Chapter 83
Chapter 83
Three instances. Three guardian spirits.
In just two days, Tang Qingqing’s strength had undergone a complete transformation.
Previously, she had been nothing more than a slender, ordinary girl who lived under Fatty Wu’s protection and did not dare set foot outside the school.
Now she possessed three guardian spirits she could summon into battle at any moment, each of them an above-average combatant among 1-Star anomalies.
Their attribute bonuses had also granted her a powerful physique.
The speed of her progress could only be described as terrifying.
“With your current abilities, passing the Anomaly Hunter examination won’t be difficult at all. But I need to warn you about one thing.”
Qin Lan smiled. “During the examination, you may not use your guardian spirits unless you encounter an instance rated 2-Star or higher.”
Tang Qingqing paused, but did not question him.
She simply nodded in obedience. “Understood.”
For an Anomaly Hunter, allowing others to learn the details of one’s Talent could be fatal.
The 2-Star courier Peng Haiyang, for example, had died at the hands of a mere 1-Star Qin Lan because he lacked critical information about his opponent. In the process, he had even delivered Qin Lan a generous beginner’s gift pack.
That was why Qin Lan had kept his special class hidden after obtaining it.
Only now, when his wings had begun to grow strong, had he started revealing a fraction of his edge.
“All right. Luo Yue will contact you about the rest.” Qin Lan waved a hand. “Once you officially become an Anomaly Hunter, we’ll plan your next stage of training.”
“For now, I have something else to take care of.”
With that, Qin Lan vanished from Tang Qingqing’s sight.
His speed was so great that even after her explosive improvement, Tang Qingqing could barely track him. She could only marvel at his strength.
“So this is the power of a 3-Star Anomaly Hunter… This is Senior Qin’s strength…”
Tang Qingqing clenched her fists, her eyes burning with yearning.
“Can I catch up to him someday?”
“Can I become… his personal support?”
…
Qin Lan’s next objective was to reach the Tier 4 Curse Core.
Tier 3 marked the beginning of an entirely new level. Advancement worked very differently from the tiers before it.
Before Tier 3, the bottleneck at each level was roughly the same for everyone.
A curse energy cap of fifty allowed a person to advance to Tier 2, while one hundred allowed them to reach Tier 3.
But the leap from Tier 3 to Tier 4 differed greatly from person to person.
Some people entered Tier 4 after accumulating only two hundred points of curse energy, while others needed three hundred or even four hundred.
The disparity came from both the nature of their Talent and the Curse Codex they cultivated.
Naturally, anyone with a bit of sense would wonder whether accumulating more curse energy at Tier 3 provided an advantage upon advancing to Tier 4.
The answer was yes.
According to the available research, advancing to the Tier 4 Curse Core immediately doubled one’s existing curse energy cap.
Two hundred became four hundred. Three hundred became six hundred.
Further increases after that point became extremely slow, as though some invisible restriction had come into effect.
For that reason, many people chose to remain at Tier 3 until they had squeezed out every last drop of their potential before attempting to advance.
Qin Lan also wanted to know where his limit lay.
“It isn’t just about curse energy. I also need to find a few powerful anomalies and copy their abilities…”
“Hmm… 3-Star instances don’t put much pressure on me anymore. It’s time to try a 4-Star one.”
Qin Lan ventured deep into the Fallen Zone.
He was now more than ten kilometers from the Safe Zone, well beyond the range Lu Xingshan could monitor.
At this depth, 1-Star instances had nearly vanished, and even 2-Star instances were becoming increasingly rare.
Surveying the death traces converging from every direction, Qin Lan soon found a suitable target.
“This level of danger should be in the 4-Star range.”
Without further hesitation, Qin Lan flashed forward and entered the instance.
At last, it was time for another long-awaited instance run.
[Dead Silence Academy]
[Difficulty: 4-Star]
[Cursed Artifact Present: Yes]
[Rule 1: Survive until “after school” to leave the campus.]
[Rule 2: Attend class on time. Tardiness and leaving early are strictly forbidden.]
[Description: This is an academy that “does not exist in this world.” It is steeped in resentment and infested with evil spirits thirsting for the blood of the living… Survive. Escape their clutches, or set them free.]
Ring! Ring! Ring!
[Warning Bell: Prepare for class.]
The piercing bell made Qin Lan’s entire body shudder. When he came to his senses, he found himself sitting inside a classroom.
“The instance is set in a school?”
Qin Lan’s expression turned solemn. “What crushing pressure–there isn’t even an anomaly here, but one look at the schedule crammed across that blackboard is enough to make life feel hopeless.”
