Chapter 23: Skill Experience

Recalling the horde of soul corpses from a moment ago, Yun Qing noted that they all looked identical; she couldn't be sure if Ye Mingyu was among them, nor whether this was the real world. For now, she decided to follow Immortal Xuyuan's instructions and complete the instance.

This wasn't her first time. Yun Qing, practiced and efficient, swiftly gathered the necessary resources and rescued three villagers without wasting a single second. She drew near the spot where she had previously encountered the soul corpses.

With Fireball Spell at the ready, she stepped back a few paces just as a black soul corpse emerged from the side. She unleashed the Fireball Spell—arcane incantation and gestures channeling unknown spiritual energy into a fist-sized orb of fire that shot toward the soul corpse.

This was no ordinary flame, but spiritual fire. The moment the fireball touched the soul corpse, it burned to ash before her eyes at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The quest tracker now marked one out of fifteen soul corpses slain.

Yet, to her dismay, she received no combat experience for it!

The Fireball Spell seemed easy enough to use. As long as she didn't get caught, one fireball was enough to instantly destroy a soul corpse.

Recalling the layout of the clinic, the spot where she’d been knocked down last time, and the general positions of the soul corpses, she suppressed her tense excitement and stealthily crept forward.

Protected by her magical robes and with Immortal Xuyuan able to let her start over if needed, she had nothing to fear.

Turning a corner, a flicker of black caught her eye. She pressed herself against the wall, silently launched another Fireball Spell, and dispatched another soul corpse.

Thus, with boldness and caution, Yun Qing weaved through the horde of soul corpses. Whenever she sensed she was about to be caught, she’d use her Roll skill to tumble ten meters away in a direction of her choosing, putting distance between herself and her pursuers. Then, she would follow up with another fireball for a clean finish.

She could also use the Lightfoot Technique, making her movements feather-light—just a couple of footholds and she’d leap onto the roof, from which she rained fireballs down upon the soul corpses.

Fireball Spell, however, had its limitations: range, cooldown, and cast time, all of which she had to keep in mind.

Soon, she had cleared out the entire group of soul corpses: eleven down out of fifteen.

Regrettably, she hadn’t come across any villagers or soul corpses resembling Ye Mingyu, despite searching all around the clinic.

"This instance probably isn't the real world," Yun Qing reassured herself.

She pressed on. Rounding the corner of a house, she spotted another shadow. A Fireball Spell flew, and to her horror, the white-named Ye Family Village guard on the other side turned to ash in the flames.

Immortal Xuyuan’s prompt appeared: "You have slain a villager. Quest failed. Restarting."

A wave of disorientation swept over her. Yun Qing found herself once again outside Ye Family Village.

Four words floated in the air: Instance World!

With the experience of two previous attempts, Yun Qing successfully completed the tasks assigned by Immortal Xuyuan: "Rescue fifteen villagers. Slay fifteen soul corpses."

No sooner had she finished than Immortal Xuyuan gave her a new task.

"Clear out the Soul-Eater Bug Nests outside the protective array: 0 out of 10."

Soul-Eater Bug Nests! The bugs alone were terrifying enough, now there were nests. Yun Qing asked, "Immortal Xuyuan, which skill should I use to clear the Soul-Eater Bug Nests?"

"Fireball Spell will do!"

Fireball Spell—ranged attack, that was a relief.

Still, she worried, "Will my soul be attacked?"

"Your magical robes will shield you. Hurry along!" Immortal Xuyuan seemed unwilling to waste more words, waving her along as if to say, get on with it.

Yun Qing felt a vibration; one of her temporary skills was highlighted with a large red circle, prompting her to use it.

She murmured, "Use Enhanced Escape Technique!"

No sooner had she spoken than her body moved uncontrollably, instantly teleporting a mile forward from her spot near the clinic to the vicinity of the blacksmith’s shop.

Immortal Xuyuan reminded her, "When using Enhanced Escape Technique, mind your direction. Your task is to clear the Soul-Eater Bug Nests above the protective array—use the escape to get beyond it."

Beyond the array, into the darkness above? With the invincible items from the instance scroll, she was confident she’d be fine.

Yun Qing waited for the escape skill’s cooldown. As soon as it was ready, she whispered, "Use Enhanced Escape Technique!" and focused on ascending.

A moment of dizziness—and in the next instant, she was enveloped in darkness.

The moment she arrived, she found herself plummeting in free fall. Her sword-flying skill icon was flashing; Yun Qing silently invoked, "Sword Flight!"

A flying sword materialized beneath her feet, arresting her fall. Yun Qing floated on the sword in midair.

Except for traveling by airplane and some fragmented memories from the original host, this was her first time flying.

She glanced about—up, down, all around—completely shrouded in utter darkness, unable to see a thing, without even spiritual sense. It was like a dream; she drifted, weightless, in the void.

Her Night Vision skill vibrated, prompting her next move. Upon activating it, she still couldn’t see the outside of the array, but a minimap appeared in her mind.

On the minimap was a red circle containing ten red dots directly below her.

With a thought, she guided her sword downward. As she drew near enough for her Fireball Spell to reach, the red dots displayed labels: “Soul-Eater Bug Nest,” each with a long health bar.

Around them were countless fine cracks, through which faint firelight seeped. These feeble glimmers were quickly swallowed by the darkness near the red dots.

Judging by the cracks and light, Yun Qing estimated the bug nests were about the size of a washbasin and resembled hemispherical monsters stuck to the protective array.

A rhythmic thumping, reminiscent of a heartbeat, emanated from within each one. With every pulse, the nest shuddered, sending out fine black filaments.

These filaments slipped through the cracks created by corrupted resources in the array, ignoring all defenses as they sought out living things—humans, animals, plants, even microorganisms.

Some black threads reached for Yun Qing, but could not penetrate her enchanted robes.

With the Soul-Eater Bug Nest in range, Yun Qing wasted no time. She aimed and invoked, "Use Fireball Spell!"

A fist-sized fireball streaked through the darkness and struck the nest, reducing its health by a tenth. Yet it remained, hemispherical, pulsing outward with more black threads as if beating like a heart.

One fireball wasn’t enough. She’d simply use more.

As she bombarded the nest with Fireball Spells, Yun Qing reviewed her temporary skills. Besides her fireballs, the only other weapon was a small sword she’d picked up and didn’t know how to use.

The Fireball Spell’s cooldown was short. Spell after spell flew, and after nearly a minute, her final fireball reduced the washbasin-sized nest to ashes.

One out of ten Soul-Eater Bug Nests destroyed.