baffled by Li Lei's mysterious attitude.
He still wanted to press further, but discovered that those top scorers had already turned their heads back and started discussing how to avoid a certain "Demon King's" route tomorrow.
...
The opening ceremony ended.
The Vice Principal's office.
Vice Principal Lin Xiaotian poured himself a cup of tea and looked at Zhao Hongtao sitting across from him.
"Hongtao, how is the situation with this batch of freshmen?"
Zhao Hongtao flipped through the diagnostic report in his hands with a peculiar expression: "They're all pretty good, and their vitality and spirits are quite high. The only problem is..."
"What?"
Vice Principal Lin Xiaotian took a sip of tea.
"The targets filled out on the pre-match expectation forms by this batch of top-tier city top scorers who participated in the college entrance examination playoff..."
Zhao Hongtao sighed, "Are all 'guarantee third and fight for second'."
"..."
Vice Principal Lin Xiaotian's hand holding the teacup paused.
Guarantee third and fight for second?
Who among those who could be admitted to Sky Dome Academy wasn't a proud child of heaven, having been first place most of the time in elementary, middle, and high school?
These Genius... actually said in unison that they didn't want to compete for first place?
Immediately afterwards, he shook his head speechlessly.
Of course he could guess the reason.
"It's because of that kid Su Chen, right."
Vice Principal Lin Xiaotian gave a wry smile.
Su Chen... hasn't even been enrolled for many days, and one could say he has already turned the sky upside down.
Conquering the Abyss Dungeon almost single-handedly, clearing the Crimson Monastery in twenty minutes, and later... even breaking the clearance record of the Heaven-Reaching Tower.
The latter had already drawn the collective attention of the higher-ups.
He originally thought that letting Su Chen enter the Heaven-Reaching Tower early would be considered a success if he could clear it by his sophomore year.
Who would have thought that he cleared it in just over two hours.
"Indeed."
Zhao Hongtao said helplessly, "Having witnessed that kind of unreasonable damage, this bunch of arrogant Geniushave all been beaten into submission, not even daring to entertain the thought of fighting for first place."
"This brat... has scared these youths all silly."
Vice Principal Lin Xiaotian put down the teacup and rubbed his glabella: "Everyone competing for second place... At their age, they've already lost their youthful vigor and ambition. I don't know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing."
"..."
Zhao Hongtao did not reply.
A blessing in disguise, who knows if it's a fortune or misfortune.
Having someone too powerful by their side, they will mature prematurely and become much more steady.
Vice Principal Lin Xiaotian put down the teacup and said thoughtfully, "This kid's training program... needs to be changed."
Chapter 107: The Selection Tournament Begins, Lin Shiqing's New Skill
The next day, the selection tournament officially began.
A huge teleportation Formation flickered with a dim blue light on the plaza behind the mountain.
As batch after batch of freshmen stepped into the Formation, the entire plaza quickly emptied out.
After a slight feeling of weightlessness, Su Chen and Lin Shiqing both landed in a dense jungle.
The air was filled with the damp smell of rotting leaves, and the low roar of beasts could be faintly heard in the distance.
This was the simulated instance dungeon used by Sky Dome Academy for the freshman selection tournament.
Lin Shiqing patted the non-existent dust off her mage robe and took out an exquisite staff embedded with a milky-white gemstone that emitted a rich purple light from her backpack.
It was clearly Epic-grade.
Counting her Epic-grade robe, she already had two pieces of Epic-grade equipment on her.
"Hey, Little Su."
She nudged Su Chen with her elbow and slightly raised her chin. "I haven't been idle these past seven days. This Young Miss has already successfully completed her first class advancement."
"Oh? First advancement?"
Su Chen was boredly looking around the environment and asked upon hearing this, "What new skill did you learn? Show it off and let me see."
Lin Shiqing let out a soft huff, unable to hide the smugness on her face.
She raised her staff, and a soft white light lit up at the tip of the staff.
