Legend of the Heroes of Another World's Divine Tower

One-Punch Mantis (SS-rank)

[Level: 30 (Level follows owner)]

[Rank: Tier 1]

Damage type: Physical damage

[Description: Small in size but possessing great power, capable of inflicting high physical damage]

[Skill 1: Every attack is a critical hit; the greater the size difference between the attacker and the enemy, the higher the damage multiplier.]

[Skill 2: Unlocked when the rank is upgraded to Tier 3]

"A miracle happened with a single pull!!" Zhou Yanyu read the description word for word, his soul form flashing with excitement. He reached out to high-five Lin Chi, "Quick! Don't just stand there, summon it and see!"

Lin Chi was equally shocked; this luck seemed almost unreal.

One draw! In just one draw, he obtained a top-tier summon that was second only to SSS-level!

Moreover, judging from the skill description, it's practically a super damage-dealing skill tailor-made for challenging opponents of higher levels and dealing with large monsters!

He suppressed his excitement and focused his mind to summon the power.

[Number of summons deployed: 1/1]

[The next level requires 10 Summoning Stones]

A notification flashed, and a faint light gathered above Lin Chi's outstretched palm.

As the light faded, a tiny creature stood quietly in his palm.

Its entire body is a vibrant emerald green, and its shape is indeed that of a praying mantis, but it is extremely agile.

The forelimbs, which should have been scythe-shaped, were replaced by a pair of sharp-lined green boxing gloves with a metallic sheen.

Although it is only the size of a palm, its muscles are clearly defined and full of explosive power.

Those compound eyes were piercing and stern, carrying an air of domineering majesty, as if they were ready to deliver a devastating blow to the enemy at any moment with their little fists.

"Incredibly powerful!" Zhou Yanyu leaned closer to take a look, marveling at the sight.

"With that size, and that 'the greater the size difference, the higher the damage' multiplier, my god! Fighting a large boss is practically one-shotting everyone, isn't it? It's like an instant kill!"

The appearance of One-Punch Mantis revealed a powerful trump card to both of them, and their excitement was palpable.

However, at the very moment when this joy reached its peak—

A cloud of ominous black energy suddenly burst forth from the small body of the mantis, enveloping it completely for a moment before seeping into its body and disappearing.

Almost simultaneously, a cold, impersonal system notification popped up, overriding all other interfaces:

[System Curse: Life and death are altered, the system is downgraded, all summoned creatures deal only 1 damage, unaffected by any buffs, and the damage is fixed at 1]

"..."

The Mantis seemed to sense its power being instantly stripped away. It lowered its head in confusion, looking at its still imposing gauntlet that seemed to have lost some kind of internal connection. It then moved its arm, its small compound eyes filled with bewilderment.

"Damn it!!!" The next second, Zhou Yanyu roared with a fury powerful enough to shatter glass, "This damn system of yours is inhuman! Don't you have any professional ethics?! You curse every time you get a drop? You can't take a joke, can you?!"

He pointed to the system.

"Look at those systems in other worlds, they never rip off the locals. Your transmigration system only rips off the villagers. It's such a cliché!"

Zhou Yanyu was about to faint.

Lin Chi forced himself to calm down quickly. Anger was useless; analyzing the rules and finding a way out was the key.

"After that, you not only need to look at the type of summons, but also their damage type. Only summons with true damage and high attack speed are likely to be useful."

He analyzed in a low voice, his gaze sweeping over the newly appeared details on the system interface.

"Furthermore, the rank of summoned creatures can be improved through synthesis. Three summoned creatures of the same rank can be synthesized into a summoned creature of a higher rank, with the highest rank being rank four."

Lin Chi looked at the newly updated ranking rules, thought for a moment, and couldn't help but clench his fists.

"The most important thing is to be strong enough yourself!"

He stopped worrying and, with a thought, recalled the still somewhat bewildered Mantis into his summoning space.

Although it is cursed, it is still an SS-rank existence, so perhaps it has other uses.

He then used 10 summoning stones to increase the number of summons on the field to 2.

[Number of summons deployed: 0/2]

[The next level requires 50 Summoning Stones]

"Time to head to the 58th floor!"

Lin Chi walked towards the teleportation array with firm steps.

He had waited too long for this moment, dreamed of it for too long. His mind was a jumble of thoughts, but only one emotion remained clear—to find his mother and kill all the elves!

Without any hesitation, he stepped straight into the teleportation array.

"Hey! Wait for me! Why are you in such a hurry!" Zhou Yanyu, who was still muttering curses at the system, quickly followed and disappeared together.

After a brief period of dizziness and weightlessness, I felt a sense of solidity beneath my feet.

Fresh, moist air filled my nostrils, and before me stretched a forest, sunlight filtering through layers of leaves and casting dappled shadows.

"Ah! Finally, a normal terrain." Zhou Yanyu sighed as he looked at the familiar green plants. After all, after the fiftieth floor, there were mostly rugged valleys and ravines, and it was rare to see such lush greenery.

"Shh." Lin Chi instantly became alert, raised his hand to signal Zhou Yanyu to be quiet, and returned to his storage ring.

He keenly caught the faint sound coming from not far away.

Lin Chi quickly put on a black cloak, pulled up the hood, and tightened his mask, blending himself into the shadows of the forest as he silently approached the source of the sound.

"Stop running, it's quite a distance from the village!" A man in black arrogantly swung his spiked club, slowly approaching.

"Yeah, just stay here obediently and let us kill you!"

Another tall, thin man in black, holding a longbow, shot out an arrow before he could finish speaking, accurately striking the left leg of a masked boy who was staggering and running wildly ahead.

Above the heads of the two men in black, there were clear level markings—level 52.

"Ah!" The boy cried out in pain, letting out a short scream as he fell forward to the ground, his mask shattering and slipping off his face in the impact.

"Stop running! We all know who you are, a demon! And you sneaked up from the thirty-first floor!" The man in black, wielding a spiked club, walked up to the boy, looking down at him with a maniacal grin as he admired his "prey."

The boy struggled to lift his head, revealing deep blue eyes filled with pain and hatred. He clutched his bleeding left leg and looked in horror at the approaching man in black.

The man in black gave him no time to react or beg for mercy.

His smile vanished, and he stabbed the boy in the chest with his spiked club!

"Pfft!"

The boy's body trembled violently, his eyes widened abruptly, blood gushed from his mouth, and his life force rapidly ebbed away.

Another man in black quickly pulled out a strangely shaped mask device, squatted down, and put it on the boy's face.

With a soft, teeth-grinding "rip," the device tightened as if it were alive, tearing the boy's entire face, along with parts of flesh, off!

Finally, the device spat out something—a complete human skin mask.

"Alright, that's a wrap!" The black-clad killer coldly pulled out his spiked club, leaving the boy's corpse slumped to the ground, and casually wiped the blood-stained clubhead on the grass beside him.

"I have no idea how these demon rats from the 31st floor got here! In the last two or three years, demon children have been appearing inexplicably!"

The man in black carefully placed the fresh human skin mask into a specially made box, muttering a complaint under his breath.

"You should be secretly happy," the man in black with the spiked club sneered. "If it weren't for these 'materials,' where would we get the 'admission qualifications' for the academy's elite class? And why would any big shot be willing to spend a fortune to buy them from us? Don't you think so!"

The two chatted as if no one else was around, and began digging a hole in the ground with tools, preparing to bury the boy's body.

Just then—