[ Damage Incurred: 49% ]
[ Upgrade Shield In Inventory Immediately! ]
"What the hell!" Sethryn lamented.
He went into a frenzy.
Of course, who would not?
He did not rack his head to complete the Riddle Game, only to die just after.
That was never in his plan.
Sethryn hurriedly went into his profile, and then his inventory to upgrade his shield. As a Tank class, the shield was his most important item at the moment.
[ Shield ]
[ First Grade ]
[ Level 1 Shield: Acquired ]
[ Level 2 Shield: Acquired ]
[ Level 3 Shield: 1500 Coins To Unlock ]
[ Level 4 Shield: 3000 Coins To Unlock ]
[ Level 5 Shield: 5000 Coins To Unlock ]
Sethryn chuckled even with the current event he found himself struggling to survive. It was so bad that he found it funny.
"To upgrade to Level 4 shield, I need a total of 4500 coins," he said.
"That's all the coins I have. You've got to be kidding me."
It was funny to Sethryn because he was about to exhaust all his coins just to upgrade his shield.
He sighed, knowing that he had no other choice.
After much inner struggle, Sethryn tapped on the Level 4 shield to upgrade.
<< Shield Has Been Upgraded To Level 4 [ Minus 4500 Coins ] >>
Sethryn gritted his teeth as he read the notification. His four thousand five hundred coins were gone just like that.
In the twinkle of an eye, he had become coinless.
He was not happy with it but it was a necessity.
...
...
...
Sethryn's shield began to morph to match the level he had upgraded to — level 4.
The enarmes tightened on his forearm and instead of two leathery ropes, the enarmes transformed into arm bracers on both hands.
They shone and took the consistency of metal. Silvery in colour and sturdy on his forearms.
The arm bracers were better to wield than using the enarmes of his initial shield he'd have to always carry.
Sethryn raised his arms and crossed them in front of him.
"Equip Shield."
...
...
...
The arm bracers split into four parts that floated and spun around in the air before spacing out.
"Awesome."
Sethryn was amazed by his new shield and ended up not regretting, so much, the coins he had to spend for it.
The four parts were connected by energy — Mana, the same type of energy that Simha emitted.
The energy from his shield took the form of thin hexagonal plates that were attached edges-to-edges to each other, mimicking the design of a beehive.
The transformation continued until they formed a solid shield that was high and wide enough to block off the Keeper's mana.
[ You Have Earned The Skill 'Shield Skill: Mana Resistance' ]
[ Shield Skill: Mana Resistance: ]
<< The skill reduces the effect of mana-based techniques by 60%. Costs 300 Mana Core Points [MCP] Per Use >>
"Shield Skill: Mana Resistance!"
[ Shield Skill: Mana Resistance Has Been Activated ]
[ Minus 300 MCP ]
[ Damage Rate Reduced By 60% ]
"The skill is a good thing but the cost, man..."
Sethryn felt more disappointed than happy about the skill. The cost of using it made it nigh impossible to be repeated multiple times.
...
...
...
The shield he wielded put up enough resistance to Simha's mana, reducing the effect by a large extent.
"What's your deal!" Sethryn shouted at the Keeper.
Simha did not respond and just continued to exude mana.
After a little while longer, he was done and three doors appeared before Sethryn, separating him and Simha.
"Those are your paths of ascension. Each one will lead you to the 2nd Floor."
Sethryn thought about what Simha said for some seconds before responding.
It was not making sense to him that there were three different doors leading to the next floor.
"Why three different doors then?" he thought.
He raised his hand as if he was seeking permission to speak.
"If they all lead to the next floor. Why three then?"
Simha smirked.
"Good question. They lead to the 2nd Floor quite alright but each door comes with its own challenges and time period for you to reach the 2nd Floor.
"One of the doors takes you there the fastest and another takes you there slower than the rest but in the end, you will arrive. It comes down to how lucky you are...
"I suppose you have great luck when it comes to this sort of thing."
Sethryn sneered at the Keeper for his final mocking statement. He could feel the cockiness in his voice.
The player sighed.
"Seems nothing is as plain as it appears on this floor. The Floor of Riddles... it's truly a floor worthy of its name."
Sethryn deactivated his shield function, straightened his posture and started walking towards a door.
Simha looked down, trying to get a peek at Sethryn's legs.
"I see you have made your choice already..." the Floor Keeper uttered.
Sethryn did not answer the Keeper's words and just continued to walk.
He was not thinking. There was nothing there to think about.
They were simply doors that led to his next location and all he had to do was choose one.
Without any thought to it, Sethryn was moving to the door in the middle.
As he grabbed the knob, something reflected in his mind.
A question he almost forgot to ask.
...
...
...
Sethryn stopped while still holding the door knob.
"Did you by any chance meet a player called Eve?"
"Hmm," Simha breathed, "Oh yes. The elf."
"She was one of a kind."
"Elf?" Sethryn wondered.
"Hahaha!"
He laughed very loudly at the thought of it. Just imagining Eve as an elf with long pointy ears made him crack up.
He laughed so much that his eyes started to tear up.
"Can't wait to see what she looks like as an elf. Hahaha!"
After some minutes, he was able to stop himself. He sniffled and rubbed his mildly aching belly.
"Do you have any idea where she is?"
"That I do not know but what I can tell you is that she made it through this floor and ascended a long time ago."
"A long time ago?" Sethryn blurted out with a confused look on his face.
Eve dived into the world of Alderix about three months ago in the real world and that should not be a long time from the way Simha described it.
Simha nodded his head.
"Yes. About three years ago."
Sethryn's eyes gaped and his jaws went ajar.
"What!"
He blinked a few times and shook his head. He was in disbelief at what he just heard.
"Three years! That's not possible!" he exclaimed.
Simha laughed.
"Time flows differently in Alderix generally and even in some floors also. That—"
Sethryn cut him short. "How long have I been here?"
"Roughly two days," Simha answered.
"I see. That's kind of messed up though."
Sethryn sighed and proceeded to open the door he had chosen out of the three that appeared.
He was engulfed in a blinding light that emanated on the other side of the door.
Sethryn covered his face with an arm over his head but that did not do much against the glow. He continued to walk forward into the gleaming path as the door shut behind him.
All three doors dispersed in the form of black clouds and vanished.
Simha chuckled.
"Guess you're not as lucky as you thought yourself to be."
...
...
...
Sethryn arrived.
<< Welcome To The First Stair >>
<< Ascend To The 2nd Floor >>
"Huh?"
Sethryn blinked.
He stood speechless at the spot that the door led him to.
Turning back, he saw the door had vanished. He faced the front again.
"What the hell!"
That was the honest expression to what he saw in front of him.