Chapter 10, a challenge that drives one to the brink of mental collapse

However, the greatest danger is not the monsters, but rather the numerous pitfalls... After advancing for more than an hour and passing through dozens of traps, Wang Ling, whose clothes were soaked with cold sweat from the tension, finally arrived at the last platform

The previous hammer turtle was reduced to ashes in the flames, leaving only the shell, helmet, and a few scattered remnants of iron hammers on the ground. Wang Ling kicked it with his foot and discovered that upon contact, the dream badge prompted: "Story monster equipment, cannot be used or carried," so he lifted his foot and left.

Ahead lies another area filled with shells, interspersed with the flying Pata Turtles. Further ahead, there are Hammer Turtles. Wang Ling is quite adept at handling such situations. After cycling through the same scene a dozen times, he arrives at the front of a stone staircase

Wang Ling squinted, raised his wrist, and two fireballs shot out from his palm, crashing into the ground and rebounding. In a situation where evasion was impossible at close range, the Hammer Turtle was immediately ignited by the fireballs, its entire body engulfed in red flames, letting out a loud, anguished scream

Instead of ascending the 12-meter high platform, Wang Ling arrived at the ground in front of the flagpole. He initiated a sprint, and with a 70% enhancement in jumping ability, combined with a super jump, he leaped to over 8 meters, precisely reaching the middle section of the flagpole. The flag also slid down on its own. With this jump, he earned 1,000 points of universal currency in the Dream Space, simultaneously concluding the adventure in Area One

If all ten skills could be retained, then the rewards would be too generous; the dream space cannot be so accommodating, even with the increase in scene difficulty

The main quest has changed, and the new main quest is: Defeat Bowser, the King of the Koopas, and rescue Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom

Another hammer turtle, upon seeing this, hurriedly jumped over to help. Wang Ling first threw a fireball at it. At the moment this turtle dodged, it suddenly leaped up, its body rapidly ascending to a height of five meters, and then it fell with its feet together.

With his nerves taut like a string, Wang Ling charged forward for a distance of nearly 5 kilometers, only to suddenly see a pitch-black shell flying directly towards him! Surrounding him were pitfall traps, leaving him no choice but to confront it head-on instead of jumping to evade. The shell struck his body and immediately exploded, sending a violent shockwave in all directions! However, a beam of white light shielded him from the explosion and the shockwave, and within the white light, Wang Ling rapidly shrank back to his original height of 1.75 meters.

Leaving the safe fortress and heading to the third area, which is 8-3 in the game, without the joyful cloud that had been throwing hedgehogs above his head, and after resting for a considerable amount of time, Wang Ling's mood improved.

Wang Ling stepped out of the transit fortress. The sky outside was not a beautiful azure blue, but a gloomy dark gray, and there was a heavy sense of oppression in the air. Along the bare stone path, there was no grass, only towering cacti with sharp spines.

After lying in the transit fortress for more than two hours, Wang Ling, fully restored in strength, stood up and first stretched his body and limbs. Then, he curled his arms, clenched his fists, and with a shake in front of his body, he encouraged himself, saying: "Come on!"

Running while dodging the falling red hedgehogs from the sky, launching fireballs to knock down the incoming Pata turtles, and avoiding the surface traps made Wang Ling feel utterly frantic. However, having reached this point, he had no choice but to press on with determination— even when passing beneath the hidden treasure blocks, he did not jump to collide with them. All his focus was devoted to evading and launching fireballs.

Wang Ling recalled his previous experiences, and a wave of fear surged within him. During the recent adventure, had it not been for his complete focus on dodging the cannonballs and launching fireballs to take down the hedgehogs, just a moment of distraction could have cost him his life

Exhausted to the extreme, Wang Ling lay in the transit fortress, not falling asleep, but instead contemplating a peculiar matter

At the moment he landed, Wang Ling continuously launched fireballs, incinerating the rows of chestnut boys following the iron-shelled insect, and then reduced a carnivorous plant rooted in a water pipe to ashes. After leaping over a series of long, broken traps, he spotted the "Pata Turtle," which was essentially the same as the Gale Turtle, but had two white wings that allowed it to fly up and down.

The monsters in the eighth castle are densely packed. If it were not for the use of fireballs to burn the monsters from a distance, it is likely that one would not even be able to pass through the first area. After all, Wang Ling's super jump and head-stomping technique are far inferior to Mario's own proficiency.

A heart-stopping "crack" echoed as the head of the Hammer Bro collapsed downward under the force of Mario's stomp technique—actually compounded by Wang Ling's body weight—plunging straight into its neck cavity, a surge of hot blood was violently expelled, creating a scene that appeared exceedingly brutal

Upon entering the eighth castle, the Dream Badge surprisingly did not provide any explanation. Completing the main quest may leave behind several skills; could it be that all of them can be retained? He does not think so. It is important to note that the skills taught by Mario, in addition to the six skills such as the speed run and the stomp technique, also include four basic skills.

