"Name: Night Dawn." "Realm: Mortal." "Status: Ordinary." "Health: 72/100." "Force: 31 (+20)." "Unloading Force: 31 (+20)." "Talent: Night's Breath (Human Grade High Rank)." "Skill: Analysis (Human-grade Low-tier)." "Lifespan: 11 days, 12 shichen."
Fang Yue's starting stats had been 1 point of Force and 1 point of Unloading Force.
After he killed the Little Female Ghost, both stats had increased by 10 points.
His base stats had reached 11 points.
It was now the middle of the night, and with [Night's Breath] boosting him, his stats had soared to 31 points!
His maximum health had also risen to 100 after he recovered from his serious-injury state.
By the time Fang Yue realized this, his health had already recovered to 100/100.
At this rate of recovery, Fang Yue felt like he was going to be invincible.
He was getting a little carried away. In that moment, he felt as if his mind were stuck on a loop, playing the song: How lonely it is to be invincible.
Just then, a gust of wind swept into the Ruined Temple.
Pfft.
The small flame in the fire pit went out.
The Ruined Temple's only source of light vanished.
Boom!
Thunder flashed again, and the downpour continued.
Fang Yue instinctively looked toward the fire pit. The Little Boy beside it also looked up, his face full of terror as he stared at Fang Yue.
Their eyes met, and Fang Yue saw that the Little Boy's eyes were turning completely black at a visible rate. It was like a drop of ink had fallen into a pool, spreading and tainting the water.
The whites of his eyes turned entirely black, and the darkness slowly spread outward from the corners of his eyes like a virus.
The Little Boy grabbed at his cheeks with both hands, desperate and terrified. After clawing at them twice, he seemed to remember something. He suddenly dropped to all fours and lunged at the Female Ghost's remaining ashes like a starving ghost.
His movements were agile and nimble, far beyond what any ordinary human could manage.
The Little Boy scooped up the ashes with his hands and shoved them into his mouth without hesitation.
He devoured them, getting ashes all over his mouth. All the while, he kept his black eyes trained warily on Fang Yue, as though he feared Fang Yue would snatch away this delicacy if he slowed down for even a second.
What kind of scene hadn't Fang Yue seen before?
This one, though, he really hadn't seen!
Ashes mixed with rice?!
Kid, so you're not human either!
The song looping in his head—How lonely it is to be invincible—ground to a halt.
Could this really be another anomaly?!
No way, no way, no way...
Thinking back to the [Index Finger Ghoul], which had lost health like crazy from the poisonous soup and had needed at least several thousand hit points to die, then comparing that to his pitiful maximum of 100 health, Fang Yue suddenly felt a little less confident.
No, wait!
He was a dual-stat powerhouse with 31 points in each stat now, plus the bonus from [Night's Breath]. He was worlds apart from before; his strength had completely changed!
That's right! Exactly!
The storm had passed, and Fang Yue felt like he was back in fighting shape!
By then, the Little Boy had eaten all of the [Index Finger Ghoul]'s ashes. He'd even licked the yellow dirt floor three times.
The Little Boy slowly stood up. His eyes and the corners around them had turned completely black, like he was wearing thick black makeup.
Black blood trickled slowly from the corners of his eyes.
His belly rose and fell, swelling up like that of a woman eight months pregnant.
Then—
Shhk!
A long fingernail suddenly poked out of his belly.
It was half a meter long, sharp and pointed.
Shhk!
Shhk!
Shhk!
Before long, more fingernails emerged from his belly.
At that moment, Fang Yue was absolutely certain this thing was an anomaly!
The Lesser Anomaly stood with its belly full of fingernails, its head turning this way and that. Its bleeding eyes seemed to have robbed it of its sight.
Then the Lesser Anomaly sniffed the air and suddenly fixed its head on Fang Yue.
Roar!
The moment it opened its mouth, a foul, yellowish-brown breath wafted out.
"Bring it on!"
Brimming with confidence, Fang Yue shouted and got ready.
Killing anomalies earned Lifespan and increased stats.
So this was how the game let you get stronger.
He'd figured it all out.
He'd passed the [Index Finger Ghoul] newbie trial. Now it was time for him to kill monsters.
"Anomaly, you're going to help me cultivate!"
At his words, the Lesser Anomaly let out another ghostly roar.
It dropped to all fours like a beast and charged forward...
Bang!!
Fang Yue's vision blurred. A wave of pain exploded in his chest, and his body suddenly went flying, completely out of his control.
A huge, terrifying number appeared above his head.
-95!
He felt like a speeding cargo truck had hit him head-on. It hurt like hell, and he was completely dazed.
Thud!
With another loud crash, he slammed hard into the ruined Buddha statue behind him and collapsed to the ground.
Another damage notification appeared above his head.
-3!
Fang Yue was stunned, dazed, and utterly dumbfounded.
His hands trembled as he looked at his remaining health.
"Health: 2/100."
"System prompt: You have entered a serious-injury state."
What the hell, what a monster!
This had to be a level 100 BOSS!
Fang Yue was completely dumbfounded.
He'd just leveled up, and he'd nearly been killed in one hit. Was this thing really supposed to be a beginner monster?!
[Night's Breath] activated, rapidly restoring his health and healing his injuries.
"System prompt: Congratulations, you have recovered from your serious-injury state."
[Night's Breath] was incredibly powerful, but Fang Yue couldn't bring himself to feel happy.
What was the point of healing fast when the other guy was a one-punch superman who could take away 100 health in a single blow?!
Fang Yue looked toward the Lesser Anomaly...
Wait, where was the Lesser Anomaly?
Confused, Fang Yue searched the Ruined Temple for the Lesser Anomaly, which hadn't even bothered to finish him off. Instead, he found that a new Human-shaped Hole had appeared in the temple.
He looked through the Human-shaped Hole toward the outside.
In the downpour, a small figure was turning in circles like a headless fly, shouting nervously at the darkness around it.
It was acting like a blind person who'd suddenly wandered into a noisy bar and dance club, completely lost and disoriented.
"So this thing really can't see."
Fang Yue understood at once.
Now Fang Yue had two options in front of him.
One: run.
Two: fight.
Without the slightest hesitation, Fang Yue made his choice.
Lesser Anomaly, sorry to bother you!
Fang Yue hid in the shadows, facing the Lesser Anomaly and keeping his eyes on it as he slowly backed away.
Staying alive came first!
Perhaps because he was nervous, Fang Yue had tensed every muscle as he retreated, putting all his strength into each backward step.
So when a clap of thunder suddenly boomed, Fang Yue froze.
He saw that the path he'd just taken had left a trail of deep footprints in the Ruined Temple's solid yellow dirt floor.
Each footprint looked to be at least five or six centimeters deep, forming a series of sunken impressions.
Damn, my legs are strong!
Fang Yue couldn't help getting carried away again.
Could it be... that I'd just been holding back before? Was I actually insanely strong?
Before you continue