.
.
.
/Shaa…/
/Splash!/
A small boat navigated through the sea, making its way to a massive cruise ship in the distance.
On the boat were several tourists in diving gear, having just spent their early morning diving in the coral reefs.
"Phew… Today was a blast, I'm done… Hey, Nathan. You okay? You look a little dazed."
"Huh?"
Nathan was a young man in his early 20s. Black hair pushed back with thick goggles strapped on his forehead. With his beard shaved and Asian features, he looked quite handsome.
But he was definitely a little distracted…
"I'm uh… tired… yeah."
"You look a little more than just tired. Are you sick?"
"No, no… I'm fine. Just a little hungry." He replied with a small smile as he looked at his friend
"Then let us get a good meal once we get back there. The others are probably getting ready for lunch too. Let's not miss our first one, yeah?"
"Sure…"
'Forget food. Just what was that sound?… It was as if the entire world had cracked open! How is no one talking about it?'
'Was I the only one who heard it?… If I'm hearing things on the first day of our trip, then I might have to stop by the infirmary when I have the time.'
Nathan cringed. Of all days, it had to be today… Their last school trip to commemorate their graduation last year. A cruise trip with all their classmates!
It was a time to make unforgettable memories with everyone, yet he was beginning to show signs of insomnia… How lucky…
'I'll push this aside for now. Get a good shower and eat some food. Maybe the sound was my equipment or my ears adjusting to the pressure. If it repeats, I'll stop by to have it checked.'
"Hey!"
His friend elbowed his waist lightly.
"What is it?" Nathan asked with a frown as his thoughts were broken
"Are you going to do it? This is your last chance to ask her out!"
"Humph… What's there to ask of a woman that already has a man? I'm not that kind of guy."
"Don't you know she broke up with Robert a few weeks ago? Just where is your head, man? It's all over her socials."
"I'm not the kind of guy who stalks another's social media. I only have one for those apps and so on."
"So? This is your chance! What better place than a cruise ship on the sea to start a relationship?"
Nathan scoffed, "You already know how things went last time. I asked her out, she refused, I stopped. End of the story."
"Man! That was over a year ago at the start of third grade! Just how much longer are you going to stay there? You have to keep pressing. This is what women like!"
"Dude… she got together with Robert weeks after I asked her out. She's not into me, and between you and me… I lost interest in her when she got with him. I want nothing that's been through Robert's hands."
"I want an actual romance. It's not about her face and body… and she proved to me she's not what I was looking for."
"Mannn you're so stiff… but respectable. A man's gotta have some self-respect. I mean, you do work on yourself a lot, so I guess you have some room to have some standards… If they can do it, so can we, yeah?"
"You're absolutely right, Willian."
"Besides, knowing her. I doubt she let Robert have his way with her much so I say a hookup wouldn't be too bad… just so you can get a taste of that girl and move on…" Willian said with a smirk before continuing, "Say… maybe you can look for another one instead? There are so many pretty girls lying around… One of them has to fit your quotas."
"… Can't you think of anything but that? I'm not that interested in partnership."
"That's because you haven't experienced it! How can a man who only ever ate seeds know the taste of meat?"
Nathan laughed as he rolled his eyes, "I think I am one of the privileged ones. Peace, quiet, and my wallet's pretty thick. I'm fine on my own… Doesn't Gustavo get enough issues with his girl already?"
"That's because Gustavo is a fighter who likes wild girls. That relationship won't last… It wasn't meant to. He's only there to tap, you get me? That was the case in his last three relationships. He says it he's uh… finding out what he likes or something."
Willian shook his head, "You shouldn't base your worldview on someone like him at all…"
"Well. I hope you consider what I said. This is probably going to be your best shot at this in a long while. We both know you're not one to go to parties…"
"You're misunderstanding the type of "parties" I like to go to… Good women don't go to such places."
"Nathan, your way too old-fashioned. At this rate, you'll never find a girl at all. Do you think all ladies are fair maidens waiting for their knight? If you're not out there like these other hunks putting them in bed, then you'll just be the dog who'll stay with them after that."
"Don't they have a saying for that? Something like, uh… While you're playing around, someone else is screwing your future wife?"
Nathan exhaled faintly, "You're in the same condition as me then."
"At least I'm having my fair share of fun."
"Then don't come complaining to me when you find out the love of your life was the football team's 'cutie'…"
"Don't curse me like that!"
They laughed together for a few moments while the boat circled the cruise ship.
/Tremble!/
/Splash!/
"!!"
'T-This sound again?!'
Nathan heard the echoing of a powerful clash in the sea… like that of a muffled bell.
"Woah!… The sea is getting quite rowdy." Willian pointed out as he held onto his seat
"Is everyone okay back there? That was quite the wave!" The captain of the ship said with a laugh
/Tremble!/
/Splash!/
"Hold on! We're almost… ?!?!?!"
As they turned around the cruise ship amidst the heavy waves, a terrifying scene unfolded before all.
On the other side, they saw that the upper left corner of the entire cruise ship… was gone! Like a cake being cut, everything had been cleanly removed!
"What the hell is going on?!" Nathan exclaimed as he felt a strange emotion rise in his stomach
"N-Nathan!" Willian exclaimed as he pointed at a massive wave
""SHIIIIT!!""
/SPLASH!/
The rising tide slammed onto the boat, sending Nathan flying into the sea and turning the boat itself upside down.
What was supposed to be the pinnacle of their youth… quickly turned into a disastrous mess.
…
/Bubbless…/
"…"
'What… what happened?… where…'
/Gulp!/
"?!?!"
/SPLASH!/
"HAAAAAA!!"
Nathan pushed himself through the sea's surface, taking a deep breath as he coughed out water.
"F-Fuck! COUGH!… W-Willian? Is everyone o… okay?…"
Nathan looked at him and stopped flailing around in the sea. Utter disbelief written on his face as he scanned his surroundings.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" He exclaimed in fear
His surroundings had completely changed. Instead of the beautiful sea, he now found himself inside a massive cavern. All around him, he saw massive metal walls rising to the cavern's ceiling, painted in a bronze-gold with intricate carvings and unknown architecture all around.
Before him, he saw a massive pair of open gates leading somewhere he couldn't quite see. While behind him, at the center of it all, he saw a massive statue of three horses jumping from the ground. Above the horses was a tower constructed from the ceiling.
… A massive bell hang above the horses. Intricate symbols carved in its bronze-golden structure.
As he calmed down, Nathan found himself at the center of a circular lake. And as he took a deep breath, he learned the lake… was rather shallow. So much in fact he could easily stand on it, the water not even reaching his knees.
The cavern was illuminated by strong light bulbs in the ceiling, like small suns blazing above the ocean.
"What?!… Where the hell am I?!?!"
'I was returning from a trip to the coral reefs with my friend since we wanted to see them early, and now this happened?! Just what… what is going on…'
/CLANG!!/
"!!!!"
'T-This sound!'
/CLANG!!/
/CLANG!!/
/CLANG!!/
The massive bell above began its chime. The echoes were so powerful that the surrounding water vibrated. The noise was immeasurably loud… yet it didn't seem to hurt him.
/CLANG!!/
/CLANG!!/
"Just what is going on…"
'Everyone's gone, and the boat isn't around… I have a feeling I should lie around either.'
He tried to keep himself calm. The first thing he did was get himself steady as he calmed himself down.
He made way to the center of the lake where the horses stood, and there he found a plaque with a few words he couldn't quite understand… However, as he focused on them, their meaning became evidently clear to him, as if his brain itself whispered their translation into his lips.
[Be not weary, traveler. You stand at a pivotal moment. The tides of history have begun to furl]
[If you cannot tame your fears, step back and cross the gates, and forget the Fate you denied]
[If you believe yourself a challenger, follow the horses and take up arms]
[But be warned. Greed can be a man's undoing]
"… What?"
Nathan's lips moved in sequence as he read the ancient tablet, 'Just what is this place?… How did I get here?'
"… Don't tell me it's like in those stories and I'm now stuck in the backrooms or something… Please don't make it like that…" He whispered to himself in fear as he looked around
'If I read this right… if I go through these gates, I'll return… but can I trust it?'
"No."
'How can I trust the words written on an ancient statue in the place I was kidnapped to?… The issue is…'
"Where is everyone?"
'Was it just me, or were the others brought here as well? Were each of us sent somewhere else?'
"I have many questions… but no one to answer."
'Fine then. I'll find them out myself!'
"It told me to follow the horses… Let's see… I can see three paths, dividing this lake into three sections. There are several doors at the end of each path."
'It must be telling me to check each one out.'
Nathan nodded to himself as he checked his surroundings more intently. He noticed that each horse had a crown with gems of different colors.
They were faint, but they were red, green, and blue respectively. Without any reason, he decided to follow the red horse's path first.
It took him a few minutes to reach the other side, but that was mostly because his fear caused him to be overly cautious of everything.
Once he reached the other side, he calmed down.
"This place's silence irks me… I need to man up."
'First, check out these gates.'
There were five gates before him. They all looked the same with the exception of the carved runes at their center.
Each gate was about three meters tall and two wide. He couldn't exactly tell their sizes, but it felt about right.
"Five gates… Must I choose a path?"
