Dimension Game Empire Chapter 136

Just arrived at the sixth floor, Xia Yan instantly became alert and adopted a fighting stance. The reason being that the light on the sixth floor was too dim, completely different from the previous five floors, with no light source whatsoever.

Xia Yan vaguely sensed a dangerous aura, subconsciously tightening the sword in his hand. His body also entered an activated state due to the perceived danger.

Then, the monsters of the sixth floor appeared before Xia Yan.

Clang, clang, clang—

The sound of the walls cracking rang out as the monsters struggled to jump out of the walls, appearing before Xia Yan. They were about 1.6 meters tall, with black skin from head to toe, blending in with the surrounding environment, making them difficult to distinguish.

The monsters’ arms, hands, and feet were very similar to humans, but their skin looked as if it had been blackened with paint, and they cowered as they looked at Xia Yan. The only thing that allowed Xia Yan to distinguish them was a cross-shaped mark on the monsters’ heads, shimmering with silver light.

The monsters of the sixth floor—【Shadow Demons】, are adept at team combat and ambushes. Note: Dungeon monsters from the sixth floor onward will possess a certain degree of intelligence and emotions. It is recommended that adventurers team up to explore this floor.

Every five floors in the dungeon, the strength and danger of the monsters will undergo a leap.

This was written in the common sense manual, and Xia Yan now finally understood how significant this leap was.

Fourteen Shadow Demons surrounded Xia Yan from all directions, layer upon layer. The Shadow Demons waved their sharp claws, making strange noises as they stared at Xia Yan.

If there were only three or two, Xia Yan would not feel his life was in danger. But he was surrounded by as many as fourteen Shadow Demons, and the manual also emphasized their ability to cooperate, even comparable to human combined attacks.

“Looks like I’m going to lose some skin.”

The dangerous aura made Xia Yan reveal a solemn expression, and he waved the sword in his hand with a wry smile. But fear and panic did not arise; rather, Xia Yan felt quite excited and elated.

Originally, he had chosen to enter the dungeon to become stronger. The crisis before him was exactly what he wanted.

“Gaa—”

Letting out a hiss, the fourteen Shadow Demons naturally would not stand on ceremony with Xia Yan. They charged at Xia Yan from all directions, blending into the surrounding environment, making it impossible to pinpoint their existence with the naked eye.

Many adventurers had perished due to this concealment and their ambushes. But the Shadow Demons’ strengths were perfectly countered by Xia Yan’s abilities.

The extension of his second talent, ‘Soul Conversion,’ allowed him to spread soul energy outward from himself, forming a 360-degree omnidirectional perception field. This slowed down and clarified what Xia Yan heard, saw, and smelled.

Golden light dyed Xia Yan’s pupils.

One on the left. Two on the right.

Sidestep, slide.

The attacks of three Shadow Demons missed instantly.

Xia Yan did not choose these three as targets, but suddenly jumped up, swinging his sword upwards above him.

“Aaaah!!”

The Shadow Demon that was crawling on the top of the cave, wanting to ambush him, was instantly cut in half.

But the crisis had not been resolved. Xia Yan, suspended in the air, was merely a target whose actions could be predicted. The Shadow Demons jumped up one after another.

Because of a choice made due to inexperience, Xia Yan fell into a crisis. A look of understanding flashed in his pupils as he learned from this lesson and gained experience.

Xia Yan flung the blade behind his back, abruptly twisting his body, causing it to suddenly rotate in mid-air.

“Haa—”

Silver-white sword light flashed around Xia Yan. Because he exerted all his strength, Xia Yan’s expression appeared somewhat ferocious. The rotating blade became his best shield, and the Shadow Demons that rushed to his side were cut and torn apart.

Accompanied by Xia Yan’s voice, blood and minced meat splattered.

“Haa… Haa.”

Kneeling on the ground, Xia Yan looked at the fallen Shadow Demon corpses around him. About five of the Shadow Demon corpses were slowly dissipating. He gasped for breath, feeling his physical condition.

His body was heating up, and his cells were constantly consuming energy. Due to the threat of death, he had entered an activated state, and his muscles had also become firmer.

‘Is it an illusion?’

Xia Yan glanced at the sword in his hand. When he had slashed the Shadow Demons, a phenomenon occurred that had not happened with the monsters on the previous floors. A cool sensation traveled from the sword to Xia Yan’s hand, and then through his body, entering his mind.

Although he didn’t feel anything unusual, it even made Xia Yan feel slightly happy and comfortable.

Moreover, in the moment of life and death just now, Xia Yan’s consciousness faintly touched a thin film. It was as if he was being restricted.

However, there was no time for Xia Yan to think now. The surrounding Shadow Demons once again surrounded Xia Yan, their large eyes flashing with green light, staring at him intently.

Xia Yan slowly stood up, revealing a slightly excited and provocative smile.

“Second round, come on!”

In the dark dungeon, another fierce battle unfolded.

Sword light flashed, and the monsters hissed. In the midst of the all-out battle, Xia Yan absorbed experience, groping and honing his skills. His body entered a slightly feverish battle state, and the sword was stained with the monsters’ blood.

He was completely unaware that what Qishi called the ‘battle state’ was not something anyone could enter. Rather, it was Qishi’s explanation based on herself as the standard.

Adventurers, in dozens of life-and-death situations, ignited their beliefs and emotions, giving them a certain probability of activating all the cells in their body and entering that full-fledged state. In this state, they could bring their body’s various functions to their most active state.

This was just like sports competitions in real life, commonly known as being in peak condition.

An athlete in peak condition would probably only experience it a few times in their lifetime. And although adventurers were stronger than athletes in real life due to the alternation of life and death, they would only experience it a handful of times in their entire lives.

Moreover, it was only at the cost of risking their lives in danger that they could enter it.

But Xia Yan had entered this state in just one life-and-death situation.

However, this was not the potential brought about by Xia Yan’s ‘Apostle’ race. Apostles were more adept at manipulating soul matter, emotions, and the mind. As for physical combat, it was as crude and arbitrary as a beast, without any rules.

This talent unknowingly accelerated Xia Yan’s evolution.