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nAs Howard’s points soared rapidly, not a single student wanted to believe their own eyes!

nIt was just too unbelievable!

nHoward was merely a first-year freshman. Every student present had been through that phase. Even for geniuses who had awakened S-level talents, reaching around level 25 in one or two months was considered remarkable, usually indicating a powerful family background.

nReaching level 20 was enough to be eagerly sought after by major academies!

nEven if Howard was extraordinarily talented, reaching level 30 at most, it still seemed impossible for him to surpass so many fifth and fourth-year students in the Mystic Realm in terms of points.

nAnd now, Howard’s points were even chasing the top three!

nThose who were in the top three were the powerhouses of the academy.

nNot to mention others, Keno himself was an S-level Talent Awakening, equipped with numerous Legendary-grade items and had comprehended several A-level skills, along with an S-level skill, far surpassing other awakened.

nAs for the person at the top of the leaderboard, they had mastered an SS-level skill, a genius who had dominated the student body for years!

n“Howard is really close to reaching the third place now!”

n“My god… how did he do it?”

n“I saw his points rising earlier, but it wasn’t this fast, right?”

n“That’s true, could this be an error? Normally, as the battle goes on, shouldn’t one’s mental and physical state get worse? Why is his point acquisition speed increasing instead!”

nIn a moment of disbelief, many students turned their gazes towards Keno.

nKeno himself found it hard to believe, but having overseen the Mystic Realm for over a year without a single error, he could only sigh and say, “It’s impossible for there to be a mistake. This stele was personally set up by the dean, who even infused a strand of his own consciousness into it. It simply cannot be wrong.”

nHearing Keno’s words, the gathered students fell silent, their faces awash with embarrassment.

nKeno’s implication was clear: Howard had earned those points through his own strength. A freshman surpassing them all so dramatically was not a pleasant pill to swallow.

nThey couldn’t help but feel inwardly alarmed. Could it be that they had become complacent in their life at the Holy Abyss Academy, neglecting their training?

nThe students didn’t have the answer and could only silently watch the stele. Even though spots in the Mystic Realm had opened up as students left, no one moved away. They continued to stand there, dazedly watching Howard’s points climb, waiting for him to emerge.

nTime slowly passed in the midst of Howard’s combat and the students’ anticipation.

nEventually, as they saw Howard’s points skyrocketing, they became numb to the spectacle.

nKeno sighed in resignation, his own ranking overtaken as well. However, when he saw Howard surpass the original top ranker to become the new number one, a smile appeared on his face. It didn’t matter to him that he was surpassed, but the fact that such a prominent genius had been overtaken would make for an interesting story once it got out.

nAnother hour passed, and Howard’s points finally stopped at 88,888 – more than double Keno’s score and a whopping 30,000 points ahead of the second place!

n“Finally, it stopped!”

n“It’s terrifying, eighty thousand points… This breaks the record, and it’s hard to believe that this is the achievement of a first-year freshman.”

nThe students were filled with awe, their gaze shifting from the stele to the staircase.

nThey were all waiting for Howard’s appearance!

nMeanwhile, Howard was still in the Mystic Realm. Seeing no more monsters respawning, he showed a look of surprise.

nDing! Congratulations, awakened Howard, you have successfully cleared all the monsters on this level. As you are the first trialist to achieve this, you receive a special reward: one A-level skill book!

n“Huh?! All the monsters are gone? That was easy!”

n“Interesting, there’s even a reward.”

nHoward’s eyebrows arched up, his surprise quickly turning into a smile. Without bothering to check the reward, he chose to exit the Mystic Realm.

nHum–

nHaving made his decision, Howard felt a brief dizziness. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a stone chamber, sitting cross-legged on a cushion.

nStanding up and looking around, Howard noticed several Spirit Gathering Magic Circles nearby.

n“Spirit Gathering Magic Circles? Are these for maintaining the existence of the Mystic Realm?”

nWith narrowed eyes, Howard didn’t ponder for long, nor did he pay much attention to the stone chamber. He directly opened his backpack to check his reward.

nA-level skill book (Special Consumable Item)

nEffect: Upon use, randomly comprehend one A-level active skill

n“Use it!”

nWithout hesitation, Howard crushed the skill book. Silver-white light flickered, then floated into his body.

