"Space Freeze," I muttered, letting cosmic energy flow outward in every direction. The entire floor---a sprawling expanse of ten kilometers---was engulfed by the dense viscosity of my power.
It was a technique I had refined through trial and error: increasing the thickness of the very fabric of space itself.
Weaker creatures were frozen in place, their movements halted as if time had abandoned them.
The stronger ones strained against the invisible force, their bodies trembling under the weight, but it didn't take long before they too succumbed.
Stronger creatures had higher life force; I could feel it in the way they resisted the effects of my cosmic energy.
Their movements were sluggish, but they weren't completely immobilized like the weaker ones.
It was almost as if their sheer will to live gave them an edge, a trait that made them fascinating subjects for my experiments.
On the other hand, inanimate objects and non-living things froze entirely, their essence offering no resistance to the viscosity of space.
"This is getting too easy," I said with a smirk as I surveyed the scene. The trembling of the cavern walls, the bubbling pools of slime, and the lurking predators---none of it fazed me anymore.
I had grown too strong. Monsters who might've once posed a challenge now resigned themselves to death without a fight. They knew resistance was futile.
While I was on the 4th floor, I was able to discover some anomalous substances that I was not able to identify, but now after encountering them three more times.
I have classified that reaction as the reaction of something called: a treasure chest.
Due to the lack of danger in my recent explorations, I had been reading forum posts while exploring the current floor.
I discovered that the floors were usually related to each other and depended on the explorer.
Some people had gotten a theme where they got a prairie while I was locked up in a cave with hideous monsters.
I was on the 9th floor, my cosmic powers honing to perfection.
The journey to this point had been a mix of hardship, discovery, and---to my annoyance---more than a few moments of frustration.
The floors I'd conquered weren't just trials of strength; they were puzzles, tests of wits, and experiments that forced me to understand the rules of this tower.
Curiously, I'd noticed that each floor seemed easier than the last, as if my growing power and experience were outpacing the challenges the tower threw at me.
Or perhaps, I thought, the enhanced trial I survived from floor 2 to 5 had tempered me into something far stronger than the average explorer.
The 6th floor, well I named it: The Webbed Halls, had been a claustrophobic nightmare. Narrow tunnels stretched endlessly, their walls draped in thick, sticky webs that clung to everything they touched.
The air was thick with the stench of decay, and the faint skittering of unseen creatures kept me on edge.
Giant rats roamed the halls, their ferocity unmatched, often attacking alongside venomous cave spiders that dropped from above.
And then there were the oozes---disgusting blobs of acidic goo that used the webs as sensory tools to ambush their prey.
It had taken me hours to figure out how to navigate those halls without becoming ensnared. I could simply escape by gliding in space, but why would I miss out on the fun?
The spiders had been particularly annoying, their venom leaving me sluggish after every bite. As part of an experiment, I intentionally let one spider bite me.
The venom coursed through me, leaving me sluggish for about five seconds before my internal cosmic energy neutralized it completely.
That discovery proved invaluable, letting me focus on my movements without the constant fear of getting poisoned. If I do get poisoned, I get fixed up immediately, so no need to panic!
I'd also tried using Cosmic Push to clear the webs entirely. While the emitted radiation effectively destroyed the webs, it didn't deal significant damage to the monsters.
Ultimately, I managed to subdue the spiders by layering my cosmic energy over the webs, hardening them to create pathways while simultaneously trapping the oozes. I also wiped them out with beams shooting out from my fingers.
The hidden chambers within the webs had been the only highlight of that wretched place. Inside one, I found a treasure chest containing a rusty bow, its string frayed and useless. Just my luck.
The 7th floor, named: The Stagnant Depths, was somehow worse.
Imagine trudging through a suffocating swamp where the air itself felt like poison. Pools of stagnant water covered nearly every inch of the floor, their surfaces deceptively calm.
Acidic slimes ruled the depths, dissolving everything they touched, while poisonous frogs lurked in the shadows, their croaks echoing eerily through the cavern.
I'd learned the hard way to avoid direct contact with them; their toxic skin could kill in seconds. The deeper pools led to underwater chasms, some hiding treasure, others hiding death.
This was where I started experimenting more seriously with my cosmic energy.
By creating localized zones of increased pressure, I forced the frogs to surface, making them easier to pick off.
Gliding a few meters above the ground using cosmic energy, I avoided direct contact with the swampy floor and gained new insights into using barriers around my body.
Some special frogs were able to momentarily push me back with their unexpected leaps, but in the end, I triumphed.
The slimes, on the other hand, required more finesse. My energy could tear through their gelatinous bodies, but it also caused unpredictable reactions.
Some exploded violently, while others simply dissolved. It was messy, but effective.
Then came the 8th floor, named: The Fungal Abyss.
A vast cavern illuminated by the glow of bioluminescent fungi, it was almost beautiful---if you ignored the giant centipedes, cave bats, and aggressive slimes.
The uneven ground was riddled with sinkholes, some filled with more slimes, others leading to who-knew-where. Well, whatever enters that hole gets dissolved.
The fungi released spores that caused hallucinations, turning the floor into a nightmarish maze.
The hallucinations weren't just visual; they were intrusive. At one point, I found myself wanting to attack my own shadow, convinced it was an enemy.
