Chapter 117: Reaching One's Limits

[Welcome to Floor 15, Please select an opponent!] 

The environment was very much similar to Floor 5. It was the interior of a broken-looking castle. It had a weird red glowing background light, crumbling stone pillars, no decoration, rocks all over the place, the usual. 

[Sad Fight ~ No Reward | Cool Fight ~ Some Reward | Very Cool Fight ~ Much Reward] 

[Hidden option: Awesome Fight ~ Awesome Reward.]

"Can't I just pick all of them in order to get all rewards? You know, like a gauntlet." 

[Updated Duels, Only the first reward unlocked will be obtained.] 

"Eh, so no practice run available. The second or third options are definitely safer but do I really wanna settle? Decisions, decisions. Right, counselor Navi, what is your expert opinion?"

<Request Unclear, Please Clarify.> 

"What are my chances against the Awesome Fight?" 

<This model does not possess the information. Only the first three options are known. Very Cool Fight should refer to fighting a Gnoll Champion with a Spider mount. Based on previous data, chances of survival are 100% for Master. *Disclaimer: can be wrong*>

Gotta love the disclaimer. Who knew that Climbing a Tower that was designed as a death game could have risks! Wow. Talk about surprising! Anyway, healing pills, check ✔️. Sets equipped, check ✔️. Josh was ready to go. 

"Here goes nothing. Launch the Awesome Fight for me. Let's get this party started!"

That's when came a blinding red light. Before long appeared a monstrosity.

<Gnoll and Spider Lv 24☠️ ~ Awesome Version> 

"What the fuck is this shit?! Are you fucking kidding me?!" 

Was that an overreaction? Nope. Definitely Not. Okay, so it was supposed to be a gnoll knight with its mount. A very simple combo but very deadly to the unprepared. Instead, what spawned was simply a nightmarish horror. 

It was big, the size of the White Spider Josh had fought in the past. But, it looked even bigger because it was now in an enclosed space, one that Josh was beginning to find too small. 

It had 8 long legs that ended with blades. No, not blade-like claws. Yes, legit machete-looking feet (whatever that part of the spider was called). Then there were the eyes, shiny green glowing eyes. Oh, and the heads too. On the Spider body, 4 gnoll heads stood out, salivating as they glared at Josh, each having their own deadly-looking mandibles set. 

Then there was the hair itself. The spiders had been hairy but it had been short hair. This one's hair was long, brown, gross-looking. It was as if the creature had taken a mud bath at some point. Josh definitely didn't want to try and touch it. 

Finally, there was the smell too. Was it supposed to elevate the setting? That shit seemed like an olfactive attack in itself. It was quite like the smell of sewage mixed with blood perhaps? It was bad. Real bad. 

Confronted with this weird-ass chimera, of course, the only answer could only be what the fuck. He only hoped it wouldn't suddenly talk. As long as it didn't suddenly say "Edward" at the very least. 

That's when it screeched loudly, making the walls tremble. Then, it charged. It had phenomenal speed. Josh could barely see it. But, he could hear it clearly. It went CLANG, CLANG, CLANG. Honestly, this …thing could have been called Spidergnoll Scissorhands.

It reached his side and began its onslaught. It was one stab after the other. It was even able to dig deep into the rock with every attack as if tofu. Needless to say, Josh would be bisected should a casual swing hit him. 

He would have preferred by far to be outdoor. Here, he felt stuck like a rat. The spider had the ability to walk on walls too. This made it so his own spider set barely gave him an advantage. 

What about the Big Chungus set? Well, going bigger here would only be a death sentence. Dodging would be even harder and he'd die. How the Hell was one supposed to complete this challenge?! 

Then again, this was the goddamn Tower. Looking around, Josh's gaze rested on the many debris covering the floor. He could use that! How? Good question. 

He tried throwing a big rock at one of the gnoll heads but it simply swallowed it. Not a care in the world. It was akin to a dog that would eat anything it found, without it getting sick, however. 

"Relax, Josh. You've killed harder stuff. Even that gnoll hunter was higher level."

It was time to use the mighty bone bow! Josh took it out, aimed carefully while dodging the crazy attacks. 

"Eat this!" 

The arrow flew fast and true …until the monster just slapped it. Its own hands were sharp enough to crush the projectile without a care in the world. It had the speed to do it too. Oh god! 

If this didn't work, then it was time to use the environment! There were half-crumbling pillars everywhere. Josh backed into them while dodging. Soon one fell directly on the monster….no effect. 

This creature was one tough bastard. So tough that it was in the process of literally devouring the pillars while its spider parts were flailing around attacking Josh. 

Ranged attacks, didn't work. Melee attacks were too risky. Everything around? Dead end. That's when Josh noticed something. The monstrosity was slowly becoming bigger and bigger. How was that even possible?!

