"[Congratulations! The 2nd Floor 'The Frozen Plains' of the 'Tower of Trials' has been successfully cleared!]"
"[Rewards: +5000 Coins, +2 Additional Stat Points, and a Random Item Box!]"
"[Notice: The 3rd Floor of the 'Tower of Trials' will open after 20 days!]"
"[Time Remaining: 19 days 23 hours 59 minutes 57 seconds]"
The blue windows flickered into existence, signaling that Jean and the other parties had finally overcome the 'Freezing Willow Tree'. The rewards were distributed equally among all participants, a standard system protocol that didn't care if you were the one swinging the sword or the one lurking in the shadows.
I quickly dumped my new points into the most pressing need.
"[Notice: Successfully allotted +2 Stat Points to 'Mana'!]"
"[Notice: You have successfully obtained a C-Rank Skill: 'Favor of the Stars' Lvl 1 from the Random Item Box!]"
"[Usage: Your 'Luck' will increase by 5%.]"
Under normal circumstances, the 2nd Floor was a survival trial, 120 hours of enduring the cold and the mobs. But I knew better. In the game, waiting out the timer was the "standard" route, but the 'Hidden Event' I had directed Jean toward was the only way to clear it early and secure that 20-day breathing room for humanity. While the guilds were now scrambling to mine the remaining magic crystals and farm mobs on the open floors, I was already moving on to a much more dangerous project.
Two days had passed since the clear. I was sitting in the center of my room, the floor covered in a complex magic array drawn with precision. At key points of the circle, I had placed the pure Magic Crystals I'd harvested from Cero's cave.
"[Activating the 3-Star Barrier: 'Yin-Yang Circulation'!]"
The air in the room hummed as the array ignited. One of the greatest secrets of the Tower was that you didn't need a specific [Class] to use magic. If you understood the rune language, the formulas, and the principles of mana circulation, anyone could cast spells. Thanks to my 104 accounts and thousands of hours of trial and error during the VR days, this level of magic was a piece of cake.
I had learned this specific array on my 25th account, deep in the Middle Floors from the [Eastern Empire]. Its purpose was simple but vital: stabilization. As the mana from the crystals infused the barrier, I felt the conflicting energies inside me begin to churn.
It felt like my body was a balloon being filled with lead. My [Copy] and [Memories of the World] skills allowed me to bypass the authorities of the [Nebula] and use their powers, but the raw energies, the Divinity, the Demonic Energy, the elemental forces, were not meant to coexist. They were like rabid dogs fighting for dominance in a cage far too small.
Still, I didn't panic. This was a hurdle I had cleared 104 times before.
"[Notice: The effects of the A-Rank Item 'Dark Heavenly Pill' are reconstructing your constitution!]"
"[Notice: The effects of the B-Rank Item 'Golden Life Pill' are reconstructing your constitution!]"
"[Notice: The effects of the B-Rank Item 'Tears of the Phoenix' are reconstructing your constitution!]"
I had spent 1,600 Coins on those pills, and they were finally earning their keep. My insides felt like they were being melted and reforged in a furnace.
"[Activating The Exclusive Skill: 'Blessings of the Stars'!]"
"[Activating The Exclusive Skill: 'Blood Authority'!]"
"[Activating 'Heavenly Demon's Technique' Lvl 1!]"
"[Activating 'Glacial Dominion' Lvl 2!]"
"[Activating 'Fire Element' Lvl 3!]"
I unleashed everything at once. The room exploded into a violent swirl of gold, crimson, black, fire and ice. The opposing forces slammed against each other inside the barrier, using my soul as their battlefield.
"[Warning! Your mind and body are on the verge of breaking!]"
"Arthur!!" Melchior's voice was no longer bored; it was laced with genuine alarm. And from his subspace, I could hear Cero's low, worried whimpering.
I gritted my teeth, the taste of copper filling my mouth. I didn't know if the 'System' truly favored me, but I wasn't about to waste the opportunity.
"[Activating 'Tyche's Wheel Of Fate' Lvl 1!]"
"[Activating 'Favor of the Stars' Lvl 1!]"
"[Notice: The Wheels of Fate have granted you 'Fortune'. May the blessings of the Light be with you!]"
"[Congratulations! Your 'Luck' has increased by 80%!]"
The 5% boost from [Favor of the Stars] was small, but it was just enough to nudge the needle. The spinning wheel in my mind slowed, ticking past 'Ruin' and 'Stagnation' until it clicked firmly into 'Fortune'.
The change was instantaneous. The chaotic energies that were trying to tear me apart suddenly found a rhythm, swirling together in a perfect, violent harmony.
"[Alert! Alert! Your body is undergoing a breakthrough!]"
My skin began to crack like a porcelain doll. Lines of vibrant light leaked through the fissures of gold, purple, and blue. With a sound like shattering glass and a burst of blinding color, the old Art was gone.
"[Congratulations! Your 'Constitution' has been reconstructed!]"
"[Notice: All your Stats have been doubled!]"
"[Notice: The chaotic energies inside your soul have been stabilized! Your mind, body, and soul have now been strengthened exponentially!]"
I stood up, the shards of my former self evaporating into nothingness. I felt light, impossibly light, yet denser than I had ever been.