Chen Ming naturally knew nothing about what had happened at the city's border.
On the other side.
Cloud Hidden Ravine dungeon.
Time flew by.
[Killed Twin Stone Golem (Lv. 7), EXP +125!] [Obtained: Twin Stone Golem - Beast Core (Lv. 7)] [Obtained: Constitution Rune Stone *1]
The fierce battle at the fork beneath a massive cliff came to an end.
Chen Ming stood amid a pile of shattered rocks and dug a [Stone Heart Stamen] out of the cliff face.
Then he set down his blade and plopped onto the ground.
"Phew..."
The high-intensity fighting had gone on without pause.
Even Chen Ming, with his terrifying stamina, was starting to feel tired.
"We're almost at the end of the canyon."
He looked ahead at a narrow passage shrouded in pale blue mist.
A path stretched out from the passage, leading to the deepest part of the canyon.
While resting, Chen Ming checked his quest progress.
[1. Treasure Hunt: Obtain at least 10 energy-attribute materials!] [Progress: 17/10] [2. Challenge: Successfully kill at least 5 Treasure-Guarding Exotic Beasts!] [Progress: 5/5]
"I've got 17 rare resources."
Ten of them were rare resources without elemental power, and Chen Ming had already absorbed them.
He was keeping the rest for now.
Chen Ming swept his mental power across his mental space.
[Vermilion Fruit]: Fire-element, Strength-attribute type [Wind-Breath Orchid]: Wind-element, Agility-attribute type [...] [Essence-Nurturing Fruit]: Wood-element, Constitution-attribute type [Flowing Light Wood Core]: Light-element, Strength-attribute type
He smiled.
"What a haul."
He felt like a miser admiring his treasure.
These rare resources were worth a fortune.
If Chen Ming wanted to sell them, he could probably make a killing.
As for the objective of killing Treasure-Guarding Exotic Beasts, he had just reached the required five.
Unfortunately, the beasts after that had been ordinary ones, with nothing special about them.
The drops were nothing much either—just one Strength Rune Stone and one Recovery Rune Stone.
"I've completed both objectives, but the dungeon hasn't been cleared. Looks like there's more ahead."
Chen Ming planned to rest for a while before continuing deeper in.
Just then, a notification appeared before him.
[Grand Exam, Day Two Level Ranking: First Place!] [Rank Reward: Gold *10, Tier-One Fine Equipment *2 (Attribute Rune Stone +15, type optional), Equipment Enchantment Book *2 (type optional), Rare Resource *2 (type optional)]
"The Grand Exam rewards are here. I'm in first place?"
Chen Ming's expression shifted slightly as he opened the details.
Taking first place proved that his leveling speed had now surpassed Qin Zhixue's.
"Two rare resources in today's rewards. Not bad."
Chen Ming looked delighted.
He had already collected a whopping 17 in the canyon.
But who ever complained about having too many rare resources?
The more rare resources one absorbed, the higher the level of the skill awakened at level 10.
Although he already had an SSS-rank "Pre-made Skill," the awakened skill tied to his C-rank Shield Guard class still needed to be built up with rare resources.
And most of all, Chen Ming wanted a mental-type rare resource.
He hadn't found any in the canyon so far.
"Hmm? That's it?"
Chen Ming looked at the panel, surprised.
He had just selected a [Mind Crystal].
But when he tried to choose another, [Mind Crystal] had turned gray.
"Uh, did someone else take them all?"
The only explanation was that all the mental-type resources had already been claimed.
After all, the Grand Exam rewards were available to the entire Alliance.
There were millions of Class Changers.
Even if only three Class Changers in each city could choose a rare resource, that was still a lot.
The main problem was that among the rare resources offered as rewards, [Mind Crystal] was the only mental-type one.
"Looks like plenty of people know what mental-type rare resources are for. They all know it's more valuable."
They'd already run out on the second day.
But that made sense. The people who ranked in the top three in each city were practically all geniuses.
Geniuses were naturally proud and wanted to awaken more powerful skills.
Mental-type skills were undoubtedly a huge temptation.
It was an ability most people could never awaken. If he managed to awaken it himself—
he'd be incredible.
That said, Chen Ming was still a little disappointed.
The amount of [Mind Crystal] offered was a bit stingy, but at least it had been available.
He was in urgent need of mental-type rare resources.
"I'll have to wait and see."
The further the Grand Exam went, the better its rewards would get. More precious items should appear too.
Especially the final reward.
Shaking his head, Chen Ming chose a different rare resource instead.
It was an ore about the size of his palm, glowing a deep red.
It was a Strength-attribute resource without elemental power.
Using his mental power to examine it, Chen Ming found its quality was about the same as the rare resources he'd collected in the canyon.
[Strength +1!]
Only after absorbing the rare resource he had just obtained did Chen Ming start choosing his equipment and enchantment books.
At present, the equipment he had from head to toe included a Common Power Longblade, Fine Constitution Armor, and Agility Boots.
"Let's boost my Strength and Recovery."
After thinking it over, Chen Ming decided to choose Fine Strength and Recovery equipment.
The rune stone bonus on his Common Long Blade had already reached its +10 limit.
To keep increasing his Strength, he needed to switch to Fine-quality equipment.
Recovery was also one of Chen Ming's more important attributes.
[Recovery Bracelet: Recovery +75!] [Rapid Recovery (Recovery Equipment Enchantment): Passive ability. When the wearer's Constitution is below 50%, triggers Recovery +50%! Duration: 1 hour. Cooldown: 1 hour.]
After putting on the equipment, Chen Ming began choosing his Strength equipment.
[Rock-Shattering Blade: Strength +15!]
"Hm?"
While choosing a Strength Enchantment Book, he suddenly spotted something "good."
[Bloodthirsty (Strength Equipment Enchantment): Active ability. Strength +50%, Defense -50%! Duration: 1 hour. Cooldown: 1 hour] (Class Changers, choose with caution!)
Chen Ming's eyes lit up.
Obviously, this enchantment was purely an ability for risking one's life.
Constitution determined a Class Changer's actual vitality.
It boosted attack power at the cost of lowered Defense and taking greater damage.
Normally, almost no Class Changer would do something like that.
So much so that in the description of this Equipment Enchantment Book, [Defense -50%] was highlighted in conspicuous red.
It was there to remind Class Changers to know their limits.
But Chen Ming was different.
"Defense -50%?"
At the sight of that, the corners of his mouth lifted into an innocent-looking smile.
Sorry, his Defense was on the level of a bug.
You could even say he didn't have a Defense stat at all.
"What a great ability. This enchantment is perfect for me."
Chen Ming immediately chose the Equipment Enchantment Book.
[Continue choosing this Equipment Enchantment Book?]
"Confirm."
A debuff?
Not a chance.
I don't even have Defense. How are you going to reduce it?
Even if you reduced it by 100%, it still wouldn't affect me.
Before you continue