After a brief surge of excitement, Lu Sheng calmed down and focused his attention on the allocation of attribute points.
For most newly starting class holders, each level only granted a paltry two or three attribute points, and point distribution strategies often required careful calculation and repeated weighing of class strengths and weaknesses.
Lu Sheng was different!
Each level granted as many as ten-plus attribute points, and with more powerful servants added to future Contracts, that number would increase; for other class holders, this was practically a dimensionality-reducing strike!
“It looks like I need to put recruiting a second potential servant on the agenda,” Lu Sheng said, and a bright glint flashed in his eyes; he currently had three Contract slots, and as his level rose and he advanced classes, that cap would inevitably increase, and having more powerful servants would mean he would become stronger as well!
“Strength and intelligence +2 each, constitution +3, Agility +4,” he thought, and the attribute points were distributed in an instant.
The amount of points he put in this time alone was enough to let other rookie class holders spend several levels just to catch up!
He Wanying had also finished allocating her points, and Lu Sheng’s gaze habitually swept over her panel.
『Name: He Wanying』
『Level: LV2』
『Four Dimensions: Strength 17, Intelligence 18, Agility 28, Constitution 18』
All 6 attribute points had gone into Agility.
Agility mainly provided bonuses to movement speed, attack speed, and evasion, and for someone skilled in various combat techniques, it was indeed the optimal choice.
Lu Sheng could not help but sigh inwardly.
He could only say it was worthy of being an SSS-rank class; while others still found it difficult to push any attribute past 10, she already had three attributes in the teens and one approaching 30.
“No wonder it’s my Talent and Sweat!” Lu Sheng felt even more emotional; “the stronger you are, the stronger I become!”
He looked at his own panel.
『Name: Lu Sheng』
『Level: LV2』
『Four Dimensions: Strength 32, Intelligence 37, Agility 48, Constitution 33』
As he had guessed earlier, his attribute points were effectively double-synchronized with He Wanying’s allocations!
The LV2 attributes already approached the peak level of an ordinary class holder before their first class change at LV20!
Moreover… almost all of this had been a lie-flat win; he only needed to share a bit of data vision and let this ice-cold maid handle the fighting, and being his Master was simply too comfortable!
“Move on.” Lu Sheng retracted his thoughts and issued the order indifferently.
The two of them set off again.
The dangers in Poison Fog Desert were far more than the Sand-Soaring Snake; there were also Red Sand Scorpions, Six-Eyed Sand Spiders, and Flaming Red Ants.
These three monsters were even harder to deal with.
There were LV2 Flaming Red Ants, LU3 Six-Eyed Sand Spiders, and LU5 Red Sand Scorpions!
This was one of the main reasons Poison Fog Desert, as a Newcomer Secret Realm, was far more difficult than other Newcomer Secret Realms.
It was precisely because these monster levels far exceeded the usual Newcomer Secret Realm caps that Poison Fog Desert became a newcomer graveyard that made people shudder at the mention of it.
At this moment, as the students pressed deeper, these troublesome monsters began to bare their fangs and pushed most teams into bitter battles.
The Flaming Red Ants were entirely crimson like fire, each roughly the size of a mobile phone; they could fly at low altitude and spray strong acid, and if engaged in close combat they would directly self-destruct.
Compared to the Sand-Soaring Snake, the Six-Eyed Sand Spider was even more covert in movement and excelled at laying deadly sticky webs; those webs could withstand impacts from up to 500 kg of strength, and once a rookie class holder carelessly fell into a trap without teammates’ help it was very difficult to escape.
A hollow between sand dunes.
Facing seven Flaming Red Ants hovering at low altitude and emitting high-frequency buzzing, Zhao Qingtian’s expression darkened as he barked, “Fang Tong! Zhang Yan! Hold them off for me!”
“Brother Zhao!”
Fang Tong’s face went pale; “Seven Flaming Red Ants! They self-destruct! We can’t withstand that!”
Zhang Yan beside him also looked extremely grim; a single Flaming Red Ant’s self-detonation could seriously injure them, and seven exploding at once would have unimaginable consequences!
“Trash! What are you afraid of?!”
Qin Yanran snapped sharply with a cold gaze, “Didn’t you think to split the aggro? One of you draws three while the other draws four! Share the damage! Is my healing just for show? Move faster! If you delay getting points, don’t even think about getting a single reward!”
At the mention of points, Zhang Yan and Fang Tong felt even more aggrieved; up until now they hadn’t killed a single monster and their points still stood at 0.
They could not believe Qin Yanran had the nerve to bring up points.
If not for the watchful brother Zhao beside them, the two of them wanted to team up and beat Qin Yanran badly.