'Urg… I'll start with the rightmost one.'
He went along the side path that circled the lake and reached the gate. It was the last door before the massive gates leading "outside". If he were to cross to the other side, he'd reach the gates at the end of the green horse's path.
"Let's start with you."
He touched the door with caution, feeling its ancient structure and weight in his palm.
"This… how do I open you?… !!"
[… 1…]
As he thought of that, a thought passed through his mind. The rune before him read as one!
"One… one… one! One what?!?!"
He couldn't shake the strangeness. He went to the closest door on the left and touched it.
[… 5…]
"Five? Why did it increase so quickly? What about the next one?"
[… 10…]
"From one to five, then that to ten… I don't see the pattern…"
With a look of confusion, he touched the next one. The door before the last one.
[… 25…]
"Twenty five? Am I even getting these right, or am I hallucinating these numbers? What does it mean?"
He hopped to the last door, touching it…
[… 50…]
"Fifty… At least this says something… Could these be percentages? If this door is fifty, then I can only open two of these doors?"
'I could test this out easily, but if I make a mistake here, then I'm screwed with the values… Should I go all in from the start?…'
"Wait!… It told me not to be greedy… Yeah… I'll start with the first door to see what each horse is pointing at."
'Let's hope it's not a one-way thing…'
Nathan reached out to the first door.
"Erm… Open Sezame?… Didn't work… Open!"
/CREAK…/
/SPLASH!/
As he willed the door to open, he heard an echo beside him.
"THE GATES! N-NO… They stopped moving?"
The gates suddenly moved, but only an inch of their total width.
"This… I was right. They are percentages! If this gate were to repeat this process a hundred times, then I think it'd be just about right for it to close."
'So this means I need to pick the right choices before crossing? Something isn't right here. Why would it tell me to open the doors before leaving if leaving is the same as forgetting this "Fate"?'
"… There is one thing I didn't check…"
At the back opposite the massive gates was another entrance leading deeper into the caverns. Maybe the answer to his questions was there.
"Hum… Perhaps this is about managing your time? Will the gates close naturally over time, or am I looking too much into things?"
'Maybe I read too many novels…'
/Clack!/
"!"
Interrupting his thoughts, the gate before him opened with the reverberations of locks and mechanisms unwinding…
/Sha…/
Frigid ancient air washed his clothes as the door unsealed. It awaited for him to pry it open.
"… I hope I don't get any ancient sickness or curse…"
/CREAK!/
As the old hinges cried out loud, he pried the door open, revealing its contents, which had been kept away from light for centuries.
"Cough!… There's quite a bit of dust here. Just how long has this place been sealed?"
He pushed the door fully open so light could shine inside. What he found inside was quite unexpected.
"This is… an old axe? It's a bit rusty… even armor? Equipment?! Just what exactly is this place expecting me to do?"
As he noticed the things lying around, a feeling of dread spread inside his stomach.
"Shit… do I have to fight to leave this place? I don't trust those words, but… It seems this was the answer all along."
'There're a few extra things lying around… I'll think about it when I gather it all.'
"Okay… let me see… One rusty axe and a letter chest plate. An old, baggy water holder tied to a belt. There's also an unlit torch, which I don't think can light up, and this mirror."
An ancient and dusty hand mirror stood tucked above a stone block. It was the centerpiece of this 'vault'. It seemed to be made of silver with a red gem at its handle.
/Scrub…/
He cleaned the mirror with his hands and some water, "It's quite elegant… It would do as a good gift if I weren't in this crappy situation."
'Look at me, lost in some unknown place with nothing but my shorts and a pair of diving goggles.'
"Actually, where is the rest of my diving gear? Did it get lost in the lake?"
/CRACK!/
"!!!… Did the mirror shatter just from me holding it?!"
'Shit… Don't tell me I'll get bad luck from this…'
Feeling a bit down, he scrubbed the glass shards inside the vault and made way to the other side of the lake.
"Okay, I need a plan… First, I'll check each -1- vaults and see what they have inside. After that, I'll make new plans and see what I should do."
'It seems my path forward should be the one on the other side of the lake. So maybe what I should do is open the vault doors just so I have enough space left to pass through the gate before exploring what's beyond the other entrance.'
'This way I can always flee if things get too dangerous.'
"Hum… Maybe I should also consider climbing these walls. There seem to be windows and other structures like verandas above these vaults. Maybe there's more to it hidden away."
"This place gives me the creeps… I feel like there's so much hidden away yet I can't properly grasp where it all is…"
'Could the sounds I heard before be connected to the reason I'm here in some way? It has to be…'
Nathan carefully traversed the path as he avoided the water as much as he could. He eventually reached the other side, where the green horse pointed and opened the first door.
What he found inside was extremely similar to what he found on the other one, with a few exceptions. Instead of an axe, he found an old bow and some arrows. Instead of a chestplate, he found a leather shirt with some holes in it.
There was also the same equipment as before, but what attracted his attention was the mirror. It looked the same as before, but it had a green gem in the handle.
/CRACK!/
"!… So it didn't break because of me… Why did it break naturally like this? Was it because I looked at my reflection? I'm not that ugly!"
"This bow is… useless. I feel it'll snap at the lightest tug. I'm better off putting the leather shirt behind my chest plate than taking anything here."
'I'm starting to understand what this place is about.' He said as he looked at the massive gates, which had moved a little again
This time, he crossed through the horses again, following the blue horse leading to another series of gates, where the entrance leading further into the cavern stood between them.
As he looked down at the path, he shook his head, "I'm not ready yet…"
…
/CREAK…/
/SPLASH!/
"Hupp!… Alright… I'm getting better at this… phew."
'Time to see what this last gate has to offer.'
What he found inside, aside from the usual collection of items, was the following:
A set of clothes made of cloth… and a net.
"That's it?… Really? The clothes are appreciated, but come on!"
"… I'll take the net and the clothes… and the mirror of course."
/CRACK!/
"Yup… It broke again… I'm unsure if they do anything but anyhow… I suppose it's time to move on."
After putting some thought into this, he grew some confidence to say, "This is almost like a game. Red means Strength, Green means Agility, and Blue means… uh… Intelligence?"
'I'm not inclined to believe these observations, but I'll assume they are those until proven otherwise. With this, I think I know where to go.'
"I usually like to play as a mage, but I have to be realistic."
'I'll open the -25- "Strength" door! This way I'll have more than enough points to open the other doors and see what they have to offer.'
"Let's go!"
…
"And… open!"
/CREAK…/
/SPLASH!/
The gates were pushed closer by unseen gears, closing around a quarter of the exit.
Seeing this, Nathan frowned a little, "I know there's still a lot of space… but it's getting close."
"I hope it was worth it."
"Hupp… Cough… alright."
The first thing he saw was the pile of mirrors above the stone slab at the center of the vault. But his attention was soon attracted elsewhere.
Another axe, but this one was far cleaner and tidier, like a perfect version of his. The same went for the armor on the side, but this time, it also included a pair of greaves and gauntlets. Simple ones, but still better than nothing.
"There's also a backpack and some other items. This… is quite good actually."
'With this, I could say I'm somewhat ready. And I still have quite a few "points" to use.'
"… Maybe the greed it was talking about was this? Should I leave with what I have instead?… I don't know… I'll stick to my plans."
/CRACK!/
/CRACK!/
/CRACK!/
/CRACK!/
/CRACK!/
Nathan grabbed and equipped himself with everything after he looked at the mirrors. There were five of them, and with them, the total number of red mirrors he had seen was now six.
"Hum… This axe is quite light compared to what I expected. Same with this armor… almost too light for my liking. Wait… could it be… are the mirrors actually improving my strength?!"
'This axe is the exact same shape as the other one, it just looks well kept. The difference in weight shouldn't have been so pronounced!'
"If each mirror does indeed raise my… my uh… stats? Then this changes things."
'I know exactly what to do. I'll open the -10- and -5- red vaults and do the same for both the blue and green vaults. This will add my total amount to seventy-three, which is just enough for me to get another -25- door.'
"But I won't open it. I'll leave the rest as it is just in case I need it."
'Also, if those doors prove to be ineffective, then I may choose to open others and leave those be. Time may be worth more than whatever those doors have to offer.'
With a plan in mind, Nathan opened both the -10- and -5- red vaults, and while he expected the items inside to not be of much worth, he still took a spear he found at the -10- door in case he needed it.
/CRACK!/
/CRACK!/
/CRACK!/
/CRACK!/
/CRACK!/
In total, he found five extra mirrors on the vaults, which surprised him. He didn't expect them to add up to the -25- door.
"So the order from the first to the fourth door goes like this. One, two, three, and five mirrors per vault. Would the last one have ten?"
'This is almost too tempting. With these mirrors, my total value is now eleven. I can barely feel the weight of my armor and the extra items inside my backpack. Just how much stronger would I be if I almost doubled this value?'
But after some thought, he dismissed it, "No… I shouldn't be greedy. This much is enough."
'What I'll do instead is simple. I'll open those two doors to raise the value of all my "stats" past ten. The items inside can add up to my equipment.'
"Let's go!"
…
/Several minutes later…/
/CRACK!/
/CRACK!/
"Huff… the last two mirrors… Now everything is perfect."
