CHAPTER 40.
Amber momentarily missed the knights, she missed the idle chatter, and more importantly, she missed their presence.
Maybe I should have accepted their food at least once… Amber thought. She remembered the numerous times she was offered, but she declined wondering if Recovery of Curses had a limit for how long it would allow her to go without food.
Except, after probably more than seven months in the tower, it didn’t seem to be the case.
She shook her head, her idle thoughts didn’t last long since she had two main goals in mind.
To grow stronger.
And to meet the Primordial Spirit of the tower.
And that was exactly what she was going to do. It was what she must do. Now that the knights had left, Amber felt that the floors were about to drastically change to challenge her once more. Though something seemed weird—
Amber stabbed onto the wall and burned it with the Firecursed Sword before sticking her hand into the fire, refreshing Cursed Supreme Momentum.
She had to refresh already while going up the stairs— in fact, they felt like the longest stairs she had gone through in the tower so far.
Even the stairs changed? Amber smiled. Interesting.
She readied her sword and then began to dash forward with Quick Dash— she almost stumbled at first but quickly got the hang of it as the stairs and walls themselves blurred. Whatever was waiting atop of the stairs was sure to be good.
Only twenty floors until floor one-hundred.
She didn’t know if the tower ended there, but there was only one way to find out.
Amber ran at full speed for a minute and just when she was about to need to refresh again, she saw a door at the end of the stairs. It was wooden with a metal frame, it seemed old and aged, almost brittle. And so Amber—
Burst right through it.
Wood splinters flew through the air, the worn down metal streaked and clattered on the ground and Amber blinked. She stood in the middle of a place that looked like an empty bar, except one of the walls was broken down and fires were burning. There was also an outside, it looked like a town.
Interesting.
Amber wasted no time in stabbing the floor and burning it before using it to refresh her skill once again. And then, she observed. She saw the fallen stools, the spilled drinks on the floor, and finally the fires at the broken wall. It all looked recent.
And then, she heard a roar.
Her gaze snapped towards the hole in the wall and there— she saw a gigantic creature— she could only see its foot but it was massive, easily covering the street right outside the bar. Amber wasn’t close enough to use Identify, but that wasn’t going to take long.
She used Quick Dash, immediately dashing through the burning fires. Then, with another dash she found herself in the middle of the street staring at the back of a monster— it was a dinosaur through and through, except for the fact that it had fur. Its body shimmered in green under the light of the burning fires in the surroundings, and then Amber saw the gigantic monster breathe fire— destroying a house.
[Viridisaur. Lvl. 125]
“Oh, aren’t you strong?” she asked and that was enough for the monster to turn around.
It stared at her with its crimson eyes for a moment before opening its maw, showing an incandescent light already beginning to form. And Amber, in response, lifted her sword—
“Flamethrower.”
And the monster spat its deluge of fire. Orange and red flames crashed and for a moment it seemed that there would be no winner until— the red started dying out. Amber wasn’t particularly surprised by the outcome as she lowered the sword and watched the flames come for her.
After all, she wasn’t too interested in testing the capabilities of her sword. She was here for one thing and one thing only.
Amber used the 3rd Rank of Quick Dash and landed on top of the monster. The Viridisaur let out an angry roar and Amber pointed down at the monster, her index finger focusing on a single area of the monster.
Time to test both at once.
She smiled using Curse Manipulation first and then—
“Battery.”
Curse Battery went off in the spot she pointed. Thousands of lacerations burst in a single moment along with raging fires like never before. Blood splattered and burned— sizzling into nothing but vapor before it hit the ground. And of course the monster thrashed and reeled, its shrieks echoing well into the night sky.
I don’t need direct contact with the target anymore.
[Curse Manipulation has reached 3rd Rank — level 1.
You’ve been fighting along with curses for a very long time and have grown to adeptly control them. You can dexterously affect how a curse is applied and even the strength at which it is applied. While this skill is active, curses are 100% stronger. Percentage scales from skill level.
2nd Rank — This skill no longer consumes mana.
3rd Rank — You can now project the curses you wield.]
She just needed to be near enough now. 3rd Rank allowed her to project them well past her body. The fact that it directly helped Curse Battery made it nothing short of amazing. No, it was amazing on its own. If she attacked someone and her sword swing missed, the curses would probably still hit the target.
It was just damn great.
And then there was the 3rd Rank of Curse Battery.
Amber smiled pointing at a different spot.
“Battery. Battery. Battery.”
