24 Hours Later.
Arthur stood in front of the mirror in his rented safehouse. He looked different.
He wasn't wearing the torn dress shirt anymore. He was wearing a mish-mash of gear that screamed "hobo with money."
Head: A grey hooded cloak (Stealth bonus).
Chest: Standard Leather Armor (Rank F).
Feet: The green-scaled Swamp Walker's Boots.
Left Hand: A massive, rectangular slab of black metal.
[Equipment: Obsidian Tower Shield (Rank E)]
Defense: +25
Weight: Heavy
Effect:[Bulwark]: Reduces physical knockback by 50%.
Cost: 45,000 Credits.
It was expensive, but necessary. He had the Strength (10) to lift it, and with [Shield Bash], this door-sized slab of metal was now a weapon.
Arthur checked his most important stat.
[STATUS: Arthur Lin]Level: 5 HP: 10,800 / 10,800
He had crossed the threshold. Ten Thousand Health. He wasn't just a tank anymore. He was a Raid Boss in human form.
"Time to climb," Arthur whispered.
Sector 7 Center Plaza
The world had changed overnight. A massive, translucent blue structure pierced the clouds, hovering slightly above the ruins of the old City Hall. The Tower of Trials.
The plaza was packed with thousands of players. The noise was deafening. "Recruiting DPS for Floor 1! Must have Rank E weapon!" "Selling buffs! 50 Credits!"
Arthur pushed through the crowd. His massive shield parted the sea of people like a plow.
"Watch it, heavy!" a rogue snarled, bumping into Arthur's shield. The rogue bounced off and fell on his butt.
Arthur didn't stop. He scanned the competition.
To his left, the Ironblood Cartel. Vance stood at the front, surrounded by fifty elites in matching red armor. They looked like a professional army. Vance saw Arthur. He didn't wave. He simply gave a curt nod—the acknowledgement of a dangerous equal. Gus, standing next to him, looked away nervously.
To his right, the rival guild: Silver Wings. Their leader was a woman in shimmering white robes holding a staff that crackled with electricity. Phoenix (Level 6 Elementalist). The highest-level player in the sector. She looked at Arthur's mismatched gear—green boots, black shield, grey cloak—and sneered. She dismissed him instantly as a "trash tier" solo player.
Arthur ignored her. Being underestimated was part of the strategy.
He walked to the glowing portal at the base of the Tower.
[Tower Rules]1. Solo Entry Only for Floors 1-5.2. Death in the Tower results in Level -1 and ejection.3. First Clear rewards are Unique.
"Solo entry," Arthur smiled. "Perfect."
He stepped into the light.
Floor 1: The Swarm
Teleportation felt like being pulled through a straw. When Arthur opened his eyes, he was standing in a white, infinite grid. No cover. No terrain. Just a flat, white arena.
[Trial 1: The Endurance Test][Objective: Survive the Beast Wave for 10 Minutes.][Kill Count Bonus: Active]
"Survive?" Arthur laughed. "That's my specialty."
CRACK.
Space fractured around him. Portals opened. Red eyes glowed in the mist.
[Enemy Identified]Starving Wolf (Rank F)Level: 3
One wolf. Two wolves. Ten. Fifty. Within seconds, the arena was filled with over a hundred wolves. They were snarling, foaming at the mouth.
Most players would panic. A mage would run out of mana. A rogue would be cornered. The meta for this floor was "Kiting" (Run and Hit).
Arthur didn't run. He slammed the bottom of his Obsidian Tower Shield into the ground. CLANG.
"Come here, puppies," Arthur taunted.
The pack charged. It was a tsunami of fur and teeth.
The first wolf leaped. Arthur blocked. THUD.-0 Damage. (Defense 25 negated the wolf's bite).
The second wolf bit his leg. -5 Damage.
The third wolf bit his back. -4 Damage.
Within ten seconds, Arthur was buried. From the outside, it looked like a mountain of wolves. You couldn't even see the player.
HP: 10,750 / 10,800HP: 10,700 / 10,800
Damage numbers floated up like a gentle rain. -5, -3, -6, -4... Collectively, he was taking maybe 100 damage per second. His regen was mitigating some of it.
