Lu Fang truly felt no stir in his heart.
After all, looking at that glaring 1,000 on his panel, he really could not muster any awe for the number 60.
Wang Yixing's face instantly turned liver-purple.
The feeling of punching cotton nearly drove him mad.
"Just you wait!"
Wang Yixing spat out the threat through gritted teeth.
"We'll see what you're made of in the dungeon!"
At that moment, the principal stood on the raised platform, pressed his palm against the enormous gray crystal ball, and spoke with authority.
"All students, prepare for teleportation."
The crystal ball blazed with light.
Beams of gray light shot out from the sphere, precisely enveloping every student.
Lu Fang's vision blurred, and his body felt weightless.
The next second, the light faded.
The gymnasium floor, which had been packed with people, was now empty. Over a thousand students had vanished in an instant.
Above the crystal ball before the principal, an enormous translucent screen appeared.
Names were densely arranged across it.
It showed the real-time status of every student who had entered the dungeon.
At present, everyone's progress read: stage one.
"It's begun."
Old Zhang, the homeroom teacher, adjusted his glasses and stared fixedly at the screen, searching for the names of his students.
The surrounding teachers were discussing it too.
"I wonder if anyone in this year's class can break the record."
"That'll be tough."
The vice principal shook his head, watching the screen with his hands behind his back.
"That student from the previous class who awakened the hidden class Bloodthirsty Warrior-the current school record holder-cleared stage twelve in two hours and thirty-eight minutes."
"That record is a tough one to beat. Although two students this year triggered phenomena, breaking the record is a long shot."
After a wave of dizziness passed.
Lu Fang opened his eyes.
His surroundings were no longer the noisy gymnasium, but a gray, hazy space.
There was no sky or ground. Beneath his feet was solid footing that seemed to have condensed from mist.
Everything around him was deathly still, without a single sound.
The air was somewhat cold and gloomy.
"Welcome to the Initial Dungeon."
"The stage one challenge begins."
"Number of monsters: 10."
An icy, mechanically synthesized voice echoed through the space.
Immediately afterward, a red glow began to appear in the void several dozen meters ahead of Lu Fang.
It was a sign that monsters were taking shape.
Lu Fang did not panic at all.
He glanced at his skill list.
"Summon Money Ghost."
Lu Fang willed it.
Without any hesitation, he went straight to the maximum.
"100,000 gold deducted."
The gold balance before Lu Fang's eyes instantly dropped by a chunk.
Immediately afterward, the air beside him began to twist.
Clink, clink, clink.
It was the crisp, pleasant sound of gold coins colliding.
Ten dazzling golden lights appeared out of thin air, illuminating the gray space.
The light faded.
Ten figures stood around Lu Fang, guarding him in their midst.
They were Money Ghosts.
Rather than looking like terrifying malevolent ghosts, they radiated the glow of money.
Around two meters tall and extremely burly, they had muscles like stacks of gold bricks, brimming with explosive power.
They had no facial features, only an enormous copper coin mark on their faces.
The moment those ten stood there, a terrifying pressure spread outward.
It was the oppressive might of having 1,000 points in every attribute.
Lu Fang glanced at the Money Ghosts' attributes.
[Name: Money Ghost] [Master: Lu Fang] [Level: 1] [HP: 10,000] [Strength: 1,000] [Agility: 1,000] [Spirit: 1,000] [Constitution: 1,000] [Attack: 2,000-2,200 (strength*2 + base modifier)]
This was absurd!
Absolutely absurd!!
Just then.
The red light ahead finally took shape.
Roar!
They were ten wild boars.
A size larger than domestic pigs, they were covered in stiff black bristles, with two sharp tusks jutting from their mouths, bloodshot eyes, and drool dripping down.
[Fanged Wild Boar (level 1)] [HP: 200] [Defense: 15]
The boars had only just landed. They had not even had time to finish roaring or get a clear look at the enemy before them.
The Money Ghost standing furthest ahead of Lu Fang moved.
It merely gave a casual swing of its arm.
The movement was swift.
Boom!
An explosive crack rang out in the air.
It was the sound of air being compressed by excessive speed.
The ten newly spawned Fanged Wild Boars instantly stiffened.
The next second.
-1985! -2010! -1990! -4020 (critical hit)!
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
Ten terrifying damage numbers appeared above the boars' heads in succession.
For boars with only 200 HP, this was not even an instant kill, but utter annihilation.
All ten boars burst apart at once.
There was no spray of flesh and blood. Before that terrifying force, their bodies were pulverized into the finest dust, turning into red motes of light that dissipated in the air.
It was as though an invisible air cannon had struck them head-on.
Just one strike.
A total wipeout.
Lu Fang stood where he was, without even shifting his feet.
"Stage one cleared."
"Time taken: 1 second."
The notification rang out, its voice seemingly stuttering slightly.
Immediately afterward, ten golden lights appeared above Lu Fang's head in succession.
[Killed a Fanged Wild Boar. EXP +10] [Killed a Fanged Wild Boar. EXP +10] ... [Current EXP: 100/100]
Finally, a golden light shone around Lu Fang.
It was the light of leveling up.
He glanced at his panel.
The experience bar was jumping wildly.
Going from level 1 to level 2 required exactly 100 experience points.
Lu Fang felt warmth spread through his body, and that exhilarating sensation of growing stronger washed over him again.
He had leveled up already?
In one second, he had cleared the stage and leveled up.
Watching this, the corners of Lu Fang's mouth lifted slightly.
"I'm just way too strong!!!"
Lu Fang was in no hurry to enter the next stage.
He opened his attribute panel again. As his gaze swept across the figures, his pupils instantly contracted.
[Level: 2] [Strength: 1,100 (+100)] [Agility: 1,100 (+100)] [Spirit: 1,100 (+100)] [Constitution: 1,100 (+100)]
"A straight increase of 100 points?"
Lu Fang sucked in a cold breath.
Although he knew he was strong, he had not expected to be strong to such an absurd degree.
An ordinary warrior class only gained 20 strength per level, with even smaller increases in the other attributes. A total attribute increase of 40 was already good.
Even a hidden class like Wang Yixing's Thunder Swordsman would gain, at the absolute most, only 100 points across all attributes per level.
Yet he gained 100 points in a single attribute-a full 400 across all four!
"So this is... a unique hidden class?"
"With increases like this, the gap between me and everyone else will only keep growing as I level up."
The shock in Lu Fang's eyes gradually turned into wild joy.
As his own attributes soared, the ten Money Ghosts guarding him also grew a size larger.
[Money Ghost attributes updated in sync] [Strength: 1,100] [Attack: 2,200 → 2,400]
Their formerly two-meter-tall bodies grew to 2.2 meters. Their muscles became even more pronounced, as though carved from granite, and the golden light flowing over their bodies grew richer.