A screen lowered from the ceiling, humming to life in bright blue light. Bold text appeared.
LEVEL 1: COMPLETED
Participants:
Leng Xuenyi – Score: 200/200
Lin Fang – Score: 100/200
"Uhh…" Lin Fang blinked. "What?"
He stared at the numbers. "Why did I get a score at all? I literally did nothing."
He turned toward Leng Xuenyi, who didn't seem to care. She stood as calm as ever, not even glancing at the screen.
A follow-up notification appeared:
Next Phase: LEVEL 2
Time Remaining: 59 minutes
Please rest and recover.
The chamber's center shifted slightly as a round table emerged from the floor this time. Bottles of nutrient water and energy bars popped out, neatly arranged.
Lin Fang sat down slowly, instead of reaching out for any food. Xuenyi, on the other hand, snatched a couple of energy bars, but instead of consuming them, she threw them at Lin Fang instead. As the latter caught it in reflex, she said. "Eat. It'll help you recover your mana."
Lin Fang blinked. "I don't have mana, though."
"Eh? You don't?" Xuenyi suddenly snapped her head toward him. As she furrowed her brows, she pointed at the necklace. "That's a mana suppression amulet."
Lin Fang could only awkwardly chuckle. "That's a gift from a friend."
"I see." Xuenyi nodded again, accepting the explanation, and went ahead to calmly sit down on the cold metal floor, shutting her eyes.
Lin Fang just stared at her and silently blinked in wonder at what's with this weird woman. Meanwhile, the massive lightning wolf curled beside her like a loyal hound. As she gently ran her fingers through its fur, the beast shut its eyes.
For a few seconds, as he stared at the monster and her, she spoke with her eyes closed. "Stop staring."
Lin Fang flinched, caught red-handed. "Ah, sorry. It's just… your companion is too strong. I bet it could even kill the Frost Bear King in under five seconds. I just wondered what an expert like you is doing in such an examination."
Her eyes slowly opened at those words. With a slight frown on her face, she wondered aloud. "Frost Bear King? Never heard of it. Is that some comic book creature?"
Lin Fang chuckled awkwardly, shaking his head. "No, it's real. Well… kind of. Let's just say it's a special case. A very aggressive beast I encountered."
Her brow arched slightly. "You fought a monster? You…"
Lin Fang quickly waved his hand. "No, no. Not really. I mostly… ran away." He pointed to himself with a half-smile. "Do I look like someone who could take on a possible Lord-Tier monster like that? This body is only good for looks."
There was a beat of silence.
Then, a subtle smile curved at the corner of Xuenyi's lips.
"That," she said softly, still not looking at him, "sounds more believable."
Lin Fang raised an eyebrow. "What exactly is believable? The good looks or the running away?"
Leng Xuenyi didn't answer immediately. She leaned her head back slightly, eyes slipping shut again. But just as he thought she might have ignored him, she spoke again, quiet, nearly a whisper. "Both."
Lin Fang blinked.
And then he let out a quiet chuckle, feeling an ease of tension between them.
Black snored gently on his shoulder as if it only had one job to do. It is time to sleep. Lin Fang was slightly irked by its action but he was a bit happy with the subtle praise.
In the blink of an eye, an hour of silence passed between them.
They didn't talk about anything as it seemed like she was taking a nap, and Lin Fang didn't want to disturb her.
A familiar humming sound then echoed after the time limit was over, and a familiar rune seal bloomed beneath Lin Fang's feet, followed by the burst of light, but this time, only his.
He turned toward Xuenyi. "Good luck."
She didn't respond at first, but gave him a slight nod without opening her eyes.
As the light of the teleportation circle enveloped him, her lips moved, a murmur lost to the hum.
"You're the one who needs luck, young master."
Lin Fang reappeared in another enclosed space, eerily similar to the previous room. This time, though, it was lit with a dull green hue, and three cages stood at the far end.
Each cage contained a spider as big as 3 feet.
The first two were nearly identical, eight-legged jungle spiders, their black armored bodies bristling slightly, eyes glinting red. The display above each cage identified them:
[Jungle Spider - Level 17 - Dark Element]
[Jungle Spider - Level 28 - Dark Element]
But the third one had a name.
[Taslan - The Devouring Jungle Spider - Level 39 - Dark Element]
Lin Fang, of course, outrightly ignored the last one, which was oozing a toxic aura while his attention was on the other two cages.
"Hmm? Which one should I pick? 17 or 28?"
The first one is easy to beat with the help of Black. But then he remembered something Zhi Yan warned him about Feng Xiu's reputation for failing the candidates even after they crossed the pass mark.
And here, the second round was worth 300 points.
He needed to do something extraordinary, something unforgettable.
He couldn't help but look back at the third cage.
His gaze lingered on the third, the one with the named spider, Taslan, for a while, but after a long breath, he made his decision.
"No," he muttered, shaking his head. "I don't need to play recklessly. Let's go with a rather safe option, but with certain difficulty."
He tapped the panel floating in the air before him, selecting the Level-28 Jungle Spider.
[You selected Elite-Tier Jungle Spider. Wish you the best of luck.]
The panel shimmered briefly and then sank back into the wall with a hiss. A click echoed through the room as the second cage unlocked.
The spider crawled out, its legs making sharp tak-tak-tak-tak noises on the stone floor.
The other two cages, one holding the weaker spider, the other housing Taslan, rose silently into the ceiling and vanished.
Lin Fang gave a sharp nod. "go."
The tiny Direwolf cub dropped to the ground with a soft thump. In an instant, its body began to swell, growing, expanding in size and muscle, until…
THUNK!
Black's head hit the ceiling. Its ears flopped down, and it gave a wounded coo.
[Master, it hurts…]
Lin Fang facepalmed. "Ah, sorry, stop growing. Shrink a bit until it's comfy."
Black grumbled softly but obeyed, scaling down slightly so its furry head just brushed under the 16-foot ceiling. Its body rippled with strength, but the glow from its paws had dimmed a little.
Lin Fang squinted at the system panel above Black's name.
[Black- Level 21]
"A level-21? Ugh…" he groaned, raking a hand through his hair. "What a cramped dungeon for an exam. Ridiculous. Real-world battles don't happen in such tight spaces."
But there was no time to complain. The spider hissed and launched forward already.
Its eight limbs carried it fast, skittering low across the floor. When it was just feet away, it raised its front legs and…
FWIP!
A sticky web shot straight toward Black's face. The silk smacked him square in the eyes.