Tower of Trials Floor 2

Defeating the boss monster on each floor granted gold, experience, and other rewards, along with activation rights for the transfer gate. The base rewards were split evenly among the party members who participated in the boss fight, with bonus rewards going to whoever landed the killing blow.

Since I'd taken down the boss solo, I'd expected a massive haul of base rewards plus the final strike bonus. But I hadn't anticipated a separate first clear reward.

There wasn't a peep about this in the community info posts.

And the specs were ridiculously high. Critical damage and durability were on the low side, but a base attack power of 100? That blew past my Kingdom Knight's Straight Sword with Sharp at +7 and no other enhancements.

Slap on Accuracy reinforcement to boost crit damage, and it'd be a monster of a weapon. Durability was the letdown, though. For real combat, I'd probably ditch crits for Durability reinforcement.

"But... it's an axe."

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My main weapon was a one-handed sword. Switching to an axe now would waste all the proficiency I'd built up.

My one-handed sword proficiency sat at 252. Every 50 points unlocked a passive option, and I'd already nabbed five. The bone axe had higher listed attack power, but in actual combat, the power gap wouldn't be huge.

Hell, the axe might even hit weaker.

Thud.

I pulled the bone axe from my inventory and equipped it. Smaller than the one Goblin Lord Graksar wielded, but that bastard was huge, so it was still absurdly oversized.

Big weapons had their perks, but this thing wasn't practical for battle. I'd hoped for something better from a first clear reward, but even with the raw power, it was a mixed bag.

"Tch."

I clicked my tongue and checked the next reward. The max contribution bonus was a necklace accessory part.

Simple options, no reinforcement. But for something from Floor 1, the base stats were broken. Defense was meh, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠+100 HP? That's like 10 levels' worth, since HP went up 10 per level.

Necklace slot was empty, so I equipped it right away.

Then an achievement popup hit out of nowhere. I'd known about achievements from the open community, but not this one. Achievements with clear conditions were rare anyway, but one from Floor 1? Equip both the bone axe and bone necklace at the same time, maybe?

Bone axe from first clear, bone necklace from max contribution. Only one person per tower could pull off both. And if equipping them was the trigger, handing items to party members would forfeit it.

This might be the true first clear reward.

Next up: the final strike reward, a passive skill. Simple—stats up when HP's low, scaling with skill level. Tough trigger, but solid performance. Huge boost to strength, agility, endurance. Intelligence? Eh.

That wrapped boss clear rewards. One nagging thing, though.

Where the hell did this skill come from?

I'd picked it up mid-fight with Goblin Lord—not from the clear rewards, not an achievement, not a level-up. Quick community scan ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠turned up zilch on random skill gains like this.

Maybe I missed it, but I'm damn good at digging through forums. Years as a jobless netizen flipping through communities honed that skill.

No info meant there straight-up wasn't any.

"No clue."

Pondering solo wouldn't help. I'd just roll with it—free skill's a win.

Final stats after clearing Floor 1. Leveled to 40 from the boss. Took some hits due to numbers, but no major wounds—clean Goblin Lord kill.

This setup should handle Floor 2's boss easy. Hell, even up to the teens if I weren't solo. Solid.

I dismissed the status window and trudged toward the transfer gate beyond the boss room.

"Yes."

A floaty sensation, vision swallowed by light—and boom, new world.

Floor 2 wasn't quite what I'd pictured. Wide open clearing like the horned rabbit fields, a far cry from the labyrinth. Felt free.

But not refreshing. Floor 1 clear gave satisfaction, sure. What hit now was... something else.

"Excitement...?"

Urge to bolt somewhere. Boss fight drained me, yet I craved more—whip the body harder. Fight. Grow stronger. Push forward. Crush massive goals with these hands again.

I rubbed my forehead at the confusing rush. Then it clicked.

Ah, this is real dopamine. Miles from the short-form video scraps I'd milked in my room. Bigger. Fiercer. Addictive as hell.

"Haha."

Unnatural zeal, yeah. But it'd fuel my steps ahead. I embraced the exploding thrill in my head. Right—let's go.

Tat-tat-tat!

Full sprint across the clearing. Community posts said straight ahead to the village. At Lv.40, my speed topped cars. Wind cool on cheeks, shoving me on.

Soon, a gray furball ahead stirred—a Gray Field Wolf, early Floor 2 mob. Low HP/defense, but agile with teeth hitting harder than goblin weapons.

Grrr!

It spotted me, charged. We closed fast. Faster than goblins, sure. Wolf-sized? More like huge dog, tough-looking.

No speed drop—I kicked straight at the lunging wolf.

Wham!

Lighter touch than expected. Wolf rocketed like a soccer ball.

Floor 2 mobs weren't auto-stronger than Floor 1. This one's goblin squad leader tier. If the first post-gate mob matched that, Floor 2 challengers were screwed.

Nah, my specs crushed average Floor 2 scrubs.

Grrr!

More wolves as I pushed. No weapons needed—I booted visible wolves like punts, advancing.

After turning a dozen-plus into balls...

"F-Flanders...!"

Far off, an NPC girl with a staff under wolf attack. Black dog growling at the wolves by her side. Sheep-like things behind.

Shepherd NPC vibe. Why out here? Posts said village.

Woof! Woof!

The shepherd girl's face facing the wolf was too real for an NPC. Whatever—flow screamed "rescue her," right?