Don't mess with that necromancer; his summoned creatures level up on their own!

[Little Vampire: I didn't expect you to actually have some skill.]

[Little Zombie: Hmph, of course. You'd better learn from this. But your cage isn't too bad, at least it didn't collapse.]

[Little Vampire: Of course it won't collapse, my skills are always perfect.]

Lu Zhixing ignored their conversation. He was looking at the system panel.

The experience points increased very quickly, almost abnormally so.

Since entering the tower, he has risen from level 18 to level 19, and is only a short distance away from level 20.

At this rate, one more level up will unlock the third summon.

I wonder what level the third summon will be...

The nineteenth floor.

The teleportation array within the blood wall lit up, and twelve orc warriors wielding shields stepped out from the light.

Orcs are monsters of a higher level than goblins. They are over three meters tall, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, carrying iron shields and maces, and covered in worn-out iron armor.

They were more composed and organized than any of the monsters before them.

The front row holds up shields, the back row holds up hammers.

The little zombie appeared on the wall, looking down at the orcish army that was forming ranks, a hint of boredom flashing in its eyes.

[Little Zombie: No matter how good the formation is, it can't be set up properly in a cage.]

Small zombies fell from the sky.

The fist split into countless afterimages in mid-air, each one precisely striking the head of an orc.

[System notification: "Congratulations to candidate Lu Zhixing! You have cleared the 19th floor! Time taken: 40 seconds! Please prepare to enter the 20th floor in 5 minutes!"]

The little zombie landed on the ground, shook the blood off its hands, and looked up at the wall.

[Little Zombie: Forty seconds. A little slower than before.]

The broadcast started.

[Attention test takers! We are about to enter the twentieth floor! The monsters on this floor are level 22! And they include flying monsters! Please prepare your anti-air defenses!]

Lu Zhixing raised an eyebrow slightly.

Flying monsters.

Now, his own Wall of Sighs can't be sealed off; the six walls form a hexagonal cage with an open top.

The countdown has reached zero.

The teleportation array lit up.

A piercing shriek emanated from the light.

"Gah—!!!"

Ten gray-white monsters with bat wings burst out of the light.

They are covered in rock-like skin and have long, sharp limbs.

[Gargoyle, Lv.22] ×9

【Gargoyle (Elite), Lv.22】×1

The elite gargoyle was a size larger than the ordinary one, and its wings were more muscular.

It charged ahead, its target directly ahead—the direction where Lu Zhixing was.

Without any thought or hesitation, it directly targeted the seemingly weakest human lying outside the wall.

The little zombie leaped up from the top of the wall.

[Little Zombie: Sorry, flying is prohibited in my territory!]

[Little Zombie: Just wait for the plane to crash!]

The first gargoyle was struck in the chest, its body tumbled twice in the air, and then fell to the ground.

The second, the third, the fourth—the little zombies kept changing direction, chasing and attacking in the air, each strike accurately hitting a gargoyle, not a single punch missing its mark.

Within three seconds, all nine ordinary gargoyles were shot down.

The little zombie landed on the ground and turned to look at the elite gargoyle that was charging towards Lu Zhixing.

He suddenly pushed off, his whole body shooting out like a cannonball, chasing after the elite gargoyle.

A punch blast exploded behind the elite gargoyle.

The elite gargoyle shuddered violently, a large patch of its rocky skin shattered, and the wounds on its wings widened.

But it didn't fall; it kept rushing forward.

The little zombie was still in the air and hadn't landed, so it couldn't pursue again.

The elite gargoyle flapped its tattered wings and broke free of its cage.

It flew out from the top of the six walls of blood, over the top of the walls, and swooped down towards Lu Zhixing.

Three meters. Two meters.

Its claws were already outstretched.

[Little Vampire: ...No, you let one through! You let one through!]

[Little Zombie: I know! I don't need you to remind me!]

"Boom—"

A wall of blood rose up in front of Lu Zhixing, with dark red light surging from the ground. The wall rose, thickened, and solidified at a speed visible to the naked eye.

When the wall rose to a height of three meters, the elite gargoyle's claws struck it.

"Thump!"

A dull, loud bang.

The elite gargoyles' claws slashed across the wall of blood.

Several shallow white marks were left on the blood-stained wall, but it was not broken, not even a crack.

The elite gargoyle's body slammed against the wall, bounced back, rolled twice in the air, regained its balance, and let out an angry screech.

