Upon entering the Monster Simulator again, Feng Hao found himself in the illusion of a small forest constructed from a Magic Pattern Matrix. The terrain could be switched using the access card.
The basic principle of the entire simulator was simple. It was composed of countless Magic Pattern Matrices, and by using Magic Crystals for power, it created an experience similar to a holographic game.
'First, let's practice with a little white rabbit.'
Having been here once before, Feng Hao found the controls easy to use. He inserted his access card into the console and browsed for a while, only finding a level-fifteen, rabbit-type magical beast called the Golden Rabbit. He selected it and confirmed the summon.
The next moment, a soft light erupted from the ground a dozen or so meters in front of him, quickly morphing into a massive monster!
The monster was covered in golden fur, its body close in size to an adult bear from Earth. Its round, plump body bounced around the forest, and he could even feel the ground tremble with each hop.
Feng Hao stared speechlessly at the Golden Rabbit and gulped. 'This is definitely not the kind of rabbit I know!' he thought.
He had hoped to use this chance to relive the feeling of a game's novice village, but he never expected this. Compared to the cute "experience packs" in games, the rabbit before him was an absolute terror.
Shaking himself out of his shock, Feng Hao took out the Dark Moon Dagger.
'Let's test the damage first.'
With that thought, his entire body shot toward the Golden Rabbit like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.
The magical beasts in the Monster Simulator didn't attack on their own. After all, they were condensed from magical energy. Aside from possessing all the attributes of a real Golden Rabbit, their intelligence was practically zero, leaving only a primal combat instinct.
CLANG!
The dagger scraped against the Golden Rabbit's body, letting out a piercing, metallic sound.
'A defensive-type magical beast, just as I thought!' Feng Hao's eyes glinted. He had been suspicious when he saw the texture of its golden fur, and now he was basically certain that the Golden Rabbit's hide offered high protection.
Fortunately, he was a Dark Force Magic Master, so the hide's defensive properties weren't very effective against him.
After being attacked, the Golden Rabbit's eyes instantly locked onto Feng Hao. It began bouncing its massive body, smashing into the ground like a basketball, and with every impact, the earth trembled.
Feng Hao, of course, wasn't just going to stand there and let it crush him. He made full use of his superior speed, dodging one deep crater after another!
Seizing an opportunity as the Golden Rabbit landed, he precisely plunged the dagger into its eye.
BANG!
The Golden Rabbit, which had been on a rampage just a moment ago, instantly dissipated into countless specks of energy. Feng Hao's single strike had actually one-shotted it.
'Now *that's* real weak-point damage.' After a moment of astonishment, Feng Hao quickly understood.
In a game, a weak point might multiply the damage by two or three times at most. But according to the books he had read, weak-point damage in this world was terrifying, capable of reaching a tenfold increase or more, and it directly harmed a creature's life force.
The eyes connect directly to the brain, an unavoidable weak point for most magical beasts and humans. This was why Feng Hao had been able to kill it in a single blow!
Of course, the hidden roots in his Genetic Tree could mitigate his own weak points—what would be the "Weakness Fortification" attribute on a game panel.
Feng Hao's current Weakness Fortification was 30 points. In other words, if one of his weak points would normally take 300% damage, it would be reduced to 270%.
If a weak point would only take 110% damage, it would be mitigated down to 100%, ceasing to be a weak point at all!
'I'm afraid only a Tier Two magical beast could withstand my damage, and that's if I avoid its weak points.'
After a moment of thought, Feng Hao returned to the console and set it to randomly summon magical beasts between levels twenty and twenty-five. Any higher, and he was sure he wouldn't be able to handle their speed.
He set it to random summon for two reasons: first, to learn about various magical beasts, and second, to hone his combat skills against different types of monsters.
Soon, a disgusting, scale-covered creature coalesced a short distance away.
Feng Hao paid it no mind. He leaped forward, activated [Dark Force Kill], and a dim glint of light flashed as his dagger struck the disgusting creature's back.
TING!
The disgusting creature shrieked and began to counterattack. Feng Hao, using his speed advantage, handled it with ease. After executing several [Dark Force Kill] attacks, he swallowed a Tier Five Qi Recovery Pill, and his depleted Magic Power began to rapidly regenerate.
With the support of Tier Five Qi Recovery Pills, he could use [Dark Force Kill] almost nonstop!
Grinding skill proficiency required patience for boredom and loneliness, and Feng Hao was already mentally prepared for it.
As he activated the [Dark Force Kill] skill again and again, the originally complex Secret Technique Mark on his Genetic Tree gradually began to simplify, and simplify, and simplify...
As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. To put it bluntly, Secret Technique proficiency was simply one's level of mastery over the technique. The higher the mastery, the better the effect!
...
Not much time had passed outside the simulator. Instructor Niu glanced at Simulator 1 from time to time but didn't pay it too much mind.
Soon, it was time for the students to arrive and rent the equipment.
As usual, Zhou Chen walked in, surrounded by a crowd of female students. He rolled up his sleeves, looked at Instructor Niu, and said, "Simulator 1. Unlimited time."
"Uh," Instructor Niu said awkwardly, "well... Simulator 1 is already taken."
Zhou Chen froze, looking toward Simulator 1 in surprise. A strange expression crossed his face.
