Advancing to a Class-Holder!

"Alright, be careful!"

Without asking too many questions, Bern chose to trust Lin Mo and turned to enter the Secret Realm.

Lin Mo took a deep breath and looked ahead.

As the others entered the Secret Realm one after another, the three Mutated Goblins that had not been in a hurry before were now rushing over at top speed, intending to at least keep Lin Mo, the last one remaining, behind.

He had limited time—no more than five seconds.

But it was enough!

The surrounding Goblins closed in. Lin Mo stepped forward half a pace, and the Wolfbone Sword in his hand suddenly swept out, carving a perfect arc through the air.

Slash!

Lin Mo put every ounce of strength into this strike. The sharp blade touched a Goblin's neck in an instant, meeting no resistance at all as a head flew into the air.

The momentum of his sword did not fade. The blade continued sweeping forward with unstoppable force before finally slowing within the neck bone of the fifth Goblin.

Without stopping, Lin Mo immediately swung again. From a different angle but with the same force, the overly concentrated Goblins had instead become connected targets, greatly improving his monster-grinding efficiency.

This strike beheaded another five Goblins!

The particularly tall adult Mutated Goblin roared as it charged toward him, its speed indeed no slower than his own.

Lin Mo watched the distance between them, seized the last opportunity, and swung twice more, harvesting the lives of ten Goblins.

Then he swiftly sheathed his sword, turned, and entered the rift of the Secret Realm.

Boom—

The next moment, a massive iron axe crashed down before the entrance to the Secret Realm, leaving dense cracks across the ground.

Yet Lin Mo had already entered, vanishing from sight.

Roar—!

Having missed its target, the Mutated Goblin let out a furious roar and punched the tree before it. Its sandbag-sized fist was stopped half a meter from the trunk as ripples spread through the air and dissipated.

It stared unwillingly at the rift before it, but ultimately lacked the courage to enter. It could only vent its rage helplessly for a while before turning away dejectedly.

The instant he entered the rift, Lin Mo felt his vision go dark—not literal darkness, but more like the sensation of having one eye closed in the night. Rather than blackness, it felt more like nothingness.

It was not just his vision. All his senses seemed completely sealed away. That absolute emptiness, even for only an instant, was enough to make one feel suffocated.

Fortunately, it lasted only an instant. The next moment, Lin Mo felt a dizzying sensation of weightlessness. Unable to judge the state of his body, he could only feel the gravity around him abruptly vanish, return, and then reverse...

When he came to his senses again, several familiar faces had appeared before him.

"What a strange feeling."

"Right?"

Evan nodded deeply. "For a moment, I almost thought I was dead. I really don't want to experience that feeling a second time."

Lin Mo did not answer. Instead, he raised his head and looked ahead.

The Secret Realm before them was not as dangerous or absurd as he had imagined. It looked like a castle—or perhaps a Dungeon?

The surrounding walls were built from blue stone bricks. The view was somewhat dim, with burning torches hanging from the walls on both sides, casting faint light.

"This is my first time entering a Secret Realm..."

Cody looked around with wary yet curious eyes. What he said was practically meaningless, since everyone present was the same. Even Bern, the oldest among them and the one with the most adventuring experience, had never entered a Secret Realm before—he had never even seen one.

"This place looks a little creepy."

Bern did not dare let his guard down either, keeping a firm grip on his sword and shield at all times.

"Don't be so tense... At least we just escaped danger, didn't we?"

It was unclear whether Evan said that to lighten the mood, to comfort himself, or because he secretly felt a trace of delight.

It might have been an accident, but no matter what, they had entered the Secret Realm!

Wealth, equipment, skills!

Young hearts could not resist their desire for such things. Evan looked ahead, eager to give it a try.

Lin Mo had no time to care about any of that for now. After confirming there was no immediate danger around them, he turned his attention to the small text appearing before his eyes.

Slash Proficiency +5!

Slash Proficiency +5!

Two messages appeared before him in succession. In the brief time before entering the Secret Realm, Lin Mo had killed exactly twenty Goblins, gaining the final 20 points of proficiency needed for the Slash skill.

"Skill Slash Lv4 (100/100) has leveled up!"

"Current skill: Slash Lv5 (max)"

"Gained Stat Points: Strength +2!"

The Slash skill had successfully reached its maximum level, granting Lin Mo 2 points of Strength and bringing his Strength attribute to 8. His power had improved further.

But that was not all...

"Automatically evolved into a new skill—Cross Slash!"

"Learned skill Cross Slash! Strength +2!"

Just as expected!

Once a skill reached its maximum level, evolution followed—and evolution meant gaining a new skill.

The additional 2 points of Strength brought Lin Mo's Strength attribute directly to 10!

Coupled with Slash having just reached its maximum level, if Lin Mo's previous guess was correct, he had fulfilled the requirements needed to become a class-holder!

Sure enough, he did not have to wait long before another line of translucent text appeared before his eyes.

"Advancement requirements met. Gained class—Warrior (Lv1)"

"Gained class Attribute Amplification: Strength +2, Constitution +2, Agility +2!"

"Gained class skill—Warrior's Heart!"

Looking at the information before him, Lin Mo finally understood why the gap between class-holders and ordinary people was said to be so enormous.

Advancing to a class-holder directly gave him a full 6 attribute points for free. How could the difference not be huge?

Lin Mo glanced at his status panel. With the boost from class Attribute Amplification, his attributes had reached an entirely new level.

Name: Lin Mo

Class: Warrior Lv1

Attributes:

Strength: 12

Agility: 10

Constitution: 6

Spirit: 5

Mana: 0

Compared to when he had first arrived in this world a few days ago, this status panel was already quite impressive.

As for his skills...

Lin Mo first looked at the Cross Slash he had gained through evolution. Like Stealth before it, this was a green, excellent-quality skill.

Cross Slash Lv1 (0/10): After mastering Slash, you are no longer satisfied with such a simple and plain technique. You begin attempting to break through your limits and try something new. Quickly slash twice in a designated direction, dealing a cross-shaped strike!

The description was simple and concise, but its value was incredibly high.

Cross Slash meant Lin Mo could unleash two Slashes in an instant!

The power of a skill was far greater than an ordinary swing. The explosive force displayed by two consecutive Slashes was simply unimaginable...

But another problem arose. The greater the explosive power and the stronger the attack, the more it faced a single issue.

It consumed too much stamina, and his Constitution could not keep up.

Although advancing to a class-holder had increased his Constitution by 2 points, improving things somewhat, it was still a drop in the bucket compared to his Strength, which was twice as high.

Shaking his head helplessly, Lin Mo turned his gaze toward the second skill he had just obtained—the special skill known as a class skill, Warrior's Heart.

"What the hell...?"