Chapter 18: The Magic Corps


    After successfully reaching the second level, Han Ming picked up the wooden stick he had dropped earlier and took a large gulp of pond water to replenish his energy. Without hesitation, he charged forward to engage the skeleton soldier head-on.


    **Boom!**


    Dust flew up from under their feet as the two clashed, neither gaining the upper hand.


    Han Ming knew his strength had skyrocketed. Before, he could only carry a stone as tall as a person, but now he could manage one twice that size. However, this didn’t mean his strength had merely doubled. It was like comparing two ordinary people: one could carry a 100-pound sandbag, while the other could manage 150 pounds. Yet, the person who could carry 150 pounds might easily take on two people carrying 100 pounds each without breaking a sweat. Among ordinary humans, the difference in strength isn’t vast, but every incremental improvement represents a qualitative leap.


    He was aware that if he removed the weights he carried, he could easily defeat this skeleton. But he refused. He vowed to himself that as long as he remained on this island, he would not remove the weights. In fact, he planned to keep adding more until he was fully loaded!


    **Crack!** The three-meter-tall skeleton soldier slashed at Han Ming’s waist, and he felt as though his spine might snap. If not for the belt he wore, the blow might have cut him in half. The heavy weights also slowed his movements.


    Yet, he didn’t flee. Instead, his wooden stick lashed out like a whip, striking the skeleton’s chest and sending it staggering. The two fought fiercely, each strike a life-or-death exchange.


    Two more months passed...


    Han Ming finally stood at the end of the second level. The bracelets and anklets he wore had increased from one to three, and his belt had been replaced with a larger one. The immense weight forced him to craft a pair of oversized wooden shoes; otherwise, every step would sink him halfway into the ground.


    As expected, there was another staircase leading downward. What awaited him below? Larger skeleton soldiers?


    Upon reaching the third level, Han Ming’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Crystals! Magic crystals!!! The entire floor was littered with magic crystals of various colors—red, green, blue, yellow, and white! All five elemental types were present! Han Ming had some knowledge of magic crystals. In this world, there were four types of currency: 1 gold coin = 10 silver coins = 1,000 copper coins. An ordinary person’s annual income was about 10 gold coins. To put it in perspective, 1 copper coin was roughly equivalent to 10 RMB, and 1 gold coin was about 10,000 RMB. Of course, this comparison wasn’t exact, but it gave a rough idea. A small magic crystal was worth 10 gold coins, a medium one was worth 1,000 small crystals, a large one was worth 1,000 medium crystals, and a supreme-grade crystal was worth 1,000 large crystals. However, the exchange rates weren’t fixed. Fire crystals were the most valuable, while water crystals were the cheapest, with prices fluctuating based on the demand among mages.


    The value of magic crystals wasn’t determined by their size. A medium crystal was only slightly larger than a small one, but it contained far more magical energy, and its purity was significantly higher. Magic crystals could only be obtained from the heads of magical beasts, meaning larger crystals came from more powerful beasts. This made medium and large crystals extremely rare, and supreme-grade crystals were practically legendary.


    Legend had it that once a mage reached the Awakening stage, they could use forbidden spells—catastrophic magic capable of destroying entire cities in an instant. The basic requirement for such spells was the consumption of a large magic crystal.


    Given their value, it was no wonder Han Ming was thrilled to see piles of small magic crystals. This was wealth! More importantly, if he wanted to advance his water magic, he needed to continuously absorb water crystals. If he could take all these crystals with him, it would be an immense fortune! He could officially step into the ranks of water magic apprentices!


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    As Han Ming daydreamed, drooling at the thought, a fireball came flying at him without warning.


    Han Ming barely had time to dodge, the searing heat grazing his face. The fireball exploded behind him, the shockwave knocking him to the ground. Fortunately, the third level’s structure was far sturdier than the previous two. The walls and floor were made of hard, bluish stone, much tougher than ordinary rock. Otherwise, the flying debris from the explosion would have turned him into a pincushion.