nDing! Congratulations, awakened Howard, you have successfully comprehended the A-level active skill – Mirage of Blossoms and Moon!

nMirage of Blossoms and Moon (A-level active skill)

nLevel: 1

nDescription: When receiving a single attack exceeding 50% of your own HP in damage, this skill is automatically triggered, nullifying that damage. Simultaneously, it summons a duplicate identical to yourself. You can control this duplicate, which will explode after receiving five attacks or upon your command, dealing damage equal to 300% of your magic attack power to all hostile targets within a 5-meter radius, and has a knockback effect.

nCooldown: 300 seconds

nMana cost: 5000

nProficiency: 0

/100

n“!!!”

n“What a great skill! It offers damage output plus control, and can even deceive enemies!”

n“Even if a powerful enemy gets close to me, as long as I take a hit, not only am I immune to the damage, but I can also summon a duplicate. Even if it confuses the enemy for just a second, that’s enough for me to adjust.”

nHoward couldn’t help but grin.

nAt first glance, the skill might not seem powerful in terms of percentage attributes, but its effectiveness in real combat situations would undoubtedly not disappoint Howard.

nUpon checking his experience points, Howard’s smile grew even brighter. .

nAfter this bout in the Mystic Realm, his experience bar had surged nearly 60%, bringing him close to level 34.

nGaining so much experience at this level in just a few hours would surely shock anyone who heard about it.

nSatisfied, Howard pushed open the door of the stone chamber and walked down the familiar corridor, heading straight for the stairs.

nJust as he descended, even before reaching the lobby, Howard sensed numerous intense gazes upon him.

nLooking up, he saw dozens of students staring at him with an intense and unrestrained curiosity, sending a shiver down his spine and igniting his own curiosity.

n“What are you all doing?”

nHoward took a step back, quickly saying, “I’m not interested in men, okay? Don’t get any weird ideas!”

nHearing this, the students rolled their eyes in response.

nKeno, after a moment of silence, suddenly asked, “Howard, were you in combat the whole time just now?”

n“Yes,” Howard nodded. “Unfortunately, the monsters in the sixth layer of the Mystic Realm weren’t challenging enough. They were too few in number. I wasn’t even fully satisfied when I had already killed them all, and I was forced to be teleported out.”

nAs he spoke, Howard wore a look of regret.

nLittle did he know, his words sounded like thunderclaps to the ears of the other students.

n“Gulp…”

nThe sound of swallowing saliva echoed continuously. The students exchanged looks and whispered among themselves, “Damn, I’ve been in the academy for three years now, and I only dare to enter the fourth layer of the Mystic Realm. And he dared to go to the fifth layer?”

n“Don’t think that the fifth layer of the Mystic Realm is just 5 levels higher than the fourth. That’s a significant difference in attributes!”

n“It’s terrifying!”

n“How many levels is Howard at now?”

n“Wait a minute! Did Howard say he killed all the monsters?”

n“My god, someone actually wiped out all the monsters in the Mystic Realm? Aren’t those monsters supposed to be endless?”

nAs the students came to their senses and looked at Howard again, their eyes were filled with awe and fear.

nThey even began to wonder if Howard was bragging.

nHowever, the horrifying points were right there, making it hard for them not to believe that what Howard said could indeed be true!

nIn truth, Howard really hadn’t had his fill of battle.

nAt first, his pace of defeating monsters wasn’t particularly fast. Based on that initial speed, it was unlikely he could have managed to wipe them all out.

nHowever, once Howard summoned a second and then a third Flame Giant, the speed of killing monsters became terrifyingly efficient.

nThe monsters, already unable to withstand several attacks from a single Flame Giant, stood no chance against multiple Giants. They were almost instantly annihilated.

nHoward didn’t even need to lift a finger himself to see his experience points continuously rise.

nIf the monsters in the Mystic Realm were indeed endless, Howard would have loved to stay and level up crazily, boosting his strength.

n“Right, I wonder if wiping out all the monsters in the Mystic Realm will get me on the leaderboard?” Howard suddenly thought of the stele and its rankings. With a smile, he turned to Keno and asked, “If I make it onto the leaderboard, whom should I approach to claim the rewards?”

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