Chapter 14: Tower Trial I : Monster Parkour

William and Cent stood in the middle of the second floor, Lumina hovering nearby. The place was a copy of the first floor before he’d built arrow traps. In front of them, a giant panel floated, showing a bird’s-eye view of the entire floor.

Only a few seconds remained before the climbers arrived.

The Climber’s Path was set to ’all,’ which means climbers would go through all the floors. For now, it didn’t matter, but once they come stronger, letting them stroll through the lower floors with weak traps would be pointless.

William stared at the panel, wide-eyed, heart thundering. When the timer finally hit zero, a white fog rolled in at the trap pathway’s starting area.

As the fog thinned, seven figures emerged. Six massive wolves, smoky grey fur bristling, each twice the size of any wolf William remembered from Earth. Their eyes glinted with pure malice.

And at the rear, a hulking green brute, taller than Cent and twice as wide. He gripped a spiked metal bat that looked like it could turn someone into Swiss cheese.

William stared at the screen, outnumbered from the get-go. A nervous laugh slipped out. "Hahhhh... Se... Seven versus two." He glanced at Lumina, then snorted, "And a quarter. Maybe I really should slap on that strap-on."

Each monster glared at the path ahead, growling like they knew exactly what was in front of them. William exhaled, then pulled up the wolves’ status first.

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Name: Nightfang Howler (D-Rank)

Race: Shadow wolf

Rank: Tier 1 (Low)

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Attributes

Strength: 8

Constitution: 8

Agility: 14

Intelligence: 6

Mana: 7

Affinity: Shadow

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Skill

Shadow Flick (Low)

Deliver a lethal bite while hiding its presence in the enemy’s shadow. With 15% chance of tearing flesh.

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William’s eyes bulged at the status screen. "D-rank... Six fucking D-ranks! For fuck’s sake, I’ve got F for Fairies as my main troop." He shot a glare skyward, cursing whatever asshole god was behind this. Then, steeling himself, he pulled up the brute’s stats.

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Name: IronthokBrute

Race: War Orc(C-Rank)

Rank: Tier 1 (Intermediate)

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Attributes

Strength: 22

Constitution: 24

Agility: 14

Intelligence: 12

Mana: 12

Affinity: Earth

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Skill

Crushing Strike (Intermediate)

Swings its spiked iron bat, dealing heavy damage with a 45% chance to stagger the target.

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William felt a chill crawl down his spine as he looked at the orc’s stats. It wasn’t that the brute’s numbers were insane, yeah, some were higher than his, but he could handle the bastard one-on-one.

What really worried him was the numbers game. If they all made it past the first floor, he was screwed.

While William was still plotting his next move as the beasts started moving. The wolves took the lead, while the Brute followed them from behind.

The pathway stretched about eighty meters, with thirty-two arrow traps hidden along its length. The tiles were huge, just two side by side made up an entire row. Maybe the wolves would have tried to step on just one tile per row, but they were way too damn big for that.

The wolves moved in pairs, stepping on every tile. The first two tiles were duds, no traps underneath. they kept moving when they hit the fourth row, the one on the left finally triggered a trap.

A hidden arrow, coated with poison, shot out from the wall at the wolf. But that bastard was fast. At the last possible second, he twisted aside and dodged it. For a Tier One (Low), his agility was even higher than Cent’s.

The arrow clattered uselessly to the floor, and the wolf bared its fangs at it, like he was mocking whoever set this pathetic trap. They didn’t even break a sweat, within minutes, they hit the 20-meter mark. Eight arrows had been fired so far, six missed, and only two managed to leave shallow cuts on the wolf to the right.

Up on the second floor, William was sweating buckets, watching these furry assholes breeze through his traps like they were born on a parkour track. He’d thought, maybe, he’d get a couple at the start. But at this rate, he’d be lucky if even two got nailed by the end.

At the 30-meter mark, the wolf on the right stepped on another trigger. This time, the arrow got him straight in the shoulder.

The wolf howled in pain, thrashing around and clawing at the arrow, but it was buried deep in his muscle. The poison from the earlier grazes, and now this direct hit, finally did him. His body got paralysed, and he fell to the floor.

The other beasts didn’t even bother to look at him. Another wolf just took the lead, and they kept going, leaving the unlucky bastard behind without a second thought.

William’s eyes stayed glued to the panel as the first beast dropped. Not even a flicker of satisfaction, one dead mutt wasn’t nearly enough. He was already worrying about Cent, who’d have to deal with the rest of these wolves while he deals with the brute.

After a beat, William asked, "Rollie, tell me exactly where the climbers will appear after the first floor?"

[Climbers will appear in the center. But why are you asking?]

A wicked grin crept across his face. "Kekeke... Oh, it’s nothing. I was just curious."

Meanwhile, William was scheming. The beasts went through the traps like it was a damn playground. Now, just 20 meters left, and not even a scratch this round. The wolves up front moved like they had done this a hundred times, while the brute slugishly followed from behind with his spiked bat resting on his shoulders.

As they pressed on, the wolf on the left, the same cocky bastard who mocked the trap earlier, stepped right onto a trigger tile.

This time, the trap mechanism changed. Instead of a single arrow, two shot out at once. That caught the cocky bastard off guard. He dodged one with a quick sidestep, but the other went right at the face, well, specifically just above his jaw.

He jerked, slammed into the wall, and clawed at the arrow. The tail snapped off, but the arrowhead stayed stuck in his cheek, looking like he had an oversized dimple piercing.

All that thrashing around just made things worse, he accidentally triggered another trap. Didn’t even see it coming. The arrow slammed straight into the back of his neck. He let out a howl and dropped right there.

This wolf ended up just like the last, instantly replaced without a second thought as the group kept marching. They didn’t hit any more double arrow traps along the way. By now, thirty arrows had been fired ,meaning only two were left. With that, the final trap triggered.

Another double arrow trap, this time aimed at the wolf on the left. But these bastards were ready. The wolf dodged the first arrow easily, then lunged for the end platform to escape the second. He almost made it, the second arrow just clipped his tail, leaving a shallow cut.

With every trap spent, all five of them stepped onto the end platform.

William watched as they cleared the first floor. He closed the panel, glanced at Cent, who was already gripping his spear, and muttered, "You know what to do, right?"

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[A/N]: Please consider supporting by sending some Power Stones and Golden tickets. Your support means a lot and really helps me continue writing.

Nightfang Howler’s character design is attached in the comment.