“What a pity, though. I can't eat anything,” Li Xiuman said with a sigh as he stared at the catfish carcass.
“Still, don't you worry, my catfish friend. I won't let your body go to waste. I will make sure it is put to the absolute best use!”
Li Xiuman raised his wand.
“Tier 1 Magic, Individual Undead Reanimation.”
A pitch-black magic circle enveloped the catfish carcass.
The dead catfish's body began to twitch, and a decaying odor wafted from it. Its eyes turned a completely stark, milky white.
Placing the catfish back into the water, Li Xiuman watched it come to life and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
“Yet another deed of merit accumulated.
“Time to move on.”
Li Xiuman was about to begin his great level-grinding endeavor.
With wand in hand, he went deeper floor by floor, and the number of zombie catfish swimming under his feet grew.
Walking on the water's surface while a massive swarm of zombie catfish swam directly beneath him gave him an unspeakably cool look. Of course, that was only according to Li Xiuman.
It took him three days to reach the 30th floor. Since the floors were connected by multiple waterfalls, the descent was incredibly fast.
His undead army had now grown.
He had eight Jet Catfish, four Coiling Purple Octopuses, one Black Dolphin, and two Giant Frogs.
Since this was White Crystal City's dungeon—a place teeming with hidden masters—Li Xiuman didn't want to draw too much attention to himself.
So, he rode the Black Dolphin, hiding completely underwater as he traveled.
His strategy boiled down to a single word: caution.
He killed another Lv. 29 Jet Catfish.
[Killed Jet Catfish Lv. 29, EXP +4100+410]
[Experience bar is full. Would you like to level up?]
The 100,000 experience bar was finally full!
After farming monsters for so many days, he had nearly worked himself to the bone.
Riding the Black Dolphin, Li Xiuman dove all the way to the lake bed.
Then, having the Jet Catfish and various other monsters form a protective circle around him, he began his level-up process.
[Ding! Your level has increased to Lv. 31]
[Strength +1, Constitution +2, Spirit +3]
[Free Stat Point +1]
[Dragon-Blooded Skeleton Racial Strength Modifier, Strength +1]
[Your class has changed]
[Tier 2 Elementalist upgraded to Tier 3 Elementalist]
[Tier 2 Necromancer upgraded to Tier 3 Necromancer]
[Elemental Magic Lv. 3 → Elemental Magic Lv. 4]
[Necromancy Lv. 3 → Necromancy Lv. 4]
[Storage Lv. 3 → Storage Lv. 4]
[Bone Manipulation Lv. 3 → Bone Manipulation Lv. 4]
[Demon King Lv. 3 → Demon King Lv. 4]
[Resilience Lv. 2 → Resilience Lv. 3]
[Hard Bone Lv. 2 → Hard Bone Lv. 3]
[Swiftness Lv. 1 → Swiftness Lv. 2]
[Dragonification Lv. 1 → Dragonification Lv. 2]
[Bone Hyperplasia Lv. 1 → Bone Hyperplasia Lv. 2]
A massive wave of mana surged from deep within his body, filling his entire frame.
With this level-up, his internal mana pool seemed to have nearly doubled.
For an ordinary Mage, such a breakthrough would require the aid of various magic potions to help their bodies withstand the sudden influx of mana.
Even though every level-up granted an increase in Constitution, making a Mage's physical body superior to average humans, they still couldn't normally withstand their mana doubling so abruptly.
However, Li Xiuman's Constitution stat was more than double that of other magic-class holders of the same tier. He didn't have to worry at all about his body being unable to handle the surge.
Even though his actual mana pool was far larger than that of an average Mage due to his exceptionally high Spirit, even after doubling, his physical frame easily withstood the pressure.
Next, two streams of energy flowed from his two arms into his body.
There was only a slight sting.
Once the sensation passed:
[Strength +1, Constitution +1]
At this moment, Li Xiuman's attributes were:
Strength: 49/50
Constitution: 55/60
Spirit: 65/60
Free Stat Point: 1
He was incredibly close to meeting his evolution requirements.
Having completely finished his level-up, Li Xiuman didn't leave the lake bed immediately.
Right now, he had only reached the statistical and physical requirements of a Tier 3 Mage. He hadn't actually mastered any Tier 3 Elemental Magic or Tier 3 Necromancy.
He needed to make good use of this time to learn some Tier 3 spells.
Li Xiuman retrieved the fragmented Memory Crystal of the Tier 6 Elementalist, searched for information regarding Tier 3 magic within it, and quickly began studying.
Although the remaining Tier 3 spells in the Tier 6 Elementalist's memory crystal were few, they were highly practical.
Li Xiuman rapidly selected a few offensive elemental spells and began learning them.
In the chilly depths of the lake, Li Xiuman studied for a whole day.
With the assistance of Magic Analysis Lv. 3, he successfully mastered three spells for each element.
However, he hadn't managed to figure out any fusion magic yet.
After all, these were Tier 3 spells. Their level of complexity was on an entirely different scale compared to Tier 2 spells.
Even with the support of his two passive skills, Magic Analysis Lv. 3 and Golem Lv. 3, it was still very difficult for Li Xiuman to research them in such a short amount of time.
Next was learning Tier 3 Necromancy. This was incredibly important.
The undead reanimation spell Li Xiuman currently had was something he had tried on a troll before, and it was incapable of reviving something of a Floor Boss's caliber.
To enter the 31st floor, he had to defeat the 30th Floor Boss.
Li Xiuman was deeply coveting the Floor Boss of this level.
If he could revive this level's Floor Boss using Necromancy, exploring the subsequent floors would become a lot easier.
Since Necromancy was classified as restricted magic, it was very difficult to borrow books on Tier 3 Necromancy from any libraries.
As a result, Li Xiuman could only research and develop a Tier 3 Necromancy spell from the Tier 2 spells he already knew.
By utilizing the support of Magic Analysis and Golem, Li Xiuman managed to develop his only Tier 3 Necromancy spell.
“Tier 3 Necromancy, Special Individual Reanimation.”
A pitch-black magic circle unfurled at the tip of his wand, successfully activating.
The mana consumption was massive. The magic circle's pathways weren't fully optimized mathematically, which would likely result in a slightly weakened effect.
But at this point, who was he to be picky? As long as he could cast it, it was fine.
Li Xiuman let the magic circle disperse and mounted the Black Dolphin beside him.
Next, it was time to challenge the Floor Boss of this level.
As a massive 72-floor dungeon, there was more than one pathway leading to the 31st floor.
By that same logic, there was also more than one Floor Boss.
The boss chambers were not located on the surface of the water, but deep at the bottom of the lake.
He sent his Jet Catfish out to scout, and before long, Li Xiuman successfully located a boss chamber on the lake bed.
He swam up to the massive stone doors of the boss chamber.
Staring at the stone doors before him, Li Xiuman did not push them open right away.
Although he had already reached Lv. 31, making his level higher than the Floor Boss, a boss was still a boss. He couldn't afford to let his guard down.
Furthermore, this battle would be fought underwater.
Rate on N.U.
