One man army
The mist began to disperse, revealing the aftermath of the fight. The cavern was a mess of shattered exoskeletons, twitching limbs, and pools of acidic fluid that hissed as they ate away at the remains, and some of them were twitching faintly as if refusing to accept their death.
Broken weapons and shattered armor littered the ground, now little more than unusable junk.
And in the middle of it all, Lex lay slumped against a pile of rubble, his body broken and bleeding. He was barely conscious, his breath shallow and ragged. There was not even an inch of his skin that was not covered in cuts, bites, or bruises. One of his arms was twisted at an unnatural angle, and his leg was also bent at an awkward angle.
It was bad. Really bad.
His heart struggled to pump what little blood he had left, its beats slow and irregular. His vision blurred, his consciousness flickering like a dying flame.
He was dying.
Even with his years of experience, perfectly timed movements, or mastery of weapons, Lex couldn't dodge every attack. Dodging all of them would have been impossible—hell, surviving an encounter with just a few Red Cells would have been a miracle for anyone else. But somehow, Lex had fought and won against a hundred of them, and despite having weapons fit for the job, it was nothing short of miraculous.
'Next time I come here, I should—No. There won't be a next time... I will make sure of it.'
Subconsciously, Lex had already planned his next life. He didn't know when or how, but after a few resets, he developed a habit of always planning his next life before even dying.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Old habits die hard-" He tried to talk but ended up coughing blood.
"..."
'I should deal with those injuries before bleeding out like a pig.' Lex thought as he glanced at his coins.
[Total earnings: 16,380/200,000]
[Coins: 14,952]
'Good enough.'
[Welcome back, Administrator. 5 coins have been deducted to use your privileges.]
Lex gathered the last of his strength and, with trembling fingers, navigated the shop menu. His movements were slow but precise. His tired eyes scanned the list of items until he found what he sought.
[Name: Pure Essence of Vitality]
[Stars: ★★★★]
[Effect: An essence created using the purest, most potent source of vitality on the 7th floor and used to restore the body to its optimal state, healing all wounds and replenishing energy. The process is painless and deeply relaxing.]
[Price: 800 coins.]
Lex didn't hesitate. He bought it.
[Item Purchased: Elixir of Renewal. Remaining coins: 14,147.]
A small, glowing glass vial appeared in his hand. It was filled with a strange, amber-colored liquid that seemed almost alive. Lex uncorked it with his teeth and drank it in one go.
The effect was immediate.
A warm, soothing sensation spread through his body, starting from his chest and radiating outward. His wounds began to close, the torn flesh knitting itself back together. His bones cracked and popped as they realigned, and his muscles and tendons re-knit themselves. It was a strange sensation but not unpleasant—like sinking into a warm bath after a long, exhausting day.
Lex let out a long, deep sigh, his body relaxing as the elixir worked its magic. For a moment, he just sat there, basking in the warmth. His breathing steadied, his heart beating strong and steady once more.
Slowly, Lex opened his eyes, his vision sharpening as the last traces of the elixir's warmth faded. He pushed himself to his feet, brushing off bits of rubble. His body felt whole again.
He then glanced at the game panel floating before him. It was a new notification blinking insistently.
[You accomplished a rare feat! You fulfilled all conditions to the Easter egg "Stronger than you all"]
[Secret Condition: Defeat more than 100 stronger opponents in a single fight without any assistance.]
[Reward: Blessing Unlocked – One-Man Army]
"A blessing tailor-made for slaughtering hordes. Could've used this earlier, but better late than never." Lex muttered, his voice low and dry.
[Name: One-Man Army]
[Stars: LOCKED]
[Effect: Reduces the cooldown of all blessings by 20% when fighting against more than 100 hostiles.]
[Activation condition: Must be a player. Must be against more than 100 hostiles.]
Blessings and traits were passive, each with its activation conditions and sometimes cooldowns. For example, the blessing "strength" or "agility" activation condition was extremely easy to fulfill as Lex only needed to be a player.
The best players were the ones who could adapt to any situation, stacking blessings like cards in a deck. But that obviously required a lot of coins—lots of them. In the Game, the richest players were often the strongest. Lex knew that better than anyone.
He glanced around the cavern, his eyes scanning the corpses of the Red Cells. He couldn't help but sigh as he pulled up his status.
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[STATUS]
Name: ???
Coins: 14,147
Current Location: Rift Titan Corpse
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[Aspects]
[Aspect: Die to Begin – "Live in the past. Die in the past."]
[Aspect: Game Master – "The victor rewrites the rules. You are the victor. You are the rules."]
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[Blessings]
Poison Resistance, Strength, Agility, One-Man Army.
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"Not bad for a day's work. Only had to get mauled by a hundred Red Cells and a white cell." Lex said with a neutral tone. "Although it is far from the perfect run I kept trying to have, it is also refreshing not to have so much burden."
Lex stepped over the corpses of the Red Cells, his boots squelching in the muck. The cavern stretched deeper into the Titan's body, the air growing thicker and warmer as he moved.
He spotted a massive, organic tunnel leading deeper into the Titan: the guts. The difficulty here was lower than the Despair zone he'd started in—this was Nightmare difficulty. Still dangerous, but more manageable... if you are prepared.
"First, I need something better against poison," Lex muttered, his voice low and rough. He glanced at his status again, his eyes lingering on the Poison Resistance blessing. This blessing kept him alive from melting from the poison in the rift. However, it wouldn't be enough in the guts.
The Game was stingy when it came to power. Blessings were useful, but they were just the basic abilities with simple activation conditions and no room for growth. If you wanted real power, you needed traits. Traits were the evolved form of blessings, with stars that could be upgraded over time. A one-star trait might give you a slight edge, but a five-star trait could turn the tide of an entire battle.
The problem was that the Game didn't hand out traits easily, especially not in the tutorial. The tutorial was the Game's way of assessing players, weeding out the weak by either giving them growth opportunities or simply eliminating them and preparing the strong against the rest of the floors. It was the only time the Game acted even remotely "kind" toward the weak, giving them a chance to catch up. But that kindness came with limits.
Blessings couldn't evolve into traits during the tutorial. They were locked in their basic form, with no stars and no upgrades. It was a balancing act—a way to ensure no one could roll over everyone else too early. Lex understood better than anyone how the game worked and its logic, but that didn't mean he had to like it.
"Eh. Cheap bastards, but it's not like there weren't any other solutions," he muttered.
Traits weren't the only source of power in the game. There were also items.
[Welcome back, Administrator. 5 coins have been deducted to use your privileges.]