IUD-CHAPTER 167 THE HELPLESS LAYER

Main God's Dimension, Training Area.

Under the towering trial tower, the crowd was still bustling.

At one of the entrances, Fang Li slowly walked out, his brows furrowed tightly, his face carrying a slightly helpless expression.

"I failed…"

Yes.

He failed.

Fang Li did not pass the 2nd Floor.

This was something Fang Li had never anticipated.

For Fang Li, the difficulty of the 1st Floor was simply not high at all. He easily achieved an S-Rank evaluation and received relatively generous rewards.

So, in Fang Li's expectation, even if the 2nd Floor was more challenging than the 1st Floor, it shouldn't be that much more difficult.

However, Fang Li miscalculated.

The difficulty of the 2nd Floor was several ranks higher than the 1st Floor.

The 2nd Floor, just like the 1st Floor, required Fang Li to challenge 100 scorpions in the desert.

These scorpions had the same attributes as Fang Li, but they lacked skills. For Fang Li, the difficulty was almost no different from the 1st Floor.

So, why did Fang Li fail?

It was because of the attack patterns of these scorpions.

The attack patterns of the 2nd Floor scorpions were fundamentally different from those of the 1st Floor.

The 1st Floor scorpions would charge straight at Fang Li.

But the 2nd Floor scorpions were extremely cunning. Instead of charging at Fang Li, they would burrow into the sand and launch sneak attacks.

At first, Fang Li was taken aback but didn't pay much attention to it and it was this lack of attention that resulted in a disastrous loss.

These scorpions that burrowed into the sand to attack Fang Li not only hid their auras and tracks to launch surprise attacks but also immediately retreated into the sand if their initial strike failed, avoiding direct confrontation with Fang Li.

As a result, even though Fang Li had gained comprehensive mastery of the Nanaya Assassination Technique, it was impossible for him to burrow into the sandy ground and engage in a fight with a group of scorpions. He ended up in a sorry state, almost being hit by the deadly poison from the scorpions' stingers.

In such a situation, Fang Li struggled hard to kill more than a dozen scorpions. By the time he realized it, the designated one-hour time limit had passed, and the trial ended in failure.

Recalling that battle, even Fang Li couldn't help but curse.

"So despicable."

If these scorpions only launched sneak attacks, it would have been manageable.

The Nanaya Assassination Technique was a spatial manipulation technique that allowed the utilization of the surrounding environment for killing techniques. Fang Li's control over the environment was top-notch.

So, as long as he observed carefully, Fang Li could evade this tactic of hiding in the sandy ground for sneak attacks.

In addition, with the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Fang Li was well aware of the scorpions' movements through their Death Lines. Although he was in a sorry state, he could avoid being ambushed.

The problem was that once these scorpions burrowed into the sandy ground, some could remain hidden for up to half an hour.

In this way, Fang Li could only watch helplessly as time passed by, ultimately leading to his defeat.

"This directly targets the weakness of my Stigma…"

Fang Li was truly helpless.

The biggest weakness of the Stigma was that it placed a tremendous burden on the user and had a very limited usage time.

In a battle deliberately delayed in time like this, using the Stigma would only be suicidal.

In the situation where the Stigma was activated, Fang Li would be delayed by the scorpions until his soul couldn't bear it anymore, and in the end, he would collapse on the ground, and then helplessly face scenes of deadly poison-laden stingers coming at him. Just thinking about it, Fang Li knew how foolish it would be.

"For now, there's no way I can proceed on this floor."

At least, Fang Li didn't want to continue challenging with a nauseating mood.

He turned his head and glanced at the towering trial tower, giving a faint smile.

"What an interesting place. It seems I'll have to come here often in the future."

Leaving behind these words, Fang Li quietly left.

…

After leaving the training area, Fang Li didn't immediately return to his personal residence in the residential area. Instead, he made a detour to the Trading Area and browsed through the stalls.

Currently, Fang Li also had 13,000 Exchange Points. Before entering the next Dungeon World, he naturally needed to plan carefully.

Last time, Fang Li was practically a nobody with almost nothing except the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. He desperately needed to convert his Exchange Points into strength, so he went on a shopping spree.

This time, Fang Li had a complete set of equipment, and his skills had also become much richer. Even his attributes had greatly improved, so he didn't need to spend so recklessly.

Therefore, Fang Li visited the Trading Area mainly with two intentions.

One: A treasure hunt.

Two: Purchasing items.

If he could come across good equipment and skills, Fang Li would naturally buy them.

And now that he had more funds available, he also needed to acquire some items for various situations, such as recovery/replenishment items.

In the end, after going around the Trading Area, Fang Li didn't find any good equipment or skills, but he did purchase some items for various situations, spending 8,000 Exchange Points.

"If it wasn't for the rewards from the 1st Floor of the trial tower, I would have become broke again by now."

In other words, with the remaining 5,000 Exchange Points, Fang Li couldn't find any opportunities to use them, so he saved them.

After two Dungeon Worlds, Fang Li finally had some savings. He no longer squandered them all at once like before, which was quite gratifying.

Then, Fang Li left the Trading Area and returned to the residential area.

…

Residential area, personal residence.

Once he returned here, Fang Li immediately spoke aloud into the air.

"Requesting entry into Dungeon World."

The system's notification sound immediately responded.

"Serial Number 11273 requesting entry into Dungeon World, initiating matchmaking."

However, after the notification sounds for the matchmaking process started in the Main God's Dimension, Fang Li flipped his hand, and a small insignia appeared in his hand.

It was a red insignia.

"Clang!"

The red insignia suddenly emitted a faint light, illuminating the surrounding grass.

Under the illumination of the faint light, the system's notification sound slightly paused, and shortly afterward, the following message came through.

"Detected that Serial Number 11273 possesses a special item that can manipulate the ongoing matchmaking process of the Dungeon World Quest to a certain extent. The target is the 5th Rank, and the content that can be manipulated is the Number of Participants and Main Quest Number. Valued at 5,000 Exchange Points."

Hearing this notification sound, Fang Li immediately smiled and then lowered his head, looking at the insignia in his hand.

Dungeon Mission Command (5th Rank): Special Item. When requesting entry into Dungeon World, it can be used to manipulate the ongoing matchmaking process of the Dungeon World Quest to a certain extent. The target is the 5th Rank, and the manipulable content is the Number of Participants and Main Quest Number. Valued at 5,000 Exchange Points.

...

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