Dinl stood at the edge of the ruined mall, the faint morning light illuminating the cracked pavement ahead. The cityscape beyond was no less desolate—broken buildings loomed in the distance, their jagged silhouettes casting long shadows.
Adjusting the straps of his bag, Dinl glanced back one last time at the shattered structure behind him. The echoes of Cerberus's growls and the battle that followed lingered faintly in his memory.
'That's done… time to move forward,' he thought.
Dinl moved cautiously through the abandoned streets, his knife drawn and ready. The faint groans of zombies carried on the breeze, distant but persistent. He didn't stop moving, his steps deliberate as he scanned his surroundings.
'The Tower doesn't let you rest for long,' Dinl thought grimly. Each level brought new challenges, and the time between them was shrinking.
As he walked, his mind wandered to the system's milestones. The shop would unlock at Level 25, a key turning point for anyone climbing the Tower.
"The first player to reach it gets an ultra beginner package," Dinl murmured, his tone sharp. "Guaranteed rewards… everything else depends on luck."
Luck. The stat had always been fixed at 1, but Dinl knew titles and achievements could alter it. His Impossible Achievement had already shown him that the Tower rewarded exceptional performance with subtle but meaningful boosts.
Dinl's thoughts shifted to the Bloodlust skill, its description still fresh in his mind.
"For ten seconds after each kill, gain a 10% increase to all stats. The effect stacks with consecutive kills."
Skills like Bloodlust weren't just rare—they were legendary. Dinl had seen players in his first life who had reshaped entire trials with skills of its caliber.
'Bloodlust isn't a reward—it's a weapon,' he thought, his grip tightening on the knife at his side. Used correctly, the skill could turn him into an unstoppable force in the right circumstances.
Dinl paused near a collapsed overpass, his eyes narrowing as he spotted movement ahead. A small group of zombies shuffled aimlessly near a pile of debris, their jerky movements familiar but unsettling.
Something about them was off. Their coordination wasn't as smooth as the Cerberus's horde, but it was more deliberate than the mindless wanderers he'd encountered before.
'They're… watching,' Dinl thought, his stomach tightening.
One zombie turned its decayed head toward him, its empty eyes locking onto his. A guttural snarl escaped its throat, and the others followed suit, their movements synchronizing as they advanced.
Dinl raised his knife, his expression cold. "Let's see how good you are."
The first zombie lunged, its claws swiping at Dinl's chest. He sidestepped smoothly, driving his blade into its neck and twisting hard. The creature collapsed, but its companions surged forward, moving with eerie precision.
Dinl's knife flashed again, slicing through one zombie's throat before plunging into the chest of another. The kills came fast, each one fueling the surge of power that followed.
System Notification:
"Bloodlust Activated: All stats increased by 10%. Duration: 10 seconds."
The difference was immediate. Dinl's movements became sharper, faster. He dodged a clawed swipe with ease, countering with a swift strike to the attacker's skull. Another zombie fell, and the Bloodlust effect stacked, amplifying his power even further.
'This… this is what it can do,' Dinl thought, his smirk faint but undeniable.
As the last zombie fell, Dinl wiped the ichor from his blade and adjusted the straps of his bag. The streets were quiet again, but the encounter had left a mark on him.
'These things are changing,' he thought grimly. The horde's movements, their faint coordination—it was a sign that the Tower was evolving.
His grip on his knife tightened. The Tower wasn't just testing him anymore. It was watching, adapting, and ensuring that every step forward would be harder than the last.
Sliding his knife back into its sheath, Dinl began walking again. There was no time to rest—the climb to Level 25 wasn't just about reaching the shop. It was about surviving everything the Tower threw at him along the way.
Far above, unseen eyes observed Dinl's progress. The Puppeteers' laughter echoed faintly through the void.
"He adapts quickly," one of them hissed.
"Let us see if he can maintain it," another replied.
The scene dissolved into darkness, leaving the ruins of the city behind.