I had nothing to lose. I'd arrived in this world with nothing, naked as a newborn, so there was nothing for anyone to covet. Might as well enjoy the benefits first, use them to grow stronger step by step, and eventually, the truth would come to light. By then, I'd have enjoyed everything there was to enjoy and seen all the sights along the way. If trouble comes, I'll deal with it. When the river meets the bridge, it'll find its way across.
Two sayings from my previous life flashed through my mind. I tossed aside my pointless worries and focused on the first trait I'd received: Perpetual Motion Machine.
Judging by the description, it meant using skills wouldn't cost any mana. If that's the case, all I have to worry about is cooldown times. But here, the cooldowns for a class changer's own skills aren't fixed. They're more of a metaphor. What really matters is how much strain your body can take from using skills repeatedly. In other words, as long as your body can handle it, you can keep using your skills non-stop. Only skills attached to equipment or items have actual cooldown timers.
So, most of the time, what limits class changers is energy consumption. I'd been a little worried yesterday about the exhaustion from using AI Empowerment and Mind Link, but now that was one less thing to stress about.
Too bad the game rules prevent me from learning skills from other classes. Otherwise, I could have turned myself into a spell-casting machine gun by now. At the moment, the level one mech lord only had two skills. Hopefully, as its level increased, it would unlock some offensive abilities.
On top of that, the mechs could also benefit from the Perpetual Motion trait. Just thinking about it made me impatient with excitement.
Without hesitation, I summoned Number One from the creation space. Just like the first time, Azure light flickered and danced. In no time, Number One materialized in the room with utmost respect.
"My lord." The mechanical soldier Number One stood at attention, awaiting orders, its tone as fervent and reverent as ever.
But I had other plans this time. I simply nodded in response. Numbers 2 through 10 were about to arrive.
Inside the government-subsidized apartment, I got out of bed, skipped washing up, and went straight to the larger living room. Without pause, I began summoning one after another. The apartment wasn't large to begin with, and it quickly filled up with mechanical bodies.
Now that I didn't have to worry about energy consumption, I unleashed my skills in rapid succession, bestowing intelligence on each mech and naming them Numbers 2 through 10 in order.
I wiped imaginary sweat from my forehead. Although the mech lord class focused on mental attributes, my 10 points of constitution—on par with a level one shield guard—meant that even after using my skills repeatedly in a short time, I barely felt any fatigue. A few deep breaths and I was back to normal.
Soon, all ten mechanical soldiers allowed at level one were clustered in front of me.
Wait, where's my coffee table?
Coming out of my skill-casting trance, I was about to inspect the fruits of my labor when I noticed that two of the mechs were standing where my coffee table usually sat, the spot I used for odds and ends. But now the table was nowhere to be seen. I squeezed past the mechs and peeked around, only to find the shattered remains of the coffee table beneath their feet. It must have been too cramped, and those two mechs had tried to stand on top of it. Obviously, the table couldn't bear their weight.
The low-level mechs, still running on basic intelligence, showed no sign of embarrassment. They just stood there waiting for my orders.
"Uh…" I rubbed my chin. That coffee table had been with me for years. I couldn't help feeling a bit sentimental. But the real headache was that the table was part of the government-issued furnishings, not my personal property. When I eventually returned the apartment to the welfare office, I'd have to explain and pay for the damage.
Now that I'd completed my job transition, I finally had a way to support myself. According to the rules of the Shinga Empire, government welfare ended upon successful job change. From now on, I would have to make my own way in the world. The government welfare housing would also be reclaimed to be reassigned in the future to other children coming out of the National Orphan Welfare Institute.
Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I looked at the ten mechanical soldiers standing before me, numbered 1 through 10. I activated my Mind Link skill. Now I could sense that I was able to directly and swiftly command all the mechanical soldiers just by thinking. At the moment though, I could only issue the same command to all ten at once. If I wanted to give different orders to different soldiers at the same time, that would require more practice, a kind of mental multitasking. For someone like me, whose strengths lay in mental prowess, this wasn't much of a challenge. But for now, this level of control was enough.
With a single thought, all the mechanical soldiers' arms transformed into cannon-like weapons, charging up with energy.
