He continued to blab about how he managed to solve the riddle. "I'd found the Symhar of Lies but finding out the rest was difficult. It was then something odd occurred to me. Perhaps it was luck or an unspoken clue, I don't know but your standing positions drew my attention."
Damon laughed sheepishly and scratched his head.
"I started to think if it was a random occurrence and something that was intentionally done. A false clue or a true one? I didn't care which one it was because either I accepted the supposed hint and used it or the timer would run out on me and...
"I don't go down without a fight."
Symhar clapped his hands, applauding the player's wits.
"You are a smart one like a few before you," Symhar commended him.
Damon's eyes narrowed as Symhar made his praiseful statement.
'Then Beth must have also gone through this floor,' he thought.
Symhar waved his hands and snapped his finger and with that, messages started to drop rapidly into Damon's Axon like rain.
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
.
.
.
[You have completed the Floor Guardian's challenge]
[+1 Level up]
[+200 XP]
[+200 EP]
[+200 HP]
[You have earned the «Gift of Symhar». Click to view]
'Gift of Symhar?' Damon wondered as he clicked to view, only to have his eyes gaping blankly at the screen.
"A… skill? I have a skill already!" he unconsciously exclaimed.
[You have gained the skill «Point Of View»]
Damon had been initially disappointed with the rewards since he expected much more to have been given to him considering the fate that awaited him had he lost the Riddle Game.
Regardless, gaining a skill this early was definitely not something he had expected to happen.
No matter how much he whined about it, Damon knew that nothing would change.
He would have to make do with a raise in his avatar's level, energy points and experience points.
[You are now ready to ascend the «Crimson Spire»]
He was hoping to get his hands on some more coins, at least to upgrade his shield, and mana cores to boost his energy points (EP) further.
Sadly, that was not the case and he would have to hope to get his hands on them anywhere else in the tower but the 1st floor.
.
.
.
Symhar covered his mouth and cleared his throat.
"Now, for your ascension."
The Floor Guardian struck his rod on the ground three times and with the third strike, something happened.
A tremendous surge of energy was released from his body, filled and intensifying the atmosphere of the room.
Damon's white hair and clothes swayed under the force of the energy and he was forced to equip his shield as a protective measure to keep himself from being flung away by the pressure of Symhar's energy.
His shield was only enough to prevent him from flying away as he was still easily pushed back by the force of the strange energy.
'What is this energy?'
He wondered what it could be but had no single clue as to what it actually was.
Damon could only guess that it was some sort of source for the abilities that they possessed and the ones they would come to possess as players inside Nexus Online... somewhat like magic.
"It's just like chakra in the anime classic, I Became A Fire Shadow," he muttered.
"It's too powerful!"
His notification beamed and blared loudly, turning from blue colour to red.
[Caution!]
[You have been exposed to high pressure of mana]
'Mana?'
That's what the energy was called, at least that was what Axon called it... Mana.
Mana was the energy of the world of Nexus.
Damon took a peek at his avatar profile to confirm what Axon warned him about.
It was indeed true.
Outwardly, he looked fine but Symhar's mana was killing him from inside albeit slowly.
'What!'
His health point was continuously dropping, starting with the 200 he had just gained with the level up boost.
Now, he was just a bit above 500 out of a total of 600 HP.
With about 15% damage done to his body, further exposure to the guardian's mana without any form of protection rightly proved to be a source of potentially severe damage.
"What the hell!" Damon lamented, struggling against the pressure with his shield in front of him.