Chapter 30: The Fiend’s Weakness and Aruola’s Secrets

The moment he stepped into the darkness, Aruola’s cool, detached voice immediately reached his ears.

“Fifty meters directly ahead,” she said, “there’s one.”

Hearing her voice, Zhang Luan pulled his bowstring taut without hesitation, unleashing the full power of the [All-Star Spiral Arrow]—a Spiral Arrow imbued with All-Star Flames.

Within the pervasive darkness, a streaking current of starlight flames, carrying immense force, plunged savagely into the fiend’s skull. A pained roar echoed through the vast, empty space.

The fiend thrashed about in agony, repeatedly slamming into the walls, desperate to dislodge the arrow embedded in its head.

Yet, its peculiar physique prevented its short arms from reaching the top of its own head.

Zhang Luan glanced down at its status panel. Whether in his past life or this one, this was his first encounter with such a fiend; he genuinely had no idea of its specific details.

[Ancient Tower Fiend]

Level: 37

Status: Starving, Damaged, Berserk, Photophobic (Due to never consuming life-energy food, all attributes reduced by 40%, speed increased by 20%, highly prone to berserking. In berserk state, all resistances reduced by 10%, speed increased by 10%. If exposed to light, all resistances and defense will be reduced by 30%, and 1% of maximum HP will be lost per second)

HP: 47,000/70,000 (Due to starvation, max HP reduced from 100,000 to 70,000)

…

He didn’t need to look at anything else; the fiend’s status bar held the most crucial information. Zhang Luan had never imagined these creatures would be so weak now. Each of these statuses presented an exploitable vulnerability.

‘They’re actually this weak?’

Just as Zhang Luan was feeling confident, Aruola extended her small hand and gently tapped him on the head.

“Be careful. You could die. Also, the little bear’s effect only has one minute left.”

Zhang Luan offered a faint smile. Of course, he would be careful; having already died once, he wouldn’t allow overconfidence to lead to a second demise.

The little bear’s effect had one minute remaining, and Zhang Luan intended to dispatch this fiend within that time. While 47,000 HP seemed substantial, it amounted to little more than a single critical hit. With his EX-tier Luck attribute, landing a critical hit would be straightforward.

The Azure Righteous Sword rested upon the Bow of Finality, enveloped in pitch-black currents. All-Star Flames and spatial ripples augmented its power.

[All-Star Ripple Spiral Holy Blade]

Naturally, he wouldn’t shout out this exceedingly chuunibyou name, though he had to admit it would sound rather cool if he did.

*Crackle!*

With the trigger of a critical hit, the Azure Righteous Sword struck precisely behind the arrow still lodged in the fiend’s head.

The fiend’s remaining HP instantly plummeted to zero.

However, despite slaying this fiend twenty-two levels above him, there was no reward notification. He wasn’t particularly bothered, though; perhaps the kill was too easy, failing to trigger any rewards, and in any case, he hardly cared for such minor gains.

Just as he prepared to seek out the next fiend, Aruola’s voice sounded in his ear once more:

“I remember, my sister left something on the top floor. It can annihilate all fiends. You can go retrieve it.”

Zhang Luan’s body stiffened. He turned to look at Aruola, though in the current pitch-black environment, he could see nothing.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“You didn’t ask.”

Suppressing the urge to knead her emotionless face into a doughy mess, he followed Aruola’s guidance to the stairs leading to the next floor. The little bear’s effect still had over fifty seconds remaining.

According to her, the higher levels contained faint, dim light. Although fiends disliked it, their hunger would compel them to approach once they caught Zhang Luan’s scent.

By the time the little bear’s effect completely vanished, Zhang Luan had successfully stepped onto the platform of the next floor.

This area was considerably brighter than the lower level. Though still dim, his enhanced body allowed him to discern many things. It felt akin to having a black gauze blindfold over his eyes; uncomfortable, yet far superior to the absolute darkness where he couldn’t see his own hand.

Upon sensing Zhang Luan’s living aura, the fiends, which had reverted to their ethereal forms, transformed into ravenous monsters. Hunger drove them to surge towards this place they would ordinarily never set foot in.

They detested light, but to devour Zhang Luan, they could tolerate the faint illumination of this floor.

The creatures moved with incredible speed. After all, in a state of starvation, any living being’s sprint towards food is their fastest.

Thus, Zhang Luan couldn’t continue ascending for the moment.

He stood at the stairwell entrance, the Azure Righteous Sword resting on the Bow of Finality. Creation Energy surged into it ceaselessly. The moment the first wave of fiends arrived, he unleashed a powerful shot.

The spatial ripples began to spread wildly the instant they contacted the first fiend, trapping them in place. He then conjured a ball of All-Star Flames and hurled it forcefully. The All-Star Flames pierced through the ripples, burning intensely in the darkness. Although he couldn’t see what was happening in the dense gloom, the fiends’ pained cries and the continuous stream of damage numbers affirmed the significant effect.

Seizing this opportunity, he continued to sprint upward, finding the next set of stairs under Aruola’s guidance.

Zhang Luan ascended to the next floor, which was utterly different from the previous areas. It appeared to be a library.

[Quest Updated: A-rank Quest [Secret of the Ancient Mage] completed. Submit now?]

Zhang Luan looked at the quest panel with a hint of surprise; he had almost forgotten about this quest. He hadn’t expected it to be completed so easily.

However, he didn’t submit it immediately. A magic-type item wouldn’t offer much help in the current situation.

“What is this place?”

“That mage’s library. The books here have all turned to dust. There’s no need to look. Let’s go. The front is the last floor.”

Aruola pointed to the stairs not far ahead. Zhang Luan was about to lift his foot and move forward when he suddenly realized something.

‘Has this journey been a little too smooth?’

He stopped, turning to look down the stairs. He hadn’t noticed when he came up, but the staircase was over twenty meters long. He recalled the Azure Righteous Sword and waited quietly.

However, when the fiends gathered at the bottom of the stairs, they halted. They roared incessantly, yet not a single one dared to ascend.

“You still haven’t told me everything, have you?”

Hearing Zhang Luan’s words, Aruola nodded bluntly.

“You didn’t ask.”

“…”

Zhang Luan could tolerate it no longer. He walked straight up to her and, under her confused gaze, seized her face.

“What are you doing?”

Zhang Luan sneered coldly, then began to act. Aruola’s face, in his hands, changed shape like a piece of dough.

“Mmph…”

When Zhang Luan released her, Aruola touched her reddened, kneaded face. A rare expression other than blankness appeared on her features.

“Why did you do that?”

“Punishment! This is punishment!”

Aruola remained bewildered, and Zhang Luan couldn’t be bothered to explain.

“How many more things haven’t you told me? Tell me quickly!”

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