"…"
Inside the tactical research room, everyone was left speechless by Gan's silence.
"Why him? Why him?" The Black Tiger man was stunned, repeating the same four words over and over.
"No need to verify it. This has got to be the fastest record ever for clearing the second floor," said Su Xiao.
"Exactly. Even intermediate Awakened usually take no less than twenty minutes to clear the second floor."
Instructor Qiu gave a bitter smile. "Last year's strongest rookie, Li Yufeng, took nearly seven hours to clear the second floor."
"Gu Ning's only level 1, not a single combat skill—how is he already stronger than intermediate Awakened?" the Black Tiger finally came back to his senses, his voice full of disbelief.
"You can't compare it that way. Maybe this dungeon just suits Gu Ning perfectly," Instructor Qiu replied.
"Why hasn't he come out… Could he be heading for the third floor?"
Kirin, who hadn't said a word, suddenly noticed a glaring detail. His face went pale.
…
Second floor of the Bone Crypt — just before the entrance to the third.
Gu Ning was breathing slightly heavily, shallow cuts crisscrossing his body. But as time passed, his HP regenerated, and the wounds began to heal quickly.
He redrew the Flesh Inscription. During the half hour it took to complete the rune, his HP slowly returned to full.
Behind Gu Ning stood two figures — one tall, one short.
The tall one had thick bones and carried an unsheathed greatsword, exuding a fierce aura — a Skeleton Warrior.
The shorter one had deep-set eye sockets, soul fire burning several times brighter than normal skeletal soldiers. Draped in tattered robes — a Bone Mage.
Both elite monsters stood silently at his side, clearly enslaved by Gu Ning.
"Fending off so many level 2 monsters was really pushing it. When monsters are a level above me, they deal 10% more damage, and I deal 10% less to them! Thank god for Adaptive Evolution, what a divine skill."
"The virtual chests on the second floor are all level 2 — way better than the first floor. I even got three pieces of gear! Too bad they're just standard white-grade equipment."
Standard equipment typically only offers defense stats like armor and magic resistance, with basic passive effects — no stat boosts or powerful actives.
These days, many Awakened factions mass-produce standard gear, so prices stay stable — just material costs plus a bit of crafting fee.
Gu Ning exhaled slowly, reflecting on the battle.
Adaptive Evolution's 50% damage reduction against specific types was incredible. On floor one, facing weak Rotbone Skeletons, it wasn't too obvious. But here, with tons of level 2 Skeleton Soldiers and Warriors, the damage reduction was a lifesaver.
Even so, Gu Ning nearly wiped.
Two Bone Mages had suddenly appeared — one used Cripple, halving his movement speed; the other used Corrode, greatly weakening his armor.
Then both began casting — two Ice Shards hit him, the spike in damage made his scalp tingle.
Though Adaptive Evolution quickly recorded its third form — "Frost Body," offering 50% frost resistance — Gu Ning couldn't switch to it, not with "Keratin Skin" active for resisting sharp damage. He had no choice but to tank the frost spells.
Thankfully, he'd planned ahead — before launching his blitz tactic, he spent time enslaving an elite Skeleton Warrior using Pureblood Command.
After receiving 7 points of free attribute boosts from Pureblood Command, the enslaved warrior became a beast, boasting 27 Strength! Under Gu Ning's cover, it took out one Bone Mage and nearly killed the second.
Even though Bone Mages were a level above Gu Ning, they were still just elite templates — one tier below his enhanced elite — and being near-death increased Gu Ning's chance of successful enslavement. After the fight, he successfully enslaved the second one.
Now, Gu Ning had exhausted nearly all his trump cards. After re-engraving the Flesh Inscription, his mental energy was nearly depleted, temples throbbing — all he wanted was sleep.
In a semi-depleted state, mental recovery was painfully slow. Even after resting the full 60 minutes, he barely recovered anything.
He'd used two precious drops of Pureblood and enslaved two elite creatures — all to prepare for conquering the third floor.
On the second floor, monsters were mostly level 2, just one level above Gu Ning. Thanks to his enhanced elite template, he could still manage decent enslavement success rates.
But on the third floor, monsters would likely be level 3 — two levels above him! Enslaving one with Pureblood Command would be nearly impossible, even with a near-death condition for bonus success.
"I've prepared as much as I can with my current power." With his two undead servants in tow, Gu Ning stepped into the third floor. "Let's see how far I can go. Level 3 virtual chests should have a much better drop rate… but my real goal isn't treasure — it's proving my worth!"
Gu Ning had secured the Divine Tactics Army as a backing and erased his criminal record with the Public Security Bureau. Now, the Superpower Group couldn't use official means to suppress him — they'd have to resort to the shadows.
In such a situation, Gu Ning had to prove his value and gain the Divine Tactics Army's recognition — it was the only way to protect himself while still weak.
…
The moment he stepped onto the third floor, Gu Ning was ambushed.
RUMBLE—
The sound of hooves thundered out. A skeletal warhorse, its entire body blazing with magical flames, eyes glowing crimson, charged up the cavern wall at breakneck speed!
On Gu Ning's command, the Skeleton Warrior bravely stepped up, swinging its greatsword in a wide arc.
CLANG!
A deafening crash. The Skeleton Warrior was sent flying, taking 35 points of shock damage!
Shock damage had a slowing effect. As it stood, the warrior staggered — its positioning was ruined.
The skeletal warhorse charged straight at the Bone Mage. It seemed to have some innate instinct — attacking the mage was clearly the most efficient tactic.
Knowing this was a virtual instance with no real death, Gu Ning rushed to protect it.
Then he too was sent flying, like a pebble hit by a speeding truck.
With Heavy Armor Mastery, Gu Ning was usually hard to knock back when armored — but the strength gap between him and the warhorse was too wide, and its full-speed momentum overwhelmed him!
Luckily, Gu Ning and the warrior's delay gave the Bone Mage just enough time to cast Cripple.
The skeletal warhorse's speed dropped sharply.
Gu Ning shouted for the Skeleton Warrior to engage again — but just then, the horse neighed loudly, its magic flames flaring as it raised its hooves and slammed down!
The Bone Mage's HP plummeted by 75%! Then a clean side kick shattered it into flying bone shards.
A level 2 elite Bone Mage — dead in just one skill and one normal attack from this powerful skeletal warhorse!
Gu Ning wasn't idle. He pounced forward, grabbing the horse's flaming tailbone, trying to climb onto its back.
The skeletal warhorse charged wildly, but Gu Ning held on tight and refused to let go!
Most people would have been dragged off, but Gu Ning had Heavy Armor Mastery, making knockback much harder. He clung on like a stubborn anchor, drastically slowing the warhorse down.
The Skeleton Warrior spun in a circle, black energy radiating from its body. With immense momentum, it slashed — Whirlwind Strike, its signature skill!
BOOM! A loud crack. The skeletal warhorse's front leg was struck hard, followed by a nasty bone-splitting sound.