One-Wave Push

"Combat Expertise has leveled up."

Bai Pu received the notification amidst the encirclement, his Combat Expertise had risen to Basic Level 4.

However, his profession level experience bar didn't increase at all. Bai Pu's profession level experience remained at 1st level, 56%.

It seems that the virtual dungeon, designed based on the Intersection Lands, can't raise profession levels, but it can hone combat expertise! I wonder if it can hone combat skills; theoretically, it should be possible.

Bai Pu patted each virtual treasure chest, and the chests transformed into streams of light and disappeared.

[Congratulations to the newcomer (Bai Pu) for obtaining the reward: Leaping Strike Skill Book. Please claim it at the logistics department of the God Strategy Army branch.]

[Congratulations to the newcomer (Bai Pu) for obtaining the reward: City Guard Shield (white standard equipment). Please claim it at the logistics department of the God Strategy Army branch.]

[Congratulations to the newcomer (Bai Pu) for obtaining the reward: Lucky Bag*2 (containing 128 Honor).]

Not every skeleton dropped a virtual treasure chest. To be precise, only the stronger skeletons, equivalent to standard templates, had a chance to drop virtual treasure chests.

Bai Pu inscribed the Flesh Rune on the Iron Thorn Shoulder Guard again. This process took him half an hour, consumed 4 points of his Spirit, and 40% of his Blood Battle Qi.

Spirit is the energy generated based on the Spirit attribute. Each point of Spirit attribute represents 1 point of Spirit limit. Fortunately, Bai Pu's base Spirit was high, a full 9 points. An average tank-type Awakened might not even have 4 Spirit points to inscribe the Flesh Rune.

Blood Battle Qi is a relatively special profession energy bar, and using physical combat skills consumes it.

The recovery speed of Blood Battle Qi is related to its "stock." When consumption is low, the Blood Battle Qi stock is high, and recovery is fast. But once consumption exceeds 50%, and the stock is less than half, the recovery speed slows down. If the Battle Qi dries up, with a stock of zero, the recovery speed will be extremely slow, and thorough rest will be needed.

"That's all for the harvest on the first level. I'll go to the second level and take a look." After resting for a while, Bai Pu stepped into the entrance to the second level of the White Bone Dungeon.

Time rewinds to about an hour earlier.

Tactical Research Room.

Watching the green dot representing Bai Pu's location sprint wildly through the first level of the dungeon, Qilin and Black Tiger were both stunned.

"A one-wave push?" Qilin murmured, "So unrestrained?"

"Could he be using a method to eliminate sound, trying to sneak to the final boss?" Black Tiger analyzed.

"That's impossible. You have to kill monsters for virtual treasure chests to appear, Bai Pu knows this," Instructor Chou said. "I think Bai Pu must have some kind of area-of-effect damage skill, coupled with his high defense, that he chose this one-wave push combat strategy."

"In that case, his initial testing of the Rotten Bone Skeleton's damage makes sense..." Qilin suddenly realized.

"Goodness, what skill is so powerful that it can clear all the skeletons in one go? Isn't Bai Pu being too presumptuous..."

Before Black Tiger could finish speaking, a clear prompt lit up on the big screen.

[Congratulations to the newcomer (Bai Pu) for eliminating all monsters and successfully clearing the first level of the White Bone Dungeon. Time taken: 5 minutes 24 seconds.]

"What?!" Qilin and Black Tiger gaped.

Even Instructor Chou couldn't remain calm, standing up and saying, "Quick, check, what's the record for newcomers clearing the first level!"

"I remember, in our Jiangnan District, the fastest record for newcomers clearing the first level is 7 minutes 56 seconds, left by 'Mad Dog' last year," Qilin murmured. "Improving it by two and a half minutes at once, how is that possible?"

Soon, Su Xiaoxiao found the answer.

"The fastest record for clearing the first level of the White Bone Dungeon across the seven major districts nationwide is... 4 minutes 58 seconds."

"What a pity, just 26 seconds short!" Instructor Chou slapped his thigh, full of regret, "Bai Pu spent more than a minute testing the attack power of the Rotten Bone Skeleton... If he hadn't tested it, he definitely could have broken the speedrun record for the seven districts!"

Instructor Chou was a soldier, and he had a special obsession with the word "record." A record represented the highest, the fastest, and the strongest, and it was the highest honor a soldier could strive for in peacetime.

Who would have thought that a tank class could challenge the record of the seven districts? Now, being able to break the record of the Jiangnan District was rare, but it was inevitably a bit of a pity. You had to know that this record was specifically for newcomers venturing into the White Bone Dungeon for the first time, and there was no second chance.

"Why hasn't Bai Pu come out yet... Ah, could it be that he wants to break through the second level?" Qilin wondered, "The monsters on the second level are generally level 2, which will create level suppression against Bai Pu."

"It's not just level suppression, the strength of the monsters on the second level has all gone up a notch. The worst of them have the combat power of Skeleton Warriors, and there are also a small number of elite Skeleton Warriors and Undead Bone Mages." Black Tiger knew them like the back of his hand, "I only cleared the second level last month after my class level advanced to level 4. The difficulty is really too high."

"That's because you're a coward. You had to wait until you stepped into the intermediate Awakened stage and your strength greatly improved before you dared to challenge the second level." Instructor Chou snorted, "Based on your combat specialization level, you already had a good chance of passing at level 3."

"It's just that I was scared by the Undead Bone Mage." Black Tiger said, "The Undead Bone Mage's Crippling Spell is too disgusting..."

Su Xiaoxiao stared at the motionless green dot on the screen, fantasizing about Bai Pu's beautiful face, and the topic turned back again: "Do you think Little Bai Pu can clear the second level?"

"Based on the combat power Bai Pu showed in clearing the first level, as long as he plays it safe, it's possible to clear the second level." Instructor Chou said with emotion, "Perhaps, another newcomer who clears the second level is about to appear."

After an hour of long waiting.

"Little Bai Pu has started!" Su Xiaoxiao said excitedly.

On the screen, that green dot had appeared on the map of the second level of the White Bone Dungeon.

"This time he seems to be much more cautious, moving very slowly... Holy crap?"

Looking at the green dot on the screen that started running wildly again, the always refined Qilin was so shocked that his manners fell to the ground.

There was a strong sense of confusion and incomprehension in Black Tiger's eyes: "Why is this happening? Can you also do a one-wave clear on the second level?"

"In theory, it's impossible. There are nearly a hundred undead monsters on the second level. Apart from the two Undead Bone Mages and three Skeleton Warriors, the others are all standard template level 2 Skeleton Soldiers at the very least. A newly Awakened newcomer can't possibly withstand the siege of so many monsters unless he's cheating." Instructor Chou said.

"He's at the end of the level, he's stopped... He should be surrounded by the monster horde now." Qilin breathed a sigh of relief, "Bai Pu should be coming out soon."

The green dot on the screen flickered, like a candle in the wind, as if people could see Bai Pu deeply trapped in a monster swarm being beaten up.

"It's a pity, if he had played it safe, he might have had a chance..."

Before Instructor Chou could finish his words, a line of text suddenly appeared on the screen and quickly zoomed in:

Congratulations to the newcomer (Bai Pu) for eliminating all monsters and successfully clearing the second level of the White Bone Dungeon. Time spent: 10 minutes and 17 seconds.