Instead of casting it directly on Su Chen, she displayed the attributes of the skill panel.
[Desperate Shelter]
[Mana Cost: 500 points]
[Cooldown: 120 seconds]
[Skill Description: Immediately applies the 'Desperate Shelter' status to an allied target. The target will enter an absolute invincibility state (highest-tier judgment, immune to all forms of damage) for 3 seconds. At the same time, it removes all control effects from the target, forces them into a stealth state, and increases their movement speed by 200%. The stealth state expires after launching an attack or when the duration ends.]
...
Su Chen looked at the translucent data panel floating in mid-air, his eyes going straight.
What the fuck?
Invincible for 3 seconds, crowd-control removal, plus stealth and 200% acceleration?
What kind of godly skill is this shit?
This S-Level hidden support class is way too overpowered!
It's even more overpowered than the necklace Su Chen just got from the Heaven-Reaching Tower.
After all, one cannot move in the golden body state, but Lin Shiqing's skill not only grants invincibility, it also directly enters a stealth state and then slips away, running extremely fast.
Su Chen looked at Lin Shiqing's pretty face, which was plastered with "Praise me quickly," and couldn't help twitching the corners of his mouth.
"How is it? Is this Young Miss's new skill awesome?"
Lin Shiqing looked at Su Chen's expression, feeling immensely satisfied inside.
"In the future, if you encounter a monster you can't beat, just shout for help, and I'll spare your life."
"Strong... indeed strong."
Su Chen sighed with heartfelt emotion.
Why is this girl's skill pool full of such outrageous things?
First stealth, and now invincibility.
What a pity, it can't be stolen.
"Alright, stop showing off, let's get to work."
Su Chen put away his envious, jealous, and hateful gaze. "Let's finish farming credits early and go out for lunch earlier. There isn't even a place to sit in this damn forest."
Lin Shiqing gripped her staff tightly and looked around vigilantly.
"The monster Levels here are all between Level 10 and Level 25. Let's advance slowly and not pull too many monsters..."
Before she could finish her sentence,
the bushes ahead suddenly shook violently.
Three huge wild boars covered in black barbs rushed out.
[Black-Spiked Demon Boar (Normal Monster)]
[Level: 15]
...
Three Level 15 monsters were not particularly difficult for students who could pass the exams into Sky Dome Academy.
And for Su Chen, he couldn't even be bothered to look at their attributes.
He didn't even stop his footsteps as he casually waved his staff.
"Crack!"
A dazzling bolt of lightning lashed out from the staff, striking fiercely onto one of the wild boars.
Then,
the lightning rapidly bounced toward the other two wild boars.
"Crack, crack, crack—"
The golden lightning chain bounced nine times among the three wild boars before stopping.
"-6452"
"-5807"
"-5226"
'...'
Every time the lightning chain bounced, the damage decreased by 10%.
Coupled with the fact that Su Chen's damage was diluted quite a bit by the Abyss Crystal, the direct damage dealt was not that much.
But for Level 15 normal monsters, it was already enough.
The Black-Spiked Demon Boars, which had just been full of aura and ready to charge, didn't even have time to scream before their health bars were emptied.
Their huge bodies were charred black by electricity, emitting bursts of roasted meat fragrance.
[Successfully killed Level 15 Black-Spiked Demon Boar, gained 150 experience points, 15 credits!]
[Successfully killed Level 15 Black-Spiked Demon Boar, gained 150 experience points, 15 credits!]
...
The System prompt sounded in Su Chen's ear.
Lin Shiqing's hand holding her staff froze in mid-air.
Her mouth slightly open, she blankly looked at the three charred puddles on the ground, then looked at Su Chen.
"You... where did that lightning come from?!"
Lin Shiqing widened her eyes.
Su Chen was a Poison mage, how did he start using electricity?
Furthermore,
the damage of this lightning was way too high, right?
"Making a fuss over nothing."
Su Chen shook his head and smiled.
