Strange Thing

"They're getting beaten up. Why aren't you helping?"

For some reason, Su Luo felt that it could understand him.

Its face, made of metal, bone, and an unknown material, naturally couldn't form any expression, but its entire body sank slightly into a more threatening attack stance.

No more words were needed.

The battle began!

"Appraisal!"

[Alchemical Puppet (Elite)]

[Level: 5]

[Strength: 14.2]

[Spirit: 13]

[Constitution: 14]

[Skills: Rapid Regeneration, Psychic Shock, Bone Explosion, Combat Instinct, Blood Frenzy]

It moved at an unbelievable speed. It pushed off, instantly cracking the floor of unknown metal beneath its feet, and its entire body became a blurred black shadow, appearing before Su Luo almost as if it had teleported.

Its sharp claw glinted with a cold metallic light as it tore through the air with a piercing screech, striking straight for Su Luo's heart.

Su Luo's eyes narrowed slightly.

Luckily, he'd increased his Constitution. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to react at all.

In the nick of time, the air around Su Luo instantly became thick and elastic. Like an invisible hand, it gave him a sudden shove from the side, sending him flying along a trajectory that defied common sense.

At the same time, more than ten Flame Walls formed, layer upon layer blocking the puppet's path.

The puppet's claw grazed the edge of Su Luo's black robe, tearing a small hole in it.

Its strike missed, and the structure of its head trembled slightly.

[Psychic Shock]!

A vast, invisible wave of psychic force blasted out toward Su Luo in a fan.

Su Luo grunted as the surface of the lake in his mental world abruptly rippled, but the nebula-shaped humanoid figure hanging high above it blazed with light, instantly suppressing and diverting the impact.

Several Rings of Fire erupted from his body in succession, driving back the puppet as it darted forward.

Fierce firepower kept the puppet from closing in. Su Luo finally opened enough distance to attack steadily.

The searing flames melted its outer surface, but it was repaired in the blink of an eye, becoming armor made of an unknown black material.

If this were a game and Su Luo could see the data, he would have noticed the following continually popping up above the puppet's head:

Fire resistance +1

Fire resistance +1

The puppet quickly stopped its futile attempts to close in and planted itself firmly in place instead. A blinding red light suddenly shone from within its chest, and its energy fluctuations soared.

The corner of Su Luo's mouth twitched slightly.

This one really was different. The monsters he'd encountered before that had enhancement skills like this had only used them when they were close to death.

This one used it while it was close to its peak. Its combat logic really was a little humanlike.

[Blood Frenzy]!

A violent yet immensely powerful torrent of energy instantly swept through its entire body. It seemed to swell, and the metal and bone on its surface cracked thunderously, releasing steam.

Boom!

A huge crater erupted beneath it, and the puppet's figure nearly vanished.

The next second, it slammed violently into the Flame Walls Su Luo had set up.

More than ten layers of Flame Walls shattered completely, as if they were made of paper!

But that was fine. Su Luo had stacked more than thirty layers.

The puppet in its Blood Frenzy state didn't pause for an instant. When one strike failed, its other claw turned into a streak of red lightning, its assault growing even more frenzied.

The flames Su Luo had been gathering all along became countless intensely condensed, dazzling white Flame Threads. Like an inescapable net, they instantly wound tightly around the puppet as it broke through the walls.

The heat scorched it, and the Flame Threads cut into its surface, destroying its internal structure and leaving its [Rapid Regeneration] temporarily unable to keep up.

Su Luo continued flying farther away, the sky behind him filled with fireballs.

He slapped the Cursed Doll at his waist, selecting the puppet as its target.

The struggling puppet's movements suddenly slowed, clearly restrained.

He raised a hand, and the Mana throughout the hall was drawn out at a frantic pace, even forming a vortex as it converged on him.

The flames that had long been accumulating burst forth in an instant, and the temperature throughout the hall soared to a terrifying degree.

A greatsword burning with flames, a spear wrapped in molten streams, the nascent form of a roaring fire dragon...

At that moment, Su Luo held nothing back and unleashed his full firepower!