This was exactly what I had in mind. The Perpetual Motion Engine trait worked on the mechanical soldiers as well, allowing them to unleash firepower in their cannon forms without worrying about energy consumption. The only things I needed to watch out for were the charge time and the wear and tear on their bodies from firing too often. As long as I timed their charges and had them fire in rotation, I could maintain a relentless barrage against any enemy.
As for damage to their bodies, that was where the second function of the mechanical core, self-repair, came into play. After battle, I could simply recall the soldiers into the creation space, and they'd repair themselves automatically. Ironically, the first reason I'd need to use the repair function wasn't because of enemy attacks, but because of my own commands.
And this was only at level one with just ten mechanical soldiers. Once I leveled up and could command more, the downtime for repairs would become negligible. Not to mention, there were still many functions of the mechanical core waiting to be unlocked. Who knew what new tricks and transformations the future might hold for my machines?
Just imagining a sky-darkening storm of firepower was enough to make my lips curl into a smile, a habit born from my deep-rooted fear of lacking firepower, a trauma carried over from my previous life.
The more I thought about it, the wider my grin grew. I caught myself—cough cough—and noticed the ten mechanical soldiers standing ramrod straight awaiting orders. Hastily, I wiped the smile off my face and straightened up, though the corners of my mouth still twitched upward. Even though the soldiers were only equipped with basic intelligence for now, their smarts would grow as their levels and the Mechanical Empowerment skill improved. It was important to maintain a proper image in front of them. No need to create any embarrassing memories that might haunt me later.
With another thought, I ordered all the soldiers to cancel their cannon charge and return their arms to normal. Then I disengaged the Mind Link and recalled the mechanical soldiers back into the creation space. I left Numbers Three and Six standing on the remains of the coffee table, assigning them the task of cleaning up the mess.
As for myself, I flopped onto the beanbag chair, sinking back and feeling myself slowly melt into its embrace. I began to consider my next steps.
According to the laws of the Shing Sha Empire, once someone completed their job change, they could go to the local Job Changers Association to claim a newcomer's starter pack as seed capital. The starter pack included some basic items such as healing potions, 1,000 Shinga coins, and a ticket to the local safe dungeon.
Every city in the Shinga Empire had a safe dungeon, a standard feature built to help newcomers transition and grow. These dungeons had been specially modified by top-tier professionals and were different from regular dungeons. They came with protective mechanisms. In a normal dungeon, you could exit safely if you weren't in combat, but if you ran into danger during a fight, not only would you be unable to leave, but if you didn't react quickly enough, death in the dungeon meant real death.
Safe dungeons, on the other hand, had been reworked to include safety features. Job changers could freely choose to exit the dungeon, even during combat. If they encountered a fatal threat and didn't react in time, the protection mechanism would automatically trigger, teleporting them out of the dungeon. Of course, this safety came at a price. The experience gained from defeating monsters was lower, and the maximum level you could reach in a safe dungeon was capped at level five.
In other words, every new job changer could safely reach level five through the safe dungeon, guaranteed. By the time they hit level five, these newcomers would have at least some ability to protect themselves. The introduction of safe dungeons had drastically reduced the mortality rate among new job changers, allowing more fresh blood to flow into humanity's ranks. Compared to that, the drawbacks didn't seem so bad.
What's more, the total experience you could gain from a single run in the safe dungeon was just enough to get a newcomer to level five. For those who couldn't solo the dungeon, even if they teamed up, one run wouldn't get them to level five. The starter pack only included one ticket, and each ticket cost 1,000 Shing Shia coins—the same amount as the coins given in the starter pack. Most people chose to use their starter money to buy another ticket. After that, if they wanted to keep leveling up in the safe dungeon, they'd have to find their own ways to earn Shing Sha coins and buy more tickets.
Once these newcomers reached level five, they'd move on to the next stage. The time and effort spent in this process quietly sorted people out ahead of the big exam. In a way, being able to solo the safe dungeon and quickly reach level 5 was an intentional shortcut left by the authorities.
The entrance to every safe dungeon was located inside each city's Job Changers Association. After picking up the starter pack, you could head straight into the dungeon without missing a beat.
Coincidentally, the next time my divine trait system would let me draw a new trait was at level five. Just the Perpetual Motion trait alone had already helped me tremendously. So, I was even more eager to see what the next one would be.
