novelraw Chapter 167 : Blood Tower - (3)
Chapter 167 : Blood Tower - (3)
Chapter 167: Blood Tower - (3)
“It’s your freedom to consume it, but this makes it harder for me to act comfortably.”
Screeech.
When Nietzsche scraped his now-elongated nails across the desk, a grating metallic sound echoed.
Then.
He began moving toward the library on one side of his office. A space clearly filled with professional books.
But when he slightly shifted the most worn-looking book among them—
Creakkk.
The position of the bookshelf changed, and a steel door hidden behind it naturally came into view. It was an out-of-place structure.
Only after undergoing a triple security procedure—iris scan, fingerprint, and security card—did the locked steel door open.
“Mmfff! Mmf! Mmf!”
The moment the door opened, terrified breaths could be heard from within. The sound of feet frantically stomping followed.
Then.
When Nietzsche turned into the narrow corridor and entered the small chamber, the man inside turned pale with fear.
“Hiiik! Hiiik!”
Already bound and gagged, the man couldn’t do anything.
Nietzsche gently stroked the frightened man’s head as if he were handling a pet.
“A capable Player, you see, must have an air of mystery. If all your abilities are exposed, there’s no mystique.”
“Mmmm!”
“I don’t know how great you think you are, but to me, you're honestly pretty insignificant.”
“Mmf! Mmf!”
“But you went on and on in your interview about being the next big thing, claiming Shin Sanghyun is nothing. I found it hilarious.”
The rim of Nietzsche’s glasses glinted sharply under the chamber’s lighting. A glow filled with murderous intent.
The man’s eyes were filled with regret. But Nietzsche didn’t spare him a glance.
“For someone like you, a Constellation with vampiric powers is too good. You’re not a good host. I’ll make better use of it.”
“……!”
“I’ll rewrite your last interview before your ‘disappearance’ into a nice little story, so don’t worry too much.”
Shhhhh! Stab!
“Guh!”
In an instant, Nietzsche’s crimson-glowing nails pierced straight into the top of the man’s head.
All ten nails sank in deeply, endlessly draining fluids from the man’s brain.
At the same time, a grayish-white energy began to flow out and naturally got absorbed by Nietzsche.
A scene of Constellation Devouring.
The forced theft of a contract and converting its powers into one’s own.
A single business card slipped out of the dead man’s pants pocket and landed on the floor with a soft plop.
[Journalist Park Jungmin]
A Player, but more famous as a journalist. A reporter favored by many Players!
Park Jungmin.
He was none other than Nietzsche.
Six hours had passed.
Sanghyun now stood before the mid-boss monster of Zone 2.
Along the way, he had broken through three debuff zones, and was awaiting with a reserve buff of All Stats +60.
In other words, completing the Blood Tower quest would boost all seven of his stats by 60.
And when combined with the previous perks he earned, the total increase would be 70! It was no ordinary number.
“No wonder Valentin skyrocketed here. This quest is basically a buffing machine.”
Although he couldn’t apply the rewards immediately, there were many waiting in the wings.
Stats aside, he was also looking forward to the Level 5 skill ‘Jump’ perk and a new vision-blocking skill. So much anticipation.
“But if I die, it’s all meaningless.”
Sanghyun reminded himself.
Now, he was in Zone 2.
He hadn’t even reached Zone 3 yet.
Among the Player teams who had made decent progress in the Blood Tower, most had managed to defeat the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara.
Of course, no one had survived coming alone like Sanghyun. All had fallen in glorious battles.
“Hit level 200, finally.”
Sanghyun nodded, checking his level display and the barely filled 0.01% experience bar.
While he hadn’t yet completed his plan of defeating the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara and securing an Epic-grade Artifact—
He had fulfilled his goal of earning a skill enhancement perk. The crucial part now was which skill to enhance.
All Players placed great value on the skill enhancement perk granted every 100 levels.
It strengthens their core skills and amplifies destructive power.
The so-called “lifeline skill” for Players is completed through this 100-level skill enhancement.
Sanghyun was already benefiting from Over Psychedelic in combat, making every fight rewarding.
That’s why this choice was important.
“I could enhance the Deathblow Combo.”
But the first thing that drew his eye was Blade of Ruin. A skill specialized in burst damage and always central in fights.
“It’s already overpowered enough. And frankly, enemies that aren’t affected by Deathblow Combo are usually bosses.”
Enhancing it here wouldn’t suddenly allow him to one-shot difficult boss monsters.
It would get stronger, yes—but not in a way that broke the laws of reality.
“Improving sustainability might be better.”
Shifting his thoughts from offense to defense and sustainability opened a new path.
Didn’t he already have an excellent health recovery skill?
Namely, Blood Transfusion.
Currently, it was a passive skill that restored 5 HP whenever a monster was killed.
Since it didn’t discriminate by monster size, Sanghyun enjoyed facing hordes of small monsters.
It helped him maintain sustainability.
But he couldn’t always rely on that luck. The enemy could form elite squads with only a few strong monsters.
“With my style, I’ll likely be soloing a lot. Even if I team up, it’ll be duos—three at most.”
When forming small teams, the first job class to be excluded—ironically—was the healing class.
Even though it's crucial, when headcount is tight, including a non-combatant could be fatal.
