Chris knelt behind the jagged spine of a broken obsidian pillar, his breath slow, deliberate. The red haze of the Martian sky filtered down in waves of heat and dust, casting everything in a permanent twilight. The grit stung his eyes, but he didn't blink. Not yet.
Three enemies.
The system's count still hovered in the corner of his vision like a predator watching his every move.
[Mars Tower – Floor 1]
Monsters Remaining: 3
Timer: [Active] – 1 hour 42 minutes until floor reset
He glanced at the red digits ticking down.
I have time. Not much, but enough to handle this smart.
The three remaining Martian Spawn skulked in the distance, circling like vultures sensing a dying animal. They looked similar to the first—elongated limbs, hollow faces, and twitchy, deliberate movements—but these three had something else.
One was larger. Heavier-built. Its limbs cracked when it moved, like stone under pressure.
The second glowed faintly along its arms—a speed variant, maybe.
And the third… had two weapons. Jagged bone blades fused to its wrists.
Chris exhaled through his nose.
"Alright," he muttered, tightening his grip on the sword. "Adapt or die."
The wind shifted.
They noticed.
The creatures turned as one, and the chase began.
Chris didn't run. Not this time.
Instead, he moved left—fast—kicking up dust as he ducked behind another pillar. Echo Pulse triggered in his mind, mapping their positions through sound. The larger one gave a guttural growl as it barreled toward him. Heavy. Predictable.
"First to fall," he whispered.
Chris stepped from cover and darted forward. As the brute swung a jagged limb, Chris rolled under it and slashed upward across its gut. Sparks burst from the impact. Not flesh—armor plating.
[Glancing Blow – 31 Damage]
Tch. Too shallow.
He shifted, pivoted behind the creature, and stabbed deep into the exposed joint beneath its shoulder. Echo Pulse amplified the strike, vibrations rippling through the beast's core.
[Critical Hit – 118 Damage]
[Martian Spawn (Heavy) – HP: 91/240]
The creature roared and staggered, turning wildly—but Chris was already gone.
He ducked behind another ridge as the quick variant sprinted into view, a blur of motion and slashing claws.
Chris barely raised his blade in time to parry. The speed of the blow sent a sharp vibration through his arms.
Gotta outthink it.
He leaned into the next strike—baiting a second flurry—and then spun, letting the creature overshoot. It turned quickly, but Chris was faster.
His sword met the side of its head with a brutal crack.
[Martian Spawn (Speed-Type) – HP: 67/180]
But the creature didn't fall.
It shrieked and vanished in a blur again.
Chris didn't flinch.
Not anymore.
I used to panic when something moved faster than I could track. Back in the Tower… I was prey. Every room, every step, I flinched like a cornered animal.
Now?
Now it's just data.
The third monster appeared to his left, bone-blades raised. It moved differently—more calculated.
Chris took a breath.
"Let's see what you've got."
The creature lunged, and he responded in kind.
Steel met bone in a flurry of slashes. Sparks flew. Chris parried one blade, ducked the second, then swept his foot out low.
The monster didn't fall.
It danced backward—fluid, intelligent.
Too smart.
Chris's mind raced.
Need an edge.
He checked his inventory with a mental flick. That potion—the Lesser Fire Ward Elixir—sat there, glowing faintly red.
Screw it.
He popped the vial, drank fast. The heat flowed into his chest.
[Fire Resistance +10% for 5 minutes]
Not exactly what I need… but better than nothing.
The heavy-type was recovering. The speed-type was circling. The dual-blade was calculating.
Three styles. No margin for error.
Chris focused his breathing. The old fear tried to rise again. That part of him—the part that remembered the fire, the smoke, the Tower's mind-breaking floors—wanted to scream and run.
But it didn't control him anymore.
Fear didn't dominate him.
It whispered.
And Chris listened.
It said: Be careful. Be precise. Survive.
He moved.
He leapt forward at the heavy one and shouted—his voice amplified through Echo Pulse. The vibrations staggered the brute long enough for Chris to plant his boot into its kneecap and leap over the top of its head.
Midair, he twisted and hurled his sword like a spear at the speed-type sprinting toward him.
[Hit – 97 Damage]
[Martian Spawn (Speed-Type) – HP: 0/180]
[Defeated – +1 Lesser Soul]
[Drop: Accelerated Tendon, Iron Fang, Scrap Trinket]
The corpse hit the sand in a sliding tumble.
Chris landed, rolled, and retrieved his blade with one smooth motion.
Two left.
He turned just in time to catch the bone-blade monster lunging again.
This time, Chris welcomed it.
He activated Echo Pulse on his weapon and parried with full force.
A harmonic burst exploded between them, sending the creature skidding backward.
[Martian Spawn (Blade-Type) – HP: 52/160]
Chris advanced. Slash. Parry. Feint. Strike.
The creature's guard broke on the third clash. His blade sank into its chest.
It hissed one last time.
[Defeated – +1 Lesser Soul]
[Drop: Twin Bone Shards, Echo Gem (Unstable), Parry Technique: Level 1 Acquired]
Parry Technique?
He grabbed the shard.
[You have acquired: Parry Technique (Skill) – Grants enhanced success rate when deflecting attacks. Timing-based.]
Nice.
Then something rumbled behind him.
The brute.
Still alive.
Barely.
[HP: 12/240]
Chris didn't hesitate.
He charged. He didn't swing—he leapt, slamming his sword down in an overhead arc with both hands.
The creature's skull split in two.
[Defeated – +1 Lesser Soul]
[Drop: Thick Armor Plate, Raw Vital Bone, Martian Oil Sack]
And then—
[All Monsters Defeated – Floor Cleared]
[Timer Activated – 2 Hours Until Floor Reset (Harder Variant)]
[You may proceed to Floor 2 at any time.]
Chris exhaled.
The silence hit him harder than the monsters had.
He staggered slightly, pulled a cloth from his pouch, and wiped blood and dust from his face.
Then he opened his inventory and pulled out something strange—a creature's tail. Small. Fat. Slightly shimmering like fresh meat.
He turned it over.
[Edible: High Protein – Origin: Martian Beastling]
Guess that answers that.
He returned to a hollow behind the obsidian spires and made a temporary camp. Pulled fire shards from his drops, used a blade spark to ignite them, and grilled the meat slowly.
The scent filled the air—smoky, savory, metallic.
He ate in silence.
Then, he laid back and stared at the sky. The red clouds rolled like boiling clay. The ruins in the far distance flickered with light—strange, ancient sigils on stone.
Lore.
Secrets.
Answers.
He was beginning to feel it now.
This Tower held the truth about the gods. About universes. About power.
And it was his to take.
He didn't sleep long. Just enough.
When he stood, the message reappeared.
[Timer: 1 Hour 14 Minutes]
He cracked his neck, gathered his gear, and approached the shimmering gate that had appeared mid-air.
Before he crossed into Floor 2, he paused.
One last breath.
"Let's see what hell looks like tomorrow."
And he stepped through.