The Systemic Lands
Chapter 403: 1st Floor (3) – A Door

The Southeast portion of the tower was a maze with nothing there besides a glowing square outline and three blade traps. It was quite frustrating to be honest, but my pace continued to pick as I gained more and more confidence on this level.

My main worry were traps that I missed. That was why I was carefully checking each and every wall, floor, and ceiling as I advanced. That was the main thing slowing me down at the moment. I made my way back to the no skill central room and then turned down one of the tunnels to the East entry room.

I melted the inactive cubic golems there after bypassing another trap. I then made my way back to a side passage I had passed. In front of me at the end of the passage was a door. The only reason I could tell it was a door was because of the golden outline it had and a golden outline of a hole in the middle of it.

There were no markings or anything except the golden outline on the wall and the golden outline for a hole on the door. I tested the door out with my skills but nothing changed and nothing appeared unusual about it.

I guess the main reason I thought it was a door was the fact that it was blocking a way forward. It could be a wall with a trigger on it. Also the golden color and circular hole were big clues. The golden rod was probably a key.

Checking the three passages to the side, there was a glowing blue square at the end of each of them but nothing else. I was really curious what those glowing square outlines represented, since they were scattered about and were not traps.

I checked some more passages to the Northeast and Northwest corners, but there was clearly a large isolated area in the Northeast. I worked out the shortest path from the room with the golden rod to the door. Cutting through the null skill room at the center of the floor, meant it wouldn’t take too long.

If the null skill room was cut off, I could make my way around through the South portion of the tower and through the South and East entry rooms to reach the door. I made my way back to the room with the golden rod on the pedestal. The traps were still there around the outside of the room except for the two entrances along with the four glowing square outlines.

“I can tell I am not going to like this,” I muttered. I carefully put my hand and my forehead on the pillar, not touching the golden rod. No restoration. I had been hoping, but it appeared that it was just a stand for the golden rod and not a system store pillar. Nothing happened either.

Getting my skills ready in my mind I quickly grabbed the golden rod. All the soft glowing blue lights turned to a dark ominous red color. Four red walls of light or energy quickly appeared around the four-square outlines.

No doors shut thankfully. The red-light walls disappeared, and four golems were there just as I exited the room. Acid Shot x4. I quickly targeted all of them and retreated before they could hit me with their attacks.

I spent a moment focusing on the mental information the rod was giving me. It was a key. That was it. A key to the next floor. I had been hoping for a meta-point or something useful but it was a key. A one-use key.

The golems turned to dust. Once they did the red-light walls reappeared. Acid Shot. My skill splattered on the red-light wall and did nothing. I left the room and raced towards the door I had found. They were monster spawners. Of course, they were monster spawners.

I had considered the possibility, but it hadn’t been my first guess. The Almighty System never let anyone see how its monsters were formed. I guessed the light walls were like a privacy shield. I didn’t count summoner monsters.

The privacy light wall had been a surprise. That was why I had discounted the locations as monster spawners. Since they were indestructible, that meant I needed to leave this floor as quickly as possible. I didn’t know if they would chase me through the entire floor.

But after my experience with golems chasing me from the other tower and into a city, they clearly were relentless once they got going. Acid Shot x3. I used the skill at the golems that had emerged from the side passages near the door.

I noted that the monster spawners to my right only made a single monster. It had to be killed first before the spawner would make another. A small mercy. I slid the golden rod into the hole. All the lighting turned golden and the spawner’s light wall disappeared without leaving a golem behind.

It really was a door and swung open into a room with a large red square in the middle of the room. I didn’t enter, but it was obvious. It was a boss room. Once the key was taken, then the floor became a death trap. Once the key was used, the death trap was over, but the boss was next.

I noted a door outline in the far corner of the room in blue. Well, it was time to man up and just get this fight over with. I entered the boss room. After clearing the entry door, it swung shut. Red light walls quickly expanded up from the floor hiding where the boss would appear. I tossed my two packs off of me to the side. I couldn’t afford to be encumbered for this fight if my guess that it was a level 5 was true. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴøvᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

The best idea I had was to go all out right from the start. The red-light walls disappeared. Acid Shot x3. Air Burst. As I darted to the side the large silver spider golem twisted and moved out of the way of my attack, with only one of its 8 legs getting hit slightly with acid.

