When almost a minute passed, Jason abruptly swung down in one swift motion. The sky-high blade fell like an executioner’s ax, severing the world in two. There was no earthquake or shockwave—only a thin line in the ground, thousands of feet deep. Directly in the middle of the line was Sethess, who suddenly split in two and collapsed, dead.
Chapter 60
Mana, Essence, Soul Force, Holy Energy, Battle Energy, Illusion Energy. It was difficult for Jason to understand the fundamental differences between them, yet he felt sharpness was appropriate if he could apply one trait to Battle Energy. Only after the dust settled did he realize a critical flaw. The blade was sharp, true, but it lacked a certain weight. It only had enough durability for a single blow, but Jason felt that it was possible to increase that number if he experimented some more.
A notification broke him from his thoughts.
Congratulations! Your Battle Physique and the m-serum have allowed you to create a new skill!
Guillotine
Split the earth with a massive blade. Deals 10,000% damage. Ignores 90% of the target’s defense. Consumes 5,000 Battle Energy.
“Interesting,” Jason muttered as he contemplated the implications of the skill. Did this mean if he used Battle Energy in a specific way, the tower would recognize it as an ability? Ever since becoming Aros’s champion, Jason only ever used the skills given to him. After all, it was a known fact ascenders couldn’t create a skill without some extraordinary circumstance. Now, however, Jason needed to start thinking outside the box.
Roy and the other M-serum users needed to be informed, but first, Jason walked over to where Sethess died. Surprisingly, the hydra didn’t drop essence like every other monster on the floor. Instead, three hieroglyphs floated off the ground. Although the images were crude, Jason could make out a dagger, a pair of shoulder pads, and a shield.
Lavos approached from behind and explained. “I’ve heard when the strongest pure demons die, they have a chance of leaving behind their runes. On some occasions, their essence will fuse with parts of their body to create equipment-type runes.”
“Oh.” Jason held back from rolling his eyes, finding it silly the tower was trying to explain why items suddenly dropped. It had no reason to, yet did so anyway.
After focusing on the dagger, two notifications popped up.
Consume / Store
Sethess’s Fang – Tier 10 Rune
This rune summons an item with no duration.
Damage: 4,000
+150% Attack Speed
+40% Agility
+20% Strength
20% Chance to deal 300% Damage
Passive Ability 1: Each successful attack adds a stacking debuff which corrodes the target’s armor, reducing their defense by 5% per stack. Maximum of 5 stacks. Lasts 10 seconds, with each new stack refreshing the duration.
Passive Ability 2: Each successful attack adds a stacking debuff which poisons the target. Each stack causes 1% of the target’s current life in damage every second. Maximum of 3 stacks. Lasts 3 seconds, with each new stack refreshing the duration.
Jason whistled after reading the dagger’s information. Not only did it boast considerable damage and attack speed, but it also came with powerful abilities. As much as Jason hated to admit it, this weapon was a bane to all tanks. Next up were the shoulder pads.
Twin-Headed Doom Shoulders – Tier 10 Rune
This rune summons an item with no duration.
-10% Damage Taken
+55% Intelligence
+25% Vitality
+20% Magic Damage
-5% Skill Cooldown
-5% Skill Cost
Active Ability 1: Upon activation, each head spits out an elemental beam in a frontal cone. Damage dealt is based on your Intelligence. 30 second cooldown.
Remark 1: The beam's element is chosen randomly from fire, water, wind, lava, and lightning.
“Do you want this one?” Jason glanced at Lavos as he pointed at the shoulders. The active ability was excellent, but the item’s stats were for a mage, not a tank. The minotaur was the one who dealt most of the damage to Sethess, so it was only fair to let Lavos take his pick.
Lavos answered by consuming the rune. In the next moment, a pair of life-like hydra heads appeared atop his shoulders. Eerily, each head was alive. Their eyes glanced around menacingly, and they even let out low growls.
Jason thought this was the coolest pair of shoulder pads he’d ever seen. How awesome would it have been if the stats were for tanks? Alas.
Moving on, Jason inspected the shield.
Serrated Abyssal Shield – Tier 10 Rune
This rune summons an item with no duration.
Defense: 300
-70% Physical Damage taken on a successful block
-90% Magical damage taken on a successful block
-20% Damage Taken
+15% Strength
+25% Vitality
+20% Fortitude
+20% Endurance
+35% Tenacity
Active Ability 1: Upon activation, reflect 50% of all damage taken for 10 seconds. 1 minute cooldown.
Passive Ability 1: When attacked, deal damage to the attacker based on your Fortitude.
With numerous skills and top-tier equipment, Jason had around 70% damage reduction. As the calculation was multiplicative and not additive, each additional point was excruciatingly hard to raise. The shield before him was a significant upgrade to his current shield, but he turned to Lavos before taking it. “Can I have it?”
Lavos shrugged. “Take both. I don’t need them.”
“Thanks, man.” Jason held out a fist for Lavos to bump, though he immediately knew it was pointless. Contrary to his expectations, Lavos completed the gesture. It appeared the minotaur had learned many things from humans over the past few weeks.
