Worldwide Class Change: Minimal Effort, Maximum Reward!

Floor 45 Appeared.

He knew it was different before the boss even activated.

The floor was the largest he had encountered so far, stretching wide and open in every direction, with no terrain features to take advantage of and no environmental interference to exploit. It was nothing but flat stone and overwhelming height, the distant ceiling looming far above, clearly designed to give something massive enough space to move freely in all three dimensions. The boss did not emerge from the ground or appear at the center as expected. Instead, it descended from above, cutting through the open air with terrifying control.

It was winged and enormous, built like a predator refined purely for aerial combat, its entire frame optimized for speed, precision, and lethal impact. Its body was covered in overlapping, scale-like armor that shifted and rippled subtly with each movement, as if alive. The system prompt registered it clearly as a Sky Render, Threat Level 45, noting its aerial combat specialization and identifying its primary attack pattern as high-velocity diving strikes capable of generating sonic displacement waves upon impact.

The first exchange was fine.

The second was harder.

The third dive came at an angle Lin Yi hadn’t fully accounted for, the Sky Render altering its trajectory mid-descent in a way that required him to shift his block from the optimal angle to a reactive one. He got the blade up in time to intercept. The impact was clean. But the follow-through wasn’t. The creature’s momentum carried it through the deflection, one of its clawed appendages catching his left arm on the way past.

The pain was immediate and serious.

He checked the arm. Not severed. Not broken. But the muscle had been torn across a significant portion of the upper arm, the claw having caught him at depth rather than surface. His grip on the Celestial Lord Blade in that hand had already weakened noticeably. The arm was still functional. For now. In another exchange or two it wouldn’t be.

He stood there for a moment.

The Sky Render circled above, building altitude for another dive. His left arm registered the injury clearly with every pulse of his heartbeat. His spiritual reserves had been declining since floor forty-one. He ran the calculation honestly, without adjusting the numbers to reach a preferred conclusion.

Another full exchange against a Threat Level 45 boss with a compromised arm and depleted reserves.

He activated the exit.

The system registered his final score the moment he stepped out.

Total Score: 450 points.

The display updated on every board visible from the tower’s exterior plaza. Wang Hao saw it from where he was standing and made a sound that was not quite a word. Su Qinghan, standing beside him, read the number and was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "The previous record was four hundred and thirty."

"I know," Wang Hao said. His voice came out slightly unsteady. "I know it was."

He watched the board. The number didn’t change. It just sat there. Four hundred and fifty.

"He broke it by twenty points." He shook his head slowly. "While injured. While alone. With a class that is officially listed as non-combat."

He turned to look at Su Qinghan. "I’ve been his friend since the beginning of this academy year and I still don’t fully understand what I’m looking at."

Su Qinghan said nothing. Her eyes were on the tower entrance.

Lin Yi walked out.

He was holding his left arm at a careful angle that made Wang Hao’s expression change immediately.

"You’re hurt." Wang Hao moved forward. "How bad?"

"Manageable," Lin Yi said.

Wang Hao looked at the arm, then at Lin Yi’s face, then exhaled sharply through his nose.

"Fine. We’re finding a healer." He pointed. "That is not a request."

"Champion of Jianghe Academy, record holder of the Dragon God Tower examination, and you’re standing here with a torn arm telling me it’s manageable." He shook his head. "Come on."

Lin Yi allowed himself to be directed toward the medical station at the edge of the plaza without arguing. The morning light was full now, Celestial City completely awake around them. On the score board behind them, the final rankings of the first day and second day combined examination stood in clear display.

First place: Lin Yi. Jianghe City. 450 points.

Second place: Su Qinghan. Jianghe City. 390 points.

Third place: Wang Hao. Jianghe City. 390 points.

Fourth place: Han Yue. Red Lotus City. 380 points.

Wang Hao glanced back at the board once while walking. "Four hundred and fifty," he said quietly, more to himself than anyone else. "Floor forty-five." He looked at Lin Yi walking beside him. "You really are going to turn the entire regional academy system upside down, aren’t you."

Lin Yi looked ahead at the medical station. His arm throbbed steadily. He had given everything the second day had room for and stopped before it took something he couldn’t recover from. The record was broken. The exam was done.

"Probably," he said. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Wang Hao laughed. It came out louder than he intended, drawing looks from nearby students. He didn’t particularly care. "Probably," he repeated. "Said like it’s the most reasonable thing in the world." He shook his head one more time. "Let’s get that arm looked at, Brother Lin."

They walked on. Behind them, the Dragon God Tower stood silent and enormous against the Celestial City skyline, its hundred floors containing whatever waited above the forty-fifth for whoever was strong enough to reach it.

That wasn’t today’s problem.

Today’s problem was the arm.

Everything else could wait.

*****

A/N: Thanks for everyone who is reading, I have listened to every complaint and amended any inconsistency. I’m planning a mass Chapter release next month, if you want to support the effort, gifts and golden tickets will be appreciated.

For gifts:

1 Dragon = 5 Chapters

1 Magic Castle = 10 Chapters

Above Castle = 15 Chapters

Also reviews will be appreciated, and I don’t delete reviews, I read them and improve