Chapter 8-Li Yao Has Misunderstood Me！

The heavy thud of something massive hitting the ground resounded through the air, yet the expected agonized screams never followed.

This unexpected turn of events made Jiang Ningyu and her companions instinctively halt mid-escape and turn around.

Li Yao remained standing in the same spot as before.

Before him lay four neatly sliced corpses of monstrous creatures.

And hovering just ten centimeters above the ground was a faintly glowing silver treasure chest.

Monsters in the rookie dungeon were typically nerfed, meaning they didn't drop loot.

But this Bloodthirsty Forest Wolf was different.

It had not been weakened and was a boss-level creature to begin with.

Staring at the scene before her, Jiang Ningyu felt her brain momentarily freeze.

Nothing in her nine years of compulsory education could possibly explain what she was witnessing.

The entire group stood rooted in place as if time had stopped.

Li Yao, however, didn't even acknowledge their presence.

With a flick of his hand, he stored the silver treasure chest into his storage ring.

To him, instantly killing the Bloodthirsty Forest Wolf was nothing surprising.

The moment the wolf appeared, he had already cast Appraisal.

Level 8 Boss.

8,500 HP.

On his way to the dungeon's depths, his Void Mantis had slaughtered countless monsters.

Its Strength attribute had long surpassed 600.

With Taste of Fear dealing quadruple damage and Isolated Prey doubling it again…

That meant an eightfold damage multiplier.

If he remembered correctly…

The damage number displayed just now had been in red, indicating a critical hit, which doubled the damage yet again.

Dealing over 10,000 damage in a single blow? Completely normal.

A one-shot kill? Nothing out of the ordinary.

The only surprising thing was the presence of a boss-level creature in a rookie dungeon—an unexpected bonus.

Not only had he leveled up, but he had also received loot.

A silver treasure chest—something that had a chance to contain Silver-grade equipment.

"I'll open it once I'm out of here."

Now that he had reached Level 5, secured the hedge fund's gold, and confirmed there was nothing else of value in this dungeon, there was no reason to stay.

With that, Li Yao began making his way toward the dungeon's exit.

As he passed Jiang Ningyu, he gave her a deep, lingering look.

At that moment, he had already sentenced her to death.

Regardless of the outcome, if he had been just a regular combatant, her attempt to use him as bait would have either killed him or left him severely wounded.

Li Yao never considered himself a good person.

If someone tried to harm him, they had better be prepared for his revenge.

The only reason he wasn't acting now was because they were still inside a rookie dungeon, and it wasn't convenient to make a move…

It wasn't until Li Yao disappeared from view that Jiang Ningyu and the others finally snapped out of their daze.

"…That was his summoned creature, right?"

"…It should be… right?"

"An A-rank summon is that strong?"

"No way! Even an S-rank summon shouldn't be able to one-shot a boss-level creature! Did you forget how Ye Tao was forcefully teleported out of the dungeon?"

Everyone in the party knew about Li Yao's summon, which had come from Jiang Ningyu's A-rank skill book.

But if an A-rank summon was this powerful, then Summoners wouldn't be considered a trash class.

The only logical explanation was that Li Yao's class—Chessmaster—had some kind of temporary buff for summons.

A massive buff—one that likely came with serious side effects.

Even so, they all now understood something.

Li Yao, the so-called A-rank Summoner, was far from ordinary.

As Jiang Ningyu remained frozen in shock, the Archer in their party smirked, his tone laced with schadenfreude.

"Jiang 'Goddess,' are you regretting breaking up with him now?"

Ever since they entered the dungeon—after she stole EXP and later used her teammates as sacrifices to escape—the goddess aura she once had had been completely shattered.

"I don't think you'll have time to regret anything."

The Archer chuckled, his expression mocking.

"Li Yao just looked at you… the exact same way you looked at me back then."

Jiang Ningyu's body trembled.

"The same way I looked at him…?"

Back when the Bloodthirsty Forest Wolf was chasing them down…

She had looked at the Archer, fully intending to sacrifice him to save herself.

Now…

Looking at the four neatly severed wolf corpses, a sense of foreboding crept up her spine.

"No! That's not it!"

"In that situation, even if the Bloodthirsty Forest Wolf had targeted Li Yao, he wouldn't have died! At most, he would have just been forcefully teleported out!"

"Li Yao… he misunderstood me!"

"I have to explain this to him!"

Outside the dungeon, the sun blazed high in the sky.

It was now midday.

The students had entered the dungeon at 9 AM.

Barely three hours had passed.

Li Yang and several school principals remained stationed outside.

They sipped tea, casually chatting while keeping watch.

Every year, it was the same routine—they waited for students to emerge, ensuring that any injured were treated immediately.

Li Yang had not left.

Although he had little expectation for the Summoner class, he still wanted to see how far his son could go.

After all…

The allocation of a major resource hinged on this outcome.

Suddenly, the dungeon's entrance glowed faintly.

The principals stood up, eyes narrowing at the unexpected sight.

"Already? Someone's out this early?"

There were two exits in the dungeon.

One was deep inside, near the Bloodthirsty Forest Wolf's territory.

The other was the starting point, which also functioned as an exit.

Since Li Yao hadn't slain the wolf in its territory, he hadn't realized there might have been a closer route.

As the glow faded, Li Yao stepped out.

Li Yang immediately approached him.

"Li Yao, why are you out so soon?"

"Yo, you're here too!"

Li Yao recognized the middle-aged man before him.

He must have come to personally oversee his safety in case something happened.

Li Yao shrugged.

"Eh, nothing challenging, so I left ."

For a moment, Li Yang couldn't even process what he had just heard.

Li Yao's tone was too casual. His expression? Relaxed.

Before Li Yang could say anything, a shocked exclamation erupted from behind him.

"Li Yao… Chessmaster… Level 5?!"

Principal Zhang Yi appeared beside them in an instant.

Even the other principals had turned their gazes toward Li Yao.

Zhang Yi felt like his brain had crashed.

This was three hours into the dungeon.

Even the fastest S-rank prodigies took at least five hours to hit Level 5.

Zhang Yi refused to believe it.

"Y-you… really reached Level 5?"

His thoughts were in complete disarray.

"Boss monsters give a lot of EXP," Li Yao said nonchalantly. "So yeah, Level 5."

No point hiding his talent—not in this high-combat world.

If he wanted resources, he had to stand out.

"Wait… you killed the Bloodthirsty Forest Wolf?!"

Gasps filled the air.

An un-nerfed, Level 8 Boss… taken down solo?!

Even a past S-rank combatant failed against that monster…

Yet Li Yao had succeeded.

Zhang Yi was utterly speechless.

Li Yao smirked.

"By the way, Principal Zhang—I'd like to apply for a transfer to Jiangzhou's border region."