Episode 196
“The Trial of Tyr, the God of Battle? The Inverted Tower?”
What he had thought was just a dungeon turned out to be the ancient site of Tius, the Brave Knight, and Tyr.
The unexpected revelation made Zeke’s eyes gleam with interest.
“The Shield of Tyr is likely hidden here.”
Rex Turn had reached the 90th floor of the Trial of Struggle but mentioned that the door to the 91st floor was sealed, preventing further descent.
“The door to this site has never been opened since the Turn family took over its management. It’s the perfect place to store a relic like Tyr’s Shield.”
Zeke slowly ventured deeper inside.
This place felt more like a labyrinth than a dungeon.
In the world of dungeons, those whose age couldn’t be determined and whose size was immeasurable were often called “labyrinths.”
During his time as a Highlander, Zeke had once followed his master into such a labyrinth.
Unlike typical dungeons, labyrinths were filled with ancient magic and mysteries beyond comprehension.
The Trial of Struggle had a similar aura.
Zeke recalled Rex Turn’s description of the Trial of Struggle.
“He said all sorts of monsters appear from the 1st to the 90th floor.”
Each floor housed similar types of monsters, and defeating the boss-like creature at the end of each floor would reveal the path to the next.
Interestingly, the monsters would leave no trace upon death, disintegrating into ash.
No matter how many times the monsters were defeated, leaving and re-entering the Trial of Struggle would reset everything to its original state.
Rex Turn speculated that this phenomenon might be a form of ancient magic.
Zeke had a hunch as he listened to Rex’s explanation.
“Spiritualization. Even Hoshgar, the Dragonkin, left himself in a spiritual form. If it were a dragon… it could have left such magic throughout the entire labyrinth.”
Why Tyr would use a dragon’s power to create such a labyrinth was a mystery.
Perhaps reaching the final floor would reveal his intentions.
As Zeke ventured further, he spotted a staircase leading down.
He descended the stairs slowly.
[You have reached the 1st floor of the ‘Inverted Tower.’]
[A choice is granted to the challenger.]
[Select your difficulty level.]
[Choose from Easy Mode, Normal Mode, or Hard Mode.]
[The higher the difficulty, the greater the rewards.]
Zeke tilted his head at the message that appeared.
“What does this mean?”
Though he wasn’t entirely sure, it seemed that choosing a harder path would yield greater rewards.
Since Rex Turn hadn’t mentioned anything like this, it seemed to be an option visible only to the system administrator.
“Is Hard Mode the toughest? Then Hard Mode it is.”
Just then, another message appeared.
[Difficulty set to Hard Mode.]
[Assessing the challenger.]
[The domain of the God of Battle detects the aura of a Dragonkin in the challenger.]
[Difficulty adjustment in progress.]
[Difficulty adjusted to Hell Mode for the challenger.]
“What? Hell Mode?”
The name alone was ominous. Simultaneously, a series of new messages appeared.
[Due to Hell Mode adjustment, the use of powers is restricted.]
[Due to Hell Mode adjustment, passive skills are restricted.]
[Due to Hell Mode adjustment, active skills are restricted.]
[Due to Hell Mode adjustment, Dragonkin skills are restricted.]
[Due to Hell Mode adjustment, summoning is restricted.]
“What?”
Most of Zeke’s abilities were suddenly sealed.
A low hum resonated as soon as his abilities were restricted, and he immediately felt the change. His body felt much heavier than usual.
“Is it because even my passive skills are restricted? This feels quite awkward.”
[A mission is assigned to the challenger.]
―Inverted Tower Quest Mission―
[Clear the 1st floor of the Inverted Tower, defeat the boss, and proceed to the 2nd floor. (No time limit)]
[Quest Mission Reward: Title - Conqueror of the 1st Floor (Hell Mode)]
Rex Turn had mentioned that a Blue Knight could easily pass up to the 30th floor, but the difficulty spiked from the 31st floor onward.
However, since Zeke was in the highest difficulty, Hell Mode, the situation might differ from what Rex described.
“Not having the Healing Factor and infinite stamina is definitely a disadvantage.”
Zeke realized he had been heavily reliant on his passive skills.
“Perhaps I’ve been too dependent on these convenient abilities, preventing me from breaking through my limits.”
Determined to revive his senses from a past life, Zeke steeled himself.
