161: The first floor of the Trial Tower, the swamp gray dwarf!!

“Hmm… is the effect of this Spirit food really this powerful?”

Ye Ze revealed a surprised expression.

The effect of the Emerald Dream exceeded Ye Ze's expectations; it felt no worse than a regular Stamina recovery potion.

“Speaking of which, the effect granted by my Chef God's Blessing is also not bad.

Just based on the effect of Chef God's Blessing, maybe I could even apply for a chef position in the back kitchen.”

Ye Ze ate the Emerald Dream salad to recover stamina while daydreaming proudly.

It was a pity that his ambition wasn't here. Perhaps when he gets old, he could stay in the academy's back kitchen and make some Spirit food for the students.

After eating the Emerald Dream (salad), Ye Ze's stamina, which was consumed from practicing skills, recovered by more than half.

Leaving the training building,

Ye Ze looked up to the east and saw a tall tower in the distance. It was entirely silver-white, seemingly cast from translucent white jade, and extremely tall. The top of the tower reached into the clouds, about a hundred stories high, much taller than the Copy Tower.

He stepped towards the Trial Tower…

…

Qing Campus Ranking

First Place: Jiang Ziqing, 21000 (×2.3)

…

Third Place: Mu Bai, 19050 (×1.8)

Fourth Place: Wu Chen, 17900 (×1.9)

…

Eleventh Place: Xu Siya, 185600 (×1.5)

…

…

One Hundred Sixteenth Place: Ye Ze, 13500…

…

After completing the trial task before, Ye Ze had briefly entered the top hundred, but this week, he hadn't gained much academy points, and his ranking had fallen out of the top hundred.

The points displayed in the Qing Campus Ranking were the academy points earned by the students this month, settled once a month.

There were only three ways for students to earn academy points:

—1: Complete bounty tasks and receive bounties.

—2: Challenge the Trial Tower. For every 5 floors cleared, 1000 academy points can be obtained.

—3: Break the fastest clearance record for a Corpse Fiend Dungeon, which grants 1000 academy points. (This can only be obtained the first time the fastest clearance record is broken for each Corpse Fiend Dungeon; subsequent breaks will not grant academy points.)

Of Ye Ze's 13500 points,

10000 points were from completing the trial task, 1500 points were from completing the heart of the elephant king bounty task, and the remaining 2000 were from Ye Ze breaking the fastest clearance records for the Forgotten Grassland and Buried Bone Graveyard respectively.

“21000 × 2.3 is 48300… This means my ranking coefficient needs to reach 3.6 to surpass Jiang Ziqing and get first place in the Qing Campus Ranking…”

“That’s not right.”

Ye Ze shook his head. “The Trial Tower also gives points. You get 1000 academy points for every 5 floors cleared. I don't need to reach a ranking coefficient as high as 3.6.”

Anyway, let's try challenging it first…

…

“The use of secret treasures and any other auxiliary items is strictly prohibited within the Trial Tower. Violators will be immediately expelled from the Trial Tower and prohibited from entering again for six months…

…The combat power of the monsters in the Trial Tower is dynamically generated based on the challenger's own combat power… It mainly tests the challenger's practical combat ability, skill level, and skill proficiency…”

Each student only has three opportunities to enter the Trial Tower each month.

Since Ye Ze was entering the Trial Tower for the first time,

the staff on the first floor of the Trial Tower explained the rules for challenging the tower in detail.

There were a few key points: 1. No secret treasures or any auxiliary items can be used.

2. The combat power of the Trial Tower monsters is directly linked to the challenger's own combat power, unlike the Druid's trial secret realm where monster levels are linked to the challenger's level, so Ye Ze had no loopholes to exploit this time.

3. For every floor cleared in the Trial Tower, the ranking coefficient increases by 0.1. For every 5 floors cleared, 1000 academy points and other related rewards are obtained.

…

Swish swish swish!!!

With a thought, the secret treasures on Ye Ze's body instantly transformed into streaks of light and flew out, circling in the air before flying into his dimensional pocket.

“Can I enter the Trial Tower now?” Ye Ze asked the staff member.

“Yes, you may.” The staff member nodded slightly and moved aside, clearing the path to the teleportation entrance to the first floor of the Trial Tower.

Ye Ze stepped forward and reached out to touch the vortex entrance that faintly exuded a bloodthirsty aura.

The next second, with a flash of light, Ye Ze disappeared from the spot…

…

This was a dark, damp cave, filled with the smell of decay.

Ye Ze’s gaze fell on the wooden table to his left, which was covered with weapons: long swords, daggers, magic staffs, bows and arrows… everything was there.

After picking up a steel battle saber from it, the rest of the weapons, along with the wooden table, disappeared directly.

He used his Appraisal skill on the long saber in his hand…

Trial Long Saber: Sharp, durable, for use only within the Trial Tower.

An extremely brief piece of information appeared.

Walking out of the cave,

the smell of decay became even stronger. Looking around, Ye Ze found himself on a small island surrounded by a muddy swamp with green bubbles rising from it.

Whoosh!!

Suddenly, a powerful sound of something cutting through the air came.

He saw a black crossbow bolt flying towards him at an astonishing speed.

It was too late to dodge,

Ye Ze's mind moved, and a vast amount of Spirit power surged out.

Buzz!!!

The black crossbow bolt hovered ten centimeters in front of Ye Ze, unable to advance further, as if an invisible wall blocked its path, its tail vibrating violently.

The next second!

Whoosh!!

Wrapped in Spirit power, the black crossbow bolt suddenly changed direction, shooting back out like a black lightning bolt tearing through the air, carrying an unmatched momentum, and instantly disappearing from sight.

Roar!!!

Immediately after—

A scream echoed across the small island.

A hundred meters away, a black shadow fell from a large tree.

Looking closely, it was a Dwarf, with gray skin all over, a ferocious face, and fist-sized tumors growing on its face and neck.

A pungent smell of decay permeated the air, emanating from the fleshy tumors.

Its face formed a stark contrast with these large tumors. It was gaunt, with sunken cheeks, its skin tightly stretched over the bone, its prominent eye sockets and cheekbones high, and its deep-set eyes lifeless, like a skeleton.

Swamp Gray Dwarf

Level: 25

Combat Power Evaluation: 74 stars

Characteristics: Brutal, bloodthirsty, low intelligence

Talents: Stone Skin (E), Crossbow Bolt Enhancement (E)

Skills: Rapid Fire (Tier 1), Crossbow Bolt Scatter (Tier 1), Stealth (Tier 1)

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At the same time—

A piece of information appeared before him.

Trial Tower First Floor Clearance Conditions: 1. Kill all Gray Dwarves on the island. 2. Find the entrance to the second floor. 3. Survive on the island for 3 hours. Achieving any of the above conditions is considered a successful clearance.

Whoosh!! Whoosh!! Whoosh!!

A series of rapid sounds of something cutting through the air rang out,

Several crossbow bolts shot towards Ye Ze from different directions.

Around the small island, dozens of Swamp Gray Dwarves walked out from behind rocks and large trees, approaching Ye Ze step by step.

In the southern direction, several Swamp Gray Dwarves were slowly pushing a crossbow cart, over a meter long, onto the island…

…