Jiang Yixian crouched on the ground, panting heavily, and grabbed hold of Shen Mo, who was about to charge for a second wave of attacks."Can you let me catch my breath for a moment?"Shen Mo furrowed his brows. Was Jiang Yixian already this exhausted? Why did he feel absolutely fine?Jiang Yixian sighed and explained, "Right now, my strength is too low, so the bonuses to my defense and attack are minimal; my agility is also insufficient, so I can't effectively dodge. The attacks that aren't mitigated just have to be tanked with my constitution. So... please, let me rest for a bit!"So that's how it is?!Shen Mo had heard that in dungeons, secret realms, and abyssal depths, everything depended on numbers—attributes were the key to success.All aspects of combat, such as strength, speed, defense, and attack, were determined by individual attribute values. He hadn't realized how stark the differences would be.By normal logic, Jiang Yixian, who regularly trained his physique, should have far better stamina than Shen Mo.However, since their time in the Goblin World, Shen Mo had noticed that Jiang Yixian's endurance wasn't as impressive as he had expected. Now, it became clear: those with higher stats were the kings, and the ones with lower stats were mere prey.Shen Mo gritted his teeth, unwilling to waste time. There were fewer people now..."Blade Storm!"[Skeleton Flower Demon killed][Mimic's Touch activated][Gained attribute: Agility +1]...[Skeleton Flower Demon killed][Mimic's Touch activated][Gained attribute: Strength +1]...[Skeleton Flower Demon killed][Mimic's Touch activated][Gained attribute: Strength +1]...Gradually, Shen Mo realized that he was easily slaughtering these level 1 and 2 Skeleton Flower Demons.Looking down at his panel, he muttered to himself:[Name: Shen Mo][Level: Lv.2][Experience: 56%][Strength: 47][Agility: 32][Spirit: 8][Constitution: 6]...It seemed like he had been overdoing it a bit...But why was his experience gaining so slowly? After all this time, he had only gained 16%....Jiang Yixian sat dumbfounded on the ground, still recovering from his exhaustion, watching as Shen Mo surged ahead, leaving him in the dust.The SS-level hidden profession truly lived up to its reputation...Jiang Yixian suddenly realized that for those in primary combat roles, fighting might simply be part of the job.But for Shen Mo, as a lifestyle-based "World Master," combat was just another aspect of his life..."Xian'er! Come carry these!"Shen Mo grunted as he dragged two Skeleton Flower Demons by their limbs, tossing them toward Jiang Yixian.A loud thud echoed as the dead monsters hit the ground, raising plumes of dust.Jiang Yixian grunted, using all his strength to lift one of them."Catch!"Jiang Yixian's brow furrowed, watching as Shen Mo tossed both Skeleton Flower Demons at him in one go!"Shield Wall!"Boom! Jiang Yixian crashed to the ground, nearly injured by the friendly fire.He sat up, furious, and shouted at Shen Mo, "Do you have any idea how heavy these things are? 250 pounds!""Ah?"Shen Mo stood there, staring at the two Skeleton Flower Demons he had dragged across the ground like rabbits.Could it be that my strength is too high?"Forget it, just rest."Jiang Yixian pushed the demon off himself, and seeing the disdainful look on Shen Mo's face, he decided to lie flat on the ground...So this is what it feels like to be carried by a big shot... it's actually quite nice!...Once they were gathered, the fun of looting began."Materials, just more materials."[Greedy Plunder activated][Obtained additional item]A C-grade shield?! He turned to Jiang Yixian and threw it to him, "Here!"[Greedy Plunder activated]...The good news was that the frequency of Greedy Plunder had clearly increased after leveling up; the bad news was that it mostly produced items for Jiang Yixian...Jiang Yixian even ended up collecting a full set of C-grade Skeleton Flower Demon armor... This could carry him through to level 8 without breaking a sweat.Especially for tank-type warriors like him, who relied heavily on equipment early on to ensure survivability.Shen Mo eyed Jiang Yixian, "Fifty skewers tonight! You're buying!"Jiang Yixian looked at his skeletal armor, shield, and one-handed sword... This set would easily fetch tens of thousands in the market.He had never heard of loot drops in the Newbie Secret Realm, and yet this guy had somehow managed to collect an entire set....Just then, a few more students appeared in the Newbie Secret Realm, their eyes widening as they saw the scattered Skeleton Flower Demons and Jiang Yixian clad in his new armor.Some couldn't help but rush over, greeting Jiang Yixian excitedly, "Boss, I remember you! A-grade Shield Warrior!"Others quickly joined in,"Boss, we're from the same school!""Want to team up for some leveling?"One of them noticed Shen Mo in the distance. "Hey! What the hell?! That's the World Master too."The group moved toward Shen Mo, chattering,"Well, the Shield Warrior can carry you, but why not all join in?"Jiang Yixian carrying me? Shen Mo couldn't help but smile, but he didn't call them out.He raised an eyebrow at Jiang Yixian, "Alright then, Shield Warrior, carry us to the top."Under Shen Mo's teasing, Jiang Yixian reluctantly agreed to the extra "baggage"...Shen Mo lingered at the back of the group. He sheathed all his weapons and quietly activated his inspection skill to observe the three new students.A tall, lean figure—Hu Yan, an Earth Mage; a chubby boy—Zhou Yingxiang, a Stealthy Assassin; and a bun-headed girl—Zhao Tiejian, a Guardian Knight.All three were B-level.Shen Mo's mind whirred. They had been fighting monsters up till now, but what would happen if he fought them? What abilities might he acquire?Mimic's Touch worked when defeating or killing enemies. If he challenged these three, what would he gain?Though they were all B-level, there was a possibility they held abilities above A-rank!Take himself, for example, with his S and SS-level abilities... Oh wait, I'm a unique hidden class, so I'm not comparable...But beyond that, Shen Mo was eager to learn his own limits. After all, the monsters in the Secret Realm were limited.Sooner or later, he would face stronger enemies in the Goblin World—those goblins seemed much more cunning than these Skeleton Flower Demons.Shen Mo decided not to pass up any opportunity for improvement. He called out to the group ahead."Want to see how powerful a Shield Warrior really is?"The three students stopped, their eyes filled with eager anticipation. "Boss, show us what you've got?"Hearing Shen Mo's words, Jiang Yixian shot him a look of disdain, clearly thinking, What the hell does this guy want now?!"How about this: since I'm useless, let's have the Shield Warrior and me go against the three of you."With that, Shen Mo suddenly had a thought and quickly added, "Remember, only sparring!"Two against three?The three students exchanged glances, nodded, and readied themselves for the challenge.