Chapter 51: Spirit-Communicating Stone, and the Possibility of Chess Pieces Learning Skills!

The boundless ice field stretched as far as the eye could see.

The hail and snow of the [Glacial Storm] blended with the ambient snowfall, creating the visual illusion that the entire ice field had been enveloped by a single spell.

Damage figures ticked once per second above the heads of all the tundra falcons.

[-485]

[-514]

[-533]

[-479]

...

As Li Yao upgraded his equipment iteratively, the Blue Bird's mental attribute had now reached a staggering four hundred and sixty, further amplified by the 15% damage boost granted by the Goblin Slayer.

Each instance of damage hovered around five hundred.

The numbers were not exceptionally high, but the frequency was vastly faster than Shang Mingxu's.

More importantly.

With such a massive radius engulfing hundreds of monsters simultaneously, if these damage numbers were accumulated and added together, the damage dealt per second would be an astronomical figure.

Even if the Void Mantis were to unleash its full killing potential, it could never match this kind of efficiency.

"Is this... a skill released by this bird?"

Though he witnessed it with his own eyes, Shang Hao could not help but voice his question.

Li Yao did not reply.

They could all see it; did he really need to state the obvious?

"No way..."

The sky-full of damage figures made Shang Qian feel as though the scene before her was somewhat surreal.

Even the third-turn Mages specially assigned by the Shang family to lead newcomers could not match Li Yao's speed as a Summoner in slaying these monsters.

"SS-rank! Definitely an SS-rank summoned beast."

At this moment, Shang Mingxu gritted his teeth, staring wide-eyed at Li Yao.

He wanted to hear the other party confirm that this was an SS-rank summoned beast, seeking some comfort in that fact.

As an A-rank Mage, it was entirely normal for his output to fall short of an SS-rank summoned beast.

It was definitely not due to any personal shortcomings!

"Pretty much." Li Yao glanced at him and said casually.

In his eyes, the Blue Bird was far more important than average SS-rank summoned beasts anyway.

The wide-area damage, combined with the deceleration effect, perfectly compensated for Li Yao's weakness in area-of-effect damage.

Moreover, it was currently only at the S-rank, leaving plenty of room for future growth.

"As I thought!" Shang Mingxu's emotions finally stabilized.

It really was an SS-rank summoned beast; he only achieved such damage because of the skill books his family found for him.

If he had an SS-rank skill, he would definitely not perform any worse!

"And it's probably the kind of SS-rank summoned beast that leans toward powerful early-game combat capability with slightly weaker potential later on."

After a moment of thought, Shang Qian offered the most rational explanation.

"Normally, at level 20, neither a class holder nor a summoned beast should possess such a massive range."

"Only those classes that are overwhelmingly dominant in the early game can have such capabilities at the start. Being strong early usually means being weak later on; this summoned beast should fit that exact scenario."

Following Shang Qian's analysis, the rest of the group immediately found it entirely logical.

It was likely a fixed-damage type of skill. Once they reached the third or fourth turn, no matter how large the area was, damage like this would simply become negligible.

Realizing his initial guess was wrong, Shang Hao's mood instantly improved.

Assuming the air of a senior, he looked at Li Yao and smiled, "Actually, it's not bad either."

"Having an SS-rank summoned beast like this in the early stage means your leveling speed should be much faster than ordinary people."

"Your current level probably relies entirely on it, right?"

"As for the later stages—anyway, Summoners themselves aren't strong to begin with, so you might as well just focus on the present; at least it'll get you into a decent academy."

Shang Yana stood nearby, having remained silent throughout the group's conversation.

Her autumn-water-like eyes remained fixed on Li Yao without a blink.

Is that really the case?

An SS-rank summoned beast of the early game.

Sister Zijin had once told her that Li Yao's summoned beast was an insectoid creature capable of dealing tens of thousands in damage.

Its stealth methods were so formidable that even Sister Zijin's Guardian could not see through them.

And now, another summoned beast with an extremely large skill radius had appeared. Could a Summoner like this really only be strong in the early game?

Shang Yana was different from Shang Zijin. If Shang Zijin were here, she would undoubtedly have stepped forward to refute the claim on Li Yao's behalf.

Yet Shang Yana did not, constrained by her own personality.

Since Li Yao himself hadn't said anything, why should she speak up and court annoyance?

Li Yao was able to appear here solely because Sister Zijin had reached some sort of agreement with him.

Shang Hao and the others, including herself, were merely passersby in Li Yao's eyes.

She only hoped that getting away with a little casual gossip would do no harm.

She must never, ever truly provoke him.

At this moment.

The tundra falcons, carrying the deceleration effect of [Frost], finally swooped down toward the group.

Seeing such a massive horde of monsters, Shang Hao also turned serious.

"Move!"

"It's too open here; this terrain isn't suitable for dealing with these beasts."

