Ten Waves, Limit Clear
A flash of white light, Su Mu stood once again in his own Dungeon Space.
Under a hazy gray sky, three towering mountains stand in stark contrast. A chilling wind blows from Lion Camel Ridge, sending bone dust swirling through the air.
The Stone Left Over from Mending Heaven atop Flower-Fruit Mountain gleams with a warm light, and colorful patterns flow slowly across its surface.
On White Tiger Ridge, the White Bone Spirit stood in human form beside the mountain path, dressed quietly in plain clothes, with a bone whip at her waist faintly visible.
At the bottom of the Jade Wave Pool, the figures of Benbo'erba and Babo'erben swam silently among the water plants.
A line of text popped up on the panel:
[College Entrance Examination - Second Stage - Lord Conquest]
[Preparation time: 2 minutes 57 seconds]
[Current wave: 0]
[Total number of bosses defeated: 0]
[Integral coefficient: 100]
Su Mu glanced at the rules and already had a general idea of what was going on.
In the BOSS battle, there is one BOSS per wave. The level increases gradually starting from level 10. After the eleventh wave, the level no longer increases, but the number and overall quality of the BOSS increase significantly.
With a thought, he simultaneously issued commands to Little Drill Wind and White Bone Spirit through their Soul Link.
"For the first wave, Little Drill Wind from the front and the White Bone Spirit from the flanks. Once the BOSS appears, prioritize focusing fire and finish the battle quickly."
Little Drill Wind sprang up from beside the stone tablet at Lion Camel Ridge, drew his short sword, and landed at the entrance of the valley at the front of Lion Camel Ridge. White Bone Spirit descended from White Tiger Ridge, her bone whip flicking lightly at her waist, illuminating gray-white flame patterns.
Countdown to zero.
The crack opened, and the first boss emerged.
A level 10 Goblin Warlord, nearly three meters tall, wielding a giant axe, with his gray-green skin covered in scars.
The Little Drill Wind didn't even wait for it to completely exit the crack.
A dark blue figure flashed by, a short knife slicing into the warlord's jaw and piercing his skull. The warlord's massive body stiffened for a moment, then collapsed with a thud.
[Kills: 1]
[Current wave: 1]
[Integral coefficient: 100]
[Next refresh countdown: 3...2...1...]
The second wave, level 11.
The third wave, level twelve.
The fourth wave, level 13.
Su Mu stood high in the sky, overlooking the entire battlefield.
He noticed something.
Little Drill Wind and White Bone Spirit can defeat the BOSS faster than they could defeat the mobs.
The reason is simple.
Although the BOSS has higher stats and more skills, there is only one of them.
The Little Drill Wind doesn't need to charge back and forth through the monster horde, judge positioning, or prevent monsters from slipping through.
It only needs to face one target, concentrating all its energy and fighting instincts on that one point.
One cut.
If one cut isn't enough, then two cuts will do.
Two cuts weren't enough, so I made three.
The White Bone Spirit's bone whip continuously compressed the BOSS's evasive space from the flanks, while grayish-white flames blocked any escape route.
The two monsters worked together flawlessly; each boss's appearance and demise took almost no more than fifteen seconds.
The fifth wave, the sixth wave, the seventh wave, all the way up to the tenth wave.
Su Mu defeated all ten bosses in less than three minutes.
He glanced at the panel.
[Current wave: 10]
[Total number of bosses defeated: 10]
[Integral coefficient: 100]
[Core Card Status: In Good Condition]
Ten waves of bosses, taking a total of two minutes and forty-seven seconds.
Every wave was a push-through, with not a moment wasted. The score coefficient remained at 1.0 throughout.
Meanwhile, on the floating platform, the proctors stared at the data on the light screen and fell into a brief silence.
"Waves one through ten, all cleared to the limit. Score coefficient was 1.0, with no decay whatsoever."
The middle-aged teacher looked at the panel, his voice a little hoarse, "And look at his time. Ten waves of bosses, two minutes and forty-seven seconds. That's less than seventeen seconds per boss on average."
"Seventeen seconds." Another teacher repeated, a hint of disbelief in his voice. "These bosses, though not high-level, each have a complete skill set and combat intelligence. A level ten Goblin Warlord would take a normal S-rank examinee over a minute to solo. He only took seventeen seconds."
"It's not just fast," the old man said slowly. "Look at his card status. After ten waves, Little Drill Wind and White Bone Spirit Demon barely lost any health. Zero mistakes, zero hits, zero margin for error. What does this mean? It means that the base stats of his two cards completely overwhelm these bosses. No skill, no tactics, just pure stat dominance."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
But the real test is yet to come.
Elder Xiu stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze calm.
"After wave eleven, the BOSS's level will no longer increase, but its numbers and overall strength will increase significantly. Starting from wave eleven, the BOSS's intelligence and combat skills will experience a leap. Monsters that could only exert one unit of combat power before, after gaining intelligence and coordination, can achieve an effect of 1.5 or even higher. The further you go, the more exaggerated this increase becomes."
"Right."
The middle-aged teacher chimed in, "Starting from wave eleven, the bosses will no longer appear one by one, but in groups. Two in wave eleven, three in wave twelfth, four in wave thirteen, and five in wave fourteen. By wave fifteen, the five bosses will unite to form a complete combat system."
Ranged attackers, tanks, supports, assassins, and commanders—each with their own role, working together seamlessly. The intensity was nearly indistinguishable from a boss battle in a hellish dungeon.
Normally, the 15th wave is the ceiling line.
"An S-rank candidate can kill one. Two double S-rank candidates can fight, and an SSS-rank candidate might be able to manage."
"Can he get past fifteen waves?" someone asked.
"It should be possible."
The old man pondered, "His Little Drill Wind has a combat index of 540,000, White Bone Spirit has 748,000. These attributes are advantageous when facing the fifteenth wave of BOSSes."
But advantages aside, the combined strength of the five bosses, along with their mechanics and teamwork, will greatly amplify their overall power. Whether Su Mu can clear the dungeon depends on his actual combat ability, not just his stats.
"In other words, the second level is where the true depth of his understanding of the dungeon is tested."
The middle-aged teacher summarized, "The first stage is about defeating monsters; the monsters have no intelligence and it's just a preliminary test of scores, catering to the majority. From the second stage onwards, it's about selecting the elite candidates. The bosses after the tenth wave are almost as strong as the real lair."
Everyone looked at the light screen again.