I pushed open the massive, frost-covered doors to Floor 100.
The blistering cold of the Frozen Abyss instantly vanished, replaced by an oppressive, suffocating heat. The final room wasn't a cavern or a labyrinth; it was a colossal, ruined throne room. The walls were made of cracked obsidian, and rivers of molten gold spilled down the steps of a massive central dais.
Sitting on a throne of melted swords was the boss of the Tower.
[FLOOR BOSS DETECTED: The Cursed Warlord, Vulcan (A-Rank)]
A-Rank?! My eyes widened as the realization hit me like a physical blow. No wonder I nearly died while ascending this tower. I was definitely supposed to be at a much higher level before I even stepped foot in this place.
Vulcan stood up. He was at least twelve feet tall, clad in heavy, spiked demonic armor that glowed with an inner, molten heat. He casually hefted a warhammer the size of a boulder over his shoulder and locked his burning red eyes on me.
Ah, so you ready-ready, huh? Ight, let's get it on bitch.
"COME FORTH!" I roared.
My entire shadow army flooded the throne room. My Lizardman Warriors, the giant Red Tiger, and my newly acquired Ice Warriors swarmed the steps.
I didn't hold anything back. I activated [Sprint], blurring to the right side of the room while my soldiers took the front.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Twenty clones popped into existence, instantly launching a barrage of [Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu] and [Wind Style: Vacuum Wave]. The elemental onslaught slammed directly into Vulcan's chest, creating a massive explosion that shook the throne room.
When the smoke cleared, Vulcan hadn't even flinched.
Before I could even blink, Vulcan hefted his boulder-sized hammer and slammed it directly into the obsidian floor. A tidal wave of molten gold and jagged rock erupted outward, sweeping across the throne room directly toward me.
"Ice Release: Glacial Wave!" I shouted, slamming my hands down to flash-freeze the incoming magma just enough to create a ramp. I kept [Sprint] active, vaulting off the steaming ice and launching myself directly at the boss.
I initiated a furious melee exchange. My daggers were an absolute blur, striking at his joints, his chest, and his neck.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Sparks showered the room. My high [DEX] was the only thing keeping me from getting instantly crushed as I frantically ducked and weaved under his sweeping hammer strikes, but [Knight Killer] was just bouncing uselessly off his demonic armor. I wasn't even scratching him.
Annoyed, Vulcan let out a low growl. With terrifying, deceptive speed, the giant warlord vanished.
He reappeared directly in the center of my army and swung his massive hammer in a wide arc. The shockwave alone instantly popped all twenty of my clones and turned a dozen of my shadow soldiers to smoke.
Whoa! That's fast! I panicked, crossing my daggers to block as Vulcan instantly pivoted, bringing the hammer at an angle to send me soaring upwards.
BAM!
[-31% HP]
My [Frost Carapace] shattered into a million pieces. But Vulcan wasn't done. As I plummeted back down, he leaped high into the air and reappeared above me, slamming his hammer down on my aching body.
[-42% HP]
The sheer kinetic force of the blow drove me straight through the obsidian floor. My arms screamed in agony, bones fracturing under the weight.
[WARNING: HP IS CRITICALLY LOW.]
[HP: 27%]
I coughed up blood, struggling to move my body. Vulcan raised a heavy, armored boot, preparing to finish me.
Oh Shit! I thought, realizing that my journey might be cut short here.
[NEW PASSIVE SKILL UNLOCKED: TENACITY (ACTIVATED)]
Effect: When HP falls below 30%, all incoming damage is reduced by 50%.
He slammed his boot onto my back. The impact was heavy, but the bone-crushing lethality was suddenly blunted. I used the momentum to launch backwards out of the area, gasping for air.
Fifty percent reduction, huh? I mused, tasting blood but feeling the [Tenacity] passive holding my body together. You made a big mistake not going for the kill in the air, you overgrown gargoyle.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: BLOODLUST (MAXIMUM OUTPUT)]
The dense aura of killing intent exploded outward. Vulcan physically staggered as his stats were forcefully slashed in half. His terrifying speed plummeted.
"Pin him!" I ordered.
My shadow army surged forward like a tidal wave of darkness. The Lizardman Commander and the Ice Warriors wrapped themselves around Vulcan's thick legs and arms, their combined weight and ice freezing his joints. The massive Red Tiger leaped directly onto the Warlord's back, sinking its shadowy fangs deep into his shoulder armor.
But Vulcan wasn't going down that easily.
He let out a deafening roar, and the glowing magma veins pulsing through his armor flared with blinding, white-hot intensity. He was literally turning himself into an active volcano.
The ice from my warriors instantly vaporized into steam. My Red Tiger's shadowy form began to sizzle and burn away under the extreme heat. Dozens of my infantry were being melted into black smoke just by touching him.
If I don't end this in the next three seconds, he's gonna deplete the rest of my CP. And then, I'm really cooked.
He was thrashing wildly, burning everything around him, but the [Bloodlust] debuff and the sheer, desperate mass of my dying soldiers had completely grounded his terrifying speed.
It gave me the exact, fleeting opening I needed.
I channeled every ounce of chakra I had left into my legs and blades. I leaped into the air, moving faster than the debuffed warlord could track.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: CRITICAL STRIKE]
I drove [Knight Killer] directly into the narrow gap of his glowing neck armor. The armor-piercing blade sank to the hilt. I twisted it savagely, channeling my wind chakra straight down my arms and into his chest cavity.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: Wind Style: Vacuum Wave! (Maximum Output)]
The point-blank vortex of compressed wind blades shredded Vulcan's molten core from the inside out. The Cursed Warlord let out a deafening, metallic shriek, dropping his boulder-sized hammer before his massive armored body erupted into a blinding shower of black ash and golden light.
