Tower Awakening: I Have Limitless Potential Trait

Chapter 5 – 1st Floor: The Forgotten Catacombs (3)

He slowly poked his head out of the narrow crack, his eyes scanning the dark corridor. The coast was clear. The group of skeletons that chased him earlier was completely gone, leaving nothing but the cold, stale air of the catacombs. He squeezed his body out of the hiding spot, taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart.

The secret boss cavern was a terrifying wake-up call. It made him realize how small and fragile he truly was in this massive Tower. He tightened the grip on his rusty sword and continued his journey down the labyrinth. He needed to find the door to the second floor as fast as possible.

For the next few hours, he wandered through the endless, winding paths. The brick walls all looked the same, making him feel like he was walking in circles. The silence was deafening, broken only by his own footsteps.

Suddenly, his slightly heightened perception picked up a faint scratching sound from the shadows ahead. He immediately stopped and lowered his stance, expecting another group of skeletons. But the creature that stepped into the glimmer of the glowing moss was far worse.

It was a beast, vaguely shaped like a wolf, but it was easily the size of a large tiger. Its skin was completely hairless and grayish-black, stretched tightly over its ribs like a decaying corpse. What made it truly terrifying were the thick, jagged bone plates covering its skull and back, acting like a natural armor. Thick, acidic saliva dripped from its jaws, sizzling slightly as it hit the stone floor.

A chill ran down his spine. The sheer predatory aura coming from the beast was overwhelming. This was not a slow, brainless skeleton with a broken club. This was a designed killer.

The corpse beast let out a low, gurgling growl. Its yellow eyes locked onto him, recognizing him as fresh meat.

Before he could even think of running, the beast kicked off the ground. Its speed was unbelievable. In a blink of an eye, the creature was already mid-air, its massive jaws opening wide to snap his neck.

"Damn it!" he shouted, throwing his body to the side with all his might.

He barely dodged the lethal bite, but the beast's heavy claws grazed his chest, tearing his shirt and leaving three bloody scratch marks. The impact sent him rolling painfully across the hard stone floor. He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the stinging pain in his chest.

The beast didn't pause. It turned around and lunged again, swiping its massive claw at his head. He raised his rusty sword to block.

Clang!

The force was completely different from the skeletons. His arms buckled under the immense weight, and his knees almost hit the ground. The rusty sword groaned, a small crack forming near the hilt. If he took another direct hit like that, his weapon would shatter.

Fear gripped his heart, but his high willpower forced him to keep his eyes open. He pushed the sword up, deflecting the claw just enough to slide out from under the beast. He swung his blade at the beast's ribs, hoping to cut its stomach.

Clack!

His sword bounced off the thick bone plates covering the beast's side, completely unable to pierce its armor. The shock sent a numb feeling up his arms.

The creature snarled and whipped its head around, snapping its jaws at his face. He ducked, feeling the foul-smelling wind of its breath, and thrust his sword upward with everything he had, aiming right under its unarmored jaw.

Squlech.

The rusty blade pierced through the soft flesh of the beast's throat, sinking deep into its neck. The creature let out a horrifying, choked screech. Dark, foul-smelling blood spewed out, splattering all over his face and hands. The heavy beast collapsed onto him, pinning him to the ground in its death throes.

He violently pushed the heavy, twitching carcass off his body, gasping desperately for clean air. He crawled a few feet away, his whole body trembling.

[Congratulations. You have defeated a Grave Hound.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You gained 30 Tower Coins.]

[You obtained: Grave Hound Fang x2. Item automatically transferred to Inventory.]

[You obtained: Beast Core x1. Item automatically transferred to Inventory.]

He stared at the new lines of text floating in his vision. The Tower system apparently worked on a probability basis, much like a gacha game. Even though the auto-drop feature was a convenient privilege for challengers, it didn't guarantee he would get every usable part of the monster. Common materials directly related to the creature, like the fangs, had a high possibility of dropping, but rare or unique items like that 'Beast Core' had an extremely low drop chance. He had just gotten very lucky.