He saw a fireball fly past the Hammer Tortoise, bouncing along the ground as it continued forward until it collided with a rock and disappeared, causing Wang Ling to furrow his brow slightly

The power of Mario's head-stomping technique in the book is truly formidable

As expected, the final level is indeed challenging; the difficulty of the second area is even greater than that of the first area! After exiting the transit fortress, joyful clouds began to drift over, and there were also erratically flying Pata turtles on the ground. Wang Ling had no time to deal with the joyful clouds and could only continue to run at full speed. Although he did not activate the acceleration run that consumes mental energy, the 20% speed increase from this skill at level 7, combined with the effects of the basic footwork at level 5, ensured that his running speed was not slow. Wang Ling had no time to deal with the joyful clouds and could only continue to run at full speed. Although he did not activate the acceleration run that consumes mental energy, the 20% speed increase from this skill at level 7, combined with the effects of the basic footwork at level 5, ensured that his running speed was not slow

Even though his skills had vanished, Wang Ling had already gained enough benefits in the novice world. However, having exerted so much effort to reach the final level, how could he be willing to return without his skills? He gritted his teeth and declared, "I want to continue my adventure!"

The hammer turtle has a hard green shell on its back and wears a green helmet on its head, resembling a hunchbacked old man fully armored in green. It can continuously throw large black hammers, each larger than a soccer ball, making it easy to imagine how terrifying it would be to be struck by one. Moreover, the frequency of its hammer throws is extremely high, creating an arc that covers the area in front, making it nearly impossible to jump over or pass through.

A black iron shell bug approached head-on. The fireball was ineffective against the bug's iron shell, and Mario's jump attack also failed to inflict any damage. Wang Ling did not wish to engage with such a monster, so he accelerated past it and performed a super jump, leaping over the iron shell bug's head.

It is important to note that he was originally just a high school student, a big boy who enjoyed playing games and reading novels, rather than a special forces soldier or an assassin, a being that surpasses ordinary people both mentally and physically. This intense mental strain, akin to dancing on a tightrope, has truly exhausted him

Fortunately, there were no disturbances from the Happy Cloud. After leaving the artillery area, Wang Ling saw ahead on the floating bricks of the map book, two large turtles standing upright. These are very dangerous monsters: the Hammer Turtles

As they approached within twenty meters, the hammer turtle beneath the floating bricks suddenly charged at Wang Ling, simultaneously hurling large black iron hammers from its hands

There was simply no time to rest. Wang Ling jumped down from the artillery platform and continued to run, constantly leaping, crouching, and even rolling, weaving through a barrage of flying shells, as if he had entered a battlefield engulfed in flames of war. Behind him, the hedgehogs thrown by Happy Cloud nearly pierced him several times, but at the critical moment, they were narrowly knocked away by fireballs.

Will the final outcome be related to my performance at this critical juncture

Directly above the double-barreled turret is extremely safe. After a frantic run, Wang Ling knelt on the turret, supporting his body with his hands, panting as he looked into the distance. He noticed several turrets ahead continuously firing shells, while the Happy Cloud from behind had caught up, instantly overwhelming him with a sense of helplessness

Wang Ling had a vague premonition in his heart, yet he could not be certain, so he chose not to dwell on it. He closed his eyes and silently recalled the monsters and secret passages from the final level of Super Mario 1 that he had played on the Little Tyrant learning machine during his childhood

This does not mean that it will be easier here than in the second area—this is evident from just a hundred meters into the advance, where a distant double-headed cannon fired a pitch-black shell flying towards Wang Ling. This is just the beginning, and a cannon has already appeared!

Taking advantage of the 1-second invincibility, Wang Ling immediately took out a giant mushroom from the badge space and consumed it. Just then, another cannonball came crashing in. He tilted and rolled on the ground to evade it, then activated the Fire Flower. At that moment, he noticed a double-headed cannon in the distance, adorned with a skull pattern, where a new cannonball was being loaded. He quickly activated his speed boost and sprinted over, leaping directly above the cannon.

Its neck bone has been crushed by a stomp, turning into fragments! The head was pressed down, and even the green helmet sank along with it as the hammer turtle swayed back and forth a few times before finally collapsing helplessly to the ground

Damn it, this is simply unbearable

Finally, after leaving the artillery area, the difficulty decreased. Carefully advancing and jumping over several traps, Wang Ling finally reached the platform in front of the flagpole. After jumping up to pull down the flag, he earned an additional 1,000 currency points

It seems that we can only get closer.

The moment he entered the secure transit fortress, he collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted, not wanting to move even a single finger. The experiences in Zone 2 had drained him completely, leaving him fatigued to the utmost in both spirit and physical strength

This is the final point of 8 - 3. Wang Ling, upon seeing the scenery before him, couldn't help but take a deep breath: In the suspended area, approximately fifteen meters long, there are four narrow stone steps floating, providing a path for passage. Below is not an ordinary trap, but a genuine cliff! If one were to jump across and lose balance for even a moment, they would immediately fall to their demise.

Wang Ling stopped when he was more than fifty meters away from the Hammer Turtle. He raised his hand and launched two fireballs, but the Hammer Turtle executed a move that could not be performed in the game: it sidestepped to avoid the attack

This is not a matter of Wang Ling being unaware of the situation; he possesses all of Mario's skills, along with two sets of backup Fire Flowers and Super Mushrooms. If he does not dare to take a chance under such circumstances, how can he justify his own courage

Wang Ling remained unfazed, and once again released two fireballs, intensifying the flames. The Hammer Turtle's form was continuously pushed back by the impact of the fireballs. Despite being engulfed in flames, it still desperately hurled its iron hammer, but unfortunately, the distance between the two had exceeded the hammer's attack range