Han Chen moved through the bustling markets of the Outer Ring with the mechanical efficiency of a man who had lived a thousand years. He didn't just buy weapons; he bought comfort. To anyone else, an Exclusive Space was a locker; to him, it was a fortress. He purchased high-end silk bedding, a portable gourmet kitchen kit powered by mana crystals, sets of durable carbon-fiber clothing, and enough preserved high-grade monster meat to last a year. He tossed them all into his spatial rift with a dismissive wave.
He returned to his Exclusive Space to organize. The layout was expanding as his level increased. It was now a three-layered pocket dimension. The Lower Tier was a massive warehouse where his mountain of loot and "useless" legendary gear sat in piles. The Middle Tier was his living quarters, now furnished with the items he'd bought, featuring a balcony that overlooked a sea of clouds. The Upper Tier was a training platform where the mana was so thick it manifested as liquid silver.
"Status," he commanded. A translucent, crystalline screen materialized.
Status Panel
Name: Han Chen
Level: 45 (First Level)
Profession: Shadow Arcanist (SSS-Rank Hidden Class)
Health (HP): 125,000 / 125,000
Mana (MP): 450,000 / 450,000
Attributes:
Strength: 850 (Physical power and carry weight)
Agility: 1,200 (Movement speed and reaction time)
Constitution: 900 (Defense and HP pool)
Intelligence: 4,500 (Magic damage and Mana pool)
Wisdom: 3,800 (Mana regen and mental resistance)
Talents:
Infinite Skill Upgrade (SSS): No level cap for skills.
Infinite Skill Points (SSS): \infty Skill Points available.
Key Equipment:
[Heart of the Forest (Legendary)]: +500 Int, -50% Mana Cost.
[Shadow-Walk Boots (Gold)]: +15% Movement speed.
Active Skills:
[Star-Collapse Supernova (Lvl 5,000)] (Evolved from Fireball)
[Heavenly Tribulation Thunder (Lvl 12,000)] (Evolved from Minor Spark)
[Breath of the Primordial Source (Lvl 8,000)] (Evolved from Verdant Regrowth)
[Phantom of the Void (Lvl 15,000)] (Evolved from Glimmer)
"Soon," Han muttered, looking at the experience bar. "Once I hit 100, the third seal breaks."
He stepped through the gate to the Second Floor: The Abyssal Sunken Ruins.
The layout was a nightmare of verticality. Unlike the forest, this was a massive, submerged city made of obsidian and glowing blue coral. Gravity worked differently here; players had to leap between floating platforms and ruined skyscrapers while navigating a thick, heavy mist that tasted like salt and ancient death.
Suddenly, the water-clogged air hissed. A creature emerged from the shadows of a fallen pillar.
[Monster Status]
Name: Abyssal Naga Slasher
Grade: Elite
Level: 55
Skills: [Water Jet], [Hydro-Blade], [Amphibious Stealth]
Description: A serpentine warrior with four arms, each wielding a blade of pressurized water.
Han Chen didn't even stop walking. "Too slow."
He didn't use a spell. He used [Phantom of the Void] to step through the Naga's physical space. As he passed, he flicked a single drop of mana into the creature's chest.
[Skill Activated: Heavenly Tribulation Thunder]
A bolt of black lightning, thin as a needle but carrying the weight of a mountain, pierced the Naga. The creature didn't just die; it was erased from existence, leaving only a glowing blue crystal.
[You have slain Abyssal Naga Slasher (Elite). Exp +5,000]
Han Chen began a massacre. He moved through the ruins like a ghost. He gathered mobs of hundreds—Nagas, Deep-Sea Ghouls, and Giant Bone-Crushing Squids—into the center of the sunken plazas.
"[Abyssal Deluge]," he whispered.
The skill, evolved from a simple water pebble to Level 10,000, created a localized black hole of water. The pressure surpassed that of the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The monsters were crushed into balls of meat and bone in milliseconds.
[Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!]...
By the time he reached the center of the Second Floor, he was Level 98. He spent two hours hunting [Supreme Grade: Deep Sea Serpents] until the golden light of the level-up notification finally exploded around him.
[Current Level: 100]
[Third Talent Awakening...]
[Talent Unlocked: Eternal Sovereignty (SSS)]
Effect: Your Mana pool is now infinite. All Skill Cooldowns are removed. You are the source.
Han Chen felt a snap in his soul. The strain he had felt earlier vanished. He was no longer a mage using mana; he was the mana. He looked toward the massive, rusted gates of the Boss Room.
"Time to end this floor."
He pushed the gates open. Inside was a vast arena filled with a thousand tons of seawater suspended in the air. In the center sat the [Floor Boss: Kraken Overlord - God Grade (Level 120)].
Note: Due to Han's SSS-Rank performance on Floor 1, the Tower had forcibly mutated the Boss to its highest possible grade.
[Boss Status]
Name: Kraken Overlord (The Sunken Calamity)
Grade: God
Level: 120
HP: 50,000,000 / 50,000,000
Skills: [Tsunami of Souls], [World-Ending Tentacle], [Abyssal Curse]
The Kraken let out a telepathic scream that would have liquefied a normal human's brain. Hundreds of tentacles, each miles long, rose from the dark water.
Han Chen floated in the air, his black cloak fluttering. "You are loud," he said coldly.
The Kraken struck. A tentacle slammed down with the force of a tectonic plate shift. Han didn't move. He pointed his hand upward.
"[Heavenly Tribulation Thunder: Chain Reaction]."
Because he had No Cooldown, he didn't fire one bolt. He fired ten thousand. Per second.
The room turned into a blinding forest of black lightning. The Kraken's tentacles were shredded into ash before they could touch him. The God-grade beast roared in agony, realizing it wasn't fighting a human—it was fighting an apocalypse.
Han Chen decided to test his limit. "Let's see what a Level 20,000 Fireball looks like with infinite mana."
He channeled. The air in the sunken city began to boil. The water evaporated instantly, creating a vacuum. A sphere of pure white light appeared, so dense it began to pull the walls of the Tower inward.
"Supernova."
BOOM.
The entire Second Floor shook. The Kraken Overlord didn't even have time to scream. Its 50 million HP vanished in a single frame. The God-grade beast was vaporized, and the sea of the second floor was turned into steam.
[World Announcement: Anonymous Player has cleared the Second Floor!]
[Clear Time: 4 Minutes, 12 Seconds (New Record!)]
[Floor 2 Leaderboard - Speed Clear]:
Anonymous - 00:04:12 (Rank: SSS)
Saint Family (Team Alpha) - 14 Days, 06 Hours (Rank: S)
Leonhard the Brave - 19 Days, 02 Hours (Rank: A)
Han Chen stood in the empty, dry arena, surrounded by God-grade loot: a shimmering cloak, a crown of sea-glass, and a vial of God's Blood. He ignored the messages flooding his vision from the world's most powerful families.
"Level 100," he whispered, feeling his third talent pulse with infinite power. "Only 999,999,900 more to go. I'm falling behind schedule."
He stepped toward the portal to the Third Floor, his shadow stretching long across the ruins of a god.