Clearing my mind, I set my next goal. If when I first changed classes, I'd still felt unsure about soloing, now I could only say, "In this little pond of level ones, I'm terrifyingly strong."
Outside the main entrance of the Chunang City Job Changers Association, it was already late afternoon, nearly evening. The association wasn't particularly tall, but it sprawled across a huge area. Besides the main entrance, there were many smaller doors leading to different functional zones. People bustled in and out, making the place lively and crowded.
Yesterday had been class change day, so today many new class changers were arriving just like me to collect their newbie starter packs and enter the safe dungeon to level up. I didn't bother with other areas like the quest zone or the trading area for now. Instead, I followed the sign straight to the registration office to officially register as a new class changer.
Stepping into the registration hall, I saw every window packed with people. New class changers lined up in long queues waiting their turn. Normally, only a few windows would be open, but today every single one was running at full capacity, trying to keep up with the endless stream of newcomers.
I glanced around, picked the line that looked just a bit shorter, and took my place at the end. While waiting, I reviewed the information about the safe dungeon I'd be entering after picking up my starter pack.
The safe dungeon in Chunang City was called Monster Horde. Teams could have up to five people, and the highest entry level allowed was level five. Just like its name, Monster Horde was all about withstanding wave after wave of monsters. With each wave, the number and level of monsters would increase, ramping up the challenge. The dungeon designers wanted new class changers to get a taste of what a real monster horde felt like so they wouldn't be caught off guard in the future. Between each wave, there was a rest period for class changers to recover and prepare. Players could choose to start the next wave early if they wanted.
Outside the dungeon, the officials had set up a leaderboard tracking the fastest clear times. If a team finished faster than the last place on the board, or even broke the record and took first place, they'd automatically appear on the list. Depending on their ranking, there were different rewards to encourage the new generation of class changers. Breaking the record meant even bigger prizes. Of course, only local class changers could enter the safe dungeon to prevent people from other cities from coming in and skewing the results.
So, if you wanted to make the leaderboard, the key was to clear each monster wave as quickly as possible and keep rest times to a minimum. The ideal scenario, of course, would be to wipe out the monster waves quickly and without resting, immediately triggering the next wave.
But the authorities, in order to maximize the potential of promising newcomers, had placed strict limits on the equipment and items that could be brought in. Only those who stayed within these restrictions were eligible to make the rankings and claim official rewards. You were allowed to exceed the limits, but if you did, you wouldn't make the leaderboard or receive any official prizes. After all, these were rookie job changers who hadn't even reached level five.
Even if someone managed to land a top-tier class and put together a full five-person team, at this stage, it was nearly impossible to get through all the monster waves without using the rest periods. And that—enduring every wave without a break, solo, no less—was exactly my goal today.
Still, in my plan, the result itself wasn't the main thing. What really mattered were the generous rewards for breaking the record. According to my research, one of those rewards was a rare item that boosted experience gain. Using it would let a job changer level up faster, making it incredibly tempting for someone like me, eager to climb the ranks as quickly as possible.
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but sigh to myself. One step ahead, and every step after gets easier; the gap just keeps growing. Just like Lee Wugua had said during the job change ceremony, "As long as you can prove your worth, the resources of the Shing Sha Empire will tilt in your favor without hesitation."
As I pondered, the line in front of me gradually grew shorter. Fortunately, the staff at the Job Changer Association were highly efficient. There was none of that frustrating situation I'd experienced in my previous life, where you'd pick the shortest line, only for it to move slower than all the others for some inexplicable reason.
Soon enough, the person ahead of me finished registering, collected their newcomer's gift pack, and left. I stepped up to the counter.
The staff member greeted me with a polite, practiced smile. "Hello, I just need your citizen ID. I'll register your job changer information with it."
I nodded. A flash of white light appeared in my hand as I retrieved my Shinga Empire citizen ID from my personal storage space—a standard perk granted to every job changer. For a level one job changer, the storage space was one cubic meter, expanding by another cubic meter with each level gained. There were also special items and methods that could further increase its capacity, making it incredibly convenient for carrying gear and supplies. If a job changer died, however, everything in their storage space would be swept away by spatial turbulence and lost forever.