A familiar warm energy enveloped his body. He watched in awe as the three bloody scratch marks on his chest slowly stitched themselves closed, leaving smooth skin behind. Even the throbbing pain in his left shoulder from the earlier dagger cut completely vanished. His torn muscles repaired themselves, and his physical stamina was fully restored.

However, as he tried to stand up, he stumbled. His body was fully healed, but a heavy, dark fog clouded his mind. He realized that while the level up cured his physical wounds and restored his HP, it did absolutely nothing for his mental exhaustion. He had been awake all night working a shift before being pulled into this death game. The psychological shock of almost dying repeatedly, the sheer terror of the secret boss, and the sheer lack of sleep were taking a massive toll on his brain. His eyelids felt incredibly heavy.

[Action-Based Growth triggered.]

[System Warning: Anomaly detected.]

[Growth efficiency exceeds standard challenger baseline.]

[You have overcome a superior predator through sheer endurance. Trait: Limitless Potential is forcing muscular adaptation.]

[Strength +1]

[Agility +1]

He collapsed against the wall, staring blankly at the notifications with sluggish eyes. He mentally opened his status panel to check his progress.

[ (Challenger's status)

Name: Daniel

Race: Human

Level: 3

Job: -

Trait: Limitless Potential (???)

Stats Point: 8 Strength: 13 Agility: 11 Vitality: 18 Mana: 11 Perception: 9 Willpower: 19

Skills: -

Title: - ]

His base stats had naturally increased again due to the anomalous growth, and his saved stat points had reached eight. He let out a long, exhausted sigh. He survived, but his mental fatigue was making him careless. He realized that his rusty sword was on the verge of breaking. He needed a better weapon, a safe place to actually sleep, or some kind of potion to restore his mind.

He wiped the dark blood from his eyes and forced his aching legs to stand up. He couldn't stay in one place for too long. The smell of blood would definitely attract more monsters.

He resumed his walk through the endless labyrinth, dragging his feet. The catacombs seemed to have no end. After turning another corner, his ears picked up a new sound. It wasn't the clattering of bones or the growling of a beast.

It was the sound of heavy breathing and the sharp clink of metal hitting stone.

He immediately hid behind a broken pillar, his grip tightening on his cracked sword. He peeked around the edge carefully, his tired brain trying to process the situation.

In a small clearing ahead, someone was fighting. It was a young man, probably around his own age, wearing a set of worn-out leather armor that looked completely different from his own modern clothes. The young man was holding a short spear, heavily panting as he pulled the weapon out of a shattered skeleton.

His eyes widened in shock. That was a human. He wasn't the only person in this place.

Before his exhausted mind could decide whether to reveal himself or sneak away, he carelessly shifted his weight and stepped on a piece of loose brick. The sound echoed loudly in the quiet corridor.

The young man instantly spun around, pointing his blood-stained spear directly at the pillar where he was hiding.

"Who's there?! Show yourself!" the young man shouted. His voice was tense and guarded.

Realizing he was caught, he slowly stepped out from behind the pillar. He kept his rusty sword lowered but didn't put it away, maintaining a defensive posture. His heart beat fast. He didn't know if the people in this Tower were friendly or if they would kill him for his coins.

The young man with the spear looked at him from head to toe, noticing his strange, torn modern clothes, the black blood covering his face, and the cracked, rusty sword in his hand. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife.

"You..." the young man slowly lowered his spear slightly, his eyes filled with a mix of surprise and curiosity. "Those clothes... you are an Outsider, aren't you? A newly chosen challenger from another realm?"

He didn't answer immediately. He remained apprehensive, his muscles tense and ready to dodge if the spear came flying at him. "Who are you?" he asked cautiously, his voice rough and dry.

Seeing his heavy suspicion, the young man let out a small, tired laugh and completely lowered his weapon, resting the butt of the spear on the ground to show he meant no harm.

"Relax, man. I'm not going to fight you. We both look like we've had a terrible day," the young man said, wiping a streak of dirt from his own cheek. He extended his empty hand forward in a friendly gesture. "My name is Elian. I was born and raised in the Outer Ring City, right here in the Hub-World."