The Blood Frenzy puppet, severely weakened by the curse and with its energy flow in disarray, stood right at the center of that terrifying firepower.

It let out a desperate roar, swung its claws wildly, unleashed Psychic Shock again, and even tried to detonate some of its bones to defend itself.

Under such a saturated, sustained barrage of terrifying attacks, its [Rapid Regeneration] repaired it far too slowly to keep pace with its destruction.

The violent onslaught lasted a full ten seconds.

When the flames cleared, the center of the hall was a wreck. More than half of the puppet's remains still stood amid the melted metal and bone fragments, its body shattered and its light dim, yet it had not completely fallen apart.

The puppet steadied itself, lifted a foot, and charged at Su Luo.

"It can take that much?"

Surprised, Su Luo raised a hand and sent forth a spell he had been charging for a long time.

A fist-sized ball of destructive fire rotated slowly between his palms. Its core was pitch-black, while molten gold flowed around its edges, and it radiated terrifying fluctuations.

Su Luo calmly pushed the destructive fireball forward.

As it traveled, there was no sound, no explosion.

The Annihilation Blackflame Orb silently crossed the space between them and sank into the puppet's ruined chest.

Experiment Subject 003 stopped moving and became a pile of remains.

Su Luo slowly descended from the air, his breathing steady and his expression unchanged. It was as though the battle just now, enough to drive the vast majority of survivors to despair, had been nothing more than an ordinary fight.

[You obtained [Class Change Certificate]]

[Dungeon cleared. Teleportation will begin in three minutes...]

Su Luo looked down at the battlefield, then went back to pick up the dropped Skill Books and materials.

"Young friend, please wait!"

An aged, peaceful voice, seemingly imbued with endless ages and the paths of the stars, sounded directly in the depths of his mind.

Fuck! What the hell is that?!

Su Luo froze, then darted through the air to the doorway before looking back.

There was nothing there.

Just then, a point of light rose from the wreckage and drifted toward Su Luo.

Appraisal didn't work, as though the point of light itself didn't exist.

Su Luo turned and ran, flying all the way to the first-floor hall in one breath. When he turned around, the point of light was still floating not far from him.

"There's no need to panic or flee. Under the system's rules, I can't hurt you."

"What are you?"

Su Luo calmed down a little. Song Shige hadn't told him there was anything this strange.

"Someone... who might be able to offer you another choice."

The voice came from nowhere, and the point of light floated gently.

How shameless is this thing, offering me a choice right off the bat?

"I watched your battle. It was very interesting. Your soul is young, and you've only been in contact with Mana for a little over ten days, yet you've managed to bypass the system's rigid early-stage experience system and come this far through pure study and understanding... Your thirst for knowledge and your talent are quite impressive."

The strange thing in the Dungeon knew about the system and skills.

Su Luo remained expressionless, his mental power highly focused as he quickly examined himself for any possible traces of mental intrusion.

"If I'm not mistaken, the Class Change you seek is the path of a mage?"

"The mage's path is indeed a broad road, orderly and safe, but also... dull." The voice carried a barely perceptible hint of disdain before turning deeply seductive. "But do you know that, in this sea of stars, those who truly make the gods tremble and the laws shudder have never been mages who follow the rules, but Wizards—those who seek the origin of all things and move the rules themselves?"

Su Luo remained silent and glanced at the teleportation countdown.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Grantham Sylvester, a level 20 Morningstar Wizard. I once presided over the Myriad Phenomena Plane, walked through countless worlds, analyzed the laws of planes, and hunted the gods that filled the heavens..."

Su Luo said nothing.

"This puppet you destroyed was once my assistant in reality. It accompanied me through long years and witnessed countless mysteries. I sealed some of my knowledge and legacy deep within its core... Of course, opening it requires a specific key and sufficient strength."

"Your ability should not be confined by rules and restrictions. If you're interested, once you're strong enough, after level ten, go and give it a try..."

"Remember... seek... Truth!"

Su Luo's expression did not change.

A pillar of teleportation light descended as scheduled, enveloping Su Luo.