The only skill Fang Zhou currently mastered with any significant killing power was the Skeleton Flying Spear. Therefore, he simply dismissed the Skeleton Army to conserve Spiritual Power.

After consecutive fierce battles, his Spiritual Power had dwindled to less than 30%. Furthermore, under the Horned Demon Boss's relentless and frenzied attacks, the once large and stable pit trap was on the verge of collapse. This meant the Horned Demon was about to break free.

In fact, if not for a lucky coincidence, the boss would have already escaped. A Skeleton Flying Spear Fang Zhou had ambushed in the trap happened to pierce the Horned Demon Boss's foot. The subsequent explosion then severely injured its legs. Without these injuries, the Horned Demon Boss's strength would have been more than enough for it to climb out of the trap by now.

Fang Zhou seized this dwindling window of opportunity, condensing his Spiritual Power into one Skeleton Flying Spear after another. He bombarded the Horned Demon Boss, which was forced to be a sitting duck.

At this moment, I can't help but feel grateful that I exchanged for the [Touch of Corrosion] skill earlier, Fang Zhou thought. When fused, it gave the Skeleton Flying Spear the additional attribute of Corrosive Poison Damage.

Skills from the Undead Mage's Corrosive Poison Series not only damaged living flesh but also effectively corroded metal weapons and armor. Combined with the Skeleton Flying Spear's inherent Armor-Piercing attribute, Fang Zhou's continuous attacks drove the trapped Horned Demon Boss into a corner. It was forced to make the same choice as its predecessors.

It hurled its Abyssal Giant Axe in a desperate, final gamble. But Fang Zhou had anticipated this and naturally wouldn't let it succeed.

Under the light wings of bone, the whistling Abyssal Giant Axe brushed past him, extinguishing the Horned Demon Boss's last hope of a comeback. At this point, it was only a single step away from escaping the trap, but even this last step was completely sealed off by Fang Zhou's Skeleton Shackles. In the end, despite possessing formidable martial prowess, the Horned Demon Boss couldn't use any of it, dying a frustrating death in the trap.

"Mission completed. Time taken: 45 minutes, 20 seconds. Clear evaluation: [Perfect]. Clear reward: 12 contribution points."

"First clear of [Horn Demon Outpost] on Abyss Difficulty. First-clear reward: 16 contribution points."

"Congratulations, Junior Sergeant Fang Zhou. Your team is the first in your grade to clear the [Horn Demon Outpost] on Abyss Difficulty. All team members will receive a grade-first-clear ranking reward of 40 contribution points and an achievement blessing: Simulation Battlefield loot drop rate +1% (cumulative 9%)."

"Congratulations, Junior Sergeant Fang Zhou. Your team cleared the [Horn Demon Outpost] on Abyss Difficulty in 45 minutes and 20 seconds, ranking 39th on the historical speedrun leaderboard. Your estimated leaderboard reward for this month is 13 contribution points."

"Loot drop triggered. Obtained [Apprentice-level Spirit Potion] *1, exchangeable for 50 contribution points."

"You may challenge the Abyss Difficulty again in 5 minutes."

Fang Zhou looked at the unresigned corpse of the Horned Demon Boss in the trap and finally relaxed completely. His Spiritual Power was utterly depleted. If he hadn't managed to kill the Horned Demon and it had successfully climbed out, his only option would have been to rely on his superior mobility to slowly kite it to death.

That method, however, would have taken even more time and would have been far more torturous for the Horned Demon. A quick death in the trap was a better fate.

Although the Simulation Battlefield had rated his performance as perfect, Fang Zhou wasn't entirely satisfied with himself. The demons in the [Simulation Battlefield], though lifelike and vividly simulated, were ultimately just programs without true intelligence. Compared to real Abyssal Demons, these instance demons were far more rigid.

Ultimately, this clear was due to a clever trick, not a testament to my true strength, Fang Zhou thought. He was acutely aware that if he had to face those 38 demons head-on, he probably wouldn't last long before being eliminated. He looked forward to the day he could rely on his true strength to swiftly defeat these demons head-on.

Coming back to his senses, Fang Zhou took stock of his rewards.

A bumper harvest! An unprecedented bumper harvest! The nearly hour-long ordeal, during which I wracked my brain to come up with all sorts of unorthodox strategies, was not in vain.

Completing the instance took a full 45 minutes and 20 seconds, which was reasonable. After all, commanding Skeletons to dig a trap and luring all the demons from the outpost into the depths of the Thick Fog Jungle were both extremely time-consuming tasks.

However, despite the long clear time, his historical speedrun ranking was actually higher than for the previous three difficulties. Curious, Fang Zhou checked and discovered that the top 100 on the historical speedrun leaderboard for the Abyss Difficulty [Horn Demon Outpost] wasn't even full. Many of the teams, like his, had used the environment and the rigid demon AI to secure a tricky clear. It was because of this that he was able to rank 39th.

Excluding the entry fee, Fang Zhou's net gain in contribution points was a staggering 73, far more lucrative than any previous instance run. Not to mention, the loot drop from this first-time clear was an [Apprentice-level Spirit Potion]. Although Fang Zhou didn't know what exactly a Spirit Potion was, its value of 50 contribution points told him it was undoubtedly a precious resource.

He exited the Simulation Battlefield, lay back in the Simulation Pod, and opened his personal terminal to look up information on the [Spirit Potion].

This category of secret medicines was refined from the essence of Heaven and Earth in the Mythical World and could significantly improve a user's corresponding Four-dimensional Attributes. This was also one of the few methods the Human Alliance had mastered that could directly increase a Professional's Four-dimensional Attributes. The Apprentice-level Spirit Potion, as its name implied, could enhance the Spirit Attribute of an Apprentice-level Professional.

A thought just struck me, Fang Zhou mused. These four Attribute Secret Medicines can only be consumed once per stage. Now that I have the Spirit Potion, I must find opportunities to acquire the Strength, Constitution, and Agility potions as well. This is a rare opportunity for direct attribute growth outside of the feedback from my Skeleton Clone. I absolutely cannot miss it. However, as a precious resource worth 50 contribution points, exchanging for an Apprentice-level Attribute Secret Medicine required E-level clearance, so Fang Zhou wasn't in a rush.

After the instance cooldown ended, he entered the Abyss Difficulty of the [Horn Demon Outpost] again. Using the same strategy, he achieved another smooth clear.

"Mission completed. Time taken: 42 minutes, 20 seconds. Clear evaluation: [Perfect]. Clear reward: 12 contribution points."

"Loot drop triggered. Obtained [Level 1 Refining Stone] *1, exchangeable for 10 contribution points."

"You have used up your challenge attempts for today. Please come back tomorrow."

This time, armed with experience, Fang Zhou optimized his strategy and successfully shaved three minutes off his clear time. To his pleasant surprise, the instance run even triggered a lucky loot drop. He obtained a [Level 1 Refining Stone] worth 10 contribution points.

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