Because of his special privileges, he always came early to claim a spot. After all, his time was free, and he couldn't very well show up late and kick out someone who had paid, right?
He just hadn't expected someone to be even earlier than him today. "Fine, I'll take Number 2 then."
"Alright." Instructor Niu didn't waste any words, expertly issuing an unlimited-time access card and handing it to Zhou Chen.
...
Over the next few days, Zhou Chen repeated the same conversation with Instructor Niu every morning.
He had always liked the number one, but for the past few days, he had been forced to train in Simulator 2. This greatly displeased Zhou Chen, who had been first in everything since he was a child!
So on the fifth day, he arrived before the simulator room even opened, but it was no use.
"Who in the world is in Simulator 1? Does that guy live in there or something?" The question that had been buried in his heart finally burst out.
Instructor Niu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You actually guessed right. The kid in Simulator 1 booked it for a whole month. He's eating, drinking, and... well, everything in there. I reckon when he finally comes out, we'll have to give Simulator 1 a deep cleaning!"
"What?" Zhou Chen exclaimed in disbelief. "Is that guy insane?"
"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?" Instructor Niu shook his head speechlessly. "In any case, there's no point in fighting for Simulator 1 anymore. They're all the same, anyway."
Zhou Chen clearly wasn't willing to let it go. He frowned and asked, "Is it an upperclassman from the second or third year?"
"No, it's that visiting student from your class."
"It's him?!" Zhou Chen's expression froze. He quickly recalled the young man he had met in the dean's office.
Besides, there had been a lot of rumors about Feng Hao recently. Although Zhou Chen had been studying with Elder Gu, he had still heard a few things.
At this thought, his gaze subconsciously fell upon the door of Simulator 1, and his expression grew serious.
...
Several more days passed in the blink of an eye. Not many people cared about Feng Hao's mysterious disappearance.
The only one who was truly concerned was probably Miao Feng, and perhaps that girl Xi Yueyao counted as well.
In the first-year, Class One classroom, Yue Linglong noted that she hadn't seen Feng Hao in a long time. While it was normal for visiting students to disappear like this, Feng Hao was different from the others.
"Classmate Xiyue, why hasn't Feng Hao been coming to class recently?" Yue Linglong asked.
Hearing Feng Hao's name, Xi Yueyao's face immediately soured. She gritted her teeth and said, "He said he was going home for a bit, but it's been over ten days now, and there's been no sign of him! It's infuriating!"
Yue Linglong frowned. "Do you think something might have happened to him?"
"I don't know." Hearing the mention of danger, Xi Yueyao couldn't help but feel a little worried, though she would never admit it out loud.
"After class, find someone close to him and ask," Yue Linglong said.
To be honest, Yue Linglong was also a little worried; otherwise, she wouldn't have asked.
Of course, her real concern wasn't Feng Hao himself, but the monthly class fees he paid. After all, it was time to collect them again, and the guy had suddenly vanished. How could she not be concerned?
'Could it be that he thinks the class fees are too expensive and doesn't want to stay in our class anymore?' Yue Linglong guessed wildly.
Just then, a stout figure burst in. It was Instructor Niu, who interrupted the class with a panicked look on his face. "Teacher Yue, come with me to the equipment room, quickly! Something terrible has happened!"
"What does an equipment problem have to do with me?" Yue Linglong's face darkened, clearly annoyed that he had disturbed her class.
"Normally it wouldn't be your business, Teacher Yue, but this situation is a bit special," Instructor Niu said, catching his breath. "It has to do with that visiting student in your class."
Hearing this, everyone looked astonished.
"Feng Hao is in the equipment room?" Yue Linglong's expression faltered. She frowned and asked, "What exactly happened?"
"It's too complicated to explain in just a few words. You'll understand when you come with me!" Instructor Niu said with a wry smile.
Yue Linglong hesitated for a moment before deciding to go with Instructor Niu. Upon hearing that it involved Feng Hao, Xi Yueyao volunteered to go along as well.
And so, led by Instructor Niu, the three of them rushed to the equipment room.
By the time they arrived, the equipment room was already packed with people. Several technicians were pacing around Simulator 1, completely at a loss.
It wasn't just Yue Linglong and Xi Yueyao; even the dean and many of the academy's top officials had rushed over after hearing the news. After all, the Monster Simulator was priceless and of immense importance to the academy. They couldn't afford for anything to go wrong!
"Niu Er, start from the beginning. What's the situation?" Dean Zhao Hao asked, his brow tightly furrowed as he looked at Instructor Niu.
Instructor Niu naturally didn't dare to delay and recounted the entire incident from start to finish...
Feng Hao had been inside for over half a month, and he hadn't paid much attention. It was only in the last few days that he noticed the magical energy reserves of Simulator 1 starting to drop rapidly.
You see, the Monster Simulator consumes magical energy to coalesce the monster models. Although some of that energy can be recovered after a monster dies, there is always a net loss.
The price of 100 Magic Crystals per hour was calculated based on the number of monsters a normal person could kill in an hour, and it had even been intentionally inflated a bit.
Although there were plenty of talented students each year who exceeded the normal level, there were also many who fell below it.
For many years, the five Monster Simulators had maintained a financial balance, even generating a small surplus, making them one of the academy's most stable sources of funding.
However, Feng Hao's appearance had completely shattered that balance!