Capítulo 25: Level Up!
The darkness was absolute, an endless void where even the air seemed still.
A pair of narrow slits emerged within it, glowing with an intense, molten gold light. The pupils, sharp and vertical like blades, expanded slowly, cutting through the void with their fierce, unblinking gaze.
The irises shimmered, predatory and focused, as though a god appraising a mere insect.
From the void came a sound, deep and overbearing, suffocating the impenetrable darkness.
"Who… dares?"
…..
Lobby, Floor 0.
Napping on Eleanor's lap, El's eyes snapped open.
Noticing the movement, Eleanor looked down, but failed to find the spillage of raven hair all over her lap.
"I'll be back in a bit, El. Don't miss me too much and go grab us some coffee until then…"
El's seductive figure could be seen swaying in the distance as she walked away, waving her hand at Eleanor.
Eleanor was dumbfounded with the sudden change of pace, and before the blonde beauty could figure out what was happening, El disappeared from her sight.
…..
[Ding!]
[Quest Complete!]
[Do you wish to exit the tutorial? (Y/N)]
Julien's head hurt as he woke up clutching his head.
Around him was a familiar fireplace with a malnourished Santa Claus sipping hot chocolate.
"Hohoho—! Welcome back, Player!" The merchant greeted.
Julien was on the ground, on a woolen mat by the crackling fire. He rummaged through his thoughts to figure out what had happened.
The last thing he could remember was drinking the Blood Dragon's Bone Elixir. After that, everything went completely blank until he heard the system notification for quest completion.
The quest had 4 hours left and the elixir only granted a boost for 15 mins.
What happened in the remaining time? I should've died from the ghouls once the elixir's effect came off, but I didn't. Why was this the case? And wouldn't the ghouls kill all the townspeople, leading to a quest failure? Why does it say the quest is complete?
Julien had so many questions going on in his head.
A few seconds passed and nobody answered the questions he had thought of. The lotus lady was probably not listening.
Julien sighed and shook his head. Not even a week had passed in this world and he had already been in so many life threatening situations.
He turned to the merchant and asked, "How long until the next tutorial starts?"
"Hoho, it has already started." Santa curled his mustache and said with a hearty laugh. "You are late once again."
"Fuck!" Julien cursed. "Was I asleep?"
"Yes. For more than 2 days, hohoho!"
Julien rubbed his temples in frustration and checked the quest details in the system.
+
[Teamwork Section — Last Pact Standing]
[Objective: Survive in the shrinking arena and emerge as the final victorious team. Form alliances, but beware—only one team can claim victory in the end.]
[Arena Description: You will be placed in a vast, treacherous terrain filled with forests, mountains, and ruins. As time passes, safe zones will diminish. Resources are scarce, and some can only be accessed through cooperation.]
[Rules]
— Form a team and make temporary alliances with other teams to increase your chances of survival.
— Individuals not in a team will be disqualified.
— Killing team members will result in instant disqualification.
— Minimum members in a team: 2
— Maximum members in a team: 5
— Moving in a group without forming a pact would lead to penalties.
— To eliminate other Players, deposit the individual tokens in designated centers.
[Time — 02:18:27_33]
+
A battle royale as a tutorial quest…
Julien wasn't sure how to feel. This wasn't just a tutorial anymore—it was a full-fledged trial in disguise.
After everything that had happened in the last section, a part of him wanted to avoid the next. It would be riskier; this time, he'd face real-world people, not NPCs.
When real people were involved, things could go south quickly. Given his own history, he knew he'd have to work harder than ever to protect himself.
The rules stated that tokens had to be deposited into respective centers. They didn't specify how to obtain them, meaning anything was allowed—including killing.
Julien wasn't sure he had the conviction to kill, but he knew very well that this world was cold and others wouldn't hesitate to murder him.
There was no government, no law, no nothing to protect oneself. It was a wild jungle with danger lurking in every direction.
The lotus lady's words had come true twice by now. She had told him he wouldn't die and that he should continue with the tutorials.
She might not realize it, but her words gave Julien a sense of security, making his decisions easier.
Just a section ago, he was a crybaby who whined too much. Now, he was still a crybaby, but one who could make decisions without being paralyzed by fear.
There was still a long way to go before he stopped being a crybaby altogether. Just last week, he was a porn-addicted couch potato, resembling a social media moderator. He knew it was unrealistic to expect an immediate glow-up after just a few trials.
It would take time, effort, and adventures to fully adapt to the Tower's ever-changing, tumultuous environment.
In any case, like before, Julien thought to himself that if he couldn't even finish a tutorial, then he may not be fit to climb to higher floors.
"Merchant, give me the items list."
"Hohoho, there's nothing available to purchase, Player." Malnourished Santa said with a hearty chuckle.
"There isn't? Then why are you here?"
"To trade, hoho!"
Julien looked at him as if he was an idiot.
"You just said you don't have anything for purchase. What trade are you even going to make?"
The malnourished Santa sipped hot chocolate and said, "Player, purchasing items with points is not available and that's because the Logic Section does not provide points. It provides items as rewards that you can trade for something better."
"Oh." Julien understood now.
Since that was the case, he summoned the system to check his rewards and attributes.
The moment the panel came up and he had a look, his eyes opened wide like saucers.
+
[General Stats]
Name: Julien Von Lichtenstein
Title: Defender of the Damned «new»
Rank: — (+1) «new»
Level: 11 (+10)
XP: 2574/13,000 (+43,274)
[Attributes]
Health: 100 (+90)
Essence: 1,007 (+1004)
Strength: 197(+190)
Agility: 114 (+109)
Endurance: 360 (+355)
Intelligence: 28 (+19)
Charm: 15 (+4)
Luck: N/A
[Arcana Cards: (3/3)]
Slot #1: Flame Poke(common)
Slot #2: —
Slot #3: Stone Wall(Uncommon)
[Trait]
-Reluctant Slayer: +5% damage to enemies when Health is below 50%.
-Unyielding Will: 2x boost to all stats when Health drops below 30. «new»
[Items]
(Common)
-Spectral Lens: Allows the wearer to see invisible entities, detect illusions, and reveal hidden traps or secret doors. «new»
(Uncommon)
-Shadow Cloak of Eclipsia: Grants invisibility when in darkness or shadows, perfect for stealth missions. Provides a slight increase in agility. «new»
-Ghoulbane Sword: A sword infused with the essence of slain ghouls, it deals increased damage to undead creatures and has a chance to paralyze enemies. «new»
-Wraithbone Amulet: Increases resistance to dark magic and curses by 50%. Can absorb a single lethal spell, releasing it as a counterattack. «new»
-Soul Shard: Contains a remnant soul. Can be used to summon the soul as an ally in battle, providing temporary boosts to attack and defense. «new»
(Rare)
-Sword of the Demonic Hero(broken, enchanted): A sword with unmatched sharpness. Deals bonus damage to cursed entities.
-Veil of Eternal Night: Creates an area of total darkness that only the user can see through. Lasts for 10 minutes. Can be used once per day. «new»
(Others)
-Memo of Valthor
-Enchanted Compass
[Achievements] «new»
-Savior of the Plagued Town
-Ghoul Slayer
+
"W-w-what?" Julien couldn't believe his eyes. "I leveled up so much!?"
Presentes
-- Presente
recebido Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder