Chapter 71

Jake cleared several more floors. The difficulty significantly increased with each one, which resulted in him taking more time to get to the next floor. The sixth level proved to be the most challenging so far. Not only was it hurling one wave of walkers and leapers his way after another, but it also constantly spawned tougher types of enemies such as shamblers and whippers. Jake exerted all his strength and agility, fighting off one wave after another, giving it his all. This level alone depleted nearly as much mana as his body typically consumed in a day.

The last wave of monsters was finally taken care of and the sixth floor was finally cleared. Yet instead of making his way to the platform to advance to the next level, he sank into a crouching position. Feeling mentally drained, he decided to rest for a moment. As long as he had more than one thousand MP stored within his body, his magically enhanced mutant body couldn’t get physically tired. However, mentally Jake felt exhausted. He’d had to do his utmost to defeat the monsters on the sixth floor, resulting in his mental fatigue afterward. After such a prolonged and intense battle, he needed to rest for a few minutes.

While he rested, he checked the status of the challenge.

Tower Climb Progression

Floors: 6/10

Remaining Time: 2 hours, 48 minutes, 29 seconds

It had been over three hours since he had started the tower climb. Half the time of the challenge had already passed, but he still needed to clear four more floors, and each of them was going to be increasingly more difficult than the previous one. Jake was starting to wonder if he would be able to complete the challenge before time was up.

During the battle on one of the previous floors, Jake had leveled up to eleven, but he hadn’t allocated the skill point yet. He decided to do it now. After giving the matter some thought, he opted to get an upgrade for Swords. With a mental command, he summoned the upgrade menu for the ability.

Swords: Rank I (12%) (Upgrades: 0 of 3) (Common)

Upgrade Options (Common):

1 - Strengthen Swords to cut through dense muscle, bone, and other resilient organic materials with ease. Cost: 1 SP

2 - Extend Swords by a few inches for increased reach. Cost: 1 SP

3 - Significantly reduce the time needed for extending swords. Cost: 1 SP

The upgrade options were similar to those of the Claws ability. Jake decided to spend the skill point to acquire Strengthen Swords. There was no time to lose, so he chose not to review his stats for now. Instead, he forced himself to rise from the floor and make his way to the platform, mentally preparing for another trying fight with mutants.

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When the platform took him to the next, seventh floor, he stepped out of the elevator shaft, body coiled, ready to spring into action. Magical rift gates started to materialize all around him on the walls, the floor, and the ceiling. The first enemies to emerge from the portals were walkers and leapers. From deeper parts of the seventh floor came the roar of either a shambler or a whipper. Jake had been dealing with ex-humans for so long he could now differentiate between them by the sounds they made alone.

Suddenly, from somewhere behind him came a strange shriek he had never heard before.

Ignoring several walkers approaching him from the front, he glanced over his shoulder. He saw a new type of mutant that had just emerged from one of the portals farther down the corridor. The creature was tall and lanky. It was dressed in tattered clothing, which revealed more flesh than it concealed. Sinewy lean muscles peeked through the tears in the ragged clothes the mutant wore. While the creature’s muscles weren’t bulging out all that much, it was clear the mutant was both strong and agile.

The most notable feature of the mutant was its hands. Or more accurately, the absence of those. Where the hands should have been were long bony extensions. They were pointed, double-edged, and slightly curved, making them perfect for slashing. With a thought, Jake called up the description of the mutant.

Ex-Human Slasher – Level 15 (Elite)

Special ability: Flurry of Swings – The mutant enters a frenzy state, swinging its blades violently for a few seconds.

So it was an elite enemy. Elite mutants were more dangerous than the regular ones, and they possessed special abilities as well. Jake had already encountered an elite ex-human mutant with a similar ability when he was doing a Hunt quest. However, the creature he had to track down and eliminate at that time was a walker armed with claws. The slasher behind him had what looked like bony extensions, which were basically blades, so dealing with this kind of monster was going to pose a different kind of challenge to him.

The first two walkers reached Jake, prompting him to shift his focus back to the imminent threat in front of him. One of them attacked, but he easily evaded the swipe of claws aimed at his face. He swung his sword in an arc with lightning speed, the blade cutting through the flesh and bone in the monster’s neck like a hot knife through butter, sending the severed head flying to the side. He was amazed at how easily his upgraded blade cut through the mutant’s body. Swords had definitely become much more powerful after he acquired Strengthen Swords a few minutes ago, proving this upgrade was totally worth the skill point he’d spent on it.

Another walker lurched at him, ending his line of thought. Jake danced to the side, effortlessly dodging its attack right before thrusting his sword into the mutant’s chest. His blade sliced through its body, easily cutting through the flesh and shattering all the ribs that were in its way. The mutant’s body went limp, and the dying walker leaned against him, its arms dropping to dangle lifelessly at its sides.

In the corner of his wide vision, he spotted yet another walker approaching him from the side. Having no time to yank his sword free from the mutant’s body, he shot his right hand toward the new threat, his iron-like claws digging deep into the flesh of its throat. He tore the creature’s larynx out, causing a torrent of dark blood to pour from the nasty wound. For a second, the mutant stared at Jake in confusion, as if not quite comprehending what had just occurred.

Then the mutant began to fall, and Jake immediately stepped aside, yanking the blade from the first walker, whose body was still leaning against him. Both ex-humans collapsed to the floor at the same time, their bodies twitching in death throes.

Multiple enemies killed. +30 XP

A terrifying shriek reverberated from behind, prompting Jake to wheel around and catch sight of the slasher charging down the corridor toward him. Jake only had a brief moment to brace himself for the imminent encounter with this new type of elite mutant.