The moment Zhang Luan stepped into the darkness, Aruola’s icy voice sounded in his ear.
“Straight ahead. Fifty meters. One there.”
Hearing her, Zhang Luan didn’t hesitate. He drew the Ends Bow to full and unleashed the [Stellar Spiral Arrow]—a spiral arrow imbued with Stellar Flame.
In the dark, a streak of stellar flame shot forth with immense force, slamming into the evil spirit’s skull. A pained roar echoed through the vast, empty space.
The spirit thrashed in agony, crashing into walls repeatedly, trying to dislodge the arrow from its head.
But its stubby arms couldn’t reach its own skull.
Zhang Luan glanced at its status panel. He’d never encountered this evil spirit before—not in his past life, not now. He didn’t know its specifics.
[Ancient Tower Evil Spirit]
Level: 37
Status: Starving, Tattered, Enraged, Light-averse (Due to never consuming life food: all attributes -40%, speed +20%. Prone to rage; enraged state: all resistances -10%, speed +10%. Light exposure: all resistances and defense -30%, loses 1% max HP per second.)
HP: 47,000/70,000 (Starving state reduced max HP from 100,000 to 70,000)
...
He didn’t need the rest. This status bar was key. Zhang Luan hadn’t expected them to be this weak. Any of these conditions was a weakness to exploit.
“So they’re this weak?”
Just as confidence swelled in him, Aruola reached out and lightly tapped his head.
“Be careful. You’ll die. Also, the Little Bear effect has one minute left.”
Zhang Luan smiled slightly. Of course he’d be careful. He’d died once already—he wouldn’t let arrogance kill him again.
With one minute left, he had to finish this spirit first. 47,000 HP seemed high, but one critical hit would do it. With his Lucky EX attribute, landing a crit was easy.
He placed the Azure Righteous Sword on the Ends Bow. Pitch-black currents surged over it, enhanced by Stellar Flame and spatial ripples.
[Stellar Ripple Spiral Holy Blade]
Of course, he wouldn’t shout this cringey chuunibyou name—though it did feel cool to imagine.
Zap!
As the critical hit triggered, the Azure Righteous Sword struck precisely behind the arrow embedded in the spirit’s head.
Its remaining HP instantly dropped to zero.
Killing a spirit 22 levels higher gave no reward notification. But it didn’t matter—probably too easy to trigger. He didn’t care about trivial rewards anyway.
Just as he prepared to find the next one, Aruola’s voice sounded again:
“I remember... my sister left something on the top floor. It can... eliminate all evil spirits. You can... go get it.”
Zhang Luan froze. He turned toward Aruola, though the pitch-black dark hid everything.
“Why didn’t you say earlier?”
“You didn’t ask.”
He suppressed the urge to knead her emotionless face like dough. With fifty seconds left on the Little Bear effect, he followed her guidance to the stairs upward.
Higher floors had dim light. Evil spirits disliked it, but smelling Zhang Luan’s living scent, hunger would drive them here.
When the Little Bear effect faded completely, Zhang Luan stepped onto the next platform.
This floor was brighter than below—still dim, but his enhanced body could make out shapes. It felt like black gauze over his eyes: uncomfortable, yet better than total darkness.
The ethereal evil spirits sensed his living aura. They shifted from wispy forms to ravenous monsters, surging toward this place they’d normally avoid.
They hated light, but to devour him, they tolerated this weak glow.
They moved fast. Starving creatures always rush toward food at top speed.
So Zhang Luan couldn’t ascend yet.
He stood at the stairwell, placing the Azure Righteous Sword on the Ends Bow. Force of Creation surged in. As the first spirits arrived, he shot fiercely.
Spatial ripples spread wildly on contact, trapping them in place. He grabbed a ball of Stellar Flame and hurled it. The flame pierced the ripples, burning fiercely in the dark. Though he couldn’t see through the thick shadows, pained screams and popping damage numbers proved its effect.
Seizing the moment, he ran upward. Guided by Aruola, he found the next staircase.
Zhang Luan climbed up. The next floor was utterly different—a library?
[Task updated: A-rank quest [Secret of the Ancient Mage] completed. Submit?]
Zhang Luan stared at the panel, surprised. He’d nearly forgotten this quest. It completed too easily.
He didn’t submit it. A magic item wouldn’t help now.
“What is this place?”
“The mage’s library. The books are weathered. No need to look. Ahead is the final floor.”
Aruola pointed to nearby stairs. Zhang Luan stepped forward—then froze.
Had this been too smooth?
He stopped, looking down. He hadn’t noticed climbing up: the staircase stretched over twenty meters long. He recalled the Azure Righteous Sword and waited quietly.
The evil spirits gathered at the bottom but halted. They shrieked endlessly, yet none dared climb.
“You’re still hiding something, right?”
Aruola nodded bluntly.
“You didn’t ask.”
“...”
Zhang Luan snapped. He strode forward and, under her puzzled gaze, grabbed her face.
“What are you doing?”
He chuckled coldly and kneaded. Aruola’s face shifted like dough in his hands.
“Mmph...”
When he released her, Aruola touched her reddened cheeks. A rare flicker of emotion crossed her face.
“Why... do this?”
“Punishment. This is punishment!”
Aruola still didn’t understand. Zhang Luan couldn’t be bothered to explain.
“How much more haven’t you told me? Tell me now.”
