I came out of the shower and dressed up. I wondered if I should check the skill panel next and see if there was anything useful but then I changed my mind. Even the most stupidest of skill was at least 10k gold... Sigh... I was depressed enough for today...
I headed downstairs, to the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat and found a bowl of noodles already prepared.
Amelia was the best! I smiled and took the bowl with me to the dining tables. As I sat down, I thought about what my future goals should be...
First off, My top goal should be to increase the numbers of my servants. They are the ones that are my main way to gain Gold though I think I still want to wait until I reach higher floor...
I looked at the quest window... This was my original way of gaining gold but the quests were quite problematic in this and the actual repeatable quest that I think I can do would require me some time. But there were also quests which I had decided to not do at all... Quests like prevening Baam from going to Fug... I had decided not to do anything about these quests but... Now, I should think more as to what I should do regarding this matter, I mean, I do need those gold, after all...
Then there was another thing... What should I buy from the system when I do have enough Gold. I should think about what is the most important stat to increase and what would be the most helpful stat for my strength right now.
If I want to just increase my strength, then I should just go along with the plain old STR stat. This would boost my attack power and like a wise man had once said, A good offence is the best defence... So improving this stat would be a good idea but, this doesn't mean that the STR stat is the most important one as well, it is the most helpful in increasing my strength directly but helpful doesn't mean I consider this stat as the most important one...
The stat that I consider the most important would be the CD (Cooldown) Reduction stat.
The CD Reduction stat has kinda become overpowered if you think about it. There were a few restrictions on this stat that made it a below average stat in importance before but after I had wished to remove all the other restrictions, the restrictions on this stat also got removed.
CD reduction had two main restrictions. First being that it was capped at 40% max. and second being that it wouldn't work on anything other then skills (Basic, Ultimate and passive).
But now since these bonds have been broken, The CD reduction can be increased to a 100% and would also work on everything else that had a cooldown. This meant that this stat would also work on equipments.
I looked at the equipment that had a unique passive skill, on which the CD reduction stat wouldn't have worked, before...
__________________
•Thunder Belt
+800 Health
+15 DEF
+15 MDF
+20 Movement Speed
{Unique Passive}
Thunderbolt:-
-Damage Effect: Every 4 seconds, the next basic attack would deal 50 (+100% DEF)(+100% MDF) as an extra true damage. This damage ignores enemy's defence.
-Stackable Defence effect: Every 3 hours, the next basic attack done to an enemy will increase the user's DEF and MDF by 1. This increase is stackable and permanent.
Cost: 78,000 Gold
_____________________
Both the effects of the unique passive had cooldown though I focused on the Stackable Defence effect more. Every three hours, I could gain 1 DEF and 1 MDF permanently. Because of the cooldown, I would only be able to increase 8 points in both these stats in one day. But if I gained 100% CD reduction, then there would be no CD for this effect... That would mean that every time I attacked someone, I would gain 1 DEF and MDF permanently... Heh, that would have been a nice thing to get my hands on but currently, that was just a pipe dream... though this dream is quite far since I would need at least a hundred thousand Gold to get that dream fulfilled... Urg... Again, all things come down to gold, eh?
I would gain increased amounts of Gold as I climb the tower. So I think taking things slower would be best... For immediate strength, I should increase my STR stat first as that would give me a nice boost in attack power. after which, I would fully focus on CD reduction and once I get 100% CD reduction, I would start saving some gold to get the Thunder Belt equipment.
Hm... Then the first thing to do, would be to gain 3000 gold as that way, I would be able to buy the Blade of despair. That would give my STR stat a 200 points of increase which is the highest increase compared to any other equipment...
....
Back to present-
"Where are we going exactly?" I asked looking at Rachel who was walking at my side.
"..." Rachel didn't replay as she just kept looking at a teblet like device.
Sigh... I looked at my other side to see Androsi walking on her own feet... how was she already well enough to be walking? well, the physique of a Jahad princess cannot be underestimated...
___________________
Name: Androsi Jahad
Health: 47/500 >> 112/500
Shinsu: 700/700
STR: 230
DEF: 190
MAT: 70
MDF: 110
____________________
She was regenerating Health at a faster rate then she had been loosing it in our match. It had just been a few minutes since our match ended and she was already 20% healed...? I don't thing this is normal at all. I guess it is another perk of being a Jahad princess...
"...What are you looking at?" She said in a grumbling. It must have hurt her pride to lose like that and lose in just ten seconds at that...
"Well, nothing. I was just wondering if you are okay... I did do a number on you after all..." I said trying to look worried. The keyword here was, 'trying' and 'look'.
"Urg... stop speaking, you are annoying me now..." She had started to smile a little after hearing the first part of my sentence but again grumbled at the last part...
I smiled at her, feeling odly satisfied at seeing her like that and turned to look behind Rachel to see Akryung. My smile disappeared as I looked at him... he was a reminder to me that I was still extremely weaker then most of the powerful beings in the tower...
Though I can't really do anything about that right now, so there was no use in thinking about that.
It was at this moment that Rachel stopped. She took out a tablet similar to her's and gave it to me.
"That tablet can show you the location of other regulars that are also taking the test. Our goal is to eliminate all the other regulars from this test so as to reduce the number of possible competition in the future tests. I want you to team up with Androsi—"
"Wait! eliminating all the other regulars?" I said. There were Amelia and Dofu as well on this testing area and I can't just let them die. it was fine to kill all the other regulars but not those two...
"... Yes. is there a problem?" Rachel asked while tilting her head to the side.
"...No... it's nothing..." I said while looking down.
'What should I do? I knew that the three people around me were the survivors of this test but was it really because they had killed all the others?'
'Androsi didn't look the type to kill indiscriminately though... Was she really part of this in the original Tower of god?'