From the energy it was a level 5 monster. My first level 5 monster. It leapt into a corner of the room as spikes emerged from its spherical body and shot at me at a rapid pace. Air Burst, it couldn’t track thankfully and its attacks lagged behind as I kept moving about the room, closing in on the monster at an angle.

It scurried long the wall, somehow its pointy feet allowing it to stay attached and launched a massive ball of white stuff at me. Air Burst. I quickly dodged under the attack. Air Burst.Acid Shot x3. I landed an attack right on the monster, spreading out my aim to make sure it had no way to easily dodge.

It used one of its legs to intercept an attack, causing it to melt as it quickly moved along the wall. The other two Acid Shots missed. I had used up around 6,000 energy already. That wasn’t good. The monster was down two legs.

The Spider Golem brought up two legs and two small beams of energy lanced out at me. Air Burst. I was forced to use the skill to dodge again. The beams cut out as I closed the distance to the monster once again.

It hesitated and didn’t move. It was probably waiting for me to attack. Acid Shot. It dodged to the side. Air Burst. Acid Shot x3. I landed the attack on its main body, which began to melt. The Spider Golem launched itself off the wall towards me. Air Burst. I quickly retreated backwards.

It crashed on the floor where I had been standing and then turned to dust. It left behind a point crystal. The blue door outline turned gold and opened up along with the large red square on the floor. I let out a sigh of relief. That had been way too close. I only had around 250 energy left. If that last attack hadn’t worked, I would have been in trouble.

I went over and got my two packs. I then went over and picked up the point crystal and put it in a pack. If I got out of there, maybe they could find some use. Summoning a level 5 monster would be hilarious. It would also be very hard to defeat.

Making my way back across the room to the Northeast corner I looked in the next room. It was small. The boss room had been 10 by 10 tunnel units in size. This smaller room was only 3 by 3 tunnel units in size and there was a pillar in the center of the room. Come on restoration. I went over to the pillar and put my hand and my forehead on it.

It was an elevator. No points to use it either. It also gave me a mental download. It would take me up to the next floor and to a safe room. I would not be allowed to go back and once I left the safe room I also couldn’t go back. I looked up and could see the ceiling open above me.

I chose to go up to the next floor. The elevator ascended smoothly, and I was now on floor 2 of the tower. One down, forty-nine more floors left. Looking around in the safe room, there was a stone bench to sit on around the outer wall and then a glowing white barrier in the South East corner of the room. That was the exit from the saferoom.

I also noted the blue lights at the edges of the room. The bench was more a small extension from the wall that was seat high. I checked the pillar again, but it wouldn’t take me back down. The tower truly was one directional.

It was impossible for me to tell time, but I had probably spent about a half to two thirds of a day on floor one. I also needed to regain some energy. I took off my packs and sat on the bench, having some food and water.

What a nightmare to climb. Still, I had learned that once the boss door was open the monsters would stop spawning. That was a critical piece of information. Also, that the golden rod was a key and triggered the monsters.

The light coloration was also helpful. Blue meant safe. Red meant monsters. Gold meant boss. That made it easy to figure out the current state of the tower at least. Also the safe room after the boss room was a nice touch along with the elevator.

I smiled as I munched an apple, since there were no stairs. The Almighty System was looking after me, elevators all the way up. I would need to clear the second floor now before I rested, but I was feeling a lot better about my situation even though I was missing one hand.

Level 5 boss monsters while dangerous, were beatable. I would just have to ration my energy carefully. Would the boss be the same along with the monsters on each floor? I would have to be careful. I couldn’t assume anything.

But the first objective was to locate either the boss room or the key for the floor. Then the shortest path between the two locations. Once that was figured out, take the key and make a beeline for the boss door. Unlock it and recover energy. Once I was filled up, defeat the boss and take the elevator to the next floor. Repeat until something changed.

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