National destiny: Global tower climbing skills have decreased by 10,000 times.

The second map unfolded on the spectator screen, and the coaches frowned simultaneously.

"There are just too many questions on this floor!" the young coach said, pointing to the screen.

"Look at this route, there are six question marks in a row, with only a campfire in between."

Coach Lu stared at the map for a few seconds, then shook his head: "This kind of layout requires a high level of adaptability from the trainees."

"Many question marks mean a lot of uncertainty. If you're lucky, you can get relics and rare cards. If you're unlucky, you'll step into several traps in a row and the game is over."

"And there aren't many fire pits," another coach added:

"If you don't manage your health well, you won't be able to fight the elites later on."

Da Kun returned from the restroom, sat back down, and glanced at the elimination data: "How many were eliminated in the first round?"

"From 18 to 10, another 8 were eliminated," Coach Lu said. "This first round was quite difficult, and the competition was fierce."

Da Kun nodded without saying anything, his gaze returning to the screen.

At the second entrance, the ancient people known as "Europas" appeared on each student's screen.

Three options slowly unfolded—

'Glass Pearl': Start with 2 sets of common reward cards, 2 sets of rare reward cards, and 2 sets of rare reward cards.

'Radiant Pearl': At the start of each battle, gain one 'Cold Light' card and add it to your hand.

'Ancient Teeth': Turns 'Double Release' into 'Quadruple Release'.

"This choice is crucial," Coach Lu said. "The overall direction of the second layer basically depends on this move."

Du Feiyang didn't hesitate for a second and immediately selected "Ancient Teeth". The screen flashed, and the "Double Release+" he had previously selected became "Quadruple Release+".

"Not bad," the young coach said. "This means that we can deal up to 32 damage per round, which greatly improves our short-term burst damage."

"With numerous high-damage monsters like the 'Tunnel Worm' on the second floor, this is undoubtedly a good transition."

Jin Ying thought for a few seconds and chose "Glowing Pearl". He didn't rush to advance the level, but first looked at his deck.

"Jin Ying chose 'The Glowing Pearl'," Coach Lu said.

"An extra 'Cold Light' card in each battle can supplement both damage and defense, which is very helpful for the early game transition."

"But later on, this card will take up a draw slot, which might clog your hand."

"Let's see how he uses it; maybe he'll come up with some brilliant ideas," another coach said.

Soon, more and more students started progressing through the levels. Lin Xi stared at the three options on the screen, her finger hovering over the mouse for a long time.

He held his breath and, with a heavy heart, clicked on the 'Glass Pearl'.

He's still gambling!

The screen flashed—six sets of reward cards were laid out. He quickly scanned them:

There is no 'kernel acceleration', no 'compression', all that can be captured is one 'overclocking' and one 'echo form'.

Lin Xi's heart skipped a beat. Although the 'overclocking' had arrived and the card drawing speed had greatly increased, without 'core acceleration' and 'compression', it still wouldn't get going.

Until we acquire the means to deal with status cards, we should use status cards as little as possible, otherwise we will only "suffer the consequences."

After picking up an "Overclocking" card, he hesitated for a long time before finally choosing the "Echo Mode" card.

His deck is currently a mess: it has "Overclock", "Echo Form", and "High-Speed ​​Escape" and "Supercritical State" that he drew before.

There are also some other miscellaneous transitional cards. In general, they don't resemble state machines, nor do they resemble mainstream technologies.

But he had no way out.

Unbeknownst to everyone, in the middle of the second level, Lü Si's progress had already begun to far surpass others.

With the added benefit of a "Fragmentation" card, his deck provides over twenty points of block per turn with Ice Puck and automatically deals over ten points of damage per turn with Electric Puck.

He hardly needs to do anything; he just needs to use up his energy each round, and the monster dies on its own.

As Da Kun watched Lü Si's name climb steadily in the rankings, a smile finally appeared on his lips.

"This Lü Si, he seemed to be training quite diligently before, right? Now it seems he's made great progress."

"We have a chance for the third spot," another coach chimed in.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad. It seems there are some dark horses among our batch of trainees."

Da Kun then praised the coaches for their dedication and responsibility. After speaking, his gaze returned to Du Feiyang and Jin Ying's windows.

The two players' rankings alternated, with the difference between them always within ten seconds.

Du Feiyang moved the mouse quickly, playing each card crisply and cleanly.

He had just finished defeating an elite opponent, glanced at the rankings, and discovered that he had been overtaken by Jin Ying again.

"What's wrong with this little dwarf? He's taking advantage of his better luck to bully Daddy!"

He gritted his teeth and tapped the mouse even faster.

On Jin Ying's side, he was pushing his second elite. 'Glowing Pearl' was like a magic weapon ready to be used at any time. When a high-cost card was drawn, it could be activated immediately, making it extremely mobile.

After overtaking Du Feiyang, he glanced at the big screen and thought to himself:

"That reckless guy is using his brute force strategy again, he doesn't know how to adapt."

The two chased each other like this, their inner battle churning.

Before the second boss, Jin Ying opened a bottle of 'skill potion'.

Three skill cards pop up in the center of the screen: 'Fusion', 'Glacier', and 'Electricity Generation'.

Three skill cards pop up in the center of the screen: 'Fusion', 'Glacier', and 'Electricity Generation'.

Jin Ying chose "Electricity Generation" almost without thinking—for every electric ball generated in this battle, another electric ball is generated.

"Hmph, it's over. You brute, go eat stones with your 'Quadruple Release'."

Jin Ying first used a "Cold Light" and then a "Current Generation" to instantly release the dozens of lightning balls she had accumulated.

Countless lightning effects flashed across the screen in quick succession. With the temporary boost from the 'hotfix', the boss, whose health was already low, was instantly killed.

"Beautiful!" Coach Lu couldn't help but exclaim.

The coaches nearby all turned to look: "That burst of power...it instantly killed the BOSS?"

"Jin Ying's timing with this skill potion is perfect," the young coach said. "'Electricity Synergy' combined with 'Heat Repair' more than doubles the damage."

"This kid's incredibly lucky," another coach laughed. "He just gets whatever he wants."

Du Feiyang saw in another window that Jin Ying's ranking had suddenly jumped a lot, and he was so angry that he almost threw his mouse.

"Shortcuts! What kind of skill is it to prescribe medicine?"

He gritted his teeth, and his hands began to show signs of impatience. He was hit by the BOSS a couple more times, and his health dropped by a third.

But he still survived the BOSS, trailing Kim Young by almost half a minute, but still ranked second.

Let's go back a few minutes.

In the middle of the second level, Lin Xi encountered the third monster—the "tunnel worm".

This monster has a unique mechanic: it gains a lot of block each turn, and if it cannot deal enough damage to break the shield in one turn, it will reflect the damage.

Because Lin Xi failed to find a high-quality damage dealer, her shield remained unbroken, causing her to suffer high damage for several consecutive rounds.

After finally finishing the fight, Lin Xi looked at her health bar, and her fingers began to tremble.

He only has half his health left!

Right now, he's still some distance from the final boss, but his deck is far from being fully formed.

If we continue down this route, the odds are likely to be against us.

"Ugh, why can't I get it?"