[Congratulations, Xalan, for defeating the fifth opponent. Please proceed to the next floor]

[+200 points gained for defeating a Pseudo-Boss!]

“Really distasteful of you, Demos.”

To use a pupil of the Demonic Dojo from the past at this stage… He really made things difficult for these mortals. The last time I fought someone who used the Demonic Arts was during the Great War of The Gods. The Demonic Arts is a fearsome martial art passed down by the Demon Emperor, a person whose power could rival even us gods. Interestingly enough, the Demon Emperor used to be a mortal, but after training for countless years and honing their craft, they achieved the power of a god. I had the fortune of fighting the Demon Emperor before, and it lasted the whole day.

[Please proceed to the next floor. You have ten seconds until you're automatically disqualified.]

…I’ve forgotten how annoying this S.O. can be. What an eyesore. Well, I should keep it moving anyways. Demos expects excellent results while I ‘mingle’ with the mortals, as much as I dislike the idea.

Moving forward, as I entered the room, I quickly spotted my next prey.

“Welcome, Challeng-“Its voice halted when it sensed my energy. The suit of armor dropped its weapon and proceeded to grovel before me, shaking erratically.

“Oh, spare me!” It cried out as it stamped its head onto the floor. Without another word, I walked toward the feeble creature and placed a palm on its helmet, blank-faced.

Crunch!

With just a small squeeze, small bits of iron and pools of blood exploded everywhere, staining the ground with organic matter. I crouched down toward the floor and touched the pool of blood with my bare hands. In just a single thought, the blood from the ground bubbled and started to spasm. The blood was then sucked into my finger as I greedily gorged upon the liquid, leaving no trace of a mess behind. I then proceeded to hunch over the corpse and absorbed all the available blood within it. After a few seconds, the body was now sucked dry, leaving an empty shriveled husk trapped in a lump of metal.

[Congratulations, Xalan, for defeating the sixth opponent. Please proceed to the next floor]

[+100 Points Gained]

[Blood Absorption complete. All Stats are raised by one point]

Tsk, one point yet again. To feel this weak in my own body- It’s a sickening experience. No wonder these mortals are fickle. Extracting the life force of these bodies through the consumption of blood is a slow process when it comes to mortals. With such a weak body and life force, I do not gain that much power back resulting in a slow and grueling process. If I want to recover some of my strength quickly, I’ll need one of the stronger mortals to devour...

[Please proceed to the next floor. You have ten seconds until you're automatically disqualified]

Right, enough wasting time. I’ll just have to make do with what I currently have. On the bright side, once I reach the thirtieth floor, I’m sure the boss's life force will be somewhat satisfying. If I had to guess who or what it could be, then I have something to look forward to. Until then, I should get used to this frail body of mine.

****

I have finally reached the tenth floor after defeating the opponents of the seventh, eighth, and ninth floors. And I did it all without using my Torqinite sword, or my eyes. The experience of fighting blind has been enlightening, and I have improved my senses through leaps and bounds. It’s safe to say that I can fight the same with or without my eyes, though the range that I can ‘see’ is limited. My Stats have also improved too, although by a little. My [Perception] mastery has increased to level two, and in turn, my understanding of the world has increased. One thing I learned when the mastery increased its level, the range of [Perception] increased too.

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There is a limit to how far I can sense my surroundings. Think of it as me being in the middle of a bubble, and whatever enters that bubble is picked up through [Perception]. The higher the level is, the bigger the bubble. Right now the range of my bubble is about one and a half meters wide, or five feet. Because of that, I’m doing everything within my power to level up [Perception] since it’s a great mastery to learn. Enough talking about [Perception] though. It's time to see what this new floor has in store for me. The fifth floor had me fighting without my eyesight, so what does this new room entail?

I opened the door in front of me slowly in anticipation, my mind racing at lightning speed as I thought of different scenarios. The interior of the room was revealed as I poked my head inside.

