The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound

Chapter 313: Abyss Tree (7)

…Groan!

The last head of Cerberus burst apart.

Thud-

As it’s giant body collapsed onto the ruined ground, a faint earthquake ensued.

The sulfur and blood spewing from Cerberus’s ruptured belly swept away the scent of perfume mixed with the smell of the Savik berries from the floor of the shop.

– Ding!

[“Level 1 Warrior” Vikir has successfully hunted the ‘A+ Rank Demon Cerberus’ for the first time!]

[Reward for the “Awesome” achievement will be given!]

Loud notification sounds showered down.

“…Phew.”

Vikir sank down wearily with an exhausted expression.

Taking down Cerberus with a body that had been weakened a hundredfold was undoubtedly difficult.

Then Granola, who was standing beside him, spoke with an irritated expression.

“You often hear that you’re persistent, don’t you?”

“No. I’ve never heard that.”

Vikir turned his head towards Granola and replied.

“I usually kill them all before they can call me anything.”

Granola felt a chill run down his spine.

Just then.

[Huh? You killed it?]

The fairy appeared out of nowhere and started chattering.

[Oh my, was this your first time fighting with such a big monster?]

Vikir’s attitude showed that he truly hadn’t expected to clear the mission.

So the fairy seemed quite flustered.

[What should I do? The rewards in the earlier stage are limited?]

Then Vikir spoke as if reluctantly.

“Among the rewards you can offer, do you have any artifacts or items? Even consumables would do.”

[Hmm? Hmm? Hmm? Hmm?]

It seems there aren’t any.

Vikir spoke with resignation.

“Well, there’s nothing to be done. After all, this mission wasn’t made for the sake of proper rewards. It seems it was just made to mock the people trapped in the tower.”

And soon after, Vikir spoke with great discomfort.

“But you know, this tower is quite meticulously crafted. If someone can create such a thorough system, they would be very strict about the results they produce. They must have selected only masterpieces on each floor.”

[Hmm? Hmm? Hmm? Hmm?]

“But isn’t it a bit strange that such an error occurred in the beginning floors? Could it be that what just happened was a mission outside the regulations, done by someone for fun? Perhaps someone got drunk on their own power and acted out of line…”

The fairy looked extremely embarrassed at that remark.

It was trying to appear calm, avoiding eye contact, but it’s wildly beating heart was clearly visible in the torn chest.

Vikir cut in abruptly.

“I don’t need any rewards for this bonus stage. Instead, I will file a claim with the tower’s management when I meet them later about this incident. I’ll protest it seriously. They’ll have to look into it thoroughly.”

The fairy then shouted urgently.

[A reward? I have a reward for you]

At the mention of a reward, Vikir finally smiled slightly.

“Then give it. The reward.”

[But the rewards in the early stages are quite limited?]

Vikir knew well that the only reward available in the early stages was some strange candy.

So he could say firmly,

“I prefer quantity over quality.”

[Really?]

“No, I’m not. As long as it’s not just a handful.”

With Vikir nodding his head sternly, the fairy widened it’s mouth to the point where it looked like it might tear open and bleed.

[What? Really?]

Eventually, the fairy started vomiting an enormous amount of candy from it’s mouth.

Red, green, blue candies poured out in piles.

Granola’s eyes widened at the seemingly hundreds of candies.

“Wow! Look at these stats! If we eat all of these, we’ll become stronger in no time!”

But Vikir just shook his head as he retrieved the candies.

“…As expected, nothing.”

The colors of the falling candies were random, but red candies were the most common, followed by blue, then green.

Strength stats were the most common, stamina stats were fairly common, and agility stats were rare.

In fact, most of the candies the fairy vomited were red and blue, with not many green ones.

Just then,

“…!”

Vikir’s eyes widened suddenly.

Quickly, he reached out and grabbed one candy that was nestled among the piles at the bottom.

It was different from the others, with a unique color among the red, green, and blue candies.

“To find this here!”

Vikir inwardly cheered while casually picking up the candy.

– [Strange Candy] / Physical Resistance / Black

A candy that increases physical resistance stat by 1.

It tastes spicy.

– Physical Resistance +1

A deep black candy, as if darkness itself had been condensed into a ball. Even at a glance, it was clear this candy was different from the usual candies that raised typical stats.

Vikir recalled the knowledge he had acquired before regression.

“According to the memoirs of the great heroes, there are six types of stats that can be increased within the tower. Among them, strength, agility, and stamina can be increased from the early stages, but the remaining three types of stats can only be increased in the later stages. Due to the extremely low drop rate of candies, it’s possible to never obtain them until the very end.”

Six major stats. Excluding strength, agility, and stamina, the other three were considered ‘ultra-rare talents’ that even extraordinary heroes couldn’t develop before leaving the tower.

And Vikir had already obtained one of them.

“Physical resistance. A stat that reduces the damage dealt when struck by an attack.”

Without hesitation, Vikir immediately consumed the black candy.

Swallowing it down, his tongue and throat immediately felt the burning sensation of spiciness.

– Ding!

There was a change in his status window.

[Vikir]

– LV: 1 (%)

– Titles: ‘Rat Hunter’, ‘Hell’s Dogmaster’ (NEW)

– Stats

↳ Strength: 230

↳ Agility: 219

↳ Stamina: 244

↳ Physical Resistance: 0 (+1) = 1

↳ ?: (Locked)

↳ ?: (Locked)

Unlike the basic stats that were already above a certain threshold from the beginning, the special stat of physical resistance started from 0.

That’s because this stat belonged to the realm of innate talents that couldn’t be raised in reality.