The staff member took my ID, and after a few quick operations, a white light flickered in her hand. An exquisitely wrapped gift box appeared. She placed my ID on top of the box and handed both to me.
"This is your citizen ID card and the official newcomer's gift pack from the Shinga Empire. The 1,000 Shing Sha coins included in the gift pack have already been deposited into your citizen ID. Inside the gift box, you'll find some basic starter items and a ticket to the Monster Frenzy safe dungeon. Wishing you a smooth leveling journey."
I accepted my citizen ID and the gift box, placed them into my personal storage space, and nodded to the staff member. "Thank you."
Then I turned and left, weaving through the crowd. Following the signs in the main hall, I found the way to the Monster Frenzy dungeon. I joined the stream of other new job changers heading in the same direction.
But on the way to the dungeon, a small incident occurred.
"Hey, what a coincidence. Giu, we're counting on you to break the record."
"Yeah, Giu, go for it!"
Along the way, I ran into a few classmates from 8th High School in Chunang City. That "what a coincidence" almost made me think I'd bumped into Suma Meow. Because they'd witnessed the unprecedented commotion during my job change at the ceremony, my classmates were deeply impressed and greeted me with great enthusiasm.
For me, these were just vaguely familiar faces I'd passed by a few times during high school, nothing more. But you can't just ignore a friendly greeting. So even though I wasn't used to such warmth, I still responded politely.
"Big shot. Who's this supposed to be? Breaking the record for real or just talk?"
"Huh? Who's this so-called big shot?"
"Hey, which school are you from? Never heard of you?"
"Our First High's Son Dolly hasn't even said a word yet."
"Seriously, dude, what's your power level? You're not Son Dolly, are you?"
"You mean the guy who just changed to the top-tier Sunlight Thunder Paladin? That's Sun Dolly?"
"Yeah, that's him. He's the young master of the Sun Group here in Chunang. He just changed jobs yesterday and the company's already started hyping him up. He even made the news."
The enthusiastic greetings from eighth high students drew curious looks and comments from students of other schools nearby. Some were skeptical, some were dismissive. Unlike those who'd already changed into top-tier classes and made a name for themselves on the battlefield, my class change, though unprecedented, was still only known within the small circle centered around Eighth High.
What I didn't know was that thanks to Jang Ding and Lee Wugua, some of the top brass in the Shinga Empire were already aware of my existence. They were quietly keeping an eye on me, waiting to see what potential I would show.
At that moment, the eighth high classmates felt a bit awkward. They hadn't expected their greetings to unintentionally draw so much hostility toward me. Some of the more hot-tempered ones wanted to snap back right then and there but were afraid of making things worse for me, so they hesitated, not knowing what to do.
As for me, my attitude was simple. No big deal. Facts will prove everything.
"Haha."
Monster Horde Dungeon Lobby.
Soon, I and my classmates arrived with the crowd. At the far end of the lobby stood a massive door built from some unknown stone. Within the stone frame, a deep blue vortex glowed, slowly swirling clockwise. This was the entrance to the Monster Horde dungeon. To the left of the entrance was a giant screen, a leaderboard displaying the fastest dungeon clear times. It recorded the top 50 fastest clears in the dungeon's history.
Inside the lobby, some rookie job changers were lining up to enter the dungeon. Others, having triggered the dungeon's death protection mechanism, were resting nearby, still shaken from their close calls. Some were busy forming temporary teams, looking for party members.
The students from Chunang Number Eight High School said their goodbyes to me, heading off to meet up with their own teammates. After parting ways, I walked alone to the end of the line and began to queue up.
"Another one trying to solo, huh?"
"Who knows if he's actually strong or just overestimating himself?"
"Every year, plenty of people think too highly of their abilities."
"Just while I've been waiting, I've seen several people fail solo runs and come out empty-handed, wasting a ticket for nothing."
"Even if you can clear it solo, if you're not efficient, you'll level up slower than if you were in a team."
My decision to queue up alone drew some quiet murmurs from those around me. But since none of them actually knew me, no one bothered to openly mock or ridicule me.
