The sweat is mine, but the numbers are all theirs.

That's just how the world is. The only difference between ordinary people and ants is that when disaster strikes, they can choose to pray.

Bad luck means death.

Lu Yuan exited the text message and silently entered the designated South Suburb Station on the map.

Evolution is important, but hierarchy should not be ignored.

Without a level, even if Star Candle evolves into a top-tier talent, it's useless.

Moreover, he really needs money right now.

Cheng Siya's job was just a means of livelihood; no matter how tough it was, her monthly salary couldn't support him.

Buying all the summoning materials and necessary skills for him had already used up almost all of my savings.

From now on, he'll have to rely on himself.

Lu Yuan originally thought that after investing, he could quickly earn back the money and free Cheng Siya from her work.

But the reality is harsh; the drop rate in beginner dungeons is too low, barely enough to cover basic expenses.

For example, certain essential equipment accounted for most of the money Lu Yuan earned from dungeons, and summoned beasts also needed maintenance.

Candle ferns are quite easy to care for; they don't need any special food, just a meal is enough.

Post-battle care, thanks to the protection of the life armor, is generally sufficient to heal the body after a single injection of an energy-infused potion and a good night's sleep, unless the life armor is directly pierced and the physical body is injured.

If you want to make money, you can only go to dungeons other than the beginner dungeons.

Perfect timing! Not only has Xingzhu gained the ability to adapt to poison, but its basic attributes have also nearly doubled. Even without teammates' assistance, it should be fine!

After wolfing down the food Xingzhu brought, Lu Yuan took her and set off immediately.

……

In the southern suburbs, the hall is where the process is handled.

"Name, student ID number".

The girl at the counter took out a form.

Her face was covered in makeup, and her nails were pink and decorated, radiating a beautiful aura that attracted many people.

Lu Yuan finished writing in a few strokes and handed it back.

Soon, the girl found Lu Yuan's information by comparing the information.

She looked puzzled and said, "Are you sure you want to enter the challenge dungeon? The monsters inside are on average level 14, which is 2 levels higher than you."

I suggest that you, as a trainee, continue practicing in the beginner's manual before taking advantage of this precious, one-time opportunity.

Otherwise, you would be letting your teacher down.

The challenge dungeon is not open to everyone; access cannot be bought with money on the market, and only class teachers in the academy can grant it.

Because of Xingzhu, Lu Yuan was highly regarded by the homeroom teacher and thus had the right to enter the school once.

Now is the time to use it.

"I'm sure."

The girl opened her mouth, but could only helplessly take out the traction stone. "Don't cry here if you regret it."

Lu Yuan took it, and with a thought, a white light appeared, slowly enveloping him and making him disappear.

The traction stone allows you to teleport directly into any corresponding instance rift within a ten-kilometer radius, which is very convenient.

You can see many dark, crisscrossing cracks in the hall, cutting the night into countless pieces.

Lu Yuan entered one of them.

The girl sighed inwardly. She had seen many self-important people like Lu Yuan, and they all ended up failing miserably.

I probably won't last two minutes before I have to come out.

Thinking this, she glanced at the time on the screen; it was exactly 7 o'clock.

Another group of people arrived, and it was 7:3.

...Well, surprisingly, I'm doing a bit better than the others.

Five minutes later, the girl's calm expression turned slightly surprised.

Why haven't they come out yet?

Ten minutes later, the surprise turned into worry.

Will he die in there?

The next moment, a phantom reminder appeared above the spacious hall.

[Reminder: Trainee Lu Yuan (student ID 08965) has cleared the Dark Forest challenge instance. This instance will soon be closed.]

Some students who were waiting for their teammates looked surprised when they saw this.

"Lu Yuan? Who's that?"

"There's only one name; it's a single-entry entry!"

"Someone who can complete the challenge mission alone shouldn't be unknown, right? Does anyone know them? Tell me quickly."

Conversations continued to echo in the hall, but no one could answer.

The girl at the counter froze instantly, looking at the person reminding her in disbelief.

……

[You have defeated the level 16 Dark Forest BOSS, and the challenge is complete!]

[Settlement begins...]

Rating: 90 (S)

[Since you are not in a group, you will receive the experience independently.]

[A white treasure chest has been detected dropped by the BOSS. Open it?]

The notification messages kept popping up.

Xingzhu fought his way from the teleportation point to this cave, leaving corpses strewn about along the way.

No monster can withstand a single hit from her.

Even bosses, despite having similar stats, are completely overwhelmed by the combined effects of corrosion and paralysis.

There's no resistance or skill to remove abnormalities, that's how it is.

Of course, the most important feature is its penetrating ability, which allows Star Candle to easily break through the BOSS's defense.

Otherwise, the outcome wouldn't have been so easy.

This is what dual talents are all about—complementing and strengthening each other!

Lu Yuan glanced at his level; it had already reached level 13, and only ten minutes had passed!

This is the beauty of unconventional combat power; it's on a completely different level from before!

At this moment, Star Candle was in front of him, no longer in its usual human form, with six spider legs standing on the ground, appearing dark purple.

Her joints and tail were covered in hard, thick armor, which showed how strong and powerful her legs were, otherwise they would not have been able to support such a heavy-duty body.

Above that is the soft, slender abdomen that connects to the spider's body. Here, there is also a layer of armor, which is gray and shiny. It looks thin, but it is not.

The remaining two spider legs transformed into flexible, sharp spears, like arms, emanating a dark purple, chilling light that terrified the surviving monsters.

Lu Yuan was not far from them and was not worried about being attacked.

The necklace-like equipment he had wasn't bought for nothing.

It's exactly the same as the one Xingzhu is wearing, and it can transfer the hatred for Lu Yuan onto Xingzhu.

Simply put, if you want to fight him, you have to fight Xingzhu first.

However, this equipment is only useful in dungeons, because there is no monster aggro mechanism in reality.

Therefore, this practical equipment wasn't very expensive; it just emptied his pockets after running around doing dungeons more than ten times.

As for not using the necklace and directly commanding Star Candle to enter the instance on its own? That won't work, as the summoned beasts that need to be summoned to enter the instance cannot be used.

After another battle, Xingzhu finally cleared out the monsters and brought back the white treasure chest.

Now she is over two meters tall. After transforming into a half-human, half-spider, her long silver hair and upper face are covered by armor, making her look more like a cold and ruthless killing machine.

The upper body has also changed a lot, looking much more mature. The most obvious change is that the two peaks are significantly larger.

As soon as the thought crossed Lu Yuan's mind, he quickly shook it off. It was all the fault of the life power!

This made him very sensitive in this regard, and he noticed it immediately.

He would never have noticed before.