"I got extra clothes from the blue vaults, so now I'm not lacking protection anywhere. I have leather armor on top of that coupled with metal armor protecting my chest, stomach, forearms, and the lower half of my legs."
'There's still a lot of space missing to cover, but it's better than nothing.'
"My back is also decently protected. My bag is heavy, but it's full of clothes and items acting as a vest. I doubt anything can pass through it easily with the multiple layers of leather gear I cut with a dagger and put inside."
'I sure am a genius.'
"Now… There's only about a quarter of the size left until the gate closes… I should get moving."
He looked at the only place he hadn't been yet. The path leading deeper inside the cavern.
…
"… Hum? It already ended?"
'I barely got inside?'
The path, or rather, just an entrance, led to another open area. Before him, the tower seemed to have been carved out of the stone. Made of the same metallic material as before, it rose to the ceiling of the cavern, vanishing within.
Only a fragment of the tower could be seen, so it looked more like a wall than anything else. The only reason Nathan thought of a tower when he looked at it was because of the diagonal lines across its surface. They gave a faint impression of a spiral, reinforcing the idea of a tower.
"So this is the place I'm meant to go?… There's another plaque before the entrance."
[You stand at the start of your journey. Do not cower]
[Climb the tower, but beware, your grace. Overextend it and you'll find yourself part of these halls]
[Fear not failure. The brave challenge what others can't even dream. Leave this place reborn anew, a coward no more]
[But do remember, these doors will open only once. The challenger will not be given a second choice]
"So it was as I thought. It seems this is the right way… The vaults are meant to give you the items to challenge this place, but you're also meant to leave yourself with time to do so and leave."
"Alright! At least now I know that it's not bad for me to leave… might as well see what this place has to offer."
'I don't know how much time I have, but I won't stay around to figure it out.'
Nathan climbed the stairs leading to the open doors, stepping inside the tower.
…
"This place… is massive!"
/Massive… massive… massive…/
"The echo is quite strong…"
Like Nathan pointed out, the inside of the tower was gargantuan. He could barely see the other side in detail.
He stipulated the tower to probably be larger than even the biggest stadium in diameter.
On his left, he could see a set of stairs over ten meters wide alongside the side leading upward in a spiral pattern. At the top, he could see a brilliant light akin to the sun shining down on him.
Bluish stone blocks and metal bars stitched together in an elegant display of archtecture. Thick pillars of metal rose to the skies as they supported the stairs leading to the light above.
'Could that be another exit? Maybe that's where I need to go!'
At the center of the tower was another artificial lake, covering most of it. At its center was the statue of a lady holding a balance in one hand, her eyes veiled.
He approached the statue, "It's massive. Even at the edge of the lake, I can tell it's probably larger than the Statue of Liberty."
'Just what civilization or organization could build such a complex place inside a cavern?'
"Hum… this water… I'm finally realizing it's been hours since I last took a sip of water. My throat's a little dry, but I didn't dare drink from that lake… not more than I already did."
'There were several items buried in the lake's sand. And I'd rather not drink it since it's likely contaminated. I tried fishing for items in the mess but found nothing useful… worse, I almost got a cut.'
"Now what? I climb?… Is it safe to drink from this fountain?"
'I doubt I'll find food anywhere, but I need water even if little.'
He opened his canteen he found on the -25- red vault and filled it.
/Crank!/
"The statue's balance… is moving?!"
The more water he collected, the lower the balance fell. He had found it strange the balance wasn't in place before, but now it was explained.
He filled the bottle until the balance was just about to reach its standstill, leaving a little left in case he needed to for some reason… and also to avoid the possibility of going over it.
"Why is the statue doing that? Is this water valuable enough for it to do so?"
'There sure is something magical about this place. Either that or some modern tech.'
"… I should make my way up now. It seems each floor is about ten meters high, so it's quite a climb on the stairs… It's never too late to start."
Nathan approached the stairs and looked up and frowned, but without saying anything more, he climbed to the first floor.
/Step… step…/
"Huff… Okay… I need some time to breathe…"
The first floor revealed itself, a long path curving around the side of the tower. From his location to the next set of stairs, there seemed to be at least a few dozen meters of platform to cover. Which meant there was a lot of space to…
FIGHT!
/Growl…/
"!!!"
Once he reached the first floor, standing guard to the next floor was a strange creature with unusually broad shoulders and two large tusks rising from its lower lips.
"What the hell is that?! It… it looks like some mix between a goblin and a troll…"
Greenish gray skin. The creature seemed to have fur covering its body, and with its size and body proportions, Nathan expected it to have about the same power as a small macaque.
"Gugru…"
"…"
'It's not moving… Am I meant to kill it? I was given so many weapons… Maybe if I go around it…'
Nathan noticed a door on the path to the next floor. Maybe if he could get inside… but what if there was another monster inside?
"I'll go around you… don't mind me…"
/GROWL!/
"!!"
The moment he crossed a certain threshold, the beast lunged at him, running on its two legs as it displayed its sharp teeth to him!
"SHIT! Looks like there's no walking through this!"
'H-How do I do this?!'
He raised his axe in anticipation, swinging it blindly once he felt it was time.
/SPLATTER!/
The axe collided with the creature's neck, almost decapitating it.
"I… I did it… B…BLERGUE!"
Nathan vomited on the ground, unable to stand the dying breaths of the creature before him.
…
"U-Urg… Shit… I can't believe I did it."
He took a look at the creature before flinching… He forced himself to look at it because he knew this would only repeat higher up.
"What an insane place. What even is this place?…"
He slowly gathered his bearings. After he took a few minutes to recover, he walked past it as he pulled his axe from his neck.
Blood dripping on the ground, he went to the first door and pushed it open.
"This place is just like a vault, but a bit larger. I can see all kinds of items here, but I only care about this." He said as he grabbed a mirror
It was a red mirror!
/CRACK!/
"Now my strength has reached twelve… the rest of the items are quite simple. No better than what I found on the first vault."
'Maybe this is to give a chance to those who didn't choose that many vaults…'
He shook his head. After he took a look around and found nothing of value, he moved on and climbed the stairs to the second floor.
"Huff…"
The second floor was just like the previous one, but this time, the guardian had a small knife in hand.
"It has a weapon… What is that even going to do? I think its claws were more threatening…"
/GROWL!/
/SPLATTER!/
The same pattern as before occurred. The creature charged and Nathan swung his axe. But this time he missed the neck… not that it mattered a anyway.
/Screech!/
As the creature screamed in pain from having its shoulder-bone slashed through, Nathan walked past it with a heavy gaze. He could still hear its echoes of pain across the halls, even as he entered the second door.
Inside, although the items were a little better, his equipment was still better overall. He did find a set of pauldrons he put on his shoulder for protection, but the rest was useless.
/CRACK!/
"Now my strength is at thirteen."
'The rest isn't useful. Time to move on.'
He walked outside and saw that the creature had crawled in his direction but stopped midway, likely dead.
Nathan gave it a single pained glance before moving on to the third floor.
…
/SPLATTER!/
"... It's horrible to think I'm getting used to this." He mumbled as he slashed across another beast. This time it had two daggers.
'I think each creature will grow slightly stronger than the last. How long will it take before they are stronger than me? What do I do then?'
"… I don't want to think about that…"
…
/CRACK!/
"Now my strength is at fourteen… Do the rewards reflect my preferences?"
'I also found a better pair of leggings and a shirt… although putting those on will take too long for what I'll likely change soon. It's reckless, but I don't have the time to keep putting them on and off.'
"I'll keep the upper leg armor I found though. Time to move on."
…
/SPLATTER!/
/CRACK!/
On the fourth floor, the creature gained a slightly longer knife of better quality and a shield, while he received a blue mirror. And on the fifth floor, it gained clothes for the first time, although it didn't look like they did anything.
At the fifth floor, the rewards changed slightly… He gained a helmet of decent quality, probably the equivalent of a -25- door item, but the rest was still subpar.
"I think the quality of the items here is about that of the -10- door. At the end of the next five floors, it may reach the -25- door on average."
'From then on I may have to constantly change my equipment.'
"I wonder if the rewards are based on chance or if they're predefined… Let's go!'"
After the fifth floor, these were his stats:
Red 14
Green 11
Blue 13
…
/Climb…/
"… It's getting easier to climb these… but what do we have here?"
'The creature changed… It's now taller, and it looks stronger. No equipment though.'
/Step!/
/SCREECH!/
The beast lunged forward, but this time, it wasn't in a straight line.
"This! It's smarter than those fuckers!"
/SLASH!/
/SPLATTER!/
"But not fast enough!"
He swung his axe down, cracking its skull in two.
Still repulsed by the scene, he walked past it with a heavy gaze.
What he found inside the vault was shocking!
"This! So many mirrors!"
Inside, Nathan found three red mirrors and several decent-looking items!
/CRACK!/
/CRACK!/
/CRACK!/
"Now my strength should be seventeen! I can feel the difference in real time. This axe now feels as heavy as a pool noodle! And I doubt anything changed about it."
'How strong am I in human terms? Twice? Thrice?…'
"I must keep going!… But not before changing my clothes… My equipment is dirty and I don't want to move around like this."
