Only the living can create miracles; the dead are worth nothing

"Whoosh—"

A figure descended from the sky, startling a flock of birds into flight from the silent forest, streaking across the sky.

Mike landed lightly, his feet pressing into the thick layer of leaves, feeling the softness beneath his soles. 

"This should be safe now." Mike stretched lazily, beginning to sort through his loot from the trip.

After taking down the Minotaur Battle General, there were no monsters on the first floor of the Tower of Truth that posed any threat to Mike. Even without using skills, just with basic attacks, Mike could easily take down any monster.

In the palm of his hand appeared a blue orb, the biggest prize from his victory over the Minotaur Battle General—the Inhibition Orb!

Special item [Inhibition Orb]: 

Tier: SS 

Integrity: 74.8% 

Requirements: Lv.20, Minotaur lineage 

Effect: The holder is immune to magic damage under ten million, and enjoys high damage reduction from magic damage over ten million. 

Note: The Inhibition Orb can be crushed to completely block the next instance of magic damage received (below Battle Lord tier), no Minotaur lineage required to activate.

After reading the effects of the Inhibition Orb, Mike couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed and grumbled, "I knew it, those demon gods aren't exactly the charitable type, why would they just hand out items? Even the special items given to the Minotaur Battle General come with strings attached, making them practically unusable for anyone who picks them up!"

It wasn't exactly unusable, though. If treated as a one-time use item, the Inhibition Orb indeed had a powerful effect. Being able to completely block magic damage from creatures below the Battle Lord tier could be a lifesaver in critical moments, essentially giving Mike an extra life!

But using an SS-tier item as a disposable item was just too extravagant. The two conditions for using the Inhibition Orb, however, tightly restricted Mike: Level 20 and Minotaur lineage. 

Mike was only level 10 at the moment, so he couldn't use it yet.

That problem wasn't too big; Mike would soon break through to level 20, which wouldn't be an issue for him. The real challenge was the lineage requirement!

Mike, being purely human with no trace of Minotaur lineage, couldn't wield the Inhibition Orb to enjoy its high magic immunity. 

Thus, it was relegated to just lying dormant in his backpack. Mike consoled himself, "Better to have it than not, right?" 

After all, it was an SS-tier special item with nearly 75% integrity. If Mike decided to sell it at the Mystic Market, it could easily fetch a million gold coins!

However, selling the Inhibition Orb could lead to unwanted connections being made. It was a rare item, and its appearance on the market could lead people to speculate about today's downfall of the Minotaur Battle General. 

It wouldn't be hard to guess that the seller might be the one who defeated the General. That could lead to further investigations, potentially exposing Mike under the spotlight and revealing his identity as Thor, which would bring unnecessary trouble.

"Play it cool, don't rush!" Mike knew well that only the living can create miracles; the dead are worth nothing. 

To stand at the center stage and fight for humanity, he needed to realize the potential of his SSS-tier talents. Until then, his focus must be on strengthening his own abilities.

Stowing away the Inhibition Orb, Mike glanced at the massive Minotaur head that nearly filled his entire backpack. The Minotaur's eyes, wide open in death, seemed still shocked by the immense power Thor had unleashed.

Unfortunately, in the Tower of Truth, levels and breakthroughs are linked to specific tiers, and even defeating a Minotaur Battle General from a higher tier didn't grant Mike any experience or level advancement. However, there were still benefits to be had. Mike wasn't about to make a losing deal.

Firstly, the rewards for killing the Minotaur Battle General were converted into attributes. The Tower of Truth awarded Mike with +100 to all attributes and +1 Luck. 

This was an unexpected boon that Mike hadn't anticipated; even killing the Minotaur Battle General could increase his Luck attribute!

"The Minotaur Battle General wasn't originally one of the first-floor monsters; he was sent here by a demon god using special means," Mike mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "His arrival disrupted the rules of the Tower of Truth, which is why he was severely wounded and bound by the rules of truth."

