8: Chapter 8, the first beginner dungeon in the second playthrough.

[ Entered dungeon. ]

The moment Fu Hao stepped into the "Novice Trial," he surged forward as if a bullet had just left the chamber.

The distance from the dungeon's starting area to the first combat zone was approximately three hundred meters.

The terrain was uneven, filled with gravel and sunken pits. A normal player would need to constantly watch their footing, navigate around the pits, and would need at least two minutes to pass through safely.

But what about Fu Hao?

His steps were not the least bit chaotic; he moved as if skating on a smooth floor the entire time.

- "Is a novice this fast?"

- "+25% movement speed is too ridiculous."

- "Still remember the brother who rolled a 2? Any regrets?"

The audience hadn't even recovered from their astonishment when a donation notification popped up.

[ 'Trial Maniac' donated 50 Yuan — (First section completed: 1 minute 29 seconds) ]

- "????"

- "Is he really going to break the record?"

- "Is this a new account? Where did that sense of control come from?"

- "Logical speculation: He practiced for three days and three nights."

- "It's not button-mashing; this is real human movement, okay..."

For beginners, playing games on computers and smartphones is already difficult, let alone this VR motion-sensing game that requires full-body coordination.

Most people could only default to one explanation: Fu Hao had practiced countless times before the match.

But keen veteran players noticed something wrong:

- "+25% movement speed, and he adapted within a day? Are you kidding me?"

They knew very well that in a high-fidelity motion-sensing game like "otherworld," even a +5% speed increase required days of practice to master the rhythm, let alone jumping straight to +25%.

Those who could do this were either "veterans of holographic games" or—

"A monster of talent."

In short: "Not an ordinary person."

The atmosphere in the chat gradually shifted:

- "Regardless of whether he rolled a 1 or a 2, I'm starting to want to see him break the record."

From Fu Hao's perspective, his previously 'sluggish' body had returned to its original state.

Before his account was wiped, his character's movement speed was 128.3%.

Compared to the initial 100%, this state was actually closer to the feel he was familiar with.

In others' eyes, it was sprinting; to him, it felt as smooth as usual.

The next second, the battle began.

"First combat zone."

Five monsters: three Goblin Warriors, two Goblin Mages.

The conventional strategy was to lure the warriors away one by one, take them to a corner far from the mages' firing range to defeat them individually, and then quickly attack the mages.

And Fu Hao's tactic?

"Charge straight into the mob."

- "?? Where are you going?"

- "Bro, you're running in the wrong direction..."

- "No way, is he going to crash and burn already?"

- "Going to brute-force it without skill?"

Facing overwhelming skepticism, Fu Hao remained indifferent and charged straight into the core of the monster group.

"Hrao!"

He swung his sword, slashing directly at the Goblin Warrior standing in the center.

That goblin didn't react slowly; it raised its sword to parry. At the same time, its companions on the left and right lunged forward, the cold light of their blades closing in.

By all logic, this wave would end with him being caught in a pincer attack and pierced by both swords.

But Fu Hao's expression was calm, his breathing steady.

Because what he held in his hand was the only "+10 Reinforced Sword" in the entire server.

The next second, the combat information bar began to flash notifications rapidly:

[ Hit: 170 damage ]

[ Enemy stunned for 2 seconds ]

[ Enemy resistance failed ]

[ You gain 1 second of invincibility ]

The longswords of the goblins on the left and right stabbed forward.

The result—

[ Attack resisted ]

[ Attack resisted ]

- "??????"

- "Attack immunity??"

- "Did he charge in having calculated the seconds of invincibility??"

- "This sword's special effect is cheating!"

- "Stun for 2 seconds + 1 second invincibility, and you tell me this is a 'sword for novices'?"

The audience instantly understood: the strength of this +10 Reinforced Sword didn't lie in its damage, but in its heaven-defying "special effect."

Most players hadn't even seen a "stun + invincibility" combo, let alone used it in actual combat.

Even if high-level professional players equipped such items, they were far from as smooth as Fu Hao.

[ 'Snake Brother' sponsored 50 Yuan — (I told you the +10 sword was heaven-defying, didn't I?) ]

But the show wasn't over yet.

Taking advantage of the remaining invincibility, Fu Hao turned and slashed at the goblin on the left.

The next second, the system popped up two words:

[ Critical Hit! ]

[ 704 damage ]

[ Enemy killed ]

[ Achievement unlocked: Instant kill of a higher-level normal monster ]

[ Title acquired: One-Hit Wonder [Normal Monster] ]

- "What the # is going on?"

- "One... 700 damage in one hit?!"

- "I suspect this novice sword has a nuclear warhead embedded in it."

- "Whoever dares to say +10 reinforcement is useless, come out; I won't hit you."

[ Snake Brother sponsored 50 Yuan — (This is definitely going into the top ten on the leaderboard!) ]

Fu Hao was also stunned for a moment. The base critical hit rate was 5%; he didn't expect it to trigger at the critical moment.

The rhythm he had originally rehearsed in his mind was:

0 seconds. Attack the middle goblin, stunning it and gaining invincibility.

0.7 seconds. Attack the left goblin, stunning it and refreshing invincibility.

1.4 seconds. Kill the middle goblin.

2.1 seconds. Finish off the left goblin while it was still stunned. Invincibility ends, but he would have already withstood the right goblin's attack before it ended.

2.8 seconds. Stun the right goblin and regain 1 second of invincibility.

3.2 seconds. Withstand the two fireballs launched by the two Goblin Mages.

3.5 seconds. Kill the last Goblin Warrior on the right.

4.3 seconds. Move in front of the Goblin Mages and easily defeat the two mages while their skills were on cooldown.

However, things went against his plans; the goblin on the left was killed in one hit.

Rhythm disrupted?

No. It played right into his hands.

'Since it gave me a critical hit—then I will, "Clear without taking damage."'

A clear goal rose in Fu Hao's mind:

"I can't get the first clear, but I can get 'First No-Damage Clear'."

The system's three major Trial awards:

- First Clear Title (Already taken by Leonhardt)

- Fastest Clear Title

- First No-Damage Clear Title

As long as he didn't take a single hit, he would be the holder of the third "Unique Title."

Within the next few seconds.

1.4 seconds: 1.4 seconds, didn't kill the middle goblin, turned to stun the enemy on the right, refreshed invincibility.

2.1 seconds: The middle goblin recovered, lunged with a sword slash that missed. Fu Hao moved like the wind, sidestepped, and charged straight at the mages.

2.9 seconds: Instant killed the first mage, refreshed invincibility.

3.2 seconds: The second mage's fireball hit, but the invincibility state negated it.

3.6 seconds: Slashed the second mage, refreshed invincibility again.

4.3 seconds: Turned back to finish off the Goblin Warrior whose stun was about to end.

5.0 seconds: The last Goblin Warrior couldn't withstand it and was killed after his defense was broken.

[ All enemies killed, entrance to the second zone opened ]

- "5 seconds for a full wipe... I... I f*ck..."

- "The foundations over at Leonhardt's side are probably shaking."

This battle was later known as:

"The 5-Second Battle."

"Started with one sword, one second of invincibility, completed in one go, zero damage taken throughout."

It was also the first battle of Fu Hao's ascent to the pedestal.