One-Wave Clear

"Combat Expertise leveled up."

While Bai Pu was being mobbed, he received a notification: his Combat Expertise had risen to Basic Level 4.

However, his class level experience bar had not increased at all. Bai Pu's class experience remained at Level 1, 56%.

"Looks like Virtual Dungeons designed around the Intersection Lands can't raise class levels, but they can hone Combat Expertise! I wonder if combat skills can be honed too. In theory, they should be."

Bai Pu tapped each of the virtual treasure chests, and they dissolved into streams of light.

Congratulations, newcomer (Bai Pu), for receiving: Leaping Strike Skill Book. Please collect it from the quartermaster's office of the corresponding God Strategy Army branch.

Congratulations, newcomer (Bai Pu), for receiving: City Guard Shield (white standard equipment). Please collect it from the quartermaster's office of the corresponding God Strategy Army branch.

Congratulations, newcomer (Bai Pu), for receiving: Lucky Bag ×2 (contains 128 Honor).

Not every skeleton dropped a virtual treasure chest. More precisely, only stronger skeleton soldiers comparable to standard-template monsters had a chance of dropping one.

Bai Pu inscribed the Flesh Rune onto the Iron Thorn Shoulder Guard once more. The process took him half an hour and consumed 4 points of Spirit Energy, along with forty percent of his Blood Battle Qi.

Spirit Energy was energy generated based on the "Spirit" attribute. Every point of Spirit represented 1 point of maximum Spirit Energy. Fortunately, Bai Pu's Basic Spirit was quite high, at a full 9 points. An ordinary tank-type Awakened might not even have been able to spare 4 points of Spirit Energy to inscribe the Flesh Rune.

Blood Battle Qi was a rather special Class Energy pool. Using physical combat skills consumed it.

The recovery speed of Blood Battle Qi was related to its remaining reserves. When little had been consumed and the reserves were high, it recovered quickly. But once consumption exceeded fifty percent and less than half remained, its recovery speed slowed. If Battle Qi was completely depleted, leaving the reserves at zero, recovery would become extremely slow. At that point, proper rest would be necessary.

"That's about all there is to gain from the first floor. I should take a look at the second." After resting for a while, Bai Pu stepped into the entrance to the second floor of the White Bone Dungeon.

The clock turned back about an hour.

Tactical Research Room.

Watching the green dot representing Bai Pu's location race through the first-floor dungeon, Qilin and Black Tiger both went numb.

"One-wave clear?" Qilin muttered. "That reckless?"

"Could he have used some method to erase sound and planned to sneak straight to the end?" Black Tiger speculated.

"That's impossible. Monsters have to be killed for virtual treasure chests to appear, and Bai Pu knows that." Instructor Chou said, "I think Bai Pu must have some kind of area-of-effect damage skill. Combined with his high defense, that's why he chose this one-wave-clear approach."

"That explains why he tested the Rotten Bone Skeletons' damage at the start..." Qilin said in realization.

"Damn, what kind of skill could be so powerful that it could wipe out every skeleton in one go? Isn't Bai Pu being too overconfident..."

Before Black Tiger could finish, a clearance notification lit up on the big screen.

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

"What?!" Qilin and Black Tiger's mouths fell open.

Even Instructor Chou could no longer stay calm. He stood and said, "Quick, check the record for a newcomer clearing the first floor!"

"I remember that in our Jiangnan District, the fastest record for a newcomer clearing the first floor was 7 minutes 56 seconds, set last year by Mad Dog." Qilin murmured. "He improved it by two and a half minutes in one shot. How did he do that?"

Su Xiaoxiao quickly found the answer.

"The fastest clear record for the first floor of the White Bone Dungeon across the nation's seven districts is... 4 minutes 58 seconds."

"What a shame, he missed it by just 26 seconds!" Instructor Chou slapped his thigh in regret. "Bai Pu spent over a minute testing the Rotten Bone Skeletons' Attack Power... If he hadn't tested them, he definitely would've broken the seven-district speed-clear record!"

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

Who could have imagined that a tank class could challenge the record of all seven districts? Breaking the Jiangnan District record was already remarkable, but it still left some regret. After all, this record was specifically for newcomers entering the White Bone Dungeon for the first time. There would be no second chance.

"Why hasn't Bai Pu come out yet... Ah, he isn't planning to challenge the second floor, is he?" Qilin asked doubtfully. "The monsters on the second floor are generally Level 2. They'll suppress Bai Pu by level."

"It's not just level suppression. Every monster on the second floor is a whole tier stronger. Even the weakest have the combat strength of skeleton soldiers, and there are also a few elite Skeleton Warriors and Undead Bone Mages." Black Tiger rattled off. "I only cleared the second floor after my class level rose to Level 4 last month. The difficulty is just too high."

"You were just scared. You insisted on waiting until you became an intermediate Awakened and your strength had increased greatly before daring to challenge the second floor." Instructor Chou snorted. "Based on your Combat Expertise level, you already had a very good chance of clearing it at Level 3."

"I was traumatized by the Undead Bone Mages." Black Tiger said. "Their Crippling Spell is disgusting..."

Su Xiaoxiao stared at the motionless green dot on the screen, imagining Bai Pu's stunningly handsome face as she steered the topic back. "Do you think little Bai Pu can clear the second floor?"

"Judging from the combat strength Bai Pu displayed while clearing the first floor, he could clear the second floor too, as long as he proceeds steadily." Instructor Chou said with emotion. "Perhaps another newcomer capable of clearing the second floor is about to appear."

After an agonizing hour of waiting.

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

On the screen, the green dot had appeared on the map of the White Bone Dungeon's second floor.

"This time he seems much more cautious. He's been moving very slowly... Holy shit?"

Seeing the green dot on the screen start sprinting again, the usually refined Qilin was so shocked that all his manners vanished.

Black Tiger's eyes were filled with confusion and disbelief. "Why? Can the second floor be cleared in one wave too?"

"Logically, that's impossible. There are nearly a hundred undead monsters on the second floor. Aside from two Undead Bone Mages and three Skeleton Warriors, even the weakest among the rest are Level 2 skeleton soldiers with standard templates. A newcomer who has only just Awakened can't possibly withstand the combined assault of so many monsters—unless he's cheating." Instructor Chou said.

"He's reached the end and stopped... He should be trapped in a siege by the monster horde now." Qilin let out a breath. "Bai Pu should be coming out soon."

The green dot on the screen flickered like a guttering candle in the wind, as if revealing the scene of Bai Pu trapped amid a mob's savage beating.

"What a shame. If he had proceeded steadily, he might not have had no chance..."

Before Instructor Chou could finish, a line of text suddenly appeared on the screen and rapidly enlarged: Congratulations, newcomer (Bai Pu), for eliminating all monsters and successfully clearing the second floor of the White Bone Dungeon. Time taken: 10 minutes 17 seconds.