Checking the respawn core troops’ status, William realized they didn’t have any upgrade conditions. Like the bunny said, they weren’t real troops, just mana constructs.

It was time for gacha. He had four common draws saved up from daily sign-in. He could wait for tomorrow to stack them up into a Rare draw, but screw that. It was way too early to hoard resources.

He grinned. "Rollie, roll ’em all." With a flicker, forty common-grade cards appeared in front of him. Without overthinking, he snagged the first four off the top row. The rest poofed out. He first flipped the two cads in his left hand.

First card: ’Spirit Wine.’ Second: ’Weapon.’ Before he could even think, Rollie chimmed in with reward notifications and their information.

[Congratulations! You’ve won: Leaf Zen Brew (Spirit)]

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Item: Leaf Zen Brew (Uncommon)

Description: Booze brewed from Zen maple essence, premium stuff for Qi Gathering realm cultivators. It helps to sharpen your focus while cultivating. But if you’re just some regular mortal? Don’t even sniff it unless you want a three-day coma.

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[Congratulations! You’ve won: Zakgale Spear (Uncommon)]

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Item: Zakgale Spear (Uncommon)

Description: Forged by the OnlyDwarf gang. Its blade is made of stones naturally sharpened by Zakup gales (A strong wind region in the ZP-8933 Zakornia). Grants +2 Constitution and +2 Agility when wielded.

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Both items went into his inventory. William licked his lips while reading the wine description. He loved booze, cigarettes, and even sometimes Ahem! The Good Stuff, he was always down for them.

When he saw beer and cigarettes in the neutral zone, he snatched some without a second thought. But after reading that last warning line about this wine, his tongue instantly snapped back in.

’Oooo hell no, that’s going straight to market. I love a buzz, but the kind that knocks me out for three days? No fucking way.’

Next up, the weapon. Uncommon spear, attribute bonus, just what he’d been wanting to buy for Cent, but TP was always tight. Now, right before the trial, he finally had one. Even if the next two draws turned out to be dogshit, he’d call this a win. He closed both popups and flipped the last two cards in his right hand.

One card flashed ’Skill’, the other ’Luck Enhancer’.

[Congratulations! You’ve won: Danger Sense (Common)]

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Skill: Danger Sense

Effect: Enhances all senses for 1 minute, allowing detection of any danger within 10 meters. It can be learned without any energy.

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[Congratulations! You’ve won: Lucky Lolly (Uncommon)]

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Item: Luck Lolly

Effect: A rainbow ice lolly blessed by the goddess of luck herself. However many times you suck it, that’s how much your luck increases (temporarily). The lolly melts in 9 seconds, and the boost lasts for 5 minutes. Half-sucks are not counted.

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The second he saw the luck enhancer card, his eyes locked onto the description. Skills? Screw that, luck had been raw-dogging his life since the womb released him. He’d do anything for even a single point. But as he read the item’s name, his jaw hit the floor.

From the words on the card, he expected a ring, a potion, fuck it, maybe even a sock. But a lolly? He instantly regretted that ’I’d do anything’ thought. ’What kind of freaky kink is the goddess working with now by blessing a damn lolly? And what’s with "no half suck"? Am I supposed to give BJ to a popsicle?’

On the one hand, it gave him luck, which was perfect for juicing up next rare gacha pulls. On the other hand, he’d have to sacrifice whatever dignity he had. He shook his head, shelved it for later, and checked the skill instead.

It was Danger Sense, a basic, overused skill in almost every system novel, but super useful in the early stages. Since it was already in his inventory, he just sent the mental command: learn.

As soon as he gave the mental command, a wisp of light shot out from the panel and went right into his forehead. He jerked back, expecting some kind of pain, but... nothing. He opened his status panel, Danger Sense was now under his skill section.

With everything done, there was nothing left but the waiting game. A couple of hours still left, he headed to the lord’s floor for a bite and a bit of rest before the next round of hell kicked off.

He was way more prepared this time, but his luck was still worse than a guy getting pigeon shit on him in a thunderstorm. He knew the climbers would definitely show up with a bigger gang than before.

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William, with his seven troops, stood on the third floor. Just a few minutes before the trial, the tension was at its peak. Every single pair of eyes was glued to the panel showing the second floor.

William had set the Climbers’ path from the second floor, because let’s be real, that arrow trap was almost useless even against low-tier climbers.

The plan was the same as the first trial, Cent would deal with the lower-tier climbers, while William would handle the tougher ones. This time, Cent had some solid backup. Vrdyl, Nyx, and Imp were on long-range duty. Mutt and Grey (Ninja mushroom) would fight beside Cent up close, and Lumina would buff whoever needed the most.

Minutes passed by like seconds. The five-minute notification from the tower system flashed.

[Greetings, tower lords. In five minutes, the tower trial will begin.]

[Climber’s maximum tier will be One (High), and numbers will be at random.]

William didn’t even flinch at the mention of high rank. His Strength and Constitution were both at 40, Agility and Intelligence at 25. He glanced at the panel, watching the swamp’s little devils circle the platform like sharks. As the timer hit zero. White mist rolled in from the south end of the swamp.

The mist blanketed a ten-meter area. As it thinned, fifteen figures appeared, standing in a four-foot-deep swamp. William’s face lost all color when he saw them on the panel, these were real monsters. Brutes and howlers were toddlers compared to this lineup.

He let out a low chuckle."Well, shit just got cranked up to nightmare mode." He looked at Cent. "Buckle up, buddy, this is going to be tough."