Chapter 162: First floor

Walking towards the tower, the people around the structure weren’t particularly interested in his approach. Why would they be? He wasn’t the first or the last person to walk towards the legendary testing ground. Dozens of Platinum-rank warriors attempted entry daily, their individual stories merging into routine background activity.

Merchants continued hawking their specialized equipment. The bustling marketplace maintained its commercial rhythm regardless of who approached the tower’s entrance.

Ethan moved through the crowd with casual confidence, his enhanced perception noting the diverse array of territorial representatives present.

The Blood Dragon remained alert on his shoulder, his intelligence processing the social dynamics while remaining prepared for potential complications. SSS-rank instincts recognized that peaceful environments could shift rapidly when valuable resources were involved.

But the safe zone’s magical enforcement remained absolute. Even obvious enemies maintained civil behavior while the tower’s protection systems monitored every interaction for signs of prohibited violence.

Arriving in front of the massive structure, Ethan felt the weight of its presence pressing against his consciousness. The tower rose beyond visual limits while dark stone radiated power that made the air itself thick with contained potential.

Runic inscriptions covering the entrance archway began glowing as his approach triggered activation sequences. Ancient text flowed across stone surfaces like living language while geometric patterns created optical illusions that challenged depth perception.

[Welcome to the Sanctuary’s Tower. Would you like to enter?]

[Yes | No]

The magical interface appeared directly in his visual field, bypassing normal sensory input to communicate through consciousness itself. The tower’s systems had assessed his capabilities and determined him qualified for admission.

Ethan paused for a second, took a deep breath, and pressed yes.

The response was immediate and disorienting.

Reality fractured around him as spatial displacement activated with overwhelming force. The marketplace, the crowd, the external environment—everything dissolved into streams of light while dimensional barriers collapsed and reformed around his consciousness.

FLASH! WARP!

He materialized inside an enormous arena that defied the tower’s external dimensions entirely. The platform stretched nearly a kilometer in both length and width, its surface composed of black stone that absorbed light while maintaining perfect visibility through magical illumination.

Ethan immediately checked for Rambo, relief flooding through him as the Blood Dragon remained perched on his shoulder. The creature’s presence had survived the transportation process without apparent difficulty.

The arena contained no spectator seating or decorative elements—just the vast fighting platform surrounded by walls that stretched upward beyond visual range. This was purely functional space designed for combat trials rather than entertainment.

[Floor 1 Challenge: Combat Efficiency]

[Objective: Eliminate all hostile entities]

[Preparation Time: 60 seconds]

[Challenge begins automatically upon timer completion]

One minute to assess the situation and prepare for whatever the tower’s systems would manifest. Ethan used the time to examine his immediate environment while ensuring optimal positioning for combat initiation.

The arena’s surface showed no obvious environmental hazards or advantageous terrain features. Smooth stone provided stable footing while magical lighting eliminated shadows that might conceal threats or provide tactical opportunities.

“Pure combat assessment,” he concluded. “No environmental variables—just direct capability testing.”

Rambo spread its wings experimentally, testing flight mechanics within the enclosed space. The Blood Dragon’s movement indicated sufficient room for aerial maneuvers despite the arena’s substantial but finite dimensions.

[30 seconds remaining]

[Entities materializing…]

Dimensional rifts began opening across the arena floor as the tower’s systems prepared the trial’s opponents. Reality warped around manifestation points while hostile life forms emerged from spaces between dimensions.

[10 seconds remaining]

[Final preparations…]

Ethan positioned himself at optimal range from the emerging threats while ensuring clear movement routes for tactical repositioning. Enhanced Speed would provide mobility advantages, but understanding the arena’s limitations remained important.

[Challenge Beginning]

[Eliminate all hostile entities to proceed]

The manifestation completed as ten creatures materialized across the vast platform. Each entity radiated Mid-Gold rank power while their species characteristics became visible through the arena’s magical illumination.

Fireflies.

But not the harmless insects the name suggested. These were creatures the size of large horses, their translucent wings creating prismatic displays while internal flames blazed with supernatural intensity. Each specimen radiated C-rank Fire talent that made the air shimmer with thermal distortion.

<Hostile Entity: Infernal Firefly>

<Rank: Mid-Gold>

<Fire Mastery Talent: C>

<Quantity: 10>

Seeing the challenge in front of him, Ethan couldn’t help but laugh with genuine happiness. The tower had just provided him with the best possible gift imaginable.

“Perfect,” he said with delighted recognition. “Absolutely perfect.”

Rambo chirped with curiosity at his reaction, the Blood Dragon’s mind questioning why ten Mid-Gold opponents would generate such positive response from someone with Mid-Platinum capabilities.

The answer lay in advancement rather than simple combat victory. These creatures possessed exactly the talent he needed for his next evolutionary breakthrough.

“C-rank Fire talent,” Ethan explained to his companion while studying the slowly approaching fireflies. “Killing and devouring three of these will finally allow me to evolve my fire capabilities.”

His current Volcanic Mastery operated at D+ grade—powerful but limited in scope compared to pure Fire talent at higher rankings. The progression was clear: three C rank Fire talents would provide enough advancement to push his own capabilities to C- grade.