'My lower clothes can be changed, and I can alter some of the leather armor as well for heightened defenses… Yup, with this much, unless those creatures try to bite or hit me where I'm unprotected, I'm essentially a tank.'
"Time to move on!"
…
The next floor, the creature received a long dagger… It fell down just as easily. He received three more red mirrors once again! Making his strength an overbearing twenty!
On the eighth floor, the creature received a shield, and its dagger was changed for a small sword. This battle was harder for him, but since the creature was just as clumsy as he was, he won after striking the shield a few times.
However, he noted how exposed he felt whenever the creature blocked. If it knew how to fight…
He received three more red mirrors for his actions!
On the ninth floor, the creature received simple leather armor, but it was still as unskilled as before. The end result was the same. With his higher strength, he almost splintered its shield in one strike. But his axe also felt the brunt of the impact.
He received one blue mirror for his actions, raising its value to fourteen. Which made him realize that indeed the rewards in each room were randomized. But he didn't know if he had been lucky or unlucky so far.
On the tenth floor. The creature received full leather armor, and its shield and sword both received an upgrade. It was also considerably more skilled than the others. The fight was intense, but it fell when Nathan threw a small dagger he had in his belt at the creature, which just so happened to hit its eye with its blunt side.
He may be terrible at throwing it, but he was lucky!
After hitting its neck, he moved on and entered the tenth floor's vault.
"This… what is this?!"
Inside, he found only one item… a massive silver mirror. It had no gems, being supported by a metal frame bolted to the ground.
"Nothing's happening even when I look at it… Is there some trick to this?"
He kept thinking until his thoughts drifted and he thought about adding one point to his strength…
/CRACK!/
The mirror cracked slightly , and with that revelation, he understood what it was.
"This is a mirror that can give whatever points you ask for! Jackpot!"
'Since it added one point to strength, this means my strength is now twenty-four? Alright then… raise it to thirty!'
/CRACK!/
The mirror cracked further , but it didn't shatter yet!
"Can I add more? Alright!"
'Since I now have 30 strength… I'll first raise my intelligence to 15. That's one more point.'
/CRACK!/
"Still not broken?… Then I'll raise my agility to 15 as well. That's four points."
/CRACK!/
The cracks had almost reached the center, but it still had some juice left.
"This is immeasurably valuable… This room alone cave me as much as everything I've made so far."
'Since I have a few points left… I'll add it all to strength!'
'One point!'
/CRACK!/
'One point!'
/CRACK!/
'One point!'
/CRACK!/
/Shatter!/
The burst into pieces, a sad form of what it once was.
"Hoo… So it had three more points left… So it was fifteen points in total?"
'How many points do I have now again?…'
He thought about it, and it came to his head as he pieced it all together.
Red 33
Green 15
Blue 15
"Alright… I should try to balance them a bit more, but I'll leave that to chance."
'Only if they grow too far apart. Like three times… yeah, that's about right.'
"Let's go! The next floor!"
'I also need to find a better axe since this one has shown signs of fractures in its edge.'
…
/Step…/
"Alright! I can't even feel tired from climbing these anymore… What the hell are you?"
Standing at his height, it was a creature that reminded him of an ugly troll in fantasy. Although it was extremely furry.
It held a single sword in hand, but it wasn't as clumsy with it as the others.
"It's probably as proficient with it as the last one at the very least… Very well then, let's get this started."
'I should be stronger than it at the very least. And with this shield, I should do fine!'
/Step…/
/ROAR!/
It screamed loudly as it ran after him!
"COME!"
/CLANG!/
Nathan pressed forward, blocking the sword strike with his shield with such force it sent the beast's sword flying!
/SLASH!/
/SPLATTER!/
He delivered a fatal strike to the unprotected creature, slaying it in one swipe!
"… As expected, my strength is so high even this monkey-like beast can't endure. If I can keep this up, the next five floors will be fine."
He went to the door and opened it. Inside the vault, he found more equipment that could be used to replace his current equipment, including a brand new axe so heavy he could feel its weight in his hand. Compared to his previous one, which felt like a pool noodle in hand, this one was at least twice heavier than when he first grabbed an axe.
"With my strength, I wonder just how heavy this really is."
Aside from the axe, he found three green mirrors, the first ones he had found so far!
"Not bad. I have no idea what these do, but I know I have grown more flexible… Time to move on."
'There are some decent items lying around. I'll change what has to be changed and move on.'
He got himself comfortable and moved on to the 12th floor… until he was stopped by a sudden event.
/CLANG!/
"!"
/CLANG!/
"This is… the bell?! It's singing again."
'The time… could it be the bell tolls every hour or so? This means… I have around twenty-six hours left? Just a little over a day to climb to the tower's apex?!'
"I can't even see the end of this tower…" He mumbled as he carefully approached the edge, being at the eleventh floor, he was already well over a hundred meters above the entrance
He shook his head. Indeed, he had no time to joke around. He moved on with haste and climbed the stairs to face his next foe.
The creature had now received full leather armor, a significant jump compared to previous floors.
/THROW!/
After a momentary observation and some time for him to recover his breath, Nathan started by throwing his axe and hitting the beast in the leg!
/SLASH!/
While the creature recoiled in pain, he cut its head off with a clean strike!
"Huff… I almost missed that throw. As I thought, even with the head start and my strength, these creatures can almost evade my throws."
'If I were a bit stronger or more proficient, I might've been able to take them down swiftly.'
Inside the vault he found a few more items and two blue mirrors, raising the total to seventeen as well.
A similar process happened on the last three floors. Nathan would start his fight by throwing something to throw his opponent off guard before rushing in and finishing the job.
On the thirteenth floor, the beast was given a better shield and sword. On the fourteenth floor, its leather armor was reinforced with some metal padding. And on the fifteenth floor, the creature got slightly bigger and stronger while retaining its equipment.
As for Nathan's strength, he was slightly unlucky compared to before. He found two more green mirrors on the thirteenth floor, then three mirrors on the fourth floor. This meant that from the eleventh floor to now, he found no red mirrors to raise his strength.
Frustrated, he entered the treasure room on the fifteenth floor, and once again, he found himself inside an unusual room.
Inside, there were dozens of chains falling from the ceiling. At the end of each chain, he found a book attached to it, a colored gem serving as a lock and binding the books closed.
There were some runes at the back of each book describing what they did rather vaguely, and as he read them, he came to understand what they were.
"This is… are these what I think they are?"
'Martial arts!'
Each book had a name he could somewhat understand despite the strange runes. Whenever he touched a book, he also felt a number spring inside his head, with the values ranging from 1 to the lowest value and 5 to the highest.
There was also something else on the gem lock. Strange runes that weren't translated but with his keen sight, he understood what they did somewhat. Those runes told him the value needed in points for him to use said martial art… or so he interpreted.
It was just a number, one he didn't even know if it was correct.
"If this is right, this might be my chance to raise my martial arts considerably! I was already incredibly unlucky with this floor's rewards. Either that or I was massively lucky in previous rounds, so I have to make up for it if I want to keep at it."
"I did change most of my items since I think the quality of the items has surpassed that of the -25- door, but that's just it."
'The issue is that I don't have the time to learn martial arts… But if these numbers are correct, I hope this place's magical powers can make up for my time. Otherwise, I can't see why they would give such thick books for us to purchase like this.'
"There doesn't seem to be much else in this room apart from that."
He looked around the room one more time and after a while, he chose two books.
"The first book is called Power Surge. According to its description, it's a martial book that raises one's strength in a moment like a burst of power. It costs three points which may seem low given there are some that cost five points, but it's exactly what I need to keep my strength above thirty which is the basic requirement to use it."
"A low cost but high use condition! I doubt others would be able to raise their strength this much without the large mirror unless they were exceedingly lucky every room or put their all on getting all five vault doors at the start before the tower."
'I'll start with this one. I hope it works as expected.'
/CRACK!/
The gem shattered as Nathan felt a wave of exhaustion hit him. The book fell in his hands quietly as the chains swung aimlessly in the air, and the moment it did so, a wave of memories pierced into his mind as the book burned brightly.
"UGH!"
His eyes shining like bonfires, Nathan absorbed all the knowledge before plopping onto the ground a minute or two after.
"Huff… Huff… It works as I expected… I understand all of it now."
'With this I know my strength has reached a new stage and I don't even need to compare… With this in mind, I know what must be done next.'
He reached out for a green book…
"Tyrant Cleaver Maneuvers. This is a 5-Green book! According to its description, this is an advanced axe technique that contains multiple axe manuals within. The basics to reach a higher level of axe combat mastery."
'While I had been putting my faith in the axe so far. It was just because and for no other reason… but I think I'll stay with it for now. Axes are quite effective. If not the axe, then a hammer… a spiky hammer.'
'Maybe then I'll consider a spear or a sword. Those are good options too… but I quite like the idea of a big weapon that benefits from it being heavy and me being strong.'
/CRACK!/
"AAARRG!"
This time, the influx of memories was far stronger. So much so that he collapsed to the ground almost instantly. He saw the memories of dozens of people using an axe and training with it, and it was only at the very end after what seemed like a lifetime of training that he woke up amidst a pile of sweat on the ground.
"Haa… haa… Alright… I'm back."