"..."
Lin Shiqing was speechless for a moment.
Not seeing him for a few days, she understood Su Cheneven less.
When they ran instances before, she had already witnessed Su Chen's abnormal damage, but... that was Poison's DOT damage.
Su Chen's casual bolt of lightning also had such high damage?
"Let's go, these few credits aren't even enough to fill the gaps between our teeth."
Su Chen carried his staff and slowly walked forward.
Lin Shiqing quickly jogged to keep up, looking at Su Chen's back, and couldn't help muttering softly: "Pervert..."
In the next half hour,
Su Chen directly led her on a rampage.
Level 18 Frenzied Wind Wolves, Level 20 Poison Spiders, Level 22 Enraged Banshees... a single lightning chain down, and they were all instantly killed.
There wasn't even a chance for Poison to make an appearance.
"The credits are so few, we have to go find elite monsters."
Su Chen looked at the slowly rising credits and couldn't help shaking his head.
For normal monsters, the credits obtained were the same as the Level.
15 credits for Level 15 monsters, 20 credits for Level 20 monsters.
Even if they farmed for a whole day, it wouldn't amount to much.
Not to mention experience points; neither of their experience bars moved at all.
The only gain was being able to stack layers.
Just as the two of them had finished clearing a nest of Enraged Banshee camps and were preparing to head deeper into the Secret Realm,
a flurry of dense footsteps suddenly came from the woods ahead.
Lin Shiqing cried out in surprise: "Little Su, someone is coming!"
Chapter 108: Su God? Weren't we supposed to fight?
Accompanied by the sound of rough stomping, five freshmen wearing robes and battle armor of various colors swaggered out from behind the bushes.
The equipment on their bodies generally glowed with silver or even gold-tier luster, which could definitely be considered top-tier among freshmen.
In the hand of an assassin walking at the very front, several translucent cards were being tossed like coins.
Those were the exclusive student cards issued by Sky Dome Academy for this selection tournament, used to store the selection tournament's academic points.
"It's fucking awesome!"
Catching the falling student card, the assassin looked extremely smug, "They fought to the death to grind academic points for half a day, and we directly intercepted them. Isn't this way faster than bitterly hacking away at monsters ourselves?"
"Exactly."
A Berserker carrying a greatsword nearby chimed in, "These rules are practically tailor-made for us. Those good-for-nothings just now still wanted to resist, but I severely injured all of them with a single sword strike. We plundered over three hundred academic points in total; this efficiency is peerless."
"Alright, stop talking nonsense, quickly find the next target."
An ice-type mage walking in the middle frowned, appearing to be the core figure of this team.
Right at this moment, the footsteps of the five people came to a halt.
He saw Su Chen and Lin Shiqing standing not far away.
"Oh ho, speak of the devil, isn't work delivering itself right to us?"
The assassin's eyes lit up, immediately stuffing the student cards in his hand into his storage space and drawing the two daggers at his waist.
The Berserker also lowered the greatsword from his shoulder, sizing up the two of them—Su Chen and Lin Shiqing—with great interest.
"Wait..."
The Berserker looked around and counted the number of people, "One, two... Just two? To think someone wouldn't form a full team and would just wander around this dungeon with only two people? Isn't this way too arrogant!"
Seeing this, Lin Shiqing immediately gripped the epic-grade staff in her hand tighter and leaned closer to Su Chen's side.
The opposite side was a full five-person squad, well-equipped, and obviously came with malicious intent.
In this dungeon where plundering was not forbidden, the opponents certainly wouldn't talk to them about any classmate camaraderie.
Su Chen didn't have much of a reaction; he just slightly lifted his eyelids and glanced at the opposite side.
Plundering academic points?
Since someone took the initiative to deliver express delivery right to their door, naturally, he had no reason not to fight back.
By then... even if they got poisoned to death, he would still be acting in self-defense.
"Hey, those two over there."
