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Chapter 18
50th Floor (1)
《Clear Time Ranking reward granted.》
《Received 100 High-Grade Summon Tickets.》
《Received 50 Rare Summon Tickets.》
⁝
The rewards just kept pouring in. Pouring.
I’d already gotten plenty of rewards for the boss floors like the 5th and 10th, but on the 15th floor I even went out of my way to clear the “Crimson Moon” gimmick.
Maybe that’s why they were showering me with all kinds of prizes now.
They even gave me twenty random rare armor option tickets.
On top of that, I also got another Skill Unlock Scroll like the one I’d gotten before.
《You have received a Special Skill Unlock Scroll.》
That meant I could finally unlock Caligo’s next skill.
I’d been wondering when I’d get to do that, so this was perfect.
But the real highlight was something else entirely—
《Clear Rank reward granted.》
The item I got for my clear rank—
《You have received a Special Skill Enhancement Scroll.》
—was none other than a Special Skill Enhancement Scroll!
“Whoa!”
I couldn’t help but blurt out in surprise after reading the item description, which made Hertia and Caligo rush over in alarm.
“Master! Are you all right?”
“Sage! Did something happen?”
“Ah, no, it’s nothing.”
“It didn’t sound like nothing, though. That was a pretty loud reaction.”
Tch. Why is Caligo so sharp?
“I was simply reflecting on whether your growth has been slower than I anticipated—wondering if I’ve made any miscalculations.”
“I… I’m deeply sorry! We’ve failed to live up to your expectations, Master…”
“…I have no face to show you, Master.”
“No need to be so dejected. Even if growth is slow, we just adjust our strategy accordingly.”
“Master…”
“Sage!”
A little stick, a little carrot—keep them distracted.
“We will train even harder!”
“I’ll devote myself to research so as not to bring shame upon you!”
“Good.”
Enough of an excuse for my slip-up earlier.
I refocused on the scroll I’d received.
So this really can enhance a skill?
【Special Skill Enhancement Scroll】
Description: A scroll imbued with great power, capable of forcibly enhancing one of a summoned creature’s unique skills.
Reading that description brought a grin to my face.
In Legend Seven, every summon has three unique skills—whether they’re Apocalypse-tier like Hertia or Hero-tier like Temina.
This scroll could enhance one of those three.
But “enhancement” was far more difficult and costly than “unlocking” a skill.
If I had to compare prices, this was at least ten times more expensive than a Skill Unlock Scroll.
And my main summon wasn’t just Legendary or Mythical, but Apocalypse-tier.
Even in the game days, villains only maxed out skill enhancements in the absolute late endgame.
That changed the picture entirely.
And I’ve had a certain skill in mind if I ever got one of these…
That would be her first skill—Hertia’s Reason.
Currently, its description was:
【Hertia’s Reason】
Description: Upon battle start, the speed of all summons except Hertia is fixed at 20% slower than hers.
Thanks to this skill, I always had the absolute first turn.
But even if Hertia got the first move, there was no guarantee the second turn would also be ours.
If I enhanced this skill, I could control that variable as well.
“Hertia. Come here a moment.”
“Yes, Master.”
“I bestow this power upon you.”
“…I shall receive my Master’s grace.”
《Using Special Skill Enhancement Scroll.》
《The Apocalypse Witch Hertia’s unique skill “Hertia’s Reason” has been enhanced.》
When I read the updated skill description, the new additions caught my eye—
【Hertia’s Reason】
Description: Upon battle start, the speed of all enemy summons is fixed at 50% slower than Hertia’s, allies at 5% slower, and Hertia can determine the attack order.
Perfect!
Now, as long as Hertia was present, every one of my summons would have absolute first-turn advantage.
It was essentially like having four copies of “Hertia’s Reason” in play.
This is the dignity of a Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Next up—Caligo’s skill unlock.
“Caligo.”
“Yes, Sage!”
“Step forward.”
“Yes, sir!”
“I shall grant you new power as well.”
“Wha—! To receive the Sage’s miracle upon my body?! I can die happy right now!”
He knelt before me, eyes shining, giddy at the thought of receiving my power.
You’d think I’d be used to this over-the-top reaction by now, but nope.
《Use Special Skill Unlock Scroll on Death’s Liberator Caligo?》
《YES》
《Unlocked Death’s Liberator Caligo’s unique skill “Bloom of Death.”》
I immediately checked the description—
【Bloom of Death】
Description: Plants seeds of deadly poison in all enemies, causing paralysis for a time. After planting, if allies are hit 10 times or attack 10 times, the seeds bloom, triggering “Full Bloom.”
Full Bloom: The seeds bloom, dealing damage equal to 50% of the target’s max HP and “maiming” them for 20%. Maimed HP cannot be recovered for the rest of the battle.
Yep—pure debuffer material.
To simplify: it paralyzes enemies, and after 10 hits, they lose half their HP, with a permanent 20% gone for the rest of the fight.
Debuffer-slash-sub-DPS, basically.
