Floor 1 Joint Trial (2) - The Event Shop Unlocks
Event Shop function unlocked within the Joint Trial.
Changes had appeared in the Hub System, which had been restricted after the Joint Trial.
"Fuck, there's a shit ton of stuff."
The scrolls went on forever, like the towers had prepped nothing but this. Sure, there were 200,000 climbers, but compared to my measly 10p, everything was ridiculously expensive.
A 5% boost? And only for one tower? Who the hell would buy that shit...? Plus, the prices were insane.
Supply delivery? What the fuck made that so goddamn pricey?
Honestly, I had no clue what to buy in games like this for the best bang. And besides....
...like I was some kind of glitch, all I could do was watch the Joint Trial from afar.
It was like getting VIP seats to something everyone on Earth wanted.
Points would go to the Korean strategy game addicts, or those Westerners obsessed with medieval shit or military history. Plenty of them in the mix, no doubt. They'd figure it out.
Shit like this was best left to the folks on the ground.
I needed to focus on ripping Magic Stones out of monster hearts.
It felt like being trapped in an unreal space full of mirrors and water surfaces, with countless images rising like pillars.
Under a gray sky shrouded in ash, monsters from myths, religions, and fantasies crawled up stone walls. The small, weak ones were already crushed, their corpses piling into little hills that bigger, stronger beasts trampled.
The walls were drenched in blood.
Soldiers in cloth, leather, and chainmail moved with seasoned eyes and scar-covered bodies, handling the small fry like pros. In between, modern folks in thin clothes—soft skin, pristine—panicked, screaming, swinging cold weapons clumsily.
The guards are way stronger than I thought.
I'd considered guards because of the shop, but their combat prowess far outstripped normal people. It wasn't just raw strength or stamina... they fought like battle-hardened veterans with years—decades—of weapon experience, dancing on death's edge.
The climbers sensed it too, sticking to support roles for the soldiers.
I seized the chaos to drag huge, vicious corpses from outside the walls into my safe zone.
"Argh...! Should've taken that Strength Imprint!"
Straining flat on my back, I finally hauled the monster carcass into safety.
"Hah... fuck!"
But trouble: I couldn't rip open the skin of this massive green brute shot in the head with arrows—bare hands weren't cutting it. No burying my face in its chest like before either. Had to stretch out again.
"Sorry, mind if I borrow this?"
A sharp shortsword from a dead soldier on the wall. First time facing a corpse up close, my stomach churned, goosebumps rising—but no time for trauma or mental breakdowns.
Shoved the blade into the monster's chest; the gruesome tear of flesh transmitted through my fingers.
Shrrrip!
Ripped open the chest, yanked out the heart. Ribs blocked, but I smashed them with the pommel, tore the heart, reached in, and extracted just the Magic Stone.
Smashed it like grinding grain with the pommel—way more points than before.
"Urk... fucking disgusting."
Corpses everywhere. This was war...? No wonder people got PTSD, shaking into vegetables. Every glance screamed horror/gore tags. So that's what a human brain looks like...
While nonstop pulling monster corpses and smashing stones, one image caught my eye.
A crude wooden ladder hooked the wall; atop it, four-legged horrors—no, six-legged things with dog faces and snake tails—climbed, weapons in hand.
Smart move amid the overheated war: slipping into an unguarded spot while soldiers and climbers were distracted. Small but deadly monsters grinned disgustingly, swarming that way.
Leave 'em, and it'd breach.
The thought hit, and my hand moved fast.
Boiling oil poured over the wooden ladder. Climbing monsters suffered severe burns, slipped, plummeted—necks snapping or trampled into mush by oncoming beasts.
I knew I could buy buffs/debuffs, but summoning siege supplies right in front of me? Shocking.
Other climbers screamed summoning oil too, but bad positioning wasted it, or they dumped it on the wall top instead of below—failures I'd seen. That's why I held off.
War supplies spawn right in front of you?
Turned my head: endless horizon of mirrors reflecting countless images.
Could this be total bullshit if played right?
"Wait, does this work too?"
Dashed between images, spotting massive, brutal monsters that screamed "boss" from afar. Canyon backdrop—far from walls, time to arrive.
Armored in plate and helm, huge guandao on back, riding a tank-sized quadruped lizard. Buffed/debuffed to hell, siege weapons bought—late-game boss when climbers relaxed.
Fuck, grab a few shop items and take that down? Its lizard's snout alone dwarfed me. How huge was the rider?
"Hoo...."
Staring point-blank, it ignored me—ambushed a passing goblin, chomped it.
Snagged a sharp rapier from another image.
Gripped two-handed like spear-throw pose.
"Hup!!"
Squeezed every muscle, rippled the lake-like surface, stabbed its eye.
Armor tough, hide stringy—but eye stab? Even this intimidating monster died instantly, no resistance. Rapier tip pierced brain.
Switching to piercing weapon over sword/club: right call.
"Ha, hahaha!!!"
Super Special Very Easy Mode was god-tier!
Minions panicked at their sudden boss-death. Head-and-shoulders taller, arms like waists—flailing like pure maidens. Hilarious.
Massive mood swing!!
Bounced yelling in place.
No, not now—the walls were mid-war, I should help...
"Wait, you crazy fucks?"
Loyal minions guarding the corpse... started eating it. Ripping limbs with gross hands, slurping tendons/blood, munching flesh.
"Hey, you shits, that's mine!"
Pummeled skulls with pommel.
Startled, one grabbed and yanked—let go now.
Switched to rapier, stabbed stab-stab.
Like poking potatoes in stew, skewered heads till skulls cracked, dead.
Well done.
Screams echoed—no sound crossed, but mouth shapes/faces: ghost-sighted terror.
Fled opposite wall direction. Oncoming monsters confused, but—
Thwack! Merciless head-smash onward.
"Got 'em?"
Glanced down at my kills. Minions stripped hide/armor eating.
Easily cracked chests, recovered hearts.
"Whoa!"
Normies barely beating a wild dog get 10p per goblin kill with desperate swings. 50k? No wonder it looked badass. Would've wiped climbers on arrival?
Opened shop, bought eyed items.
Climber buffs applied per tower. But these two: monster-wide debuffs, benefiting all towers.
Way too pricey for pocket change, but my fresh haul covered it.
All monsters' combat power weakened by 15%.
All monsters' agility slowed by 15%.
Messages popped up. Roaring chargers slowed like sandbag-laden.
Frontline with rusty shields blocking easier now; back-slashed woman fleeing goblins, tear-streaked, lit up like meeting a savior, ditched them, survived.
Rewarding sight, but...
How the fuck do you clear this?
Endless waves despite all-day hold? Fighters weren't superhumans. Mental drain, festering wounds, stamina limits, thigh graze drops you helpless.
They might not see, but I did: distant horizon, endless monsters charging.
Clear method exist?
"........."
Right—assume climbers can't clear. Humans can't fight forever.
But... don't we have all-day fighters nearby?
Pricey shit delivers.
White light endless expanse. Relentless hunt of climber-slaying monsters began.