"Tha—Thank you for your assistance, Mister!" Jean called out, her voice still trembling slightly from the residual pressure of the Demon's presence.
Despite her words of gratitude, she didn't lower her claymore. Her eyes remained sharp, darting between me and the recovering Rankers of the 'Fires of Body Steel.' They were slowly pushing themselves up from the permafrost, looking like drunkards trying to find their footing after a long night.
I didn't turn around. My mask didn't just hide my face; it ran my voice through a mechanical filter, making it sound hollow and distant. "Don't waste time," I said shortly. "Head for the highest peak. That's where you'll find the clear condition for the 2nd Floor."
"Wait!" she shouted as I began to walk away. "Can I at least ask for your name?"
I didn't bother answering. My focus was already shifting toward the 'Demonic Humans' who had used the chaos of the Demon's manifestation to slip away. They were loose ends, and in this version of the Tower, loose ends usually turned into nooses.
"[Activating 'Navigation' Lvl 1!]"
"[Notice: The mutated Ice-Bear has been located!]"
The system pinged in my vision, a glowing waypoint appearing in my mind's eye. They were moving fast, but not fast enough.
"[Activating 'Sword Demon's Technique: First Form: Faint Steps' Lvl 2!]"
The world blurred. I surged forward, my boots barely touching the snow as I closed the distance in a matter of seconds. The Demonic Human riding the mutated bear must have sensed the sudden shift in the air because he looked back, his eyes widening behind his hood.
"[Activating 'Black Night' Lvl 3!]"
Suddenly, the shadows beneath the massive Ice-Bear began to boil. They swirled upward like ink dropped in water, creating a thick, pitch-black smoke screen that swallowed the entire area. This wasn't just a visual trick; the smoke was saturated with Dark energy, designed to clog up skills like [Mana Sense]. To anyone else, he would have just vanished.
"[Activating 'Glacial Dominion: Glacial Lances' Lvl 1!]"
Fortunately for me, [Navigation] didn't care about mana signatures or visibility, it tracked coordinates. I raised my hand, and the moisture in the air crystallized instantly. Several ice lances materialized out of thin air, and with a flick of my wrist, I launched them into the heart of the black cloud.
"[Activating 'Fire Element' Lvl 2!]"
I didn't wait for the lances to hit. I coated the 'Lizard King's Polearm' in a violent, swirling orange flame and swung it in a wide arc. A wave of heat roared forward, striking the ground and detonating the freezing air. The resulting thermal shockwave blew the smoke screen apart like a gust of wind hitting a pile of ash.
The Ice-Bear was there, huffing and bleeding from the ice shrapnel, but the saddle was empty. The rider was gone.
"He's hiding inside the shadows," Melchior's voice drifted lazily from the ring, sounding about as bored as someone watching a repetitive tutorial.
"Thanks," I muttered. It was time to test the new Skill.
"[Activating The Exclusive Skill: 'Blessings of the Stars: Sword of Judgement' Lvl 1!]"
The sky above the snowy plains suddenly split open. Brilliant, holy light poured through the clouds as a dozen ethereal swords composed of pure divinity manifested in the air. They rained down like a meteor shower, striking the ground continuously and scorching the shadows away.
A muffled cry rang out as a figure was forced to materialize, tumbling out of a patch of darkness that was rapidly being purified by the holy rain.
This was the beauty of copying Class-Exclusive Skills. Usually, a skill like this required a direct contract with the Nebula [Eden], the same way Jean D'Arc functioned. But because I copied it through my own Exclusive Skill [Copy] and saved it on [Memories of the World], it became my own independent power. I didn't need to be a Paladin, and I certainly didn't need to be a Vampire to use Melchior's [Blood Authority]. I was the exception to every rule.
"This—this is... this is 'Holy Magic'!?" the man shouted, scrambling backward in the snow. "How... how are you able to use—"
I didn't feel like giving a lecture. While the swords were still falling, I used another burst of speed to close the gap. I reached out, grabbed his lower jaw in a vice-like grip, and slammed him face-first into the frozen earth.
"[Activating 'Red Demon's Eye' Lvl 2!]"
A window of data bloomed over his head:
"[Personal Information]"
- [Name: Thomas Black]
- [Age: 38 | Gender: Male | Sex: Experienced]
- [Class: Mage - Black Mage | Rank: A-Rank | Level: 17]
- [Affiliation: Nine-Headed Dragon]
- [Stats: STR: 15 | AGI: 13 | VIT: 13 | PER: 12 | Essence: Mana Lvl 12]
- [Skills: 'Magic Novince' Lvl 5, 'Black Night' Lvl 3, 'Dark Lances' Lvl 4, 'Dark Beam' Lvl 3, 'Dark Armour' Lvl 4...]
- [Item possessed: SS-Rank 'Memoir of Nine-Hells']
- [Anatomical Stats: 6 inches thick and veiny, dark and dirty. Tight and purple and hairy asshole.]
- [Copy Condition: Thomas Black is a candidate for a 'Dark Disciple' for a Demon King. Reveal the true name of the Demon King to copy one of his Skills.]
A human? The Tower had only been "real" for a short time, yet people were already being recruited by the 'Nine-Headed Dragon'? It seemed the Tower's influence had started leaking into reality long before the doors officially opened.
Looking at his stats, he should have been no match for a Saintess like Jean. The reason he'd been able to hold his own was clearly the 'Memoir of Nine-Hells.' It was an SS-Rank item used to channel raw 'Demonic Energy' directly from the [Pandemonium] Nebula. It was the catalyst for the ritual that brought that Mid-Floor Demon here.
How does an A-Rank human on the 2nd Floor get an item that only drops on the high floors? I had a dozen questions, but Thomas wasn't in a talking mood.
"[Activating 'Dark Armour' Lvl 4!]"
Darkness erupted from his body, forming a jagged, obsidian-like plate armor that forced my hand off his jaw. It looked like our friend here wanted to settle things the hard way.