By killing the Minotaur Battle General, Mike had upheld the rules of the Tower of Truth, making these attribute rewards well justified. 

Regarding these rewards, Mike could only say, "The more, the merrier!"

Besides the attribute rewards, after slaying the Minotaur Battle General, the Exploration Rate of the first floor of the Tower of Truth shot up to 65%! 

This progress far exceeded Mike's expectations. 

"Looks like I'll have plenty of time today to take the Battle Soldiers test!" 

Mike hadn't forgotten his plan; after tallying up his gains, it was time to boost the Exploration Rate. 

"The upgrades for Force of Nature are done; hope it doesn't let me down!" 

Mike picked up the Force of Nature, his gaze dropping downwards. 

The massive damage dealt in killing the Minotaur Battle General satisfied the hidden upgrade conditions for Force of Nature, so the weapon upgraded automatically. 

Originally a 1.2-meter staff, it seemed a bit heavier after the upgrade, weighing nearly 20 pounds! 

With a Strength attribute over 300, Mike had no trouble handling a staff of this weight. 

Any other mage would probably struggle just to lift the Force of Nature, let alone wield it in high-speed combat—it'd be impossible! 

As Mike's gaze fell, the details of Force of Nature were fully revealed: 

[equipment: Force of Nature (Lv.10) 

Tier: A+ 

Attributes: Intelligence +40, Spirit +30 

Perk: 

[Stormbind Vengeance] Increases Lightning damage by 15%, Lightning damage taken by 5%, and shield/healing from wood element skills by 15% 

[Twinborn] 1% chance to simultaneously cast a wood element skill when casting a Lightning skill, and vice versa. 

[Thunderstorm] 0.01% chance to deal double damage when casting Lightning skills! 

Upgrade Perk: 

[Path to Annihilation] Use Lightning damage to kill 1000 units higher than the holder's level (0/1000) 

Upgradeable times: 11 

Upgrades done: 1] 

Force of Nature originally had three perks. 

The previous upgrade perk, after the upgrade, refreshed to [Path to Annihilation]. 

Killing 1000 units above one's level as an upgrade condition isn't too hard, even quite simple! 

The effects of the [Stormbind Vengeance] and [Twinborn] perks have been slightly enhanced. 

Especially Stormbind Vengeance, not only is the damage higher, but the side effects are even less! 

And the newly added perk [Thunderstorm] is the most valuable! 

"One in ten thousand chance to deal double damage!"

Looking at [Thunderstorm], the more Mike examined it, the more he liked it. 

Mathematically speaking, the benefit of [Thunderstorm] isn't high. Casting it 10,000 times to trigger just once for double damage might not seem like much. 

But here's the kicker!

Force of Nature still has 11 upgrade opportunities, and after each upgrade, all perks will be enhanced! This means, as time goes on, both the probability and the damage of [Thunderstorm] will see significant improvements! 

Its potential is worth banking on. 80,000 gold coins well spent!

Mike was grinning from ear to ear; this was money well spent! If he were to list [Force of Nature] on the Mystic Market now, even without disclosing the upgrade conditions, he could easily fetch a price over 300,000 gold coins!

Stowing away the Force of Nature, Mike casually opened his attribute panel:

ID: Thor 

Talent: Eye of Truth (SSS-tier) 

Level: 10 

Class: Stormweaver (Lightning) 

HP: 4600/4600 

MP: 3100/3100 

Strength: 226 (+100) 

Intelligence: 245 (+40) 

Spirit: 235 (+30) 

Agility: 224 

Constitution: 231 (+100) 

Luck: 12 

Equipment: Force of Nature (+1) 

Skills: Lightning Arrow, Blessing of Lightning, Charge Up, Thunderclap Strike 

Status: Lightning Affinity, Lightning Specialization 

With all attributes over 200, the current Mike could pass a tier Battle Soldiers test with his eyes closed!

With a sigh, the attribute panel slowly faded away. Mike stretched lazily and looked towards the dense forest, full of energy.

"Let's bump the Exploration Rate of the first floor to 100%!"