Chapter 9: Max Level & The Tower

Chapter 9: Max Level & The Tower

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We continued our exploration after hunting the wolves for a little while. We came across a new open gate while exploring the forest, which was of a green color. This gate poured a lot of Goblins, the same ones I had slain before, so they were fairly easy prey. We slew them all, making sure to see the progress of my mother and my sister’s new cultivation abilities, and then crushed the boss, another Hobgoblin, although a Shaman this time.

And, well, rinse and repeat two more times, and my level was now fifty. To repay my mother and my sister for having welcomed me back into the family and for simply existing and making my life happier, I let them take the treasure chests. They got a few pieces of equipment and some potions, which they said they were going to save for future dungeon raids. My sister, after having slain the third boss we fought, a C-Rank Yeti King, gained system status.

I wasn’t too happy about the System parasitizing her, though, so I did the same trick as before and extorted an Administrator to give her a Privilege and let her “wear” the system instead of full integration. I couldn’t do the same with my mother right now, as she had fully integrated with it. But maybe once her soul grows strong enough to take on the backlash of tearing the system apart from it, I could do it too.

Anyways...

Ding!

[You have slain the [Yeti King (C Rank)] Dungeon Gate Boss!]

[Level Up!]

[Your Level has increased from Level 49 to Level 50!]

[All your Stats have increased. You gained Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]

[You have reached Max Level. You can now choose a Class inside of the Tower once you complete the Tutorial.]

[You gained +11.000 Credits.]

[The Level of several Skills has increased.]

[You received the Title: [Boss Slayer]!]

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[Boss Slayer]

Title Requirements: Slay five or more Boss-type Monsters alone.

Effects: Increases Damage against Boss-type Monsters by +30%, take -10% less damage from Boss-type Monsters.

A Title given to true Boss Slayers, You’re on a roll! Keep going!

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Another useless title, but I guess it is still nice.

I took a peek at my "status," or, well, this ever-growing piece of Etheric Equipment, as I like to call it.

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[Name]: [Katherine]

[Race]: [Human?]

[Titles]: [The One Who Folded The System] [Dungeon Gate Keeper] [Undefeated] [Talent Seeking Guider] [Apprentice Chef] [Boss Slayer]

[Class]: [None]

[Level]: [50/50]

[Mana]: [600/600]

[Martial Power]: [500]

[Strength]: [260]

[Agility]: [260]

[Vitality]: [260]

[Intelligence]: [260]

[Dexterity]: [260]

[Classless Skills (6/6)]

[Premium Player Privilege (SSS): Lv1] [Kicking Strike (D): Lv5] [First Aid (D): Lv6] [Mirage Veil (A): Lv5] [Cooking (D): Lv6] [Basic Swordsmanship (C): Lv5] [Family Bond (D): Lv4]

[Magic Skills (5/6)]

[Partial Spatial Manipulation (B): Lv5] [Mana Manipulation (C): Lv7] [Healing Golden Light (B): Lv5] [Photon Essence Manipulation (A): Lv5] [Cursed Flames (B): Lv4]

[Class Skills (0/0)]

[Locked]

[Stat Points]: [250]

[Skill Points]: [250]

[Credits]: [55.000]

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Not bad, more mana, which means I can continuously create a bit more Primordial Essence as well! A few more golden dews were produced today. A dew drop would usually take a month back in Murim, but I can make them daily here.

Anyway, these other stats do seem to work, and over time, bit by bit, it feels like their strength is stacking on my already supremely powerful body. A bit only, but a bit on a being such as myself is still quite a lot.

Above all, this Martial Power Stat is strange; it is not growing like the other Stats and has remained at five hundred. Do I need to do something else to increase it?

“Hey, Clide.”

[...]

“Do you want me to drag you back?”

Mother’s abilities evolved tremendously; her Mana Shield could now generate shields of hardened magic metal that could take on hits from B-Rank monsters like nothing.

Above all, she could summon Metal Aura Swords from her Ki Aura, slashing and slicing foes with ease. And as if things weren’t amazing enough, her palm attacks released explosions of blinding light, blinding and damaging foes.

Her healing abilities were still developing as I taught them to her, but she was already on her way to becoming an S-rank at minimum. But is that it? No, I won’t stop until my mother and my sister become world-class Class Hunters as well.

Or even beyond that.

“Alright, thank you for understanding.”

Once both were inside my Inner Realm, I kicked the ground and left a huge crater behind, blazing with flames and molten stone. I flew high into the skies, as high as I could, and set my gaze on the Tower.

