The second hall looked more like a training course designed for use by ninjas or assassins than fighters. It was covered in a veritable forest of wooden poles placed vertically from end to end. The only way to reach the other side was to jump from one to another without falling. Such a challenge wouldn't have been a problem, except for one tiny detail. The floor was gone, replaced with a bottomless pit filled with sharp spikes. One misstep was enough to promise death to anyone who fell.
Joe walked to the edge and looked down. He had never been good at sports, and his sense of balance had always been the worst in his class. Yet currently, his Agility stood at 55 points, making it his strongest stat by far. Joe stood up straight and clenched his fists, now wasn't the time to doubt himself. The Tower had transformed him, giving him abilities he never thought possible, and with Aura, he could perform feats beyond any normal human. Joe bent his knees, and with a light jump, he hopped onto the closest pole while pivoting his arms to maintain his balance. The foothold on top of each bar was only half a meter in diameter, wide enough to allow a grown man to stand but not much else. Joe took a moment to compose himself while ignoring the bottomless ravine below. He released his Aura, activating the body enhancement technique. Then with a single leap, he began vaulting from one pole to another.
Soon, Joe's heart began to palpitate with excitement. He had underestimated just how much his balance and coordination had improved thanks to his higher stats. And as a result, the hall was proving more effortless than the first. Joe quickly picked up speed, gliding through the air with a sense of balance and flexibility that shocked even himself. He couldn't help but lament that it would have been an impressive sight if only he hadn't been naked.
The further he advanced, the greater the distance between each pole became. However, Joe remained unperturbed. His stats and his new Aura technique gave him an unfair advantage, allowing him to overcome the increasing distance with ease. The only challenge had been the final few poles near the end that shook once he landed on them. Yet, Joe instinctively adjusted his balance, preventing himself from falling. Then with one final jump, he reached the plateau, thereby completing the course. With the second hall completed, Joe rushed to the next trial while reviewing his progress. He had only spent a few hours attempting on the second floor and was already 40% done. Joe couldn't help but laugh at the thought of completing all five halls in under a few days. Perhaps he should have aimed to complete all three quests from the start.
"No, don't jinx yourself," Joe admonished himself. Though the first two halls had been underwhelming, Joe knew not to underestimate the Tower. He had seen first-hand how hard even the first few blue floors had been, meaning the challenges would only get harder from here.
Joe passed by the third recovery room equipped with the standard amenities and proceeded to the next hall. He swung open the wooden door and stepped through with bated breath. The door opened up into another vast rectangular hall, similar in size to the last two, except this hall looked relatively plain, devoid of any noticeable features apart from the torches attached to the walls. Joe shuffled forward, gripping his sword and shield tightly, ready to respond at a second's notice.
‘Ting’
The moment he had taken a few steps into the room, a mechanical click echoed in the distance, sending Joe's senses into overdrive. He instantly raised his shield to his head just in time to block a 3-foot arrow that bolted towards him from the other side of the hall. The thick arrowhead slammed into his shield, piercing through the wooden frame, landing only a few inches away from his skull. Joe's eyes widened in alarm. He would have died instantly had the shield not deflected the arrow's trajectory at the last moment. Without a moment to lose, Joe jumped back, scanning his surroundings while preparing for another attack.
Joe waited for over a minute before confirming it was safe. He pulled the arrow out from his shield and inspected it. It was three times thicker than a regular arrow, making it appear more like a bolt shot from a ballista than a standard bow. Joe cut the shaft and placed the metal head into the kobold pouch around his belt while scanning the hall to find where the arrow had come from. Soon he felt a churning sense of dread in his gut. He spotted hundreds of holes installed across the ceiling and walls, enough to shoot a barrage of arrows, turning the hall into a veritable deathtrap. The only consolation was that the floor was devoid of gaps, preventing any attacks from below. Still, it didn't help to alleviate Joe's worries. The hall was far more dangerous than the last two, presenting the first real challenge he had faced. Eventually, Joe gathered his resolve and slowly started to inch back into the hall.
