Trail of the Ruined Tower

Shiva appeared in a dark space devoid of any light. There was no presence in his surroundings and the darkness around him stretched as far as his eyes could see as if there was no end to it.

"This place is as comfortable as ever," Shiva said, feeling at ease in this void-like space.

<Welcome to the Trial grounds of Tower Ruins>

<The Tower greets the new Challenger>

"You are still a sweet-talker, aren't you, Tower?" Shiva talked as if the Tower was not a thing, but a person, but of course, it didn't reply to him.

<The Akashic records are being opened to view your achievements and history>

<The Tower pities your past>

<The Tower is feeling complicated by your actions, a few abnormalities have been detected>

<The Tower is finding suitable opponents for you>

<Opponents found, your trial will now begin>

The system was as talkative as ever, and Shiva didn't mind it. Although the trial that everyone would face is the same, it wasn't true for the opponents they would face. The Tower picks the opponents based on the individual's strength, their past, and their achievements.

So every challenger would face different types of opponents in their trials.

<The Tower asks the challenger to choose a stat>

<With each wave cleared, the chosen stat will rise>

This was the reason why Shiva had told the group to clear as many waves as possible. With each wave they clear, their chosen stat will increase, making them stronger and stronger.

Of course, they can only choose a stat that they have, not the hidden stats.

'It's a shame.'

If he could gain any stat, then he would have chosen a hidden stat which could be of immense help to him, but what can he do? He has to be satisfied with what the Tower provides.

"I choose Strength."

A necromancer choosing a strength stat as a reward! That was the most ridiculous thing ever! 

Even Shiva had chosen intelligence in his past life. But he wasn't going to choose the same now. He had already had 49 stat points for intelligence; it was the max he could increase before entering the Tower. So instead, he wanted to increase his strength.

Although he was considered a powerful being along with his summons in his past life, his individual strength was anything but laughable. 

As a necromancer, he had no need to fight, but now, the things were different!

"I will get so strong that I could crush those disgusting things with my bare hands," Shiva said, an excited smile dancing upon his lips.

<Strength stat is chosen as a reward>

<The first wave will appear after one minute, good luck, challenger>

Noticing that he still had time, Shiva looked around him. There were 8 skeleton summons in addition to the corruption giant standing around him.

Shiva's current summons included a two-headed ogre skeleton, three hobgoblin lord skeletons, two abominations that looked like a mix of a hound and a tiger, along with a skeleton mage and a skeleton that resembled a centaur with a spear. 

All his summons, except for the skeleton mage, were around level 20-25, with the skeleton mage being level 7. He could have summoned another level 20 monster, but having a ranged dealer was more important, so he held onto the skeleton mage.

Though they were around 20-25 levels, they only retained about half of their powers, so they could best be equivalent to level 15-18 challengers.

Beside them, he also had the corruption giant, which had grown so much stronger after reaching level 25 that Shiva couldn't wait to see its power.

But that wasn't all; with nine summons by his side, his 'Undead Confederate' skill's effect could now be felt. He felt a bit stronger than usual, and his mana was recovering at a slightly faster rate.

And even if anything were to happen unexpectedly, now he had the <The Feast for the Dead> skill, which he could use to heal himself.

"I am a bit broken, am I not?" Shiva chuckled to himself. 

At his current level, there would be no one who could match him...well, except for some people, but they weren't here now, and he didn't have to worry about them, so he concentrated on the matter at hand.

<The first wave of monsters has appeared>

<Slay 15 all the monsters in minutes to move on next wave>

"Kiekeikeikei"

The first type of monsters to appear were goblins, of course, Shiva knew it since he had faced the same monsters in his past life. But something was amiss here.

"Was there this many goblins in my past life?"

Just looking at them, there were more than 25-30 goblins who had appeared all around him. Shiva was pretty sure that it was only around ten in his past life, but now, there were thrice the numbers!

And as if that wasn't enough, the monsters weren't normal either; they all had different weapons in their hands! Ranging from swords, bows, spears, and shields, one among them even had a staff!

'My achievements affected the trial, huh?'

In his past life, Shiva had just barely managed to reach about level 15, while now, he was at the tutorial limit of level 25, not to mention that he already had 4 titles and had slain numerous guardian monsters who were all supposed to be unbeatable by the challengers, which is exactly why the Tower had increased the difficulty of his trial.

While he was wondering that, the goblins pounced on him, with the sword and shield wielders in the front line, archers, and a single mage hiding behind the group, as if there were not mindless creatures of the tower but trained soldiers who had fought numerous battles.

"Hoy, hoy! Isn't this pretty hard for the first wave?" 

Shiva said out loud, but contrary to his words, an excited smile was dancing on his face.

---***---

The Trial begins~

(Comment down your thoughts on which monsters will Shiva face in the upcoming waves?)