[]A. Toy Sun: A pocket sun—an incredible item to provide insights into order and chaos. It's an excellent explosive, and can destroy ten planets stacked together.
B. Dew Of The Fairy: A drop can bring you back from the brink of death.
C. Tear Of Maiden: A potent poison—you can adjust its potency, divide it into many parts or add it with other tears to amplify its potency. It can kill even a peak rank 6 if they consume it.
D. Belt Of The Brave: A handy item in the tower. It will teleport you to a safe zone once, regardless of the danger you're in. It disintegrates upon usage.
E. Thief Of Tower: A mask that allows you to use near-absolute stealth inside the tower. But in the state of stealth, you cannot attack.
F. Broken Seed: A broken seed. It's still an excellent gatherer of aura. Will improve the aura concentration of a star system and the quality of all things when planted.[]
Varian gave it some thought.
The reward was only for the first climb and based on your own performance and rank.
Defeating an enemy of the same rank gave nothing. Defeating a +1 enemy gave at least something, for example, a very good herb that could refill your aura in a few seconds.
"I really got the seed of a world tree?" Maria looked at the small green seed in her palm with a look of disbelief.
She was a rank 4 when the battle began but thanks to Varian breaking the seal, she reached rank 5 once it did.
Technically, she did defeat a +1 enemy and did so in a very short period. So, her reward was generous.
Still, Varian underestimated the importance of the seed to a tree-lady like her.
Maria pressed the seed onto her chest and it melted into her like it was ice. Then, Maria's light green hair turned into a darker shade of green and a tiara of golden flowers grew on her head naturally.
The overflowing vitality in her body improved by almost 50% and Maria's rank went from a new rank 5 to the peak of rank 5. The final seal placed on her was also beginning to crumble. It looked like she was an overflowing bottle, only held back by the cap.
Varian almost cursed at her luck.
The world seed or whatever triggered an evolution in her and pushed her into an upper sub-species within her species.
It's not even like becoming the alpha of the pack. It's like going from a wolf to a tiger.
'System, do you think her reward was fair? It's cheating, alright.'
[She's still the peak of rank 5. Two of your rewards can kill her. You decide, Host.]
Varian shut up and picked his rewards.
[] Broken Seed []
That's the first choice of course. It's obvious that nothing sold here was useless. If even a broken seed was that potent, what about an unbroken seed?
Others couldn't do anything about it, but Varian had two slivers. He could still recall the way the slivers broke his gauntlets and rearranged them with ease.
'If that can be done, I guess fixing a broken seed is possible.'
[] Belt Of The Brave []
A life-saving treasure in this tower where a rank 6 was after his life for absolutely unknown reasons?
'Double yes.'
Then came the struggle.
[] Tear Of Maiden or Thief Of Tower or Dew Of The Fairy []
All of them were good.
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Heck, even the []Toy Sun[] was good.
'Ugh, fuck, I don't want to choose. I want them all.' Varian grumbled. It seemed like this habit of his was getting more entrenched.
But he couldn't help it. Why would he not want them all?
[…]
'System, I know you're observing the situation here.'
[No.]I think you should take a look at
'Just help me out, alright?'
[Host, you can't have it all. You have to make choices and live with them. That's what makes you an adult. That's what everyone goes through.]
'Everyone doesn't have two slivers in their pocket, buddy. And everyone doesn't provoke lady death every third Friday. So, shut your philosophy and help me out.' Varian was adamant.
He once had such thoughts too. But his experiences made it crystal clear that he was never going to lead a normal life.
He wouldn't have a normal family, a normal job, and normal challenges. Then, why would the normal rules apply to him?
[The tower's reward distributor system is hard to deceive.]
'So, it's possible. What should I do?'
[…Well, you should change your aura completely so that the tower system will think you're another entity. But that means you'll have to stay behind and fight a peak rank 5 by yourself. Unfortunately, you don't have the proficiency to do such a change of your aura and still fight.]
'I can't do both but I don't have to.' Varian shrugged.
[And the enemies chasing you, you don't really think they left after throwing an attack, do you? The only reason they didn't catch up was because you used your space powers. You staying here any longer creates unnecessary risk.]
'It'll be over in a second.'
[But even a sec—]
Varian waved his hand casually.
"W-Wait, wha—" Maria was thrown into the vortex leading to the safe zone.
"I'll be back soon," Varian said and picked the []Tear Of The Maiden [].
Then, the power of slivers engulfed him. Even if a peak rank 6 used his senses fully, he wouldn't be able to notice anything about Varian.
But the tower easily could. However, even it was fooled by Varian's aura makeover and presented a screen for him to choose.
[+2]
The dead moon wolf's corpse wriggled and it came to life. Any attack Varian made during this period would be invalid.
So, he didn't attack. But instead, he used the powers of the order sliver and created a domain surrounding its body.
It wasn't an attack but it was still very taxing. If Varian had to instead use his aura instead of the sliver powers he was already using, he'd get a severe backlash.
As the wolf quickly came to life, Varian was already read with the []Tear Of The Maiden[].
"Bastard!" The moon wolf's eyes gleamed with hatred as it glared at Varian. This time, it would brutall—
"No."
The space in front of Varian and the wolf tore apart and a drop of shining liquid went from one crack to another.
The moon wolf body tensed up and it was about to dodge when Varian's sliver powers when the order domain around it activated.
[You shall not leave the domain] was the rule set by him. Even though it was weak against a peak rank 5, it held the moon wolf in custod for a brief moment.
That moment was enough for the droplet of poison to enter the wolf's mouth.
"Arghhh!"
Varian's skin crawled as he watched a moon-sized wolf rot to a puddle of green liquid in seconds.
The poison was hard to use in battles without preparation but if he did, it'd be a backup like no other.
Varian quickly grabbed the remaining three rewards and stepped towards the vortex when an invisible attack reached him from behind.
"Shit."
Half of his body entered the vortex while the other half was touched by the attack.
When Varian collapsed into the safe zone, only half of his body was remaining. And that half was tainted by a horrendous death energy. Once he stepped out of the safe zone, it'd end his life.