Not only the classmates who had come with me, but also other students from Number Eight High School in the lobby recognized me. Some of the more cautious ones looked worried. Others, confident in my abilities, exchanged knowing smiles.
"With that kind of spectacle during his job change, blinding everyone in the room, and you're telling me he's weak? No way. He's got this in the bag."
I paid no mind to the chatter around me. Instead, my gaze settled on the top of the leaderboard. The current record was 37 minutes, set seven years ago by a team of three rookie job changers who all advanced to top-tier classes. In other words, the Monster Horde Dungeon's fastest clear record hadn't been broken in seven years.
Of course, only the top record had remained unchanged. Every year, new teams made it onto the leaderboard.
When you enter the dungeon, your items and equipment are automatically scanned. If you exceed the limits, your run doesn't count for the leaderboard. So, if you want to make the rankings, you have to be careful about what you bring. Managing your recovery items efficiently is an important part of dungeon strategy.
But for me, who possessed the Perpetual Motion trait, these concerns were irrelevant.
As I studied the leaderboard, I began reviewing the details of the Monster Horde dungeon in my mind. It was simple enough: a total of 20 waves of monsters. The first wave had 10 level one monsters. The 20th wave, 50 level five monsters, capped off with an elite boss at the end. There's a five-minute break between each wave of monsters. During this time, you can choose whether to start the next wave early.
As a safety dungeon designed for new class changers, Monster Frenzy's monsters are generally weaker than those found outside. For a typical team of five new class changers, not aiming for the leaderboards and making full use of the rest periods, it's entirely possible to clear the dungeon by carefully wearing down the monsters, even if it takes a while.
But let's rewind a bit to earlier when I was still waiting in line.
Inside the president's office at the Chunang City Job Changer Association, a lean, energetic old man in his 60s with a head of white hair sat with his legs crossed, lounging back in his chair. He was watching a display screen that showed a live feed from the dungeon lobby streamed from the monitoring room. At first glance, he didn't exactly look like a dignified elder, more like someone who didn't take things too seriously. This old man was none other than Jang Desai, president of the Chunang City Class Changer Association.
Just then, I appeared on the monitor. Jang Desai's eyes lit up and he muttered to himself, "That kid Jang Ding came home yesterday going on and on about 'unprecedented talent,' 'potential of an emperor,' 'absolutely terrifying.' Well, let's see what all the fuss is about today."
When he saw me opt for a solo run, Jang Desai nodded slightly, unsurprised. "If my unfilial son was telling the truth, then soloing should be the bare minimum. Now, it's just a matter of seeing how fast he can clear it."
Thinking back to how Jang Ding had hyped me up to the heavens the night before, Jang Desai couldn't help but feel a flicker of anticipation.
Back in the dungeon lobby, the staff worked efficiently. In no time at all, I was standing at the entrance. I handed my ticket to the staff member nearby.
Noticing that I was alone, the staffer asked, "Are you sure you want to go in solo? If you're having trouble finding teammates or if there's any inconvenience, just let us know. Every year, some newcomers are too shy or reserved to form a team, and we can help match you up."
I was momentarily surprised by the question, but then smiled politely and shook my head. "I'm sure. Thank you for your concern."
Seeing my certainty, the staff member didn't press further. "Just place your hand on the dungeon door to view the dungeon info. The first teleport might feel a bit strange, so be prepared. Good luck."
I nodded, then reached out and pressed my right hand against the dungeon door.
Dungeon Name: Monster Frenzy.
Level Limit: 1 to 5.
Party Size Limit: 1 to 5.
Detected Party Size: 1.
Confirm entry?
Confirm. I thought silently.
I felt a sudden pull from the door, and in a flash of blue light, I vanished from where I stood.
When I opened my eyes again, I was already inside the dungeon. The air was crisp with the freshness of nature. I stood on a stretch of open ground. About a hundred meters ahead, a flagpole marked the spot where monsters would appear. To my left lay a shallow depression, to my right, a forest of stone pillars, and behind me, a dense thicket. These terrains were provided by the dungeon's designer, offering new job changers multiple tactical options: face the monsters head-on in open combat or use the landscape to outmaneuver them.
I glanced up at the sky. The blue expanse was strewn with shifting words formed from white clouds.