Arthur stood inside the pile, bored. "Is this it?"
He decided to test his offense. He activated [Shield Bash].
He shoved the shield forward with explosive force. BOOM.
The impact sent five wolves flying backward. -85 Damage (Blunt). Stunned.
Arthur stepped forward and swung his mace. CRUNCH. One wolf dead.
+15 EXP.
"Too slow," Arthur muttered. "Ten minutes is too long."
He looked at the timer. 09:20 remaining. He looked at his HP. 10,500 / 10,800.
He wanted the Kill Count Bonus. To get the S-Rank rating, he needed to kill everything.
"Let's speed this up."
Arthur dropped his shield. He opened his arms wide. "Come on! Free meat!"
The wolves went crazy. Without the shield blocking them, they swarmed him completely. Teeth sank into his arms, his neck, his legs.
-150 Damage/sec.-200 Damage/sec.
His HP bar started to drop visibly. 9,000... 8,000...
Arthur waited. He watched the wolves clustering tighter and tighter, trying to get a bite of the tasty tank. They were packed like sardines. Every single wolf in the arena was within 20 meters.
HP: 7,500 / 10,800
"That's enough," Arthur grinned.
He activated the forbidden skill.
[Skill: Blood Nova]Cost: 20% Current HP (1,500 HP).
Arthur's eyes turned crimson. The veins in his neck bulged, glowing red. A heartbeat sounded, loud enough to shake the arena. THUMP-THUMP.
The wolves stopped biting. They sensed death.
"Pop," Arthur whispered.
BOOOM!
A shockwave of pressurized blood exploded from Arthur's body. It was a perfect sphere of destruction.
The red wave passed through the wolves. It didn't push them back. It disintegrated them.
True Damage: 1,500. Wolves had 200 HP.
It wasn't a fight. It was a deletion. One hundred wolves turned into red mist instantly.
[Combat Log][Enemy Defeated: Starving Wolf x 98][Enemy Defeated: Alpha Wolf x 1][Experience Gained: 2,500 EXP]
The arena was suddenly silent. Arthur stood alone in a pool of blood (mostly not his).
HP: 6,000 / 10,800
[Level Up!][Level Up!]
Level: 5 -> 7
Arthur wiped blood from his face. "Next floor."
Outside the Tower - The Leaderboard
A giant holographic screen floated above the plaza. It showed the progress of the top climbers.
Rank 1: Phoenix (Silver Wings) - Floor 1 Time: 02:15. Rank 2: Vance (Ironblood) - Floor 1 Time: 03:40.
The crowd cheered for Phoenix. "She's a goddess! Her firestorm cleared the wolves in two minutes!"
Suddenly, the board flickered. A new name shot to the top.
Rank 1: Arthur (No Guild) - Floor 1 Time: 00:58.
The cheering stopped. "Fifty-eight seconds?" someone gasped. "That's impossible. It takes thirty seconds for the mobs to spawn!" "Did he nuke the map? Who is Arthur?"
Vance looked at the board. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Of course," Vance muttered. "The bomb went off."
Phoenix stared at the name, her grip tightening on her staff. "Arthur?" she hissed. "A bug? Or a cheater?"
Floor 2: The Maze
Arthur appeared in a stone corridor. He checked his stats. The Level ups gave him 10 Attribute Points. He dumped them all into Agility. Agility: 26.
He felt fast.
[Trial 2: The Trap Run][Objective: Reach the exit. Beware of hidden traps.]
Arthur looked down the hallway. Pressure plates. Swinging axes. Arrow slits.
A normal player would use a rogue to disarm traps. Or move slowly, checking every step.
Arthur looked at his HP. HP: 6,050 / 11,200 (Regenerating rapidly).
"Traps," Arthur scoffed. "You mean 'Environment Damage'."
He raised his shield. And he started sprinting.
CLICK. An arrow hit his eye. -15. Ignored. WHOOSH. A swinging blade hit his back. -50. Ignored. BOOM. A mine exploded under his feet. -100. Ignored.
He ran through the deadly maze like a juggernaut. He didn't solve the puzzle. He was the puzzle piece that broke the board.
Arthur checked the timer. "Let's see if I can beat 30 seconds."