Sanghyun already hardly relied on healers, but now he wanted to eliminate that dependency completely.
That way, his solo play foundation would be set, and everything could be calculated more precisely. HP recovery was essential.
“If I chose an awakening-type combat skill amplification at level 100, now I’ll take the long-term view.”
Having made up his mind, Sanghyun went into skill enhancement without hesitation. The target: Blood Transfusion.
[Do you wish to select the skill 『Blood Transfusion』 for skill enhancement?]
[Once enhanced, the skill enhancement perk granted at level 200 will be consumed.]
[The next perk acquisition point is at level 300.]
“Enhance.”
As soon as he confirmed, a violet ripple spread across his skill window. The same pattern as his last skill enhancement.
After a brief moment—
A golden glow enveloped the skill icon for Blood Transfusion, and its name and description changed.
[Skill enhancement complete. The enhanced skill’s new name is 『Grasp of Vampirism』.]
『Grasp of Vampirism』
■ Skill Level: Stage 1 (91.3%)
■ Applying all titles and related effects, recovers 2% of max HP each time a monster is defeated.
Additionally, if 100 seconds pass in a non-combat state without using mana, recovers 1 HP per second.
Passive skill.
“If it’s 2% of max HP, and my current HP is 1,060, that’s about 21.2? That’s four times more efficient than before.”
It had changed into a form where the more total HP he had, the greater the efficiency.
Even at this point, the HP recovery rate had increased exponentially. The enhancement effect was clear!
“With non-combat recovery on top of that, I really don’t need potions anymore.”
The choice wasn’t wrong.
At this level, his sustain was solid whether in or out of combat.
Especially in near-death situations, as long as there were enough monsters around, dramatic mass recovery was possible.
“I’m ready. Time to put that fake golden statue with all the arms in its place.”
Sanghyun, who had been basking in the sweetness of rest, suddenly changed expressions.
The peaceful look on his face was now replaced with a determined, fierce one filled with fighting spirit and passion.
“Hallucinations. Auditory illusions. Visual illusions.”
He listed the three things that most tormented Players in Zone 2.
They were also some of the main ways the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara toyed with Players.
He was fully prepared.
The only concern was how to bring that arrogant thing down a peg.
“Ignorant creature. I am the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara from the Western Lands. Bow your head and show proper respect at once.”
“What are you babbling about, you golden tin can bastard?”
“How dare you insult the Buddha?”
“If the Buddha were really here, one prayer hand gesture would’ve finished you off!”
“You dare to enrage me!”
“Oh, so that’s what you call anger management issues? Surprisingly talkative for a statue.”
“Wretched vermin!”
Clang! Cl-clang!
“Hyaa!”
The moment their sharp exchange ended, the battle began immediately.
What made the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara tricky wasn’t just its main ability, spatial distortion, which was incredibly hard to predict.
The real problem was the numerous swords gripped in the unnaturally many arms attached to its body.
Of course, it didn’t literally have a thousand arms as the name implied, but it did have an abnormal amount.
Shwaaak! Shwaak! Shwaak!
Ting! Clang! Clang!
As the relentless attacks of the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara came down, Sanghyun hastily deployed Defensive and blocked them.
With a built-in acceleration buff active at all times, it was quite a formidable enemy.
“This is broken. Isn’t this too unfair?”
“If you’re so jealous, go grow some arms yourself!”
“……”
The normally solemn and dignified Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara suddenly spoke in a ridiculous manner.
It likely picked up that speech style from the Players it had previously killed. It was completely undignified.
Bzzz. Bzzz.
“Ugh.”
A powerful headache struck.
It was proof that the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara was persistently trying to control Sanghyun’s mind.
But thanks to using a pure-white skill and the title effect of the Arrogant Empress of the West, he remained unaffected.
Only the headache remained.
It was bearable enough.
“Why are you unharmed?”
“Is something not working right?”
“This shouldn’t be possible…”
“Well, it is for me.”
“You bastard!”
The expression of the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara twisted.
Though it usually wore the serene face of a compassionate Buddha—
Now it was filled with unpleasant emotion, clearly marked by the feeling of denial.
It looked flustered.
Normally, at this stage, its mental interference would cause the Player to flail around in illusions.
But Sanghyun was clearly following the monster’s movements and perfectly countering every move.
This was unlike anything it had encountered before.
What was supposed to work didn’t.
Shwaak! Shwaak! Shwaaak!
Even with the countless blades aiming persistently for Sanghyun, not a single cut landed.
Wrapped completely in the shield of Defensive, Sanghyun was reliably taking all the hits.
Primarily, he deflected with his sword, and secondarily absorbed the remaining damage with the barrier—there was no room left to break through.
‘That bastard is holding back.’
Sanghyun didn’t lower his guard.
It felt like the fight was going his way from the start, but he didn’t let it get to his head.
After all, trickery wasn’t a strategy exclusive to Sanghyun.
Moreover, unlike the previous opponent, Sgald, the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara was clearly an intelligent-type monster.
‘Then I’ll hold back, too.’
He carefully managed his stamina.
He hadn’t even used Over Psychedelic yet, and was conserving acceleration as much as possible.
Both sides were still wearing their weighted sandbags, cautiously probing each other.
This was a battle of intense mind games, each waiting to deceive the other just once—for that perfect opportunity.