Chapter 112: Found You

Five days remain until the Sword Star and the lecture team arrive; seven days until the next dungeon entry.

Taking advantage of this time, Wu Chang prepared to consolidate the power he had gained.

Three dungeons, less than half a month total, had increased all his attributes by more than double compared to before entering the Abyss Game.

The massive attribute boost made his own body feel alien to him.

He didn't know how fast he could run, how strong his power was, or how quickly his reactions were.

Previously, when clearing dungeons, he mostly relied on dungeon mechanics and skill values, never having been truly pushed to the brink.

But things always fear the unexpected.

If he were truly cornered and couldn't fully control his own body, even a single thread of survival might slip through his fingers.

Although his personality meant he never intended to engage in direct, brute-force combat, this remained a hidden danger.

Yet the problem he faced was one nearly all Abyss Game players encountered.

The solution was simple: rent a private training room at the Crimson Courtyard.

For just ten Corrupted Silver coins per hour, you could rent a private training room, exclusively yours, unseen by anyone.

It contained various equipment and came with usage tutorials; any training effect you desired could be found there.

If you were willing to add twenty Corrupted Silver coins per hour to unlock a Smart Personal Coach, the training room could design a personalized training regimen based on your attributes and current bodily control.

If still unsatisfied, paying double the price to purchase SVIP privileges would turn the Smart Personal Coach into a top-tier training expert, monitoring your status 24/7 and offering real-time adjustment suggestions.

Wu Chang needed time most of all, so he immediately upgraded to SVIP, maximizing efficiency.

In two days, twenty hours, after spending 1000 Corrupted Silver coins, he fully mastered his current body.

How much force to exert with each punch; running pace in minutes and seconds per kilometer; tossing a coin and catching it at the exact height—it was all under his control.

He had never understood himself so thoroughly.

The attributes added by the Abyss Game were like a crude, brute-force enhancement of his physique, representing only the lower bound.

Through scientific and efficient methods of absorption, he could reach the upper limit of these powers.

After two days of training, absorbing and consolidating the power within his body, under the guidance of the top-tier training expert, his strength, agility, and endurance each increased by two additional points—a welcome bonus.

Now, he was like an athlete who had completed his conditioning; a slide tackle or Tiger Vanguard move was no challenge.

According to the initial training room's estimate, without guidance and training blindly, it would take at least a month to fully master one's abilities, let alone reach his current level.

After this training, Wu Chang's greatest insight was that spending money truly made you stronger.

The very existence of training rooms revealed the Abyss Game's lack of friendliness toward ordinary players.

The Abyss Game's model favored concentrating resources collected from vast numbers of low-tier players to support those at the top or pinnacle of the pyramid.

How did that saying go again? In free-to-play games, zero-spender and low-spender players are part of the high-spender's gaming experience.

The words are harsh, but the truth remains.

If you followed this logic further.

After the World Dungeon, the Abyss Game suddenly needed to absorb five million new players—could it be that the resource output of current bottom-tier players could no longer meet the demands of the pyramid's apex players?

Hence, the Abyss Game was so eager to mass-recruit "cattle and horses" to enhance the experience of top-tier players? Regardless of the truth, the Abyss Game's pace would likely accelerate dramatically soon.

If you couldn't keep up, you were destined to be eliminated.

Besides spending time in the training room, he trained with Zhao Yan in various combat techniques.

Five days of training also brought him substantial gains.

With the same physical attributes, a professional fighter's punch delivered far more force than that of a bodybuilder or powerlifter.

This involved aspects like force generation, muscle memory, and neural coordination.

Attribute panels only determine how much force you have; combat techniques and skills determine how much of that force you can actually unleash. For example, Liu Shan and Liu Wei in the Suishui Ping'an dungeon had low attributes but could unleash power far exceeding their stats through refined martial arts.

During training with Zhao Yan, Wu Chang, through his high Inspiration and strong muscular control, always grasped the essentials quickly.

In just five days, his attribute panel gained a new skill: Combat Basics (E).

Improved force generation made Mamba Iron Elbow even more formidable, now combining control and damage.

Zhao Yan noticed Wu Chang's progress and praised him as a natural talent in combat, repeatedly urging him to change his clearing style—stop hiding, embrace the manly romance of direct, fist-to-flesh combat.

Wu Chang replied: Romantic? Bullshit.

Wait till I enter a dungeon and stack my power to three digits—then when I'm punching you face-to-face, you'll understand that staying alive and winning is the real manly romance.

He knew his own situation best; Wu Chang wasn't misled by Zhao Yan's praise—he understood his own role clearly.

Mastering his body and learning combat techniques were merely filling gaps, adding polish.

Hiding and sneaking were the foundation of his survival.

Spatial magic saved him the cost of upgrading his personal space; the Superhero's bodysuit eliminated his need to buy armor.

The Silent Town walkthrough went too smoothly; the medicines he'd prepared were never used, and he still carried Yilin, a powerful healer, saving further medical expenses.

Looking at his account balance of 29,000 Corrupted Silver coins, he went to the trading zone and bought two skill scrolls he'd long eyed but never dared to purchase.

Skill Name: Social Anxiety Disorder

Skill Level: D

Skill Description: Due to fear of social interaction and poor communication skills, you can actively reduce your presence, causing those around you to unconsciously ignore your existence. The degree of diminished presence is influenced by the Inspiration attribute.

Skill Note: When you notice that during meals, the waiter forgets to bring you an extra pair of chopsticks, you'll know your ability has succeeded.

The D-level Social Anxiety Disorder cost 3,000 Corrupted Silver coins.

As a non-combat skill with Inspiration bonuses, it was obscure and poorly regarded.

But for Wu Chang, it was undoubtedly a divine skill.

He had tested Social Anxiety Disorder in reality; under his high Inspiration, it wasn't just that chopsticks were forgotten—he even vanished from group photos, his figure obscured by inexplicable glare.

Skill Name: Advanced Stealth

Skill Level: C

"Skill Description: A must-have skill for advanced assassins. While in stealth, you will conceal your form, aura, breath, and heat signature, undetectable to the naked eye or electronic instruments. Launching an attack will break the stealth state. Duration: 60 seconds. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Stealth effectiveness is influenced by Agility, Endurance, and Inspiration attributes."

"Skill Note: Stealth is a legitimate combat skill. Please do not use it in strange domains."

The C-rank skill Advanced Stealth, though not a direct combat skill, was extremely sought-after thanks to its life-saving and escape properties, costing him 12,000 Decayed Silver Coins.

Advanced Stealth paired with social anxiety could get him close to an invisibility effect — an absolute god-tier skill for the cautious playstyle, a must-have for backstabbers.

But there was one thing he couldn't figure out: what exactly did the "strange domains" mentioned in the Advanced Stealth skill note mean? Wu Chang had no clue, and wondered if anyone knowledgeable could explain it to him.

Five days slipped by in a flash, and in the blink of an eye the day mentioned in Zhao Yan's notification had arrived.

Professor Shi Ning's touring lecture team arrived at Wanghai City. At the same time, a braised egg shrouded entirely in a black robe had followed the scent over as well.

Beneath the black robe, the patterns on the braised egg's body surface kept shifting, and its flesh twisted and deformed along with them, like a ball of clay being randomly kneaded.

The thing inside it had sensed its target and could barely contain itself any longer.

Its eyes turned toward Wanghai University, and it revealed an unsettling smile.

Found you, Sword Star.

(End of Chapter)