[BOSS DEFEATED]
[XP GAINED]
[LEVEL UP!]
[XP GAINED]
[LEVEL UP!]
[XP GAINED]
[LEVEL UP!]
[NEW LEVEL: 162]
[FULL RECOVERY ACTIVATED]
The agonizing, fractured pain in my body vanished instantly as the warm, golden light washed over me.
Holy shit, that was close, I thought, a manic laugh bubbling up in my chest.
Then, the System completely flooded my vision.
[SYSTEM ALERT: TOWER OF TRIALS CLEARED]
[TITLE ACHIEVED: Conqueror of the Tower]
Effect: All base stats are temporarily increased by 10% when fighting inside any Tower-type Gate.
[KILL QUOTA UPDATE: CONDITIONS FULFILLED]
Reward: 1 A-Rank Gate Key added to Inventory.
[NEXT QUOTA: 1 S-RANKED GATE KEY]
Total Monsters Killed: 14,803 / 10,000 (Requirement Exceeded)
Total Boss Monsters Killed: 25 / 50
[BATTLE REWARDS DISTRIBUTED]:
[Item Obtained: Vulcan's Ring (A-Rank)]:
+30 STR.
Unique Effect [Ignite]: Physical attacks have a 3% chance to inflict a localized burn debuff, draining enemy HP equal to 3% of the user's total [STR] stat for 5 seconds.
[New Skill Unlocked: Shadow Exchange (Unique Skill Scroll)]:
Switch places with any active Shadow Soldier.
Cooldown [Level 1]: 3 Hours. (Cooldown lowers with skill leveling. Max Level: No restrictions).
[New Skill Unlocked: Remote Observation (Unique Skill Scroll)]
[Tower Clear Bonus: 5x Gate Keys (Ranks E, D, C, B, A)]
[RYO EARNED: (27% HP x 50 Ryo) x 5.5 Rank Bonus = +7,425 Ryo]
[FLOOR 100 CLEAR BONUS: +10,000 Ryo]
[TOTAL RYO THIS FLOOR: 17,425 Ryo]
[RYO BALANCE: 22,437,900 Ryo → 22,455,325 Ryo]
Cha-ching, I grinned, equipping [Vulcan's Ring] immediately. I felt my raw physical strength surge even higher as the heavy, dark metal settled onto my finger.
But as I absorbed the [Remote Observation] skill, the [Monarch's Signet] on my other hand suddenly grew warm, and the System chimed again.
[NOTICE: Skill Synergy Detected.]
['Remote Observation' is merging with the 'Monarch's Signet'...]
[MERGER COMPLETE: 'Shadow Conduit' Unlocked]
Effect ('Shadow Link'): The user can now perfectly share the senses (sight, hearing, feeling) of any active Shadow Soldier, regardless of distance.
Unique Addition: The user may cast ONE Jutsu through the physical location of the observed Shadow Soldier.
Cooldown: 15 Minutes per Jutsu cast, 50 CP per cast.
Oh ho-ho, that's incredibly broken, I thought, my eyes widening as I read the prompt.
[DAILY QUEST REWARDS PENDING]
Notice: The Player spent over 24 hours inside the Gate, clearing the Day 6 Daily Quest requirement, but not for Day 7.
Reward: +7 Stat Points. 1 Monarch's Loot Box.
Yea, I figured, I thought as I instantly opened the Loot Box, praying my luck would hold out for just one more pull.
[ITEM OBTAINED: Monarch's Stasis Scroll]
Description: A unique spatial scroll. Can store up to 5 Shadow Soldiers and 10 Gate Keys.
Effect: The Player may remotely activate the scroll at any time, deploying stored Soldiers into Gates to clear them autonomously. XP and Ryo are collected upon completion.
I stared at the heavy, black-and-gold scroll that materialized in my hands, practically vibrating with excitement.
Ask and you shall receive, I laughed out loud.
I could drop four soldiers of decent strength and one with overwhelming strength into low-ranked gates while I run mundane D-Rank Genin missions with Team 7. Between this and [Shadow Conduit], I could manage multiple battles without ever lifting a finger. And it also takes care of my long raids Daily Quest problem.
A swirling, calm blue portal opened behind the ruined throne, signaling the exit.
I recalled my shadows, stepped through the portal, and felt the oppressive heat of the throne room wash away. It was instantly replaced by the cool, quiet air of my apartment. I collapsed backwards onto my bed and stared up at the ceiling.
"System," I whispered, utterly exhausted but happier than I'd been in a long time. "Show me my stats."
Name: Naruto Uzumaki
Level: 162
Age: 12
Class: The Shadow Monarch
Title: The Monarch of Shadows, Conqueror of the Tower, Hero of Wave, One Who Sees Reality, etc…
HP: 5,660 / 5,660
CP: 6,360 / 6,360
[STATS]:
STR: 273 (Base 243 + 30 Gear)
CON: 283 (Base 253 + 20 Passive + 10 Gear)
DEX: 257 (Base 242 + 15 Gear)
INT: 318 (Base 298 + 20 Passive)
WIS: 263 (Base 233 + 10 Passive + 20 Gear)
CHA: 261 (Base 241 + 20 Passive)
[SHADOW ARMY STATUS]:
Storage Capacity: 159 Slots
Active Deployment: 79 Soldiers
Stat Points: 23
Total Ryo: 22,455,325
I closed my eyes, a deeply satisfied smile resting on my face as I drifted off to sleep.
All that's left to do now is wait for what's to come next.