Chapter 7 - Hell Clear Complete
"Inventory Ring.
Space 10x10x10m"
What a generous reward. In his past life the earliest he heard anyone owning one of these was when they clear level 35.
Although there were many restrictions like no living beings and most of the items discovered in the level can not be brought out, it will still help him a lot throughout his journey.
After appreciating the unassuming plain dark silver ring. He put it on his left middle finger.
Ignoring the smell he decided to cut this way deeper into the brain to try to find the mana core.
He got lucky when he found a one the size of an apple.
Keeping it into his ring he climbed out of the Gharl King head.
Now, he just has to survive another 2 days and he will obtain Hell Clear..
He climbed up the top of the head and relished in the beautiful scenery of the grassfield with an oasis as a backdrop.
Looking around, he saw a rock table formation in the distance. Just like 'the rock' in australia. It was this very cliff he had climbed in his previous life.
Seeing that he has nothing to do for the next 2 days, he decided to climb up its top and see if there would be anything interesting up there.
Before that, he jumped off the back of the Gharl King. Then he walked to the edge of the lake to wash himself.
After collecting some of the Gharl skins and Thabit meat into his Inventory Ring. He heads over to the Gharl King carcass. He spent the afternoon trying to get some scales or nails or teeth but it was futile.
What a waste.
He returned to the Oasis and decided to rest for the night before setting off early the next day.
It took a whole day to reach the bottom of the massive rock.
Exhausted. He decided he would rest for the night then climb up early the next morning.
This time, he had to reach the top.
Previously he was level 0 and barely had any strength to climb. So he had only managed to survive by sitting on a narrow ledge that he had found midway after setting fire to the grass.
Now he will attempt to climb up the cliffs.
From below he estimated that the cliff is about 1 km tall with his current stats it would not be difficult to get to the top.
He chose to cook himself a full meal and had an early rest.
The next morning, he cooked himself a light breakfast and started to climb afterwards.
It took him approximately 9 hours to get to the top just before sunset, resting once on a ledge to have a quick lunch.
Just as he put his hand on the edge of the cliffs he had a loud rumble from the skies.
He hurriedly pushed himself up the cliff.
Standing on the edge of the cliff, he looked up.
What he saw rooted him to the spot with awe and terror as hundreds of meteors were raining down the grassland.
It was an apocalypse he would not have survived had he stayed below. This time he had survived through sheer luck choosing to climb this rock.
His attempt to achieve 'Hell Clear' would have come to an end.
Regardless he still had to be careful so he quickly scanned the top of the rock table.
Looking around Kiel saw a small dark recess in the middle of the rock table. He rushed over and found that it was a tunnel leading downwards.
Faced with no more choices. He walked into the deep unknown.
Nothing in the tower is ever simple. He bet if he stayed on top, a meteor would crash to the top of the rock table.
So far, all of his experiences, be it his past life or this, clearly showed that nothing associated with the tower was ever simple.
As if the tower maker believed in the motto, there is no free lunch.
Killing 60 Gharls involves killing a gigantic Gharl king.
Obtaining the treasure in the Oasis involved surviving the guardian statues.
The last requirement of surviving for 60 days won't be complete without a meteor shower.
Lacking any other options, he continued to climb down the dark tunnel.
After about 30 minutes climbing down the winding tunnel. He felt the whole tunnel shake.
Awesome, his bet was spot on. A meteor must have hit the rock table.
Not caring about anything else, he sped up going down the winding tunnel.
Throughout the journey the rumbling and shaking continued.
He also starts to feel hot air blowing from behind him.
Gritting his teeth, he endured the heat and exhaustion as he trudged on, continuing to move downwards.
In his estimate, it should have been about 10 hours and he must have gone subterranean.
In his estimate, he should only need to last another few hours and he would achieve Hell Clear.
In his daze. He slipped and fell down a cliff.
He landed in a pool. There were glowing stones around him and no visible land.
Kiel found himself in a ball like large circular cavern with about a third filled with water. The water was very clear and he could see the bottom thanks to the glowing stone scattered throughout the walls.
Looking up he saw the hole about 30m up from the surface of the water.
He decided to swim to the edge. Somehow found an outcropping he could barely sit on.
Then he called out the progression status.
######
Tower of Extinction: Level One.
Hell Clear:
Directly kill all Gharls.(Completed)
Obtain the treasure in the Oasis (Completed)
Survive for 2 months 59/60
Reward:
Chosen Weapon upgrade 1 level,
Bonus 1 Character Level.