'And more confident than ever.' He thought with a faint smile as he forced himself off the ground
"I finally understand my mistakes and how to use an axe properly… It'll take a while for me to get used to it though. This technique needs at least twenty "agility" for me to use it."
'Maybe the numbers have no connection with me learning them or not. It may be just the requirement to use them properly at an introductory level.'
"Even though I learned both Power Surge and Tyrant Cleaver Maneuvers, I think it'll take a bit more practice and understanding for me to master them. There is no such thing as levels of mastery of it, but I think there's a difference between knowing the form perfectly and executing it."
'Power Surge specially. It seems to have quite a high ceiling in terms of how effective it is. I assume that it may take me well over fifty to even seventy points in strength for me to be able to use naturally without side effects and maybe even more for me to reach the state of constant activation where I can keep my body in a perpetual state of "Half-Charge" as described in the manual.'
"It seems there's still a long way for me to go. But if I combined the techniques from the Tyrant Cleaver Maneuvers with Power Surge, I should easily be able to cleave those creatures I faced before in half!"
He smiled... before it vanished.
'It's strange to think I'm starting to anticipate my fights with those things… This is a dangerous thought to have.'
"… Anyway… I should move on. There are quite a few good martial arts here, and since I'll have to go back eventually, I'm sure I'll end up buying one or two."
'There doesn't seem to be any about "Inner Energy" or that kind of thing. Just "Human" martial arts… albeit Power Surge isn't something I can explain with my first few months of university…'
"It seems to tap into some principle that pushes the body well beyond the limits of even what adrenaline was supposed to be able to provide. Maybe it's the same source of power behind my superhuman power-up."
'I'll see that for myself once I climb a few more layers. It seems every five levels there's something extra for me to find.'
"On the 5th floor it was a helmet of such quality I still haven't found anything better looking. So unless I'm terrible at judging quality, that was a jackpot for the level."
"On the 10th floor it was the mirror that gave me the equivalent of everything I had found from the 1st floor to there… and now it's a shop."
'Maybe on the 20th floor I'll find something else again.'
Nathan smiled, leaving the room and making way to the stairs leading to the sixteenth floor.
/Crack…/
"Hm?… ?!?!?!"
/BOOOOM!!/
Behind him, the wall between the vault door and him broke apart! And amidst a cloud of smoke and dust, a massive creature over three meters tall stepped before him.
/BAM!/
/BAM!/
Its steps were heavy, causing heavy echoes before him. Its rotund body displayed both its immense weight… and power.
A creature with red skin and a glutinous body! It was a beast unlike any other!
"GORO…"
Its throat gargled as it breathed, the fat beneath shaking.
"What an abomination… Is this a floor boss?!"
"Grugugug…"
/BOOM!/
The creature stood in place gurgling as it swung its arms around. In its left hand, a massive cleaver the size of a zweihänder split the air like an agile bird with the power of a demolition ball.
"This creature… looks like a pug with asthma."
'It looks stupid, but its physical power is out of this world. If I'm struck with that cleaver, I'm done for, even if I block it.'
'The creature has no armor, but its fat is so thick that might as well be… So it seems there's only one place to strike… To make a giant fall, you strike its legs.'
For the first time since he began his ascension, he took the collection of spears he had and put them beside him.
He also put the rest of his equipment on the side to lighten himself up.
"Huu… Let's start this."
Power Surge!
/THROW!/
/FWOOSH!/
/PIERCE!/
"GORORORO!!"
He threw a spear directly at its chest, even so, given the amount of fat it had, it had the same impact as piercing someone's chest with a toothpick.
/Grab…/
Power Surge!
So he took another and threw it again!
/THROW!/
/FWOOSH!/
"GORORORO!!"
/BOOM!/
The creature went berserk, swinging its cleaver around violently. A single strike was enough to leave deep gashes on the wall. But it didn't seem to have any intention of going after him.
/THROW!/
/FWOOSH!/
/THROW!/
/FWOOSH!/
With his last spear, he had thrown all of his spear at the beast with one of them hitting its neck. Just from the look of things, it seemed as if the creature would eventually bleed to death… but that wasn't what he wanted.
/CHARGE!/
Nathan ran forward with power surge, reaching to the creature's left leg as he raised his axe…
'Even if your leg is as thick as a tree… I don't think a tree would be able to stop this!'
/SLASH!/
/CUT!/
/THUD!/
He slashed across the beast's ankle, causing it to fall beside him.
/SPLURGE!/
"DIE!" He exclaimed as he raised his axe and swung it down, splitting its head in half
As blood splattered across his face, Nathan smiled.
"I did it. The creature was nearly mindless but it was certainly a force of nature… I felt like a normal person trying to fight a berserking elephant."
'Hopefully, if I ever fight something like this again, I won't be so insignificant next to it… Though I doubt if it'll be as week.'
"Time to move on… but I might as well go and check where it came from, no?"
He walked past the creature and entered the room within.
"Insane!"
Inside, he found a grand vault full of golden coins and glistening chests surroundings a massive throne of stone embedded with dozens of gems.
"Awesome! I don't think I need the golden coins and whatnot, but it's so cool to see them all like this… The gems on the throne are exactly like the other gems I found so far, so maybe they have a use?"
"Hum… The chests are locked, but they have strange symbols on their lids… This one looks like a sword, and this one like a pair of gloves… they also have colors."
"Bronze, Silver, and Golden chests… Is this all to represent what they contain and the quality of what they have? If so, where are the keys?"
Nathan could think of only one possibility. He ran back to the large creature and investigated its body after making sure it was dead.
"Hupp… This cleaver sure is heavy." He said amidst a few gasps as he lifted the creature's weapon, "It seems to be of a high enough quality but I can barely use it. Definitely not the kind of thing meant for human use and combat… unless you're a very strong one."
'I'll have to leave it here, unfortunately. It's not about its weight but its size. I already have too much I carry with me, and it takes me a minute or so to take it all off and a little longer to put it back on whenever I reach and leave a floor.'
"Is there anything else on its body? I haven't bothered to check the creatures I slay since they never had anything, but maybe it's time to start considering… Aha! I found it."
There was a keychain on the creature's waist, bound to its flesh. It was disgusting.
"I was wondering about this… This creature sure is an abomination… Could it be… that there are other items hidden inside its body?"
"…"
Nathan had a terrible thought. Was he really considering butchering this creature just to get an extra item?
"… Of course I am! My life is far greater than some dirt and smell… I'll figure the rest out later though."
'Time to use these keys!'
…
"So… I have four bronze keys and two silver and gold keys. This means I can open eight chests."
"There are only three chests but about seven silver and double that in bronze chests. I suppose bronze chests are simple rewards while silver and gold chests are better rewards."
"First of all. There are no special symbols. The ones I don't recognize are this gem-like symbol, this spherical one, which I think is a mirror, and this one that looks like a flask."
"I should use the bronze chests to change my old equipment while the silver and bronze chests are what matter… There could also be more keys and chests hidden inside the piles of gold, so I should start with that."
Nathan spent some minutes with an old shovel he found 'swiping' away the gold. But even after he spread it out everywhere, he found nothing unique aside from the gems.
Everything that wasn't golden coins he kept on the throne.
With that, he approached the golden chests.
"Let's see. There are three chests. One of them has a gem symbol; the other has multiple weapons put together, and the last one is a helmet… I imagine a helmet will pop out from the chest, and while it would probably be a nice piece of equipment, I'm fine with my current one."
'I haven't had the chance to use it, which is good. If there comes a situation my helmet saves my life, then I'm in deep trouble already. I'd rather have a chest plate instead.'
"I'm uncertain what the gem does, but it seems like the best option regardless."
After some thought, he opened the weapon chest, 'Please, give me an axe!'
/Crunk…/
The chest opened without any special effect. Inside, he found what he had been looking for. A standard one-handed axe with a beautiful and sturdy body attached to a silvery-blue blade that was quite intimidating.
"Perfect! A new axe, and this one looks even better than the last one… Huh?… HUPP!!"
'SHIT! IT'S HEAVY!'
Nathan only lifted the axe after much effort, which puzzled him given his power.
"The previous axe wasn't that heavy, even with my loss in strength. But this one… It almost makes me feel as if I'm holding the heaviest dumbbell at the gym."
'I used to work out, so I'm used to these weights. I didn't exactly work with them, but I held them once or twice… Even with my power, this makes me feel as if I'm holding a 40Kg weight!'
"This alone is heavier than everything I have combined! It's even heavier than that cleaver!"
'How am I supposed to fight with something like this? Is it a matter of power? Is the equipment gap to my level that high?!'
"Looks like these golden chests do mean business… Then there's this other one…"
/Crunk…/
He pushed the lid open to reveal a small red gem shaped like a flattened diamond.
"It's similar to the other gems in this room but different… It has a metal ring built around it, as if it's meant to go somewhere. Since it's a red gem, it must mean power or something similar."
'Hum… I don't know its purpose, so I'll put it on the throne for now.'
His attention turned to the silver chests, "Lots of equipment and weapons. The flask symbol belongs here, but I'm not testing that out… I have something else in mind."
/Crunk!/
He opened the chest with the circular symbol. Inside, he found another silver mirror!
