Mike didn’t rush to storm the Tower of Truth but first made his way to the Wolf’s Den. He approached the bar and said to a bartender, “I need an SS-level room and a rum on the rocks.”
Clutching the key to room SS-004, Mike entered his private sanctuary.
“Got a lot to sort through, one thing at a time.”
He had spent too much time on the ninth floor of the Tower of Truth yesterday and hadn’t had a chance to organize.
Speaking of gear, he had the Behemoth’s Claw, Force of Nature (+4), and Nightmare’s Breeze to deal with.
First up was the Behemoth’s Claw, a reward for conquering the eighth level with an SSSS rating.
Gear: Behemoth’s Claw (Lv.60)
Tier: S
Attributes: Strength +450
Physical Attack: 800
Perks:
– Miser: After dealing damage, the enemy can’t gain currency or items, which automatically drop instead.
– Bloodthirst: Grants 15% life steal when using the Behemoth’s Claw.
– Fratricide: Deals an additional 100% damage to dragon-type creatures.
Upgradeable Perks:
– Behemoth’s Treasure: Kill the boss and obtain S-tier or higher level equipment.
Upgrade Opportunities: 8
Upgrades Used: 0
“A functional weapon. Life steal is pretty common, and the damage boost against dragon types is nothing special… Do I look like someone who lacks damage?”
Of the three perks, only Miser seemed truly useful. Such functional gear could be unexpectedly effective in certain scenarios.
If judged solely as an SSSS-tier reward, the Behemoth’s Claw was definitely not up to snuff! Fully upgraded, it might become worthy of an Ultimate Battle Lord, truly powerful. But as it was, it barely counted as a prototype, at best an embryo!
“So, the SSSS-tier rewards were mostly allocated to a buff for all humanity. My personal loot quality has dropped…”
If Mike were to really crunch the numbers, he’d see he came out ahead.
Humanity as Thor’s protector.
These weren’t just words.
Blaze Morrow had returned from the Abyssal Plane wounded, yet he was the first to charge at the Abyssal Sacrifice Array.
Charlotte had spent all her savings for Mike’s appraisal before heading to the Abyssal Plane to fight.
Even Joseph Windrider, a ninth-tier Battle Lord Mike had just met, could dominate anywhere as long as he didn’t offend any top figures of any race.
Such a powerful individual still ended up severely injured on the battlefield, struggling even to stand.
Each person, each event, like droplets forming a river.
Actions continuously proving the value of the phrase: Humanity as Thor’s protector!
Humanity had sacrificed a lot for Thor’s growth, allocating the SSSS-tier rewards to a buff for all humanity, and Mike was more than okay with that.
[It’s not like you had a choice]
“Shut up, I’m comforting myself here!” Mike rolled his eyes.
Though he hadn’t lost out, he felt something was missing, like he hadn’t gotten the better end of the deal.
Mike resolved, “Can’t just let this slide. I’ll have to make Maxen Stoneheart treat me a few more times.”
Setting aside the Behemoth’s Claw, Mike pulled out the skeleton of Cerberus. With Mike’s nod, Nightmare’s Breeze swooped in and devoured the skeleton completely.
Equipment: Nightmare’s Breeze (Lv.60)
Tier: SSS
Durability: 2.841%
Attributes: Agility +2841, Strength +2841, Constitution +2841
Physical/Magic Defense: 2841
Perks:
– [I’m Broken]: Please fix me, I really miss being intact.
– [Picky Eater]: Devouring too many similar SSS-tier materials gradually weakens the repair effects on corresponding materials.
– [Tri-Element Mastery]: Choose any three elements; all spell effects +28.41%.
– [Cerberus Phantom]: Summons a Cerberus Phantom (Lv.60) to fight for you. After being defeated, it requires a 30-minute rest before it can fight again.
Mike hadn’t expected this piece of equipment to be so finicky! As the only SSS-tier equipment he currently owned, even though it was a battle-damaged version, the effects of Nightmare’s Breeze far surpassed those of SS-tier equipment! Of course, this was also related to the fact that other equipment hadn’t been fully upgraded yet.
After repairing Nightmare’s Breeze, Mike’s Strength attribute shot up significantly, becoming his highest base attribute and leaving Intelligence far behind.
“Another embarrassment for mages. Do I really have to become a melee brawler mage?”
Mike tried summoning the Cerberus Phantom. With a whoosh, a gust of wind swept through, and the phantom appeared, oddly smelling of barbecue spices!
“Awoo—”
The current Cerberus, in terms of strength, could rival a Battle General! As Mike’s level increased, so would the strength of Nightmare’s Breeze and Cerberus.
By the time Mike reached level 1000, perhaps releasing this dog could kill a demon god!
“Come back!”
Cerberus shattered into countless pieces and instantly flew back behind Mike into his cloak.
After repairing Nightmare’s Breeze, Mike took a moment to check on Force of Nature.
It’s tough having too much good equipment; it can be a real headache.
After his second class change, Force of Nature had undergone another upgrade. Besides the enhancement of various perks, a new perk was added:
– [Magic Guide Staff]: Tri-element affinity +5%
It also unlocked new upgrade conditions:
– [Return to Nature]: Collect and plant 9 seeds on Force of Nature.
Clearly, the higher the tier of seeds Mike planted, the stronger Force of Nature would become.
Force of Nature had already been upgraded four times, with eight more upgrade opportunities remaining, evolving from A-tier to S-tier!
If the fifth evolution couldn’t push it to SS-tier, the future potential of Force of Nature would be limited.
Within the range of choices, Mike naturally wanted the best seeds.
After conquering the tenth level with an SSSS rating today, he will make a trip to the Trade Secret Realm. He will haul over the mined ores and see if there are any good seeds.
Now, with 4000 Battle Lord merits in hand, Mike was incredibly wealthy! Of course, when it comes to drinks, the best ones are still free.
After tidying up his loot, Mike stashed all his equipment and turned his attention to the map of the tenth level.
“The tenth level, participants can choose between two factions and play as either…”
“[Werewolves] or [Vampires].”
“Pick a side, defeat the opposing faction’s participants and NPCs, complete missions, and you’ll rack up your Exploration Rate…”
Role-playing, huh?
According to the Tower of Truth’s tenth-floor setup, [Werewolves] and [Vampires] would attend a masquerade ball. This ball was thrown to celebrate the awakening of a venerable vampire elder, with a noble-blooded werewolf leader as the sacrifice.
Participants in the [Vampire] faction need to ensure the elder’s survival while trying to identify and eliminate any disguised [Werewolves].
Participants in the [Werewolf] faction, on the other hand, must figure out a way to rescue their leader and escape the castle before the party ends.
With a good grasp of the basic information and backstory, Mike roughly formulated his plan. He summoned the Core Crystal of Truth and pressed it against his palm, selecting the tenth floor.
The familiar prompt echoed in his ears once again.
“Wishing you an early conquest of the Tower of Truth.”