'Ting'
The sound of an identical mechanical click notified Joe of the arrow flying directly at him from the far end of the hall. Its speed caused it to whistle through the air like a firecracker. Yet, this time Joe knew what to expect. He moved his head to the side and felt a soft gust of air against his cheeks as the arrow sped by, harmlessly hitting the wall behind him. Joe maintained his position in case another attack followed, and only once he was sure no second attack was coming did he relax.
Instead of proceeding forward, Joe repeated the maneuver several times, moving back and forth, testing out different sections of the hall. Each time he passed a certain point, another arrow would shoot out from across the room, forcing him to evade or dodge. Joe's heart thumped rapidly, and his palms sweated from gripping his weapon too tightly. He wanted to berate himself for playing with death like this, but he needed to learn how the hall operated.
After repeated testing, Joe discovered the traps automatically activated once he passed a certain threshold. However, he wasn't sure if they were triggered based on hidden sensors on the floor or if there was another method in use. The second discovery was that there was no limit to the number of times a trap could be activated. No matter how many times he stepped past the same point, the same arrow would be shot toward him. In other words, once he proceeded forward, there would be no easy way to turn back.
"Damn it," Joe muttered to himself.
Unfortunately, there was no discernable difference between tiles to indicate when a trap would trigger, which meant the only way through was to fly or go step by step. Joe wiped the sweat off his brow. The stress of constantly playing Russian roulette with the Tower was fraying his nerves. It was no wonder why the Tower had provided healing fountains between each hall. Most would refuse even to attempt the challenges without some way to heal themselves in case of injury, and those that did would unlikely pass unscathed. Even those with gold-tiered skills who could obliterate hordes of enemies would find themselves utterly vulnerable on this floor if they lacked sufficient defensive capabilities.
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After confirming the basic premise of the floor, Joe sighed with reluctance and began to make his way further into the hall.
'Ting'
The moment he stepped on another tile, an arrow shot at him from the side. Joe swiveled just in time for the arrowhead to lodge itself into his shield. However, the force from the impact caused him to lose his footing and land on the adjacent floor.
"Damn!" Joe cursed and quickly rolled to the side, bracing his body for another attack. However, he soon let out a pent-up sigh of relief when no arrow came.
"Maybe it won't be so bad after all," Joe said hopefully.
After recovering from a brief brush with death, Joe sprinted into action, tackling the hall with renewed enthusiasm. Thanks to his high Agility, his senses and perception allowed him to pinpoint and react promptly to every shot, dodging or reflecting the arrows with ease. The only challenging attack had come from behind. The short distance from the entrance meant Joe had only narrowly avoided being pierced in the back thanks to his quick reflexes. Instead, the arrow sliced across his arm, leaving a shallow but bloody gash.
However, Joe remained unperturbed. He continued forward until suddenly, the number of arrows increased to two.
'Ting, Ting'
Two pings reverberated from different locations, leaving Joe scrambling. He flared his Aura and ducked down with his shield above his head just in time for both arrows to whistle harmlessly above. The sudden change caught him by surprise, and his hesitation almost got him killed. The Tower was no longer going easy on him, and he couldn't afford to get caught unaware again. However, instead of turning back, Joe pushed on. Though he had almost died, he did have one advantage. The levels and attributes Joe had gained on the blue floors gave him stats well above the average participant, effectively giving him cheat-like reflexes. By activating the body enhancement technique, he could push his senses even higher, allowing him to overcome the increase in difficulty.
Continuing like this, Joe made it halfway through the third hall while avoiding any fatal injuries. He had even discovered a few safe tiles, which he promptly memorized if he needed to make his way back. However, the state of his shield was a different story. Joe wanted to cry every time he looked down. The wooden disc had suffered multiple perforations, causing chunks of wood to splinter off. Only the metal buckle in the center had endured. A couple more hits, and it would break apart entirely.
With his stamina and Aura depleted, Joe sat down to rest on the next subsequent safe tile he discovered. With his shield broken, the only option was to improve his dodging ability or learn how to deflect the attacks with his weapon. The idea of deflecting arrows with a sword seemed more fantasy than reality, yet fortunately, his [Sword Mastery] skill suggested otherwise. Joe spent the night mentally picturing each trap he had faced while pushing spiritual energy into the sigil. As he hoped, the skill responded, showing him different styles to block or deflect each bolt using the blade's edge. The images the skill showed were an entirely new way of swordplay Joe hadn't considered. The blade moved in a way that was almost like a dance, powerful but elegant.