The dungeon has begun. Countdown to the first monster wave: 30… 29… 28…
The system granted job changers 30 seconds to prepare. Wasting no time, I focused my thoughts, and ten mechanical soldiers materialized before me. Blue light shimmered as the ten constructs took shape.
"Mech soldiers, ever at your command. Master, please give your orders."
Looking at the ten imposing, powerful machines standing before me, I felt a surge of confidence. The dungeon only allowed up to five job changers, but with my ten mech soldiers, I now had eleven combatants on my side. And as the dungeon progressed and I leveled up, I'd be able to summon even more.
I activated my Mind Link skill, mentally commanding all mech soldiers to morph their arms into cannons and begin charging up. At my mental queue, the ten mech soldiers spread out in a line, raised their cannon arms, and aimed straight at the flag in the distance, staking out the monster's spawning point.
Preparation complete, I shifted slightly, stepping back behind my mech soldiers. I surveyed them with satisfaction.
The countdown ticked to zero.
At the flag's base, white light flickered. The first wave of ten level one monsters slowly began to materialize.
I watched the distant glow. I couldn't help but wonder, "Am I really going to have to roll up my sleeves and fight hand-to-hand like some battlefield commander?" The thought struck me out of nowhere.
In the blink of an eye, the white light faded. Standing where it had been were ten chickens.
Monster wave one.
I blinked at the ten freshly spawned chickens. Each was bright yellow, about waist high, with round red marks on either side of its head, almost like rosy cheeks. The moment they appeared, the chicken-shaped monsters charged straight toward me.
I calmly directed my mech soldiers to each pick a target and lock on. At the same time, I used the standard scanning skill every job changer possessed on the distant chicken monsters. Information popped up above their heads.
Weak Chicken. Level 1. Strength…
Boom.
The red glow at the muzzles of the mech soldiers' cannons suddenly died out as they fired.
At the monster spawn point, criss-crossing streaks of dark red light flashed, kicking up clouds of dust. The chickens, who had barely taken a step in their charge, vanished into motes of light before they could even begin their second stride.
Successfully killed a level one Weakling Chicken. Gained 10 experience points.
Successfully killed a level one Weakling Chicken. Gained 10 experience points.
A rapid string of notifications popped up, startling me. I quickly muted the alerts, deciding to check the panel after the dungeon run was over.
I hadn't even finished reviewing the information from my probe skill when the first wave of monsters ended.
"Guess that's to be expected from a safe dungeon, huh?" I muttered. Because the round ended so quickly, I, who'd been a little on edge, found myself relaxing just a bit. But this was only the simplest, very first wave.
The thought barely flickered through my mind before I snapped back to attention. I chose to skip the rest period and started the second monster wave early.
White light flickered at the monster spawn point. I had already commanded my mech soldiers to charge up their weapons. The moment the monsters appeared, I didn't even bother to look closely, eager to break my own record. While activating my probe skill, I mentally ordered the mech soldiers to open fire.
Scrap Dog. Level…
A flash of red light, and the Scrap Dog followed the Weakling Chicken into oblivion, dissolving into motes of light.
Successfully killed a level one Scrap Dog. Gained 10 experience points.
Successfully killed a level one Scrap Dog. Gained 10 experience points.
"Scrap dog." Seeing the notification, I couldn't help but grumble about the dungeon designer's twisted sense of humor.
I kept skipping rest periods, starting each monster wave ahead of schedule. Soon, after finishing the fifth wave, I leveled up to two. The experience gain was clearly by design. For a newbie soloing this dungeon, you'd hit level two after the fifth wave, level three after the 10th, and by the 20th wave, when the dungeon ended, you'd reach level five, which was also the dungeon's cap.
I opened my status panel.
Name: Giu
Class: MechMaster (Unique)
Level: 2 (0%)
Strength: 20
Agility: 20
Spirit: 60
Constitution: 20
Equipment: None
Divine Trait: Perpetual Engine
Core Item: Mech Core (Level 2) - Functions [Collapsed] - [Click to Expand]
Skills:
Mind Link (Level 2)
Mech Empowerment (Level 1)
Mind Link (Level 2): The overlord can establish a one-way psychic network with mech soldiers, issuing commands quickly and flexibly to direct them in combat. Current maximum link range: 200 m. To upgrade this skill, raise the mech core level.
