I had cleared five dungeons in level 3 zones in the last couple of days. Some of them had been a pain, searching for their exact position in the zone. Especially the last one, which was at the end of an intrusion or crack from the adjacent void zone.

It was one of the last places I had looked and was quite annoying to find. The void zones were weird, and the Protector had no idea what they were. Best guesses included errors in the Almighty System’s layout, or past battles where the zones had been blown away somehow.

Or more worryingly, one mega super battle. If that was the cast then it was like saying the void zones were an act of god or an act of the Almighty System. Our level of abilities was too small. Maybe in time we would come to figure out what exactly they were and why they doted the landscape, but that day was not any time soon.

I had used two of the skill upgrades on Acid Shot maxing it out with nullification and gestureless. It didn’t need another minor effect and I wanted to cut through defenses better. The cost of the skill had doubled again, which made me wince. It had gone from 160 energy to 320 energy.

But I was used to the ability to just think the skill into existence. Having to say words and make a hand gesture impeded my fighting style. I felt a lot better about Acid Shot even with the higher cost once all the upgrades were maxed out.

I had a specific way that I was used to fighting. While I could make changes to it to use hand gestures and words, I felt diminished. Even the increased cost wasn’t too bad with my Spirit and Regeneration stat being at 10,000 respectively.

My limit in combat was about 20 uses. While I could go up to around 30 uses, I would need to save energy and keep some in reserve for Air Burst and Force Wave. That was why I set that mental limit for myself. It kind of sucked that I couldn’t create waves of acid anymore to overwhelm my opponents, but the increased power and how I had easily dealt with all the level 4 monsters had put my concerns to rest.

I should be able to deal with a level 5 monster, or at least damage it now. That was very important in my mind. If I could damage something, then I could kill it. If I couldn’t damage it, then I was completely out of luck and could only retreat.

The next three upgrades were much harder to decide. I had gone back and forth on what skill to invest them in. It was either between Air Burst and Force Wave. I wanted to pick Air Burst but getting Force Wave upgraded would allow me to unleash one mega-attack by surprise. Since the cost would quadruple from 500 to 2,000, combined with Acid Shot. It wasn’t something I could spam in a fight.

I had tested the combinations and I could hit something with Acid Shot and then follow up with the much harder to spot and wider range Force Wave to create the annihilation effect. I would only have a short time period while Acid Shot still had energy which didn’t disperse. The liquid quickly following after the skill, leaving behind melted physical matter. It was a couple of seconds but I had been working on the timing.

Realistically, the best effect was having both skills hit a target at the same time. It wasn’t going to be simple or easy. I had no doubt that a level 5 monster would have the ability to dodge and have enough intelligence to make a combination attack very annoying. I might, big might, be able to damage a level 6 monster, but it was all guesswork at that point.

In the end I put all 3 upgrades into Air Burst. It was my primary aerial combat and movement skill. Having it just be a thought away was a huge comfort. I picked the upgrades, speed, size, and prep and hold. The same upgrades I had before.

It was tempting to explore other upgrade paths, but once this situation was taken care of and I reset my skills, I would be looking at the upgrades a lot more closely. For now, it was much more important in my mind to keep what I was comfortable with and not trying to fumble something new in high level combat.

Based on the information the Protector had provided me, there was a tower in this zone. I was going to take a look. I might even climb it as well, instead of going to the Astrologer’s tower first. Maybe, it was a big maybe. I might not even climb it.

While I was in favor of not climbing the tower to free him, it was something that constantly lingered in my mind. There was also the chance that the inside of his tower was clear of monsters since he was stuck inside. Just climb up to the top with no problem. Also, if there was a level 6 monster at the top, I was partially concerned about beating it.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

There was no way the 49th floor was the top floor. It was probably the 50th floor. It was hard to say since the outside of the tower had no markings besides the door the golems had come out of. This new tower looked exactly the same as the first one I had seen long ago.

