After defeating the boss monster, there would normally be a treasure chest as well as a teleportation scroll that would take the explorers to the next floor.
Zero was not really looking forward to the treasure chest as lower-floor artifacts would not really be useful to him. But there was no telling as even Hiro got his super cheat System power from a Rank-F dungeon.
He opened the treasure box like someone opening a normal gacha box but hoping to get a rare character.
“Rank-D Armour”
As expected, the artifact was appropriate for the reward for defeating a Giant Ogre. With this armor, most attacks from Rank-F monsters would be negated and around 40 % of attacks from Rank-E monsters.
Zero had no need for such low-grade armor but he put it into the Spatial Ring anyways. He could give it to his fellow Shadow Genesis members or sell it for some money when he gets out of this Tower.
After that, he used the teleportation scroll.
-WHISH!
In a second, Zero found himself in a different place.
“GRW?”
“Not again!”
Zero sighed as he brandished his sword. Just as before, he teleported right into the middle of a monster horde. This time, it was Silver Fang, which is a Rank-E monster and hunts in groups.
Unlike the previous monster horde, the number of this monster horde was just around 10. However, Silver Fang Wolf were monsters who had good cooperation and unlike Goblins, their power increased tremendously when in groups.
They seemed surprised by the sudden appearance of Zero but after accessing the situation and knowing that it was its enemy, they jumped at Zero while showing their dangerously sharp fangs.
-SLASH!
No matter how efficient their cooperation was, Zero could kill them in a single slash. Their specialties were teamwork and speed which made them quite tricky opponents but with Zero’s speed, they could not dodge his attacks.
He easily killed the monster horde but was a bit worried about his luck. It was okay for him to be teleported into a monster horde on the lower floor as he could handle it easily. But it would be a different story from floor 10 and above. If the same thing keeps happening, he might even lose his life.
*SIGH!
But he had no choice but to accept his fate. It was not like he could control where he spawned and teleportation was normally random. It was because of bad luck that he was spawned in the middle of a monster horde. He just had to be careful when teleporting to the next floor.
Just like before, he wanders around searching for the boss monster and stairs to the next floor while killing any monster that he comes across.
*****
“Whew! Finally the Safe Zone.”
Zero said as he lay on the soft grass. Floor 10’s safe zone had a healing effect which made Explorer recover faster.
It took Zero many days to reach floor 10. Unlike floor 1, where Zero found the boss monster in a few hours, other floors took days to either find the boss monster or the Tower Stairs.
Fortunately though, when using the teleportation scroll, he didn’t get teleported into the middle of the monster horde anymore. Though Zero would always have his sword prepared when teleporting just in case it happens again.
Each floor in Tower Of Obelisk was like a Gate that Zero was trapped in. If one were to explore everything there was on the floor then it would probably take more than one month.
That’s why even for Zero, who could annihilate a monster in a second, it took more than 20 days to reach floor 10. Along the way, he obtained various treasure chests and drops from monsters but none were very useful to him.
The most valuable treasure that he got was Berserk Potion which could increase one’s stat by 2 times for 30 minutes for those under Rank-B. As a side effect, the user would be vulnerable for certain hours after the effects of the potion had worn off. However, this could be extremely useful if used in certain situations and Zero was happy to get the potion.
The strength of the monsters increased as Zero reached higher floors. Zero also found himself struggling at times, though he hadn’t been injured once by the monsters.
The strongest monster he encountered was the boss monster on floor 9. The rank of the boss monster was D + which would normally take a Rank-C or 10 Rank-D to defeat.
Zero managed to take out the boss monster but it was not as straightforward as before. He refrained from using Dark Energy and Dual Art which is the reason that it took him a while to defeat the boss monster.
He could take out the same boss monster in one hit either using Dual Art or Dark Energy but since he was there to train, he didn’t want to do that. For the time being, he wanted to train his Shadow Style Art and Cryomancy Art before Dual Art and then Dark Energy.
Therefore, without using his strongest power, Zero reached Floor 10. However, the whole floor was not a safe zone. There was a specific area that was free of monsters and could help heal the explorers faster.
After searching for some time, Zero managed to spot the place and immediately rushed to the place. The place was easily recognizable since not a single monster could be seen in a 1 km radius.
He gently put Lilith on the ground and took out his tent where he kept Lilith. He wanted to wait until tomorrow before trying to wake Lilith.
He didn’t know whether Lilith would attack him or not after waking up. To be on the safe side, he decided to rest and recover his stamina. With Lilith’s strength, if Zero was not using his Dark Energy, it would be difficult to contain her.
Anyway, those troubles were for tomorrow. At that moment, he set up a campfire and prepared to make dinner.
Zero stood in front of the campfire, a large pot of water balanced on a tripod over the flames. His clothes were threadbare and stained, but his eyes shone with determination.
He had been tasked with cooking dinner for himself, and he was determined to make something special. Because it was not very convenient for Zero to light fire on another floor as it would normally end up attracting lots of monsters. That’s why he normally eats dried meat for food.
However, now that he was in the Safe Zone. He didn’t need to worry about monsters and could take all his time to make food.
He rummaged through his Spatial ring and pulled out a small bag of dried rice and a handful of vegetables.
As the water came to a boil, Zero added the rice and vegetables to the pot. He stirred the mixture with a wooden spoon, making sure that everything was evenly distributed.
As the rice cooked, the smells of garlic and onions filled the air. Zero’s mouth watered as he thought about how delicious the meal was going to be.
Finally, the rice was cooked to perfection. Zero spooned the steaming mixture into a bowl and sat down to enjoy his hard work.
As Zero sat alone by the campfire, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride as he shoveled the last bites of rice and vegetables into his mouth. He had cooked the meal all on his own, and it had turned out perfectly, well almost perfectly.
Normally, what he made would not be noteworthy but because of how hungry he was and how he had not eaten a proper meal for days, he found his meal to be extremely delicious.
“Now, this is what I call dinner!”
Zero greedily devoured everything that was on his plate. It didn’t take long for him to completely empty the pot.
After the meal, he sat by the campfire. The warmth of the flames and the fullness of his stomach made him feel content and at peace. He closed his eyes and let out a contented sigh, grateful for the meal that he had eaten.
He never thought that he could be bliss just sitting by a campfire and doing nothing. Certainly, after having to always walk and fight monsters, Zero would obviously appreciate his rest time.
However, it was not like he could just enjoy and stay like this. Tomorrow would finally reveal whether he could wake Lilith or not. If she did not wake up, Zero had to find another method.
And even if she wakes up, if she becomes his enemy then there is another problem to deal with. There was no rest for Zero and he needed to constantly work hard to deal with these problems.
“Hah! I hope that at least the world outside is peaceful!”
Zero exclaimed.
Though it was just wishful thinking. With the Devil and Human preparing for war, how could the world be peaceful?