The job change is a bizarre and calamity; the nation begs me to tone it down.

Gu Xu pushed open the rusty iron door, and a pungent smell of old engine oil mixed with moldy dust hit him, making his throat itch.

This is the second area, the silent clock tower.

It has a rather poetic name, but it's actually just a huge abandoned machinery factory.

The bronze gears on the wall, which hadn't turned for who knows how many years, each the size of a millstone, were emitting a teeth-grinding "creaking" sound.

It was as if they were protesting the arrival of Gu Xu, this uninvited guest.

A spiraling stone staircase winds its way up to the dark dome.

A faint, bleak light shone from there.

"Does the designer of this instance have some misunderstanding about lighting?"

With his hands in his pockets, Gu Xu grumbled as he walked up the stone steps: "Why do you have to make it so gloomy? This isn't the way to save on electricity."

They had only taken a couple of steps when several wandering spirits wielding broken daggers sprang out of the shadows.

Gu Xu didn't even lift his eyelids.

The eerie bride behind her simply waved her red sleeve, and the monsters were like pencil drawings erased by an eraser.

There was no sound at all.

"Experience points +1".

Hearing the pitiful little notification sound in his ear, Gu Xu pouted.

Even a mosquito's leg is meat, although I'm currently stuck at the job change bottleneck and can't get any experience.

But watching the "panic value" in the talent tree gradually increase.

It feels as pleasant as watching your bank account balance change.

They swept through the enemy lines.

Whether it's the gargoyles hanging upside down from the ceiling or the shadowy spiders hiding in the gaps between gears.

All of them appear exceptionally vulnerable in the face of this combination of a human, a ghost, and a rat.

Gu Xu even had the leisure to study the murals on the wall.

Its artistic merit is inferior to that of kindergarten graffiti.

Ten minutes later, at the top of the clock tower.

The air here was even colder than down below, and the huge pendulum swung overhead, emitting a dull rumble.

"They're here."

Gu Xu stopped and looked at the shadow in the center of the clock tower.

The air there suddenly distorted.

It's like something is trying to squeeze in from another dimension.

Immediately afterwards, a humanoid monster wearing a black cloak and with a completely blank face slowly emerged.

The dagger in its hand was no ordinary weapon either, shrouded in visible black mist.

Every now and then, mournful wails could be heard.

【Name: Shadow Assassin - Faceless One (Lord-level BOSS)】

[Level: LV15]

[HP: 180000/180000]

[Status: Stealth, Silent Throat Slash, Backstab Kill...]

"I'm so ashamed to face anyone."

Looking at the smooth face, Gu Xu couldn't help but chuckle: "It looks pretty random, saving the modeler a lot of work, right?"

Seemingly understanding Gu Xu's sarcasm, a crack suddenly appeared on the Faceless One's blank face.

It let out a sharp roar.

The next second, its form faded into the air and disappeared without a trace.

Stealth.

This is the most disgusting mechanic of assassin-type bosses; for ordinary mages, this is the beginning of a nightmare.

You never know which direction the knife will come from.

That kind of unknown fear is enough to distort a person's spellcasting movements.

But Gu Xu is different.

"Squeak!"

Tuqi, who had been lying at Gu Xu's feet, suddenly screamed.

A hint of panic flashed in its tiny, bean-sized eyes.

In the void, a cold light suddenly appeared behind Twitch!

This BOSS doesn't target the back row, but instead picks on the weak first?

It seems that Twitch's sleazy appearance does indeed easily attract hatred.

"Trying to mess with my mouse?"

Gu Xu raised an eyebrow.

Before the dagger could strike, a bright red flash arrived first.

The figure of the Bride appeared behind Twitch as if by teleportation.

That excessively pale hand grabbed the Faceless One's wrist.

[Love and Hatred Lock] activated!

"Sizzle sizzle—"

Like a red-hot iron block thrown into cold water, black smoke rose from the Faceless One's wrist.

Its previously concealed form was forcibly pulled out, and its health bar, which was as high as 18, instantly began to plummet under the conceptual-level corrosion of the [Strange Wedding Dress].

The Faceless One clearly hadn't expected the red-clad female ghost to be so tough.

It suddenly broke free from its restraints, and its form disappeared into the darkness once more.

This time, it learned its lesson.

Since the summoned creatures are untouchable, then let's deal with the summoner!

No matter how powerful the summoned creatures are, the summoner himself is always vulnerable; this is an ironclad rule in the world of professionals.

Once Gu Xu is killed, these terrifying summoned creatures will naturally dissipate.

A barely perceptible ripple appeared in the air.

Gu Xu stood still, seemingly oblivious.

Just as his shadow overlapped with the clock tower pillar, a jet-black dagger shot out like a venomous snake.

With a chilling intent to kill, it pierced straight into Gu Xu's back!

This strike was swift, accurate, and ruthless.

Furthermore, it comes with a [Silence] effect, which, once it hits, will not only cause massive critical damage.

It will also seal all of Gu Xu's skills.

however.

Gu Xu did not dodge.

He didn't even activate the defense mechanisms within the [Cataclysmic Domain] to block this attack.

"Perfect, I'll use you to test my new skill."

Gu Xu had a sudden thought.

[Skill: Void Refraction activated!]

"when!"

A clear, metallic clang rang out.

The dagger, powerful enough to cut through steel, was just one centimeter away from Gu Xu's robe.

It suddenly stopped.

There seemed to be an invisible wall there.

Then, a bizarre scene unfolded.

Under the concept of "absolute invincibility" in the [Catastrophe Domain].

A large "0" damage number appeared above Gu Xu's head.

But at the same time, a bright red number floated above the Faceless One's head—

"-18000!"

"roar?!"

The Faceless One let out a painful groan, as if its wrist had been snapped by a tremendous recoil.

He was thrown backward uncontrollably.

His face, which had been blank, now showed a look of bewilderment.

What happened?

I clearly hit the target, so why am I losing health?

And it even has ten times the damage reflection?

Gu Xu's eyes lit up like light bulbs the moment he saw this.

"This skill...it's pretty good!"

The book "Void Refraction" that Old Zhang gave me was originally designed to reflect damage back proportionally.

But in Gu Xu's [Domain of Calamity], this logic underwent a strange chemical reaction.

Because he is "invincible", he does not lose health.

However, the "attack hit" check is still valid.

Therefore, the system determined that Gu Xu had taken the attack and activated the refraction, but he himself was immune to the damage.

This is equivalent to—I may not make a profit, but you must suffer a huge loss!

"This is practically an official cheat code!"

Gu Xu laughed. This wasn't a mage; it was clearly an iron turtle covered in thorns: "Come on, don't be shy, give me two more slashes, I won't fight back."