Giddy with excitement, Jason consumed the rune, making it his sixth one. As if by coincidence, the rune appeared over his left hand, the one he held shields with. After activating the rune, a massive tear-shaped shield sprang into existence—the thing covered over half of Jason’s body. Flipping it over, Jason discovered the shield was a red scale, much like the ones Sethess had. The surface looked like a shark’s mouth, covered in hundreds of sharp points.
Jason performed a few acrobatic moves to get familiar with its weight and shape. After a few moments, he recalled the shield and stored the dagger in his inventory. Olivia would love it.
It was only then Jason realized Lavos had been staring at him with a brooding expression. Gulping, Jason forced a smile. “So, uh, what now?”
“Yes, what now?” Lavos folded his arms and leaned on one foot. “I suppose an all-out war is inevitable.”
“Oh, that’s not good.” Jason scratched his cheek sheepishly.
“No, not at all.” Lavos scowled.
The two fell silent as Jason avoided eye contact and Lavos glared at him. Why was he taking all the heat? Peter was the leader, right?
After what seemed like an eternity, Lavos snorted. “There is perhaps another method.”
“There is?” Jason asked joyfully.
“I could announce I killed Sethess in combat to take his place. Other tribe leaders have done so in the past,” Lavos explained.
“Doesn’t that mean we can grow freely within your territory?” Jason thought if this worked, the benefits were endless.
“You can, but my tribe won’t.” Lavos’s tone was sullen. “The monthly tribute a general has to pay prevents them from growing in strength.”
Jason dismissively waved his hand. “Oh, that’s no problem at all. I can instantly kill thousands of demons once or twice a day.”
“Really?” Lavos was skeptical.
“Yeah, yeah.” Jason explained the specifics, including the ability to loot the drops telepathically. After alleviating Lavos’s concerns, the two then went back to the haven, so Lavos and Peter could hammer out the details. Besides informing Peter of what he’d learned, Jason asked Peter to keep the
fact he killed Sethess and the demon army a secret.
Chapter 61
Roy stood outside the haven as a warm yellow glow radiated from his body in every direction. Jason, who stood some distance away, felt a comfortable sensation when the light touched him. A notification appeared, stating Roy was healing him every second. Seeing this, Jason asked, “Well?”
The glow faded away, revealing a surprised Roy. “It worked! I got a new skill.”
“Sweet.” Jason gave a thumbs up then glanced over to Olivia, who just threw a fang-shaped dagger, after which her expression tightened in concentration. A moment passed, yet nothing happened except for the weapon losing its momentum and falling. Jason walked over and probed. “What are you trying to do?”
“Teleport to its shadow,” Olivia explained as she recalled Sethess’s Fang to her hand.
“That’ll be useful.” Jason nodded as he crossed his arms.
“Only if it works.” Olivia pouted, not satisfied with just the ability to teleport to a living target’s shadow. If she could teleport to the shadow of a thrown dagger, her unpredictability in battle would skyrocket. “Did Roy really create a skill on his first try?”
“Yeah.” Jason looked back at Roy, who’d just formed a gold spear. “It seems our physiques play a considerable role.”
At this time, a notification popped up in front of Olivia, asking if she wanted to take the challenge to become Vex’s champion. Scoffing, she waved her hand dismissively, and the message was gone.
“Persistent guy.” Jason chuckled, aware Vex had sent the invitation a few times a day for the past few weeks.
“It isn’t hopeless.” Olivia twirled the curved dagger in between her fingers habitually as she mused aloud. “When I tried to teleport, I felt something like a connection between me and the dagger. I’m sure I’ll succeed if I practice.”
“Let me know how it goes,” Jason replied. The Alliance’s strength would grow if m-serum users could create skills. Since the m-serum provided so many benefits, it was no wonder the tower decided to make the floor of death the next floor. If they had enough time to grow, the floor wouldn’t provide any challenge.
“Holy crap!” Roy’s alarmed shout broke Jason from his thoughts.
“What’s up?” Jason glanced over and found Roy’s entire body glowing yellow, though that wasn’t anything strange nowadays.
Filled with joy, Roy ran over to Jason like a kid on Christmas morning. “Jason, oh my god. I can’t believe it. I was just thinking about it, y’ know? I never expected it to work. I mean, holy hell, this changes everything, dude!”
Roy’s excitement started to infect Jason, though he got annoyed when Roy kept rambling nonsense. Helpless, Jason grabbed Roy’s shoulders and said, “Calm down. Relax.”
“Right, yeah. Of course. Relax, relax.” Roy’s body trembled from adrenaline under Jason’s hold, though he calmed down after a few moments. “You know how Amara, you, and I all have our physiques stuck?”
“You figured it out?!” Jason exclaimed in surprise. Except for Su Long and Andy, Amara, Roy, and Jason all had unique bodies. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been able to figure out how to upgrade to the next level for the past few months. Their gods wouldn’t offer any assistance, either.
“Yeah,” Roy began. “I was testing what kind of skills I could create when I thought about it. Remember when we took our god’s challenge? Our bodies fundamentally changed into our respective energies, right? So why can’t we use it?”
“Use it how?” Jason didn’t understand.