“Alright, let’s head down.”
Reaching the end of the stairs to the 1st floor, Zeke drew Bahamut and moved forward.
With all his skills and abilities sealed, Zeke relied on his natural senses to survey his surroundings. That’s when he sensed something unusual.
“What is this?”
Swish!
Zeke swung his sword at something charging toward him.
Slash!
His sword cleaved through the creature.
“What is this?”
Bending down, Zeke examined the fallen creature.
It resembled a rabbit with sharp fangs protruding from its mouth. Above the dead creature’s head, words appeared.
―Vampire Rabbit Level 1―
It seemed to be the creature’s name.
“Vampire Rabbit? This isn’t what Rex Turn described for the 1st floor. And what’s this about levels?”
The dead Vampire Rabbit’s body disintegrated into ash, just as Rex Turn had described.
Simultaneously, another message appeared.
[You have gained 1 experience point.]
“Experience points for defeating monsters?”
It was an unexpected reward. Since the creatures were not real but spiritual constructs, they granted experience points instead of karma points.
Zeke opened the system window to check the experience list.
He reviewed the ability distribution settings he had adjusted when he reacquired the Elder Dragon’s relic.
Currently, he was focused on enhancing ‘Spiritual Power,’ which elevated the soul’s rank.
After some thought, Zeke switched from automatic to manual distribution.
As he descended to the 100th floor, he figured he would accumulate a significant amount of experience points, allowing him to enhance the abilities he needed at the time.
Closing the system window, Zeke took a deep breath. With his sword in hand, he began to sweep through the Vampire Rabbits on the 1st floor like a storm.
[You have gained 1 experience point.]
[You have gained 1 experience point.]
[You have gained 1 experience point.]
“250 experience points from the 1st floor. It’s not much yet… but it’ll accumulate as I go deeper.”
Even with his abilities restricted, the Vampire Rabbits on the 1st floor posed no threat to Zeke.
Eventually, he reached the innermost room.
Opening the door, a creature that seemed to be the boss roared fiercely at Zeke.
―Vampire Rabbit Boss Level 3―
As expected of a boss, it was a higher level than the other Vampire Rabbits.
The Vampire Rabbit Boss charged at Zeke.
Swish!
But it was no different. With a light swing of his sword, Zeke cleaved the Vampire Rabbit Boss in two.
[You have gained 3 experience points.]
At least the boss granted a bit more experience.
Then, something appeared where the Vampire Rabbit Boss had fallen.
“A random box?”
Rex Turn hadn’t mentioned anything like this either.
It seemed the rewards varied with the difficulty level.
Zeke immediately opened the random box.
―Glove Information―
Description: Gloves made from Vampire Rabbit fur
Unique Ability: Vampirism
Special Note: Gloves made from Vampire Rabbit fur. Very warm. Absorbing blood slightly restores the user’s health.
“Wow? An artifact as a reward from the 1st floor?”
Though not a powerful magic item, any enchanted item was considered valuable.
Moreover, artifacts that restored health were quite rare.
Zeke stored the gloves in his inventory and grinned.
“Experience points and artifacts. There’s more to gain here than I thought.”
With Bahamut in hand, Zeke whistled as he descended to the 2nd floor.
He passed through floors 2 to 10 without much trouble.
After defeating the 10th-floor boss, a Vampire Platypus, Zeke paused to catch his breath. The reward item was boots made from Vampire Platypus fur.
“Hmm, all the artifacts up to the 10th floor have vampirism. I’ll keep these. It’s time to review my experience points.”
Zeke checked the experience points he had accumulated while descending to the 10th floor.
[Current experience points: 4,309]
Though not a huge amount yet, it was a meaningful number, so Zeke pondered where to invest his points first.
The categories available for experience point allocation were Spiritual Power, Active Skills, Dragonkin Skills and Equipment, and Summons.
After some thought, Zeke decided to invest in Spiritual Power first.
“Since I can still use the functions of the Soul Device and the system here, boosting Spiritual Power seems the most logical.”
Zeke invested all 4,309 experience points into Spiritual Power.
[Spiritual Power has increased, slightly enhancing the soul’s rank.]
[The seal on Bahamut’s heart is partially lifted. Current compression seal level: 69.5%.]
With the rise in Spiritual Power, both the soul’s rank and the compression seal on Bahamut’s heart decreased.
“0.5%. It’s minor, but I’ll be able to gather more experience as I go deeper.”
Putting aside his slight disappointment, Zeke checked the passive skills section in his status window.
Passive Skills: Healing Factor / Sturdy Mental Defense / Infinite Stamina / Beast’s Instinct / Limit Break (Locked)
He focused on the ‘Limit Break (Locked)’ passive skill.
“As your soul’s level increases, you’ll be able to unlock more abilities. Breaking through your limits will make it easier to shatter the barrier to becoming a Black Knight.”
Determined, Zeke resolved to gather as many experience points as possible.
After pulling some food and water from his inventory, he took a well-deserved rest.
“Having infinite stamina really is a cheat skill,” he mused, feeling the difference.
Once his energy was restored, he descended to the eleventh floor.
The atmosphere on the eleventh floor was noticeably different from the tenth. While the labyrinth’s general vibe remained, patches of greenery appeared here and there, with trees breaking through the walls and their branches stretching up to cover the ceiling.
Curious, Zeke plucked a fruit from one of the trees and split it open.
“This is… a real fruit.”
Trees bearing such fruit were scattered throughout the labyrinth.
“What a strange place. Fruit growing inside a labyrinth? What was Tyr thinking when he created this?”
Just then, something approached Zeke.
Grrrrr.
Zeke quickly checked the creature’s information.
—Hobgoblin, Level 5—
It was larger and more powerful than a typical goblin.
Suddenly, more hobgoblins appeared, gathering in a group behind him.
In an instant, one of the hobgoblins spat at Zeke.
Whoosh!
Zeke swiftly dodged the incoming spit.
Simultaneously, the hobgoblins charged at him with weapons drawn.
He swung his sword at a hobgoblin leaping through the air.
Slash—
With a sharp sound, the hobgoblin was cleaved in two.
Without pausing, Zeke continued to cut down the hobgoblins with his whirlwind technique.
Swoosh!
In a single breath, Zeke’s sword decapitated five hobgoblins. Their bodies quickly turned to ash and vanished.
Zeke swept through the labyrinth, eliminating the hobgoblins that attacked him.
“Phew.”
After clearing the labyrinth of hobgoblins to gain experience, Zeke slowly made his way to the boss’s chamber.
“Who knows how strong the boss on the eleventh floor will be? Better prepare thoroughly.”
Just in case, Zeke purchased necessary potions from the shop, loaded them into his auto-slots, and replenished his strength with food and rest.
Once ready, he approached the boss’s door, which began to open slowly.
Rumble!
Cautiously, Zeke entered the boss’s chamber, keeping low.
Grrrrr!
Inside stood a hobgoblin twice the size of a regular one, clad in armor.
—Ferocious Hobgoblin Warrior, Level 10—
The word “ferocious” was a special addition to its title.
Screech!
The ferocious hobgoblin warrior charged at Zeke.
Zeke deflected the warrior’s sword to the side and slashed with Bahamut, aiming for its waist.
Clang!
To his surprise, Zeke’s sword couldn’t cut through the hobgoblin warrior’s waist in one strike.
“A goblin wearing armor that Bahamut can’t slice through in one go?”
The ferocious hobgoblin warrior chuckled mockingly at Zeke’s wide-eyed surprise.
Zeke muttered quietly, “Equip Hersion.”
Swish!
As Hersion enveloped Zeke, the hobgoblin retreated in alarm.
With Bahamut wrapped in an aura blade, Zeke advanced slowly toward the hobgoblin.
Screech!
The hobgoblin warrior charged fiercely, but with a flash of light, its head rolled across the floor.
The hobgoblin warrior’s body soon turned to ash and disappeared.
Confirming the boss monster’s defeat, Zeke deactivated Hersion.
“Phew.”
Breathing heavily, Zeke remarked, “Wow, Teia’s Hersion. This thing drains mana like crazy! I can’t use it with the aura blade.”
Without his passive skills, the mana and stamina drain felt overwhelming.
Realizing he needed to limit his use of Hersion, Zeke examined the spot where the hobgoblin warrior had vanished.
Unlike other floors, where the boss dropped a random box, the reward seemed to be the armor the hobgoblin warrior had worn.
Approaching the armor, Zeke checked its information and was taken aback.