Frustrated, I resorted to firing energy beams from my eyes---again and again---to clear out threats.
It wasn't until I caught my reflection in a pool of water that I realized how ridiculous I looked.
My current appearance? Cringe-worthy, to put it mildly. I wasted no time purchasing a mid-grade shapeshifting mask from the system shop for 10,000 DC.
=====
Item: Shapeshifting Mask
Grade: Mid
Description: A versatile mask capable of adapting to any form or style. Infused with advanced magic, it provides both anonymity and intimidation. Comfortably breathable and able to form a movable mouthpiece, the mask can synchronize with the wearer's energy for an enhanced appearance.
=====
I slipped the mask on, its surface immediately shifting to a sleek black that melded seamlessly with my attire.
It formed a mouthpiece, allowing me to breathe easily, and added an aura of mystique.
Anyone looking at me now would think the star-like appearance of my eyes---windows into the cosmos---was just an effect of the mask.
It grade also mean it would most likely survive while I use my cosmic radiation attack.
Satisfied, I continued onward. In a hidden sinkhole, I discovered a second treasure chest containing a blunt knife. "Great," I muttered sarcastically. "More useless junk."
By the time I reached the 9th floor, I named it: The Quaking Caverns, I was ready for anything.
This floor was alive with instability. Tremors shook the ground constantly, dislodging rocks and collapsing tunnels.
Pools of slime bubbled ominously, and the air was filled with the faint hum of corrosive energy.
The monsters here were familiar---acidic slimes, poisonous frogs, centipedes, spiders and giant rats---but they had evolved.
The slimes were larger and more intelligent, the frogs more aggressive, and the rats...well, they had learned to set traps, ambushing me in tunnels and retreating when threatened.
But none of that mattered when I decided to step up my game. "Space Freeze" made everything trivial. I was done exploring the floor.
The viscosity of space trapped the weaker creatures instantly, and even the smarter ones couldn't outmaneuver me, and the trembling floor getting locked up in space too.
The slimes struggled to ooze forward but found themselves stuck, their gelatinous bodies trembling as my energy overwhelmed them.
The frogs fared no better, their leaps falling short as the air itself resisted their movements.
Even the rats, cunning as they were, couldn't escape. They froze mid-attack, their eyes wide with terror as I ended them with a single strike.
When I increased the viscosity intensity, the monsters collapsed under the pressure.
Their bodies crumpled as if an invisible hand had squeezed the life out of them. I clenched my fist dramatically, calling the technique "Space Crush."
The system chimed in suddenly.
[Warning: Floor boss detected. Threat Level: Pseudo E-rank.]
"A fake E-rank?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow.
The boss emerged from the shadows. It was a grotesque amalgamation of slime and rat, its body pulsating with unnatural energy.
Its bulbous form quivered as it tried to speak, but only incoherent gurgles and growls escaped its malformed mouth.
"Pathetic," I muttered. "Even the 4th-floor boss strengthened by the God of Order was smarter than this."
It lunged at me, its grotesque limbs flailing, but a single blast of concentrated cosmic energy reduced it to a smoldering pile of goo. It didn't even warrant a second thought.
In the aftermath, I noticed something important: my energy consumption had reduced significantly, though my pool had grown larger from the previous rank up.
This newfound efficiency made my attacks more sustainable and gave me a distinct advantage.
The last treasure chest sat in the corner of the cavern. I opened it to find a low-level potion. "Of course," I said, shaking my head. "Why am I not surprised?"
Still, the frustration didn't last long. The boss had been disappointing, but the process itself had been a useful exercise in honing my control.
As I looted the treasure, I scrolled through the forum posts I'd opened earlier. One post in particular caught my attention: the 10th floor was supposedly a single explorer trial or party-based challenge, where teams of explorers worked together to overcome a shared trial.
I frowned. "Party-based? Why would I need a group?"
The system responded almost immediately.
[The 10th floor is typically designed for party participation. However, the circumstances of the summoned explorers from dimension #44567782 are unique.]
"Unique how?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
[The tower is preparing a special event for your group. The basic goal of the Tower of Transcendence is to ensure dimensions survive by creating stronger living beings capable of defending against external threats.]
"What kind of event?"
[No spoilers! Well, to say the reality, the tower is still deciding, since it has to be considerate of every explorer from dimension #44567782.]
It said, cutting me off. But before its voice faded, it left me with a chilling message:
[When it is time, you will receive an announcement.]
Great. Just great. First, I had to deal with the Earth King, and now I was supposed to save an entire dimension? The weight of it all was starting to sink in.
The Earth King was a lunatic---a dangerous individual who had, directly or indirectly, caused the deaths of fellow explorers from our dimension, reducing our chance of saving it.
Reviving them through the tower's functions would be costly, requiring either massive amounts of donated DC or convincing others to contribute.
I can't fund everything on my own; I needed to find a way to make it work while cooperating with others.
[Explorers are summoned to increase the chances of their dimensions surviving, do your best.]
The system added, as if that made everything better.
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Fantastic. No pressure then."
After a moment of deliberation, I decided I needed a break.
"Open a portal to the first floor. I need to stay in the safe zone to clear my head," I said as a shimmering doorway appeared before me.
I stepped through, leaving the chaos of the 9th floor behind, bracing myself for whatever madness awaited on the 10th and beyond.