Chapter 89

Upon completing the final floor, Jake checked the status of the challenge.

Tower Climb Progression

Floors: 10/10

Boss: 0/1

Remaining Time: 13 minutes, 48 seconds

All the floors were cleared, and the only task remaining was to defeat the boss on the roof. He had less than fifteen minutes to accomplish this. While Jake was unsure of the type of mutant he would be facing, he was confident he could handle it pretty quickly. None of the elite mutants he had encountered so far, no matter how powerful, had taken him more than a few minutes to deal with. He was certain this situation wouldn’t change.

As he was about to rush toward the room’s exit, he heard a cry of anguish from behind. Turning around, he saw Isra standing over what remained of Archie. Frank, standing next to her, said something quietly. Isra didn’t reply. Instead, she looked across the room at Jake with a fierce expression. She started shouting something, but he didn’t pay attention. Knowing he couldn’t waste time, he hurried out of the room.

“Wait,” he heard Frank yell behind him, but he ignored the man.

Now that he only needed to defeat the elite mutant on the rooftop, he no longer needed the survivors’ help. The battle against the boss would be a one-on-one fight, so Frank and Isra would only get in his way. They should remain on the current floor for the time being. After completing the challenge, he would come back for them and lead them to the platform to transport them to the first floor.

It only took him a few seconds to reach the elevator shaft with the magic-powered platform inside. However, he hesitated to step in because he knew the platform couldn’t ascend any further, as it was already on the top floor of the building. Instead, he moved toward the opening next to the elevator shaft. The door was gone, and through the open doorway, he could see the remnants of a staircase.

Since all the steps leading down were disintegrated, it was mostly just an empty shaft now. However, one flight of stairs leading to the rooftop remained intact, providing access to the roof. The landing was partially destroyed, with a large hole in its center. There was enough concrete left for him to walk around the hole and reach the steps. Despite some intact concrete surrounding the gap, he chose not to tread that path. Effortlessly leaping over the hole, he bounded up the steps and, a moment later, emerged on the rooftop.

In the center of the roof stood a lone ex-human. It immediately spotted Jake but didn’t attack. Jake knew the mutant would hold its ground and only charge at him when he got closer. After taking a few small steps toward the elite mutant, Jake stopped, taking a moment to study his foe. The creature was devoid of skin, exposing its muscle tissue. As a result, the mutant’s face sported a disturbingly wide grin filled with yellowish pointed teeth. Its fingers terminated in curved claws that were significantly longer and more menacing-looking than those of a regular ex-human.

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He then summoned the mutant’s description.

Ex-Human Chaser – Level 20 (Elite)

Special abilities:

Flurry of Swings – The mutant enters a frenzy state, swinging its claws violently for a few seconds.

Pursuit – The mutant selects a target and pursues it relentlessly for some time, disregarding any other distractions.

Just like the bloater, the elite mutant in front of him, the chaser, had two special abilities. He had already faced mutants with Flurry of Swings before, so he knew what to expect. The mutant’s second ability didn’t appear to be all that threatening. If he still had the two survivors with him, it could have been a problem. If the chaser had used its second ability to target one of them, it would likely have been nearly impossible to save the survivor. The chaser would likely never stop pursuing its prey until it was dead. Since he was alone now, there was no issue. With this fight being a one-on-one encounter, the chaser would be concentrating solely on him anyway.

Jake hesitated for a moment. He had recently leveled up to 12. The level of the bloater he had encountered on the tenth floor was 15. He hadn’t participated in killing that enormous mutant, though. It took some hits from the three survivors and was finished off by Archie alone. However, Jake had faced a handful of level 15 slashers before. Although those elite mutants were tough opponents, he had little trouble defeating them. The level of the mutant before him, however, was 20, surpassing him by eight levels. It was the first time he had encountered an enemy so much more powerful than himself, causing him to pause and consider his options.

He thought about going back to the tenth floor to get the two remaining survivors but quickly dismissed the idea. After losing Archie, they probably wouldn’t be willing to aid him with the tower-climbing challenge anymore. Jake wasn’t sure about Frank, but he knew Isra wouldn’t lift a finger to help him. Besides, the chaser’s second ability could be deadly for them. If the mutant locked onto one of them, it wouldn’t switch to another target until its initial prey was dead. Not that it mattered all that much now. With all the floors cleared, keeping survivors alive was no longer all that important. He had only needed them to help him reach the rooftop as quickly as possible.

Jake pushed the thoughts of Frank and Isra out of his mind. He was on his own now, and there was no time to lose. He took a few more steps before the mutant suddenly lunged toward him. Jake froze momentarily, astonished by the chaser’s speed—it was almost as fast as him. Before he could react, the mutant was upon him.

The chaser unleashed a series of violent attacks on him, forcing Jake onto the defensive. The mutant was lightning-fast, and he could barely dodge and block his foe’s strikes. At first, he thought the chaser had already activated its first special ability, Flurry of Swings. However, as it turned out a little later, he was dead wrong. When the chaser actually utilized its first special ability, its attacks became even faster, and Jake found it impossible to dodge every one of them, feeling its claws slashing at his flesh now and then.

He realized he was severely under-leveled for this elite mutant.