My career aspirations have come true.

Chapter 19 Settlement Rewards

After resting, the four of them got up and stepped onto the stairs leading to the third floor.

The same hall, the same giant scorpions, only their numbers and combat power have increased.

According to Zheng Hong's explanation, the first six floors of the Blackthorn Tower are guarded by giant scorpions, and only the seventh floor will feature a new type of monster.

After clearing the third level, Lin Ze gained another 49 potential points, which he immediately used to upgrade Swift Step.

Your skill 'Swift Step' has been upgraded to Lv2, Agility +0.2, Constitution +0.1.

Swift Step is just a basic skill, and the attribute boost it provides is far less than that of Draw Sword.

However, it is one of the prerequisite skills for synthesizing many excellent skills, so the higher the level, the better.

The experience required to upgrade Lv2 Swift Step has increased to 300, which is 200 less than Lv2 Draw Sword.

On the fourth and fifth floors, the group continued their unstoppable advance.

By the time they reached the sixth level, the number of giant scorpions had increased to as many as 50, and their combat power had soared to the level of a level 2 professional, except that they lacked skills and talents.

In addition, there was an "elite monster"—an elite giant scorpion that was twice the size of the other giant scorpions.

"The Blackthorn Tower has a threshold every six floors. There is an elite monster guarding the sixth and twelfth floors, and the eighteenth floor is a BOSS whose combat power far exceeds that of ordinary monsters."

"This monster is an elite monster on the sixth floor, and its combat power is stronger than many level 2 professionals."

As Zheng Hong explained, he bumped his fists together, about to take over the task of dealing with the elite giant scorpion. But just as he made a move, he caught a glimpse of a figure rushing forward.

hum!

A short, sharp sword cry suddenly pierced the hall. Lin Ze's figure turned into a blur, and the sword light poured down like a storm, instantly engulfing the elite giant scorpion.

Clang!

Countless sparks flew from the surface of the elite giant scorpion's body in an instant. In that short moment, it was impossible to tell how many swords it had been struck, and large cracks appeared on its hard carapace.

Zheng Hong was startled at first, then frowned.

Although Lin Ze's attack power is stronger than many level 2 sword souls, it is still a bit lacking when facing the elite giant scorpion, which is known for its strong defense. If he rushes in recklessly, he will probably suffer a loss.

As expected, the elite giant scorpion only hesitated for a moment before suddenly raising its pincers and slamming them down on Lin Ze with a sharp sound that tore through the air.

"That was too impulsive!"

Zheng Hong muttered something and was about to step forward to provide support when the situation on the field suddenly reversed.

Lin Ze flashed like a whirlwind, deftly dodging the attacking giant claws, and appeared to the side of the giant scorpion.

His sword had been sheathed at his waist at some point, and the air around him seemed to freeze instantly, releasing an extremely sharp and refined aura.

The next second, sword light ripped through the sky!

hum!

In the instant the cold light flashed, all the light in the hall seemed to be absorbed, and an extremely thin and sharp silver line swept diagonally from bottom to top.

The giant scorpion's left pincer remained poised to strike, but it snapped off mid-air with a loud crash, the heavy pincer slamming into the ground with a dull thud.

Before the giant scorpion could let out a wail, Lin Ze spun around and swung his longsword once more.

The sword light of this strike was three times more solid than before, and the trajectory of the sword's edge left a scorching pale white trail in the air, as if it had cut a thin slit in space.

puff!

The other giant claw snapped off instantly, the cut as smooth as a mirror, and the pale texture of the inner layer of the scorpion's carapace could even be clearly seen.

The two sword-drawing slashes were executed in the blink of an eye, from the initial stance to the sheathing of the sword.

The elite giant scorpion, having lost its pincers, collapsed with a thud, its carapace cracking with a mournful sound, utterly powerless to resist.

Lin Ze casually thrust out his sword, plunging it deep into the head of the elite giant scorpion, thus ending the elite monster's life.