Pointing his dagger at Su Chen, the assassin said in an arrogant tone, "If you don't want to suffer, obediently hand over your student cards. Hand over the cards and scram immediately. We're all classmates, we don't want to kill you."
"Why waste words with them."
The Berserker sneered, "One mage, one priest, two squishies. With a single 'Barbarian Charge', I can crush them to pieces. Just beating them up directly will make them obedient!"
With that.
The Berserker let out a loud roar, a layer of red battle aura glowing on his body, as he looked like he was about to activate a charge skill.
The assassin also entered the preparatory stance of Stealth, his figure beginning to blur.
Lin Shiqing was so nervous that her palms were sweating.
She had beaten up quite a few monsters, but battling against other professionals... this was her first time.
Right at this critical moment.
"Slap!"
A crisp and loud slapping sound abruptly exploded in the quiet forest.
The Berserker, who was halfway through his charge, spun around completely twice in mid-air like a whipped top.
Then.
With a thud, he heavily crashed onto the ground.
A red number of [-50] even floated above his head.
The assassin, who was originally preparing to use Stealth, was so frightened by this slap that his skill was forcibly interrupted. He revealed his form and stood in place with a dumbfounded expression.
The one who hit him was precisely the ice-type mage in the middle of the group who hadn't spoken the entire time.
He was a municipal top scorer.
At this moment.
This top scorer had a pale face, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.
His hand was still trembling slightly in mid-air; obviously, that slap just now had used up all the strength in his entire body.
"Brother Zhang? You... why did you hit me?"
Holding his high-swollen half-face and with his mouth full of mud, the Berserker felt as aggrieved as a two-hundred-jin fatty.
"I hit you? I fucking wish I could chop you into pieces!"
The voice of the ice mage top scorer cracked.
Without even glancing at the Berserker on the ground, he jogged all the way and rushed in front of Su Chen.
Then.
Amidst the horrified gazes of the assassin, the Berserker, and Lin Shiqing.
This top scorer who lorded over their city and was arrogant and conceited directly made a ninety-degree deep bow, bending his waist so low it looked as if it would snap.
"Su... Su God!"
The ice mage top scorer's voice trembled, "I'm sorry! I am truly sorry! These few teammates of mine are from the countryside and haven't seen the world. They failed to recognize Mount Tai and didn't recognize you at all! Just treat that bullshit from just now as a loud fart and let it go, please don't take it to heart!"
Saying this.
Like presenting a treasure, he held the student cards that the assassin was holding earlier, along with his own, in both hands and raised them above his head.
"These... these are our student cards! There are about twelve hundred academic points inside in total! They are all right here!"
"We don't want a single point, we offer all of them to you, senior! We only beg that you, Su God, with your magnanimous character, will just let us go like letting out a fart!"
"..."
The forest fell into a dead silence.
Except for the rustling of leaves blowing in the wind, only the heavy panting of the ice mage top scorer remained.
Lin Shiqing's small mouth was agape, and her staff was almost dropping to the ground.
She looked at the extremely humble ice mage top scorer, then turned her head to look at Su Chen standing next to her with a blank expression.
What kind of magical development was this?
Just a moment ago they were fierce-looking and wanted to murder and loot, so how in the blink of an eye did they kneel and sing surrender?
"???"
Su Chen was also dumbfounded.
Looking at the stack of student cards raised in front of him, his brows furrowed deeply.
No wait, weren't we supposed to fight?
Also.
What the hell kind of title is Su God?
Are these people out of their minds?
"Scram, scram, scram."
Su Chen waved his hand with extreme speechlessness, not even glancing at those student cards.
"If you're not going to fight, don't be an eyesore here, disappear quickly."
For such spineless cowards who didn't even have the will to fight, he couldn't even summon up the interest to make a move.
A thousand academic points... he was even less interested.
"Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, Su God, for sparing our lives! We'll scram right now! Scram immediately!"
The ice mage top scorer felt as if he had been granted a pardon.
