Chapter 3: Leveling Up and Gained EXP
942 Words
Pain faded slowly.
Not all at once—never gently—but piece by piece, as if the tower itself decided Shidō Kagenori was not allowed to die yet.
He stood alone in the silent chamber, the massive corpse of Iron Fang lying broken at his feet. The guardian’s iron-plated body had already begun to dissolve, black smoke rising from the wounds where Shidō had struck. The stench of blood and metal lingered in the air.
Shidō flexed his fingers.
They trembled faintly.
Not from fear—but from exhaustion.
“So this is leveling,” he muttered.
The blue screen hovered calmly in front of him, indifferent to the c*****e.
[ STATUS UPDATED ]
Name: Shidō Kagenori
Level: 2
HP: 120 / 120
MP: 65 / 65
Strength: 14
Agility: 23
Defense: 10
Perception: 20
Intelligence: 16
Skills:
Silent Step (Passive)
Precision Strike (Active)
The increase was modest, but noticeable.
His body felt lighter. Sharper. The lingering ache in his ribs had dulled, replaced by a controlled tension—like a blade kept perpetually ready to strike.
Shidō exhaled slowly.
“So EXP restores the body as well,” he said. “Convenient.”
The system chimed again.
[ FLOOR 2 UNLOCKED ]
Clear Condition: Eliminate all hostile entities
Boss Room Access: Locked
Remaining Enemies: 34
Thirty-four.
Shidō lifted his gaze.
The door ahead creaked open, revealing a wide stone corridor stretching far into darkness. Blue torches flickered along the walls, casting warped shadows that danced like living things.
This floor felt different.
The air was heavier.
More oppressive.
Shidō stepped forward.
The door closed behind him with a deep, final thud.
No retreat.
The first monster appeared less than twenty meters in.
A humanoid shape crawled out from behind a pillar—its body thin, joints twisted at unnatural angles. Its skin was pale gray, stretched tight over bone. Its eyes glowed faintly blue.
A Ghoul.
It hissed when it noticed him.
Shidō didn’t slow.
He approached calmly, footsteps silent.
The ghoul lunged, claws reaching for his throat.
Shidō sidestepped and drove his elbow into its neck.
Crack.
The creature collapsed instantly.
[ ENEMY DEFEATED ]
EXP +15
“Too slow,” Shidō said coldly.
He continued forward.
Two more ghouls emerged—one from the ceiling, another from the floor itself, crawling up from a hidden crevice.
Shidō adjusted instantly.
He ducked beneath the ceiling ghoul’s strike and grabbed its wrist, twisting sharply until bone snapped through flesh. Using its body as a shield, he shoved it into the second ghoul.
Both fell.
Shidō finished them with precise blows to the skull.
[ EXP +30 ]
His movements were smoother now.
Cleaner.
Each kill fed into the system, and the system fed back into him.
It was efficient.
Floor 2 unfolded like a hunting ground.
Stone corridors branched into wider chambers filled with broken statues and fallen pillars. Monsters lurked everywhere—ghouls, shadow hounds, armored crawlers with bladed limbs.
Shidō adapted quickly.
He stopped rushing.
Instead, he observed.
Tracked patrol patterns.
Listened to footsteps.
Waited.
One by one, monsters fell without ever understanding what killed them.
A shadow hound collapsed with its throat crushed.
An armored crawler lost its legs before it could even turn around.
A group of ghouls never made a sound—Shidō eliminated them in a single, fluid sequence.
[ EXP +120 ]
[ LEVEL UP ]
The blue screen flashed.
Level: 3
Strength: +2
Agility: +3
Perception: +2
Shidō paused.
He felt it immediately.
His senses sharpened further—sounds became clearer, distances easier to judge. The subtle vibrations of the tower beneath his feet told him when something was approaching.
“Good,” he murmured.
The system chimed again.
[ NEW SKILL UNLOCKED ]
Shadow Sense (Passive)
Effect: Detect hostile intent within a short radius
A faint pressure spread across his awareness.
Shidō smiled.
“So you’re finally giving me what I need.”
He resumed his hunt.
Hours passed.
Time had no meaning inside the tower, but Shidō’s body felt the strain. Sweat clung to his clothes. His muscles burned. Blood—both his and the monsters’—stained the floor behind him.
Still, he continued.
Monster after monster fell.
[ EXP +300 ]
[ LEVEL UP ]
Level: 4
Shidō leaned against a pillar briefly, catching his breath.
That was when the system chimed again.
[ SYSTEM GIFT ACQUIRED ]
Item Added to Inventory
A new window appeared.
Inventory:
Beginner’s Katana (Rare)
Shidō’s eyes narrowed.
“A weapon,” he said softly.
He opened the inventory.
Light gathered in his hand.
A katana materialized—sleek, elegant, its blade shimmering faintly blue. The hilt was wrapped in dark cloth, perfectly balanced.
Shidō tested its weight.
Perfect.
He swung once.
The air parted cleanly.
“…At last.”
With a weapon in hand, the hunt changed.
The remaining monsters never stood a chance.
Shidō moved like a shadow, katana flashing silently. Heads fell. Limbs separated. Bodies collapsed before they could react.
Precision Strike activated again and again—each use deadly, each strike absolute.
[ EXP +600 ]
[ LEVEL UP ]
Level: 5
The blue screen displayed one final message.
[ FLOOR 2 CLEAR CONDITION NEARLY MET ]
Remaining Enemies: 0
Boss Room Access: Unlocked
A massive door appeared at the far end of the corridor.
Larger than before.
Heavier.
Shidō wiped his blade clean.
His reflection stared back at him from the steel—purple eyes calm, cold, unchanging.
“I’ll clear every floor,” he said quietly.
“No matter what stands in my way.”
He stepped toward the boss room.
Floor 2 was about to end.
- Writer