"Jackpot! But this one… Why does it look like this? It's smaller than the giant one by quite a bit, but it's far larger than the small ones I'm used to… Is it like 'that'? Medium mirror!"
'This one must either give five points or ten points to spread out. Just what I needed after I lost all those points to buy martial arts.'
"I'll also open the other mirror chest. This way, it's either five or ten more points!"
/Crunk!/
"Now then… I would've usually exchanged for red mirrors, but there's something bugging me… are red, green, and blue all there is?"
"In this throne alone, I can see two more colors of gems I've never seen before! Yellow and Platinum. How can I not consider these as well?"
'There must be some truth to this. I have been thinking of this since the early floors and to prove this, I've been testing the mirrors.'
"It's easy to get red mirrors when I think of power before the silvery mirror, and so it is to get a blue one when I ask for intelligence. But what exactly is the scope of it all? I want to find out if I can trigger something else!"
"Mirror! Raise my… Charisma!"
/Silence…/
"Okay then, that's awkward… How about my looks then? Improve my looks!"
/Silence…/
"Shit… If only that was possible… haha… can I change one point for one inch?…"
/Silence…/
"Alright you win… if those don't do anything. How about Luck?"
/CRACK!/
/SHATTER!/
"!!!"
The mirror flashed in a silvery-white gleam before cracking all at once.
"It worked! And as expected… It's the platinum color! So the white gem is for luck. I unraveled another mystery!"
'Now to figure out what the golden one is about… But I don't want to risk it too much.'
"If this mirror gives me ten chances, then one Luck point equals ten of the others. If it's five, then that's that… I don't want to try to miss once and lose the chance to raise luck again."
'I'm definitely strong enough to continue climbing, I should try my luck again to increase my prospects instead.'
"Raise my luck!"
/CRACK!/
/SHATTER!/
"Perfect!… Now my luck is at… Two? It's a start."
'Now then, I should clean the rest of this mess and butcher that thing to see if it has anything hidden inside its body… Yuck…'
'The gems on the throne as well, I'll be taking them all.'
"Let's see if any good equipment comes out of these. I'll open the chest plate, greaves, gauntlets, and backpack boxes!"
'I really need a new backpack. This one is struggling to carry my items not just due to its size but its weight… Anything more and it'll tear.'
…
As he finished cleaning up the area…
"Hum… Now that I think about it, if this creature burst through the wall like this, does it mean there are other secret areas hidden inside these walls? Maybe it's worth checking every wall on each floor I pass through from now on."
He touched the cold hard stone 'I can't break these now… It's too thick, and this stone is incredibly solid. I can definitely crack it though, but I'd rather not dull my tools.'
"If I had a pickaxe, things would've been different… I do have a sledgehammer I found, but that's not enough. I'll need more power to break through. Once I do, making a round over the tower wouldn't take long."
'It's important to do that early since the rewards in hidden rooms likely correlate to the floor it's on.'
"… Phew… time to butcher you… please don't be disgusting…"
'I'll use my spears to cut it open.'
/SPLATTER!/
Nathan began butchering the creature. There had to be a reason it was so fat!… And the results were surprising!
Inside the many folds of its body, he found two red mirrors, three blue mirrors, and one green mirror!
Aside from that, he also found more gems he set aside to clean, including another one that looked like the one he got from the gold chest! And of course, lots of gold!
"This dirty creature… it was eating its own treasure to sustain itself? Was it that dumb?… A damned loot pinata!"
'At least I found a few more keys. No gold and silver keys, only three bronze.'
/Catching!…/
"Hum?… W-What?"
Distracted, he found that the bloody gem inside the beast had seemingly fused with a piece of equipment he set aside, becoming part of it!
"This!!… Could it be that's how the gems are meant to be used?… No way, I just wasted one like this…"
He took out his axe and the gem he got from the red chest and put both together…
/Catching!…/
The gem fused to the handle of the axe!
"… The weight… It went down! Or maybe… did I grow stronger?"
'Are these gems like stat items? How much did it raise my strength? Five… or maybe even more points?'
"It's a shame I lost that one… I can't pull it out. At least it's a dagger… a dagger with a red gem. It's easy enough to carry, so I'll bring it with me."
"An excellent find! The axe is still too heavy for me to use, but I'll be able to use it sooner at this rate."
'There doesn't seem to be anything else inside this loot box… There's still a lot of flesh to go through, so many gems and keys are hidden inside. But I can't stay here much longer.'
/CLANG!/
/CLANG!/
"Speak of the devil… The bell… Another hour has passed. I must hurry."
'To think that had I opened another -25- door, I would've been forced to leave by now… Just when things were starting to get good.'
"So what are my stats now?…"
Red 32 + ???
Green 16
Blue 23
Platinum 2?
"It's hard to estimate how high my luck is given the nature of the platinum mirror, and how high my strength can be when using this axe. For now, I'll assume it's two and five respectively."
He touched his arms and stomach, 'It's hard to see, but I've grown considerably more muscular. Maybe its because the energy that empowers me doesn't provide me with the nutrients meant for growth.'
"Maybe I'll grow even stronger if I take some time to eat and rest… but that can come later."
Just thinking about food made Nathan sick in the stomach since the moment he thought about it, the images of everything he had killed so far passed before his eyes.
After shaking his head, 'Time to hit the road!'
After using some old clothes to clean the blood off his equipment and gems, he went inside the vault to open the other bronze chests and change his equipment once again. Now ready and fully equipment, he ascended to the 16th floor.
…
"Alright… This is quite the jump in power."
His opponent was still the same species, but now it was clad in chain mail armor, and the way it stood was quite telling.
'This one has combat experience and knows what it's doing. The armor also makes it harder for anyone to do anything against it. This is the kind of creature that would appear in the army of a fantasy novel.'
'It's probably a bit stronger too… Let's test its reflexes.'
Like always, Nathan started by throwing his spear forward! With the knowledge from the Tyrant Cleaver Maneuvers, he had a basic understanding of how to throw things half decently.
/FWOOSH!/
/CLANG!/
/GROWL!/
The creature managed to block the spear in time, causing it to dig deep into the reinforced wooden shield!
"Heh! Let's fight!"
As he threw down his equipment, he charged forward like an angry Viking!
POWER SURGE!
/SLASH!/
/CREACK!/
Like a demolition ball striking a metal beam, Nathan struck the side of the armored creature, splitting its whole body in half with pure physical might!
/SPLAT!/
"… I can only imagine what would've happened if I had put all luck points into strength… That would've been an extra twenty points? Probably enough for me to wield this new axe as well…"
'I'm definitely strong enough to proceed.'
Inside the 16th floor's vault he found several pieces of pristine equipment, "I'm seeing a pattern with this."
"First, I saw rusty pieces of iron gear. Then they evolved into their cleaner and sharper forms. After that, I think they evolved into steel, and until now, I had been seeing better quality steel equipment with engravings and designs… but this is different."
Before him were several pieces of equipment and gear in a bluish metal hue.
"The only other piece of gear that was like this was my newly gained axe with the bluish metal blade. Are they like tiers? From Iron to Steel and now this? What do I call this metal? It doesn't look like anything back on Earth…" He said out loud as he approached them
'Not even my helmet, which is my highest quality piece, is made of this metal.'
"!!"
'It's heavy… I understand now. If luck is affecting the rewards I get, causing higher-tiered items to appear on lower floors, then this means my stats aren't up to standard.'
"This equipment is all high class, but I can't use it… No gems, but I there are some mirrors. Two ordinary blue ones and one larger red one. This one is smaller then the medium one so I guess that proves my theory that it was a mirror worth ten."
'This one must be five. I'll call it a Small Mirror.'
'From lowest to highest so far… I'll name them Simple, Small, Medium, and Large!'
/CRACK!/
/CRACK!/
/CRACK!/
"There's nothing else here… Maybe the altar can be broken?"
Nathan grabbed his sledgehammer and cleared the altar…
/BANG!/
/BANG!/
/BANG!/
/Crack…/
Three strikes and the altar split into multiple pieces. Inside, he found a single marble within a spherical compartment.
"So there was something inside! I have no idea what it is, though. Some kind of decorated glass ball? Like a pool ball… Well, I'll take it with me."
'I should also go down and take care of the rest as well. If there's one inside each altar, then I can't leave them alone.'
"Makes me think of the throne… is there something inside it too?"
Nathan couldn't hold himself back. He ran back down and shattered the throne with his sledgehammer!
/BANG!/
/Crack…/
"Hum… Just stone… a shame… wait… this is?"
/Grab…/
Something shone in the rubble…
"A ring! A ring with a red gem! To think there was a treasure hidden inside!"
'Should I put it on?… Don't tell me it's cursed… Fuck it!'
The moment he put the ring on, Nathan felt a rush of strength fill his body! With the ring, he could not wield the heavy axe without issue. The weight wasn't negligible, but it was manageable.
"Perfect! I wonder how much this ring raises my strength?… Is it five as well? I'll assume it does… so if I add it all together…"
Red 37 + 5? + 5? = 47
Green 16
Blue 25
Platinum 2
"My strength should almost be at fifty… Oh yeah!"
'But my stats are getting out of hand. As I said before, now that my highest stat is nearly three times that of my lowest, I think it's time to start balancing them out again.'
