He slams his fist into the stone. A brown shockwave ripples out instantly. The solid floor liquefies for fifty meters in front of us, turning into a thick, greenish, stinking bog.
The first line of the Orc charge hits the zone. Physics takes over. The monsters slip, stumble, and face-plant into the muck. The devastating charge is stopped dead, reduced to a pathetic, disorganized crawl.
“[WORG FRENZY TOTEM]!” Chris follows up.
A wooden totem carved like a wolf head bursts from the ground behind us, its jaws snapping rhythmically: CLACK-CLACK-CLACK.
I feel the wild energy flood my veins. My heart rate spikes. I want to run, bite, kill. My speed jumps by 50%.
“Kim! The Mages!”
Kim has already triggered her rifle’s skill, [Rapid Bite].
BRRRRT. Five shots in a fraction of a second. In the back of the room, the five Fire Mages, who were starting to cast, see their heads explode simultaneously before they can even light a spark.
“Magic threat neutralized,” she announces coldly.
“Dinner time!” I yell, throwing myself into the melee.
It’s a massacre. With my speed boosted by the necklace and the totem, I’m a motion blur. I dance between the slow axe swings of the Orcs bogged down in the mud. I cut tendons, shatter knees, cave in skulls. Every hit is a One-Shot.
Chris, for his part, has become a bulldozer. He slams into the tight ranks with his shield, sending three-hundred-pound monsters flying like bowling pins. The blades bounce off his new armor with harmless metallic clinks.
“I don’t feel anything!” he laughs, a bit too hysterical from the wolf totem. “I DON’T FEEL A THING!”
The horde melts like snow in hell. In three minutes, only corpses remain. The Orc King, seeing his army decimated, descends from his throne, flanked by his two Commanders. Two massive brutes in black armor.
“Ben! The Commanders!”
“I’ve got the right! Chris, take the left! Kim, keep the King busy!”
I rush at my Commander. He raises a giant mace to crush me. Before, I would’ve fled. Now, I activate my aura.
“[Public Nuisance]!” The smell hits him like a brick wall. He grimaces, hesitates for half a second. That’s all I needed. I slide between his legs, mowing down his tendons with a surgical shovel strike. He drops to his knees. I pivot, using the momentum, and slam the edge of the shovel into his neck.
Head off.
On the other side, Chris doesn’t even dodge. The Commander on the left brings a two-handed sword down on him. Chris raises his shield.
BOOOOOM. The ground cracks under Chris’s boots. He shoves the weapon back with a shoulder bash and drives his sword through the monster’s gut, piercing it right through.
Only the King remains. The Boss of Room A. He stands alone in the middle of the carnage. He looks at us, red eyes glowing with hatred. He puffs out his chest, ready to launch his [War Cry], the one that canceled my gas last time.
“ROOOOOAAAAR…”
“Shut up!” Kim shouts.
She fires a [Joker’s Bullet]. The projectile arcs in an impossible curve, bypasses the King’s axe, and lodges directly into his open throat, cutting the cry short. The King chokes, staggering back.
“Chris! Throw me!”
Chris understands instantly. He cups his hands to make a step. I run, plant my boot in his hands, and with his colossal strength, he launches me into the air. I fly above the Orc King. I’m five meters up. Time slows down.
I raise my shovel over my head, holding it with both hands, point facing down. I put all my weight, all my gravity, all my hatred for this dungeon into this strike.
“Time for some waste sorting, asshole!”
I fall back on him. His head is huge, a grotesque target. My shovel sinks into that giant skull, splitting the helmet, the bone, and the brain right down to the hilt.
CRAAAAC. Under the violence of the impact, the handle of my faithful shovel snaps clean in two. The metal part stays planted deep in the King’s skull, still vibrating. The impact slams us to the ground.
The Orc King doesn’t move. He collapses heavily on his back with the dull thud of dead meat. Thick, oily black blood begins to flow from the gaping wound, mixing with the mud of the swamp. His red eyes glaze over, staring at the cavern ceiling in a final expression of surprise.
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I stand up painfully, holding the broken stump of my shovel. “Rest in peace, old friend,” I whisper, looking at my destroyed weapon. “You served well.”
Chris and Kim approach, covered in soot and blood. We look at the monster’s corpse. Suddenly, the King’s flesh begins to crack. Fissures of orange light appear on his skin, like lava under rock.
“He’s despawning!” Chris whispers.
The massive body disintegrates into heavy gray ash that collapses on itself. The flesh, the bones, the armor… everything turns to dust. And with him, the metal part of my shovel is swallowed by the void.
When the cloud of ash settles, nothing remains of the King. Just a chest. Black. Adorned with silver skulls. Emitting a menacing purple aura.
“Cleanup complete,” I breathe, tossing away the useless wooden handle. My two teammates approach, eyes shining. We survived Hell. We killed a King. We deserve our pay.
I kneel before the black chest. It’s not locked. I lift the heavy lid. A purple glow illuminates our dirty faces. “Jackpot,” I mutter.
I reach in and pull out a weapon. It’s the unholy marriage of a sword and a shovel.
