Eternal Spire

The sword sliced through the air, drawing a blue trajectory. The blade, imbued with internal energy, emitted a subtle yet chilling radiance, as if holding moonlight.

-Clang!

The sword clashed against the Black Night Wolf King's massive claw, and a powerful impact reverberated. Its claw was harder than steel, but the blade, reinforced with internal energy, pierced through its toughness.

-Slash!

The blade pierced through its claw, leaving a deep wound on its foreleg. Red blood spurted out and scattered into the air. It let out a pained howl and stumbled backward.

I readjusted my grip on the sword and readied my stance. Its red eyes gleamed with wariness. It hesitated for a moment, moving as if to put distance between us.

"Are you thinking of running away?"

I sneered, pointing the tip of my sword. The blade, imbued with internal energy, emitted a subtle light, aiming directly at its red eyes.

It seemed to understand my provocation, letting out a low growl. But it didn't immediately charge. As if it had learning capabilities, it firmly planted its forelegs on the ground, reassessing its movements.

The creature, which had been circling at a cautious distance, suddenly retreated. And from that spot, black smoke began to rise.

Dozens of black wolves emerged from within the smoke. They pushed off the ground and charged at me all at once.

The blade, imbued with a blue sword aura, sliced through the air, leaving a trajectory. The black wolves caught in the swing were torn to shreds and vanished like smoke.

However, another group surged forward from among the fallen wolves. Their numbers showed no sign of decreasing.

'This will be endless.'

I lowered my body and quickly shifted my stance. Gripping the sword firmly, I drew up my internal energy and swung it powerfully once more.

The sword aura, unleashed from the blade, drew a crescent shape and swept across the air. The sword aura engulfed the surrounding black wolves, annihilating them in an instant.

I quickly dashed through the rising black smoke.

-Kwoooarrr!

With a roar, its body launched off the ground and soared into the air. Its massive claws sliced through the air, flying towards me.

I lightly leaped and landed on its massive instep. Its huge body trembled slightly, but I maintained my balance and used its instep as a foothold to swing my sword.

-Chwaaak!

The sharp sensation of cutting flesh from the sword transmitted to my fingertips. Red blood gushed out, staining its body. At the same time, a massive foreleg flying from the right entered my vision.

I lightly twisted my body to evade its attack. With the sound of its claw slicing through the air, I landed softly on the ground. I raised my head and looked up at it.

Blood flowed from its left eye, obstructing its vision. It glared at me with its intact eye, letting out a roar filled with pain and fury.

"Kwoooarrrr!"

Its massive claw slammed into the ground and swept through the air. I calmly lowered my body to dodge the attack, then plunged into its embrace.

"Too slow."

With a cold sneer, I raised my sword. Internal energy permeated the sword, and its blade absorbed the moonlight.

-Shwiiing!

The blade, imbued with internal energy, started from its gaping maw and sliced horizontally through its massive body, leaving a blue trajectory.

The Black Night Wolf King was split in two, scattering red blood into the air.

The surroundings became so quiet that not even a breath could be heard.

I lightly swung my sword, shaking off the blood clinging to the blade.

"M-monster..."

"Th-they did that alone...?"

Low exclamations erupted among the participants. All their gazes were fixed on me. They looked at me with eyes mixed with awe and fear.

I ignored their gazes and approached the Black Night Wolf King's corpse.

'In the original work, defeating a boss gave rewards. Will this one too?'

As if reading my thoughts, a message appeared before my eyes.

[You have defeated the Black Night Wolf King.]

[Reward: 500 Gold, +2 Points, 1 Item Drop.]

[Achievement Unlocked! You are the first participant to defeat the Gatekeeper of the 0th Floor Corridor. A special reward will be granted.]

[Reward: 2,000 Gold, +5 Points, Unique Ability Unlocked.]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

'As expected...'

I smiled and slowly read the messages that appeared. I was satisfied with the more generous rewards than I had anticipated.

2,500 Gold, 7 stat points, plus an item and level-ups. It was a pretty good reward.

As the messages disappeared, a faint light appeared above the Black Night Wolf King's corpse. The light slowly condensed, then transformed into a small object and fell to the ground. I approached and picked it up.

[Black Night Fang]

Grade: C

-A fang imbued with the Black Night Wolf King's powerful strength. It can be used as an enhancement material and can grant abilities when combined with equipment.

'This will be quite useful.'

I put the Black Night Fang into my inventory and turned my attention to the next message that appeared.

[Special Reward Unique Ability Unlocking... ]

[Unique Ability Unlocked.]

[Grace of Heavenly Moon]

-Grade: SS

As one blessed by the Heavenly Moon, the subtle power of the moon envelops your body and soul.

-At night, when the moon is out, all energy consumption is reduced, and recovery is faster. Additionally, all stats increase by 20%.

(However, only 10% applies during the day.)

-On the day of the full moon each month, all stats increase by double.

-Possesses resistance to all mental attacks, confusion, fear, etc.