It was square, and just went straight up like a giant gray monolith. I stopped a short distance away and noted the giant steps leading up to the base of the tower itself. I circled the tower a bit and confirmed there was a door on an adjacent side. I wasn’t going to waste time circling the thing. Well time to go poke at this one and see if I could handle several level 4 monsters at the same time. I was also curious if there would be a change in monsters.

I reached the edge of the stone steps and looked up. With a leap I landed on the first one. I wasn’t going to use a summon this time to draw the monsters out. If I was going to climb a tower then I needed to be able to handle multiple level 4 monsters at the same time.

If things did get too hard, then I could always run. My Body stat was much higher than it was before. The door at the base of the tower opened up. They golems that emerged were huge balls instead of rectangles, with stubby legs as well.

Ten of the golems marched out. I waited, but they all came to a stop at the top of the giant stone stairs just like their counterparts at the other tower. Well time to approach. Even if they were level 4 monsters, I had confidence in killing them in a double attack.

They probably had defensive measures like the other golems, so two quick Acid Shots one after the other using multi-cast would be perfect to take these kind of monsters out. I had noted that level 4 monsters often had a defensive ability, but they didn’t handle spam attacks very well.

I leapt up another two giant steps. One of the golems retracted its legs into its body, slamming into the giant step and began to roll down at me. Each impact and bounce came with a large bang, like a sledge hammer hitting stone.

Waiting calmly, I watched the monster approach. It was good to know that they didn’t increase the number of monsters based on power level, only the number of people or hostiles nearby. The golem hit the step two above mine. Acid Shot. Acid Shot.

I moved while using my skills. So much easier to move, attack, and think when the skills were entirely mental. A hemisphere of the sphere golem shot off taking out the first Acid Shot but the second one impacted the golem.

Unlike before where I had to stack attack after attack with the hope it would do something, now the golem just melted away like butter in a microwave. It quickly turned to dust before it could unleash a single attack. The point crystal hit the stone stairs and I didn’t even give it a look. If I was going to grind points, then it would be on a level 5 monster, not these things.

That was my favorite kind of fight, one where the monsters or the other party didn’t even have a chance to do anything. I heard a lot more impacts and glanced upwards. All remaining nine sphere golems were bouncing their way towards me.

Oh, that was interesting, but I suppose they thought I was a real threat. Kill one, stir them all up. I waited calmly as they kept approaching. I already had a plan in mind if they all decided to act at the same time. Two steps away, I acted. Acid Shot x2. Acid Shot x2.

I targeted two of the lead golems. They intercepted the first acid shots by ejecting part of their outer shell, but the follow up attack got them. I kicked of the stairs moving backwards. By the time I was at the bottom six of the nine golems had perished.

Acid Shot x2. Acid Shot x2. Now there was only a single golem left. I retreated a bit and let it land in front of me curious to what it would do. I normally didn’t like letting monsters have an attack against me, but I wanted to see how much their capabilities differed compared to the other golems.

The golem launched a metal blade at me from its shell and began rolling rapidly towards me. I dodged to the side. It kept rolling at me and quickly adjusted course. Blades extended to either side. It was a death ball that was trying to knee cap me.

Acid Shot. Acid Shot. I leapt back again and it turned to dust and dropped a point crystal before it could reach me. Too easy.

It was always hard to judge how much I was improving since level 4 monsters could vary so much. But I had put these golems at the same combat level and ability as the crusher golems. Before it had been a fight for my very life both times, I had confronted them.

There was always a bit of a shadow in my heart. Not a huge one, but it had always felt like a defeat having to run back to a city. Then the other level 4 monsters were so varied, it was hard to compare them that easily. But these level 4 monsters were clearly the same golem or tower type of monster. Silver metallic constructs hell bent on my death and very geometric.

The fact I could finish one off in a single attack so quickly spoke volumes to the power of a higher level skill and its ability to inflict damage. In fact, I had overkilled the golems in my mind with a single Acid Shot on their main body.

I waited calmly. While I wanted to go up the stairs and look inside the tower, and check the other sides of the tower I wanted to make sure I had all my energy back first. No sense in tempting fate when hordes of level 4 monsters could come pouring out of the structure.