The Barrier Falls!

Ten minutes later, the street held only a dissolving giant serpent, its body battered and fading, and Mo Shuying, green light flickering across him as his HP rapidly recovered.

"Almost level 13, and this huge snake only gave 120 experience—ridiculous."

With that, Mo Shuying kicked the serpent's corpse aside. The bucket-thick body rolled away, revealing a purple orb beneath.

"Oh? A drop!"

Mo Shuying snatched the orb up. He'd killed plenty of monsters lately, but good loot was rare—mostly small trinkets. Only one skill had dropped: Bedrock Armor. Its effect was that if he took no damage over time, an invisible layer of bedrock armor would stack, maxing out at 3000 HP defense. As long as the armor wasn't fully broken, his own defense increased by thirty percent.

The Swift Wolf Bracelet was a summoning bracelet. Pouring in mana could call two swift wolves—fast wolf beasts with a summon cap of two. If one died, he could summon it again immediately.

Two days ago, Mo Shuying had strapped four gas canisters to two swift wolves and sent them charging at a powerful stone golem. Another spectacular explosion, and Bedrock Armor had dropped.

Speaking of which, thanks to Mo Shuying's explosive artistry, this special anomaly space was already a wreck.

Days of repeated blasts had left city streets destroyed and high-rises collapsed—like a terror attack had plowed through everything.

Mo Shuying felt no remorse. If anything, he'd doubled down. His storage space now held over twenty gas canisters and thirty-plus Molotov cocktails—a walking arsenal.

"This orb... not bad."

[Serpent Eye Orb C

Inject mana to release a Slow Light, reducing the target's mobility.]

The orb was only the size of a ping-pong ball. Mo Shuying tossed it into his storage space for easy access later.

Just as the Purple-Scaled Giant Serpent vanished completely—

"Ding~ Daily Quest one completed. Gained 300 experience. Strength slightly increased."

"Ding~ Experience meets level-up conditions. Level increased."

In the blink of an eye, Mo Shuying hit level 13. His stats rose again.

He glanced at the time.

Midnight was almost here. A new wave of check-ins beckoned. He needed a quiet spot to wash up, change clothes, and wait for the check-in—maybe that would yield something good.

Speaking of check-ins, the past few days had given him a skill called [Battlefield Valor]. Another familiar skill—the passive of that certain man.

[Battlefield Valor C]

Increases attack power when striking with fists. After losing HP, gains corresponding HP recovery. If the host strikes first with the left fist, the right fist's speed will be eight times that of the left.

A passive, a pair of iron fists, Crushing Hand Splitter, Intentional Blast Punch.

That man had never let Mo Shuying down.

But...

He was an Assassin! An assassin! An assassin!

Staring at the increasingly bulging muscles on his arms, Mo Shuying felt his evolution path had gone off track.

"Ding~ Detected no check-in today. Check in now?"

Before he knew it, midnight had passed. The system's prompt arrived on schedule. Mo Shuying sat atop a high-rise, night wind blowing.

It was one of the few remaining towers nearby. He took a deep breath, images of countless gods and buddhas flashing through his mind, then—

"Check-in."

"Ding~ Host check-in successful. Gained skill [Elegant Serpent Walk C]."

"Huh? What's this?"

Mo Shuying frowned. The skill name felt familiar. He couldn't help opening the panel to check—and instantly knew whose skill it was.

[Elegant Serpent Walk C]

Increases movement speed. Scales with level.

PS: Cannot wear shoes while possessing this skill, or the effect won't manifest.

Mo Shuying: "...Isn't this the snake lady's skill? Good thing it didn't turn me half-snake."

Not wearing shoes was acceptable. His physical strength was already high enough that bare feet wouldn't be cut by sharp objects on the ground. Plus, Bedrock Armor gave full-body defense. He just had to watch out for stepping on gum or certain... other things.

So Mo Shuying kicked off his sneakers. And sure enough, the moment both shoes flew away, his body felt lighter, his movements quicker and more agile.

That was just the speed boost at level 13. If he leveled higher, the speed increase would be staggering. A smile crept onto Mo Shuying's lips—finally, a skill that fit an assassin. It had been a long time coming.

As he mused, another vortex appeared in the distance. Mo Shuying slowly stood, listening to the daily quest announcement. He spread his arms and leaped, vanishing midair in a flash—Blink—and landing on the ground.

"One, two, three, four, five, six. Six. Hmph, consider this a warm-up. Come on! Tonight, we hunt to our heart's content!"

With that, Mo Shuying activated Presence Concealment. He moved like a ghost, striking fast. The hunt had begun.

Soon, two more days passed.

Those two days, Mo Shuying kept training, running, and killing monsters.

In two days, he gained two more levels, just hitting level 15. As his level rose, the experience needed grew. Mo Shuying could already feel the grind.

Only level 15! What would happen at higher levels?

Just as he was worrying, the ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled slightly.

"Hmm? An earthquake? Can an alternate space even have earthquakes?"

Mo Shuying wasn't surprised by the earthquake itself—after all, this was an island nation where tremors were quite frequent—but the fact that the alternate space he was in was also shaking was a bit off.

"Hum~"

And the trembling continued, even growing more frequent and intense.

Mo Shuying felt something was wrong; something must have gone awry.

Just as he was thinking.

"Boom!!"

The barrier at the entrance to Fuyuki Bridge was suddenly blasted open! A blue beam of light shot in, striking a tall building and punching a massive hole straight through it.

"What! Where did that attack come from?"

Mo Shuying wasn't far from the Fuyuki Bridge entrance. As soon as he noticed the anomaly, he rushed over, and just as he arrived—

"Boom!"

Another red Magic Cannon blasted through the barrier, slamming into the ground, carving a trench through the earth as smoke and flames billowed.

At that moment, from the breach in the barrier, a clamor of voices rang out.

"Go for it, Miyu!! Don't hold back!"

"We can't lose either, Illya! Fire, fire!"

Accompanied by two voices dripping with fighting spirit, a series of explosions followed.

Mo Shuying hesitated for a moment, staring at the still-unhealed gap in the barrier, then—

"Presence Concealment!"