Qin Lan looked up. Sure enough, slogans had been pasted across the beam overhead.
[If studying doesn’t kill you, study yourself to death.]
[Why sleep so long in life? Once dead, you will sleep forever.]
[Your future self will thank you for working yourself to the bone today.]
“Fuck, just sitting here makes me want to jump out the window. Can I take the day off? I want to go home…”
But Qin Lan was not the one who said it.
The complaint came from another unlucky soul dragged into the instance.
At the sound of cursing beside him, Qin Lan paused.
What were the odds?
He turned his head, and a handsome face that somehow still managed to look sinister and lecherous entered his view.
It was none other than Xue Chuan.
Xue Chuan spotted Qin Lan as well, and his eyes widened theatrically. “What’s going on?”
“Qin, my brother?”
“Have you been secretly stalking me?”
Qin Lan had just been about to greet a familiar face when that opening nearly choked him to death.
It was exactly the kind of thing Xue Chuan would say to make someone want to punch him.
“Old Qin, I know you probably worship me, but following me all the way into the Fallen Zone is a little twisted, don’t you think?” Xue Chuan watched him warily. “I never knew you had such disturbing tastes.”
Qin Lan fought back the urge to swear and offered him a friendly middle finger.
“Who the hell would want to spy on you?” Qin Lan stared at him with the disgust one might reserve for a mobile pile of manure. “I’ve been killing anomalies outside Safe Zone 088, and my display never showed any other Anomaly Hunters nearby.”
Xue Chuan flicked his bangs with a flourish. “Obviously!”
“An exceptional, charming young man like me has plenty of people plotting against him even in the Fallen Zone. Of course I wouldn’t leave my locator on.”
Mystery solved.
Xue Chuan had deliberately disabled the locator built into his communicator to prevent anyone from ambushing him.
As a result, he happened to collide with Qin Lan while the latter was searching for a high-ranked instance.
“What rotten luck… Running into you means this instance has to be seriously deranged.” The corner of Qin Lan’s mouth twitched as several unpleasant memories returned.
“Oh, please. You should be hiding under your blankets and laughing with joy now that an A-rank powerhouse blessed with both strength and talent is here to carry you through this instance.”
The word “shame” did not appear to exist in Xue Chuan’s vocabulary.
As the two traded insults, the bell rang again.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
It was not loud, but it was unnaturally sharp. Static crackled through the sound, setting their nerves on edge.
[Class Bell: Class has begun.]
The instant the notification ended, the schedule on the far left of the blackboard changed.
At the very top, the word “Chinese,” written in white chalk, inexplicably turned scarlet. Blood even began seeping from the letters.
An icy presence enveloped the empty classroom.
It locked directly onto Qin Lan and Xue Chuan.
“This is bad…” Xue Chuan’s expression grew serious. “It isn’t going to make me recite classical poetry, is it? If so, I might as well kill myself and save the anomaly the trouble.”
Qin Lan scoffed from beside him. “Then go ahead and kill yourself. What did you even do in elementary and middle school if you can’t recite poetry? Collect bootleg Ultraman cards from the shop outside the school gate?”
Xue Chuan shot him a sidelong glance. “Hah. Commoner.”
“I was already the most handsome boy in school back in elementary school.”
“While the rest of you were studying, I was figuring out how to keep my dozen-plus girlfriends from fighting each other.”
Qin Lan stared at him in utter shock. “And you’re actually proud of that?”
“You started acting like a beast all the way back in elementary school?”
[Silence!]
[Whispering during class is strictly forbidden!]
A shriek like fingernails scraping across a blackboard cut off their conversation.
At the same time, a deathly pale hand emerged from within the blackboard and raked its claws through the air.
Clang!
The sound of clashing blades rang out as three broad, smooth fissures appeared across the back wall of the classroom.
The thick wall broke apart like blocks of tofu beneath the slash of an invisible claw.
“Damn,” Xue Chuan muttered, promptly shutting his mouth.
That had certainly put him in his place.
The power of that ranged attack had unquestionably surpassed the 3-Star level.
It was probably the instance’s final warning before the real punishment began.
At the same time, it offered them a clue to one of the instance’s hidden rules.
“So we have to maintain classroom discipline…” Qin Lan murmured thoughtfully.
Then, under Xue Chuan’s horrified gaze, he shot to his feet, lifted his chin, and launched into a loud patriotic rap about Chinese medicine and foreigners learning Chinese.
[You were sliced into blocks of tofu. Killer: Chinese Teacher.]