Zero spent the next few days honing his skills and mastering his Shadow Style. He spent hours each day practicing and experimenting, pushing himself to his limits and beyond.
As he fought with the same monster every day, Zero was easily able to predict their attacks and counter them.
As he gained experience and grew more powerful, Zero began to notice that the monsters on Floor 15 were no longer a match for him.
Zero’s strength had grown to the point where he was able to take on multiple monsters at once and emerge victorious with ease.
Zero had even defeated the Floor-15 boss monster which was War Troll. These trolls are larger and more powerful than regular trolls with tougher skin, sharper claws and teeth, and greater strength and endurance.
Not once but twice, he defeated them and obtained the teleportation scroll. However, for the time being, he did not go to the higher floor.
Finally, after spending days practicing his Shadow Style with Rank-C monsters, his Art had finally leveled up.
Shadow Style Proficiency had been upgraded from Proficient to Expert. With it, he was always able to use Shadow Dance and Shadow and Nightfall Shackles.
“Finally!”
Zero exclaimed as he felt his sword being more familiar than before just like it was some part of his body. His swordsmanship has improved ever since he entered the Tower. Even without using his skills, he might be able to defeat someone of the same rank.
Though that was just if he fought an average person rather than someone of Hiro and Lisa’s level. Nonetheless, his improvement was visible and he had become stronger.
However, he knew that this was just the beginning and that there were many more floors and challenges to come. But he was ready for them.
With his Shadow Style now at an Expert level, Zero felt a new sense of confidence. He knew that he had the power to take on stronger monsters and come out victorious even without using his Dark Energy and Dual Art.
He decided to push himself even further and set his sights on Floor 20 by using only Shadow Style and Cryomancy Art. Note that the group of people from the Silver guild reached Floor 20.
That means that Zero wanted to become powerful enough to fight a Silver-grade guild without using his trump cards. It was unclear whether he would be able to achieve such power, but he was determined to try.
His next aim was to get familiar with his new techniques and try to improve his Cryomancy Art.
Before he went to the next floor, he spent time training on Floor 15 with his new skills, fighting against tougher and tougher monsters, and experimenting with new combinations and tactics.
******
[ “Shadow Dance!” ]
-SLASH! -SLASH!
For the next few days, he was trying this new skill and tried to find the best way to make use of them with his existing fighting style.
Shadow Dance was incredibly useful when dodging attacks. He was basically invulnerable against physical attacks though magic attacks would still damage him in that state. However, it was still useful for avoiding attacks since he would become faster in that state.
It was also good when sneaking attacks. When in that state, enemies would seldom notice him and he would strike them from behind.
Though, it took much of his mana. Zero could use Shadow Dance for only two minutes with his Rank-B mana capacity. However, even with these disadvantages, it was still a very useful technique.
With the Shadow Dance technique, Trolls were absolutely no match for him. Trolls relied mostly on their physical strength and lacked mana. Zero could use Shadow Dance to avoid their attacks while striking them at their vitals.
The Trolls that gave him trouble on his first day at Floor-15 were no match to him with his Shadow Dance.
There was also the Nightfall Shackle which he incorporated into his fighting style. He would use Nightfall Shackles to bind enemies, however, he would also become immobile when using them.
However, that was not a problem as he could use Cryomancy Art and defeat the enemies.
Zero would first make the enemies unable to run, and after that, he could either use Ice Shard or Ice Creation to attack the enemies. However, the amount of mana needed to keep the enemy bound was huge.
If he wants to keep one Rank-C Troll bound with Nightfall Shackle, he would need to spend all his mana to keep him shackled for two minutes. If it was to keep 10 Rank-C Trolls captured, he would need to use all his mana to keep them bound for 10 seconds.
However, Zero found it incredibly useful despite its mana consumption. Most of the time, enemies would have no chance of escaping from this technique and he could finish the job with his Cryomancy Art.
Though due to the huge mana consumption, he decided to use it rarely or when needed. He needs to increase his mana capacity in order to be able to use Nightfall Shackles whenever he wants.
“Time to go to floor 16!”
Zero had already prepared all he needed for floor 15 and was now ready to take on floor 16. Before going, Zero transferred some Dark Energy to Lilith to check whether she would show any reaction.
As Zero transferred the Dark Energy to Lilith, he watched her closely, hoping to see some kind of reaction. But there was no reaction and she remained motionless and unresponsive.
“Looks like it did nothing!”
Feeling a mix of disappointment and determination, Zero decided to focus on his next challenge, floor 16. He stepped onto the teleportation portal, ready to face the stronger enemies that lay ahead.
Zero explored the place trying to survey the area and see what type of monsters are there on Floor 16. Zero fought against hordes of monsters and encountered stronger and more powerful enemies.
While the enemies were not vastly stronger than Floor-15, the number of monsters that Zero encountered had increased. He occasionally encountered a large number of Orge, Orcs, and Trolls.
There were also Silver Wolves with large packs of wolves but aside from their large number, they were weak. Compared to Trolls and Orcs, they were weaker and would only become food for other monsters.
-SIZZLE!
p
He turned around to see Lilith, who had been sitting motionless for so long, slowly beginning to move. Her head turned towards the fire, and her eyes seemed to follow the movement of the flame. Zero watched in amazement as she slowly reached out her hand toward the fire.
“Lilith?”
Zero called out softly, not wanting to startle her.
She didn’t respond, but her hand continued to reach out toward the flame. Zero got up and walked closer to her, his heart racing with excitement. As he reached out to touch her hand, she suddenly pulled it away and looked at him with wide eyes.
“Lilith, can you hear me?”
Zero asked softly, his voice filled with hope.
She didn’t respond, but her eyes remained fixed on him. Zero felt a lump form in his throat. He was not sure what she was trying to communicate, but he knew that she could recover.
As Zero sat beside Lilith, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of excitement and hope. He had seen her react to his presence and movements. It was a small step but it was a step in the right direction.
As he finished his meal, he continued to talk to her, trying to get some kind of response from her. He asked her questions and waited for her to nod or shake her head, but she remained emotionless, like a robot.
Despite her lack of emotional response, Zero was determined to keep trying.
As the night went on, Zero noticed that Lilith was starting to respond to his words. She would move her head or arms when he asked her to.
However, Zero could see that Lilith had not regained her consciousness. Her behavior was similar to the time he fought with her. Even though she could move, she was just following his commands. However, rather than Xalvars’ command it was his commands that she is following now.
He spent the rest of the night talking to Lilith, trying to get her to respond to him. And as the night went on, he saw her responding more and more, her movements becoming more fluid.
As they settled down for the night, Zero felt a sense of hope and excitement. He knew that it would be a long journey, but he was determined to help Lilith regain her consciousness. And he was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen.