Chapter 89: Breaking into the Tall Tower
In a short while, the four of us broke through to the innermost area. The Elite Level Imp Sorcerer was completely exposed In Front of us. Druv attracted its fire, while Mardon circled around it, occasionally using the Gather Qi + Release martial Skill to deliver fierce Attacks. Yihana and I, it seemed, were destined to be external support. We could only lead the Wolf Pack outside to block the Shaman. I timed my Werebear Transformation well and canceled it promptly. It looked like that was roughly the duration that Level 3 Werebear Transformation plus Level 3 Transformation Skill could be maintained. Hoho~~
The Paladin Druv, with high defense, had decent Attack, and coupled with Mardon's high Damage, the Elite Imp Sorcerer didn't last long before it was defeated. After that, things became much easier. The few of us were like a meat grinder; wherever we went, the Shaman fell one after another. After taking down the other Imp Sorcerers, the Shaman saw that the situation was bad – the Sorcerers who could resurrect them were all gone! Their greedy and cowardly nature immediately showed. The remaining dozens of Shaman shrieked and scattered in all directions. We pursued them all the way to the Entrance and then stopped. Continuing the Pursuit might Attract other Monster, so it was better to be cautious.
Nearly a hundred Shaman, plus the Elite Level Imp Sorcerer, dropped quite a few Items. All the Items on the ground were counted by Yihana. Women are always a bit more meticulous. As she was tidying up, it wasn't long before she let out a surprised gasp.
"Huh? The Gold Coin and Potion dropped this time seem to be a bit more than usual."
The other three already knew the situation well, and everyone naturally turned their Vision towards me. This was already within my consideration, and I had prepared an excuse long ago. I smiled slightly: "Well, it seems they have a special connection with me. I don't know why, but it's just Gold Coin and Potion; I can never use them all up."
Gold Coin wasn't a big deal; Class Changer generally didn't lack Money. A high Potion Drop Rate, however, made them very envious. But looking at my Equipment, it was just a super strong Normal Leather Armor. Except for the Belt and Gloves which were blue, everything else was Normal. As for Rings and Necklaces, I always kept them hidden, following the principle of not flaunting wealth. My current full set of Equipment, although slightly better than that of a normal Level 14 Class Changer, wasn't significantly better, so they didn't think too much of it, just envying my good luck. Druv patted my shoulder: "It seems from now on, Elite Monster will be your responsibility."
I shrugged my shoulders and pointed at the few bottles of Potion and over a dozen Gold Coin dropped by the Elite Imp Sorcerer, saying, "If you really want to take that risk, maybe you can harvest a few more bottles of Potion and Gold Coin." At the same time, I secretly clicked my tongue. It seemed this Bugged Small Charm was really overpowered. If I had killed this Imp Sorcerer, it would have dropped at least a Normal Item, and even a blue one wouldn't be surprising. As for Golden Equipment... forget about it.
"However, I heard Lord Cain say that Lord Tal Rasha's Gold Coin and Potion Drop Rate are also particularly high, Wu. Maybe in the future, you can become a Powerful Class Changer like him," Yihana said with a smile, teasing me.
What? Tal Rasha is also similar to me? My heart skipped a beat. Could he also have some kind of Bugged Amulet or something? I'll have to investigate properly if I get the chance. Cain's Book's description of Tal Rasha doesn't seem comprehensive enough.
The issue of Drop Rate was thus glossed over. I wasn't worried they would actually ask me to kill Elite Monster. Leaving aside how hard it is to encounter Elite Monster, even if we did, no one would take such a risk to adjust the Party during combat just to earn a few bottles of Potion and Gold Coin. Even if there was only a one percent Chance of an accident, that's something a Party Captain would absolutely not allow.
After clearing the Battlefield, we continued to move cautiously on the first floor. Druv and the others had clearly familiarized themselves with the entire Tower's Terrain before coming. They knew exactly which paths were dead ends and impassable, and which areas had a higher density of Monster that needed to be avoided. When we encountered a Fork in the Road, seeing how they chose a direction without hesitation, they were either extremely Directionally Challenged or had absolute confidence. In my opinion, it was undoubtedly the latter.
Along the way, we encountered many Monster, all of which were types we had seen before, like the Bloody Tribe, Shaman, and Undead Warrior. Of course, the Dark Archer were also present. These little guys trapped themselves; they actually holed up in the Room. Once the Advantage of guerrilla warfare was suppressed, their only Destiny was to be annihilated. Watching them fall one by one at our feet, the frustration I felt when I was ambushed outside the Castle finally dissipated somewhat.
However, our progress was finally blocked as we approached the Entrance to the second floor. This was a group of semi-transparent Monster floating in the air, shaped somewhat like Birds. Their Appearance was somewhat dreamily beautiful, but the Strength/Power of these Monster was not as fragile as their appearance suggested. *Sweatdrop* These Monster, called Ghost, left a particularly deep impression on me even when I was playing the Game. And Cain's Book specifically mentioned – avoid them if possible! This is because they are impervious to both Physical Attack and Magic Attack to a certain extent. Furthermore, they were the first Monster I encountered where even the normal-level Monster possessed a special ability. Their special ability is Mana Drain, which is particularly annoying for Class Changer, because their Mana can be drained away unknowingly. Only when you want to cast a Skill do you frustratingly discover that your Mana value has been completely drained.
However, these were not their most terrifying aspects. Their most frightening point was that they were in a semi-Ghost state and could ignore Space Rules, overlapping one another to form a terrifying Fusion. It is said that there have been instances where up to a hundred Ghost overlapped, and a hundred Ghost attacking together could instantly kill most Class Changer in Rogue Encampment.