Zheng Hong stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the scene with disbelief on his face.

In just a few blinks of an eye, he took down an elite monster that would be considered troublesome even among level 2 monsters. Is this still a level 2 professional?

This level of strength is comparable to some newly promoted Level 3 professionals!

"Wow, Lin Ze is amazing." Zhuang Yi gave a thumbs up, his face full of amazement.

Although he already knew Lin Ze was very strong, he was still surprised that he could kill the elite giant scorpion so easily.

Lin Ze smiled slightly, turned around and continued to eliminate the remaining giant scorpions.

By the time he had cleared all the monsters, his potential points had increased by a whopping 136.

The elite giant scorpion alone contributed a whopping 62 points!

Including the points accumulated in the first two layers, the total number of potential points has exceeded 300.

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Ze decided not to upgrade Swift Step, but instead planned to save up more to upgrade Draw Sword.

"A very powerful draw slash."

Zheng Hong walked over at this moment and looked Lin Ze up and down as if he were getting to know him all over again.

"If I didn't know you were a newbie, I would have thought you were a seasoned veteran."

He paused, then said seriously, "Your strength is much greater than I expected. The previous distribution ratio is no longer valid. I won't take advantage of you. Let's redistribute it. I'll take 40%, you take 30%, and the remaining 30% goes to Zhuang Yi and Tang Wangshu. How about that?"

Zhuang Yi immediately responded, "I have no objection."

Tang Wangshu nodded in agreement, agreeing that Lin Ze's abilities deserved this treatment.

Lin Ze smiled and agreed, "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

"With you here, I have even more confidence. We'll definitely get past the eighth floor!"

Zheng Hong laughed and patted Lin Ze's shoulder hard.

His initiative to propose redistributing the proportions was partly for the sake of the team.

Teams that do not share benefits equally are unlikely to last long.

He has seen far too many teams fall out over interests.

On the other hand, it was also to establish a good relationship with Lin Ze.

For a fresh graduate to possess such strength, it must mean either they come from an extraordinary background or have exceptional talent.

Either way, it's worth making friends with them.

Taking a step back now might bring greater benefits in the future.

This incident has made the team atmosphere even more harmonious.

After resting, the four of them went up to the seventh floor again.

The circular hall on this floor is much larger, almost twice the size of the previous six floors.

The monster still resembled a giant scorpion, but in addition to its original hard shell, its surface was now covered with dense iron thorns.

"Be careful, the monsters on this floor have reached level 2 and have also mastered the Thorn Shot skill."

Zheng Hong gave a solemn reminder.

As if to prove his words, the giant scorpions that charged forward arched their bodies, and the black iron thorns on their bodies instantly detached, shooting towards the crowd like a storm.

Fortunately, thanks to Zheng Hong's reminder, everyone was already on guard and quickly dodged away.

Upon reaching this level, Zheng Hong dared not hold back any longer and, together with Lin Ze and the other two, went all out to deal with the more than thirty giant scorpions. It took them quite a bit of effort to defeat them.

Upon reaching the eighth floor, the number of monsters increased to 40, and their combat power also increased significantly, putting immense pressure on everyone.

Fortunately, after the previous practice, the four of them had developed a basic understanding and worked together to successfully complete the game without any major incidents.

That's all for today.

Zheng Hong took a breath and turned to look at Lin Ze and the other two.

"There are more than 50 monsters on the ninth floor, and their average combat strength is at the mid-level of level 2. We're unlikely to be able to clear it, so let's not take the risk."

Lin Ze and the other two naturally had no objections.

In fact, apart from Lin Ze who still had some energy left, Tang Wangshu and Zhuang Yi were already exhausted.

After reaching an agreement, everyone immediately summoned their class marks and chose to leave the instance.

The next instant, lines of text appeared.

[Start settlement]

[Settlement in progress... Your team has gained 468 Potential Points, 14 Blackthorn Iron, and 1 Skill Card]

[Start leaving the instance]