I turned on the computer, accessed the Reincarnation Space forum, and typed into the search bar: "Guide to Floor 2 of the Tower of Trials".
The first result quickly appeared, posted by a user with the peculiar name "LordRamenFanatic". It had thousands of views and an absurd amount of positive votes. It was, without a doubt, the most consulted guide for Floor 2.
I opened the post without hesitation.
The text began with a capitalized header, as if the author wanted to make sure everyone read it before entering:
[ UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO FLOOR 2 – THE MIST ]
By: LordRamenFanatic
"If you're reading this, congratulations, you survived the hell of Floor 1. The White Spikes are very scary...
Now get ready for a calmer experience... at least for the first ten minutes. Floor 2 is simply known as 'The Mist', and if the name doesn't give you a bad feeling, you probably shouldn't be here. The mission, actually, is quite simple, nothing impressive, though impossible for some: survive. That's it. No secondary objectives, no initial enemies. Just... wait, survival.
For three days!
You will be transported to a small town called Bridgton, Maine, an ordinary place, with a supermarket, a gas station, and a police station. The usual thing in everyday life, right?
Or at least everything seems normal at first, but when you look at the horizon, you'll notice a thick fog slowly approaching.
When that happens, the counter will begin, you will have exactly ten minutes before the fog covers everything.
My advice: don't waste time exploring or playing the hero.
Find the nearest supermarket and stay there. Inside you will find several survivors, NPCs with realistic behavior. Some are scared, others pray, most panic. Ignore them, there's no way to calm them down.
When the mist arrives, things will get... interesting.
Nightmare creatures will start hunting those who stayed outside.
If you remain inside, you will have a good chance of surviving.
De hecho, the majority of who complete the floor for the first time do so simply by waiting.
Regarding the ratings...
Staying hidden without doing anything will earn you a D Rating, I have never met anyone who got a lower rating than that on Floor 2.
Also, helping to secure the supermarket and protect it, rescuing NPCs, or confronting the creatures in the mist can help in obtaining a C Rating or higher, although it is impossible to obtain a rating higher than 'B'.
Remember that preventing deaths or eliminating some monsters can improve your final evaluation.
Now, there is a tradition among the Reincarnated, although it's really nonsense.
It's about David Drayton and his son Billy, two NPCs you will find in the supermarket.
During the final event, David and a small group try to escape the supermarket by car but run out of fuel, surrounded by the mist, and David... well, he makes a drastic decision.
He shoots everyone, including his young son, to prevent the monsters from devouring them.
Minutes later, the army appears, eliminating all the creatures and dissipating the mist.
Yes, you read that right. The collective suicide was completely useless.
For a few years now, the Reincarnated have made it a custom to intervene in this part.
Don't you think we have a big heart?
When that point arrives, most rush to save David, Billy, and the others before the tragedy happens, or we simply prevent them from fleeing by car so that they are rescued by the army directly in the supermarket, along with everyone else.
In any case, it seems to have become part of the Floor 2 ritual.
It is not mandatory, of course.
If you decide to lock yourself in and survive on your own, no one will judge you (well, maybe I will, but that doesn't count).
The priority is your life.
Finally, as a curious fact, among the first five floors of the Tower of Trials, 'The Mist' is considered the easiest.
Even so, no one has achieved a rating higher than B, not even 'Shiva' himself, the world's only Rank S Reincarnated.
So, if you manage to survive and come out alive, consider yourself lucky and don't obsess over perfection.
Here, perfection simply doesn't exist.
Good luck, Reincarnated.
And if for some reason you see something moving inside the mist... run in the opposite direction, unless you are brave.
Believe me, you don't want to know what it is.
Those creatures are scary..."
I rested my elbows on the desk and read the text a second time.
"No one has achieved a rating higher than B..."
I smiled slightly.
Was that a challenge?
I closed the forum tab and looked at my reflection in the dark screen.
I can't say I've read absolutely all of Stephen King's books, but 'The Mist' was among them.
I still remembered practically everything from the book, and I couldn't even remember how many times I had watched the movie with my father.
Luckily, I have that ability...
[ Recall (Supreme): Passive ability that facilitates remembering information related to the Reincarnation Space dungeons. ]
I didn't even need to activate the ability for it to work.
The moment I thought about it, it activated on its own.
I quickly recalled everything I already knew and what I had forgotten about Stephen King's 'The Mist'.
And just as quickly, a smile formed on my face.
"Project Arrowhead..." I murmured to myself.
Unless I'm mistaken, my second God-level SSS rating in the Tower of Trials was very close.
...
I stopped in front of the Tower of Trials, contemplating its majestic and terrifying structure.
Its medieval appearance, there was no better way to describe it, contrasted with the plaza surrounding it, full of lights, floating screens, and shops.
All kinds of Reincarnated walked through the place calmly, buying, selling, or simply chatting and preparing to climb the tower.
The tower, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to all that.
Its dark gray stone walls rose to heights my eyes could not reach.
The tower was not only imposing but seemed infinite, as if its summit was lost beyond the sky.
Every time I looked at it, I couldn't help but be fascinated.
I took a deep breath and murmured:
"Good... Floor 2. Time to see how 'easy' The Mist is."
With a flash of light, I was transported inside the tower.
Instantly, I found myself in the waiting room, identical to that of Floor 1.
An endless, white, minimalist, silent space surrounded me.
But there was a big difference.
This time, the room was full of people from the start. Docenas, perhaps hundreds, of Reincarnated of various ranks walked around, talked, or simply waited, all looking with curiosity and some anxiety at the space around them.
I limited myself to observing the tattoos of the Reincarnated around me, which indicated their rank.
They were all Rank D, and some still held Rank E.
There was no one else, besides me, who held a Rank C.
After my quick investigation into Floor 2 of the Tower of Trials, I decided to delve a little deeper into how ranks worked in the Reincarnation Space.
Knowing them would give me a clear idea of my position and the relative strength of those around me, so I considered it important.
Rank E was reserved for rookie Reincarnated, those whose individual stats ranged between 1 and 50. They barely reached the minimum to survive in the Safe Zone.
Once a Reincarnated surpassed 50 points in all their stats, they ascended to Rank D.
I myself skipped that rank entirely even before leaving the Safe Zone.
Rank D was quite common among participants of the first 5 Floors.
To move from D to C, it was necessary to have at least 125 points in each stat.
This placed me at a clearly superior level to the others, although still far from the truly powerful.
I was also slightly stronger than other Reincarnated who had just ascended to Rank C.
To ascend from C to B, each stat had to surpass 1,000 points, a significant jump that separated the competent Reincarnated from the extraordinary.
Rank A, reserved for the most formidable, required surpassing 10,000 points in each attribute, making it clear that only the elite could reach it.
Beyond that, there was the mythical Rank S, whose exact requirements no one knew except Shiva.
However, there were theories circulating in the Reincarnation Space forums that estimated that between 50,000 and 100,000 points per stat were needed.
Just imagining it gave me an idea of how monstrous Shiva was and the abyss that existed between him and any other Reincarnated.
Although, at the same time, I couldn't help but feel excited.
This would only make the moment of surpassing him much more satisfactory.
———
[ REINCARNATION SPACE ] - [ TOWER OF TRIALS ]
| Alias: Seth | Reincarnated ID: 78234624 |
| Physical Constitution: 176 (+30) | Mental Strength: 171 (+30) | Strength: 172 (+30) | Agility: 217 (+30) |
| Available Potential Points: 0 | Reincarnation Points: 32,006 |
Skills: Sword Mastery (Basic), Shooting (Competent)
Special Abilities: Recall (Supreme), Matter and Energy Absorption (Expert)
Rating: C
———
Although my stats had slightly increased after accepting the reward for Floor 1, with so many Reincarnation Points at my disposal, it would be a waste not to use them.
After all, I would get many more points as I advanced in the Tower of Trials, and I still had to claim my 250 thousand Reincarnation Points, among other things, from the army once I surpassed Floor 5.
Saving these points seemed, quite simply, stupid.
Was it better to save them, complete Floor 2, and upgrade my 'Matter Absorption' to Master Level with 50 thousand Reincarnation Points, or increase my stats now and ensure a real advantage over other Reincarnated, who could become my enemies during Floor 2?
Although I wanted to quickly maximize my 'Matter Absorption' to Supreme Level, I needed pure strength now.
After all, I would need it more than ever on Floor 2.
LordRamenFanatic was wrong on one point.
Floor 2, 'The Mist', was not easy.
At least, not if you didn't want to settle for an average rating...