Chapter 13: The Impact of Ability Scores on Strength, Shadow of Battle

Comprehensive improvement in ability values has a relatively significant effect at low levels, especially when facing monsters that attack with full force every time.

Speed, strength, and reflexes all influence the course of battle.

Liang Yue had firsthand experience fighting underground lizards; by precisely targeting the monsters’ weak points and launching an offensive, he could easily defeat them.

To put it another way:

Adventurers with higher overall ability values may not necessarily be strong in human combat, but their PvE strength against monsters is certainly formidable.

This was the main reason Liang Yue didn’t worry much about fluctuations in ability values.

The idea that raw ability values are useless is a bit extreme; they merely play a smaller role.

What ultimately determines overall strength is, first and foremost, rare magic and skills.

Second is level.

After that come combat techniques, and ability values rank last—unless one is a monster with uniformly high stats, capable of surpassing levels.

He carried the "Sword Soul Template" on him at all times.

Liang Yue had a clear vision for his future development path; adults don’t naively choose just one option—they want it all!

—

With a clean, decisive stroke, he severed the underground lizard’s head. The monster’s body instantly dissolved into black dust and dispersed. Liang Yue bent down to pick up the magic stone.

“I’ve killed countless underground lizards on the fifth floor; my mood has grown as cold as the blade in my hand.”

That was roughly how Liang Yue felt at this moment.

After clearing the monsters in the current passageway, the walls began to crack steadily, and new underground lizards and gecko-like monsters took over in succession.

The experience points granted did not diminish.

But after leveling up, the slowly increasing progress bar reminded him it was time to explore deeper areas.

“A quick rest to recover some stamina.”

“Soon I can consider moving on to the sixth floor!”

Liang Yue was well aware of the next monster to appear: the “Shadow Blade,” a notorious killer of novices in every sense.

That alone made him take it seriously.

Last night’s energy replenishment had been sufficient, and after a hearty breakfast and a brief hydration, he continued onward.

Arriving at the sixth-floor area, the environment changed drastically. The deep black corridors resembled cavern depths, faintly lit by glowing fruits.

Even the air temperature dropped slightly.

Carefully observing the unfamiliar surroundings had become a habit for Liang Yue, so he proceeded with slow, cautious exploration.

Things went relatively smoothly.

After walking some distance without encountering any monsters, he remained vigilant.

When the sound of stones falling from the ceiling echoed on the ground, his battle instincts — honed through experience — guided him toward the noise.

Suddenly, Liang Yue whipped around.

Not far behind him, a conspicuous black stain on the ground writhed continuously before solidifying into a humanoid shape.

The monster stood about 1.6 meters tall.

In appearance, it was nothing but a pure black shadow with discernible hands and feet, its slender wrists equipped with three sharp hooked claws.

The identity of this monster immediately came to his mind:

“Shadow Blade.”

—

“Encounter it this soon?”

Having long prepared for battle, Liang Yue felt no trace of nervousness facing a monster famed as a “newbie killer.”

He was even somewhat eager to fight.

Clutching his broad sword tightly, he refrained from launching a reckless attack. Instead, he sought first to understand the common attack methods of this type of monster.

This would make his subsequent adventures easier!

The Shadow Blade, however, had no such considerations; driven by instinct, it sought to slaughter all adventurers.

Its body proportions were somewhat awkward.

Even its running posture was a bit strange.

Liang Yue didn’t take it lightly and adopted a defensive stance with his sword held horizontally.

Compared to the underground lizard, the Shadow Blade was faster on foot. Its slender arms paired with razor-sharp hooked claws gave it a longer reach.

Misjudging the distance could easily lead to failure during combat.

When he saw the Shadow Blade raise its slender wrist and swing rapidly, Liang Yue immediately responded by stepping back to maintain distance.

The Shadow Blade’s full-force swing with its long arms and sharp metallic hooks often left it vulnerable due to significant recovery time after a missed attack.

This was the opening Liang Yue seized.

He stepped forward in an instant, unleashing the initial horizontal slash of the Inner Ghost Sword Technique, sweeping a destructive sword energy through the air.

It seemed capable of slicing through steel.

He effortlessly cut the Shadow Blade’s body in half at the waist; a deep purple magic stone dropped to the ground, spilling coins and additional materials.

“Shadow Blade Claw.”

“Not too troublesome, it seems?”

This was, of course, Liang Yue’s perspective. With his mastery of the Inner Ghost Sword Technique and the added effect of sword energy on his attacks, the current upper-floor adventuring felt like playing on easy mode.

“Exp +67.”

The most important part was the experience gained—double that of the underground lizards—while the magic stones and dropped materials were more valuable.

Liang Yue checked the progress bar.

“Conservatively…”

“I still need to kill 30 to 40 more Shadow Blades to level the Sword Soul Template to level 8.”

“Not bad efficiency.”

Data from a single test lacked reference value, so during the upcoming battles, he repeatedly studied the Shadow Blade’s attack patterns.

He confirmed that individual monsters attacked in this manner.

Only when they gathered in larger numbers did coordinated attacks come into play.

What awaited Liang Yue next was...

Grinding relentlessly!

With each battle, his understanding of the Inner Ghost Sword Technique deepened.

He threw himself completely into the training called combat.

Fully focused.

Even Liang Yue was unaware that his evolving fighting style had developed a natural sword aura and killing intent.

It had become integrated into every detail of his sword swings.

—

Until his stamina was utterly depleted, and even swinging the broadsword brought muscle aches, he ended this period of immersive training.

The sword energy accompanying his strikes greatly extended the weapon’s effective use time.

Whether it was a trick of the mind or not, he felt the broadsword had become sharper.

“Hah!”

“...”

After confirming no monsters were nearby, Liang Yue collapsed against a wall, breathing heavily but filled with the joy of swordsmanship improvement.

The physical exhaustion was completely overshadowed.

He took out the lunch box he had bought earlier—time seemed to have slipped by unnoticed—and his intense hunger drove him to feast heartily.

The good news was,

The delicious meal was overall quite satisfying.

Having eaten it all, a sense of fullness gradually restored his mood, and he took several sips of water.

“Feeling great!”

“What’s my current level now?”

The monotonous, repetitive slaughter would have been unbearable if not for his unwavering dedication to swordsmanship training.

Another reason he persevered was the constant feedback of experience points from each monster killed.

This was, perhaps, the immersive experience of a roguelike hack-and-slash game.

He opened the cheat “Sword Soul Template” once again to check.

—

“Liang Yue”

“Level: 10”

“Experience: 0.3%”

“Skill: Inner Ghost Sword Technique (Mastered)”

“SP: 90”

—

“Let’s call it a day for exploration.”

Having successfully reached his planned goal, Liang Yue felt the soreness in his arm muscles and decided to end today’s dungeon grind.

He returned toward Oralie.

Treating it as a light exercise after a hearty meal, he relaxed his muscles and collected all the trash.

Lifting his broadsword, he was about to set off when faint footsteps alerted him.

Muffled voices could be heard, so monsters were ruled out.

This made him even more cautious.

When facing monsters, all he needed to consider was how to dispatch them cleanly.

But if he encountered other adventurers inside the dungeon...

Then Liang Yue had many more things to think about!