[Weapon: The Gravedigger’s Excali-Spade] Rank: Rare | Type: Heavy Sword / Gardening Tool Damage: Slashing (Edges) / Bludgeoning (Flat) / Piercing (Point) Weight: 15 kg (Except for the Garbage Man class: 1 kg)
Description: A long handle made of matte black steel, engraved with runes that suspiciously look like recycling logos. The ‘Blade’ is a wide shovel head made of silver metal, but its edges have been sharpened at a molecular level. The point is as sharp as a dagger. It’s the perfect tool to dig a grave… or to put someone in it directly.
[Passive Bonuses] (Only on normal monsters):
- [Ground Advantage]: +20% damage if the user has both feet on solid ground.
- [Industrial Edge]: Ignores 30% of enemy armor (considered as ‘waste to be processed’). Target’s Defense is reduced by 30% upon impact.
[Active Skill]: The Rising Scoop
- Effect: Ben plants the blade in the ground and lifts it violently upward.
- Result: Projects debris (Blindness) and delivers a devastating uppercut.
I spin it around. It feels light as a feather to me, but I can feel the density of the metal. “The Excali-Spade…” I say with emotion. “Finally, a work tool worthy of the name.”
I reach back into the chest. “Kim, it’s your lucky day.” I toss her a pair of dark denim pants, reinforced with black leather plates.
[Urban Tracker Jeans (Rare)] * Effect: Critical Damage +20%.
Kim catches them mid-air. Her eyes widen. “+20% Crit? With my headshot passive? I’m going to punch holes in reality.”
“And for the kid…” I pull out an old book bound in animal skin.
[Skill Book: King’s Roar] Type: Active (Crowd Control) Effect: Lets out a cry that forces all nearby enemies to attack the user for 10 seconds. Increases Defense by 20% for the duration.
Chris takes it like it’s a bible. I distribute the rest: 9,000 Cosmic Gold, and proper Health and Mana potions—no more of that mediocre piss-water. Once the sharing is done, I lean against the Orc King’s empty throne, pensive.
“Have you noticed?” I say, spinning my Excali-Spade. “Since the start, the chests never give us random crap. No two-handed sword for Kim, no magic wand for me. It’s always exactly what we need for our class or to fill a gap. It’s statistically improbable.”
Chris raises his hand like a student. “My Sponsor explained that to me. It’s the purpose of the Tower.”
“To equip us?”
“To make us evolve. He wrote: ‘The Tower is an incubator. It analyzes your weaknesses and your needs in real-time. The chests are generated to help you survive the next floor. You will never find loot that you don’t need. Everything is useful.’”
Kim nods, storing her potions in her new belt. “If the goal is to create a God, the System isn’t going to give us sandals if we need boots.”
“Convenient,” I conclude. “It means we won’t have to manage an inventory full of vendor trash.”
I turn toward the interface. I’ve got one thing left to do to be complete. The skill point offered by Lilith is still glowing. I select [Public Nuisance]. I validate Level 3.
TING! A wave of heat travels through my body. The skill icon changes, turning from a sickly green to a vibrant, toxic purple.
[Update]: [Public Nuisance] moves to Level 3 (MAX). [Evolution]: [Mastery of the Pestilential Aura].
[New Effects]:
- Selective Immunity: The user and his recognized allies are now immune to the olfactory and toxic effects of the aura.
- Shape Manipulation: The stench is no longer just a gas, it is a tangible energy. You can sculpt it, project it, or wear it around you like armor.
- “Skunk” Marking: You can “mark” a target with an indelible scent to track it over a distance of 10 km.
- Max Range: 150 meters.
I stand up, a wide smile on my face. “Kids… step back a bit. I’m going to test something.”
“[Public Nuisance]: Activation!” The green aura explodes around me. But this time, instead of spreading stupidly, it obeys me. I visualize the energy. I condense it. The atrocious smell begins to swirl around my body, forming a flaming green and purple aura, crackling like the energy of a Super Saiyan, but made of miasma.
Chris takes his hand away from his nose, surprised. “It… it doesn’t stink?”
“For you, no,” I gloat. “For the others, I’m Chernobyl.”
I hold out my hand. The aura concentrates in my palm, forming a vaporous wolf head that flies toward the wall. “I can throw it. I can do Kamehamehas of stench. I can do a Toxic Kaioken.” I clench my fist and the aura dissipates. “I’ve become a Mage of the Junkyard. Magnificent.”
The adrenaline drops. The victory over the Orc King cost us a lot of energy. My HP is full, but my mind is a wrung-out sponge. I turn toward the back of the room. Behind the broken throne, a new circle has appeared. It pulses with a dark red, almost black light. The letter S.
“It’s the end of the level,” I say. “The room of the real Boss. The one who validates Floor 5.”
Kim reloads her rifle with slow movements. “Do we go now?”
I shake my head. “No. We just killed an army, but we aren’t ready for an S. We refuel. We eat, we sleep, we optimize. We don’t cross that door until we’re at 200%.”
We settle at the foot of the throne. Chris falls asleep instantly. Kim sits cross-legged, meditating to regenerate her mana. As for me, I finish my flask while watching the red rune pulse like a sick heart.
***
Five hours later. We’re standing. We’ve eaten. We’re properly dirty, we’re buffed, and we’re armed. I smooth my yellow vest. I grab my Excali-Spade. “It’s time,” I announce. Chris raises his bulwark. Kim cocks her Viper. We walk toward the S circle. There are no more jokes. No more sarcasm. Just the certainty that we’re going to face something huge. I step onto the rune. “See you on the other side.”
The world turns red.