“I mean, why can’t you draw Battle Energy from your Battle Physique?”
“Huh?” Jason voiced his doubt. “Isn’t that Health?”
At the side, Olivia gave Jason a pitiful look. “The state of your body is your Health. We know this. If Battle Energy forms your body, then you can draw from it.”
“Exactly.” Roy snapped his fingers. “As soon as I thought that far, I tried it out, and voilà, it worked.”
“But… is that balanced?” Jason struggled to believe his whopping 400,000 Health could become Battle Energy. The theory made sense, and he didn’t doubt Roy; it was just a little unbelievable. However, upon remembering how powerful his recent skills were, he decided to try it out.
Jason was now very familiar with Battle Energy, so when he closed his eyes and changed his perspective on how he viewed his body, he found it. Blood, flesh, bones, and organs. Battle Energy formed it all. A seemingly endless ocean of energy had been sitting within him all along, unused.
Notifications greeted him when he opened his eyes.
Congratulations! You have discovered the truth of your physique and attained complete mastery.
Battle Physique Max Stage
+300 All Stats.
Gain the 'Chop', 'Cleave', 'Sever', 'Burst', and 'Shield Blast' skills.
Health can convert into Battle Energy and vice versa at a 1 to 1 ratio.
Indeed, when Jason inspected his stats, Health and Health regeneration disappeared. Now, not only did he have more than 400,000 Battle Energy, but it also regenerated over a hundred times faster than before. It was absurd.
At this time, Jason felt something stir inside his soul-space. In the next moment, a small light flew out of his chest before turning into Tank. Jason caught the turtle as she fell, then embraced her. Tank, in turn, rested her small head on Jason’s neck.
“I’ll never let that happen to you again,” Jason promised as he caressed Tank’s shell. In response, the turtle affectionately nipped Jason’s neck.
Tank’s return made Jason feel at peace. If he had to explain it, it was like finding the last piece of a puzzle. No longer did he feel like something was missing.
After a long silence, Jason turned to Roy as he released a breath. “We have to let Amara know ASAP.”
“I know where she’s hunting.” Roy wiped away the tears in his eyes and promptly ran off, excited to share his discovery.
“How is this fair?” Olivia felt envious as she watched Roy experiment with Holy Energy as he disappeared in the distance. Even though she learned the skills of a master, it couldn’t compare to a god’s champion. Again, a notification from Vex popped up. This time, however, she didn’t decline right away.
Jason gave Olivia a look. “Just because you’ll learn his skills doesn’t mean you’ll become like Cay.”
“But… what about all my hard work leveling shadow skills?” Just as Olivia finished speaking, Vex’s voice entered her mind, informing her the shadow element was one of his specialties. Stuck between envy and pride, Olivia finally decided to accept Vex’s challenge and teleported away.
Alone with Tank, Jason rubbed his chin as he mused aloud. “Too bad I can’t hunt the strongholds around here.”
Unfortunately, the strongholds in this zone were going to be under Lavos’s control. Wiping them out would only cause the minotaur trouble. As for fighting another general? Unwise. After his encounter with Sethess, Jason had learned he lacked the stats to solo them. The skills he possessed were up to par, but a raid boss’s Health was just too high. Jason would run out of fuel before killing one.
In the end, Jason decided to visit the other zones. There, strongholds were ripe for the taking. After informing Peter, Jason packed his inventory full of supplies before heading out. Since this would be a long trip, he decided to first form a rune with the ability to summon a mount.
Chapter 62
The tower contained more than just the floors used by the trial’s participants. In one restricted section, there was a factory of sorts. A gem with nearly infinite energy connected to millions of transparent crystalline statues. Whenever a creature needed to respawn, the gem pulsed and sent power to the designated statue. Like water filling a cup, the energy filled the statue to the brim, whereupon it became flesh and blood. The newly formed creature, in this case, a kobold, was then teleported away. The crystalline kobold remained where it was, ready to produce till time itself ceased to exist.
In another restricted section was a similar gem. This time it connected to items, not creatures. Whenever a trial participant killed a monster, the tower would calculate the rewards after factoring in luck, level difference, and other modifiers. It would then send in a request to the item factory. The time it took from the death of a monster to the creation of an item was instantaneous. From a trial participant's perspective, it looked as if the items dropped from the monster itself.
The translucent gems were the core of these factories. If you consider Battle Energy was several times less complicated than atoms, then the energy released by these gems was even less. With simplicity came freedom, and with freedom, possibilities.
In one of the most restricted parts of the tower, where not even Aros and the other gods were allowed, sat the Architect. Beneath him was a slab of blue material, and countless streams of light flew across its surface. Each stream represented information.
By physically touching this slab, the data would flow through your soul. Even an average human could use this tool without harm, though they wouldn’t retain or process the information without a sufficiently strong soul. For the most part, this was where the Architect resided, overseeing the trial's progress.
Piety, Vex, and the other gods usually resided in their private dwellings. Out of boredom, the gods passed the time by conversing or debating each other—all except for Aros. The elderly god spent most of his time sitting in his secluded garden, watching Jason through the pond’s reflection.
Towers of Heaven: A LitRPG Adventure (Book 3) Page 27