"I'll keep climbing and once I can burst these walls open, I'll go down before moving on."
'Time to move!'
Nathan nodded to himself as he turned around and collected his gear on the 16th floor, making way to the 17th floor.
From there on, each monster grew slightly stronger as their equipment and skills improved with them. Nathan had no issue facing any of them as his stats kept growing faster than they grew.
At the 17th floor he collected one Small Blue mirror and one Simple Green mirror.
He ignored most of the armor, changing only the small things he could quickly exchange and adding the rest to his backpack for later use.
He had said it before, but he didn't have the time to constantly change his gear. It was almost as if he was meant to fight as a group or something…
At the 18th floor, he collected one Small Blue mirror and three Simple Red mirrors.
At the 19th floor, he found one Medium Silver mirror! Which he promptly exchanged for another point of luck, raising it to three.
The 20th floor boss was an armored beast in full plate with a halberd. It was quite skilled, but Nathan burst the weapon from its hand with one strike. That's what happens when his weapon was not only heavier but moving faster at a collision.
His reward at the checkpoint was two Large Silver mirrors! Which he used to make an experiment. Since he didn't know how much one luck point was worth exactly, this was the chance to test that out.
He used one mirror to raise his luck to four. But when he tried again, he failed. With that in mind, he used the other mirror to raise his luck to five.
Now, according to his assumptions, if they were correct, each mirror contained exactly five points for a total of ten… So he did another test… He asked to raise his luck to six by using both mirrors at the same time!
/SHATTER!!/
/SHATTER!!/
And the result was that both mirrors cracked as his request was processed. He was right!
"Haa… So each luck point costs exactly ten points as predicted… Alright then."
'My luck is quite high now. Maybe it's time to start reinvesting my points again to balance them. I really need to raise my agility past twenty.'
He thought about his stats again…
Red 40 + 5? + 5? = 50
Green 17
Blue 35
Platinum 6
"My intelligence is getting too high. I don't even use it that much, do I?… Maybe I should go back and get a few blue techniques…"
'Not now, though. I still can't see the ceiling, but the lights are getting stronger. I should be getting near the end.'
"The luck stat seems to be affecting things quite a bit, and I think the expenses are being worth it. I essentially took it from nothing to six in five stages, so I can't wait to see the effects of it long term."
'I just hope I'm not throwing these down the drain…'
"I also have my marbles. I have collected five so far. From the 15th floor's altar to the 20th. Hopefully they have a purpose later."
Nathan continued his climb to the twenty-first floor. This time the creature changed, becoming a different breed of creature, but it was hard to tell what it looked like underneath its plate mail.
"So now we're starting directly at the plate mail with a new species? Let's see how you fare!"
/DASH!/
POWER SURGE!
/CLANG!/
"!"
Despite the meteoric impact of his axe, the creature managed to block his strike, but not without losing its footing.
/SLASH!/
/SPLURGE!/
Nathan took this chance to slash its throat, slaying it.
"… So the creatures have grown strong enough to almost resist my power. As expected, I can't be careless now."
He entered the vault and was surprised to see a greater throve of items. The equipment was better than expected, but he didn't change his. Taking only the mirrors.
Two Small Green mirrors!
"Perfect, just what I needed to balance my stats a bit."
'I'll grab what I can and what won't slow me down and shatter the altar… I'm getting a bit thirsty too but I'll hold.'
'It's not yet time to drink that fountain's water.'
"Time for the marble."
/SMASH!/
That was it for the 21st floor…
At the 22nd floor, his opponent began displaying the same blue equipment he wore. Even with his strength, bypassing its defenses with an axe grew difficult. A direct impact with it would rather kill his opponent by crushing than slashing.
He began considering hammers and spiky hammers instead of his axe, but for the sake of growing used to the axe, he kept using it.
At the vault, he found one Large Red mirror! His strength skyrocketed to the point that he could now maintain the so-called state of Half-Charge, causing his body to always be ready to explode with power.
Because of the red mirror, the other rewards were lackluster compared to before, so after he shattered the altar, he moved on higher.
/SLASH!/
Thanks to his higher power, he killed the opponent with ease despite his greater density of the blue metal gear.
Inside the 23rd floor's vault. He found a singular Small Green mirror, nothing fancy for what he received before.
On the 24th floor. He found another Large Silver mirror! Which he promptly used to raise his luck to seven. But rather than use the rest of it, he kept it aside and moved on to the 25th floor.
There, he grew face to face with three heavily armored opponents. Far stronger and larger than anything he had seen so far, and with reason.
"… I can see the end!"
'The lights… they weren't the sun. They were artificial bulbs placed on the ceiling. These three guys are guarding the entrance to the ceiling!'
'Beyond them might very well be the exit!'
/CLANG!/
"The bell… It's been three hours."
'Maybe I should get ready. If these guys are my last challenge… then I'll use everything in my power to defeat them.'
Nathan put his equipment down and turned around with only his ordinary gear and a large sledgehammer.
"Time to break it all to pieces!"
He went through each floor. From the 24th floor to the 1st floor, smashing every single wall inside or outside the vaults! With his massive strength and the shape of his sledgehammer, shattering the wall took several strikes and well-placed pins to weaken the walls.
Even with his luck, finding hidden spaces was hard. And even if he found one, he soon realized most of them did not contain what he expected. Most hidden spaces usually only contained an extra item or so, equipment he didn't need.
It made him think that perhaps the rewards inside hidden rooms weren't based on luck but predetermined, as they were often far below everything he found on that given floor set.
It didn't hold him back, though. He kept moving down one set of five floors at a time.
He separated the hidden floors based on size and their contents. If they were very large and full of items or if they contained one very high-quality item, he'd call them Major rooms; if not, he'd call them Minor rooms.
In total, he found one Major hidden space every floors for a total of five. Which made sense given the hidden boss burst out from the 15th floor.
So technically speaking, he only found three since the 25th's floor hidden room wasn't within reach.
He then found an extra twenty-five Minor rooms spread around the floors for an average of one hidden space every floor. They weren't exactly spread like that since some floors had none while some had multiple, but even after he went around checking again, he only found those.
To help him search them better, he bought another Martial Art. Strategist's Master Senses. A 5 Blue technique that greatly enhanced all of his senses to superhuman levels. With his hearing alone, he could now tell if there was a hidden space beyond the wall with a strong tap, which greatly sped up his search.
It was the first thing he did; otherwise, who knows how long it would've taken?
Nathan took three hours to clear it all up and get his loot ready. Making it around six hours since he got inside this place… he had now twenty-one hours left to leave.
Because of his heavy physical exhaustion, even with his continuously increasing stats, he was forced to drink much of the water inside his canister, which quickly made him realize its magical qualities. Not only did the water fill him with energy, it also seemed to contain essential nutrients meant for his growth, causing his body to bulk up slightly and for his inner injuries from overusing his muscles to heal.
If only he had more… but he knew now wasn't the time for that.
In total, those were his rewards… not counting the Major rooms, since those were better studied by themselves…
A bunch of minor items like the colored gems he found no use for so far.
Multiple Socket Gems. That was what he decided to call the items he could put into his equipment permanently. He decided not to use them and keep them inside a hidden sack where they wouldn't bind with anything.
24 Altar Marbles.
A full set of the highest quality blue metal gear. Although he already had most of its pieces by the time he first reached the 25th floor.
40 Basic Stat points divided as 12 Green, 17 Blue, and 11 Red. And 3 extra Luck points from finding three Medium Silver mirrors.
He also found two more gem rings. One blue and one green. He felt there might be a reason why there were exactly three such rings spread around, which he found the reason later, but he wore them happily nonetheless.
Now… what really matters… the Major rooms!
The first Major room on the 5th floor was unusual. There was a fountain there. There wasn't much to it, for he tried looking at his reflection, drinking the water, and checking for hidden spots.
Frustrated, he thought this might actually be just an ordinary clean water fountain for those dying of thirst. However, it was when he decided to check its insides that he figured out its purpose!
With his right hand inside, the three colored rings he wore shone with light, and at that moment they fused into one multicolored ring!
The ring didn't seem to have gotten any stronger, but now it only occupied one slot on his fingers, which made things more comfortable for him to hold.
The discovered stunned him but made him excited. Without delay, he poured out his gems and socket gems. He even tried to merge mirrors, but that failed.
The gems fused together into bigger gems but never with those of other colors. Three gems became one slightly bigger, and three of those became slightly bigger as well… Soon enough, he found himself with several Tier-4 gems of each color but no Tier-5.
A Tier-1 gem was just an ordinary one, and a Tier-4 gem was worth three Tier-3s for twenty-seven Tier-1s.
A Tier-5 gem would be worth eighty-one on that note, which he unfortunately did not find. He looked everywhere for more gems, but there just weren't enough.
The same happened with the Socket Gems. However, since their numbers were far lower, he only managed to fuse one Tier-2 of each basic color.
It was important to note that of the yellow and white gems, he found only ordinary ones and not anything special.
What he also noticed was that with each fusion, the water inside the fountain diminished slightly. And to avoid using it all, he kept certain items away from it.
He did try fusing other items, such as his axes since he had multiple copies of them by now, and even the altar marbles, but none worked.
