Lightning Element
The moment he heard that prompt, the light around him abruptly dimmed, as if day had turned to night in a single breath.
In the darkness, Mike lost all sense of his surroundings. It felt like he'd been flung into a void, his mind sinking into confusion, so disoriented that he couldn't even gauge the passage of time.
Not far away, a silhouette cloaked in black mist appeared out of thin air.
This figure emanated a bizarre and powerful aura. Its silent arrival brought a suffocating tension, filling the air with a sense of fear.
Clearly, this was no ordinary being. He looked more like a living shadow. Hovering in midair, he blended with the night.
"Interesting. This young man doesn't seem to belong in this world. Even more peculiar is the Apollo aura hovering around him."
"How did he manage all this?"
The figure glanced at Mike, a keen glimmer sparking in its eyes.
…
At long last, Mike completed the Custom Space trial, extending his lifespan to one hundred days. He was about to head off and challenge the Tower of Truth, then pick a class, when all of a sudden, he noticed a massive magic circle rising from the ground.
"Woof!"
A somewhat adorable white dog leapt out of the magic circle. It bounded up to Mike, gave him a few affectionate licks, and then, under Mike's stunned gaze, merged directly into his body.
"What the heck just happened? Where'd that dog go?" Mike muttered, completely confused.
Right then, the Eye of Truth flashed a message:
[Your Weakness state has been lifted. Current Remaining Lifespan: 300 years.]
[Your equipment has been damaged and cannot be taken out of Custom Space.]
[You have received the blessing of the oldest, greatest will in the cosmos. Its authority surpasses both Truth and Fate. During the upcoming challenges, there is a 33.33% chance you will acquire an SSSSS-tier reward!]
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A burst of white light later, Mike found himself back home. Even though he'd just fought nonstop in the Custom Space for what felt like ages, he wasn't the slightest bit tired—his body was in perfect shape again.
Time flowed differently in the Custom Space compared to the real world. Even though he'd spent twenty hours inside, only two hours had passed outside.
He still had a little while before the Tower of Truth opened for challengers, so Mike killed time on some forums and read a short novel. Before he knew it, midnight rolled around.
The next moment, a mysterious force swept him into the Tower of Truth!
"Your first time entering the Tower of Truth. Please create your ID."
"Thor."
Mike wasted no time and tossed in the ID he'd prepared—Thor.
Before entry, you can check to see if your chosen ID is available. Turns out no one's claimed "Thor." Maybe the last guy using that name is long gone.
"ID creation successful…"
"Please choose your class in the Tower of Truth."
Primary combat classes include: Warrior, Mage, Rogue, Warlock, Archer, Mechanic, Knight, Priest, and so on.
Support and lifestyle classes weren't on Mike's radar. Mike had always been partial to the Mage class, so he picked the one he knew best without hesitation: "Mage!"
"Checking attributes…"
"Synchronizing…"
A faint blue translucent panel floated in front of Mike, displaying some basic stats. He read it carefully:
ID: Thor
Talent: Eye of Truth (SSS)
Level: 1
Class: Apprentice Mage
HP: 180/180
MP: 190/190
Strength: 9 (affects physical damage)
Intelligence: 9 (affects max MP and magical damage)
Spirit: 8 (affects magic defense and MP recovery rate)
Agility: 8 (affects movement speed and dodge rate)
Constitution: 8 (affects max HP and HP regeneration)
Luck: 10
Equipment: Novice Staff
Skills: None
As soon as Mike's gaze landed on the Luck stat, a little note popped up:
[You lucky devil—you've triggered a hidden dungeon in the beginner's instance.]
Excitement flashed across Mike's face.
So hitting 10 Luck actually unlocks a hidden dungeon?
Mike had done tons of research on the Tower of Truth, poring over every forum he could find, but he'd never once come across mention of a hidden dungeon!
He closed the stat panel. Listed on it were the Tower of Truth's five core attributes: Strength, Intelligence, Spirit, Constitution, and Agility. Normally, starting values ranged from 1 to 10, so Mike's were pretty darn solid.
As for Luck—well, that was a special attribute. He'd never heard of anyone starting out with a full 10 points of Luck! Most people hovered between 0 and 1.
But that hidden dungeon…
Mike's top priority right now was the 33.33% chance of snagging that SSSSS-tier reward! He had no idea when it might pop up, so he had to keep his Eye of Truth constantly on the lookout.
"Your exclusive newbie gift pack has arrived!"
"Open the newbie gift pack?"
"Yes!"
A dazzling light flared, and three glowing orbs appeared before Mike. Another prompt sounded in his ear:
"Please pick one of these three rewards as your beginner's perk."
From what Mike had gathered, newbie gift packs generally divided into four categories: gold, equipment, spellbooks, or special items.
The least useful? Gold. Once you picked your newbie gift pack, you'd be tossed straight into a beginner dungeon, where gold did hardly any good anyway.
Good equipment, however, could seriously up your game in that dungeon, meaning way better rewards at the end.
Spellbooks varied in power depending on the skill. As for special items, they were so rare there wasn't much info on them online.
"Some folks say the newbie gift pack is all luck, no rhyme or reason."
Mike thought of the many guides he'd read and couldn't help but smile. For nearly three centuries, people had researched the Tower of Truth, gathering data and theories. None of it seemed to help right now.
In Mike's eyes, there was no mystery in how to pick among these three orbs. Maybe most people relied on chance, but with the Eye of Truth, he could see everything clearly.
He swept his gaze from left to right.
On the far left lay a staff, gently shimmering with crackling electricity:
Equipment: Grip of Thunder (Lv.1)
Rank: A
Attribute: +5 Intelligence
Lightning Bolt (Lv.1): Deals (50 + 1 × INT) lightning damage, with a 100% chance to slow and a 33% chance to paralyze.
Skill: [Thunderstrike] All attacks or spells have a 5% chance to paralyze.
(Hidden Skill: [Destiny] Upgrades after casting 100 lightning spells.)
An A-rank weapon!
Mike's eyebrows twitched—he was definitely tempted. It fit him to a T.
In this setting, gear ranks, like talents, ran from the highest at SSS downward. An A-rank staff with the potential for further upgrades and perks could easily go for a cool million bucks on the market… if you could even find one for sale.
"Keep it together, man—stay calm!"
Mike didn't jump on it right away. As powerful as Grip of Thunder was, he still wanted to check out the other two options before making a final call.
In the middle orb was a shiny heap of gold coins.
"Five thousand gold!"
He practically did a double-take at that number. Tower of Truth currency could be exchanged for real money. One gold coin equaled a thousand dollars. Five thousand coins meant five million bucks!
"So this is what 10 Luck feels like?"
Mike never expected each choice in the newbie pack to be better than the last.
Still, if it came down to five thousand gold or Grip of Thunder, he leaned toward the staff, figuring it was more valuable to gear up for the upcoming dungeon(instance).
Passing on that much cash hurt, sure, but logically, gold wouldn't help him much inside. And if he scored an A-rank or better rating in that first dungeon, he'd end up raking in far more than five million anyway.
Tearing his eyes away from the glittering coin pile, he checked the final orb.
"What?!"
Mike sucked in a breath, rubbing his eyes in disbelief:
Special Item: [Lightning Element]
Rank: SSSSS (Unique)
Effect: When used, gain +100% lightning affinity, +100% mana regeneration rate, and randomly learn three lightning spells.
Mike didn't even hesitate. He pointed straight at the final orb.
"Beginner's gift pack reward chosen: [Lightning Element]!"