Chapter 5-Terrifying Leveling Speed！
After experiencing a brief moment of dizziness, Li Yao found himself in the middle of a dense forest.
Towering trees, dozens of meters high, blocked out most of the sunlight.
Smaller magical creatures lurked in the shadows of the undergrowth.
The monster density here wasn't particularly high, making it relatively safe.
However, this also meant that searching for monsters often took longer than actually fighting them.
Li Yao summoned his hidden Void Mantis.
"Go find some monsters to kill," he commanded.
With a single thought, the Void Mantis shot off into the distance at an incredible speed.
"So fast!" Li Yao marveled.
With 43 points in Agility, the Void Mantis' movement speed was astonishing.
In the blink of an eye, it had covered dozens of meters.
Within two seconds, the creature had already locked onto its prey.
As it attacked, its invisibility was instantly dispelled.
Raising its twin scythes high, it slashed down with deadly precision.
[-164]
[Killed Greenleaf Snake, EXP +1%]
[Combat Training triggered, Void Mantis' Strength +1]
One-shot kill!
Li Yao glanced at his experience bar—1% per kill.
A hundred kills would get him to the next level.
"Keep going."
[Killed Greenleaf Snake, EXP +1%]
[Combat Training triggered, Void Mantis' Strength +1]
[Killed Greenleaf Snake, EXP +1%]
[Combat Training triggered, Void Mantis' Strength +1]
In just ten minutes, the Void Mantis had already slain dozens of Greenleaf Snakes.
The efficiency was terrifying. Most of the time was actually spent searching for monsters rather than fighting them.
Initially, Li Yao had planned to reach level 10 before leaving the newbie dungeon.
After all, the monsters outside were far stronger.
Even if he wanted to level up quickly, he wasn't about to risk his life doing it.
But now, with a two-star Void Mantis, even same-level monsters were being instantly obliterated.
On top of that, its Strength was continuously increasing thanks to Combat Training.
There was no need to wait until level 10.
He could leave once he reached level 5, claim the gold from his Hedging Fund skill, and then upgrade the Void Mantis to three stars.
At that point, he'd be ready to dominate the monsters outside.
Less than twenty minutes later, he leveled up.
[Name: Li Yao]
[Class: Cloud Summit Chessmaster (Hidden & Unique)]
[Level: 2 (0.5%)]
[Health: 500/500]
[Strength: 10]
[Spirit: 10]
[Agility: 10]
[Endurance: 10]
[Free Attribute Points: 10]
[Chess Piece Slots: 1/1]
[Equipment: None (0/8)]
[Skills: Void Mantis Summon (S), Hedging Fund (Unknown), Combat Training (Unknown)]
[Talents: Hextech, Synergy, Armament, Chessmaster, Star Ascension]
After some thought, Li Yao allocated all his free attribute points to Agility.
Most summoners would prioritize Spirit, as it directly affected their summoned creatures' primary stats.
The Void Mantis' main attribute was Strength.
But thanks to Combat Training, its Strength could increase indefinitely.
Even if Li Yao boosted his Spirit, the gains would be insignificant in comparison.
On the other hand, Agility affected the speed of his summons.
The Void Mantis already had a naturally high Agility, but that didn't stop Li Yao from pushing it further.
In combat, raw Strength wasn't enough. Against elite monsters or speed-based boss creatures, overwhelming power meant nothing if he couldn't land a hit.
With his decision made, Li Yao invested all his points into Agility.
[Chess Piece: Void Mantis]
[Level: 2]
[Grade: S]
[Synergy: Void · Assassin]
[Star Rank: 2 Stars]
[Health: 1400/1400]
[Strength: 137 / (Base 31 + 5 from level-up + 101 from Combat Training)]
[Spirit: 17 / (Base 12 + 5 from level-up)]
[Agility: 56 / (Base 43 + 5 from level-up + 8 from Chessmaster's 40% Agility bonus)]
[Endurance: 28 / (Base 23 + 5 from level-up)]
[Skills: Void Ambush, Taste of Fear]
Li Yao couldn't help but be amazed.
This level of raw power was absurd!
With 137 Strength, even a level 10 warrior who had fully invested in Strength wouldn't be able to match him.
However, he knew that an S-rank summon alone wouldn't normally be this overpowered.
The key factor was Combat Training, which had massively boosted its Strength.
Without it, a level 2 Void Mantis would only have 36 Strength—strong, but nowhere near this monstrous.
In the end, it all came down to talents.
For physical-type summons, Combat Training was simply broken.
The only downside was that it could only apply to one summoned creature at a time.
And now, the level 1 Greenleaf Snakes could no longer contribute to its Strength growth.
Li Yao decided to venture deeper into the forest.
[Killed Prism Snake, EXP +0.8%]
[Combat Training triggered, Void Mantis' Strength +1]
[Killed Red Bear, EXP +1.1%]
[Combat Training triggered, Void Mantis' Strength +1]
[Killed Greenleaf Snake, EXP +0.5%]
One-shot kills—everywhere.
With 137 Strength, even a non-critical hit dealt over 150 damage.
The only exception was the level 3 Red Bear, which had high Endurance and required one Taste of Fear skill to finish off.
Everything else? Instantly shredded.
Li Yao followed behind the Void Mantis, casually strolling through the forest as his summon did all the work.
Before long, he made a discovery—if the Void Mantis moved more than 500 meters away from him, he lost all sensory connection to it.
A shame.
If this limitation didn't exist, he could have left a summon in a safe area while sending another into battle.
With the Chessmaster talent, this would have essentially made him unkillable!
Then again, such a broken ability was bound to have some restrictions.
Just as he was thinking this, Li Yao noticed a monster that had escaped the Void Mantis' carnage.
A level 2 Prism Snake.
It had hidden itself in the undergrowth, and the Void Mantis had ignored it, deeming it a waste of time.
"Lucky bastard."
With that thought, Li Yao clenched his fist and punched the snake.
[-9]
…???
He glanced at the damage numbers from the Void Mantis' recent attacks.
[-802]
Three question marks popped into Li Yao's mind.
Comparing himself to his summon was just depressing.
Frustrated, he took out his anger on the Prism Snake, whittling it down bit by bit.
Since enemies couldn't attack him unless they killed his summons first, the fight was completely one-sided.
Finally, the Prism Snake died.
[Killed Prism Snake, EXP +0.8%]
A golden light flashed.
Level up!
"In less than an hour, I'm already level 3."
At this rate, he'd reach level 5 within three hours.
By comparison, in previous years, the first level 5 player in the newbie dungeon usually appeared at the end of the first day.
His speed was completely off the charts.
Still not satisfied, Li Yao pushed deeper into the forest.
Meanwhile, in the outside world…
A group of school deans sat around a table, sipping tea.
"I wonder what level this batch of rookies will reach by the end of the first day?"
"For the A-rank ones? Probably level 5."
"That sounds about right."
"Anyone remember our city's record for the first day?"
"Level 7, three years ago. Our only S-rank profession."
"Yeah, I remember. He hit level 7 on day one, level 11 on day two, and finished the entrance exams at level 22."
At that moment, Zhang Yi smirked.
He couldn't help but wonder—how far had Li Yao progressed?
Then he shook his head, laughing at himself.
A lone summoner with no team?
He was probably struggling to even kill a single monster.
Just as he had this thought, a massive surge of energy swept through the room.
Zhang Yi's face paled.
This presence…
What the hell is he doing here?!