In quick succession hundreds of lacerations and fires burst around the monster, each weaker than the previous one all just as destructive as Curse of Consuming flames proliferated around its body.
The 3rd Rank of Curse Battery was nothing short of broken in Amber’s opinion.
[Curse Battery has reached 3rd Rank — level 1.
You passively store the curses affecting you, and you can unleash an hour worth of them upon touching an enemy. You store 20 minutes per hour.
2nd Rank — The unleashed curses last an additional half-second on the target.
3rd Rank — Upon successful activation, half of the spent curses are refunded.]
Sure it yielded diminishing returns but—
The monster knelt in pain and Amber pointed her sword down.
“Do you really not have any tricks up your sleeve?”
And the monster roared, Amber sensed danger and teleported out of the way, before the monster— exploded. Flames streaked all over the town-square and Amber was forced to block as a deluge of fire passed through her body, burning and melting her skin.
That’s more like it.
When the fire cleared, Amber saw the monster rise, completely regenerated as if it were a phoenix, and it was looking right at her with the intent to murder her.
And just like that, the second round started.
* * *
The monster fought ferociously and commendably for two hours, Amber didn’t hold back much either, but when hour three came around—
Amber pointed her finger at the flaming monster that had its maw open to swallow her whole.
“Battery.” This time she used Cursed Rage Synergy and the effect was strong.
Chunks of its flesh flew and the monster fell forward, skidding across the ground as it landed before her. It let out a growl of defiance as it tried but failed to stand.
And Amber pointed down at its nose.
“Battery, battery, battery.”
Her words melded together as the face of the monster exploded into pure blood.
Fire and blood exploded in all directions. Its flesh began to dissolve to the flames, melting away as only its bones remained. The fire on its body crackled and rose a dozen meters into the air as it burned all that remained.
And yet Amber stared at it, waiting for it to rise as a skeleton of flames or something, but all that came was a notification.
[You have defeated a [Viridisaur. Lvl. 125].]
“I guess even having a proper second phase is something I should be happy about,” Amber commented, staring at its burning corpse. “Why was I even expecting for it to get back up, what’s wrong with me?”
[Cursed Supreme Momentum has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 4 to 3rd Rank level 5.]
[Cursed Supreme Berserker’s Body has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 4 to 3rd Rank level 5.]
[Curse Battery has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 1 to 3rd Rank level 2.]
[Curse Manipulation has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 1 to 3rd Rank level 2.]
[Cursed Rage Synergy has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 1 to 3rd Rank level 2.]
[You have reached level 114. 5 stat points awarded.]
+5 Vitality +5 Strength +5 Dexterity.]
“I got some nice levels—” And she paused. “I forgot to test Crimson Venom…”
A sigh left her as she looked around on the floor hoping to see another monster, however there was nothing for her to find. The town wasn’t even there anymore, having vanished into nothingness.
She watched as the surroundings slowly turned to stone and the next staircase was revealed.
“I guess I’ll test it in the next floor.”
Amber took a breath before sprinting.
She wanted to see what it could actually do, and what its capabilities were.
And so, she was going to use the next floor for that.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
* * *
As soon as she stepped onto the next floor, she heard the sound of snapping crossbows. She ducked and dozens of arrows flew over her. Then, chains resounded and Amber focused, feeling their presence.
They were the invisible guillotines.
She waited for a moment before twisting her body and— the slashes passed, rending through the ground and tearing through the air.
A trap floor, but also…
Amber craned her neck and a guillotine passed, drawing a single line of blood across it.
The perfect floor to level Sharp Instincts—
“Though, couldn’t you have given me a monster to fight?” Amber sighed as she raised her hand and caught a guillotine.
The blade cut deep into her hand, but she stopped it with her strength. Of course, she couldn’t shatter the metal with her bare hand or anything crazy just yet, but the fact that the guillotines were no longer something for her to be completely scared of was something that made her happy.
Amber looked into the dark room and couldn’t help but smile before dashing into it.
* * *
Amber dodged every trap imaginable, from falling floors, quicksand, explosions, to even cutting mana rays. And after a few hours of avoiding and dodging and getting occasionally injured, she did it. It had taken an eternity, but she had finally leveled up her skill as she reached the end of the floor.
[Sharp Instincts has reached 3rd Rank — level 1.
You continue to survive, and now that you have grown used to telling how dangerous things are, you have grown wiser as well. This is an upgraded version of Keen Senses. You are now more aware of potential dangers and attacks, now it's on an instinctual level.