“The volcanic mastery would be overridden entirely,” he continued with growing anticipation. “Pure Flame talent with broader applications and higher ceiling potential. More importantly, the lock on how mant talents i can devour would be gone until i reach the next limit.”

Volcanic Mastery focused specifically on defensive applications—magma, superheated rock, thermal ground control. Useful but not great.

“Versatility over specialization,” Ethan concluded as the fireflies began coordinating their approach

The creatures moved with fluid grace despite their substantial size, wings creating harmonic frequencies while internal flames built toward combat intensity. Their coordination suggested pack intelligence that would make the encounter more challenging than simple numerical superiority.

BUZZ! HISS! GLOW!

The first firefly attacked with thermal projection that superheated the air between them. C-rank Fire talent created temperatures that could melt most metals while plasma effects challenged even enhanced defensive capabilities.

But Mid-Platinum attributes made the assault manageable rather than threatening. Ethan’s enhanced constitution could survive direct contact with stellar temperatures while his speed capabilities allowed evasion of attacks.

Time to begin the harvest.

Enhanced Speed activated to moderate levels as reality shifted into manageable slow motion. The fireflies’ coordinated assault became readable patterns while their thermal attacks appeared as slow-moving energy projections.

“Three targets for advancement,” he said with predatory satisfaction. “Seven for practice.”

Volcanic Mastery erupted with controlled precision, molten rock emerging from the arena floor in tactical patterns that channeled the creatures’ movement while creating environmental advantages for elimination.

BOOM! CRACK! SIZZLE!

The first firefly met crystal-hardened fists backed by Mid-Platinum strength. The collision produced sonic booms while thermal energy discharged in brilliant displays that illuminated the entire arena.

Ethan devoured the firefly immediately after its death. His talent gave him the option of overriding his volcanic mastery and he agreed.

When devouring a talent that had similar rank, and trait. The system gave him the option to decided.

One down. Two more for talent evolution.

The remaining creatures adapted their tactics with impressive intelligence, spreading formation while coordinating ranged attacks that challenged his positioning. But Ethan’s power rendered their strategy irrelevant.

Time to complete the collection.

Rambo watched with obvious interest as C-rank Fire talents were extracted from cooling corpses. The Blood Dragon’s SSS-rank intelligence recognized the significance of what was occurring—evolutionary advancement. After all, he had a similar way of advancing through blood. But his advancement was only through rank, not talent.

“Finally…C- grade Fire talent,” Ethan said with satisfaction as the final firefly collapsed among its companions.

The tower’s first floor had provided exactly what he needed most.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

<Human: Ethan Brandon>

<Rank: Mid-Platinum>

<Talents: Flame Mastery (C-), Water(D-), Crystal Manipulation (D), Speed (D), Wind(D), Protective Shield (F+), Accuracy Enhancement (F+), Regeneration (D+), Dagger Wield (F-), Mental Enhancement (F)>

<Transformations: Dark Wraith(High-Gold), Apex Mane(Mid-Gold), Ironhide Devastator (Mid-Gold), Crystal Butterfly(Low-Gold), Lazy Monkey(Peak-Silver), Tunneler Behemoth(High-Silver), Crystal Ape (Mid-Silver), Panther (Mid-Silver), Silver Serpent (Mid-Silver), Harpy(Mid-Silver)>

<Level 9>

<Health Points: 5250> <Mana Points:5500>

<Strength: 515> <Agility: 520>

<Intelligence: 550> <Vitality: 525>

<Free Attributes: 23>

<Skills: Basic Footwork (Apprentice- 5%), Swordsmanship (Novice – 90%), Mana control (Apprentice – 2%)>

The evolutionary advancement from Volcanic Mastery to Flame Mastery represented more than simple ranking improvement.

Ethan was now able to devour new talents. Talents that weren’t part of his collection.

But as satisfaction from the first floor’s success settled into strategic planning, Ethan’s thoughts turned to other advancement opportunities he carried. The Dark Wraith’s corpse remained preserved in his storage ring—a High-Gold creature with C+ grade Darkness talent that could provide immediate darkness talent.

His hand moved instinctively toward the dimensional storage before pausing mid-gesture.

“Wait,” he murmured, tactical assessment overriding immediate gratification impulses.

The tower’s existence changed everything about resource allocation strategy. Before discovering this legendary testing ground, the Dark Wraith represented the pinnacle of advancement materials available for him.

But now he had access to one hundred floors of systematic challenges designed to push his power beyond current limitations.

The merchant’s words echoed in his memory—rewards that supposedly included advancement opportunities toward Diamond rank itself.

Consuming the Dark Wraith would provide guaranteed C+ Darkness talent immediately. Powerful capability that would enhance his combat versatility through shadow manipulation, concealment techniques, and more.

But darkness talent was difficult to evolve further. Ethan wasn’t sure whether any of the towers early floors had a challenge filled with shadow creatures.

“The tower offers better talents and opportunities for evolution,” Ethan reasoned. “Higher floors promise talents and materials that don’t exist anywhere else.”

What if higher floors contained creatures with B-rank or even A-rank talents?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep