[Moon Reaper Scythe (Elite): Assassin-type weapon. +110 Strength, +40 Agility, +10% Movement Speed. Requirement: Level 16]
"Nice."
Karl held the weapon for a moment, the silver glow of the tower reflecting faintly off the dark blade.
He didn't swing it, didn't inspect it further, didn't waste time with anything unnecessary.
Just one quick look was enough.
Karl knew it for a fact: this thing would sell for a solid amount of lives.
Maybe even more than he expected.
There were plenty of players who desperately wanted assassin-type gear, and this scythe, especially coming from an elite-rank boss, would easily catch attention.
He stored it in his inventory with a simple flick, and the scythe vanished into his storage space along with the rest of the items he had stacked up there.
His inventory was getting full now, which, for him, was absolutely perfect.
The more full it was, the more he could sell later, and the more lives he would gain in return.
Everything lined up exactly like he wanted.
And now…
"The [Moon Tower] is right there," Karl said, a small grin forming as he lifted his head.
The massive structure stood out like a giant silver pillar stabbing into the sky.
It was so tall it felt like it reached the moon itself, the faint silver glow making it impossible to miss.
Even from far away, it had been impressive, but now, standing close, Karl had to admit it truly looked like something that was favored by the moon.
A constant silver radiance wrapped around it, and it made everything else in the [Moon Plains] look dull by comparison.
'Alright.'
Karl stepped forward, still watching the tower, but at the same time, he opened his panel and checked his stats.
[Free Points to Allocate: 25.]
[Current Evolution Points: 22.]
He rolled his shoulders a bit as he walked.
'I guess I should allocate my points now, since I plan to enter the main zone of this place.'
He didn't hesitate.
Karl put twenty of his free points straight into Spirit, instantly boosting the stat he relied on the most.
The remaining five points went into Agility, giving him a bit more speed.
Once he was done with that, he moved on immediately to the thing he cared even more about.
He checked the evolution requirements for his skills.
'I wonder how much it would cost to evolve [Cataclysmic Fireball] now that it's legendary-rank,' Karl thought.
He hadn't checked earlier because he had been focused on leveling, fighting, and dealing with monsters nonstop.
But now that he was close to the tower, it was time to prepare properly.
And so, the panel appeared.
[Do you wish to consume 50 Evolution Point to evolve "Cataclysmic Fireball"?]
"Hell no," Karl mumbled instantly.
The moment he saw the number appear, he already knew his answer.
"That's way too much."
Evolving that spell from [Epic] to [Legendary] cost him 10 EP.
So how the hell did the next evolution jump to 50?
That was a ridiculous leap, and it made him wonder just how steep the cost curve was going to become later.
If legendary to the next rank took 50, then what would come afterward?
Karl wasn't paying 50 EP for that right now.
He closed the panel and moved on to the other two skills he actually intended to evolve.
[Do you wish to consume 10 Evolution Point to evolve "Frost Crystals"?]
"Yes."
Ding!
[You have evolved "Frost Crystals" (Epic) to "Frostbite Crystals" (Legendary)]
[Current Evolution Points: 12.]
---
[Frostbite Crystals (Legendary): Summon 3 → 5 frostbite crystals the deals exactly 500 → 750 damage, it also applies the "Slowness" status effect. 9 → 8 (4)-seconds cooldown.]
---
The damage went up sharply, the cooldown went down, the number of crystals increased.
Without wasting time, he moved on to the next one.
[Do you wish to consume 10 Evolution Point to evolve "Lightning Strike"?]
"Yes."
Ding!
[You have evolved "Lightning Strike" (Epic) to "Storm of Lightning" (Legendary)]
[Current Evolution Points: 2.]
---
[Storm of Lightning (Legendary): Releases a storm of lightning that will hit any enemy within radius, dealing 600% → 800% of spirit and also has a chance to apply "Stun". 18 (9)-seconds cooldown.]
---
'Holy shit.'
Karl had always considered [Lightning Strike] to be his weakest spell.
It hit a single target, the damage wasn't terrible but not amazing either, and overall, compared to everything else he had, it simply wasn't impressive.
But now? It became an area-of-effect spell that hit anything within the radius.
Not just one monster: anything nearby.
And the percentage increase in damage made it massively more powerful.
The skill had basically transformed into something entirely different.
'I need… much more EP,' Karl thought, 'Gotta keep going.'
But now that he finally reached level 15, it also meant he could equip the other equipment he had been sitting on.
More precisely, the [Moon Staff (Epic)] and the [Undead Moon Mage Robe (Epic)] he had obtained from the [Undead Moon Mage].
---
[Undead Moon Mage Robe (Epic): Mage-type equipment. +47 Spirit, +30 Constitution, +98 Magical Resistance, +82 Physical Resistance. Requirement: Level 15.]
---
[Moon Staff (Epic): Mage-type weapon. +100 Spirit, +45 Agility, 7% Cooldown Reduction. Requirement: Level 15]
---
Both pieces were incredibly strong, easily some of the best equipment he could ask for at this stage.
Karl equipped them without hesitation, and the wave of power that pulsed through him was instant.
The robe wrapped around him with a faint spectral glow, and the staff felt significantly lighter and sharper in his grip.
He opened his panel again to check the changes.
---
[Constitution: 80 (+30)]
[Strength: 80]
[Agility: 90 (+45)]
[Spirit: 140 (+147)]
---
"Good enouh," Karl said, nodding to himself.
He threw away the [Shadow Rat Robe] and [Revenant Staff] since nobody would want those now.
Not here, not at this level, not when people were dealing with level 15 and level 20 monsters.
It would be pointless trying to sell them.
After that, Karl kept moving toward the tower.
The closer he got, the more overwhelming the silver glow became.
Eventually, he reached the base and stepped inside.
Ding!
[You have entered "Moon Tower Base" (Safe Zone)]
He stopped for a moment. It was indeed a safe zone.
It was one of the few places in the [Moon Plains] where players could take a breath, talk, trade, or regroup.
And as soon as he walked in, he heard shouting.
"You idiots," a girl, her ID showing as [NightStar], yelled at the group behind her. "I said we shouldn't go to the goddamn fourth floor!"
"But we wanted to see the boss..." one of her teammates mumbled.
"No," she snapped again, shaking her head. "The [Moon Skeleton King] is too strong, just focus on leveling up!"
The [Moon Skeleton King] was one of the reasons nobody cleared the tower before.
It wasn't actually the final boss of the tower, but the boss of the [Fourth Floor].
Even a level 25 party would struggle heavily against it.
It stopped literally everybody from ever going up to the [Fifth Floor] and face [Moonless], the real final boss.
But Karl planned to be the first.
He needed that [Moon Crystal], and this tower was the only path forward.
Before anything else, though…
Fwish!
Karl sat down and placed every item he had on the ground.
Then he opened the [Stall] function.
[Good items to buy, useful and cheap, don't try to steal.]
Since there were no guards in this place like in [Moon City], people had far more freedom to try stealing, but Karl had no plans to let that become a problem.
He opened a second panel.
[If you try to steal, I WILL kill you, don't try.]
In seconds, people turned toward him.
"Holy shit."
"It's [Oblivion], the guy from the global announcement."
"But wait, didn't he get here from the [Novice Continent] super fast?"
"He's strong."
At this stage, leveling took players hours. For Karl, it took minutes.
His presence alone made players cautious.
Players surrounded him quickly to look at the items.
Even though they were only level 11 to level 15 items, plenty of players wanted them.
And to Karl's surprise, nobody tried to steal.
Some thought about it, but none dared follow through.
"Look at the way he holds his staff…"
"I don't like this feeling."
"Look at his eyes. They're completely dark. That's not normal."
Karl raised an eyebrow slightly.
'Oh? Looks like other players can see my new "eyes".'
He didn't know if it meant anything for the future, but it was good to keep in mind.
After three minutes, everything was sold.
[Lives: 1,472 → 2,183]
Karl displayed a small [Thank you] panel for a moment, then stood up.
He had done everything he needed to do.
Now only the main task remained.
He marched forward toward the entrance of the tower itself.
Players opened a path for him without being asked.
The strongest among them, even those at level 25, felt uneasy simply watching him.
They had a feeling that if they fought him, they would lose—even though he was only level 15.
Karl stepped through the gate and into the darkness.
Seconds later, he emerged into a circular room about ten meters wide.
Ding!
[Welcome to the "Moon Tower"]
[Challenge and complete each floor to be able to move forward.]
[And perhaps you might be able to defeat the boss of the "Moon Tower" and get its reward.]
[May the will of the ancient gods be with you.]