Faced with the blunt threat and the bait of points, Fang Tong and Zhang Yan exchanged a look full of humiliation and helplessness, and in the end they steeled themselves and shouted as they charged toward the edge of the ant cluster, then suddenly split and sprinted to either side!
Buzz… !
The Flaming Red Ant swarm split in an instant; three lunged at Fang Tong and four lunged at Zhang Yan, and the moment the distance closed the crimson ants’ bodies suddenly swelled…
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A deafening series of explosions! The raging flames and shockwaves immediately engulfed the positions where the two had stood! Yellow sand was blasted into the air, and searing gusts struck everywhere!
When the smoke and dust cleared a little, two pitiful figures were revealed; Fang Tong’s left arm was shredded to the bone, white bone showing through, and Zhang Yan’s hair was singed and half his body was severely burned and torn open!
“Qin Yanran, keep… healing…” Fang Tong croaked hoarsely and groaned in pain.
Qin Yanran frowned and begrudgingly raised her hand to sprinkle two faint threads of holy light, consuming less than 1% of her mana, then immediately stopped, “Fine, you won’t die! Don’t you have out-of-combat recovery skills? Recover slowly then! I have to save my mana; Qingtian still has to keep fighting monsters, and my healing is mainly for him!”
Her words were icy, without the slightest pity.
Fang Tong and Zhang Yan lay collapsed on the scorching sand, feeling the agony from their wounds and Qin Yanran’s coldness, and their hearts went numb.
Those seven points were the only points they had obtained so far, and they had been bought with their very lives.
On another battlefield.
Lu Ningyu Team was in dire straits; a Six-Eyed Sand Spider the size of a small car, earth-yellow in color, used 『Mimicry』 to perfectly blend into its surroundings and struck unpredictably!
The five-person team struggled to stay alive; not only did they have to dodge its deadly pounces and 『Web Immobilization』, they also had to remain constantly wary of the poisonous trap that might appear underfoot; the fire mage Wang Baixue’s Wall of Fire was the team’s main means of blocking it, but it was only a band-aid, and the team members were in a pitiful state, suffering heavy consumption.
Inside the monitoring room, Chu Jianghe was highly tense and his gaze darted quickly across hundreds of screens; most of the students had fallen into bitter fights and the risk of casualties had sharply increased, so he gripped the Barrier-Breaking Pearl tightly, ready to rescue at any moment.
Only one team was special.
When his eyes landed on the screen showing Lu Sheng and He Wanying, his blood pressure nearly spiked!
“Move the camera up a little, yeah, that’s it, comfortable~”
On the screen, on a relatively gentle sand dune, someone had even set up a huge sunshade!
Under the umbrella, Lu Sheng was lying comfortably on a beach chair with a straw in his mouth, leisurely sipping an ice-cold cola.
Behind him stood the one he had pinned great hopes on, the He Wanying who had awakened what appeared to be a second class of S-rank or higher… the Lanjiang No. 3 High School’s heaven’s favored daughter and champion in both theory and practical combat… at this moment she was standing behind Lu Sheng, her long fair hands gently and skillfully massaging his shoulders and the back of his neck!
Her cold, peerlessly beautiful face even showed a trace of… concentration and… enjoyment?!
The technique of an E-rank class masseur was displayed to perfection at this moment; even in the sweltering desert, watching He Wanying’s slender, jade-like forearms and verdant fingers gently knead him, Lu Sheng felt considerably cooler.
“What are you two… doing?”
Chu Jianghe’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor; he rubbed his eyes hard to make sure he was not mistaken!
He Wanying! You were really giving Lu Sheng a massage?!
He recalled what He Wanying had said before entering the Secret Realm.
『Even when it comes to massages, I will only serve Lu Sheng!』
He Wanying, you were He Wanying!
He had thought it was just a joke, but she really was massaging Lu Sheng?!
Chu Jianghe was utterly shocked.
He Wanying had shown astonishing talent when she first entered high school and, combined with her diligence, quickly surpassed all her classmates.
Over the past three years Chu Jianghe had given special training to He Wanying, and whenever a resource or event that fit her conditions appeared he would think of her first.
He Wanying had never disappointed Chu Jianghe; she always took first place in various city-level competitions and was a clear outlier among the unawakened newcomers in this cohort.
She had even now awakened a second class that was very likely S-rank or higher, yet she was giving such attentive massages to a double E-rank class holder?
A surge of indescribable sourness, absurdity, and the humiliation of “my precious cabbage being rooted by a pig” instantly overwhelmed Chu Jianghe!
The genius girl he had spent three years and countless resources cultivating had entered the Secret Realm and her first action was to become a massage therapist for a double-E useless guy?!