He quickly took back the student cards, then turned around and kicked the butt of the Berserker who was still lying on the ground.
"You're still fucking lying there playing dead! Hurry up and get up and run for me!"
Although the assassin and the Berserker completely couldn't figure out the situation, seeing their team leader's ghost-like appearance, they didn't dare to say anything more.
Scrambling and crawling, they followed the ice mage top scorer and fled deep into the dense forest.
Watching their retreating figures fleeing in panic, Lin Shiqing finally snapped back to her senses.
"Little Su... what did you do to them? Why did they call you Su God?"
Lin Shiqing stared at Su Chen with a face full of suspicion.
"How would I know? Maybe they recognized the wrong person."
Su Chen rolled his eyes, carried his staff, and continued walking forward, "Let's go, ignore these few lunatics, let's hurry up and grind academic points."
Chapter 109: Sudden Mutation, Doomsday Cult Appears!
On the other side.
The Ice Mage Top Scholar brought four teammates and ran two or three kilometers in one breath, until confirming that Su Chen had no intention of chasing, and only then stopped breathlessly.
The pressure from that split second almost scared him into a heart attack.
The Berserker covered his swollen cheek and finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Brother Zhang! What on earth is wrong with you?!"
The Berserker's tone was filled with defiance and grievance, "You are the top scholar of our city! What are you afraid of?! There are only two people on the other side! And damn it, one is a priest and one is a mage! They're all squishies!"
"One charge from me can smash them to pieces!"
"What right do you have to hit me? And kneeling down to give them credits? You've completely disgraced our Hunter Squad!"
"..."
The Assassin also came closer and muttered softly, "That's right, Brother Zhang, you're way too cowardly. Even if that mage has some strength, we're five against two, there's no way we should be running."
"I'm cowardly? Disgraced?"
The Ice Mage Top Scholar finally caught his breath, and upon hearing the words of these two idiots, he angrily slapped the Assassin on the head again.
"What the hell do you know!"
The Ice Mage Top Scholar pointed at their noses and cursed vehemently, "I was saving your lives just now! Do you even know who that mage is?!"
"Who? Could it be the king of heaven himself?"
The Berserker muttered unconvinced.
"His name is Su Chen!"
The Ice Mage Top Scholar took a deep breath, a flash of deep fear crossing his eyes, "You guys weren't qualified to participate in the College Entrance Examination Supplementary Match, so you have no idea how freakish he is!"
"Supplementary Match?"
The Assassin was stunned for a moment, "Is that the competition that only the top Geniuses of each city can participate in? Didn't you go participate, Brother Zhang? That kid went too?"
"More than just went..."
The Ice Mage Top Scholar's voice began to tremble, as if recalling some extremely terrifying scene.
"Because a confidentiality agreement was signed above, I can't tell you the specific details of the battle. But I can clearly tell you..."
He stared dead at his teammate and said word by word, "During the college entrance examination, he had three consecutive assessments... including the final supplementary match... all of them were first place! A crushing, absolute first place!"
"What?!"
The Berserker and Assassin widened their eyes simultaneously.
Three consecutive first places?
Including the supplementary match that gathered the nation's Geniuses?!
"And that's not all."
The Ice Mage Top Scholar gave a bitter smile, "You guys said he's a squishy? You think five against two can win? I'm telling you, even if you tied all the freshmen of our entire grade together, it wouldn't even be enough to fill the gap of one of his skills!"
"Hisss—"
Hearing this, the Berserker and Assassin sharply sucked in a cold breath, only feeling a chill shoot straight from the soles of their feet to their crowns.
Terrifying to this extent!
Recalling that he actually held a greatsword and wanted to charge at that kind of monster just now, the calves of the Berserker immediately began to cramp.
"Zhang... Brother Zhang..."
The Berserker stammered, "Thank you for the slap you gave me just now... You hit me right, you hit me well..."