"...Well, then. As I was saying. We will form two teams from this point on and our only goal would be to kill as many regulars as possible. both of you will be a team" She said pointing at us.
"Urg... Do I have to be in his team?" Androsi said, this would have made me a bit annoyed as she was being a b*tch but my mind was preoccupied by somethings so I didn't pay any attention to what was happening around me.
"Androsi... You lost. and there is nothing you can do about that now... So stop grumbling. Besides, you are injured so I can't really leave you alone..."
"...I am already in the perfect shape! and... I am not grumbling! it's just that... I-I need a bit more time, alone. This was my first defeat you know? and well,... I want to be alone for a while..."
'And away from him' Androsi didn't say the last part out loud.
"Sigh... Such a headache... fine. Amin, come with me. Even though injured, Androsi should be able to take care of herself..." Rachel said and I gave the tablet in my hand to Androsi.
"Alright then, Let's move." Androsi said and dashed away.
"We should also get going." Rachel said and we started moving as well.
As we moved, Rachel would look in her tablet and give us a general location of the regulars we were going for and Akryung would then take care of them.
The current number of regulars still alive in this testing area was 178. Around half an hour was left until the test ends, was that time enough to kill 178 regulars? Maybe it was... after all, the regulars are also fighting each other as we speak. so they will reduce their numbers on their own without us even interfering.
Though I wasn't really thinking about that, my mind was preoccupied with ways to save the two regulars that I had decided to team up with. If Rachel's plan really was to kill all the other regulars then they are also in danger. And I already had some theories as to how I could save my two teammates.
Well, technically there was only one option that I could think of that allowed me to save them... I had to convince Rachel to not kill all the regulars on this floor but, there is no way Rachel would agree to that. she would do anything to reach her goals. And without killing most of the regulars on this floor, she can't really reach her goals which is on another testing area...
So, I think she will never accept my idea... Although it is also true that I am only assuming here but I can't really just go to her and ask her opinion on this now, can I? It would reveal my goals and she would become warry of me, which isn't what I want. But given her personality, I knew that she wouldn't really agree with me or worse, she would agree on the surface and then stab me in the back... Nah.... I don't think it would be a good idea to ask her opinion...
So, the only other way to convince Rachel in agreeing with me is by using violence or force... Though this also had a problem... and a big one at that...
Rachel was never a problem. She was literally so weak that even Headen himself had refused to let her climb the tower as she wasn't qualified enough. And it was only because of Baam that she even got a chance to properly enter the tower...
She was never a problem. The problem was Akryung... If I wanted to use violence to convince Rachel then it's not like he would just let me... though that also had an easy solution.
I don't know what happened in the manga version of tower of god but in the anime, Akryung had disappeared when Rachel had gotten her heart pierced. It was theorised that Akryung was a lifeline for Rachel in the anime and would take one fatal attack in her stead. meaning if I somehow gave Rachel a fatal wound, Akryung would take that damage instead and would disappear...
Though, my only worry was that if this information didn't come out as correct, Then Rachel would die... And where I really don't mind killing Rachel herself, I don't know what Akryung would do after seeing that his task was killed. Heck, Forget Akryung, what would Baam do when he finds out that Rachel is killed...
How would Baam find out about this? well, Fug would take full advantage of that situation where Baam is broken, and I am sure they would paint me as bad guy while taking Baam into Fug... Since Fug would benefit from it, they wouldn't really care what happens to me and will most probably tell him all about how Rachel died...
That's why I don't know if I should go along with this plan of 'giving Rachel a fatal wound and seeing if Akryung disappears' , or not...
I mean, Baam is the main character and as someone who knows the future, I also know he will become quite powerfull in the future so making him an enemy just for two regulars whom I only know for half a month doesn't sound too good...
Though, As I thought of those two dying, a strange feeling gripped my heart. It was like a needle was pricking my heart. I wondered why was I feeling like this but then, A woman's face appeared in my mind. She was almost double my age. With dark blue hair and black eyes... and massive things... The woman I had come to know for only a few days... the woman who would tease me for even the most smallest of things and would laugh like an idiot...
I smiled after remembering that as an even weirder feeling started swelling in my heart but this one felt warm. I never felt like that to be honest... but, As I drowned in that feeling, I realised, I can't allow Amelia to die on this floor. She shouldn't die. At least not until I know what this feeling is...
Though, I guess I would get the answer to that after I deal with Rachel...
As soon as I made my decision, My eyes sharpened. I looked at my pocket...
'80'
'What? only 80 survived? Damn, I hope that those two idiots are in these 80 regulars.'
The more time I wast, the more unlikely those two's chances of survival will be. So I decided to act quickly.
I waited for an opportunity to present itself as I tried to get as close to the two of them as possible. I needed to act fast when the situation appears or else it would be for nought.
I saw that Rachel and Akryung had their guard down and they were also within my 'range' so I decided to act right away.
For starters, I used my spell, Petrify.
______________
Petrify (Battle spell)
Using this battle spell will stun the opponents, 5 meters around the user for one second. And afterwords, they will be slowed by 50% for another one second.
-Cooldown: 60 sec.
______________
As soon as I used the spell, both Rachel and Akryung froze in place. They weren't really turned into stones but they did look like they had frozen in time. Their eyes weren't moving, nor were they breathing, the blood had also stopped moving in their bodies which would have meant that they are dead but I know they weren't dead...
As soon as I petrified them, I moved at extream speed. I drew my staff and used [Force Swing], my only attacking skill, on Rachel. I aimed for her neck as I knew that, that would most definitely going to be a fatal hit.
...
Should I kill Rachel here? To be honest, I have been thinking of killing her here but I would like to hear your opinions.
If you think I shouldn't kill her then tell me about it because if not, she would die in the next chapter.