[Attributes —]
Strength —) 35
Agility —) 42
Endurance —) 39
Intelligence —) 105
S/E —) 0/800]
"My stats have increased." Malik's eyes widened in shock as he tried to recall everything that had happened to him so far.
Due to his high Intelligence, he was able to capture everything within seconds. "The lightning bolts increased my stats. Gul talked about the first stage being a tempering stage. After missing out on the stripping-off-equipment details, I thought he was bluffing, but it's real after all."
Malik's eyes lit up when suddenly he heard the system notification.
[Your bleeding has gotten worse. You have 10 seconds until your HP runs out]
[Notice: If you fail the trial, you won't be able to challenge it again]
"What?" Malik exclaimed loudly. "Has there ever been something like this? Why is this system against me?"
[9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…]
[The skill of the King of Nurturers has been passively activated]
[1% HP will be recovered every 1 second]
[Paralysis effect has been nullified]
[Spiritual Energy has been boosted by 200%]
"Damn… I thought I was a goner. To think I had such a trump card." Malik chuckled as he got to his feet.
This time, his robe was dyed red with his blood and soaked in the rain. A heavy wind blew as the lightning's range finally reached his position.
"Time to test my hypothesis." He infused his Spiritual Energy into his legs and hands as he sprinted off at once.
"Eyes of Insight."
"White lightning." Malik dodged the white lightning perfectly when a system notification reached his ear.
[Agility +1]
"Blue lightning." He deflected the blue lightning with his palm when another notification reached his ear.
[Strength +1]
"Purple lightning." He allowed this lightning to strike him squarely on the chest when another notification reached his ear.
[Endurance +1]
"It's really true… The three lightning bolts tempered my body."
With this knowledge and excitement, and with the boost from King of Nurturers, Malik was able to reach the bridge. He bypassed the lightning's range and crossed the bridge without hesitation.
The moment he reached the bridge, all the lightning condensed into one massive bolt and struck the bridge, causing it to break. Malik had to run with all his might before finally reaching the other end.
[Congratulations for passing the First Stage of the Beginning Tower.]
[You've earned 1000 prestige points]
[You can now proceed to the next floor]
The scenery around Malik changed instantly as he found himself in a room with a door at the other end.
"I need to rest a little to recover my stamina," Malik said to himself as he slumped on the floor, his body dripping with water as he sat in a lotus position, actively absorbing the Spiritual Energy in the air.
He was still in this state of immersion when he felt a presence in front of him.
"Haa… Did I fall asleep?" He shifted back as the silhouette in front of him shook its head.
Malik activated the Eyes of Insight at once, and the information about the silhouette appeared before him.
[Mysterious Merchant]
[Normal NPC]
Description: A master of trade. Only lucky players shall cross path with him.
"Agh! It's you again," they both said to each other with a weird expression on their faces.
"You scammed me!" the NPC pointed at Malik, who shook his head as he stood up.
"What do you mean? You're the one who scammed me. I gave you such a valuable item, and you gave me a worthless item that took away my godly weapon."
"What godly weapon? Weren't you the one who made your choice?" the NPC retorted.
"Well… that's true, but still, the item wasn't worth that ring," Malik countered.
"I didn't take the ring after all. So, where is it? How do you know the worth of the ring?"
"I don't know. It's my intuition. Probably lost," Malik shrugged his shoulders but the NPC knew for sure that he's lying. They've met before and Malik has traded an item with the NPC but their trade wasn't a success.
"Oh, I see. You're the RealmCrosser those higher beings were discussing. To think you'd be the first Adventurer to meet me in two realms. I'll give you a discount on my items."
"I'll reduce most items to 100 prestige points each, but you can only choose up to ten items."
The Mysterious Merchant said as he showed Malik a list of everything he had, ranging from weapons and potions to other items. Malik was browsing and browsing when something caught his attention.
"Return Talisman."
"Merchant… What's this Return Talisman all about?"
"Oh, that. Nobody has ever asked for it, so I'd forgotten, but I think it's something to do with restarting," the NPC replied.
"To restart?" Malik's eyes widened.
"I'll take this talisman, then," Malik said, and the NPC's eyes widened.
"Are you sure? There are many items here that could help you reach the fifth floor."
"I'm very sure. I'll take these ten."
"Okay, then. The ten cost 1000 prestige points," the NPC said. Malik transferred all his prestige points to him, and the ten talismans were passed to Malik.
A portal suddenly tore open as the NPC walked into it, turning to give Malik one last look.
"The Ring of Sovereignty is bound to you, so it can't be lost," the NPC said before the portal sucked him in.
"Phew. That was one hell of a save. At first, I thought he was going to lash out at me. I wouldn't have even been able to save myself."
"I couldn't even see through his level," Malik mused as he stared at the items in his hand.
"Return Talisman, huh? With this, I should be able to return to the beginning of Stage 1 and then challenge the lightning again. With my knowledge about it, I'll be able to increase my stats exponentially." Malik laughed out loud as he tore the first talisman, and just as he thought, it took him back to the beginning of the first stage.
Malik could feel the Spiritual Energy in the place more clearly this time as he infused Spiritual Energy into his arms and legs right off the bat.
"Lightning bolts, here I come."