"How has your stay been?"
Zhou Zhou asked Iniko.
"V-very good, my lord."
"Big Sister Th-Theresa is taking good care of me."
Iniko answered, still visibly nervous.
Zhou Zhou nodded before continuing his questions.
"Have you been able to take control of your dreams?"
"Yes, m-my lord."
Iniko replied.
"Were you able to do so on the twentieth floor?"
Zhou Zhou asked.
"At the st-start, I could still control my dream, but I-I wasn't able to do so after the sixth day."
Iniko said, keeping his gaze fixed on the ground.
'That shouldn't be the case. Abel had no problem completing the entire week when he first entered the twentieth floor.'
'Don't tell me not everyone with True God-tier potential can fully utilize the Dreamland Tower?'
Zhou Zhou's expression became somewhat distorted as he recalled the ten million battlefield points he had spent.
'Well, we can't always get what we want.'
He mused before looking at Iniko.
"You performed better than most of the others during your first trial."
"Put in more effort, and I'm sure you'll perform much better next time."
He encouraged the dark-skinned boy.
"Y-yes, my lord."
Iniko raised his head, his confidence gradually returning.
He had expected his lord to reprimand him for failing to complete the trial on the twentieth floor. Instead, he had received words of encouragement.
"What tier has your spell reached?"
Zhou Zhou asked.
Just like Hui Teng, Iniko was a mage. However, while Hui Teng was a Sand Mage, Iniko was a Fire Mage.
"Kingdom-tier."
Iniko replied.
'Whoa! That's even better than Abel's progress during his first visit to the Hall of Truth.'
'And Iniko's spell was originally at Basic-tier, while Abel's was already at Beginner-tier.'
Zhou Zhou was genuinely surprised by the progress the young prodigy had made.
'He might not be a complete waste of resources after all.'
He thought.
"That's very good. Let's head to the Monster Ranch."
He smiled at Iniko before teleporting them both to the Monster Ranch.
Upon arriving, they found Bai Yung, Lu Chong, Abel, Feng Huo, Zhang Xiang, Hui Teng, Dax, and Dai Lui battling inside their respective Monster Ranches.
"Pay close attention to how he fights. You'll be choosing a ranch of your own in a few minutes."
Zhou Zhou instructed, directing Iniko's attention towards Hui Teng's battle.
Holding two staffs in his hands and a mask on his face, Hui Teng stood beneath a gigantic Sand Golem that blocked every attack from the Undead Knights.
Whenever the golem sustained damage, it would be instantly repaired once Hui Teng activated his spell.
However, despite maintaining his strength at the White Silver-tier Elementary Grade, the Sand Mage was gradually being pushed into a disadvantage against the Yellow Gold-tier Advance Grade Undead Knights.
A few minutes later, he finally ran out of energy to sustain his golem, forcing him out of the Monster Ranch.
"It's your turn."
Zhou Zhou turned towards Iniko.
He had also increased the child prodigy's strength level to White Silver-tier Elementary Grade, giving him a fair opportunity to experience pressure and improve his spell's grade.
Nodding, the prodigy walked towards one of the vacant ranches.
"Who's the new kid?"
Dai Lui asked as Hui Teng approached him.
"Iniko. He's ten years old and a Fire Mage."
"He was summoned by the lord last night and is currently living with Theresa."
"Apparently, he's also a prodigy like Abel."
Hui Teng explained to the Sand Corpse Summoner.
"I'm going to grow old before I ever make it into the First Army, aren't I?"
Dai Lui muttered after hearing the Vice Lord's explanation.
Glancing at him, Hui Teng couldn't find anything to say in consolation.
Standing in the middle of the Undead Knights, Iniko imitated Hui Teng's fighting style as a gigantic golem made entirely of fire appeared above him.
However, unlike Hui Teng's golem, which primarily served as a defensive barrier to keep the Undead Knights at bay, Iniko's creation could also damage the Fog Monsters due to its fiery composition.
The young prodigy was forced out of the Monster Ranch after fighting for three minutes.
Two minutes later, after completing an entire nine-minute session, Lu Chong was also forced out of his Monster Ranch.
He was getting increasingly close to advancing his Spear Skill to Divine-tier.
By the end of the morning combat practice, none of the soldiers had been pressured into achieving a breakthrough in their skill grades.
At present, the only one who has achieved a Divine-tier skill or higher was Abel.
Following behind the prodigy was the twin-sword wielder, Feng Huo. Having already advanced most of his skills to Empire-tier before joining the city, he wasn't far from advancing one of them to Divine-tier.
Next was the Spear Demon, Lu Chong. He, too, was not far from obtaining a Divine-tier Spear Skill.
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