"Fighting Specialization leveled up."
Amidst being mobbed, Bai Pu received a notification that his Fighting Specialization had increased to Basic Level 4.
However, his Professional Level experience bar showed no growth whatsoever. Bai Pu's Professional Level experience remained at Level 1, 56%.
"It seems the virtual dungeon designed based on Boundary Land can't increase Professional Level, but can refine Combat Specialization! I'm not sure if it can hone Combat Skills; theoretically, it should be possible."
Bai Pu tapped each Virtual Treasure Chest, which turned into gleaming light and disappeared.
[Congratulations newcomer (Bai Pu) for receiving a reward: Jump Slash Skill Book. Please collect it at the Divine Strategy Army's corresponding division's ordnance department.]
[Congratulations newcomer (Bai Pu) for receiving a reward: City Guard Shield (White Standard Equipment). Please collect it at the Divine Strategy Army's corresponding division's ordnance department.]
[Congratulations newcomer (Bai Pu) for receiving a reward: Lucky Bag*2 (contains 128 Honor).]
Not every Skeleton will drop a Virtual Treasure Chest; to be precise, only Skeleton Soldiers with a higher level of strength, equivalent to the Standard Template, might drop Virtual Treasure Chests.
Bai Pu engraved the Flesh and Blood Spell on [Iron Spike Shoulder Guard] once again. This process took him half an hour and consumed 4 points of Spiritual Power and 40% of his Blood Fighting Qi.
Spiritual Power is energy generated based on "Spirit" Attributes. Each point of Spirit Attribute represents 1 point of Spiritual Power Limit. Luckily, Bai Pu's Basic Spirit is quite high, with up to 9 points. Otherwise, even general Tank Type Awakened wouldn't be able to produce 4 points of Spiritual Power to engrave the Flesh and Blood Spell.
Blood Fighting Qi is a rather special Professional Energy Slot, consumed by using physical combat skills.
The recovery speed of Blood Fighting Qi is related to its "stock". When consumption is low, Blood Fighting Qi has a lot of stock and recovers quickly. Once consumption exceeds 50%, and stock is less than half, the recovery speed slows down. If Fighting Qi is exhausted, stock becomes zero, and recovery speed becomes very slow; then, thorough rest is required.
"That's about all for the harvest from the first layer. I'll go take a look at the second layer." After resting for a while, Bai Pu stepped into the entrance of the second layer of the White Bone Cave.
...
Time returns to about an hour ago.
Tactical Research Room.
Seeing the green dot representing Bai Pu sprinting crazily inside the first layer of the cave, both Qilin and Black Tiger were stunned.
"A single wave strategy?" Qilin murmured, "Is he really going that wild?"
"Could he have used some means to eliminate sound in order to sneak to the bottom?" Black Tiger surmised.
"That's impossible; you must kill monsters for Virtual Treasure Chests to appear. Bai Pu knows this very well." Instructor Qiu said, "I think Bai Pu must have some sort of area damage skill, combined with his high defense, which led him to choose this single-wave combat strategy."
"In this way, his initial method of testing Rotten Bone Skeletons' damage makes sense now..." Qilin said, comprehendingly.
"Good grief, what kind of skill is so powerful that it can clear all the skeletons in one wave? Isn't Bai Pu being too ambitious..."
Black Tiger hadn't finished speaking when the big screen lit up with a clearance notification.
[Congratulations newcomer (Bai Pu) for defeating all monsters and successfully passing the first layer of the White Bone Cave. Time taken: 5 minutes 24 seconds.]
"What?!" Qilin and Black Tiger opened their mouths wide.
Even Instructor Qiu was uncalm, standing up and saying, "Quick, check what the record for a newcomer's clearance of the first layer is!"
"I remember the fastest clearance record for a newcomer in the Jiangnan Region for the first layer is 7 minutes 56 seconds, last year left by 'Mad Dog'." Qilin murmured, "Improving by two and a half minutes in one go, how is this possible?"
Su Xiaoxiao quickly found the answer.
"The fastest clearance record for the first layer of the White Bone Cave nationwide across the Seven Major Regions is... 4 minutes 58 seconds."
"What a pity, just 26 seconds short!" Instructor Qiu slapped his thigh in regret, "Bai Pu took over a minute testing the attack power of Rotten Bone Skeletons... If he hadn't tested, he'd definitely break the record for the Seven Major Regions!"
Instructor Qiu is a soldier who has a special obsession with the word "record"; a record represents the highest, fastest, and strongest—a form of high honor that soldiers can strive for in peacetime.
Who would have thought that a Tank Profession could challenge the Seven Major Regions record?
Being able to break the record in the Jiangnan Region now is quite rare, but there's inevitably some regret. You see, this record is specifically set for newcomers exploring the White Bone Cave for the first time, with no chance to redo.
"Why hasn't Bai Pu come out yet... Oh, isn't he trying to tackle the second layer?" Qilin wondered, "The monsters in the second layer generally are Level 2, and will cause Level Suppression to Bai Pu."
"Not only Level Suppression, but the monster strength in the second layer has all increased a level; even the worst has the combat power of Skeleton Soldiers, with a few Elite Skeleton Warriors and Bone Mages." Black Tiger enumerated proudly, "I reached Professional Level 4 last month before I cleared the second layer; the difficulty was truly high."
"You're just timid, insisting on waiting until you became a Mid-level Awakened, significantly stronger before daring to challenge the second layer." Instructor Qiu snorted, "In terms of your Specialty Level, you already had a great chance of passing when you were at Level 3."
"That's because I was intimidated by the Bone Mage." Black Tiger said, "Bone Mage's Disabling Technique is too disgusting..."
Su Xiaoxiao stared at the still green dot on the screen, fantasizing about Bai Pu's spectacular looks, bringing the topic back: "Do you guys think Little Bai Pu can clear the second layer?"
"With the combat power Bai Pu showed in clearing the first layer, as long as he plays steadily, he might clear the second layer too." Instructor Qiu said emotionally, "Perhaps, another newcomer who clears the second layer will emerge."
After a long wait of an hour.
"Little Bai Pu started!" Su Xiaoxiao said excitedly.
On the screen, the green dot has now appeared on the second layer's floor plan inside the White Bone Cave.
"This time, it seems a lot more cautious, walking very slowly... What the heck?"
Seeing the green dot recklessly sprint across the screen again, even the refined Qilin dropped his poise onto the floor in shock.
Black Tiger's eyes were full of deep confusion and puzzlement: "What's going on? Can the second layer be a single-wave strategy too?"
"It shouldn't be possible; there are nearly a hundred undead monsters in the second layer, aside from two Bone Mages and three Skeleton Warriors, even the weakest are standard template Level 2 Skeleton Soldiers. A newly awakened newcomer can't withstand an attack from so many monsters unless he's cheating." Instructor Qiu stated.
"He's reached the end and stopped now... He should be caught in the monster group's attack." Qilin sighed, "Bai Pu should be coming out soon."
The green dot on the screen flickered like a candle in the wind, seemingly depicting Bai Pu besieged by a monster group.
"It's a pity, if he played steadily, there's still a chance..."
Before Instructor Qiu could finish his sentence, suddenly a line appeared on the screen and enlarged rapidly:
[Congratulations newcomer (Bai Pu) for defeating all monsters and successfully passing the second layer of the White Bone Cave. Time taken: 10 minutes 17 seconds.]