Chapter 114: Skill Level Up

Xu Han regained his sight and looked around.

He found himself inside an arena reminiscent of ancient Rome.

The arena spanned roughly five hundred square meters.

The surroundings were bare, with no cover or obstacles.

Directly ahead, a massive virtual screen was embedded on the wall.

On the screen was a large zero.

Beneath it, a line of small text read: “Beast Tower Level Two, Wave One.”

A countdown of thirty seconds was ticking down.

Taking advantage of the thirty-second interval,

Xu Han inspected his equipment.

Everything was in order.

The countdown ended.

A deep, resonant horn sounded.

A flash of white light appeared before him.

As the light faded,

a large group of apes wielding thick wooden sticks emerged.

Their eyes glowed red, and they shouted excitedly with hoarse cries, “Hu ha! Hu ha!”

Xu Han activated his Eye of Delusion to analyze the apes.

[Name: Staff-Wielding Warrior Ape]

[Species: Ape Clan]

[Level: 20]

[Skill 1: Staff Sweep Lv.2 (Sweeps the wooden staff horizontally at enemies, causing severe damage to those hit; cooldown 1 minute)]

[Skill 2: Martial Arts Lv.3 (Passive skill; the warrior apes know martial arts and can dodge, with a 5% chance to evade normal attacks)]

[Skill 3: Heavy Staff Lv.2 (Strikes downward on the enemy’s head with the staff, causing a stun lasting 2 seconds; cooldown 3 minutes)]

Outside the arena,

many eyes focused on the small screen displaying Xu Han and Qiao Chao’s team.

The beast types and levels in the second level were identical—

all were Staff-Wielding Warrior Apes.

“Xu Han’s in trouble. These warrior apes know martial arts and can dodge; they’re really tough.”

“They’re extremely agile. Even a five-person squad would have to go all out to handle them. Xu Han’s alone; this will be difficult.”

“Look at Qiao Chao’s team. They’ve got some skills.”

All attention shifted to the screen showing Qiao Chao’s team.

As soon as the warrior apes appeared,

Qiao Chao charged forward wielding a large axe.

With a single swing, he easily cleaved one ape in two.

Wang Mo followed closely behind.

His twin blades flashed rapidly, weaving a silver web of slashes.

Any ape caught in this blade web instantly lost limbs and combat ability.

The three at the rear did not engage.

It was clear they had an unspoken plan.

Huang Xinyu and the other two were magic users.

If they expended too much magic on these weaker beasts,

it would become troublesome when facing stronger ones later.

So, Qiao Chao and Wang Mo handled the small beasts entirely on their own.

Twenty warrior apes.

Together, Qiao Chao and Wang Mo swept through them all in just three minutes.

They only sustained minor scratches and were otherwise unharmed.

The crowd was full of admiration.

“No wonder they’re top ten freshmen. Even two people can easily take down level 20 beasts.”

“That speed is impressive—just three minutes.”

“Yeah, the other three didn’t even need to move. Two alone slayed all the warrior apes.”

The crowd lavished praise on Qiao Chao and the others without restraint.

Even the instructors of the Warrior Academy nodded approvingly, their faces showing satisfaction.

Qiao Chao and Wang Mo truly brought honor to the Warrior Academy.

Even the usually stern Zheng Gang smiled faintly.

This year, the Warrior Academy had truly found treasures.

All eyes then turned back to Xu Han’s small screen.

Facing the numerous warrior apes, Xu Han’s expression remained calm and composed.

He raised his hand.

A brilliant electric light flickered in his palm.

“Chain Lightning!”

He growled softly.

Electric serpents shot toward the warrior apes.

Sizzle—

Every ape struck by the chain lightning trembled violently, leaping and writhing on the ground like dancers.

Their health bars shrank slightly.

Xu Han remained unhurried.

He lightly tapped his toes and moved swiftly across the arena like a ghost.

Then he unleashed a Wind Blade toward the apes.

Several warrior apes were struck, severing arms and causing their wails to echo.

The remaining apes chased after him but couldn’t even touch the hem of his garment.

As the chain lightning’s cooldown ended, he cast it again.

He was alone, effortlessly leading these warrior apes on a merry chase around the arena.

The spectators outside were stunned.

“What’s Xu Han doing? Playing ‘walk the dog’?”

“Maybe he’s trying to conserve energy and avoid injury with this tactic.”

“No, haven’t you noticed? He’s constantly alternating between Chain Lightning and Wind Blade. I suspect he’s trying to improve his proficiency with these two skills.”

“Damn! This is the freshmen’s first run through the Beast Tower! Instead of rushing for speed, he’s practicing skills?”

“This kid must be overconfident. Everyone else is going all out, and he’s here training skills.”

“If he wanted to train skills, why not just stay on the first level? Why bother with the second?”

Frowns creased the crowd’s faces as they murmured among themselves.

Five full minutes passed.

Only then did Xu Han finish off all the warrior apes.

The fallen bodies gradually vanished.

He quickly approached a fallen ape and activated Devour All.

The system notification sounded.

“Host has consumed level-two Staff-Wielding Warrior Ape meat for the first time, gaining 15 Strength and 15 Agility.”

“Host has acquired the skill ‘Martial Arts’ from the Staff-Wielding Warrior Ape.”

“Wind Blade is mutating…”

Xu Han’s heart leapt with joy.

He’d taken a chance hoping for this outcome.

Unexpectedly, it actually worked.

Moreover, Wind Blade was undergoing mutation.

He only hoped the mutated attributes would be favorable.

He opened his attribute panel.

[Name: Xu Han]

[Race: Human]

[Class: SSS-Rank Gourmet]

[Level: 25]

[Strength: 3745]

[Constitution: 2579]

[Agility: 2425]

[Spirit: 1149]

[Physical Resistance: 10%]

[Magical Resistance: 10%]

[Physical Penetration: 20%]

[Magical Penetration: 10%]

[Cooldown Reduction: 20%]

[Life Steal: 10%]

He then opened the skill panel.

A new skill appeared at the bottom.

Martial Arts Lv.1: Passive skill; grants martial arts proficiency and the ability to dodge, with a 1% chance to evade normal attacks.

Although an ordinary skill,

if he leveled it up,

it might produce remarkable effects.

Closing the skill panel, he glanced at the large virtual screen on the wall.

The giant zero had changed to a one.

The small text below read: “Beast Tower Level Two, Wave Two.”

The countdown for thirty seconds began again.

During the countdown,

Xu Han checked his skill panel once more.

Chain Lightning Lv.3: Summons two bolts of thunder to attack enemies; the lightning jumps between multiple foes, dealing damage with a 3% chance to paralyze; cooldown 20 seconds.

He smiled inwardly.

Not bad.

Chain Lightning had upgraded.

Now he could summon two bolts simultaneously, and the cooldown was shortened.

Its power had more than doubled.