-Resistance to poison and curse status effects is enhanced.

-Subtle moonlight corrects the user's movements, granting special effects.

'Grace of Heavenly Moon... This is a unique ability I haven't seen in the original work.'

I glanced at the message that appeared and fell into thought.

'Although the effect is halved during the day, its performance still doesn't seem bad.'

Even if its efficiency was slightly reduced during the day, it could display truly overwhelming power at night. Furthermore, it was a versatile unique ability, offering status effect resistance and defense against mental attacks.

I slowly raised my head and looked around. The area around the Black Night Wolf King's corpse was still quiet. It was so peaceful that the chaotic pandemonium from earlier felt like a lie.

While I was fighting, quite a lot of people had left.

'It seems Icia got out safely.'

After confirming she had left, I turned my gaze to the sword in my hand. Even without emitting sword energy, the blade glowed subtly as if it had absorbed moonlight. That light was both cold and even gave off a sacred feeling.

'How strange?'

I lightly swung the sword back and forth. Each time the blade sliced through the air, it left a subtle, moonlight-like trajectory.

After swinging the sword for a bit, I put it into my inventory and slowly walked towards the entrance. With each step I took, the people around me instinctively made way. Their faces, a mix of fear and awe, lowered their gazes as if avoiding me.

As I passed the entrance, another message appeared.

[You have entered the 1st Floor.]

As soon as I crossed the entrance, a message popped up before my eyes. I casually waved my hand to dismiss the message and looked around.

'Its name... was it the City of Beginnings?'

At the entrance, a signboard erected by someone caught my eye.

[Welcome to the City of Beginnings.]

I slowly walked past the signboard and moved further inside. The interior was chaotic. Participants who had barely made it through the gate were gathered everywhere. From people groaning with injuries to those sitting on the ground wailing. Amidst the participants of various races and ages, an atmosphere of fear and confusion mingled.

As I was moving through the crowd, about to take another step, a sharp female voice came from behind me.

"Excuse me."

I turned my head to identify the owner of the voice. A beautiful woman with purple bobbed hair and sharp eyes stood there.

"What is it?"

When I asked indifferently, she smiled and approached me.

"I want to make a deal with you."

"A deal, you say..."

I narrowed my eyes and scrutinized her. She then lightly caressed her chin with a finger, curving her lips upward.

"I saw you fighting that monster earlier. You're truly strong. In a strange place like this, being with someone as powerful as you would be the safest. I want to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with you."

"You're beating around the bush. Let's be direct. What do you want?"

When I asked directly, she chuckled and came closer to my side.

"Why, protection and cooperation, of course."

"I don't make deals without profit. Tell me clearly what you can offer me."

Her lips curved even further. Then she brought her mouth close to my ear and whispered.

"I can give you everything. In any way you desire..."

Her sweet breath tickled my ear. And she discreetly stroked my arm.

"What do you think? It seems like a pretty good deal."

"Let me ask you one thing."

"What is it?"

"Are you still a virgin?"

Her face momentarily contorted at my question, but she quickly regained her composure and answered confidently.

"I'm still a virgin."

Hearing her answer, I pondered. I wondered what to do with this beauty who had walked right up to me.

'Her face passes, and she'd be perfect to use as a fleshlight, but.'

The problem was that she seemed useless beyond her looks and her pussy. While I could certainly protect someone like her with my current abilities.

'Do I really need to bother with that? Should I just fuck her and toss her aside?'

Anyway, this place operated on the logic of power. The strong took everything, and those who weren't strong had everything taken from them.

Even if I used her and discarded her, no one would say anything.

Seeing me still lost in thought, she approached with a slightly anxious expression.

"What do you think...?"

"Hmm, show me your stats. I'll decide after seeing them."

"Okay... But how do I show them? I don't know the method."

"Imagine thinking about your stats and sharing them with me in your mind. Then I'll be able to see them."

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then nodded.

"Alright. I'll try."

When she did as I instructed, a translucent window appeared before me.

Name: Ekaterina Oleg

Level: 1

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Alignment: Neutral, Chaos

Stats

- Strength: 4

- Stamina: 6

- Agility: 4

- Intelligence: 12

- Mana: 1

- Luck: 8

[Unique Ability]

Mana's Blessing (C)

I nodded as I examined her stats.

'Does she have an aptitude for magic? Her Intelligence is higher than I expected, and her Mana stat is already unlocked.'

I closed the stats window and looked at her.

"Alright. I'll accept the deal. But there's a condition."

"A condition...?"

"If you disobey even one of my instructions, it's over immediately. If you don't do as I tell you, you're out. Do you understand?"

Ekaterina was silent for a moment, then nodded and said,

"I understand."

"Follow me."

I led Ekaterina towards where an inn might be.

I looked at Ekaterina walking beside me. Her luscious breasts swayed with each step, her slender figure, long legs... Her appearance, at least, was flawless.

'I've decided to take her with me for now, but if her pussy isn't good, I'll just stash her away in some building and use her as a fleshlight occasionally.'