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Chapter 2: Tower of Trials (2)
Chapter 2: Tower of Trials (2)
The Boundless Necromancer
「 All stats, skills, and innate ability have been reset to initial values. 」
「 The following challenger’s stats are already equal to the initial values. 」
「 Halting the reset process. 」
At first, I just stared blankly at the holographic message.
But...
「 Starting the tutorial trial. 」
A message about a ‘tutorial trial’ came out of nowhere.
As soon as I saw that message, I felt a wave of heat escape my body.
‘What’s going on? What is this?’
Starting with the most basic questions about my current state of affairs.
‘Tower of Trials? Is this the second coming of the Great Calamity?’
I even stipulated what the current situation could be about.
The influx of thoughts ricocheted around my throbbing head.
But even that was temporary.
「 Providing a weapon. 」
Clack.
Following the message about a weapon, a sword fell before me.
One with a sharpened edge, unlike the wooden ones I used to use at the training center.
The knife spanned about 30 inches.
“What is...?”
There’s no way a single can of beer could get me this drunk.
Although it’s almost nonexistent, my alcohol tolerance was heightened when I awakened as a player.
But...
‘There’s no way that’s making me dream like this.’
I quickly looked around and analyzed my surroundings.
The place I was standing was no longer a bench in a winter park, but rather a random desert.
No, could you even call this a desert?
The place was covered in sand and an occasional row of cacti.
Although it seemed normal at first glance, the boundary where the sky met the horizon said otherwise.
It was vast and spacious, but clearly synthetic.
If this was a dungeon, I would have needed to pass through a gate, so that isn’t a possibility.
As I was about to fall into a state of confusion—
「 Sand golem is appearing. 」
Kooom...!
“What the......!”
The sandy floors quaked, and pillars of sand rose from the ground.
Then the pillars started to come together to form a humanoid shape.
“...”
The towering golem must have been at least 20 feet tall.
My heart stopped when the golem laid its sand-dripping scarlet eyes upon me.
At the same time, another holographic message appeared.
「 Survive the sand golem. 」
「 Time left – 9min 59sec 」
“Grrrr...”
A trial telling me to survive.
And all the unanswered questions in my head.
Everything seemed to connect as soon as I came face to face with the sand golem.
I couldn’t feign ignorance even if I tried.
“Damn it!”
I quickly picked up the sword from the floor and ran as fast as I could.
A battle?
Impossible considering our size difference.
Even a graze from a sand golem is enough to kill a grown man in an instant.
A low-tier player like me wouldn’t fare much better.
That’s reality.
Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!
“Kraaaaa...!”
Every hair on my back stood on end as its roar vibrated through my body.
I wanted to run faster but I couldn’t.
Stomp! Stomp!
My feet got buried under a pile of sand every time I took a step forward.
“Fuck fuck FUCK!”
The desert was holding me captive.
At the same time, the stomping sound was approaching faster than my legs could move.
Even if I did manage to run, the only thing waiting for me was a wall that reached up to the sky.
I’d either be killed by being caught up to or by reaching the end of this field.
There might not even be an escape from this place.
My only hope was the time limit that I could glance at from the corner of my eyes—
「 Time left – 9min 12sec 」
It’s not possible to keep running for 9 more minutes with my stamina.
I may have stood a chance if I had slightly higher stats but...
「 Tutorial trial over. 」
I collapsed as soon as I saw the message.
“Gasp, gasp....!”
My legs burned as the sand crawled into my scraped skin and my hands couldn’t stop shaking.
My lungs felt like they were about to rip open and my leg continued to bleed.
But for some reason, I felt a rush of adrenaline I had never felt before.
The feeling of victory that I hadn’t experienced in 7 years.
I was only able to figure out what really happened after I caught my breath.
“......I killed a sand golem? Me?”
Someone who couldn’t even hope to kill an F rank monster...
Managed to kill an E-rank monster when his life was at risk.
But I became depressed again after looking back at what had happened.
‘...I barely managed to survive.’
If this was a different E-rank monster, I would have died within 3 minutes.
Sand golems are slow and have a clear weakness.
If this was a slightly stronger player, this would have been an easy tutorial.
It didn’t matter.
“I survived.”
That was reality.
When I was finally about to feel a wave of relief—
「 Congratulations. You have overcome the Tower of Trials floor 1. 」
“...?”
The message continued after the congratulations.
「 As a reward, you have received ‘Unlock innate ability.’ 」
「 As a reward, you have received ‘1000 points.’ 」
「 As a bonus reward, you have received the skill ‘Accelerated Regeneration(E+)’ 」
「 As a bonus reward, you have received ‘500 points.’ 」
“...”
I finally remembered the message I saw when I first entered this field.
‘It did say that...’
「 Trial success reward – Unlocking innate ability 」
I wasn’t able to process it properly at the time, but there was definitely a reward.
And...
“An innate ability...”
It was something I couldn’t even imagine unlocking over the last 7 years, let alone an additional reward of a skill.
‘I couldn’t even increase my stat after training for 7 years...’
I was more dumbfounded now than when I first entered the tower.
The next couple of messages seemed to confirm what had just happened.
「 Innate ability unlocked. 」
「 Innate ability ‘Necromancy(F)’ has been imprinted on the player. 」
I won against a monster for the first time in my life and was able to see progress that had been halted for 7 years.
There were feelings I couldn’t even begin to describe with words, but that didn’t last long.
Almost as if it didn’t want to give me time to wonder—
「 Please move to the waiting area. 」
Voom!
A blue portal appeared where the body of the golem once stood.
I guess I was supposed to go to the ‘waiting room’ using that.
That alone explained a lot.
“This is really a tutorial...?”
Dungeons resolve after it has been completed but that didn’t seem to be the case for the ‘Tower of Trials.’
I couldn’t deny my reality any longer.
What I had just experienced was a tutorial. Preparation for what’s to come in this tower.
Meaning, I will need to go through trials like this again and again with no end in sight.
“......”
I had no idea what to think of this, but that also didn’t last too long.
Gasping for air, I got up with a groan.
‘Damnit, it hurts like hell.’
There was not a single unscathed part on my body.
I must have rolled in the sand too much trying to dodge the sand golem.
Well, I shouldn’t complain considering that I was still alive.
As I was about to pass by the sand pile that used to be the golem—
What...?
“What is this?”
A scene overwhelming enough to make me forget my pain for a moment.
The pile of sand that used to be the golem emitted a black fog.
I was hesitant at this unreal phenomenon, but for some reason, I reached out my hand.
Then...
「 Activating innate ability ‘Necromancy(F)’ 」
「 Would you like to absorb the spirit of the sand golem? 」
「 Y/N 」
“...?”
Yet again, a message I’d never seen before appeared in front of me.