Bonus random Skill upgrade 1 level
######
Of course nothing helpful. No time countdown available.
At least the two completed tasks and the last almost completed task was a big achievement for him compared to his previous basic clear with third degree burns all over his body.
As he thought about it. He saw the bottom of the pool start to glow red. Soon, the heat started to be unbearable and he was sweating heavily again.
Before he knew it, the pool started to bubble. Wait, it was boiling.
@#$@#$ outside he would be roasted by the fire. Now inside he will be steamed alive.
What the hell….
Kiel cursed and watched in terror. Deliberating if he should give up but he was unreconciled after having come so far.
Looking at the bottom of the glowing pool. He realized something was not right.
The water level should be dropping with all of them boiling away. But somehow the water level had risen.
He peered down carefully so as not to burn his face from all the steam. Well he was already completely red anyway.
What he saw horrified him. The bottom of the pool was coming up. Somehow, he did not know how but surely and slowly, it rose.
Climbing up was a dead end as he could see the steam from the boiling water was escaping into the tunnel he came from. Even the wall was blisteringly hot.
Just as the water was going to completely cover the rock outcropping he was on, he heard the system prompt:
"Level One, Hell Clear Completed.
Calculating rewards…
Chosen Basic Miao Dao can now be brought out.
Basic Miao Dao is now upgraded to Standard Miao Dao.
Standard Miao Dao Acquired:
Standard Miao Dao(E): +4 Damage
Level Up. You are now level 11.
You gained:
All Stats +2
Free stat + 4"
Random Skill Upgrade….
Wisdom(3): Increased Comprehension Ability 1.3x
You will be teleported out in
5
4
3
2
1"
Never had he thought that voice would sound so good.
Everything glowed white and before he knew it, he felt his cold surroundings and shivers.
He was finally back in the hall.
He thought he would die or give up at the last moment.
What a relief. Before he could get his bearing, he heard the voice again
"The last survivor of Level One has returned.
Total of 2,837,926,641 survivors of 7,857,836,984 candidates were detected.
Next stage will begin in 5 minutes.
Please prepare yourself."
Kiel stood up and looked around.
Every eye in the hall was staring at him.
Some were appraising him, some looked unconvinced, some were disdainful and Kiel being Kiel, simply ignored the attention, shrugged and sat down.
He focused on resting, closing his eyes and leaned back on the pillar.
He needed to rest, being steamed alive was no fun.
Calling up his status, he saw the blue translucent window come up in front of him.
######
Name: Kiel Sinclair
Age: 16
Level: 11
Class: -
Health: 46/46
Mana: 51/51
Stamina: 23
Intellect: 22
Strength: 24
Agility: 24
Equipments: Standard Miao Dao(E)
Skills: Fleet Footed(2), Wisdom(3), Health Recovery(2), Power Boost(2), Extreme Regeneration(S).
Experience: 0/1400
Free Stat: 4
Assessment: Not so Fragile
######
Every 10 levels, the stat gain for each stat and the free stats gained would be increased.
He nodded in satisfaction internally.
He heard footsteps approaching him. From the sound, at least 5 people are circling around him.
These people did not come with good intentions.
A big black man with long hair down his shoulder towered over him. His ugly mug smiled and he said
"Pretty boy, nice sword you got there.why don't you lend it to me. I think I really needed it for the next level."
"If not?" Kiel coldly replied.
He simply rubbed his hands and said:
"I'm sorry sir, I think I'll have to break some bones and still get it anyway, why don't we play nice."
Kiel did not even bother to argue with these parasites. He remembered how he was tortured and how many people died because of scums and parasites like these.
He simply rushed up with his sword drawn and a head went flying.
Before anyone else registered what was going on. He made short work of all the cronies around the big guy, correction, dead big guy.
In under 3 seconds no one was left standing next to him. Blood pooled and he simply sheathed his sword, sat down and closed his eyes to continue his rest.
The hall went quiet.
Some women went hysterical, but the majority sentiment is to avoid this cold blooded madman.
Before long he heard the system
"Welcome to the Tower of Extinction, Humans.
Our Universe is facing invasion from the Apocalypse.
All worlds must contribute to survive.
But your species are pitifully weak.
So the gods will give you a chance to gain power.
Fight . Clear the tower. You live.
Fail. Die. Extinction.
Only the worthy will survive..
Level Two trial will begin in
Ten
Nine
…
Three
Two
One.
Level Two begins"