Mech Empowerment (Level 1): The overlord can grant intelligence to mechanical bodies, turning them into mecha soldiers who fight for the overlord. Current intelligence level: Basic. To upgrade this skill, actively raise the mech core level.
Leveling up. Since the base stats for level one were already set by the class, my four main attributes instantly doubled. The AI core simultaneously upgraded to level two, and the skill Mental Link improved along with it. Only the AI Empowerment skill hadn't advanced. Clearly, just reaching level one wasn't nearly enough to enhance it. The road to boosting the AI's intelligence was still a long one. I looked forward to the day when the AI's intelligence level would be high enough for them to command the troops on their own, so I could finally slack off in peace. After all, a ruler who can't sneak in some downtime isn't a good ruler.
After reviewing my own status panel, I opened up the AI core's function panel to see what had changed with the level up.
AI Core (Level 2)
Function One: AI Generation Space. Generate and deploy AI bodies. Once the maximum number of bodies is reached, no more can be created. Recycling AI bodies can somewhat reduce generation time. Currently, one AI body can be generated every 10 minutes. Current body limit: 20.
Function Two: AI Repair. Recycle or automatically repair damaged AI bodies within the generation space. Repair time depends on the extent of the damage. If repair would take too long, it's recommended that the ruler simply recycle and regenerate the body. The ruler can choose whether to retain the intelligence previously granted to the body.
Function Three: Please upgrade the AI core to unlock.
Function Four: Locked.
My eyes lit up. Twenty bodies! With the AI core now at level two, the body limit had increased by ten. That meant the number of AI soldiers I could command had just doubled. By this logic, if I reached level 100, wouldn't I be able to command a thousand AI soldiers? A thousand soldiers, each with better stats than ordinary professionals, capable of both close combat and ranged attacks, all at my disposal?
No, that wasn't even the limit. With each major level milestone, there were first, second, third, and even fourth job advancements, each bringing a massive leap in power. Plus, as my level increased, the AI core would unlock even more functions. The potential of the AI overlord class was far beyond what I could currently imagine.
Finally, all that was left was to check the attribute boost for the AI soldiers. I turned my gaze to one standing before me.
AI Soldier. Level 2. Intelligence: Low. Strength: 20. Agility: 20. Spirit: 20. Constitution: 20. Skills: Melee Stance, Ranged Stance.
Just as expected, leveling up an AI soldier by one increased all attributes by 10 points. The only downside was that at the current AI core level, generating a new AI body still took 10 minutes each. By the time this dungeon run ended, I probably wouldn't have time to add much more combat power. But for now, my ten AI soldiers were more than enough.
The dungeon only allowed five job changers, but my ten AI soldiers could each transform both arms into cannons. That was twenty points of firepower. That's a four-fold advantage in numbers, and the impact would be far greater than just four times.
As I tallied up the benefits of my upgrade, I didn't waste any time. I triggered the monster wave ahead of schedule. At this moment, the sixth wave of monsters had already ended.
Time flowed on. One monster wave after another, each one arriving sooner than expected. Before long, the 20th wave was upon them: fifty level five monsters plus one level five elite monster. But it hardly caused a ripple.
Can't take them out in a single volley? Then just fire a few more rounds.
In gun mode, the mech soldier's recharge interval was less than three seconds. Its only real weakness, energy consumption, had been solved by the Perpetual Motion trait. As for the wear and tear from constant firing, the intensity of these monster waves in the dungeon clearly wasn't enough to push the mech soldier into frequent overload. Except for the last few waves, the earlier ones could be swept aside with a steady rate of fire. The resulting damage to the body was negligible.
And so, the Monster Frenzy ended, the dungeon was cleared, and I leveled up to five.
Standing where I was, I couldn't help but feel a bit unsatisfied. "That's it already?"
The next instant, I realized I was getting a little cocky. My cautious nature kicked in, and I quickly adjusted my mindset, warning myself, "It's just a safe dungeon. Just a safe dungeon. Don't get arrogant. Don't get carried away, or the Grim Reaper will come knocking. Stay careful. Stay steady."
Even so, I couldn't stop the grin from spreading across my face.