The Ice Mage Top Scholar sighed and said, "Let's hurry up and leave, let's stay away from this area."
The few didn't dare to say more and hurriedly followed.
Another dense forest a few kilometers away from Su Chenand Lin Shiqing.
This was the depths of the dungeon, and also the respawn zone for high-Level monsters.
Five sophomore students were boredly clearing a few level 24 jungle lizards.
They were the Hunter Squad in this selection tournament, having paid quite a few credits to enter.
Their task was to teach these arrogant freshmen a lesson and incidentally plunder their credits.
A male assassin holding dual daggers sliced open a lizard's throat with one knife, shaking off the blood on the blade with disgust.
"How boring, this bunch of freshmen run faster than rabbits, and we only found two teams after searching for half a day."
"Be content."
A mage nearby yawned, casually tossing out a fireball to roast another lizard, "Did you forget last year? That senior named Chu Kuang was simply inhuman, blocking the respawn point alone and looting our class of freshmen's credits until not even our underwear was left. I was kicked out ten minutes after entering the dungeon back then, didn't even see what the monsters looked like."
"Damn, don't mention that freak, it makes me angry just thinking about it."
The Shield Warrior spat, "This year we gotta have a good time too. I calculated, if we rob ten freshman teams, we'll break even."
Xiao Ya, the perpetually silent female priest in the squad, was standing under the shade of a tree at this moment.
Half of her face was concealed in the shadow, and the cross staff in her hand emitted a faint white light.
"Xiao Ya, what are you daydreaming about? Hurry up and heal us, this lizard's venom still hurts a bit."
The male assassin turned his head and shouted.
Xiao Ya slowly raised her head.
There were no pupils in her eyes, leaving only a turbid grayish-white.
"Okay."
Xiao Ya's voice became hoarse and overlapping, as if two or three voices were speaking simultaneously.
She raised the cross staff in her hand, but what emanated from it was no longer healing white light, but a sickening dark purple glow.
Click—click—
The ground beneath her feet suddenly split open, and a mass of twisted flesh and blood crawled out from the soil.
That was a huge monster pieced together from the mutilated limbs of various beasts, possessing a wolf's head, a bear's torso, spider's jointed legs, exuding a strong stench of decay all over its body.
[Abyss Chimera (Elite Monster)]
[Level: 25]
[Strength: 2400]
[Agility: 2600]
[Stamina: 3500]
[Spirit: 2200]
[Skills: Chimera Flesh, Critical Strike]
"What the hell is this thing?!"
The Shield Warrior turned pale with fright and immediately raised his shield to block in front of him.
However, the Chimera's speed was astonishingly fast.
Its thick spider legs violently kicked off the ground, and its huge body instantly crossed a distance of more than ten meters, appearing directly in front of the Shield Warrior.
Bang!
Accompanied by a teeth-aching sound of bone cracking, the Chimera's sharp claws directly pierced through the Shield Warrior's chest, hoisting his entire body into mid-air.
"-28513!"
One-hit kill!
"Old Wang!"
The mage's eyes split open with rage, the fireball in his hand not yet fully formed before the Chimera's huge wolf head had already turned around, opening its bloody maw.
Splat.
The mage's upper body directly vanished into the monster's mouth.
Following closely after.
The Chimera once again easily killed a student who had been scared silly.
In just a few seconds, of a well-trained sophomore Hunter Squad, only the male assassin remained.
His legs went soft as he looked in terror at the girl standing in the shadows.
"Xiao Ya... Are you crazy?! What are you doing?!"
Stepping on the flowing blood on the ground, Xiao Ya walked step by step in front of the assassin.
A bizarre and twisted smile hung on her face.
"What am I doing?"
Xiao Ya reached out and gently stroked the Chimera's blood-stained fur.
The monster actually obediently lowered its head, rubbing against her palm like a pet.
"Of course I am helping you guys."
She let out a strange "hehehe" laugh, that sound appearing exceptionally eerie in the dim dense forest.