With that, Shang Hao led the group and sprinted toward the side of the ice field.

The two deceleration effects overlapped.

The tundra falcons in the lead were intercepted by Shang Hao and quickly left behind, while the ones in the rear simply could not keep up with the group's speed.

Soon, they arrived at the entrance of an ice cave.

Although the terrain was spacious, they only needed to face enemies from a single direction.

Shang Hao held his shield upfront, and with Shang Qian's healing, his health remained stable.

Conversely, the tundra falcons suffered.

As flying monsters, their offensive methods were singular: short-distance dives followed by a rapid exit from the battlefield, repeating the cycle to slowly wear down the target's health.

Now, almost all the tundra falcons from the second layer had gathered here.

Charging in wave after wave, these diving tundra falcons had no retreat route whatsoever!

Having lost their aerial advantage, the tundra falcons were merely level-20 ordinary monsters—or even weaker.

Before this elite team from the Shang family, they could stir up no waves at all.

Naturally, Li Yao would not let such a golden opportunity slip by.

Since the Void Mantis was also level 20, practical combat training could be triggered.

At Li Yao's command, the Void Mantis charged into the monster pack, cutting them down one by one like a tiger entering a flock of sheep.

"You guys don't need to leave the final hit for Aya! There are so many monsters here, just perform as you like. Let's clear the second layer at maximum speed!"

Shang Hao shouted loudly while casting a taunt skill.

Instantly, all the surrounding tundra falcons turned their eyes red and lunged at Shang Hao, completely ignoring the rest of the damage dealers.

Li Yao's eyes lit up; this was a good skill.

The Predator possessed high health, but Li Yao's opponents were usually highly intelligent monsters that would go out of their way to avoid the Predator and attack his other chess pieces.

If they had a taunt skill like this, it would be equivalent to indirectly enhancing the survivability of both the Void Mantis and the Blue Bird.

However.

Class holder skills were not difficult to acquire.

Skills for summoned beasts...

Li Yao could not think of a method for the moment. Perhaps solutions existed, but they were beyond what he could reach with his current strength.

"Classmate Li Yao."

At this moment.

Shang Yana, having finished her kill quota, approached Li Yao and spoke in a soft voice.

"Were you thinking of getting a taunt skill for your summoned beast?"

Shang Yana was accustomed to using honorifics when addressing others.

Since both of them would be participating in the martial arts examination in a few days' time, calling him a classmate was entirely appropriate.

Li Yao had maintained a calm expression the entire time, and only when Shang Hao cast the taunt skill had a different kind of brilliance flashed through his eyes.

Even though it was only for a split second, Shang Yana had noticed it.

"That's right." Li Yao nodded, then looked at her with anticipation.

Even if Shang Yana hadn't asked, he had intended to consult her after finishing off these monsters.

After all, as a young lady of the Shang family, she naturally knew more than he did.

"I actually know a way."

Shang Hao and the others were still hunting monsters, the sounds of skill activation blending with the cries of the tundra falcons. Fearing Li Yao wouldn't hear clearly, Shang Yana stepped closer.

Almost pressing right against Li Yao's ear, her face slightly flushed, she raised her voice slightly and spoke.

"Classmate Li Yao should know about the Watchtower Dungeon, right?"

"Should I know?" Li Yao looked puzzled.

Without keeping him in suspense, Shang Yana explained: "It's a level-35 solo tower-defense dungeon with a chance to drop a consumable spirit stone item that allows summoned beasts to learn class holders' skill books."

"However, it only has a chance to appear on Nightmare difficulty..."

At this point, Shang Yana paused, putting up a preemptive defense for herself.

"I don't mean Classmate Li Yao, of course."

"It's just that ordinary Summoners tend to be weaker in combat power, to the extent that none of them can clear the Nightmare difficulty. Coupled with the fact that Summoner items might not be all that valuable..."

"The people who manage to farm it don't care about the item, while the people who care about it can't farm it. Because of that, this information never circulated widely."

Having said this, Shang Yana cautiously observed Li Yao's expression.

Seeing that he was not angered by her mentioning that Summoners were weak, she slowly let out a breath of relief.

Li Yao looked at the cautious Shang Yana and could not help finding it slightly amusing.

Summoners being weak—what did that have to do with him, the tactical chess master of Teamfight Tactics?

Still, this piece of news was indeed crucial to Li Yao.

Solo Nightmare difficulty was something only a tiny fraction of people could clear.

Had Shang Yana not reminded him, perhaps he would never have known such an item existed.

Li Yao expressed his gratitude and was about to inquire about some details regarding the dungeon.

When he was interrupted by a vicious voice.

"Li Yao, I remember you had a mantis-like summoned beast, right?"

"Why haven't you summoned it to help out yet!"

"We're all in the same team, yet you're just coasting along like this. You lured so many monsters over—when are we ever going to finish dealing with them?"

...