Chapter156-A Mistake on the Stele?
Ascending to the second floor, Howard headed straight for the room on the right-hand side. Calling it a room was a bit of a misnomer, as it was really just a doorway.
As Howard pushed open the door, a sphere of light immediately caught his eye. Stepping into it, he felt the ground vanish beneath his feet, and his entire body was enveloped by a peculiar force, a strong sensation of weightlessness engulfing him.
[Ding! Congratulations, awakened Howard, you have successfully entered the Mystic Realm of Battle Intent!]
The crisp notification sound echoed, and when Howard opened his eyes next, he found himself amidst a fog.
"What's this? I can't see clearly?"
Noticing the surrounding mist, Howard was visibly surprised.
[Ding! The Mystic Realm of Battle Intent has officially commenced. Please prepare, awakened.]
As the notification sounded again, a dull roaring filled the air. Out of the mist, fiery-red tigers leaped forward, brandishing sharp claws and baring teeth that gleamed coldly.
The sudden attack of the tigers might have caught other awakened off-guard, but Howard, having experienced several life-and-death crises and possessing an exceptionally strong physique, reacted almost instantly. As the tiger pounced, his Soul Nurturer swung, striking directly at its face.
Bang--
The wand hit the tiger on the head, stunning it instantly, causing its body to collapse to the ground, incapacitated.
However, the nearby tigers showed no sign of retreat, continuing their onslaught like moths to a flame.
With a thought, Howard quickly executed Frostbite Assault.
Whoosh!
A crisp sound rang out as a chilling cold air swept through, converging into silvery white glimmers of frost that met the oncoming tigers.
Crack! Crack!
Almost instantly upon contact with the tigers, a layer of frost spread over their bodies, or their limbs turned into blocks of ice. This effectively interrupted their attacks.
Following this, Howard swung his wand again, releasing a barrage of skills like Fireball, Frost Arrow Spell, and Flash Lightning Spell in quick succession, striking the tigers relentlessly.
For a moment, bright red damage numbers popped up continuously.
Even though the monsters couldn't wear equipment, their level of 55 still endowed them with formidable attributes, preventing Howard from instantly killing them. However, Howard's Legendary-grade, Epic-grade equipment, and even his Supreme Artifact inflicted terrifying damage on them.
While he couldn't slay them instantly, Howard could still eliminate them at a rapid pace. As each monster died, Howard clearly saw their bodies dissolve into pure spiritual power, which was then absorbed into his own body.
Howard began to understand why the Mystic Realm's environment had nothing but endless mist. This Mystic Realm was constructed purely of spiritual power, devoid of anything else.
The attributes of the monsters were designed by those who created the Mystic Realm. Honestly, the design of the monster attributes wasn't weak, even boasting a variety of monsters with quite impressive skills.
Unfortunately, Howard had comprehended far too many skills!
Whenever a monster got close, Howard immediately activated a Fire Resistance Ring to maintain his safety. Skills like Frostbite Assault and Gravity Spell took care of controlling the monsters, while various smaller skills precisely targeted the ones nearest to him.
Additionally, the monsters in this Mystic Realm had a pattern to their spawning. Under Howard's strategic approach, almost no monster could get close enough to attack him.
Especially when Howard summoned the Enchanted Boar and the Flame Giant, the battle essentially turned into a slaughter.
Only when the Flame Giant was truly summoned did Howard realize its terrifying size. Not to mention using its skills, even a single punch from it could hit over a dozen monsters simultaneously.
Howard no longer needed to worry about his own safety. With the Flame Giant at the front, no monster could breach the defense. Even more remarkable was that the Flame Giant's body was engulfed in flames. Each of its attacks not only hit the targets but also inflicted a burning status, causing their health points to drop rapidly every second. This effect wasn't mentioned in the skill description, making it an unexpected delight for Howard.
Moreover, the performance of the Enchanted Boar was also commendable. It stayed just behind the Flame Giant, charging forward occasionally, effectively repelling the monsters.
If Howard hadn't advanced his Pyro skills, summoning the fire dragon in addition would probably have allowed him to effortlessly clear this Mystic Realm without even lifting a finger.
