Chapter 5: The Terrifying Acceleration!
After a dizzying whirl, Li Yao found himself standing within a dense forest. Towering ancient trees, reaching dozens of meters into the sky, formed a thick canopy that blotted out the sun. Numerous smaller magical beasts lurked hidden among the woods. The monster density here was low, making it relatively safe. However, this also meant that the time spent searching for monsters was longer than the time spent fighting them.
Li Yao dispatched his Void Mantis, which had been concealed nearby. “Go hunt monsters,” he commanded silently. With a thought, the Void Mantis shot off at incredible speed toward the distance.
“So fast!” Li Yao breathed in awe.
With an agility score of 43, the Void Mantis’s speed was truly astonishing. In just a blink, it was dozens of meters away. Less than two seconds later, the mantis reappeared in his sight, striking to break its invisibility. Its razor-sharp claws rose high and slashed downward.
[-164]
[Slain Greenleaf Snake, Experience +1%]
[Practical Training activated, Void Mantis strength +1]
Instant kill!
Li Yao glanced at the experience gain. Each kill granted only 1%, meaning 100 kills were needed for a level-up.
“Keep going.”
[Slain Greenleaf Snake, Experience +1%]
[Practical Training activated, Void Mantis strength +1]
[Slain Greenleaf Snake, Experience +1%]
[Practical Training activated, Void Mantis strength +1]
[...]
In just ten minutes, the Void Mantis had slaughtered dozens of Greenleaf Snakes. The efficiency was staggering. Still, most of the time was spent hunting for monsters.
Li Yao had initially planned to stay in the novice dungeon until reaching level 10 before venturing out. After all, wild beasts were much stronger. Even if he wanted to level up, he wasn’t willing to risk his life recklessly. But now, it seemed that the two-star Void Mantis could easily one-shot monsters of its level. Moreover, its strength continued to climb steadily through Practical Training.
He didn’t even need to reach level 10 to head out and dominate the wild beasts.
“Level five then. Once I collect the hedge fund gold and the Void Mantis reaches three stars, I’ll head into the wild.”
Less than twenty minutes later, Li Yao leveled up.
[Name: Li Yao]
[Class: Cloudtop Strategist (Hidden Unique)]
[Level: 2 (0.5%)]
[HP: 500/500]
[Strength: 10]
[Spirit: 10]
[Agility: 10]
[Endurance: 10]
[Free Attribute Points: 10]
[Chess Piece Space: 1/1]
[Equipment: None (0/8)]
[Skills: Void Mantis · Summon (S), Hedge Fund (Unknown), Practical Training (Unknown)]
[Talents: Hextech, Bonds, Armament, Strategist, Star Upgrade]
After some thought, Li Yao allocated all free attribute points into Agility.
Most summoners would prioritize Spirit because it influenced the main attributes of summoned creatures. However, the Void Mantis’s main attribute was Strength. Li Yao already had Practical Training, which allowed unlimited Strength growth. Adding points to Spirit would be negligible in comparison.
Agility influenced the summoned creature’s speed. The Void Mantis already had a high base Agility, so boosting it further was advantageous. Facing monsters, brute Strength alone was not enough. While small monsters might not pose a challenge, dealing with elite creatures or certain agile leaders required speed. No matter how strong the attack, if it couldn’t reach the enemy, it was useless.
Thus, all points went into Agility.
The Void Mantis’s stats updated accordingly:
[Chess Piece · Void Mantis]
[Level: 2]
[Rank: S]
[Bond: Void · Assassin]
[Star Level: 2 Stars]
[HP: 1400/1400]
[Strength: 137 (31 base + 5 from piece upgrade + 101 from Practical Training)]
[Spirit: 17 (12 base + 5)]
[Agility: 56 (43 base + 5 from piece upgrade + 8 from Strategist’s 40% Agility boost)]
[Endurance: 28 (23 base + 5)]
[Skills: Void Assault, Taste of Fear]
Li Yao was stunned by these overwhelming stats. Strength at 137—even a fully specialized level 10 warrior couldn’t reach such a number! Yet he knew the main reason was not the piece alone but the formidable Practical Training talent. Without it, a level 2 Void Mantis would have only 36 Strength, respectable but nowhere near this scale.
The limitation was that Practical Training could only boost one piece at a time. Also, level 1 Greenleaf Snakes no longer provided strength boosts to the Void Mantis.
Li Yao pressed deeper into the forest.
[Slain Spotted Snake, Experience +0.8%]
[Practical Training activated, Void Mantis strength +1]
[Slain Red Bear, Experience +1.1%]
[Practical Training activated, Void Mantis strength +1]
[Slain Greenleaf Snake, Experience +0.5%]
[...]
One-shot kills, all the way. With 137 Strength, even attacks without the stealth-breaking bonus dealt damage around 150. Except for the endurance-heavy level 3 Red Bear, which required a Taste of Fear skill to finish, every other kill was instantaneous.
Li Yao steadily followed the Void Mantis’s trail. Soon he discovered that once the mantis was 500 meters away, it could not move any farther.
A pity.
Otherwise, if he had enough chess pieces, he could leave one in a safe area. Thanks to the Strategist talent, Li Yao could then remain in an immortal state forever.
But power of this magnitude always came with restrictions.
At that moment, Li Yao spotted a monster the Void Mantis had left alive—a level 2 Spotted Snake hiding in the corner grasses. The mantis deemed it a waste of time and skipped it.
“A lucky one,” Li Yao thought, then swung his fist.
[-9]
What?
Li Yao stared at the damage numbers the Void Mantis dealt to monsters from afar.
[-802]
Three question marks slowly formed in his mind.
People could truly be infuriating.
Li Yao vented all his frustration on the Spotted Snake. Without killing the chess pieces, he couldn’t attack the Strategist directly.
The Spotted Snake had no chance. Li Yao killed it effortlessly.
[Slain Spotted Snake, Experience +0.8%]
A golden light burst forth from him—it was a level-up.
“Level three in under an hour.”
At this pace, he estimated reaching level five within three hours. From what he knew, in previous years, the first level five in the novice dungeon only appeared by the end of the first day. This speed was truly exceptional.
Still unsatisfied, Li Yao directed the Void Mantis deeper into the forest.
Meanwhile, outside...
Several senior masters gathered around a table sipping tea.
“I wonder how high these kids will level on the first day?”
Their "first day" referred to the eight hours since the dungeon opened.
“Most A-rank players should hit level five easily, right?”
“Yeah, no problem.”
“Who remembers the highest record on day one in Jiang Prefecture?”
“I recall it was level seven three years ago—the only S-rank profession in Jiang Prefecture.”
“Same here. Level seven on day one, level eleven on day two, and level twenty-two during the martial exam.”
“You can generally predict the coming days’ progress based on the first day’s leveling speed.”
“If they don’t hit level five on day one, the four great academies will struggle.”
Listening to their conversation, Zhang Yi thought to himself: Jiang Ning’s team, all B-rank professions, should have no trouble reaching level five. But how many levels will that kid Li Yao get?
At the thought, Zhang Yi couldn’t help but smile wryly. He was probably overthinking it. A lone summoner with no team—whether he could even kill monsters was uncertain. Leveling up? Most likely, like other summoners, he’d have to hire boosters in the wild.
Suddenly, a tremendous aura swept over him. Zhang Yi’s expression changed sharply. Why was this guy here?
...