Within the Tower of Truth, on the thirty-first floor, Mike materialized with a flash of white light. He glanced around, finding no immediate danger.
“Logically, this floor shouldn’t be too difficult.” He’d previously helped Afterskin clear the twenty-ninth floor, and Afterskin had breezed through floors thirty and thirty-one shortly after. From a conquering standpoint, there shouldn’t be much pressure.
As he thought this, a white electronic screen appeared before him, displaying bold black text: *Villain Boss Simulator*.
The original challenge for the thirty-first floor involved using the simulator to create an NPC. Successful creation meant easy conquest. However, corrupted by the Supreme Demon God, the floor’s challenge had undergone a subtle change.
[The NPC created in the simulator has become a villain. Defeat the villain to conquer the floor.]
[The stronger the villain NPC, the higher the Exploration Rate.]
“Interesting…” Mike nodded. The rules were straightforward enough.
The catch was that achieving a 100% Exploration Rate conquest required creating an incredibly powerful villain NPC. Defeating such a boss would be exceptionally difficult. But if the NPC was too weak, Mike could easily reclaim the thirty-first floor, but he wouldn’t get an SSSS-rank evaluation. That wouldn’t be worth it.
A new prompt appeared:
[Requirements for 100% Exploration Rate:]
[1. Simulated boss reaches level 989.]
[2. Simulated boss kills the projection of a human powerful above level 980 during the simulation.]
These two requirements meant that the boss of this level would be stronger than a nine-star lord, at the very least. The first condition was manageable; Mike had killed beings at level 989 before. The second condition was the real problem. Projections of human powerful above level 980, aside from Joseph, weren’t easy to deal with.
At this moment, Mike felt a surge of warmth towards Joseph!
Having grasped the conditions, Mike wasted no time and started the simulation. The content on the white electronic screen began to change.
“Simulation Step One – Random Talent Draw!”
“Please select three talents from the following ten.”
The simulator’s talents were divided into five tiers: Gold, Orange, Purple, Blue, and White. Gold was the best, White the worst.
As the talents were drawn, a golden light flashed from the screen, so bright it was almost blinding.
[Wow – Gold Talent!]
Ten options appeared before Mike:
[Nine Lives Cycle (Gold)]
[A Hundred Years of Solitude (Orange)]
[Prominent Features (Orange)]
[Emperor’s Aura (Orange)]
[Terrifying Might (Orange)]
[Path to Death (Orange)]
[Unparalleled Hero (Orange)]
[Born a Workhorse (Orange)]
[A Young Man’s Humiliation (Orange)]
[No Woman in My Heart (Orange)]
One gold and nine orange! The odds of this were lower than winning the lottery! Staring at the options, Mike gasped, his scalp tingling. Two words: *utterly terrifying*.
The corrupted floor, with its increased difficulty, also had a higher drop rate for high-tier talents. Another contributing factor was Mike’s ridiculously high Luck stat!
If this floor hadn’t been corrupted, these talents would have guaranteed a super-strong NPC and an easy 100% Exploration Rate conquest. But now, Mike had to fight the villain boss. In this scenario, the stronger the boss, the bigger the headache for Mike.
“I bet Afterskin’s simulations were all white talents…” At this moment, Mike was almost envious of Afterskin’s bad luck. All ten talents here were at least orange, guaranteeing a formidable opponent.
Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, Mike began to carefully consider his options. First, he checked the sole gold talent: [Nine Lives Cycle].
Initially, he hadn’t planned on choosing it. Three orange talents were scary enough; there was no need to make things even harder. However, after reading the description, he immediately changed his mind.
[Nine Lives Cycle]: After failing to challenge the projection of a human powerful, the boss retains all talents and enters a cycle, reliving their life. A total of eight chances are granted.
For a 100% Exploration Rate conquest, Mike needed to succeed on the first try, ideally. Staying in a place corrupted by the Supreme Demon God for too long was risky; who knew what might happen?
[Nine Lives Cycle] offered incredible fault tolerance, ensuring a smooth simulation process.
Crucially, [Nine Lives Cycle] didn’t directly boost the boss’s strength or potential; it simply provided more opportunities.
He had to pick it.
After selecting [Nine Lives Cycle], Mike looked at the remaining nine talents.
[One Hundred Years of Solitude]: Born an orphan, destined to have neither wife nor children, but learns skills at double the speed.
“Yeah, no thanks…” That was standard protagonist fare; no need to give it to the boss. Besides, if things went south, the boss might have to cycle nine times. Being an orphan for nine lifetimes seemed a bit inhumane.
After eliminating (One Hundred Years of Solitude], Mike ruled out a few more. [Prominent Features], which gave the boss two large bumps on their head, was aesthetically displeasing. [Emperor’s Aura] sounded downright overpowered and was immediately dismissed.
Finally, after weighing the pros and cons, Mike chose [Born a Workhorse] and [No Woman in My Heart].
[Born a Workhorse]: Born with the strength of nine oxen and two horses, growing stronger
over time.
[No Woman in My Heart]: When without a female companion, skill damage +100%, cooldown
-50%, casting speed +500%.
New text appeared on the screen:
“Confirm selection: [Nine Lives Cycle], [Born a Workhorse], [No Woman in My Heart]?”
This was Mike’s carefully crafted combination. Strong, but only a little. Strong within
controllable limits!