"This fake world is too painful. Struggling every day for those pitiful resources, living like a dog."
"The great Lord has descended, He has bestowed upon me true power."
Xiao Ya looked down condescendingly at the trembling assassin.
"Death is the greatest grace for you lost lambs, this is to let you find release sooner!"
"Madman... You abyss-infected madman!"
The assassin shouted in despair.
"Shh."
Xiao Ya raised a finger and placed it against her lips.
The Chimera's jointed limbs swung down violently, and the assassin's voice abruptly cut off.
Xiao Ya turned around, her grayish-white eyes looking toward the deeper parts of the Secret Realm.
"The good show... has only just begun."
Chapter 110: Shocked Instructors Begin Competing for Students!
Su Chen and Lin Shiqing naturally knew nothing about what happened inside the dungeon.
At this moment,
the two of them arrived outside a crude camp.
The camp had a very rugged style, with simple logs forming various crooked buildings.
"Little Su, it's an orc camp."
Lin Shiqing cast a few Scouting Spell spells and tugged at Su Chen's sleeve. "Little Su, there are a lot of monsters and defensive towers. Let's clear them out slowly."
Su Chen took a look.
[Orc Defensive Tower]
[Grade: Black Iron]
[Attack Power: 1600]
[Durability: 500,000]
...
Unlike ordinary monsters, defensive towers belonged to buildings.
Their armor was a separate city defense type armor, which would be heavily reduced whether it was physical or magical attacks.
If ordinary professionals faced them, it would be extremely tricky.
City-breaking weapons were required to deal with them.
Of course,
for Su Chen... it was completely not a problem.
He casually patted the ground with his staff.
The next second,
dense Snake Guards burst out of the ground.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!"
The orcs on the defensive tower acted very quickly, immediately drawing their bows and shooting arrows to attack the Snake Guards.
However,
the Snake Guards also began to counterattack.
Whoosh—!
Poison hit the defensive tower, dyeing the entire tower body dark green.
The next moment,
"-143,994,232!"
...
A huge damage number popped up.
The Black Iron-grade defensive tower with a mere 500,000 durability collapsed instantly.
The defensive tower instantly turned into a puddle of green pus, and the orcs on it fell dizzy and disoriented.
Su Chen smiled.
So what about city defense type armor?
In front of true damage, it was still no different from a blank slate.
...
Lin Shiqing's small mouth opened slightly, wearing an expression of utter shock.
No,
when they raided the provincial capital dungeon together a few days ago, Su Chen's damage was only around ten million, right?
What the hell is this now?!
143 million?!
"Awooo—!"
After the defensive tower collapsed, the orcs began to charge at the two of them.
For a time,
the orcs almost formed a green ocean.
In response... Su Chen didn't care at all, just summoning more Snake Guards.
"It's my turn to play tower defense."
...
Sky Dome Academy, monitoring hall.
In the center of the hall floated a huge holographic light screen, densely distributed with light spots representing various squads.
On the right side of the light screen was the real-time updated points leaderboard.
The deans and instructors of various academies were holding teacups, comfortably watching this year's "Freshman Suffering Chronicles".
However,
the atmosphere in the hall at this moment was somewhat eerily quiet.
Everyone's gaze was fixed firmly on the first place of the leaderboard.
[1. Su Chen / Lin Shiqing Squad — Points: 4580]
[2. Zhao Tianyu Squad — Points: 320]
[3. Sun Lei Squad — Points: 280]
A cliff-like lead.
Moreover,
the points number representing Su Chen's team was still jumping wildly at an unreasonable speed.
+50.
+120.
+300.
"Th-this speed at which points are increasing, is the System bugged?"
The dean of the Formation Master Academy wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "They only entered the dungeon for half an hour, right? Over four thousand points already? How many monsters do they have to kill?"
"They probably raided a large monster nest."
...
Hearing this,
the deans and instructors all showed somewhat shocked expressions.
