Testing

Standing on the first floor, Xia De spread his arms, leaned backward, and sank into the shadows.

When he reappeared, he was already on the sixty-third floor of the labyrinth, where he sensed the strongest magical beast in the entire place was located.

The strongest magical beast on the sixty-third floor was only at peak Tier Seven, which was also the highest level of combat power left in the labyrinth.

As for the reason... Xia De looked around awkwardly.

Yesterday, he had folded the floors starting from Tier Eight into a death corridor, which was then completely blanketed by his Black Prison.

As a result, every single magical beast from Tier Eight and above had been swallowed by the Black Prison, leaving not a single survivor!

Thus, the strongest combatant currently in the labyrinth was only at peak Tier Seven.

Xia De patted Starfall and said, “We'll slaughter some lower-quality ones first this time, and I'll treat you to something better next time.”

Starfall let out a dull, heavy hum when patted, its dark blade looking like a silent warrior.

Roar—!

A beastly roar echoed nearby. Xia De turned to look and found a demonic bear staring at him. Its limbs were covered in stone armor, and irregular rocks jutted from its back.

There was not a shred of sanity in its crimson gaze, which was filled only with pure savagery.

“If I remember correctly, Hilia said this kind of magical beast is called a crack-rock bear, famous for its incredible defense and strength.

“It's an extremely powerful species of magical beast, capable of rivaling Tier Eight with only Tier Seven strength.

“I didn't expect the first magical beast I ran into today to be such a stat monster.”

Xia De looked at the eight-meter-tall bear with excitement, as if he had just found a very amusing toy.

Drawing Starfall from his back, he patted its dark blade once more.

“Looks like you're in luck. This kind of magical beast isn't weak at all. Especially with the labyrinth's berserk energy buffing it, its strength and defense are already comparable to some weaker Tier Eight beasts.”

The crack-rock bear had no sanity. It had no idea what Xia De was muttering about; there was only one thought in its mind.

Tear the creature in front of it to shreds!!!

With a furious roar, the massive bear lunged at Xia De.

“Let's test your durability first!”

Bending his knees slightly, he gripped Starfall's hilt with both hands, holding it like a baseball bat.

“Batter number three, Xia De, is ready. Three, two, one!”

Gripping the hilt tightly, he swung with all his might!

Like hitting a badminton birdie, a loud bang rang out!

The peak Tier Seven crack-rock bear became a high-speed baseball, sent flying into the distance.

Boom!

The entire labyrinth seemed to shudder.

Looking closer, the crack-rock bear, famous for dominating with its physical defense, had been reduced to a splatter of tomato paste on the wall...

Starfall's dark blade was now stained with a few drops of dark red blood.

There was no elegance in it, only pure, raw violence.

“Not bad,” Xia De murmured indifferently, not surprised in the slightest. After all, Starfall was a weapon with one million Combat Power.

Hiss—!

Another beastly roar echoed as Xia De spotted a green-skinned lizard, ten meters long and five meters tall, slowly crawling toward him.

The lizard's skin was a striking color, shimmering with a white luster. The ground shook with every step it took.

Small pebbles kicked up by its footsteps bounced off its body, making crisp, metallic clangs.

“Another one. Just happens to be an ironclad lizard, also famous for its defense.

“Perfect. I'll test your sharpness this time!”

“Hu...”

What humans didn't know was that the ironclad lizard's defense lay not only in its physical body but also in its mind; it possessed a high resistance to mental corruption.

Because of this, it was one of the few magical beasts in the labyrinth that had managed to retain its sanity.

Trapped all day in this pitch-black labyrinth, it couldn't help but want to speak a few words to Xia De upon seeing a creature it could communicate with.

And then...

Eat him afterward!

However, the moment the first syllable left its mouth, it was silenced forever.

At its spot, only a pile of green, bloody chunks of flesh remained, still squirming as if the muscle fibers hadn't realized they were dead yet.

“Did that lizard just speak? Whatever. Today, if it's a magical beast, it dies.”

Xia De muttered to himself in slight confusion, then looked at Starfall with delight.

“The sharpness is perfect, too! There's absolutely nothing wrong with the weapon itself. Next, I'll try combining it with some skills.

“I need to make sure it works for both crowd control and single targets. I'll test all my magic sword energy techniques later!”

“It's just a shame there are so few Tier Seven magical beasts. There are only about two per floor, so I don't get many chances to test things out.

“But as I keep slaughtering my way down, the lower-tier magical beasts will get more and more numerous, giving me plenty of opportunities!”

Using Starfall to casually slice through a Tier Seven, Rank Eight magical beast like tofu, Xia De made his way down from the sixty-third floor.

While Xia De was testing and developing Starfall in the labyrinth, four people were stopped at the labyrinth entrance by a Healer.

The Healer was a middle-aged man in his thirties with a scruffy beard, who was ogling the three women with lecherous eyes.

“Beautiful ladies, would you mind letting me join your party?

“As you can see, I am a Healer by trade, and your party seems to be lacking one.”

He spoke directly to Sheena.

Sheena's brow furrowed deeply, as did Shanna's and Kathleen's. They could feel the man's blatant gaze scanning their bodies.

Reid suddenly stepped into the man's line of sight, shielding the three women behind him. Looking at the sloppy man in front of him, he said displeasuredly:

“My party doesn't need a third-rate Healer! Get lost if you know what's good for you!”

With that, he released his aura. The pressure of his Tier Four, Rank Three cultivation made the Tier Two man feel slightly suffocated.

Cold sweat poured down the man's face, and he hastily knelt on the ground to beg Reid for mercy: “I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please spare me!”

His sudden shift from arrogance to servility was utterly laughable.

Reid snorted coldly and said, “Scram!”

“Yes, yes!”

The sloppy man quickly agreed. Then, he literally lay down on the ground, rolled over, and began rolling away.

Once the man was gone, Reid's expression softened. He flashed a handsome, sunny smile at Sheena and the other two, saying gently,

“It's fine now.”

These words, combined with his handsome looks, made Kathleen's heart flutter. The last bit of awkwardness from what had happened at the Adventurer's Guild completely vanished.

Even Sheena, who usually didn't have much of a favorable opinion of Reid, felt a slight warmth.

Reid taking in their expressions, nodded inwardly with satisfaction.

It had been well worth spending a few gold coins to hire that actor, all to clear the final trace of awkwardness in Kathleen's heart and boost Sheena's favorability.

After all, he had been lusting over Sheena's tall, voluptuous body for a long time.

He looked at the women and said with a smile, “Alright, the annoying fly is gone. Let's get ready and enter the dungeon.”

The women nodded and followed Reid toward the dungeon entrance. Standing at the threshold, Shanna still voiced her concern:

“Is it really okay not to bring a Healer?”

Hearing this, Reid patted his chest and smiled confidently at Shanna.

“Don't worry, it'll be absolutely fine.

“After all, I'm very strong!”