The First Floor (5)

{Author's Note: The entire chapter will be in third person pov(point of view)!}

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"Haa!!" loudly exhaled Nox as he drove his dagger into the chest of the last remaining monster, one of the magicians.

The pony-tailed man was covered in bruises throughout his body. His face had been cut numerous times, and blood slowly gushed out from the cuts.

Although it wasn't as simple as he imagined, he was able to slay all the remaining hundred and fifty knights, assassins, and magicians within just two hours.

He dropped his daggers, falling to his knees.

Gasping for air, the man began to take deep breaths. It was only after a couple of minutes that he calmed himself down.

"Is this how every floor is going to be?" Nox mumbled as he slid his dagger back into its scabbard.

After five minutes of resting and relaxing his muscles, he looked at the items he had obtained after defeating the entire army.

[Low-tier Assassin's boots (C)]

[Low-tier Magician's Orb (C)]

[Low-tier Knight's gauntlet (C)]

Nox felt his agility and defence increase as he donned the *assassin's boots* and the *knight's gauntlet*. When Nox grabbed the orb, he felt arcane surge inside him.

The armour he obtained had the function of turning itself translucent, making it look like he was wearing none.

"I got some good items," commented Nox putting the orb in his waist pouch.

Suddenly, some messages popped up in front of Nox's eyes.

[You have defeated the second wave! An arduous task!]

[The Tower appreciates your perseverance and strength!]

'What was this? Did this mean that I didn't need to slay the monsters? Would just surviving have done the trick?' thought the young man.

[A side challenge has been triggered!]

Instantaneously after the message appeared, the darkness at the end of the hall, from where the monsters had appeared, fell down.

The darkness fell as if a curtain was being dropped and dissipated into the ground as if it had never existed.

The man took a step back, confusion visible all over his face.

A giant door could be seen where the veil of darkness had been before.

'Just what's going on!' he internally shouted.

**********

[The First Floor's Side Challenge]

[ Clear conditions: Defeat the entity behind the door.

Time limit: None

Rewards: ?

Failure: ?]

**********

[The player can choose to abandon this side challenge! You will still obtain essential rewards if you decide to abandon this side challenge.]

"I could abandon the challenge?" mumbled Nox.

Nox considered his options.

He would still obtain a class if he left this side quest. He didn't even know the rewards for completing this side quest.

But completing this side challenge may make him stronger.

'If I wish to reach the top, I can't step back just because of uncertainty,' thought the man, strengthening his resolve.

Reaching the top and becoming stronger was the only way he could see his loved ones again. He had thought them to be dead for his entire life, but obtaining information about them being alive, introduced a new zeal in the man.

"Out of the eight hours to complete the first floor, three or four hours were still left. It would be better to complete the side quest after some rest," Nox decided.

Nox was calm. Instead of rushing to challenge the side challenge, the young man was rational enough to understand his own fatigue.

Nox reached a pillar and sat down, leaning his back against it.

.

.

.

Only after two hours passed, Nox's bright blue eyes opened again.

His body had partially recovered from the fatigue and bruises.

"It's time," the man concluded as he got up and made his way to the humongous door.

But his body froze when he neared the door.

Due to his high perception, Nox could faintly sense the power of the entity behind this door.

The presence he felt was unlike any other he had felt so far. The pure bloodlust he could feel couldn't even be compared to anything.

'Can I even handle it?' He doubted.

Nox took out the moon dagger as he pushed the door open, heading into the unknown.

Behind the door was another hall, half the size of the one he was in before. Similar pillars supported the roof, and similar torches were placed here and there.

But, a throne was placed on a platform at the end of the hall. It wasn't too grandiose or extravagant, but its brown wood and red cushion were eye-catching.

Nox concentrated on the arcane fluctuations around him, but he couldn't sense anything unusual.

Something walked out from behind a pillar closest to the throne.

It was unlike anything that Nox had seen so far in the Tower.

The monster was at least seven feet tall with a huge intimidating physique.

Its head and feet were like those of a bull. Its muscular arms represented those of a bodybuilder from Earth.

One of the long, thick horns on its head was broken. Its dark, abyss-like eyes looked fierce as it stared at Nox.

Except for its head, it wore dull black-coloured armour all over its body. Even though the armour had lost its shine over time, it still sparkled a little in the dim light. The monster also wore a huge brown belt around its waist.

The monster effortlessly carried a huge axe with a single hand. The axe itself must have weighed around fifty kilograms.

The handle of the giant axe was wrapped in bandages, which had turned red due to soaking in blood for so long. It was a double-sided axe, with a sharp edge at either end of the colossal axe head.

It ambled, leaving many openings in its defence. But, Nox's instinct advised him not to make the first move.

The monster stopped before the throne and stood there, staring at the one who had come to challenge it.

Unlike the status screens of the monsters before, which were in white, the name of this particular monster could be seen in blood-red letters by Nox.

[Shadow-black Commander, Minotaur]

"A commander?" Nox smirked due to the sheer difference in power he felt between them.

Coating his entire body and dagger in arcane, he slowly made his way toward the monster.

The minotaur also made its way toward the approaching opponent.

Nox sprinted at the monster, keeping his head down.

Instantaneously, the minotaur swung his axe sideways, destroying the ground and a couple of pillars in the process. Fortunately, Nox was able to crouch, barely avoiding the fierce attack.

Not giving the minotaur a chance to recover from the momentum of its attack, Nox thrust his dagger at the waist of the monster. But even with its arcane-coated dagger, he could barely dent the armour.

The monster kicked the man, sending him crashing into a nearby pillar. Blood gushed out of Nox's mouth as he crashed into the pillar, and he barely controlled his urge to yell.

The man got up again, spitting out the excess blood in his mouth.

"Its armour is harder than the one the knights had," Nox commented, "and the strength he has is no joke."

'But, I may be able to beat it in terms of agility,' thought the man.

He activated 'dash' and 'anatomical liberation'.

Nox crouched, getting ready to launch himself at the monster.

In an instant, Nox was able to get in front of the minotaur. He slashed at the minotaur's face, which had no armour protecting it. Even though he had used his full strength, he could only inflict a shallow cut on its cheek.

Before Nox could jump back and make some distance between them, the minotaur grabbed his hair and flung him to the end of the hall.

Crashing into the wall, Nox fell down on the throne, which was right beneath him.

On the throne, he lay, almost lifeless.