Chen Luo's lean yet muscular figure flickered in and out of view as he traversed the ruined, debris-choked streets. Moving like a cheetah that knew every nook and cranny by heart, he maintained a high-speed pace while keeping a sharp eye on the system's radar map to hunt down wild creatures.
In this early stage of the game, although regular wild beasts provided pitifully meager EXP, for someone struggling against a plummeting satiety bar like him, fresh meat was priority number one. Without stamina, all supreme skills were nothing more than empty theories.
After more than an hour of slaughtering minor creatures, Chen Luo cracked his neck, listening to the satisfying pops of his joints.
-"Though I didn't run into any 「Fierce Star Boars」 today, the accumulated EXP is already dangerously close to Level 2. Not a bad 'grocery run'."
However, just as he turned around, ready to pack up and head back to base, Chen Luo's pupils suddenly constricted.
From the swirling dust and concrete fog at the street corner, several crooked, shadowy figures were wandering closer. With an assassin's instinct, he instantly crouched, picked up a broken brick from the roadside, and hurled it hard.
Thwack!
The brick embedded squarely into the head of the leading zombie, generating a loud crack echoing through the empty space. The classic "Pull Monster" technique worked instantly. A foul roar erupted, drawing a massive swarm of hidden shadows lunging out from the ruined buildings.
Chen Luo stepped back twice, his cold gaze sweeping swiftly across the battlefield to process the data:
-"14 Level 3 「Zombies」, 8 Level 2 「Mutated Spiders」... A manageable number to clear out. If I gobble up this whole patch, I'll definitely hit Level 4! Though those spiders are a bit of a headache."
Level 3 Zombie, Base Stats: HP 150, AD 46, Armor 10
Level 2 Mutated Spider, Base Stats: HP 100, AD 50, Armor 17, Magic Armor 20
Given Chen Luo's current stats, clearing this mob wasn't impossible, but the true challenge lay in time management and execution.
Chen Luo knew all too well how cheap 「Mutated Spiders」 could be. When moving in packs, they would continuously take turns spitting 「Binding Spider Silk」 from a distance to paralyze targets, creating openings for zombies to swarm in and tear them apart. Even veteran players rolling new accounts dreaded running into this mob type during the early game.
Yet Chen Luo was no rookie. To an experienced pro power-leveler, the Mutated Spiders' web-spit skill was annoying, but it suffered from a projectile delay. As long as his Agility was high enough and he mastered their pre-shot animation frames, dodging was well within his grasp.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The cold steel of the military dagger clashed harshly against the spiders' rock-hard chitin shells. Chen Luo transformed into a blur, weaving back and forth amidst a flurry of sticky flying webs.
Every time he sidestepped a web by a hair's breadth, he slashed his dagger straight into their eye sockets or the gaps between their jointed legs. Following over three hours of tense, grueling struggle, the final spider finally collapsed, its legs snapping backward in agony.
With the long-range assassin spiders dealt with, it was time for the true physical endurance test: the Zombies.
Starting from the initial 14, the prolonged combat noise had drawn reinforcements creeping out from neighboring alleys. Standing before Chen Luo now was a warped "sea of bodies" consisting of nearly 40 Level 3 「Zombies」 howling as they chased him down.
Just as his dagger severed the final spider's head, a warm halo of light suddenly burst from within his body.
— "Ding! Congratulations to the player for slaying a Level 2 「Mutated Spider」, acquired 「Mutated Spider Silk」 (Uncommon) x2, 「Magic Stone」 (Common) x1, 「Mutated Spider Eye」 (Uncommon) x2, EXP +20."
— "Ding! Congratulations to the player for advancing to Level 3! Rewarded with combined bonuses for 2 levels. Received 40 Free Attribute Points. System auto-allocated: 4 Strength, 3 Stamina, 2 Armor, 2 Magic Armor, 3 Physical Damage, 3 Magic Damage, 1 Agility, and 2 Attack Speed."
— "Ding! Privilege Notice: To pursue the goal of the Omnipotent Class, the system has permanently locked the player into the [Unclassed] state. Upon leveling up, the player will receive an additional 5 Free Attribute Points and 5 Random Attribute Points, with every 20 levels granting an extra 20 Free and 10 Random points respectively. Keep up the good work!"
Chen Luo paused for a fraction of a second, his pupils dilating in shock.
He finally understood why his stat panel in this lifetime was so absurdly overpowered!
It meant that with every single level up, he gained 10 more attribute points than other players or NPCs! Though the price to pay was being permanently locked into the Unclassed branch (unable to advance into advanced roles like Assassin or Warrior), this oppressive stat gap would turn him into a literal "monster" at higher tiers.
