The moment Max confirmed his decision to enter the Dragon Tower, everything around him changed.
An invisible force pulled him from reality — his body dissolved into particles of light, and in the blink of an eye, he was transported into a strange and majestic space.
Stars sparkled endlessly around him, forming a celestial sea. Floating in the center of it all was a tower of impossible scale, stretching infinitely upward into the void. Its surface was black stone laced with glowing runes, pulsating with ancient power.
Then came the voice of the system:
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[Dragon Tower Interface Activated]
[Note: One hour inside the tower equals one minute in the real world.]
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Max's eyes never left the towering structure. Without hesitation, he equipped the Chaos Fang Dagger he had purchased earlier and spoke firmly,
"I choose to start climbing the tower now."
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[Initializing...]
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Light engulfed him once again. When it faded, Max stood on the First Floor.
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[Welcome to Floor 1: The Lair of Low Goblins]
[Objective: Eliminate all enemies to proceed to Floor 2]
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The air was damp and thick with the scent of rot. Max found himself in a massive underground cavern blanketed in moss. Dim green light filtered through cracks in the stone above. Faint growls echoed in the darkness.
Then he saw them — five small, twisted figures emerging from the shadows.
Their eyes glowed faintly red, and each wielded a crude, rusted blade. They hissed and charged.
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[Loathe Goblins]
Rank: 5-Star Copper
Skills: Hack, Crazed Pounce, Toxin Bite
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Max didn't panic. Instead, he calmly activated his bloodline skill.
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[Draconic Heartbeat — Activated]
THUMP.
The sound thundered from his chest like a drum of war. A wave of chaotic energy burst outward. The charging goblins staggered mid-run, screeching as blood streamed from their eyes, ears, and mouths. Their twisted faces contorted in pain.
Max wasted no time.
With one swift leap, he landed in front of the first dazed goblin.
Slice. The head came clean off.
He dashed to the second and drove his dagger into its spine. It crumpled silently.
The remaining three began to recover, snarling—
But Max raised a hand, his eyes glowing red.
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[Chaos Blood Manipulation — Activated]
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Six blood-red spheres hovered around him and then shot forward like missiles.
SPLAT. SPLAT. SPLAT.
Each sphere pierced a goblin's forehead cleanly, dropping them in place before they could react.
Silence fell.
Max exhaled, lowering his weapon.
Then he noticed something beside each goblin corpse — small, glowing stones that pulsed faintly with energy.
He picked one up. "System, what are these crystals?"
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[Essence Crystals]
> These are the crystallized forms of essence released when a beast is killed. Unlike ambient essence, these are highly concentrated and purer. Absorbing them grants more efficient progress.
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Max raised a brow. "Can I only get these in the Dragon Tower?"
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[No. They also exist in the real world, but are extremely rare — about 1 in every 50 beast kills. In the tower, the rate is higher: 1 in 2, if you're lucky.]
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He examined the crystal again, intrigued. "How do I absorb it?"
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[...Host, are you seriously asking that? This is basic knowledge.]
[Just crush it in your palm. The energy will naturally integrate with your body.]
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Max's lips twitched. This damn system is getting sassier by the day.
Still, he followed the instructions. He crushed the crystal in his hand — and instantly, a warm surge of energy flooded his body. His muscles tightened, his aura thickened.
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[Rank Increased: 6-Star Copper → 7-Star Copper]
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Max grinned.
"Let's look for more prey."
He extended his arm and whispered:
"Arise... from chaos."
Two swirling portals of black and red energy opened at his sides. From within stepped his summoned beasts — Little Red, the bloodthirsty one horned flaming lion, and Windy, the swift wind-element panther.
"Time to hunt."
Max mounted Windy and turned back to the goblin corpses. With a flick of his wrist, he manipulated their spilled blood into fifteen short spears, floating mid-air like deadly thorns.
"Go," he said calmly. Windy shot forward with a screech, Little Red dashing behind them. The hunt had begun.
~~~~~~
Max rode through the moss-coated tunnels of the cavern on Windy's back, his eyes sharp and predatory. His earlier battles had only stoked his hunger for more.
When six more Loathe Goblins ambushed him from the shadows, he didn't even flinch.
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SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
Twenty blood spikes he had prepared in advance shot forward like crimson lightning. Each found its mark with deadly precision—piercing skulls, necks, and hearts. The goblins didn't even have time to scream.