While the Flame Giant was large and its attacks came with a burning effect, it was ultimately slow in its strikes. Although the monsters couldn't break through the Flame Giant's line of defense, there was still a risk when they came in large numbers, potentially attacking Howard from other directions.
Therefore, Howard needed to remain constantly vigilant.
Inside the Mystic Realm, there was no sun or moon, and even the passage of time was imperceptible.
Howard only remembered facing an endless onslaught of monsters, attacking him relentlessly. At first, it was manageable, but as time went on, the sight of the same six or seven types of monsters started to become nauseatingly repetitive.
Yet, the Mystic Realm was far from over. Howard had no choice but to continue his relentless monster-slaying, buoyed by the presence of the Flame Giant.
Undoubtedly, the Flame Giant's ability to extend its duration with each monster killed proved to be incredibly dominant. Although Howard had no way of tracking time, he could sense that the Flame Giant's duration far exceeded its initial skill effect. At the very least, the cooldown for Flame Giant Summoning had reset.
Observing the skill panel blinking, Howard had a thought. The skill didn't specify a limit on the number of Flame Giants that could exist simultaneously. Now that the cooldown was over, could he summon a second Flame Giant?
With this idea in mind, Howard didn't hesitate and cast the skill again.
Hum--
As the Soul Nurturer swung, another Flame Giant was summoned.
"Roar!"
The second Flame Giant let out an angry roar and joined the fray.
"It really works! Though it's tricky to achieve in actual combat, I suppose it's only in chaotic battles that I can extend the Flame Giant's duration beyond its cooldown."
"No matter what, this is excellent. It can significantly raise the upper limit of my combat capabilities!"
Elated, Howard deftly controlled the two Flame Giants, unleashing them to wreak havoc among the monsters in the Mystic Realm. His experience points slowly but steadily increased.
Meanwhile, in the first-floor lobby.
As classes for various grades ended, many students rushed here, eager to enter the Mystic Realm. Normally, students could only endure about half an hour in the Mystic Realm corresponding to their level. Therefore, despite having only six levels of Mystic Realms, many students were willing to wait their turn here.
As more students gathered, Keno became increasingly busy, inadvertently forgetting about Howard's presence. However, the students waiting noticed a change on the stele.
"Hey, look!"
"The top ten rankings seem to have changed!"
"That's right, wasn't Glyn, a fourth-year student, previously in fourth place? How did it change to Howard?"
"Who is Howard? I don't recall anyone by that name in our grade!"
"No, there should be someone with that name; it sounds very familiar!"
Since Howard had just showcased his strength in the arena on the sports field yesterday, even some senior students remembered his name. However, at this moment, they couldn't believe that a first-year freshman could make it onto the leaderboard. They didn't consider this possibility, only finding the name familiar.
Keno, noticing the crowd of students gathered around the stele, was also drawn over. Seeing the change in the rankings, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
The top five of that leaderboard hadn't changed for a long time!
On seeing the name, his breathing quickened.
Howard!
Wasn't that the first-year freshman who had just awakened his talent not long ago?
He had actually endured until now? And even killed enough monsters to make it onto the Mystic Realm leaderboard?
That leaderboard wasn't cumulative; it was based on the participants' single-session performance.
"Hiss... This guy, he actually lasted more than an hour inside and climbed to the fourth position?"
"And he's almost reaching the third spot now!"
Watching Howard's points rise rapidly behind his name, Keno was incredibly shocked, his hands involuntarily clenching.
"Damn, I remember now! This Howard, isn't he the freshman who knocked out several fourth-year students in a row yesterday and even defeated Sarah?"
"Is it really him? My god, how strong is he exactly? Could he be on par with those fifth-year students about to graduate?"
"Hehe, if he reaches the top of the leaderboard, he might even surpass those fifth-year students!"
"No way, how did Howard do it? He's only been awakened for a little over a month. How can his strength compare with us, who have been awakened for three to five years?"
"Even if Howard's talent is much stronger than ours, allowing him to defeat us, there are still those in our grade with three to five years of training and S-level talents!"
"Maybe... the stele is malfunctioning?"
The students exchanged looks of disbelief, unable to trust their own eyes.
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