[Stats have been temporarily reduced by 30% until you are finished with the Tower of Strength.]

“Well shit, that sounds bad. Status!”

Status Inventory Name: Isaac Rank: 1st Points: 650 Strength: 64 (45) Agility: 57 (40) Durability: 62 (44) Mana: 88 (62) Masteries Marksmanship Lvl 4 Swordsmanship Lvl 6 Energy Manipulation Lvl 6 Heat Resistance Lvl 4 Poison Resistance Lvl 3 Frost Resistance Lvl 4 Mental Fortitude Lvl 2 Perception Lvl 2

Phew! I was too quick to panic. These temporary stats are bearable, for now. My body feels a bit heavier, but I’ll manage.

“…Are you finished yet, challenger?” said a feminine voice. I looked away from my screen and stared at my newest opponent who was in a meditation pose. It was another red skin, except female this time with a small build and short ears. She had shoulder-length black hair and flame-colored eyes that had a piercing gaze. She too was wearing a dark gray Gi.

“Let me guess, you’re the fourth pupil of the Demonic Dojo?”

“What makes you so sure of that?”

“It says it on your Gi.”

Silently, the girl stood up from her position and stretched her body. “I see you are eager to fight. So am I. I’ve been looking for a sparring partner. The other pupils of the Demonic Dojo keep to themselves, so we rarely train with each other, unless we are instructed by the dojo master.”

Dojo master? She’s probably referring to the boss located on the thirtieth floor. The fifth floor had the fifth pupil, and the tenth floor has the fourth pupil. Every fifth floor will have a pupil of the Demonic Dojo occupying it, meaning the first pupil will be on the twenty-fifth floor, leaving the last floor to house the dojo master, or the boss of the Tower of Strength. At least, that’s what makes the most sense. I could be entirely wrong though and have my expectations shattered into a million pieces.

“Alright, challenger. I’m done warming up.”

The girl had just finished stretching and was now standing firmly upright. Just like the previous pupil, she got into a fighting stance strangely familiar to karate. Bent knees, her backfoot was out to the side, and her front was in front of her whole body. She had a palm facing my way and a determined gaze just like a lioness. My lips quivered in excitement the longer I watched in awe.

“Good! You seem like a better fighter than the fifth pupil. Let’s have a good fight,” I said, closing my eyes once again.

The new fighter didn’t express any dislike, nor did she feel disrespected. She just quietly stood still, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The room was quiet other than our beating hearts and steady breaths. I haven’t mentioned this before, but I can feel an ominous power deep within this one. A power I didn’t feel was coming out of the fifth pupil. I’ll have to be careful of this one. Letting my guard down when my Stats are decreased could be bad for me, especially since the fourth pupil is out of my range.

“If you aren’t going to make a move first, then I will,” I muttered, taking a step forward.

As soon as my foot touched the ground, I instantly felt my opponent enter my bubble. I could see them very clearly, a girl with a straight face was aiming a swift kick toward my neck. I backed away as fast as I could, but I wasn’t used to my debuffed body. My movements were sluggish, and I narrowly managed to avoid a full-contact kick. The girls’ toes scraped the outer skin of my neck, grazing it, and drawing some blood. I hastily retreated away as I massaged my new wound.

“That was a close one! You’re light on your feet, aren’t you?” I snickered, wiping the blood off with my sleeve.

“Even though your power has been reduced, you still dodged my attack. Impressive,” she replied, assuming another fighting stance.

“Heh, thanks for the praise…”

This girl is way better than that boy. In a split second, she closed the gap between us and caught me off-guard. She did all of this with just her physical capabilities and skills alone, not even utilizing the power I’ve been feeling from her. I guess she’s saving it for later.

Swoosh!

While I was pondering my next move, the girl took the opportunity to continue her attack, once again entering my bubble swiftly. Either this girl is impatient or she’s a smart fighter. Probably the latter. Even then, that won’t discourage me in the least! I’m confident that I’m still the stronger one between us!