The second Major hidden room on the 10th floor contained the statue of a peacock-like bird with its feathers open behind it. Before the statue stood a large empty basin.
He wondered what he had to do at first, so he decided to put something in it.
What he learned was that whatever he placed on the basin would melt and drain somewhere out of sight, so he immediately did what he thought was proper… He took all the gold on the 15th floor's Major hidden room where the strange creature was hidden and poured it inside the basin, causing a long stream of golden metal to enter the depths of the statue.
The statue's feather's lit up with fire! And a chest appeared before him… But he noticed that only some of the feathers had lit up… He understood that it wasn't enough gold for the best reward… So he made a daring call. He poured all the altar marbles into the basin!
The result was that the feathers burst with light! Which made him realize the immense value of the marbles. Still, he did not hold back and kept feeding the statue the marbles!
There were five layers of feathers. The first layer lit up with all the gold he had found until then. With a single marble, the second and third layers ignited. The fourth layer took two marbles, and the last layer took five for eight of his twenty-five marbles.
But he didn't stop there. He kept pressing… He threw more and more marbles, and at the ten marbles mark, the red fire of the peacock turned blue!
He still had six marbles left… He threw them all in, but nothing changed, which pissed him off quite a bit.
He thought about how he should consider, and he wasn't that interested in throwing away his gems… But after putting in some thought, he decided to move to the 20th floor and see what it had to offer.
Inside, he found another unique room. There was nothing inside but the body of an ancient creature chained and bound by numerous large pikes and seals.
The mere sight of the creature gave him shivers, but its dead state made him realize there was little to fear. With some thought, he slashed down the creature's head and offered it at the bird basin.
/BURN!/
The blue feathers immediately turned white, and a few wisps of green fire emerged within the flames… Nathan took no time. He offered every single part of the beast's body to flame, causing it to turn fully green.
He wasn't ready yet. He then offered the chains and the nails that bound the creature in place, causing the flames to go from green to purple.
With those flames, he knew it was the end. It was time to open the chest after spending almost all of his wealth. He did consider whether there were other things to offer, but unless he offered the flesh of every beast he had hunted so far, nothing would happen.
If nothing happened even after all that effort, then his time would've been in vain. Besides, he doesn't want to get dirty. In the end, he couldn't think of much aside from the central statue, but something told him it was best not to mess with it.
/Creak…/
/BURN!/
The purple flames rushed inside the chest! As they did so, the statue crumbled to pieces, leaving the room with nothing but the small item within.
Inside the chest he found a small… golden mirror! It was the first time he had found a mirror of the fifth gemstone color!
He didn't know what to do, but it was only after he looked at it that he realized what the fifth color meant… He realized that the fifth color wasn't a thing but a property.
It was the ability to manipulate the other colors.
With that in mind, he had a daring thought and began altering the values of his stats. He could faintly feel the energy through the mirror, so after putting some thought into it, he changed them to a more balanced stat sheet…
Red 66 + 5?
Green 44 + 5?
Blue 47 + 5?
Platinum 10
Those were his old stats. He could feel the power of the ring coursing through him, and the energy within the gems and his bound items.
After much thought, these were the stats he came up with:
Red 80 + 5?
Green 40 + 5?
Blue 28 + 5?
Platinum 10
"Huh? The mirror… it didn't shatter?"
'But the colors are now a bit dim… Can I use it multiple times or do I have to wait for it to charge back? Curious…'
With these stats, after holding his reinforced axe, his strength rose to a mighty 90 points. A power so great he felt he could smash a hole through the walls of the tower with nothing but his bare hands… of course… he didn't try.
He knew he had grown stronger, but even he knew there were limits to his power. At the same time, he realized his physical strength was growing so high he was having difficulty recovering after using Power Surge. Perhaps his body itself was lacking something, and that was killing him.
Because of that, he decided not to use Power Surge until he figured out the reason. Still, his body could still maintain the state of Half-Charge if not above it, without issue. Nathan believed he could maintain a constant state of 70% of his full Power Surge strength with little issue.
With this much, he knew there was nothing those guardians could do to stop him. He was going to reach the pinnacle and escape!
/STEP!/
He reached the 25th floor with a mighty stomp, which quaked the stairs. His greaves left marks on the bluestone from his pure power.
With nothing but his axe in hand, he charged.
"HAAAAAAAAAAA!"
A mighty scream reverberated across the whole tower. Over two hundred and fifty meters of stone.
/DASH!/
The three armored warriors moved as well. In formation, they…
/SLASH!/
Nathan released a devastating strike against his rightmost foe. The axe split the metal shield in half while sending him flying onto his nearest conrad.
/KICK!/
He then kicked at the leftmost warrior, the shield denting as he was sent flying back as well!
"HAHAHAHA!"
Laughing like a maniac, Nathan jumped in the air after the middle warrior who was on the ground trying to push his friend off his body.
/SPLAT!/
He fell like a comet, splitting the creature in half before holding onto the splintered armor of the beast and throwing it against the leftmost soldier, the only one left alive.
/CLANG!/
It was blinded by the blood… and that was the last thing it saw.
/SMASH!/
/Drip…/
With blood flowing down his axe and body, Nathan stood there with a deep expression…
"Phew… That was good."
'I'm slowly turning into a monster, huh…'
He pushed himself into the vault room, and there he found an unusual altar with a few books on different pedestals.
The books had labels and descriptions, but not values.
"Are these all for me? Free martial arts?!… Something has to be wrong… Maybe I can only grab one."
He looked at the manuals… Many advanced techniques for all kinds of weapons including his, but his attention fell on something else.
"Principles of Energy Control?! Is this what I think it is? The description talks about this being just an introductory book not meant to be used as a technique… Compared to the rest, it's lackluster, but it could potentially open up a whole new can of worms for me to look into."
'The requirements for this book are also quite extreme. This rune seems to indicate it needs at least eighty strength, and this one seems to be thirty blue… I don't have the raw value for the blue one, but with the ring I do!'
He stood there thinking for a while before he gave in.
"I need it! This is a man's fantasy!"
/Grab… Burn!!/
The book burned, and the information was imprinted inside his head. A torrent of information. Formulas and ideas that defied logic yet all clung together to form a system not studied by science. A new layer of understanding of the cosmos no one had ever even thought about!
"Ugh… The intensity was far less than before, but the ideas… to think that was such a thing."
'I can understand now why the intelligence requirement was so high. So many formulas to study… If I have some time, maybe I can even start applying them to the techniques I know! That's why the physical body requirement was so high.'
'It's because despite it being mostly theoretical, it also contains a lot of practice theory that is applied to the body!'
"I'm amazed at the person who came up with this. A legend that could defy the whole world and make a new age… my hat's off to you."
'I'll carry your legend, whomever you may be.'
"The other books… are gone…"
/SLAM!/
He went outside and grabbed his sledgehammer, but even after he struck the altar with everything he had, it wasn't even scratched.
"Impressive… If the books are inside here, then they are beyond reach. Including the altar marble."
'I've been able to find one on every floor, but this might be the only time I can't grab it… Now I have an idea too, maybe I can shatter the chains binding the books in the shop and learn them?'
"An interesting concept, but first I need to see if there are any hidden rooms around."
'After that, I still have one Large Silver mirror left to use. I thought I was going to find another one to raise my Luck even more, but I haven't been able to.'
Nathan went around tapping the room, but it was only outside on the path to the next floor that he felt something was off.
'There's an empty space here.'
/BOOM!/
/BOOM!/
/BOOM!/
He breached the room, stepping inside.
"Well… what do we have here?"
Inside the room was a single tablet with multiple inscriptions on it. Even as he focused on it, he couldn't quite understand it.
"Strange… this tablet… is it all that this room has to offer?"
'I can't read it… Damn… And I don't feel like I should break it either. It's too perfect.'
"An ancient stone tablet waiting for someone to read it I feel like it has some secret… Let's see… it doesn't react to my items… nor my gems… nor anything I have… the mirror?… nothing."
"Hum… wait… don't I have some charcoal? Can I inscribe its contents onto cloth? I do think I have some paper! Just not large enough to cover it all."
'Yeah. Amidst the repetitive item rewards, small segments of paper were amidst the collection. I never really cared about it but took it with me regardless since it was inexpensive to do so. Now I have a reason.'
"How do I do this again… hum…"
Nathan slowly figured out how to pass the tablet's contents to the paper with the charcoal. Once he was done, he marveled at his creation and stored it.
"Maybe I should do the same for the other runes as well… There are many all around, especially at the doors and sometimes the walls. I'll do that on the way back if there's none through here. I still have a lot of time."
'A little over two hours should be more than enough to record them all.'
"Now… I'll keep testing the rest of this place for hidden rooms and move on."
'Onto the next floor!'
While Nathan did not find anything else of note on the 25th floor, he went to the Silver Mirror he left behind and put all the points into his strength before climbing to the 26th floor.
At the end of it all, these were his stats:
Red 85 + 5? + 5? = 95
Green 40 + 5? = 45
Blue 28 + 5? = 33
Platinum 10
Just shy of 100 for strength. He was climbing the ladder!
With that, he reached the next stage.
…
.
.
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Notes