A large monster nest... was not something an ordinary five-person squad could touch.
Most of the time, it required the cooperation of several squads.
Even if they wanted to fight, it couldn't be this fast!
"Killing monsters fast is one thing."
The dean of the Combat Academy frowned tightly, pointing to an area on the light screen. "Look at the map."
On the light screen,
the two light spots representing Su Chen and Lin Shiqingwere swaggering across the map again.
During their movement, they successively encountered several light spots representing other freshman squads.
According to common sense, under the rule of "snatching is not forbidden", when freshman teams met, a fierce battle would inevitably break out until one side was forced out of the dungeon or handed over credits.
However,
the light screen showed that after contacting Su Chen's light spot, those freshman squad light spots not only showed no signs of combat, but instead fled rapidly in the opposite direction like they had seen a ghost, widening the distance.
The whole process had no energy fluctuations and no combat records.
"What is going on here?"
Another dean also frowned. "Could this group of freshmen be forming some kind of Alliance? Did they agree to non-aggression?"
"Impossible, this is a selection tournament for snatching resources. Who would go against their own future?"
Everyone looked at each other, utterly baffled.
At this time, Academic Affairs Office Director Zhao Hongtao, who had been observing from the side, coughed and cleared his throat.
With his hands behind his back, he walked up to the light screen, revealing an unfathomable smile.
"Deans, your thinking is all limited."
Zhao Hongtao pointed at Su Chen's light spot. "Have you ever thought of a possibility?"
Everyone looked at him.
"That is... the strength of this freshman named Su Chen is already so strong that other teams can't even conceive the thought of resisting?"
Zhao Hongtao paused. "Subduing the enemy without fighting is the mark of a truly strong person. I've said it long ago, a true Dragon is hidden among this batch of freshmen."
Hearing this, several instructors gasped.
If that was really the case, then the sense of oppression from this freshman named Su Chen was simply too terrifying.
To be able to make Sky Dome Academy's proud sons of heaven run away directly without even daring to fight?
What kind of strength must this be?
"I've heard a bit about this kid's strength. In the subsidiary matches... Forget it, I won't say more; those who understand, understand."
"Hearing you say that, I get your meaning."
"Heh, this kid's class is Poison Mage, he is destined to be with our Mage Academy!"
"Bah, who says a mage has to go to the Mage Academy? Our Combat Academy can cultivate him too!"
"Deans, stop fighting over him. Let me mentor this child, everyone give Wang Long some face."
"Who the hell are you? Usually out of respect we call you Professor Wang; without respect, what the heck are you?"
...
However,
before the deans and instructors could finish speaking,
the dean of the Combat Academy, who had been staring at the other side of the light screen, suddenly let out an exclamation.
"Eh?"
This "Eh" sounded particularly piercing in the quiet hall.
"Old Li, what's wrong?" asked a dean, turning his head.
The dean of the Combat Academy didn't answer, but instead walked quickly to the console, tapping his fingers rapidly on the virtual keyboard to zoom in on a corner of the map.
On the light screen, the place that should have had five green light spots was now completely empty.
"The signal of the Seventh Hunter Squad..."
The dean of the Combat Academy's face turned extremely ugly. "Disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
Zhao Hongtao was stunned. "Were they forced out of the dungeon? In past years, there were also cases where Hunter Squads capsized in the gutter and were surrounded and suppressed by freshmen."
"Impossible."
The dean of the Combat Academy shook his head with a gloomy expression. "Even if they want to leave the dungeon, they have to walk to the position of the portal, but now, the signal has been directly erased from the System network!"
He raised his head, looking at the surrounding crowd who were equally shocked, his voice trembling slightly.
"There is only one possibility for a signal to be erased... The sensors representing their vital signs have been completely destroyed. They... might be dead."
The hall instantly fell into a dead silence.
During the selection tournament, a sophomore Hunter Squad was actually completely wiped out without even sending out a distress signal?