Only within this tower could it be increased.

“Now that I’ve successfully unlocked it by eating the candy, the stat will naturally increase along with leveling up. Just leaving it alone will allow it to grow along with my level.”

Being able to develop and grow this stat from the early stages was an enormous stroke of luck.

Moreover, a new title, ‘Hell’s Dogmaster’, had also emerged.

– Title: ‘Hell’s Dogmaster’

↳ Deals significant additional damage to monsters in the shape of dogs.

↳ The duration of various status abnormalities such as provocation, confusion, blindness, bleeding, burns, and poison is slightly extended.

“As for the title perks, that’s one thing, but unlocking the physical resistance stat in the early stages is truly a great opportunity.”

In reality, wasn’t Vikir attempting to reach the bottom of the tower precisely to get all six major stats?

Leveling up is important, but what’s even more crucial is the completion of these six major stats. The six types of stats that can be taken outside the tower. However, gathering them all was an achievement that none of the heroes before the regression could accomplish.

Then, as Vikir sat quietly lost in his thoughts, the fairy approached him.

[Hey there? Do you perhaps need any other candies?]

After finishing speaking, the fairy extended her finger and displayed a status window.

– [Fairy’s Candy Shop]

Buy and sell unused candies!

– [Strange Candy] (Golden): Exchangeable for 300 candies of any color

The fairy stretched out her tongue and showed Vikir the golden candy sold at this shop.

– [Strange Candy] / Level / Golden

A candy that raises the level by 1.

It tastes sweet.

– Level +1

A golden candy emitting a radiant glow.

Upon seeing it, Granola sent a reverent gaze.

“Wow. It raises the level? That means with just one of those, you can regain 1% of the power of reality? So if you eat 100, you can regain 100% of your power! Plus, when you leave the tower, that amount of stats will be added to your original power! It’s the ultimate candy!”

For survivors weakened a hundredfold, this candy would be more urgent than anything else.

However, it was too expensive. Despite being called candies of any color, requiring 300 of them made it a rare item that was hard to even consider in the early stages.

…Of course, it didn’t apply to Vikir, who had managed to defeat all the hell hounds.

“Hmm.”

As Vikir seemed to ponder, the fairy subtly persuaded him even more.

[Do you really have no use for this candy? If you level up, the stats will naturally increase, so wouldn’t it be a total gain?]

Literal as it may sound, leveling up means partially regaining the power outside the tower, so pursuing rapid leveling in the early stages is indeed the right move.

…However, Vikir shook his head.

“Leveling up is still taboo.”

Vikir stared at the number ‘1’ displayed in the level bracket for a while.

While rookies might be all in for gathering stat candies and converting them into level candies, Vikir was not one of them. For a while, or rather, for a considerable period, Vikir had no intention of leveling up.

“In this tower, lower levels are advantageous.”

According to the memoirs of the great heroes, there are some rules regarding rewards within this tower.

If a strong individual achieves a great feat, they receive modest rewards.

If a weak individual achieves a minor feat, they still receive modest rewards.

When a strong individual achieves a minor feat, they hardly receive any rewards.

…But.

When a weak individual achieves a great feat.

In such cases, the rewards bestowed transcend common sense.

Vikir paid attention to the notifications he heard before while fighting.

[“Level 1 Warrior, Vikir, as part of the Leveling System…”]

[“Level 1 Warrior, Vikir, as the first to defeat an F-rank monster in the tutorial zone…”]

[“Reward for the ‘Rare’ achievement…”]

[“Level 1 Warrior, Vikir, as the first to defeat a B+ rank monster…”]

[“Reward for the ‘Difficult’ achievement…”]

[“Level 1 Warrior, Vikir, as the first to engage in group hunting against a B+ rank monster…”]

[“Reward for the ‘Great’ achievement…”]

[“Level 1 Warrior, Vikir, as the first to successfully hunt an A+ rank monster, Cerberus…”]

[“Reward for the ‘Awesome’…”]

Since Vikir was now part of the leveling system, he was treated as a “weak individual.” Even if he had significantly more stats than others, starting at the same level meant being treated as equals.

If the ‘Level 1 Warrior’ continues to clear difficult missions, better rewards will gradually come. Vikir was naturally stronger than other students, and even at Level 1, he could cover his shortcomings with stats.

‘So, in the early stages, it’s advantageous to maintain a low level and challenge difficult missions to maximize rewards.’ It was a strategy quite different from that of ordinary survivors.

Moreover, Vikir knew another reason why he shouldn’t level up.

“Someday, the levels raised in the early stages will undoubtedly become useless. I’m not sure when, but… until then, it’s better to save the level candies without eating them.”

After organizing his thoughts, Vikir stopped the trade with the fairy.

[Oh, huh? Are you sure?]

The fairy made an incomprehensible whimpering sound and closed the trade window when Vikir didn’t comply.

And then, at that moment…

*Rumble…*

A strong earthquake occurred, causing the ground in the area to sink deeply.

“What!? Looks like 108 minutes have already passed!”

Granola was right.

– Ding!

[Mission Completed] – Survivors: 69

The same status window appeared before Vikir and Granola. Probably all 69 survivors who survived the Hell Hounds’ attack were in the same situation.

*Kwoooosh!*

A gate in the shape of a whirlpool opened, sucking in everyone falling from below.

– Ding!

[Exited from Underground 2nd Floor, ‘Familiar Ground’]

[Entered Underground 3rd Floor, ‘Familiar Ground (2)’]

It seemed that all survivors from the 2nd floor were going to the same place.