Mike pressed the button. “Yes!”
“Simulation in progress…”
After the selection, the simulator screen blurred, then displayed a string of text:
“World Power Limit: Level 989”
“He will be born into a poor family, with two older brothers and an older sister…”
The initial details seemed normal. Mike was about to click “next” when the last line
appeared:
“His nemesis in this life is named Ares.”
Mike: “…”
Restart. Of all the people to mess with, it had to be Ares.
Mike nearly choked. Thank goodness for [Nine Lives Cycle], or this would have been over
before it even began, a complete waste of time.
“Simulation officially starting…”
The text on the screen blurred, and the space around Mike distorted, giving him the sensation
of warping through time.
Although this floor used a simulator, participants weren’t just passive observers. They were
involved in the process.
Before the corruption, the simulator offered a high degree of freedom. Participants essentially played the role of the simulated world’s overseer. Now, the freedom was
significantly reduced. Mike could only do so much, mostly offering guidance and suggestions ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
to the simulated villain boss.
Mike appeared next to a thatched hut. A loud-voiced old woman yelled, “It’s a boy! Mother
and child are safe!”
Outside the hut, a sturdy middle-aged man wore a faint smile tinged with worry. Another mouth to feed was a considerable burden. Still, it was another man in the family.
The man suddenly said, “What should I name him?”
Mike was like a ghost, able to observe but unseen by others.
Soon, another man’s voice came from outside the hut. “Let’s call him Edge!”
The first man looked back at the hut, seemingly pleased with the name. “Alright, Edge Carson
it is!”
As the name “Edge Carson” was uttered, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. A large blade descended from the heavens, piercing the roof and landing beside the newborn Edge Carson! A celestial omen!
Time flowed differently within the simulator. Mike watched Edge Carson’s life unfold like a fast-forwarded movie:
Born under a celestial omen, a large blade, etched with the word “Heaven” on its hilt, fell
from the sky. It was named the Heaven Blade.
At 1 year old, Edge Carson tore a wolf that wandered into his home in half, enjoying his first
taste of meat that very night.
At 2, he pushed the millstone faster than an ox. His father was hired by the landlord, specifically for Edge Carson’s millstone-pushing abilities.
At 3, Edge Carson pushed the millstone even faster, putting all the oxen within a thirty-mile
radius out of work.
At 4, Edge Carson was *still* pushing the millstone…
Mike, unable to bear it any longer, sent Edge Carson a dream, telling him to go to school. He
was given the strength of nine oxen and two horses, not to become a living millstone! If this continued, he really *would* be a workhorse for life. Mike firmly believed that only education could change Edge Carson’s fate!
At 5, while playing, Edge Carson accidentally demolished the school, giving all the children within a thirty-mile radius a month-long holiday. He became the undisputed king of the kids.
At 7, a passing bandit took a liking to him, wanting to take him as an apprentice. Edge Carson defeated him, and the bandit became his disciple.
At 8, Edge Carson had thirty bandits under his command. Someone suggested he become a professional bandit. Mike sent a dream, vetoing the idea.
At 9, Edge Carson’s strength grew, and he could eat a whole ox for every meal. Eating took
half an hour; pooping took an hour. That same year, he reached Soldier tier battle strength! At 10, diligently practicing blade techniques, his strength increased, reaching the peak of
nine-star Soldier.
…
At 12, Edge Carson broke through to General tier battle strength and went into seclusion.
At 14, he emerged from seclusion, a nine-star General, ready to fulfill a three-year promise.
…
At 15, Edge Carson became the strongest in the world, earning the title “Invincible Edge.”
At 16, cultivating on a snowy mountain peak, he broke through again, reaching Chief tier battle strength! At 17…
The rest of Edge Carson’s life was a cycle of cultivation, breakthroughs, cultivation, and more
breakthroughs.
As an observer, Mike saw it all clearly. The world’s power limit was level 989, but the people
were generally weak, mostly below Soldier tier. Before Edge Carson, the strongest person was only a nine-star Soldier.
In other words, after Edge Carson reached General tier, no one in the world could defeat him. He could only explore, climb, and forge a path no one had ever trod before, alone. The difficulty was immense, but thanks to his exceptional talent, as long as he put in the time, he
could always progress.
The problem was, Edge Carson, having climbed the ranks step by step, had a real weakness… his actual combat experience was severely lacking.
At the age of 896, Edge Carson finally reached level 989!
After reaching 989, he sat in meditation on the snowy mountain peak for another thousand years! The invincible Edge Carson, comprehending the Way, became one with nature. He was on the verge of breaking through this world, shattering the void, and ascending to godhood!
Dense cracks appeared in the sky, emanating terrifying fluctuations. A swordsman’s figure flickered behind the cracks.
Edge Carson knew this was his destined nemesis, Ares!
Having reigned supreme for two thousand years, never meeting an equal, Edge Carson’s heart
swelled with pride. He stood in the void, Heaven Blade in hand, his aura boundless!
His roar echoed through the sky. “Come fight!”
“Oh?” The swordsman in the void sounded surprised. With a casual swing of his sword, he
said, “Behold.”
A flash of sword light blinded Edge Carson. The sword light struck, the Heaven Blade
shattered.
The invincible Edge was defeated.
Edge Carson died.