Josh could only give a wry smile. There was a deadline too. To deal with the spiders in the past he had used the trees or the 'fellow humans'. He for sure wasn't going to die here. No way! 

He slowly lowered his gaze onto a ring he had been wearing all along. Then he steadied his nerves and body. He would only have a single chance most likely. He gripped his spear tighter, then he activated the item. <Rank E – Expendable Ring of Necromancy>

It was a one-use consumable. It contained incredible power. Would it be enough to defeat the Boss? Probably not. But as a distraction, it would 100% work. He had wanted to save it, but this enemy was too well-rounded for Josh to exploit a weakness. 

He felt his mana being drained, the ring taking care of the spell. Soon, he felt a power call out to the void, or so it seemed. Josh would remember this strange feeling. So this is how summoning worked. How amazing!

Then, before him appeared 3 skeletons. When he saw their puny numbers, Josh almost despaired. It wouldn't even block one round of attack from the Boss. But then, he saw their level. 

<Summoned Skeleton Soldier Lv 25>

What the hell, 25?! For a short instant, his brain almost shut down. He hadn't expected it to be so powerful. Then, they noticed the screeching Gnollspider and charged at it. 

They were equipped with basic bucklers and hammers and really went to town on the creature. But, even while they out-leveled it and outnumbered it, they weren't doing much. It was a stalemate. 

At first, it confused Josh, but then he understood why. It was obvious. The difference was but a "☠️". In fact, if this kept going the skeletons would soon lose. Without their shields, they would have already been destroyed. 

But then, Josh joined the fray. It instantly went from a stalemate to a complete slaughter. The helpless spider could only watch as its limbs were perforated one after the other. Finally, Josh managed to bypass its defenses, impaling the heads. The creature fell, dead. 

That's when the skeletons turned into dust along with the magical ring that had summoned them. Had this trade been worth it? Josh awaited the loot with impatience. As it finally spawned, he couldn't help but hold his breath. 

<Gathering Book> 

- Allows one to record the information about resources in the Tower. 

<Magical Contract>

- Allow one to establish a magical contract. Require both signing parties to be willing. 

<E+ Breath of Corruption> 

- Activation causes all beings in a 100 meters radius to be given the Blessing of Corruption E-Rank. 

<E+ Stone of Corruption>

- Growth item. Gives the Blessing of Corruption to its target. 

The gathering book turned out to go in the cosmetic tab and didn't take an inventory slot, so that was nice. 

The magical contract was cool but would not always be the better option. For instance, when Josh had bought D-23 it had not been needed. The whole transaction was based on the willingness of both parties to do so, they would be neighbors after all. 

Now, the breath of corruption and the stone of corruption looked rather promising. The only issue was that Josh had no way of knowing what exactly the Blessing of Corruption implied. 

Most likely it was the power that had turned the Spider+Gnoll into a Spidergnoll. Was it a good thing or a bad thing? It could potentially incapacitate enemies but chances were it would just make them stronger. 

"Navi, any info on a Blessing of Corruption?" 

<This model has none.> 

Go figure. Chances were the Tower Protocol had just added this difficulty because of Josh asking for more challenging content over and over. Should he consult a specialist? Then again there wouldn't be any for sure. 

Ah, well. Josh took the Stone instantly. He figured he didn't have much to lose right now. Bringing out his pet, he couldn't but sigh seeing it remain there lifelessly. 

<Godly Pseudo-Pet Rat>

"Here, eat this."

What was the worst that could happen? 

The rat transforming into a monstrosity? It would probably be stronger this way. 

The rat attacking him? That would almost be better than its current lifeless status. 

The rat dying? No way something with godly in its name would be so weak, right? 

After pushing the item in the pet's mouth, Josh waited. Still, there was no reaction from it whatsoever. There was clearly something wrong with it. Where was the receipt so Josh could return it? 

Ah, never mind. There was one thing that changed. 

<Corrupted Godly Pseudo-Pet Rat>

Was this rat's superpower to collect titles? Josh chuckled as he pictured the name of the godly rat changing as he climbed. At this rate it would soon be: 

<All-Powerful Fabled Legendary Mythical World-Devouring Godly Pseudo-Pet Rat>

Or something like that. Josh just needed to find a way to sell the pet and he'd be set for life! Today's outcome? Lost a trump card and gained a dubious corrupting consumable. 

As if to taunt him, the system came out with a victory message. Why had it been delayed? 

[Congratulation! Enjoy these awesome rewards!] 

"Wait! What's a blessing of corruption?!" Of course, it was already gone…

These last two Floors had been somewhat problematic. Would the next one be worse? What about the ones that followed? 

Josh really needed to become stronger, somehow. It was either that or to resolve himself to settle for the easier content. 

But, if he gave up right now, wouldn't he reach a wall sooner or later anyway? Hegel had warned him, Dario had warned him, the whole world had warned him. 

But so what if the whole world doubted him? He was Josh motherfucking Malum, and it was time to train…