Monika spurted a fountain of blood as she slammed head-first into the corpse pile.

Her primary concerns were the rewards. She knew she wouldn’t die despite the fully shattered diaphragm and arm. Well, she hoped.

All due to her Candidate class.

–Skills |4|–

Unique: |Customization |C||

Active: |Contract |D+||

Passive: |Curse of Destruction |SSS+|| |Tutorial |A||

Monika had skimmed through the interface before her battle.

–|Tutorial |A| |899D 22h||–

Prior to being summoned to the Flame Tower, the Candidate will have the following perks:

|Portable Core |A||

|Regeneration |B||

|Nondivinability |B||

Still, I didn’t expect to receive this much damage.

My first mistake was pouring points into Stamina. It made my body heavier and ruined my maneuverability.

Then again, I can only use Regeneration if I survive, don’t you think? What if I focused on Strength and Agility and then died from a single accidental hit?

Secondly, I’ve underestimated the lethality of skills.

In all fairness, though, who would’ve imagined a fucking minotaur moving like a ballerina.

The bastard was also smart.

Hah! All excuses. As pathetic as ever, aren’t you? Always relying on blinded perseverance.

But how far can it get you?

“...”

Pure darkness. Not a single ray of light can find its way. How long have I soaked in this?

They had laughed at you, ridiculed you, scorned you, and then, they trampled you.

You lost. Won’t you die just as pathetically this time?

“…”

Talents? Smarts? Luck?

There was only one reason why I couldn’t surpass those.

There was only one reason as to why I failed.

I just didn’t try enough. I just didn’t work hard enough!

I will suffer the insufferable and endure the unendurable.

My chest burns. Not the lungs, no. It's hard to breathe, but I'm used to much worse. It's deeper.

My heart is in a much stronger fire, a chimney pumping demonic blood. It flares, inciting me to fight another minotaur, to push forward.

I barely manage to roll over to look at the rewards while immobilized.

|C| You are among the first 3 candidates to kill a Rank 2 dungeon boss

|+1000 LS| |+100 CP|

Acquired skill |?|

…

|E+| You are among the first 25 candidates to kill a Rank 2 keeper

|+50 LS| |+25 CP|

…

|E+| Clear |Dungeon of Blood |D-||

|+1 Rune of Blood |E+||

|+1 Talisman of Sin |E||

One thing remains clear despite my incomprehension—the competition is tight. There are already others who’ve killed a monster—a keeper—who is as strong as, no, tougher than the minotaur in less than two hours. I have to hurry.

“Interface,” I whisper.

—Obstruction |Rank 1|—

Self

Creation

Dungeon |X 999D 22H|

Workspace |X Rank 2|

Synthesis |X Rank 2|

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A familiar view forms in my vision. “Creation,” I add.

—Creation—

Summon

Alchemy

Craft

Inventory

I neglected it previously since I had zero creation points, CP.

But what is LS and its use? “Inventory,” I command.

—Inventory—

Lifestones |F| |1050|

Rune of Blood |E+|

Talisman of Sin |E|

So, LS stands for lifestones. I extend my hand toward the transparent screen and pull out a pebble. I can feel something within the seemingly ordinary colorless pebble. Perhaps…

“Oh?”

I feel a rush as I absorb its energy into my palm. The same rush you’d get after an intake of caffeine. The lifestone crumbles as it vanishes into thin air.

Spirit |F+| |1/225|

Terrific. A thousand lifestones are enough to elevate my Spirit to E- and possibly even to E.

Even though it said I got a skill in the reward section, it didn’t clarify what kind.

“Skills.”

Select one:

Boss |D-|

Perception |D-|

Bloodshot |D|

These are the minotaur’s skills. I read their descriptions.

Boss is an instant no-no. It gives a boost applicable only inside the Dungeon of Blood, not outside of it.

Bloodshot seems like an obvious choice because of its versatility at first glance. I can continue investing in Stamina and use the skill whenever I need Strength and Agility.

Furthermore, with my Regeneration, Bloodshot’s downside effect, Bloodloss, doesn’t appear to be that big of a threat. Bloodloss and Regeneration would nullify each other. That’d let me use Bloodshot for a prolonged and perhaps even limitless duration.

Still, I choose Perception without hesitation.

The minotaur had insane reflexes. It could discern my movements and foresee the future. It’s as if he had an enhanced vision or a sixth sense.

All it takes to die is a single hit. There are threats everywhere in such an environment. One will get devoured by the cave’s darkness if they don’t always keep their guard up.

For example, now I lie on the bloodied, muddy ground. What if some creature sneaks up and delivers a quick strike to my heart? What could I possibly do? Nothing.

Acquired skill |Perception |D-||

Perception will prevent such misfortunes.

|C| You are the first candidate to possess 5 Skills

|+1 Card of Thievery |C||

|+1 Card of Enhancement |D||

“Huh?”

What a surprise. It’s highly likely that the other candidates either don’t have the Curse of Destruction or have only gotten one skill at the start instead of two. There’s no chance I would’ve been the first otherwise.

Runes, talismans, and now cards? Gimme a break. I thoroughly read every description and weigh my options after rechecking my inventory to clarify what those are.

I pull the Card of Thievery out of my inventory.

The texture is somewhere in between metal and parchment. The black card dotted with tiny white stars has an unnerving triangle with a wide-opened eye at the center.

I crawl closer to the minotaur beside me and press the card against his chest to direct the same kind of energy I got from the lifestone into the card. It vibrates and soon starts to beam with an extraterrestrial light sinking into the Bloodhorn’s chest. The card shatters into countless fragments as it dissolves.

A blood-soaked book materializes before me. It feels warm on my hands.

“Bloodshot…” I read the dark engravings on the cover.

|+1 Bloodshot Grimoire |D||

I sit cross-legged on the cavern floor. The text on the pages starts to glimmer as I open the book with one hand. This time of a different type, energy flows into and rushes through my body.

My vision blurs as my eyes overflow with blood. My heart pounds crazily on the contrary to the book's fading glow. I close the now-empty grimoire and throw it away.

Acquired skill |Bloodshot |D||

I then pull out the Card of Enhancement and the Rune of Blood. Both are red, though very different kinds of red.

The card's surface is pinkish-red, akin to a blush wedding rose, while the rune is of dark-red wine. It resembles a river stone with its contours soft despite the asymmetry.

I place the card above the rune and stream my energy. The card’s light infuses into the rune. Its color escalates in shaking as it grows in size.

|Rune of Blood |E+| -> |D||

I first wanted to craft and customize a powerful relic with most of my assets. But plans have changed now that I have a Rank 2 rune.

A D- graded Minotaur is called a Rank 2 keeper. I’m a Rank 1 while my Status is E. My assumption is that E is Rank 1, D is Rank 2, and so on.

The difference seems immense just from my fight with the minotaur who was on the lower end of Rank 2. An average Rank 2 creature would at least be tenfold as strong as Rank 1.

A basic conclusion can be drawn. Summoning a Rank 2 lackey who would stomp the others for me is much more rational than investing in myself from the get-go.

“Summon,” I state.

—Summon—

Insert a rune

Insert CP

I pour all my 125 CP into this summoning to get the best out of my blood rune after clarifying each step.

The die is cast. I feel my palm tingle and sparkle. The light begins to condense and shape as it reveals a fat key. It has a ruby at its head and a sturdy, bright-silvered shaft.

Insert sacrifice

I kneel beside the minotaur's corpse with the key now clutched in my hand to position it right over the dead body’s heart and insert it while penetrating the flesh.

The ruby starts shining just like how my core did. I course my energy into it as I feel the key sucking me dry. The card was nothing in comparison.

A gigantic crimson circle with the engravings unbeknownst to me forms around the corpse.

The slightly smaller second circle forms inside the first when I’m on the brink of losing consciousness from the drainage. Symbols rise in number to be inscribed along the perimeter.

Insert lifestones

And so I flood my leftover assets. One hundred, two, three, four…

The space between the circles begins to fill with a swirling mist as lifestones dissolve in aid of its amplification.

The third circle starts to form around the key to radiate outwards from the point of insertion. The light spreads through the minotaur’s veins and muscles with a blinding red glow.

I continue to spew my lifestones to the last bit. All-in motherfucker.

Faster and faster, the three circles begin to spin and merge into one at the corpse’s heart as it disintegrates. The ruby on the key flares through the dark mist as its light pierces through its swirl.

Insert Self

I concentrate. My snowy eyes fill with molten gold.

“Customize.”