-"Current difficulty... is swallowing this 40-zombie pastry whole before they call for backup!"
Chen Luo steeled his resolve, activating the 「Slowed Breathing」 skill. He plunged straight into the mob like a human meat-grinder.
Slash! Stab!
— "Congratulations on successfully slaying a Level 3 「Zombies」, acquired 「Magic Stone」 (Common) x3, 「Rotten Meat」 (Common) x3, 「Putrid Venom」 (Rare) x1, EXP +25."
— "Congratulations on successfully slaying a Level 3 「Zombies」, acquired 「Magic Stone」 (Common) x1, 「Rotten Meat」 (Common) x5, EXP +35."
...
Another two hours of fiery, grueling attrition warfare. Every knife stroke and bone spear thrust delivered by Chen Luo achieved absolute precision to conserve every drop of stamina.
When the final zombie collapsed onto the pile of rotting meat, Chen Luo was panting heavily, sweat completely soaking the back of his shirt. Even with enhanced damage output, fighting such massive numbers brutally taxed the physical endurance of this 17-year-old body.
Not daring to linger as the scent of toxic blood would soon attract more terrifying entities, Chen Luo swiftly swept up the loot and made an immediate retreat.
Ten minutes later, he kicked open the stone door of his base, collapsing flat onto the comfortable floor. Right at this moment, a chain of system notifications exploded across his virtual screen:
— "Ding! Congratulations to the player for consecutive level-ups, reaching Level 5! Rewarded with combined bonuses for 2 levels. Received 40 Free Attribute Points. Additional allocation: 7 Agility, 4 Strength, 2 Lifesteal, 1 Magic Armor, 6 Piercing."
— "Ding! Successfully unlocked hidden attributes: [Intelligence] and [Knowledge]. Initiating unlock draw..."
— "Ding! Unlock mega success! Player receives 20 Intelligence points and 20 (+20) Knowledge points (Luck helped double the reward). Luck has knocked on your door!"
— "Ding! Reached Level 5, unlocking system features: 「Shop」, 「Achievement Panel」, and 「Lucky Wheel」. We hope the player continues to increase their level!"
Chen Luo took a deep breath: "System, open the detailed Status Panel!"
— "Confirming request to open status panel. Displaying..."
-------- STATUS PANEL --------
Name: Chen Luo | Age: 17
Level: Level 5 (70/1500 EXP)
Role: NPC | Faction: None | Title: Unequipped
Class: Unemployed Vagabond (Permanently Locked)
Fame Points: 0 | Reputation Points: 0
CORE INDICATORS:
Physical Damage (AD): 39 (+3 [Crude Bone Spear])
Magic Damage (AP): 9
HP: 20 (+10 [Full Leather Armor Set])
Mana: 150
Agility: 351
Att Speed: 10 (2%/200%)
Piercing: 36 | 0%
Armor: 12 (+6 [Full Leather Armor Set])
Magic Armor: 14 (+3 [Full Leather Armor Set])
Lifesteal: 0 | 0.02%
Auto Regen HP: 0.5/s | Auto Regen Mana: 5/s
BASE ATTRIBUTES:
Strength: 28
Stamina: 33
Intelligence: 20
Knowledge: 40
Luck: 5
(Brave, Ingenious, and Resilience attributes remain locked)
Free Attribute Points: 80
Skill Points: 10
Gazing at the dazzling data sheet before him, Chen Luo clicked his tongue in awe.
This stat pool was absurdly abundant. If his Level 5 badge were covered up, any high-tier player looking at this would mistake it for the stat panel of a Level 10+ NPC or Squad Boss!
-"Stashing a full 80 free points... With my current base stats, I'm fully equipped to crush Level 7-8 monsters, or even cross-level challenge entities approaching Level 12. For now, I'll hold onto 70 points as a reserve backup."
Chen Luo made a swift decision: "System, allocate 3 points to HP and 7 points to Attack Speed!"
— "Allocation command registered. Updating data..."
Unlike the robust golden glow from his previous Strength boost, this time, a blue and a bright green stream of light intertwined, coursing through all of Chen Luo's muscle fibers.
A sense of lightness, agility, and overflowing energy surged through his fingertips. Though only minor points were spent, it pushed his physical reflexes to a level of sharpness far exceeding ordinary humans.
Chen Luo curved his lips into a smirk, casting his gaze toward the window where night was preparing to swallow the ruins:
-"The foundation is set. Now... let's see what good stuff is hidden in that Shop and Wheel!"