Strength Rune Stone

Are you insane?

Forget a C-rank Shield Guard; even an S-rank Shield Guard wouldn't fight like this.

Isn't this just pure "blood for blood" trading with a beast?

However, what surprised the two of them most was that the person in the arena didn't look the least bit disheveled.

In fact, he was only getting more spirited as the fight went on.

Is this even right?

At this moment.

Chen Ming also noticed the two people not far away.

He cast his gaze over, and the moment their eyes met, he saw the two of them shudder violently.

"Um, do you need help? I see you..."

One of them asked tentatively, stopping mid-sentence.

They were no longer sure if the person before them was even human...

"Thanks, I don't need it."

Chen Ming replied calmly while swinging his blade.

"O-okay."

The two hesitated for a moment before slowly backing away.

They didn't leave, however; instead, they rested in the distance while silently observing.

They were truly curious to see how this C-rank Shield Guard would handle the siege of three beasts.

Yet, after waiting for quite a while, they still hadn't seen Chen Ming use a single skill.

The entire time, it had been nothing but plain, unadorned basic attacks!

He was just hacking away, blade by blade, at the Level 2 Spike Roller Beast.

At the same time, he was tanking the attacks of the two Level 1 Spike Roller Beasts from behind.

"What kind of fighting style is this? It's absurd."

"This is the first time I've ever seen someone so reckless with their life."

The most crucial part was this.

Despite taking so many hits, the man didn't look like he had suffered any serious injuries at all.

"Holy crap, it looks like he's actually going to win!"

"That Level 2 Spike Roller Beast has been provoked; it's about to use its skill!"

The two stared intently at the battle in the arena.

They were terrified of missing a single detail.

[-34!]

Under the continuous assault, Chen Ming finally managed to expose a flaw in the Spike Roller Beast.

With one strike, he hit its weak point!

As expected, the Level 2 Spike Roller Beast immediately went berserk.

Gusts of wind rose up all around.

The Spike Roller Beast activated its ability, transforming into a black blur as it lunged wildly.

Its speed was immense.

In the flickering of its silhouette, it had already struck Chen Ming twice.

[-1!]

[-1!]

Chen Ming remained unhurried, maintaining his original rhythm.

[-34!]

[-34!]

Yet, this scene, viewed by the two in the distance, left them completely dumbfounded.

"No way, he's just going to tank that too? He's a total lunatic."

A Spike Roller Beast's death throes are incredibly dangerous.

High speed, high damage.

If a normal class-holder were hit a few times, they would likely be killed in a counter-attack.

The standard teaching method is to kite and dodge first, waiting for the Spike Roller Beast to exhaust its energy before finishing the fight.

[-34!]

[Killed Spike Roller Beast (lv.2), EXP +15!]

Finally, under Chen Ming's constant strikes to its weak point, the level 2 Spike Roller Beast was successfully slain.

The time consumed was not much more than killing a level 1 Spike Roller Beast, yet the experience gained was more than double.

As expected, I have to hunt higher-level exotic beasts. It won't take many to level up.

Chen Ming let out a sigh of relief.

A faint glimmer flashed before his eyes.

[Obtained: Spike Roller Beast-Beast Core (lv.2)]

[Obtained: Strength Rune Stone *1]

[Rune Stone: A special material containing law energy; can be used to enhance attribute abilities.]

"Hmm... a Rune Stone dropped?"

Chen Ming's face lit up with joy.

Rune Stones are treasures used to enhance equipment attributes and are extremely precious.

It could be said that equipment is merely a container for Rune Stones; the true enhancement to a job changer's attributes comes from the effects of the Rune Stones themselves.

Different tiers of equipment can hold different numbers of Rune Stones.

For example, Tier 1 common equipment can hold a maximum of 10 Rune Stones.

The [Strength +4] longsword he purchased from the guild was a piece of equipment already enhanced with 4 Strength Rune Stones.

Generally, the probability of a Rune Stone dropping after an exotic beast dies is very low.

Clearly, his luck was quite good.

Without hesitation, Chen Ming used the Strength Rune Stone on his longsword.

The light brown, translucent stone shattered inch by inch, and then a speck of crystalline light surged into the blade.

[Strength Rune Stone used successfully!]

[Common Longsword: Strength +5!]

After finishing, Chen Ming still ignored the two Spike Roller Beasts frantically attacking him.

He checked his current physique attribute.

[Physique: 573/600]

"Killing a level 2 exotic beast drops my physique by about one-tenth, and I also recover 55 points of physique automatically every hour."

Calculating it this way, he could completely focus on hunting only level 2 exotic beasts.

There was no need to waste time entangled with level 1 exotic beasts anymore.

Having made his decision, Chen Ming did not hesitate and set off toward the deeper areas.

As for the remaining two level 1 Spike Roller Beasts, he chose to ignore them.

They were no longer worth his time.

On the other side.

After witnessing the entire process of Chen Ming killing a level 2 exotic beast and then walking toward the deeper areas as if nothing had happened, the two members of the small team exchanged a silent look.

The shock in their hearts could no longer be expressed in words.

It was their first time seeing someone grind monsters like this.

Taking hits with his body, he had stubbornly ground a level 2 exotic beast to death.

They were a B-rank assassin and a C-rank knight, and it took their combined efforts just to maintain their condition while killing a single level 1 Spike Roller Beast.

Was that guy's physique and health wholesale? How could it be inexhaustible?

"Even though he hasn't used a single skill, I feel like he's ridiculously fierce..."

"He's practically a superman."

This isn't a C-rank Shield Guard; this is a damn SSS-rank Humanoid Titan!

Time slipped away in a hurry.

In the Breeze Jungle, Chen Ming began to repeatedly search for and kill level 2 exotic beasts.

[-1!]

[-35!]

[Killed Spike Roller Beast (lv.2), EXP +16!]

[Obtained: Spike Roller Beast-Beast Core (lv.2)]

[Killed Flying Leaf Rat (lv.2), EXP +14!]

[Obtained: Flying Leaf Rat-Beast Core (lv.2)]

Three hours later.

[Congratulations! You have leveled up to level 2! (200 EXP remaining until next level)]

"Finally leveled up."

Chen Ming let out a long breath.

His body, which had been growing weary and drained, was instantly revitalized the moment he leveled up.

He was full of energy once more.

He looked at his class panel.

[Name]: Chen Ming

[Class]: Shield Guard

[Level]: 2

[Strength]: 25

[Constitution]: 871/1200 (20%)

[Recovery]: 112 (12%)

[Agility]: 20

[Mental Power]: 238 (19%)

[Skills]:

[C-Rank-Hardened (lv.2)]

[SSS-Rank Defense (Max Level)]

"My Constitution increased by 600 points; that's a massive chunk of health recovered."

"Battle-Hardened also leveled up."

Skill levels increased through continuous use.

At lv.2, the recovery efficiency bonus for Battle-Hardened had already reached 12%!

"Breaking through to level 2 in less than half a day—in the entire Cloud Sea City, probably only an SS-Rank Class-Changer like Qin Zhixue could achieve such speed."

Chen Ming was quite satisfied with his leveling efficiency.

It had even exceeded his expectations.

Although his health-locking mechanism was monstrous, his other attributes were truly lacking.

His attacks were weak, and his methods were limited.

He had originally thought that matching the solo-clearing efficiency of an S-Rank Class-Changer would be enough.

But now, the plan had changed.

Today, he was going to reach level 3!