Lu Zhixing sat behind the wall, looking at the blood wall that had suddenly appeared in front of him, and then glanced at the icon in the skill bar that was glowing slightly.

[Little Vampire: When it really matters, you still have to rely on me.]

Lu Zhixing silently responded in his heart.

"You reacted quickly; you're reliable."

[Little Vampire: Hehe, of course. My reactions are always quick. Unlike some people who only know how to fight and kill, they can't even properly take down a flying object.]

Lu Zhixing's lips curled up slightly.

He has a deep understanding of how to master his skills. The more you praise it, the more valuable it feels, the stronger its protective instincts become, and the harder it works.

[The little zombie's voice came from outside the wall, tinged with displeasure: Who are you saying wasn't cleaned up properly? I was just one final blow away!]

[Little Vampire: One last hit and I still didn't kill it. If a monster gets through, it gets through.]

[Little Zombie: You—!]

Lu Zhixing ignored their argument. He glanced at the elite gargoyle that was still circling in the sky.

"Little zombie, finish him off."

[Little Zombie: You don't need to tell me!]

The little zombie popped out from the wall, and wind element condensed into a bluish-white light spot on the surface of its fist.

The Overlord Chasing Wind Fist, when stacked, can break through all techniques.

The elite gargoyle was already severely injured, with almost no health left, and its flight speed had been reduced by more than half.

It saw the grayish-blue figure chasing after it again and let out a desperate shriek, but it was too late.

"boom--!!!"

The fist landed on the elite gargoyle's chest.

[System notification: "Congratulations to candidate Lu Zhixing! You have cleared the twentieth floor! Time taken: 19 seconds! Please prepare to enter the twentieth floor in five minutes!"]

The little zombie landed on the ground and crouched on the wall.

The little vampire walked up to the little zombie, put his hands on his hips, and pursed his lips tightly.

[Little Vampire: "What happened to you?!"]

She pointed at the little zombie, her finger trembling slightly.

[Little Vampire: "That's a level 22 elite monster! My walls are so tight, six walls! Perfectly intact! And yet one of them managed to slip through!"]

The little zombie squatted on the wall, its gaze wandering, looking at the ground, the wall, and the ceiling, but never at the little vampire.

Two bluish-gray feet unconsciously rubbed against each other.

[Little Zombie: "Ahem... Accidents happen, accidents are inevitable."]

The little zombie's voice had lost some of its former arrogance, carrying a hint of unease.

[Little Zombie: "I didn't expect this guy to be so resilient. I've already hit it twice with the Overlord Chasing Wind Fist, and it can still fly. You can't blame me for this; blame that gargoyle for having such thick skin."]

[Little Vampire: "Excuses! All excuses! Do you know how dangerous that was? If I hadn't reacted quickly, you'd be crying!"]

"Alright, everyone, quiet down."

The little zombie jumped down from the wall and landed next to Lu Zhixing; the little vampire stood on Lu Zhixing's other side.

The two summoned creatures stood on the left and right, one looking down at the ground and the other tilting its head to look at the wall, neither of them looking at the other.

Lu Zhixing, leaning against the wall of blood, said: "Our biggest weakness right now is the lack of sustained area-of-effect damage methods."

While the Overlord Chasing Wind Fist is powerful, its cooldown time is rather long.

If not everyone is killed after the initial bombing, a vacuum period like the one we just discussed will occur.

He glanced at the two summoned creatures.

"If you encounter something that can't fly, it's fine; you can just trap it and wait for the cooldown. But if you encounter something that can fly, it's more difficult."

Single-target damage skills are too slow to take down enemies one by one; some will inevitably slip through.

He was silent for a moment, then turned his gaze to the little zombie.

"Little Zombie, I remember there was a mid-tier skill book called [Polar Cyclone] among the skill books I fed you before, right?"

The little zombie raised its head, its large and small eyes filled with confusion, and scratched the back of its head with its bluish-gray hand.

[Little Zombie: "How could I remember any books... I've eaten too many skill books. Do you remember every single piece of bread you've ever eaten?"]

Lu Zhixing took a deep breath: "Forget it, it's impossible to rely on you to study."

In short, the skill in that book involves gathering wind element on the ground (x), then unleashing a pillar of wind that pulls all enemies within range into it. Got it?

The little zombie stared at the ground, as if sensing the hardness of the floor.

