Chapter 122: The Dark Night

Xu Han felt a warm current surge throughout his body.

He had leveled up!

He opened his attribute panel.

【Name: Xu Han】
【Race: Human】
【Class: SSS-Rank Gourmet】
【Level: 26】
【Strength: 3795】
【Constitution: 2614】
【Agility: 2460】
【Spirit: 1169】

Finally, a level up. It certainly hadn't been easy. Even with the double experience bonus inside the Beast Tower and having slain so many monsters, it had been a struggle to gain even one level.

He stepped forward and cast "Devour All" on a Cursed Mage. A system prompt echoed in his mind.

"Host has devoured a Tier 2 Cursed Mage for the first time. Gained 40 points in Spirit."
"Host has acquired the Cursed Mage skill: Light of Cursing."

Xu Han felt a surge of joy. Another skill acquired. He opened his skill panel to inspect it.

Light of Cursing LV.1: Fires a beam of cursed light to afflict the enemy. Targets hit fall into a cursed state, reducing all attributes by 20%. Cooldown: 5 minutes.

It was significantly weaker than the Level 5 version wielded by the Cursed Mage, but it was still an excellent skill. A 20% reduction in all attributes for a target—if the opponents were evenly matched, such a debuff could be fatal. Furthermore, dispelling the curse required light-attribute magic, which was not something everyone possessed.

Xu Han waited patiently for the next wave of monsters.

...

In the office, Lei Hongguang was staring intently at the screen. Seeing that Xu Han had actually cleared the seventeenth wave of Cursed Mages, his brow furrowed slightly.

"This Xu Han's strength is a bit beyond my expectations. Still, it's not enough. Don't even think about leaving the Beast Tower alive!"

...

Time ticked by. Xu Han cleared three more waves of elite monsters. After devouring their remains, his attributes saw further improvement, and his Gourmet Compendium reached 95/100. He was very close to 100! Xu Han felt increasingly expectant. What kind of supreme reward awaited him at the 100th floor?

Next came the twentieth wave. Starting from this wave, all enemies would be boss-level monsters. Although they were only Bronze-rank bosses and numbered only five, they were boss-level creatures nonetheless—far stronger than any elite monster. Under normal circumstances, a well-coordinated team of at least twenty people would be needed to stand a chance at defeating a single Bronze-rank boss head-on. But five of them at once? That was not something a hundred-man squad could withstand.

The spectators watched Xu Han with concern, guessing that he had likely reached his limit. Zheng Gang and Ye Die also watched the big screen with grim expressions.

"The pressure of five Bronze-rank bosses is immense," Zheng Gang said worriedly. "I wonder if Xu Han can hold his own?"

Ye Die spoke slowly, "I believe in him."

At first, she hadn't believed it either, but with each battle that concluded, her confidence in Xu Han had grown stronger. Perhaps he really could clear the second level of the Beast Tower alone.

Xu Han stood quietly on the field, waiting. A flash of white light swept across the arena. When it faded, five crimson lions stood in the center. These lions were nearly five meters long, standing much taller than an adult human. Their manes blazed like the sun, looking from afar like five dazzling stars.

Xu Han activated his "Eye of Truth" to inspect them.

【Name: Sun Lion King (Bronze-rank Boss)】
【Race: Lion】
【Level: 20】
【Skill 1: Scorching Sun LV.3 (Summons a scorching sun. While under its light, own strength increases by 30%. Duration: 10 minutes. Cooldown: 30 minutes)】
【Skill 2: Solar Bath LV.4 (Passive: While in sunlight, all attributes increase by 50%. In darkness, all attributes are reduced by 50%)】
【Skill 3: Scorch Flame LV.2 (Condenses sunlight into a beam of intense fire to attack enemies. Targets hit are afflicted with Burning status. Cooldown: 3 minutes)】
【Skill 4: Solar Bombardment LV.2 (Hurls the sun at the enemy, causing devastating damage within a hundred-meter radius. Cooldown: 30 minutes)】
【Skill 5: Flame Claw LV.4 (Infuses the power of the sun into the claws, adding fire damage. Targets hit are afflicted with Burning status. Cooldown: 1 minute)】

In the plaza, many spectators involuntarily clenched their fists.

"The Sun Lion Kings can create their own suns, and they gain power under the light. They are incredibly troublesome."
"There's only one way to deal with them: block the sunlight. If there's no sunlight, their strength drops significantly!"
"Easier said than done. The suns they create hang high in the sky; standard ranged attacks can't touch them. How are you supposed to block the light?"
"That depends on Xu Han."

Seeing the five lions, Xu Han’s lips curled into a slight smile. They grew stronger in the sunlight and weaker in the dark. Blocking the light might be difficult for others, but for him, it was simple beyond measure.

As the five Sun Lion Kings appeared, they roared toward the sky. Fiery spheres of light condensed in their mouths and slowly ascended, hanging high like five miniature suns, radiating intense heat. Under this light, the lions seemed coated in a pale golden veil, and their aura became increasingly terrifying.

"Roar!"

One of the lions let out a roar, opened its mouth, and sprayed a column of scorching fire toward Xu Han. Xu Han stepped to the side, dodging the flames with ease. He flashed forward, charging toward the lion. The other lions surrounded him, unleashing torrents of Scorch Flame that sealed off all his escape routes.

Xu Han raised his hand, a pitch-black vortex appearing in his palm.

Damage Devour.

The fiery pillars surged into the vortex. The next second, a column of fire nearly twice as thick as the original erupted from the vortex, striking one of the Sun Lion Kings.

Boom!

Caught off guard, the lion was hit head-on, its golden mane instantly scorched black. Xu Han grinned. His Damage Devour skill had reached Level 3.

Damage Devour LV.3: Upon activation, absorbs 3 instances of damage and reflects double that damage back to the enemy. Duration: 2 seconds. Cooldown: 4 minutes.

Reflecting double damage was something even a boss-level monster couldn't withstand. Taking advantage of their lapse in defense, Xu Han used "Shadow Flash" to appear right beside the Sun Lion King.

"Darkness!"

He let out a low growl. The Shadow Armor on his body emitted a pitch-black light. Suddenly, an ink-like darkness surged out like a tidal wave, instantly enveloping a ten-meter radius and engulfing all the Sun Lion Kings.

The lions roared in panic. They realized that within this darkness, they could no longer feel the power of the sun!