I kicked the skies once, my body zapping through the heavens and splitting every cloud in my path. I arrived in front of the tower in a split second, generating a shockwave as I stopped moving right in front of it.

The structure was made of a black metal of sorts. By using my special eyes, I could detect that the metal itself was anchored to a spatial pillar.

I see, it is some sort of Space-Time Attribute Divine Formation! It is indestructible for these mortals because their attacks can’t possibly move pillars of space.

Not even Yanisse’s magic could, most likely.

“However, if it’s like this, I don’t even need to use the entrance.”

I tapped the black metal very gently while releasing waves of Primordial Essence. Cracks spread in mere seconds, which I controlled and formed into the shape of a door.

Crack, crack...!

CRASH!

The tower shattered. Something humanity was never able to accomplish was done by me in just a split second. Well, it was a rather unguarded Space-Time Divine Formation. The ones from the Venerables were a million times stronger.

“Now...”

BAAAM!

I kicked the cracks and opened a spatial door for myself, revealing to me a swirling mass of blue energy. The people making a long line to enter right below me could only watch in utter disbelief as the tower was finally shattered by nobody else but me. I noticed many were filming, but I didn’t care.

I passed through the portal I opened, and I noticed the crack slowly closing behind me. I guess they were desperately trying to stop the destruction I caused. Oops, my bad.

Once I passed through the portal, I felt a spatial disturbance. Something was trying to drag me somewhere else. Perhaps that “Tutorial” of sorts, or something.

“I want to do that Tutorial too, for the sake of it. But I will go there willingly; I won’t allow anybody to force me to do as they please.”

I released my Primordial Intent; a shockwave of rainbow light was unleashed from my body. The force dragging me down immediately came to a halt, as I was able to see where I was. It was a pitch-black space, full of stars and distorted masses of colors. It slightly resembled the Cosmos, but at the same time, it was an inner space of sorts within the tower. This might be the space between each floor.

“W-Why...”

I heard a monstrous groan. I looked up to find a mass of black tentacles with countless red eyes. He definitely didn’t look human at all—some sort of alien creature or something. Oh, I remember him now. He’s my good friend.

“Clide! Is it you?”

“W-Why did you...?! How did you?! T-This is...!”

He was having a panic attack.

“Calm down; I just want to enter the tower without waiting in line. A Primordial Immortal such as I doesn’t need the assistance of anyone to move around. I go wherever I please, understand?” I said. “Now, can you show me around? Is this the space in between floors?”

“Y-Yes, it is! It is not a place a human could ever survive! Yet you’re completely okay?! How can you even breathe here?!” He groaned, his long black tentacles wiggling. “More importantly, you need to do the Tutorial first! It’s the Rules of the Tower! Please, please, master! If you don’t do this, they’re going to kill me for being a failure!”

“Hmm, I suppose you have helped me enough, huh? Very well, I shall do you a favor and do the Tutorial now.” I nodded. “Teleport me there then.”

“Thank you so much!” He cried, tears coming from all his eyes.

FLASH!

I wanted to explore more, but Clide looked tremendously worried about his own life, and I worried a bit too. So I decided to go along with the “rules of the tower” for a bit.

The moment I was teleported, I found myself standing inside an ancient-looking temple of sorts, made of gray bricks.

There was a single corridor in front of me, but my aura could easily detect anomalies in the walls. Numerous traps were set there, waiting for an unsuspecting fool to step on them and be swarmed by an assortment of deadly projectiles.

Ding!

[Welcome to the Tower, Player Katherine!]

[As you have entered the Tower for the first time, you must first complete the Three-Part Tutorial of the Tower.]

[The Tutorial Difficulty will be adjusted based on your Total Stats, Skills, and Innate Power.]

[Calculating your innate Power...]

[ERROR]

[Player’s Power is incomprehensibly high; it cannot be calculated.]

[Reinitiating procedures...]

[Setting up the maximum level of difficulty ever available.]

[Tutorial Difficulty: Infernal+++]

[The First Tutorial Phase has begun; please complete the {Walk Through Fire} Trial by running across the trap-infested corridor and reaching the end of it.]

[The Tower God {Spawn Of The Abyssal Chaos} laughs, saying you should have never entered the Tower!]

[He says you should prepare yourself for the most agonizing Tutorial in existence.]

[He assures you that you will not walk alive out of it.]

“Is that so?”

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