2nd Rank — Allows you to gauge how dangerous something is.
3rd Rank — You can predict a trap’s trajectory, effects, and when it will activate.]
“Talk about niche, though.” Amber tilted her head. “Would trump cards count as a trap?”
Well, she doubted the System bended words that badly. But the thought remained in her head. And the more she thought about it, the more she believed it to be a possibility. So for now, she refrained from saying the 3rd Rank was going to become useless. After all, the skill itself had improved too, so 3rd Rank was still useful.
She shook her head.
Now that the trap floor was cleared, it was time to go test out Crimson Venom.
Amber headed to the next floor.
* * *
Amber went through two more trap floors, which took her an entire day due to their sheer length and some timed traps, but she was sure that the next floor was going to be different—
And she paused. “What the fuck…”
It was yet another trap floor.
“Is the tower just trying to make me quit out of frustration or something?” she asked. “Because it’s not going to fucking work.”
She was upset, but she had spent an entire month in her childhood doing the things she hated the most and enraged her the most and this honestly was absolutely nothing. The tower didn’t know the lengths she had gone to in the past to push her mental limits.
With a small yet annoyed grin she stepped into the room and tilted herself forward— dozens crossbow bolts were fired and three guillotines passed— and they all missed.
“At least the 3rd Rank of Sharp Instincts makes trap floors a joke.”
Shaking her head, Amber continued forward.
* * *
The next four floors had numerous monsters, which Amber used to thoroughly test Crimson Venom. Though unfortunately, not a single floor had a single big monster, they were all groups of mobs. One floor contained thousands of goblins, which Amber enjoyed incinerating, another contained more ants, a different one had flying monsters that were akin to insects and the last one had ten bulls.
To clear all of these floors Amber had taken about three days, mainly because some of the monsters would focus on running away from her and surviving rather than anything, but also because she rested after every floor. The main reason being due to the fact that she was thoroughly exhausted after testing Crimson Venom and its limits in each and every floor.
Amber figured that once she understood her skills completely, she’d be able to climb the tower much faster.
One of the first things she found out was— her blood would remain on the Firecursed Sword, refusing to burn to its touch.
Another thing was that depending on the size of the monster it would take from a few seconds to ten or more minutes for the venom to fully take effect.
And the last thing was— the more venom was injected into the target the more potent it was.
Well, calling it venom was a bit odd given it was her own blood. Though, Amber did consider getting vials to store it in to make it easier to inject into her targets; which would essentially be treating it like venom.
She also thought about selling those vials to make money.
Though that was something to think for when she left the tower.
She had leveled her skills during these past few days.
[Sharp Instincts has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 1 to 3rd Rank level 2.]
…
[Sharp Instincts has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 3 to 3rd Rank level 4.]
[Toxin Resistance has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 1 to 3rd Rank level 2.]
[Elemental Resistance has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 1 to 3rd Rank level 2.]
[Magical Resistance has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 1 to 3rd Rank level 2.]
[Physical Resistance has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 1 to 3rd Rank level 2.]
[General Weapon Mastery has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 4 to 3rd Rank level 5.]
[Curse Battery has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 2 to 3rd Rank level 3.]
[Curse Manipulation has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 2 to 3rd Rank level 3.]
[Cursed Rage Synergy has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 2 to 3rd Rank level 3.]
[Recovery of Curses has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 1 to 3rd Rank level 2.]
[Crimson Venom has leveled up from level 1 to 2.]
She hadn’t gotten a level up, which made sense given how much experience they took at this point.
“And now, it’s time for the ninetieth floor…” Amber took a deep breath. “Primordial Spirit hopefully soon…”
She could see the stairs changing as she climbed through them, and it didn’t take long before the surroundings started to change. Then, sounds started to enter her ears. At first she couldn’t tell what they were, but soon she understood that they were growls— or cheering growls. Thousands of monsters awaited her.
She continued ascending and taking a spiral, she saw light— sunlight. Amber blinked as she continued before the blinding light made it too hard to see.
And then, she emerged as her surroundings were filled with noise. Her eyes quickly adjusted and she paused.
She was in a colosseum. A colosseum of monsters. The spectators were monsters.
She looked around in awe, she saw a blue sky with clouds. The day was sunny and the monsters in the stands were cheering. And in the middle of the arena there was a gigantic monster sitting on the throne. It had a staff of gold and a draping red cape that was lined with felt.
[Cursed Goblin King. Lvl. 130]
Amber stared, she didn’t really expect any of this. But the Cursed Goblin King stood up and dropped its cloak to the ground, showing a body full of bulging muscles. It pointed at her with a finger and then began to talk.
