Unlike the sensation of a Vitality Crystal, this surge of power was like an electric serpent rushing through his body, forcefully breaking open the previously blocked meridians within him and carving out a strange new path.

“As expected... the Giant Ant Crystal is indeed the legendary Vitality Skill Crystal... I just don’t know what the Giant Ant’s Vitality Skill actually is...” William Carter was filled with anticipation.

As that electric serpent-like power coursed through his body, all of William Carter’s vitality was mobilized, circulating along the route opened up by the electric serpent.

William Carter was surprised to discover that as the vitality flowed, his hands turned blood-red, as if with a metallic sheen, and there was a strange swelling sensation. Although his palms themselves didn’t grow larger, William Carter felt as if a powerful force was about to burst out from within his hands.

Right now, William Carter had the urge to throw a punch, but he managed to hold back. After all, he was on campus, and it wouldn’t be good to cause too much commotion—plus, damaging public property would mean having to pay for it.

After more than ten minutes, the swelling sensation gradually faded, his hands returned to normal, and the flow of vitality within him ceased. However, William Carter could clearly sense that the technique for unleashing that burst of vitality had been deeply imprinted into his body and soul, as if it had become a bodily instinct—he would never forget it, no matter what.

William Carter couldn’t wait to look at his phone. Seeing that the game interface had already gone dark, he immediately restarted the game and dripped another drop of blood onto it. Once his game character appeared, he checked the character’s stats right away.

William Carter: 16 years old.

Life Level: Mortal Body.

Strength: 9.

Speed: 5.

Constitution: 8.

Vitality: 9.

Vitality Art: “Bitter Meditation.”

Vitality Skill: Giant Divine Fist (Stage Seven).

Companion Pet: None.

William Carter was overjoyed—his vitality had shot up to nine points, which meant the Vitality Crystal he’d absorbed earlier was a level nine crystal. As for the “Stage Seven” after Giant Divine Fist, it was similar to a level seven Attribute Crystal; William Carter didn’t need to train it further, as the Giant Divine Fist was already at a high stage.

Because Vitality Skill Crystals are quite rare, they’re extremely expensive. However, once you have a Vitality Skill, you can use it to greatly boost a certain ability in a short time, unleashing combat power far beyond your normal level. It’s an important means of survival and defeating enemies—no one ever thinks they have too many Vitality Skills.

William Carter had never had the money to buy a Vitality Skill Crystal before, and since he’d devoted himself to practicing “Bitter Meditation,” he hadn’t had the time or energy to practice Vitality Skills. This Giant Divine Fist was his very first Vitality Skill. Judging by the name and effect, it should be a technique that boosts the power of his fists.

“As expected, the ant nest in this game is just like the dimensional zone in reality. That means, is it possible for Companion Pets to drop in the game too?” William Carter felt a surge of excitement.

He re-entered the game to grind monsters. His game character now also had the Giant Divine Fist skill. William Carter couldn’t wait to have his character use the Giant Divine Fist to see just how powerful it was.

Boom!

The blood-colored figure punched a Giant Ant, smashing its head into its body. The entire ant’s body then exploded under the immense pressure, flesh and shattered armor flying everywhere, leaving a mess of remains on the ground.

William Carter watched in shock and delight. The blood-colored figure was essentially his duplicate—if it could unleash such power, he could do the same in reality.

Previously, it had taken him several punches to kill a Giant Ant, even when hitting a vital spot. But the Giant Divine Fist could ignore the ant’s carapace defense and blow it apart in one strike—the power was truly terrifying.

However, while the Giant Divine Fist was powerful, each punch consumed 4 points of vitality. With William Carter’s current maximum vitality of 9, he could only throw two punches before running out.

Vitality could recover on its own, but the rate was slow—William Carter could only recover 1 point per hour, which was far too slow compared to the consumption.

Of course, he could also use Vitality Crystals to quickly restore vitality, but for most people, that was a very extravagant option.

Although he’d obtained a Vitality Skill, for now it could only be used as a trump card. William Carter still had to patiently grind monsters in the game, hoping to get even more miraculous items.

The grinding process was undoubtedly tedious, but for someone who had honed himself to the point of cultivating “Bitter Meditation” and producing vitality before the age of sixteen, this kind of tedium was nothing.

Just as William Carter was holding his phone, immersed in the sea of grinding, he suddenly sensed someone approaching. Looking up, he saw a tall girl in a high school uniform walking toward him.

William Carter glanced around. There were usually hardly any students here, and today was no exception. Within dozens of meters, it seemed he was the only one around. That was exactly why he’d chosen this spot to play his game.