In many cases, the skill showed him ways to deflect the attack by altering the trajectory using the tiniest of movement. Most impressive was how the blocks were coordinated, connecting in a way that seemed to make sense. Joe absorbed everything with relish. Finally, after several hours of mental practice and an uncomfortable few hours of sleep, it was time to put theory to the test.
Joe left his shield in the safe spot and stepped back through the hall to repeat some of the traps he had passed earlier. Fortunately, the attack patterns hadn't changed, allowing him to test his technique without the risk of any surprises. He released a burst of Aura and concentrated on his surroundings. Time seemed to slow down as his perception got pushed to its limit. Joe spotted two arrows arching toward him from the front and side. He readied his feet and brought his sword up with both hands. The arrow from the side was closest, so Joe tilted his body back to dodge the first arrow, then swung his blade upwards to block the second.
The first bolt whistled by while the second slammed into the blade's side, sending Joe reeling as he struggled to hold his position. The weight of the attack was heavier than he had expected, forcing Joe to grit his teeth and adjust his grip to prevent the transfer of force from breaking his wrist. A large clang sound rang out as metal hit metal, and the arrowhead rebounded off the sword, spinning in the air and landing harmlessly on the stone floor. Joe's wrist throbbed with pain, but he still smiled and pumped his fist in the air. It wasn't pretty, but he had succeeded.
Joe spent the next few hours practicing his technique against traps he had already passed until finally, he was ready to proceed onwards. For the next few hours, Joe calmly made his way forward, dodging or parrying each arrow until he crossed another threshold where the difficulty level increased again.
'Ting, Ting, Ting'
This time, there were three arrows—two to the left and one above. Joe sidestepped back in time to watch the first arrow smash into the stone floor from above, leaving a foot-deep hole. The other two were only moments behind, spiraling straight towards his head. Joe swung his sword with all his might and slammed the blade's edge into the second arrow, now inches from his neck. The force pushed the arrow's trajectory off to the side, preventing it from gouging out a chunk of his throat. However, there was no way to stop the third attack in time. All Joe could do was lift his battered shield and pray for the best. The arrow collided with the wooden guard, causing the wood to shatter and the arrowhead to pierce straight through into his vambrace and arm unimpeded. Joe groaned out in pain as the arrow tore through his flesh, causing him to collapse to the floor with a thick bolt jutting out of his arm, but he was alive.
Blood trickled down to the floor, and what remained of his shield sat to the side. Joe was back in the recovery room, slowly cleaning the wound using water from the fountain. After getting injured, Joe had cautiously made his way to the recovery room via the safe tiles while doing his best to avoid the traps. Now that his shield had broke and his arm immobile, he couldn't risk proceeding further. It was the first time he had retreated since arriving on the second floor and a solemn reminder that he wasn't invulnerable.
Fortunately, after washing his wound in the fountain, the injury was already beginning to heal. Though Joe had failed the third hall, at least the Tower was generous enough to provide unlimited healing water to those on the Black floors. Perhaps the Heavens wanted to reward those who took more risks by adding extra perks. However, the more likely reason was that the Tower didn't want to waste valuable talent by killing them off too quickly.
Ultimately, it didn't matter. Joe would gladly take what he could get. It was a small consolation considering he had lost his only shield. Now the wooden disc was broken. It was nothing more than a metal frame. Joe kicked the pieces of wood in frustration. He had made decent progress, but the challenge would now prove twice as hard without a way to protect himself. He could face off against two arrows, but three or more was beyond his ability.
Joe sat and stared at the Angel in dejection. He was tempted to break off the wings and use them as a shield but decided not to take the risk of tempting fate. The last thing he needed was to anger the heavens. He couldn't help but wonder if Angels were once humans who had reached immortality. It would be a strange outcome to rise to the top only to dedicate your entire existence to serving the Gods. Joe shook his head to bring himself out of his musing. Either way, he would have to overcome this challenge himself. He closed his eyes and activated [Sword Mastery]. It was time to train.