Their bodies hit the floor in unison. Max calmly dismounted, crushed the essence crystals from each, and absorbed the purer form of energy. He felt the power swirl within him... but not quite enough to break through.
"Still short," he muttered. "No matter. I'll find more."
To conserve mana, he restructured his technique — using spikes rather than spheres, allowing him to kill more while burning less.
Then he pressed deeper into the cave, leaving a trail of blood and silence behind him.
Minutes passed. Dozens more goblins fell, each one ending with a spear to the heart or a slash to the throat. Max didn't stop. He was a crimson shadow—efficient, merciless, relentless.
---
Thirty minutes later, he arrived at the deepest section of the cave.
The air was thicker. Oppressive.
A vast stone chamber opened before him, dimly lit by a flickering green flame atop a bone-crafted brazier. Bones littered the ground, and in the center stood a monster far more imposing than the rest.
A hulking three-meter tall goblin, its eyes glowing red, body clad in heavy scrap-metal armor. In one hand, it gripped a massive iron axe. Its fangs protruded like daggers. It radiated killing intent.
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[Loathe Goblin General]
Rank: Elite 6-Star Copper
Skills: Lethal Pounce, Hack, Axe Throw, Horizontal Slash
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The moment it saw Max, it let out a thunderous roar, shaking the stone walls. Without warning, it charged.
BOOM!
The ground cracked beneath its feet as it launched forward, axe raised.
Max responded instantly.
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[Draconic Heartbeat — Activated]
THUMP!
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A shockwave of chaos burst from his chest, halting the goblin's momentum and staggering it mid-charge. Blood trickled from its ears — but the General was made of tougher stuff. It recovered quickly and spun, swinging its axe in a horizontal arc.
Max leapt backward, narrowly avoiding the blade that cleaved a boulder in two.
"Fast for its size…"
As the goblin prepared a Lethal Pounce, Max raised his hand and summoned a wall of blood from the corpses behind him.
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[Chaos Blood Manipulation — Defensive Form: Crimson Wall]
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The beast smashed into it, but the wall held just long enough to halt its momentum.
Max darted to the side, drawing his dagger and lunging low. The dagger sliced across the goblin's leg, carving a deep line through the armor. It howled and retaliated with a wild Hack—but Max had already vanished using Crimson Blink he bought from the system not long ago, appearing behind it in a swirl of blood mist.
He stabbed—deep—into the creature's back. But it didn't fall.
With rage, the goblin spun and threw its axe with bone-snapping force.
Max twisted midair—barely dodging as the weapon sliced past his ribs and embedded into the stone wall.
The General lunged with bare hands now, intent on tearing him apart.
Max landed, panting, eyes glowing red. He whispered:
"Let's finish this."
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He raised both hands. Dozens of blood spikes floated above him, gleaming with deadly intent.
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[Chaos Blood Manipulation — Burst Form: Crimson Rain]
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The spikes rained down in a chaotic spiral, each one guided by his will.
The Goblin General howled in defiance, arms raised to protect itself—but it wasn't enough. The spikes pierced its knees, shoulders, gut—each impact slowing it, grounding it, draining its strength.
Finally, Max rushed forward and slammed his dagger into the center of its chest, straight through the armor and into its black heart.
The goblin fell to its knees, trembling, then collapsed.
---
[Elite Enemy Defeated!]
[Essence Crystal (High-Grade) x1 acquired]
[Blood Core Fragment x1 acquired]
[Attribute Points +4 | Chaos Battle Coins +200 | Experience: 100%]
[Rank Up: 7-Star Copper → 8-Star Copper]
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Max exhaled slowly and looked down at the fallen giant. He crushed the High-Grade Essence Crystal, and felt a storm of power ripple through him. His blood burned, his vision sharpened, and his aura surged.
"That… was satisfying."
He bent down, examining the Blood Core Fragment pulsing faintly in his hand. A rare item—something the system hadn't mentioned yet.
Max stood slowly, and a smile crept onto his lips.
"If this is just the end of Floor 1… then I can't wait to see what awaits higher up."
The shadows trembled as he turned toward the glowing portal to Floor 2.
Behind him, the Goblin General's corpse smoldered, a silent monument to the chaos he had unleashed.