[Would you like to draw a Golden Trait?]
[Confirm!]
As Qin Chen confirmed his choice, the familiar Golden Trait drawing process began once more. Countless golden traits radiating a brilliant glow spun wildly inside Qin Chen's mind.
[Ding!]
[Golden Trait drawn: Melee Bruiser]
[Melee Bruiser]: Grants a massive Strength attribute bonus, multiplying current base Strength by 10, and increasing melee attack power by 100%.
(Flavor text: No particular reason, I just want to beat everyone here to death, or be beaten to death by everyone here!)
"This..."
Looking at the drawn Golden Trait, the strange look on Qin Chen's face deepened. Why did a Mage like him always keep drawing such bizarre Golden Traits?
Oh well, having something is better than nothing.
The Golden Trait transformed into a stream of golden light that instantly merged into Qin Chen's body, causing his status panel to update.
---
Name: Qin Chen
Level: 2
Class: Mage
Attributes: Strength 100 (10*10), Intelligence 11, Spirit 15, Stamina 100 (10*10), Speed 9
Free Attribute Points (Remaining): 5
Skills: Fireball, Meteor Technique
Talent (Activated): Golden Trait—every level-up grants a random Golden Trait!
---
He silently looked at his Strength value, which had reached a whopping 100 points, and then glanced at his Stamina value, which was also at 100 points.
Whatever!
So his fighting style was a little weird. As long as it was strong enough, it didn't matter.
Besides, looking at the 100 points in Stamina on his panel, for some reason, Qin Chen felt an extraordinary sense of security.
After a brief moment of thought, he didn't hesitate to allocate all 5 of his newly acquired free attribute points into Stamina.
Boosted by the Golden Trait talent, his Stamina value directly skyrocketed to 150 points.
He felt even more secure now.
Good grief, 150 points in Stamina was enough to rival a Shield Guard class of level ten and above. He was practically as tough as a tank.
Well, a Mage being just as tanky as a Shield Guard made total sense, right?
A faint surge of excitement welled up inside Qin Chen.
Moreover, his Strength attribute had also reached 100 points.
Eager to test out his new combat power, he picked up the Intern Staff once again and actively began searching the battlefield for mobs.
"Crunch, crunch, crunch~"
Just then, a humanoid skeleton seemed to sense Qin Chen's living presence. It rapidly crawled up from the ground, its bones emitting a pale white luster.
[Skeleton Soldier (Lv.5)] (Tainted by Abyss Aura)
Type: Advanced Undead
Skills: Howl, Heavy Slash
(The scent of an unfamiliar human has disturbed the undead's slumber, and a heavy price must be paid. Only the nourishment of blood can appease the anger in their hearts.)
Qin Chen's eyes lit up—a higher-level mob.
Moving with great swiftness, he hoisted the Intern Staff in his hand and charged straight ahead.
Whistling through the air, the staff smashed directly into the Skeleton Soldier's skull.
"Bang!"
Empowered by 100 points of Strength, this heavy strike landed with crushing force, slamming the Skeleton Soldier flat onto the ground.
[Dealt -80 damage]
The Skeleton Soldier, which had been at full health, was instantly reduced to a sliver of HP.
Staring at the damage figure on his status panel, Qin Chen was filled with astonishment.
"This Strength bonus is terrifying!"
A mob from a Calamity-grade dungeon had almost been killed in a single hit.
Simply outrageous.
No technique needed—pure stat-checking dominance.
Qin Chen's excitement grew even more intense.
My fate is up to me, not the heavens!
He, a garbage Mage class, had risen again.
Who said the Mage class was trash?
Across from him, the Skeleton Soldier slowly crawled up from the ground, its empty eye sockets staring blankly all around. Qin Chen's heavy blow had completely dazed it.
Yet before it could react, Qin Chen's basic attack struck again.
Amidst its bewilderment, it turned into a pile of ash and dissipated across the blood-red battlefield.
[Skeleton Soldier killed]
[Gained 15 Experience Points]
Qin Chen's experience bar instantly updated.
Level: 2 (15/100 EXP)
Happily, he looked at his experience bar. As expected of a Calamity-grade dungeon, leveling up was fast. Just a single mob had granted one-fifth of the required experience.
If he killed just a few more mobs like that, he would level up again in no time.
It seemed Qin Chen's reckless actions had provoked the undead of the battlefield ruins.
Suddenly, the entire battlefield shifted once more as a crimson wind surged across the sky above. Blood-red mist blanketed the entire area.
The chilling roars of the undead echoed from all around.
Moments later, several undead wearing tattered armor appeared before Qin Chen.
[Undead Armored Soldier (Lv.6)] (Tainted by Abyss Aura)
Type: Advanced Undead
Skills: Heavy Slash, Whirlwind Slash
"One... two... three... five!"
Counting the mobs that had just appeared, Qin Chen found there were a full five of them.
A look of intense excitement washed over his face.
A windfall all at once!
Without a moment's hesitation, he raised the staff in his hand and charged forward, moving even faster than the Undead Armored Soldiers opposite him.
...
Outside the dungeon entrance.
Driven by the wager between Qin Chen and Zhou Tianqi, coupled with the opening of the Calamity-grade dungeon, more and more people had gathered at the entrance, while passersby stopped to watch the spectacle.
Everyone was concerned about who would lose this match.
"Who do you guys think will come out first?" someone in the crowd asked out of curiosity.
"Needless to say, it's definitely going to be Qin Chen. He's playing a squishy Mage class; a single tap from a regular mob probably wipes him out instantly." Someone immediately chimed in with a reply.
"But why do I feel like something's off? It's already been five or six minutes. How can a squishy Mage like Qin Chen hold out for so long?"
"He must have gone straight into hiding the second he entered the dungeon, which is why he's dragged it out this long, but he shouldn't last much longer."
"That doesn't right either. I tried a Calamity-grade dungeon before, and within a few seconds of going in, I was chased down and hacked to pieces by a single Skeleton Soldier. They're tanky and deal heavy damage—one slash of mine only dealt two or three points of damage, while just a couple of hits from it brought my HP straight to the bottom. It's completely unplayable."
"Qin Chen is definitely just lucky to have survived this long. Just watch, he'll probably pop right out in the next second!"
Before the words had even faded, a beam of white light suddenly shot out from the dungeon's heavy stone doors.
Immediately after, a frail figure collapsed face down right at the entrance.
"Quick... look! What did I tell you? Isn't Qin Chen coming out right now? For a garbage Mage class to last this long is already quite impressive." The speaker hurriedly pointed at the frail figure by the entrance.
"Wait, why does this person look a bit familiar to me, yet not quite like Qin Chen?"
...
"Holy crap, isn't that Young Master Zhou!"
"How is it him coming out?"