As he spent more time on Floor 17, Zero began to adapt to the darkness and the unfamiliar environment. His senses became even more finely tuned, and he was able to move through the fog with ease. He could sense the monsters before they could even see him, and he was able to strike them down before they even knew he was there.
As he grew more accustomed to fighting in the dark, Zero began to explore more of Floor 17, delving deeper into the dark and foggy depths. He faced giant Vampire Bats with razor-sharp claws, giant scorpions with deadly venom, and even a giant serpent that could swallow him whole. But no matter what the monster was, Zero was able to defeat it with ease.
Anyway, Floor 17 was no joke with various monsters specializing in poison attacks. Zero would get poison now and then from such monsters. However, most poison would be frozen and expelled before it even goes into his body.
It was also not the most comfortable floor for him to rest. The floor rarely ever changes and seems to be in eternal darkness. There was no morning or night and Zero would rest when he felt tired.
However, resting in such a place was not easy with many monsters disturbing his rest. With darkness being their home, they could sneak attack whenever they like.
It was by far the most difficult floor that he encountered. This place was not suitable for a human to live in at all. However, Zero was determined to overcome this weakness and become a person proficient at fighting in the Dark.
As time passed, Zero became comfortable fighting in the dark. Even with his vision gone, he was able to use his other senses to find monsters and sense their movements. Due to being poisoned multiple times, his resistance to poison also seemed to have increased.
He has also fought with the Boss Monster of Floor 17 which was a highly toxic Poison Slime. Poison Slime which was Rank-C + is considered really hard to defeat, especially for non-magician.
Slime is a monster who is almost immune to physical attacks, and Poison slime which is made up of poison would melt any weapons and shields that he touches. It is an absolute nightmare for knights and swordsmen.
However, Zero had an easy time killing the Poison Slime with his Cryomancy Art. His Magic Art could block any slime bomb that he threw and he could easily destroy the slime’s body after freezing it.
Moreover, Poison Slime lacked the intelligence to keep subordinates and would fight alone. As long as one knew a strong magic skill, taking care of Poison Slime was a matter of time.
After killing Poison Slime, he got a teleportation scroll and various other artifacts. However, Zero still continued to stay on Floor 17 as he adapted to that environment.
Eventually, Zero felt that he had learned all that he could from Floor 17. He had become as strong as he could be, and he was ready to move on to the next floor.
******
As usual Zero was defeating monsters left and right. He would only stop when he reached his limit, otherwise he would continue to fight monsters.
“How many monsters did I kill today?”
Zero’s kill count could be in the hundreds of thousands. Some of the weaker monsters would even run away from the killing instinct that they felt from Zero.
With his killing instinct, he even felt that he would scare away humans with his constant presence among monsters.
Zero wondered whether he would even be able to communicate with humans after he leaves the Tower. The only one who he could talk to was Lilith, however, as she would not respond to his talk, there was a lack of true communication.
It had been so long since he began climbing the Tower. He no longer remembers when was the last time he saw another human as his days were filled with fighting monsters.
However, his hard work was getting paid off. Now he could easily use his Cryomancy Art along with Shadow Style as if it were one Art. His control of mana has become very good and he has no problem using his skill at any time with its maximum power.
Despite all the benefits, he could not help but miss his family. However, he didn’t have time to be sad as he knew it was all for his peaceful life. He hardened his resolve knowing that the future was filled with danger.
If he wanted to protect his family and let them live a peaceful life, his only option was to get stronger.
With that in mind, Zero began to once more take on monsters with his sword. There was going to be another bloodbath today!
******
His fight with monsters for the past few weeks had not been easy.
After he had reached Floor 18, he began meeting Rank-C + and Rank-B – monsters. It was difficult for him to defeat Rank-B without struggling as he held himself back.
In previous battles, most of the time he could easily overpower them due to his superior stats. Even when surrounded by 20 monsters, Zero used his skills to defeat them easily.
However, it was different on Floor 18. Monsters stronger than Zero began to appear and sometimes even in groups which gave Zero a lot of trouble.
The number of injuries on his body kept on increasing. Luckily he had many healing potions with him. He kept on challenging them without using his Dual Art even though he knew it would be easier to defeat them with Dual Art.
Zero gritted his teeth as he battled a monster whose strength overpowered him. He had to come up with various plans in the middle of the fight as well as find their weaknesses, in order to defeat Rank-B – monsters.
Since his stats were lower than those monsters, he needed to make up for them with his intelligence.
Floor-18 was by far the most efficient place for him to train. With monsters whose stats were equal or higher than him, he needed to rely on his experience and technique to defeat the enemies.
It might even cost him his life if he made a mistake, but that was what made it worthwhile. With all the experience he was gaining, he knew if he faced stronger opponents in the future, he would be able to handle them.
Finding his own weakness and strength, making up his weakness with his strength allowed the difference in stats to decrease. This helped him understand how to cope with stronger opponents while being weak.
As a result of training on Floor-18, he eventually ranked up.
[ “Status”]
===Status===
Name: Zero Elea
Rank: C +
Strength: B –
Speed: C +
Stamina: C +
Mana: B –
Luck: B +
Charm: B
– – > Skill:
[ Rank SS: Parallel Memory ]
A skill that enables the user to get memories of their alternative self from another world.
Side Effect: The user may sometimes be overwhelmed by the emotion and personality of the alternative self.
– – > Art:
[ LVL 3: Shadow Style proficiency: Expert]
Art that enables the user to use the sword as if the sword is a shadow. The sword slash will be faster and stronger than a normal swing. After mastering the Shadow Style, the user will be able to move and attack using the shadow.
[ LVL 9: Cryomancy: Proficient ]
Magic Art is said to have been made by the strongest Ice mage in history after fighting the Ice dragon. The user will be able to use ice magic to freeze the enemy to death. The Ice related skill will be twice effective and the user will gain tolerance to Cold. After mastering the Cryomancy, the user may be able to freeze the world.
[LVL 6: Dual Art: Practitioner]
A unique Art created by Zero. The Art combines two Art into one. The power and effect depend on the Art that has been combined.
= = = = = = = =
His strength and speed were upgraded with the rise in rank. With his increased strength of Rank B -, it became easier for him to kill those monsters on Rank-B – but they were still stronger than him.
Even with his experience, he would sometimes find himself in tough situations. However, he fought the monsters and continued to temper his skill.
As Zero continued to battle the powerful monsters on Floor 18, he began to notice a change in himself. His reflexes were sharper, his movements more fluid, and his mind was able to think faster and more strategically. He was becoming a stronger and more skilled warrior with each passing day.
He was also learning to better control his emotions, and to think more strategically in the middle of a fight. He was learning how to better use his environment, and to take advantage of the weaknesses of his opponents.
Despite the challenges and injuries, Zero was determined to push himself to the limit. He knew that the only way to become stronger was to face tougher challenges, and he was willing to put in the work.