I didn’t even need to open the private messages to know what they contained. Almost every single one was an attempt to poach me, with entities hoping I’d sign an early sponsorship contract or accept some binding deal.
However, locking myself into a contract this early was a massive amateur mistake. The truly powerful Constellations didn’t pay attention to low-floor challengers on [Hell] difficulty this early on. Furthermore, accepting an offer from one entity meant potentially alienating their rivals, creating powerful enemies before I even reached the middle floors.
My strategy this time around was simple: remain strictly neutral for as long as possible.
Before dealing with the audience, it was time to inspect the rewards for clearing the boosted boss fight.
[You are now Level 22.]
[You have 11 unallocated stat points.]
In my previous life, when I cleared Floor 0, I had barely reached Level 4 with three unallocated stat points to my name. Back then, I had spent the tutorial sneaking around in terror, barely surviving the boss encounter through blind luck.
This time, everything was different. I was stronger, faster, and infinitely more experienced.
Without a second thought, I dumped 10 of my unallocated stat points straight into Mana Power.
Sitting on 30 Mana Power before setting foot on Floor 1 was completely unheard of. There was only one missing piece left to make this build downright broken: an offensive or crowd-control skill that scaled directly with Mana.
[Hidden Threshold Achieved! Mana Power has reached 30.00.]
[As a result, all primary attributes have gained +4 points.]
My attributes were scaling at an absurd rate. Even in my past life, I had never heard of a challenger pulling off stats like this on Floor 0. I was, without a shadow of a doubt, the strongest challenger at this stage of the game.
Before I could even review my updated Status Window, a golden notification flashed across my vision. It was time to claim the bounty from the bastard who had jacked up my boss room difficulty.
[You have received a direct reward from the entity who initiated the Floor 0 Difficulty Increase.]
[Do you wish to claim your reward?]
I confirmed immediately.
A blinding light erupted in front of me, fading to reveal a crimson longsword resting in my right hand, accompanied by a secondary system window.
A weapon AND a skill scroll? Just who was watching me?
It might have seemed like a modest package to an outsider, but receiving both a high-rank item and a skill on Floor 0 was virtually unheard of. Whoever sponsored this payout had to be an absolute titan in the upper spheres.
[Blood Sword]
Rank: Arcane
Effects: +0 STR
[Hidden Passive: Growth Type — This weapon absorbs the blood of slain enemies to permanently increase its base sharpness and attribute scaling.]
A growth-type weapon? My eyes widened. Just how big of a shot was that sponsor?
Eagerly, I pulled up the skill scroll info next.
[Bloodlust]
Rank: Rare
Description: Projects an overwhelming aura of violent intent scaled directly to your Mana Power. Inflicts severe mental pressure and applies random status debuffs to all targets within range.
I burst into laughter as I read through the description.
I had gotten exactly what I needed. Scratch that, I had gotten something ten times better than I could have reasonably hoped for.
In my previous life, I didn’t get my hands on an Arcane-rank weapon until the 15th floor, and obtaining a Rare-rank skill scroll had taken over a full year of life-and-death grinding.
Standard [Hell] difficulty challengers usually spent weeks, sometimes months, just trying to survive Floor 0. I had cleared it in under an hour, and I had over 10,000 spectators watching, throwing high-tier rewards at my feet.
Just wait until I return to Earth or reach the Inter-Difficulty Plaza, I smirked. Those Easy-mode losers are going to lose their fucking minds.
"Status Window," I commanded mentally.
[ Status Window ]
Name: Caliste Henry
Title: None
Difficulty: [Hell]
Level: 22
[ Primary Attributes ]
Strength (STR): 10
Agility (AGI): 10
Vitality (VIT): 10
Perception (PER): 11 (+1 from Dirty Golden Ring)
Mana Power (MP): 30.05
Unallocated Stat Points: 1
[ Skills ]
[Bloodlust (Rank: Rare)]
In a single floor, my raw attribute total had already eclipsed the starting stats of [Easy] difficulty challengers.
That was the exact reason the Dokkaebi Albert had mentioned back then that [Easy] mode players would quickly hit a plateau. The quality of rewards I was harvesting on Floor 0 wouldn’t start dropping for [Easy] mode players until Floor 20 or 30.
I admired my stat sheet for a moment longer before turning toward the glowing doorway at the back of the chamber.
It was time to open Floor 1, the true beginning of [Hell] difficulty.
Passing through the threshold meant unlocking the primary economic system of the Tower: Points.
I intentionally left the mountain of private messages unread, ignoring the rising temper of the high-tier spectators in the chat feed. I couldn’t care less if they got annoyed; the more worked up they got, the bigger the payouts would be when I pulled off the next impossible clear.
With my new weapon, my CC skill, and my inflated baseline attributes, Floor 1 was going to be a total walk in the park.
Without another moment’s delay, I stepped through the portal into the dark void.
[Entering Floor 1...]
[System Currency ’Points’ Unlocked!]
[Points can be exchanged for weapons, consumables, skills, and special privileges within the Tower.]
[Points are awarded for floor survival, monster kills, high-rank clear evaluations, and spectator donations.]
The world dissolved around me.
I wasn’t sure exactly how far ahead the [Easy] mode squads were right now, but with an Arcane blade in my hand and a Rare skill ready to deploy, it was time to speed-run the early stages and close the gap.
However, just as I was about to leave the Floor 1 waiting room, I skimmed through the incoming private messages I had received just for fun. A specific sender stopped me dead in my tracks with one message I simply couldn’t ignore.
[Elf_Queen wants to meet with you privately.]
One of the absolute top-tier entities is already watching me... and she wants a face-to-face?
My strategy of staying neutral might be getting thrown out the window faster than I thought.