    Han Ming’s ears rang from the explosion, but his resilience had improved significantly. Even at such close range, he didn’t lose consciousness.


    He struggled to lift his head and saw rows of skeleton figures in the distance. Each skeleton wielded a staff, their hollow eyes glowing with an eerie red light. A chill ran down his spine.


    “Damn it!! A skeleton mage corps!!!!!”


    Before Han Ming could recover from the shock, a long vine sprouted from the ground, entangling his legs. This vine was far inferior to the one Katheryn had summoned, but it still did its job, restricting his movement. In the next moment, fireballs, ice arrows, earth spikes, and wind blades came raining down. Judging by their power, these skeleton mages were low-level, likely only first-tier, though Han Ming couldn’t be sure of their exact rank. Even so, being hit by so many spells at once would surely be fatal.


    Han Ming shook his legs, shattering the vines, and managed to dodge slightly. But more vines surged forward, and the barrage of spells exploded near him. The shockwave slammed him into the bluish stone wall, leaving a shallow dent in the otherwise indestructible surface.


    As he fell from the wall, an earth spike shot up, piercing his side. However, Han Ming’s immense weight caused the spike to crumble under the pressure. More vines wrapped around him, and another wave of magical attacks followed. A wind blade slashed across his chest, cutting a deep gash, while ice arrows pierced his leg.


    Han Ming was in agony, but he had no time to think. Using all his strength, he broke free from the vines, but before he could move, another volley of fireballs came hurtling toward him. A few were already too close to dodge. In that moment, Han Ming thought, “I’m done for.”


    His survival instincts kicked in, allowing him to evade most of the fireballs, but a few still struck him.


    The explosions from the fireballs, combined with the direct hits, sent his heavily weighted body flying. The water pouch at his waist burst open, spilling green pond water all over him. Miraculously, the water wasn’t evaporated by the fireballs. Instead, it soaked into his body, shielding him from the worst of the explosions and preventing him from being blown to pieces.


    The pond water seeped into his wounds, pulling him back from the brink of death. It was as if a giant hand was tugging him away from the gates of the underworld, fighting死神 for his life.


    This was the most severe injury he had suffered in a long time. Han Ming lay on the staircase, letting the pond water heal him.


    It took a full day for him to wake from the brink of death. The entire pouch of pond water had been exhausted, but it had saved his life.


    When Han Ming finally opened his eyes, he checked his body to confirm he was fully healed and intact. Relieved, he felt his eyelids grow heavy and fell into a deep sleep. He was exhausted...


    Since arriving on this underground island, he hadn’t slept a wink. For months, he had relied on the pond water, neither eating, drinking, nor resting, dedicating every second to becoming stronger. Now, he was finally tired...


    He slept for three full days.


    When he woke, there was no trace of his injuries left. His water pouch was empty, so he needed to return to the pond to refill it. He hadn’t given up on conquering the third level. The word “surrender” wasn’t in his vocabulary. However, this time he needed to prepare more thoroughly. The skeleton mage corps was ridiculously overpowered. He realized that, unlike the first two levels, he couldn’t adapt slowly and defeat them one by one. He had to learn to fight in groups, to move through crowds of enemies unscathed, like a leaf floating through a storm.


    He guessed that the skeleton soldiers on the second level had likely respawned, and without pond water to replenish his energy, he would have to fight his way back.


    Gently removing his weighted accessories, Han Ming tilted his neck and felt an overwhelming surge of strength coursing through his body, as if it were bursting to be unleashed.


    “Ha!”


    With a roar, Han Ming charged into the second-level hall like a whirlwind. Every giant skeleton soldier he collided with was sent flying. He plowed through the crowd of over a hundred skeletons like a heavy armored tank, carving a path of destruction. The first-level skeletons were even less of a challenge. Wherever he went, they turned into piles of broken bones.