The best Method to deal with them is to separate them during combat. Fortunately, their Wisdom is not very high, and they don't consciously overlap. They only naturally form an overlapping state when their Quantity is too large.
In Front of us, there were over a dozen Ghost blocking our path. It was impossible to bypass them; we could only fight. To be honest, even if I used my full Strength/Power and Summoned Light Snow , I wouldn't want to provoke these Ghost. Of course, it wasn't fear. It was just that this task was thankless and difficult. It is said that the Drop Rate of these Ghost is extremely low, at most dropping some Mana Potion. Furthermore, they don't give much Experience. Dealing with them is simply not worth the effort; they are the kind of Monster everyone tries to avoid.
After assigning the Quest, the four of us immediately took action. Druv took the lead and plunged into the center of the Ghost. The three of us then proceeded to separate these dozen-plus Ghost. I Command/Direct Xiao Er and the others to surround 6 Ghost. My White Long Dagger cut through them as if slicing through a ball of soft cotton, giving absolutely no tactile Feedback. Xiao Er and the others probably felt the same way; their Claws swiped through as if lightly swatting dragonflies. This Feeling was truly infuriating.
I turned my head to look. I saw that Druv was using Holy Bolt against them. The Holy Bolt hit them, causing them to continuously let out spine-chilling, Ghost-like shrieks. They seemed to be in great Pain. My eyes darted around. That's right! These Ghost should also belong to the Undead category, and Holy Bolt happens to be the only Skill that can counter them. Thinking of this, I wished I could immediately take out that Scepter and whack these hateful Ghost until they were covered in bumps. Unfortunately, this was just a thought; three pairs of big eyes were watching.
Under my deliberate control, it took us quite a while to clear out this group of Ghost. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; this battle was not easy. The only one who could counter them was Druv. But his Holy Bolt couldn't be cast whenever he wanted because his Skill Level wasn't high, and it required a cooldown time. Both factors meant Holy Bolt could only be a surprise weapon, not a main force.
We glanced at the Ghost Corpses on the ground. As expected, over a dozen or twenty Ghost didn't drop a single thing. Even I, whom they jokingly called the 'Potion King', returned empty-handed. Damn it, if we encounter them again in the future, we should avoid them if possible.
When we stepped onto the second floor, Mardon suddenly stopped and led us to an empty Room. It was very clean and tidy, looking like it wasn't frequently visited by Monster. Most importantly, there was a window inside, from which we could see the scenery outside.
Looking out from the window, we realized it was already dusk. This meant we had spent an entire day just on the first floor. Although killing Monster along the way consumed a lot of time, it was enough to show how vast this Tower was.
"Let's Rest here tonight! This Room is relatively safe; generally, there shouldn't be any Monster Projection here."
Seeing his confident Appearance, I couldn't help but ask curiously, "Mardon, how did you figure that out?"
Mardon rolled his eyes: "Idiot, can't you take a good look at your Surroundings?"
Hearing that, I carefully looked around. Uh, it seemed there were indeed many scratches on the stone Wall, with crooked writing, but the general meaning was that this Room was relatively safe and there wouldn't be any Monster Projection. Seeing these words, a scene instantly flashed in my mind: the "xxx was here" carvings on an ancient wall in a tourist spot from my original world.
In any case, the lodging issue was resolved. The four of us lit a Campfire in the center of the House and discussed today's battle. Although everyone had slightly different opinions, they unanimously gave Affirmative feedback on the capabilities I displayed. Even the competitive Mardon had to grudgingly admit that my Strength/Power was the strongest among the four of us.
Next, Druv explained the layout of the entire Tower. Overall, the Tower had five floors, and the Monster inside were just the few types we encountered today. Even if we went higher, no new Monster would appear, which made us greatly relieved. However, the closer we got to the fifth floor, the denser the distribution of Monster would be. Although with our Strength/Power, reaching the Countess was a sure thing, we absolutely couldn't let our guard down. This was the way of survival in this world: never underestimate any Monster or any place.
Before Resting, Druv also gave us a heads-up about the Countess – don't hold too much hope. Although they hadn't heard any information about the Countess before coming, it wasn't impossible that the Countess might have just been killed by someone else as we were advancing towards the fifth floor, and the Chance was not low. If someone really got there first, just consider this a Trial. It's good to be mentally prepared.
The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, we quickly got up, ate something, and immediately set off. Druv's words from last night gave everyone a sense of urgency – perhaps if we were just one step faster, we might be able to kill the Countess before anyone else.
The Monster on the second floor didn't change much, only their Quantity was higher. Of course, for a Party composed of four High-Level Adventurer like us, as long as we didn't deliberately rush into hordes of Monster to court death, there wouldn't be any major accidents.
As the obstacles ahead increased, our pace became more difficult. Even with Mardon's correct guidance, encountering waves of Monster every ten minutes or so meant we spent a full ten days just to reach the fifth floor. It's worth mentioning that along the way, we encountered several Adventurer Party, including Mercenary Squad. Interestingly, two of these Squad saw us, and their expressions suddenly changed slightly. Their originally cautious Footsteps suddenly quickened. Haha, it seems they were competitors for the Countess. Well, let's see who's faster.
After Resting, we finally stepped onto the fifth floor. By this time, both Mardon and I had each Leveled Up once. Mardon had reached Level 16, and I had also Leveled Up to Level 15. The dense Monster in the Tower brought us a massive amount of Experience. Of course, if it weren't for the presence of the other three, which prevented me from fully unleashing my abilities, perhaps I would have already Leveled Up to Level 16. However, experiencing the feeling of being in a Party was also worthwhile. Leveling Up is not a big problem for me.