The real show is just getting started

"Successfully used [Element of Lightning]!"

Mike snagged the newbie reward and didn't waste a second before using it.

A tingling sensation spread throughout his body, and Mike felt the lightning elements around him become more active, constantly calling to him.

"Element of Lightning Affinity +100%!"

"Mana regeneration speed +100%!"

"Learned Lightning skills [Lightning Arrow], [Blessing of Lightning], [Charge Up]!"

Descriptions of the three skills appeared in front of Mike one by one:

"[Lightning Arrow (Lv1)]: Deals (50+1*Intelligence) Lightning damage, 100% chance to slow, 33% chance to paralyze.

Mana cost: 60

CD: 3s"

With Mike's current Intelligence at 9, a single Lightning Arrow could deal 59 damage.

Without accounting for defense, three Lightning Arrows would basically make newbie participants throw in the towel!

The minor monsters in the newbie instance, with HP ranging from [50-100], posed no threat to Mike!

Just the Lightning Arrow skill alone was enough for Mike to score highly in the newbie instance.

Mike continued reading.

"[Blessing of Lightning (Lv1)]: Casts Blessing of Lightning on oneself or an ally, adding 20 points of Lightning damage to normal attacks and 25 points to magical attacks.

Mana cost: 100

Duration: 30s

CD: 45s

[Charge Up]: The next Lightning skill used has its effect doubled.

Mana cost: 10

CD: 10s

Note: The specific values of this effect are influenced by the caster's level.

"Whoa—"

Mike hadn't expected the three randomly acquired Lightning skills to complement each other so well!

"Using [Charge Up] with [Lightning Arrow] could burst 118 damage instantly, enough to one-shot minor monsters!"

Mike quickly calculated in his mind.

"If the combo sequence is changed to: [Charge Up] → [Blessing of Lightning] → [Charge Up] → [Lightning Arrow]..."

"Double Blessing of Lightning, adding 50 extra magic damage, with a base damage of 59 from Lightning Arrow, totals 236 damage!"

"That's a burst increase of a whole 100%!"

Given Mike's years of experience in online gaming, [Charge Up] was definitely a killer skill!

Even in the later stages of the instance, while [Lightning Arrow] and [Blessing of Lightning] might become obsolete, [Charge Up] would still be his core skill!

Suddenly, a wild idea popped into Mike's head.

"What if I use [Charge Up], and then hit it again with another [Charge Up]? What would happen?"

Trying to exploit a glitch here or what?!

Each [Charge Up] uses up 10 mana points and has a cooldown of 10 seconds.

Thanks to the [Element of Lightning] boost, Mike's mana regen is so fast he recovers 50 mana points in 10 seconds, so he's not sweating about running out of juice.

Basically, if Mike feels like it, he could keep spamming [Charge Up] until the cows come home!

"That's exponential growth, doubling up every time!"

"If this actually works..."

Mike's getting all pumped up, itching to give it a whirl.

Besides the newbie gift pack, the Tower of Truth also threw in a plain old wooden staff, no frills, just a tool for casting spells.

"Newbie gift pack all handed out, ready to enter the newbie instance?"

"Let's roll!"

Mike feels a whirlwind hit him, the pure white space blurs, and his consciousness fades like the tide.

When he opens his eyes again, Mike finds himself in a dim corridor.

His boots clack against the granite floor as he scopes out his surroundings, can't help but be impressed.

"Tower of Truth, no wonder they call it a full-simulation online game, this realism is off the charts!"

Mike stretches out his hand and touches the corridor wall.

The rough texture, uneven surface, even a good amount of dust sticks to Mike's fingertips!

"Alright, time to get down to business!"

Mike grips his staff, eyes the path ahead.

The newbie instance he's in is a narrow corridor, 2.5 meters high, 1.5 meters wide, just enough room for two to walk side by side.

Along the walls, every 5 yards, there are torches mounted, casting a faint glow and lighting up the corridor.

"According to the guide, the first stretch of this newbie instance has 20 monsters."

Up ahead, a massive shadow looms, and with the [Eye of Truth] chiming in.

Monster: Cave Giant Rat

HP: 50/50

[That's all you need to know about this critter, now fry this filthy sucker with your Lightning Arrow!]

This rat's huge, nearly 7 feet tall, blocking the other end of the corridor, and it seems to have sniffed out Mike's arrival, slowly moving his way, making some weird noises.

"Here it comes!"

Mike lifts his staff, ready to cast.

"Charge Up—"

A pale blue light envelops Mike.

He doesn't rush to battle the beast but waits as it inches closer.

"Roar—"

Boom, boom, boom—

With roars and heavy footsteps, the monster's shadow looms over Mike, almost suffocating.

Anyone else might have panicked and attacked by now!

Mike counts the seconds quietly, stepping back to keep a safe distance.

"Just 5, 4..."

The Cave Giant Rat is close enough now, reeking like a sewer rat.

Well, it is a rat, right?

No worries then.

"...3, 2, 1!"

Cooldown's up, Mike immediately casts again.

"Charge Up."

The pale blue light flares up once more, this time a shade deeper.

"Lightning Arrow"

Mike wastes no time, though it's his first fight, he's surprisingly smooth, no wasted movements.

Boom—

A lightning arrow, thin as a finger, forms in front of Mike and zips through the air, hitting the Cave Giant Rat with ease!

Zzzt—

A series of electric crackles, with a burnt scent, and a bright red number floats above the Cave Giant Rat:

[-236!]

The Lightning Arrow zaps for 236 points of Element of Lightning damage!

The Cave Giant Rat's health bar wipes clean, and it crashes to the ground, dissolving into white light particles, leaving behind 3 copper coins.

Mike pumps his fist, totally pumped.

"This works!"

"[Charge Up] stacks! First time it's double, second time it's quadruple, third time it's octuple!"

This ain't no simple sequence; it's geometric, baby, exponential growth!

[Fun Fact: Charge Up can stack up to 30 times]

After stacking it 30 times, Mike's power surge is gonna be off the charts!

Mike's breathing gets heavier just thinking about the sheer terror of that power.

Maybe just one Lightning Arrow could obliterate a boss!

Scooping up the copper coins, Mike looks down the corridor.

The ruckus from the fight has woken up more Cave Giant Rats, and they're now prowling the corridor for prey!

Mike bites his lip, trying to keep his cool to not mess up the upcoming fights.

"The real show is just getting started!"