It spoke in a language that she couldn’t understand, evidently making the crowd become more and more excited.
And then, he turned towards her. Its gaze was focused and determined, before it immediately rushed in her direction.
She took a deep breath, and rushed as well. She was going to put an end to this as soon as she could, she had leveled up all the skills she could level and so—
Amber swung her sword at the Cursed Goblin King who used its club to block. Its strength was— higher than hers. She was immediately pushed back, something that made her decide to go all out from the get go.
“Since this battle will last a while, I guess I’ll use it.” She smiled. “Battery.”
And flames erupted upon the monster before they were snuffed in a single moment. The Cursed Goblin King smiled at her and then opened its mouth, speaking something she couldn’t understand and—
Flames exploded, Amber felt her entire body be rippled by something and a moment later, it all disappeared except for the light burns on her skin.
Her eyes grew wide for a moment, before she smiled.
“So no curses, eh?”
The Cursed Goblin King let out an affirmative grunt, and then Amber disengaged with a Quick Dash. She saw the crowd let out noises of disappointment but it changed as soon as she perched her sword on her collarbone.
And then she sliced—
She spilled her own blood, fully coating the blade on it as the monster crowd of the colosseum went wild. The Cursed Goblin King, in the meantime, eyed her with some caution. Even though it was over fifteen levels above her it still didn’t underestimate her. It was something that Amber appreciated but at the same time:
“If you aren’t coming then I’ll come to defeat you myself—”
And she teleported with Quick Dash, immediately swinging her sword with Cursed Cleave. Her blade blurred and the Cursed Goblin King hastily turned around but it was too late— part of its arm was torn open and her blood seeped into its wound. The Cursed Goblin King in the meantime, stepped away and looked at her with anger.
It stomped and its staff changed into a gigantic mace. Amber blinked and it rushed— she barely blocked at its burst of speed and she felt her bones crack from the hit. Her eyes slightly widened and Amber was forced to block another brutal yet incredibly fast hit.
She took two steps back. Cursed Goblin King was strong, but it lacked technique meaning—
Amber predicted its next attack and moved— and her wrist snapped deflecting the attack. It had been a messy execution and her bones had paid the price for it. She was forced to Quick Dash away before part of her body was broken further.
Amber took a deep breath and moved her hand— her bone snapped into place and immediately healed thanks to the help of Cursed Rage Synergy. Then, she regripped her sword and looked at the goblin king in the distance that was waiting for her.
The only way I will win this is with Crimson Venom. She frowned. It’s a battle of attrition.
She couldn’t win in speed or strength, nor in health either. Her curse based skills did not work either which meant she only had her techniques and Crimson Venom— though there was also another skill she wanted to try.
Taking a deep breath, she rushed at the Cursed Goblin King, and then she readied her sword before— stomping.
There was no blood, no fire, no cuts spreading across anywhere, but there was an opening. She thrust her sword square into its shoulder and while it felt like hitting metal, more of her blood made it into the monster.
Amber immediately took a step back and the monster swung, missing by a hair. Sharp Instincts telling her to dodge due to the sheer danger of the attack. And then, Amber pressed forward with her new grip.
The monster sneered and attacked back but this time Amber— parried it.
With a burst of Cursed Supreme Momentum she slashed through the monster’s side before dodging another hit. And just like that, she had found a rhythm.
Amber continued to fight the Cursed Goblin King, occasionally breaking a bone or two but constantly damaging it. Hours passed, or rather she lost track of time from all the concentration she was using.
The crowd was tuned out of her mind.
The pain she felt from each exchange was forgotten.
And her ragged breaths became nothing more than the pace of the battle.
She fought with great dexterity and conservatively, only slashing at the monster when it was important and this continued until with a final slash, the monster stomped the ground and—
Roared.
Amber smiled as the whole world went red and the monster gained speed.
She forced Cursed Supreme Momentum to the limits, and with the use of rage she— parried. All of the bones in her arms cracked and the weapon of the Cursed Goblin King went flying. Then carrying her momentum she slashed with Cursed Cleave through one of its legs. Making the monster nearly stumble as it roared.
It punched the ground and the entire arena shattered, and then it pounced.
Amber barely got out of the way as the monster tore part of the arena again. Its strength had gone into a realm she couldn’t even begin to approach but that didn’t matter because—
Amber smiled seeing the monster try to stand up before stumbling.