You just plant the seeds and let nature take its course.
“Do you feel the power?”
“Yes! I’m about to go insane wanting to test it out right now!”
Sure, he was eager to fight.
But not today. I still planned to unlock Temina’s and Iron’s skills too, and I needed to think about how to chain everyone’s abilities on each floor.
“Temina. Iron. You too will receive power.”
“It is an honor.”
“M-me too? Th-thank you!”
《Using Hero Skill Unlock Scroll.》
《Unlocked second skills for Temina and Iron.》
First, Temina—
Skill 2: Because My Skin Is Precious
Description: If allies act first, creates a canopy of flames that reflects one enemy skill attack (except Water-element) back at them. After reflection, increases evasion by 20% for a time.
A defensive skill—Temina’s survivability just went up a notch.
Then Iron—
Skill 2: A-A Knight Shall Do It!
Description: If placed in the front row, charges forward in a straight line with eyes closed. Hit enemies are knocked back by “Impact.” If placed in the back row, detaches body and throws it at an enemy with a 30% chance to stun.
Right… we’ll think about applications later.
For now, I’d unlocked everyone’s skills and cleared the 15th floor gimmick dungeon in record time.
“Enough for today. Everyone, return.”
“Yes!”
A few days after the 15th floor clear—
I’d been busy.
I pushed all the way up to the 40th floor.
I could tell the Record Tower’s net was tightening around me…
Not that it matters now.
When interest in the “mysterious adventurer” peaked, I planned to reveal myself on my own terms.
That’s why I’d been laying the groundwork lately.
If I just came out and said, “I’m that mysterious adventurer,” no one would believe me.
But I didn’t want the Record Tower to find me first and drag me into their pace either.
So I bought a camera and re-recorded clears from the 1st to 10th floors.
Naturally, Hertia and Caligo didn’t appear in these videos.
This was just to show off “my personal skill,” not to reveal myself as a kill-on-sight target.
And… 10th floor clear video edited!
I stretched and looked toward the desert battlefield where my summons were fighting.
What was I doing?
Auto-hunting.
Once inside the Tower, I just explained the strategy to Hertia and Caligo and left them to clear the dungeon while I edited videos at the entrance.
Two jobs at once in the same spot.
Life is good when you’ve got competent summons.
Before long, a message popped up—
《Cleared Tower of Struggle 40th Floor: Burning Dunes of Silence.》
《Unbelievable Record!》
《Time: 19:22》
《New Clear Time Ranking #1.》
《Clear Rank: SSS》
《New Clear Rank Record!》
《Level Up! Adventurer Level 39.》
Time to start preparing.
Floors 16–30 were Episode 2 backgrounds, 31–45 were Episode 3.
Episode 3 meant desert terrain and monsters like Scorpions and Giant Worms.
They hid under the sand, so runs took longer, but not harder—because I had Hertia.
The only problem was, I hadn’t found a good moment to use Caligo’s new skill, and he was getting seriously pouty about it.
See? He’s sulking again.
“Hertia! I told you I was going to attack!”
“And I told you, don’t blame me for your sluggishness.”
“What was that? Fine—how about a nice shower in my toxins?”
“Think you can even land it?”
“Oh-ho? So it’s not that you’re disinterested—it’s that you’re scared?”
“…Childish. Temina, come.”
“Uh… yes.”
“Hey! Don’t just walk off after talking! I’m not done yet!”
Yeah… that’s jealousy.
Let’s be honest: right now, we’re basically climbing the Tower on Hertia’s power alone.
Her enhanced Reason makes every floor easier than before, no question.
But from floor 46 onward, I’d need to prepare carefully.
Episode 4—the Vampire stage.
Vampires and their minions had insane survivability.
That was where Caligo’s abilities would finally shine.
Still, I couldn’t rely solely on him.
It’s been a week since the update notice…
About twenty days left until the main episode update.
If I rushed, I could probably hit around floor 90 by then.
Part of me wanted to go straight to floor 100, but that wasn’t realistic.
Not without a helper.
I needed to manage my own adventurer level, level my summons evenly, and steadily upgrade skills and gear.
So far, I’d been coasting on cost-effective equipment, but from here on, I’d have to be more deliberate.
These days, I was practically burning my eyes out checking the marketplace every day.
Man… I wish I could just order someone to buy stuff and approve it without lifting a finger.
But that would cost money.
Where’s a nice, willing slave when you need one…
Well, if I wanted to save time, I’d better push further today.
One more good run could net me another decent piece of gear from the marketplace.
No more sitting around.
“Hertia, Caligo.”
“Yes, Master.”
“You called, Sage?!”
“That’s enough bickering. We’re climbing to floor 45 today.”
“…! Understood.”
“Ha! I’d go to floor 100 today if you wanted!”
“Good. Then get ready—we’re heading to the next floor.”
“Yes!”
《Entering Tower of Struggle 41st Floor: Sun-Stilled Desert.》
《Tower of Struggle 42nd Floor…》
《Tower of Struggle…》
