As soon as he heard the rules of the Infinite Staircase, Ling Han began to look around at the step he was on.
The step was vast and open, almost the size of a football field, but shrouded in a sinister atmosphere.
The ground was covered with ethereal dust, and a thick mist hovered in the air, making it hard to see.
Crrr...
Suddenly, the sound of cracking bones echoed from all sides, making Ling Han extremely cautious.
He started walking slowly, trying to see what was around him.
But the only thing visible was a broken tombstone, covered with spider webs, and some dead tree trunks.
"What a lousy first step!" Ling Han muttered under his breath.
Remembering the classes at school, where it was taught that the difficulty of the first step of the Infinite Staircase was usually easier.
But this step looks more like a horror movie scene!
'Could it be that, because my class is unique, the challenge of the Infinite Staircase is harder?'
Crrr... Crrr...
The sound of cracking bones returned, interrupting Ling Han's thoughts.
The noise seemed to increase as Ling Han moved cautiously, trying to find the source, but the thick mist made it hard to see.
Suddenly, a strange feeling ran down his neck—something he had never felt before.
His instincts screamed: get out now!
Without hesitation, Ling Han followed his instincts, quickly throwing himself to the side and rolling on the ground.
Whoosh...
In the next moment, a wooden arrow with a metal tip passed exactly where he had been, embedding itself in the trunk of a tree behind him.
Gasp...
Seeing this, Ling Han couldn't help but swallow hard.
If he hadn't moved at that moment, he would have died!
'Looks like I underestimated this skill,' thought Ling Han, realizing that it was thanks to his Death Sense skill that he was saved.
While his breath was still fast, the sound of cracking bones echoed again.
This time, Ling Han finally identified the source of the noise: it was a skeleton.
In front of him was a skeleton with a delicate and thin bone structure, which seemed so fragile that a simple blow could make it fall apart.
The skeleton was dressed in torn and faded rags, holding an old wooden bow.
Ling Han looked at this figure, confused. "I almost died because of this?"
Seeing that the skeleton was about to lift the bow again, Ling Han did not hesitate.
With a quick burst, he ran toward the skeleton, his 14-point speed allowing him to close the distance in a flash.
When the skeleton was still pulling the bowstring, Ling Han was already in front of it.
In a precise move, he delivered a powerful punch that immediately shattered the skeleton into pieces.
[Ding, you killed a Skeleton Archer (No Rank)]
'So weak?'
'Looks like the main difficulty of this step is just the visibility.'
Hearing the mysterious voice, Ling Han looked at the bone pieces on the ground, quite surprised.
He really didn't expect to destroy the skeleton with a punch.
But at the same time, he thought it made sense. After all, it was only the first step of the Infinite Staircase, and it shouldn't be too difficult.
Caw-caw
When Ling Han finally let out a sigh of relief after defeating the skeleton, a strange sound interrupted the silence.
A raven appeared above the bones and began to release a mysterious gray energy.
Seeing this, Ling Han immediately thought the raven might launch some energy attack and quickly moved back behind the trunk that had been hit by the arrow.
However, after several seconds of complete silence, a sound suddenly emerged.
It wasn't an energy explosion or anything like that; it was an extremely familiar sound.
Crrr... Crrr...
When he heard that familiar sound and looked back from behind the trunk, Ling Han was immediately surprised by what he saw.
The energy released by the raven had turned the bones on the ground into another skeleton.
Although the new skeleton was a bit different, armed with a rusty metal sword, it still seemed to be the same type of skeleton Ling Han had faced before.
"So this raven is the source of this step?"
Seeing this, Ling Han immediately realized he had found the source of monsters for this step, something he had learned in school.
He learned that although each step of the Infinite Staircase could theoretically release infinite monsters, there is always a source from which these monsters are created.
These sources could be pools, plants, crystals, and so on. And it seemed that the source for this first step was exactly this raven!
Thinking about this, Ling Han couldn't help but have an overwhelming urge to kill that raven immediately.
Although as soon as the source of a step is destroyed, no more monsters can be generated at that level, forcing the summoned to advance to the next step if they wish to face more enemies.
In compensation, by destroying the monster source, the summoned is blessed with a large amount of energy, sufficient to level up.
There are even some studies, not widely accepted, that suggest the main factor for receiving the reward from the Infinite Staircase is the destruction of monster sources, and then the number of monsters killed and the number of steps the summoned has ascended.
As Ling Han reflected on this, the skeleton swordsman advanced towards the trunk and threw the sword at Ling Han's neck.
Without needing his ability, Ling Han quickly crouched and dodged the attack.
The sword lodged itself in the trunk and got stuck.
Taking the opportunity while the skeleton struggled to pull the sword out, Ling Han leapt up and, with a precise strike, punched directly into the skeleton's skull.
[Ding, you have killed a Skeleton Swordsman (No Rank)]
As the system's sound echoed, Ling Han maintained his focus and quickly retrieved the sword lodged in the wooden trunk.
He positioned himself hidden behind the trunk, waiting for the right moment.
After a few moments of silence, the raven reappeared, with the same annoying caw-caw sound.
Seeing it, Ling Han tightened his grip on the sword and prepared for the attack.
As the raven began to release the gray energy again to revive the skeleton, Ling Han did not hesitate.
He swung the sword precisely at the raven.
SWISH
The raven, sensing the threat, tried to flap its wings to escape, but it was too late.
Ling Han's blade precisely severed the raven's head before it could move.
[Ding, you have killed a Necromancer Raven (No Rank)]
[You have successfully leveled up, 0 -> 1]