A hidden level

"Blessing of Lightning."

Mike slaps on a buff and sprints forward with a burst of speed.

"Blessing of Lightning lasts for 30 seconds, adding an extra 20 points of Lightning damage to regular hits."

"With the Cave Giant Rat's HP at 50, and my Strength at 9, that's a base physical attack of 9. With Blessing of Lightning, that's a hit of 29 damage!"

Mike dashes up to a Cave Giant Rat and slams his staff down hard.

"-28!"

"-31!"

After two hits, the Cave Giant Rat collapses just like the previous one, turning into light particles and dropping three copper coins.

"Gotta move fast!"

Mike doesn't waste any time.

While fighting, he keeps firing off [Charge Up], refreshing it the moment it's off cooldown!

This means, for a short time, Mike can't use [Blessing of Lightning] or [Lightning Arrow] without losing all progress!

To stack up more [Charge Up] for a killer blow on the final boss, Mike needs to take down as many Cave Giant Rats as possible during the buff time of [Blessing of Lightning].

"-30!"

"-29!"

"....."

A series of numbers pop off the heads of the Cave Giant Rats, and in the dim corridor, more rats keep falling.

Meanwhile, the timer on Blessing of Lightning keeps ticking down!

"10,9,8..."

Less than 10 seconds left!

The intense back-to-back battles are starting to take a toll on Mike.

In the Tower of Truth, a simulation with 100% realism, the fatigue feels absolutely real.

Mike takes a deep breath, eyes the corridor ahead, but doesn't stop moving, his staff swinging continuously.

In the last 10 seconds with the boost from [Blessing of Lightning], Mike takes down four more beasts.

From entering the newbie instance to now, in just one minute, Mike has taken out 12 Cave Giant Rats!

If word of this efficiency gets out, it's gonna drive folks wild!

Mike's focus is all in on the fight, with 8 more Cave Giant Rats to go!

"Charge Up!"

While battling, Mike keeps stacking the Charge Up buff.

Another Cave Giant Rat charges at him, its body slicing through the air with a piercing screech.

Without [Blessing of Lightning] and unable to cast Lightning skills, Mike has to rely on basic attacks to combat the foe.

In his view, a few red spots light up on the Cave Giant Rat, with a note:

[This is the enemy's weak spot, hitting it deals double damage. A mage in melee? Maybe rethink your class strategy?]

"This talent's got a sense of humor."

Mike ignores the snarky comment and focuses on the weak spots.

His staff thrusts forward, hitting one of the red dots.

"-39!"

"Hit Cave Giant Rat's weak spot, dealing double damage with a temporary blinding effect!"

Mike quickly follows up with two more staff hits on the red spots, efficiently taking down his opponent.

"Seven left!"

With the help of [Eye of Truth], even a mage relying on basic attacks can breeze through this challenge!

"Hit the weak spot..."

"Hit the weak spot..."

"....."

Five minutes later, Mike is the only living creature left in the corridor.

"Phew—"

Mike exhales deeply, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

All the Cave Giant Rats have turned into experience points and copper coins for him.

Now he finally has a moment to check the prompts.

From the previous kills, he gained 100 experience points.

"Congrats on reaching Level 2!"

"Gain Strength+1, Intelligence+2, Spirit+1, Agility+2, Constitution+2, free attribute point: 1."

With the level up, a white glow surrounds Mike, infusing him with new strength and wiping away his fatigue.

HP and MP fully restored, Mike's condition is at its peak as he glances at his attribute panel.

All his stats have seen a nice boost, and he adds the extra free attribute point to his Intelligence.

Checking out his stats post-level-up, Mike recalls the guide.

"According to the magic academy's textbook, inside the Tower of Truth, the attributes you gain when leveling up are influenced by a bunch of stuff. Race template, class template, how you leveled up... all these factors play into the stat boosts!"

"During most of the previous fights, I was all about melee attacks with those Cave Giant Rats, barely used my skills. So, when I leveled up, my Strength/Constitution/Agility got a bigger boost than my Intelligence/Spirit!"

Thinking about it, Mike feels kinda stuck.

A mage winning by melee? That's just not right.

He tucks away the attribute panel and, while stacking up [Charge Up], continues down the corridor.

The dark corridor is eerily quiet, enough to freak anyone out, with cold drafts occasionally brushing past.

Mike speeds up, unfazed by the creepy vibes.

Soon, he reaches a fork in the path.

"Left or right?"

Mike knows this is the second stage of the newbie instance.

The textbook is clear: left leads to a mob of monsters, a full-on ambush.

Right, there's a tough elite monster that most folks wouldn't dare tackle.

According to last year's big data analysis, going left has a 48.9% higher payoff than right.

Looking left, sure enough, a note pops up:

[10 stinky bats thirsting for your blood]

[And in a dark corner, a mutant bat lurks]

11 bats, huh?

The bat stats flash before Mike's eyes, a bit tougher than the Cave Giant Rats, especially with their speed.

To the right:

[A young Cerberus is sleeping, please don't disturb it, or you'll end up its meal]

Cerberus?

Mike didn't expect such a powerhouse elite monster on the right!

In the textbook's monster manual, [Cerberus] is definitely the toughest elite in the newbie instance.

No contest!

Even in its youth, its three heads can cast three different types of skills, dealing massive damage. Plus, its hellish lineage gives it super high health and a terrifying regen rate, along with strong resistance against both physical and magical attacks.

It's every newbie's nightmare, the ultimate boss, an insurmountable wall.

Mike's gaze shifts, and there on the wall right in front of him, a note appears!

[Lucky you, don't move the stone on the left, or you'll unlock the hidden level!]

Hidden level?!