Targeted Dungeon Teleport Ticket
[Level Rankings]
[top 5: Su Luo -- Level 4 (89%)]
[Kill Rankings]
[top 5: Su Luo]
Su Luo checked the rankings and nodded in satisfaction.
That way, he would at least receive a top-ten payout at the end of the fifth day.
After looking at the collapsed Dungeon entrance, Su Luo decided to return and explore it another time.
Opening [Fireball], Su Luo began studying the new models.
Song Shige flicked his wrist, shaking all the foul blood from his Zhanmadao with a crisp hum. He swung the massive blade back and planted it firmly in the hard ground beside him, freeing himself to reply to the message.
[Song Shige: Got it. I'll set out as soon as I finish clearing up what's in front of me.]
He dragged the monster's corpse back to his Sanctuary and put it into the black box.
[You put in the corpse of a Level 5 monster, [Goblin Chieftain] -- you obtained 4,300 SC]
Song Shige looked thoughtfully at his status panel.
[Song Shige: Alive] [Age: 26] [Level: 5 (100%)] [Strength: 12.8] [Spirit: 12.2] [Constitution: 12.4] ------ [Mana: 21] [Free attribute points: 3] [Survival Coins: 58,432] [Talent: Omitted] [Skills: (Collapsed, 37 in total)]
Song Shige made a quick estimate and figured that, with his Talent activated, he could defeat the [Earthshaking Boulder] Su Luo had faced earlier.
In other words, he could defeat a Level 5 elite monster.
According to the Mutual Aid Association's Analysis Department, the Dungeon's final guardian was most likely a Level 5 elite, or even a more powerful "boss-tier" monster, which the system announcement had mentioned only vaguely.
For this operation, the Mutual Aid Association had split its forces into two groups:
One team consisted of five top survivors, tasked with investigating the Dungeon's party mechanics and basic rules.
The other group was Song Shige alone. He was headed straight for the [Wizard's Abandoned Experimental Field] to deliver supplies, meet Consultant Su, and personally experience the Dungeon's difficulty.
After a short wait, a message arrived from the five-person team:
"The teleportation point has been confirmed to be in front of the sphere of light. There are ruined structures around it. The area within a three-kilometer radius of the Dungeon is a safe zone, with no signs of monster activity, but treasure chests are spawning normally..."
"When one person approaches the sphere, a standard entry prompt appears. When two or more units approach at the same time, the prompt changes to a party entry option, with a clearly stated limit of five people."
[Number Two: Information confirmed. Both teams, enter your respective Dungeons as planned. Your core task is to experience and report the specific differences between single-player and multiplayer modes, including but not limited to monster strength and numbers, and changes in rewards.]
[Song Shige: Got it!]
He used the [Targeted Dungeon Teleport Ticket (Temporary) -- Wizard's Abandoned Experimental Field].
The world spun, and Song Shige appeared in front of a point of light, with rubble scattered nearby. He fired a Floating Flare.
A blinding white light shot into the sky, becoming a miniature sun that dispelled the dense darkness and revealed the surroundings clearly.
Broken walls and ruins lay scattered in a ring, as though they had been through a catastrophe.
Beside him stood half of a massive, broken stone pillar. Rubble of various sizes littered the ground, with charred marks and enormous impact craters everywhere. The air seemed to retain the scorching aftermath of some violent energy running rampant.
It looked as though a battle had taken place here.
Well, a battle really had taken place here.
Song Shige didn't go looking for Su Luo. He had contacted him beforehand and confirmed that he was still inside the Dungeon.
He moved a little closer to the point of light, and a prompt immediately appeared.
[Dungeon: Wizard's Abandoned Experimental Field]
[Recommended level: 0–5]
[A survivor is currently inside the Dungeon. Please wait or choose another Dungeon]
Song Shige took a screenshot of this discovery and sent it back, then found a place to sleep.
Su Luo raised his right hand high, Mana surging above his palm.
A scorching fireball formed at his command, but it didn't retain its spherical shape. Instead, it slowly stretched and reshaped itself like molten glass, finally solidifying into a flaming sword with indistinct details.
With a wave of his hand, the flaming sword shot forward. Its searing heat and high-speed charge pierced through a series of trees before it reached its critical point and exploded, letting the entire forest feel its warmth.
Su Luo ignored the blazing forest and continued thinking about the fireball model.
"Energy output stable... initial shaping successful... flight path uncontrollable... insufficient structural stability, low Mana efficiency, and the final energy release method is too crude. It's just a simple explosion, wasting over 60% of the energy."
He had finished learning [Fireball], as well as the more than 600 fireball-related models and some fusion models in the book.
A sentence at the end of the book had left Su Luo deep in thought for a long time.
"If you taught yourself everything in this book, then congratulations. You now have a basic understanding of the Flame Spell System. Now, why not be a little bolder... forget the fixed models, learn to understand the language of energy, and weave flames of your own."
Form, shaping, expansion, fusion...
Endless inspiration welled up in Su Luo's mind, but he couldn't possibly test every model he came up with one by one.
What could he do, then?
Su Luo looked at a set of three crystals shaped like a fidget spinner.
[Spell Recording Crystal (Excellent)]
[Can record the complete Mana construction models, energy flow paths, and release details of three mastered spells. Once successfully recorded, the crystals will permanently display the corresponding spells' glow]
This was good stuff!
After a moment's thought, Su Luo held the crystal in his left hand and guided it with his spiritual power. Mana surged in his right hand, condensing into a long spear of flame.
"Hum!"
Mana surged violently. The Flame Spear's form was extremely unstable, and the energy inside its shaft clashed wildly. Su Luo hurriedly let go and threw it into the distance, where it exploded violently in midair.
One of the crystals in his hand was glowing faintly red.
Su Luo immersed his spiritual power in it, carefully studying the errors and the flow of energy.
How the Mana gathered, where its flow became obstructed at certain points, where conflicts occurred...
A long time later, he looked up and tossed out an octagonal disc.
[Environmental Stabilization Barrier Generator (Fine)]
[When activated, generates a sustained energy stabilization field in a designated area, suppressing chaotic fluctuations and improving lighting efficiency. Note: This field provides no physical protection]
The octagonal disc landed and activated, an invisible force field rapidly expanding outward. The air within its range slowed to an unusual degree, suspended dust gradually settled, and even the ambient Mana seemed to be smoothed out by an invisible hand, becoming docile and stable.
In the more stable Mana environment, Su Luo condensed another Flame Spear.
This time, the energy gathered and took shape much more smoothly, gradually forming a denser, sharper Flame Spear.
But the instant it left Su Luo's palm and tried to shoot forward at his mental command, its structure collapsed again, breaking apart and exploding in midair.
The second crystal recorded this second attempt.
Without pausing for a moment, Su Luo immediately immersed his mind in it to compare and analyze.
"Looking" at the two holographic energy flowcharts side by side, Su Luo's mind raced...