Even though it was risky, he gathered all the money he had his savings, his bank balance and spent it all on buying a single spear. In Mongolia, there weren't many exceptionally powerful individuals, but people with the profession of blacksmith were plentiful.
A few hours later, he was warming up and exercising. Subedei's body was covered in sweat as he stood there wearing only shorts. By then, it had already become evening outside. As he wondered when his order would arrive, someone suddenly knocked on his door.
Subedei quickly went over and, out of habit from childhood, asked,
"Who is it?"
From the other side of the door, a man replied in a breathless voice,
"Delivery."
"I've brought your order."
Subedei immediately opened the door and saw a delivery worker drenched in sweat, holding an extremely long box and handing it to him.
"This is your order."
Subedei quickly expressed his thanks.
"Thank you."
He carried the long item inside, opened the box, and took a look. Compared to his previous weapon, this spear was far more stylish. In particular, the fact that it was made entirely of metal pleased him greatly. Of course, the metal spear was similar in form to his old one, but the construction was different. The handle bore unfamiliar patterns, as if something had been carved into it.
As he slowly reached out and grasped the spear, a surge of power rushed through his body, his veins standing out clearly. When Subedei tightened his grip, a notification appeared in front of him.
[Spear]
Rank: Common
Increases your Strength by 7.
It provided far more strength than his previous spear, which made Subedei very pleased. He then slowly brought up the tower entry notification.
[Do you want to move to the next floor?]
"Yes" / "No"
He raised his hand and pressed "Yes."
A small black hole immediately appeared in front of him, expanding until it was large enough for a person to enter.
Placing the spear on his shoulder, Subedei walked confidently into the black hole.
After entering, the dizzy sensation he usually felt was almost nonexistent.
[Congratulations. You have reached the 6th floor. To proceed to the next floor or leave the tower, you must defeat the boss of this floor.]
Subedei felt the ground beneath his feet change. He quickly opened his eyes and looked around. Thin mist drifted through the area, and broken bones and shattered weapons lay scattered everywhere.
As he looked around, wondering whether this place held whispering spirits or skeletons, something suddenly sliced through the mist toward him at incredible speed. He quickly raised his spear to block it. The sound of metal colliding rang out, and something shattered and fell to the ground behind him.
Looking down, he saw a broken arrow on the ground. He immediately raised his head, looked in the direction the arrow had come from, and dashed straight toward it.
The mist wasn't very thick. As he got closer, the shooter became clearly visible.
A pure white skeleton, wearing rusted, broken armor and holding an old bow.
It was a skeletal archer.
Without hesitation, Subedei raised his spear and thrust it powerfully toward the skeleton's head. The spear whistled as it cut through the air, pierced straight through the skull, and sent fragments of white bone scattering everywhere.
[You have slain "Skeletal Archer."]
Subedei quickly pulled his spear free and rested it on his shoulder. Looking at the headless skeletal archer lying on the ground, he whispered softly to himself as he moved on,
"If there are skeletal archers, I'll need to be careful from now on."
Despite his words, there was no fear or tension in his tone.
Several skeletons appeared in front of him, but Subedei killed them all with ease. He didn't encounter many—only three or four. Even so, he didn't let his guard down. Remembering the skeletal archers among them, he moved forward even more cautiously.
As he went deeper, the number of skeletons increased. Subedei killed each one easily with his spear, finishing every fight without taking damage.
This time, more than ten skeletal warriors and three archers appeared ahead of him. Seeing them through the mist, Subedei approached carefully. He considered whether to use his two skills, then decided to take a risky step.
He believed that only risky choices would make him stronger—helping him learn his skills faster and sharpen his combat instincts.
"I can use my skills when it gets dangerous," he told himself.
Taking a deep breath to steady his mind, he charged straight toward the skeletons.
Closing in on a skeletal warrior, Subedei raised his spear and thrust, shattering its skull instantly. The loud noise drew the attention of the others. The skeletons turned toward him, the faint blue flames in their eye sockets flaring brightly as they raised their weapons and rushed him.
Subedei dodged their attacks and swung his spear sideways, splitting two skeletons' heads clean in half. As he prepared to continue attacking, he saw three arrows flying straight toward him.
He quickly shifted from offense to defense, blocking two arrows and dodging the third. Just as the thought "Perfectly blocked" crossed his mind, a sharp pain came from his right arm.
Looking down in surprise, he saw his clothes torn and a shallow cut on his arm, blood seeping out. He sighed and charged straight into the skeletal warriors.
Thrusting his spear into the first skeleton, the attack pierced its skull and continued on, killing the skeleton behind it as well.
[You have slain "Skeletal Warrior."]
As Subedei quickly finished off the remaining skeletal warriors, something suddenly flew toward him. He raised his spear to block, and an arrow snapped and dropped lightly to the ground. Immediately after, two more arrows shot toward him.
Seeing this, Subedei leapt high to evade them. Landing, he dashed straight toward the skeletal archers. Seeing him approach, the archers began to retreat while firing arrows at him.
Subedei blocked, dodged, and shattered the arrows as he advanced. No matter how quickly the skeletons retreated, they couldn't match his speed. Closing the distance, Subedei split two skeletal archers straight down the middle, dropping them to the ground. Their upper bodies slowly crawled toward their lower halves.
Ignoring this, Subedei raised his spear and crushed the skull of the final skeleton still standing. Afterward, he calmly turned back and stomped on the two skulls that were about to rejoin their bodies, smashing them completely.
Once everything was finished, Subedei placed his spear back on his shoulder and walked on as if nothing had happened. Along the way, he encountered many more skeletons, all of which he killed easily.
Being alone, his body felt far lighter and stronger than before. Feeling this clearly, Subedei whispered to himself as if reminding his own heart,
"I'm much stronger when I'm alone."
The vast amount of information he had gained from the tower had shaken his beliefs deeply. But after reaching the sixth floor, his confidence had begun to grow as well. He fought every skeleton he encountered. Each skull shattered, and the sound it made pleased him.
Before long, morning came. The mist thinned and disappeared, expanding his field of vision. That night, he didn't encounter the boss, but the increasing number of skeletons made it feel as though he was heading in the right direction.