[Little Zombie: "Accumulating on the ground? Spewing out a column of wind? It seems... vaguely familiar."]

The little zombie squatted on the ground, its palms pressed against the ground, its one big and one small eye closed, and tried its best to press a ball of pale blue wind element from its palms to the ground.

"puff……"

A soft, farting sound came from beneath its palm.

A small gust of wind rose from the ground, stirring up a bit of dust, which swirled twice in the air before dissipating.

The little zombie suddenly opened its eyes and spread its hands.

[Little Zombie: "Look, it's not that I didn't try, it's just that it's impossible! I've already done my best!"]

You mentioned that ground accumulation point, but I tried pressing it and couldn't get it down! The ground is rock hard; wind element can't get in at all!

As it spoke, it slammed its fist into the ground, making a dull thud.

Lu Zhixing shook his head.

It seems that mastering skills is not as simple as it seems.

The little vampire remained silent the entire time.

She tilted her head and watched the little zombie pounding the ground, then suddenly thought of something and weakly raised her hand.

[Little Vampire: "Um... Little Zombie."]

The little zombie turned and looked at her disdainfully.

The little vampire walked up to the little zombie and bent down.

She reached out and touched the floor beneath her feet, her fingertips tracing the stone slabs as if sensing something.

[Little Vampire: "Although I don't understand anything about wind elements, this ground, while it looks very flat, actually has many tiny pores and textures in my blood element perception."]

Although those pores are very small, if we can make good use of them and pour the fluid in through those 'pores'...

Lu Zhixing abruptly sat upright on the ground. "That's right! Can you share this perception of yours with the little zombie?"

"You're good at sensing the ground's structure, and the little zombie is good at using wind elements. It needs to know where the wind elements should flow in from, and you can see those 'pores.' If you two can work together—"

The little vampire straightened up, looked at Lu Zhixing, then at the little zombie, hesitated for a moment, and nodded.

[Little Vampire: "It should... be okay, right? We are both summoned creatures of our master, and our origins are connected."]

She turned to the little zombie and raised her finger.

[Little Vampire: "So, I'm going to come in now? Bear with it, it might feel a little uncomfortable the first time, like there's something foreign in it."]

Although the little zombie looked unconvinced, it still stood up straight, grumbling and whimpering.

[Little Zombie: "Fine. I'll reluctantly experience what you're going to feel. But if you dare to cause trouble—"]

The little vampire's fingertips gently touched the little zombie's forehead.

The little zombie's body jolted violently, and its eyes widened instantly.

[Little Zombie: "Holy crap? So this is what the floor looks like? So many holes?"]

The little zombie crouched down, placing its hands on the ground. Through the shared senses of the little vampire, it "saw" the true structure of the ground for the first time.

What appeared to be a smooth, hard floor was now covered with countless fine, vein-like channels.

Wind elements surged from its palm, this time not pressing down hard, but flowing in through those fine channels.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

VIP room of the monitoring and command center.

Yu Xiaogang sat on the sofa in the center, twirling two walnuts in his hands, his eyes fixed on the main screen.

His eyes narrowed to slits.

Lu Zhixing's action... allowed the little zombie to touch the ground, and let the wind element flow through his palm into the floor.

He was all too familiar.

That wasn't a normal probe; it was a standard starting point for "attempting to guide wind elements into the earth's surface."

"This kid... is he trying to comprehend the intermediate-level wind skill Polar Cyclone with these movements?"

Lu Zaoxie's eyes lit up, and he was about to speak.

Su Yangwei turned his head.

"Old Yu, aren't you overestimating this kid? He's only been a job changer for three days, and he already wants to master intermediate-level skills?"

"So, after a month of job change, can't one directly master forbidden spells?"

He leaned back on the sofa and crossed his legs.

Have you ever seen a professional who can master an intermediate skill just three days after changing jobs?

Let alone three days, even those who can master intermediate skills within three months are extremely rare.

"You think he's comprehending the polar cyclone just because he pressed the ground?"

Lu Zaoxie snorted coldly: "Heh, Old Su, I advise you not to speak so confidently. Just because others can't do it doesn't mean my son can't."

Su Yangwei sat up straight, raising his voice several octaves: "Ha, talent? Don't be ridiculous."

"If he can grasp the essence of Polar Cyclone today, I, Su Yangwei, will eat this screen right here and now."