The poison was finally taking effect.
The Cursed Goblin King continued to try to stand up but continued on falling. The spectacle continued for a few minutes until— it just fell on all fours panting in anger. It roared but when it banged the ground it no longer shattered the entire arena, but merely created a weak thud.
Amber approached it, holding her sword. Her injuries had long healed.
“You really are one scary motherfucker.”
She raised her sword and the Cursed Goblin King got on his knees, looking right at her. Its expression was unreadable, but Amber didn’t care— and cheers ruptured through her ears.
Though the crowd cares.
She met its gaze.
“You may be scary, but unfortunately for you I have a brain.”
And she swung, beheading the monster with a splatter of its red blood. The crowd went wild in cheers and notifications came.
[You have defeated a [Cursed Goblin King. Lvl. 130].]
For defeating an enemy 15 levels above your own, you have received bonus experience!
[General Weapon Mastery has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 5 to 3rd Rank level 7.]
[Recovery of Curses has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 2 to 3rd Rank level 4.]
[Cursed Rage Synergy has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 3 to 3rd Rank level 4.]
[Sharp Instincts has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 4 to 3rd Rank level 5.]
[Crimson Venom has leveled up from level 2 to level 4.]
[You have reached level 115. 5 stat points awarded.]
+5 Vitality +5 Strength +5 Dexterity.]
…
[You have reached level 116. 5 stat points awarded.]
+5 Vitality +5 Strength +5 Dexterity.]
Amber let out a long breath before heading for the stairs. Even though the boss had been defeated, the monsters of the arena remained lively and continued to roar for her until she left through the stairs.
And there, in deep within the stairwell she rested for a whole day before heading to the next floor.
It was the final stretch.
* * *
A week had passed and Amber continued to climb the tower, no other fights came close to the difficulty of fighting the Cursed Goblin King, but even then, she still leveled her skills and obtained a few level ups.
[Cursed Cleave has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 5 to 3rd Rank level 6.]
[Quick Dash has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 6 to 3rd Rank level 7.]
[Cursed Supreme Momentum has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 5 to 3rd Rank level 6.]
[Cursed Supreme Berserker’s Body has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 5 to 3rd Rank level 6.]
[Curse Stomp has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 5 to 3rd Rank level 6.]
[Curse Manipulation has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 3 to 3rd Rank level 4.]
[Cursed Rage Synergy has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 4 to 3rd Rank level 5.]
[Curse Battery has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 3 to 3rd Rank level 4.]
[Crimson Venom has leveled up from level 4 to 5.]
[Crimson Fuel has leveled up from level 5 to 6.]
[Crimson Fervor has leveled up from level 5 to 6.]
All of her resistances had leveled up once as well, except for Toxin Resistance.
[You have reached level 117. 5 stat points awarded.]
+5 Vitality +5 Strength +5 Dexterity.]
…
[You have reached level 119. 5 stat points awarded.]
+5 Vitality +5 Strength +5 Dexterity.]
And now, she was here.
“The one-hundredth floor…” Amber took a deep breath.
She was nervous.
The floors ninety-one to ninety-nine hadn’t exactly been hard, but the ninetieth floor was a different story. However, that wasn’t the reason she was nervous. The main reason she was nervous was because she had been thinking about this floor all week, and the other and most primary main reason was—
Amber turned.
There was a large door in front of her, it was a crimson color with padding and golden ornaments. It was incredibly elaborate, and almost gave a royal feeling. And that wasn’t all. There was an engraving. One that gave her chills.
Here lies death itself.
This is not a test of honor, nor for the brave.
There is nothing to prove here.
What is here is dangerous and hostile.
This message is a warning about danger.
This was the main reason for her nervousness. Still… she had been standing in front of the door for an hour.
“I came all the way here…” She took a breath. “I’ve been in this place for eight months… I can’t back down now, can I?”
It was a rhetorical question, and even though she was unsure, she was done hesitating. She steeled herself and pushed the door open with all her strength.
I’m not dying here, no matter what…
I have to meet the Primordial Spirit of the tower.
She entered through a small gap, and a moment later the door slammed shut. Amber found herself in complete darkness, the room was cold and unfeeling and yet nothing seemed to be happening—
And Amber shivered, feeling someone standing right next to her. There was now a source of red light, and even though she knew what it was, she still slowly craned her head only to see a red figure—
[???. Lvl. ???]
A Primordial Spirit.
A god just like Ax’thra.
And then it spoke, simply.
“Someone didn’t read the warning,” it said.