Level Up Legacy



The giant black panther was nothing but a shadow that made the ground shake with its silver claws, but Arthur would not run away despite knowing that this monster was stronger than him. As the monster rushed toward him, Arthur summoned his colorless lightning.

Arthur knew two abilities about the lightning, to either cancel elements or choose targets. Arthur had already done the latter as the panther reached him, and his black armor formed. The giant monster was already above him, raising its claw to squash Arthur like a bug.

Boom!

The giant paw slammed toward him, and Arthur raised his arms to block it. His entire body creaked as he received the full attack from the monster, but he did not fall. The ground beneath him caved as dust rose everywhere.

"Is this all you have, panther?" muttered Arthur with a shaky voice as his knees were about to surrender. His arms trembled under the attack's entire force, but he never felt more alive than now. "We are just getting started."

It was time for him to counter-attack, and he opened his hands to grab into the giant paws as they pushed against him. Then, in one swift motion, he pushed the weight off his arms and grabbed into the monster, pulling him as hard as he could.

The monster growled almost in a snicker at the attempts of this puny human, but Arthur did not care. He gritted his teeth as he tried to overthrow the heaviest weight in his life. His lightning crackled as it covered the giant panther, weakening it. Thus, it lost its strength, and Arthur used that moment to pull.

Whoosh!

The entire panther was in the air, upside down, before being slammed to the ground. It let out a growl of rage as it destroyed the nearby terrain with its weight. Arthur did not give it a chance to recover as he bounced toward the giant.

A swift strike came from the panther that was struggling on the ground, but Arthur used his arm to deflect it. Since he had no weapon, his arm was lacerated by the sharp nails of the monster, making pain burn through his body.

Arthur knew he would be injured beyond a shredded arm if he stepped back now. Thus, he advanced and jumped toward the monster's weak point, the eyes. Arthur might as well fight a mountain if he tried to attack any other part of its body with his puny strength.

The giant panther had eyes as big as his hands, and Arthur made the two greet each other. His first attack was successful as he clawed the eyes of the monsters with his fingers and pushed them inside.

The monster let out a howl of rage before it went berserk and started slashing everywhere with its claws to get Arthur off its face. Thus, his second attack was unsuccessful, and Arthur was sent flying through the air with his back slashed apart.

The pain courses through his body like fire, the source being his back and arm. Arthur rolled on the ground, making his injuries worse as he grimaced in pain. Once he rose, he found the giant panther back on its feet as the first light rays shone.

Splash!

Blood oozed from its eyes, dropping to the ground. Arthur was in no better condition as his arm and back kept bleeding. He could now see the monster, which glared at it with bloodshed eyes.

"You look better this way, Panthy," said Arthur with a weak smile. His eyes looked at the panther, not with fear but excitement. "We are just starting."

The giant panther glared without doing anything before turning its eye toward the rising sun. Then, it turned toward Arthur as if to memorize his face before turning around and bolting back into the wilderness.

Arthur stood there, confused, as the panther disappeared into the forest. His arms and back were still bleeding profusely as the adrenaline wore off, letting him suffer the pain of his injuries.

The armor also started to disappear as his target was gone. Arthur crouched to the ground as he tried to catch his breath. This armor worked best against elements and could not make him immune to physical attacks.

"This might have been a reckless idea to fight in the night," muttered Arthur with a forced smile as he felt space twist close to him. As he raised his gaze, he saw Whisker return from his room in the same spot he entered yesterday.

"…what the hell happened to you?" asked Whisker with confusion as it rushed toward him. "The sun has not risen yet, so why did you leave your room so early?"

"I could ask the same thing about you," said Arthur with a smile as he fell back to rest. "I wanted to see what kind of monsters appear in the night and ended up fighting against a giant panther. It's been a while since I suffered in a fight."

"Suffered?" muttered Whisker with a shocked gaze as he looked around. "Is the panther still around?" he said, taking his gauntlets from his bag.

"It ran away after I injured its eye," said Arthur as he could no longer sit and fell on the blood-covered grass. "I admit I was reckless, so spare me the lecture."

"…you injured the boss of the first floor at your current level?" asked Whisker as it slowly turned toward him with a stunned expression. "It is a miracle if a person survives meeting it, let alone injure it!"

"There is nothing to be amazed about. I wanted a good opponent and bit more than I could chew. If the panther did not run, I would have died."

"I doubt that," said Whisker with a sigh as he returned the gauntlets to his bag. "Nightmare is a boss that receives its strength from the darkness. It is practically invincible during the night, so it spends the day hidden."

"Would it appear if a challenger wanted to enter the second floor?" asked Arthur with a frown. "Does that mean I fought against a strengthened boss?"

"Yes, and yes," said Whisker with a squint. "No challenger was able to survive against that monster with your level. Your hidden ability that the tower could not detect is a truly bizarre thing."

"I hear that a lot," said Arthur before he turned toward his bag and opened it, taking out the return scroll. "There are still a few hours before dawn, so I will take this time to recover."

"You will find me here."

Arthur then returned to his room and had to stagger to bed. The moment he lay down on the mattress, his pain disappeared, and his wounds began to heal. The rush from the fight faded, and Arthur began to feel tired again, which made him sleep for another two hours.

After he woke up, Arthur found his wounds had healed. Then, he left the room and found Whisker sitting cross-legged outside. The giant cat was sitting like a statue.

"Are you meditating?" asked Arthur as he saw Whisker closing its eyes. The cat then opened them with a yawn and rose from the ground.

"I took a nap."

"…truly catlike," said Arthur, holding back his laughter. "We need to go back to the town and initiate our plan. Have you thought of the details?"

"The first step is to make use of our newfound knowledge. Let's pay our dear friend, Peter, a visit," said Whisker as he raised his hood, a grin forming beneath it. Arthur had a similar smirk.

The two returned to Sith Town, which had suffered the monsters' wrath. Arthur saw blood everywhere on the ground, but even in the chaos, guards still demanded fees at the gates.

Despite being reluctant, Arthur listened to Whisker and paid the fee. These guards demanded two copper coins for each person. After the cat paid for their entry, it explained to Arthur how currency worked in this tower.

Each challenger received a single gold coin which could be fractioned at will into ten silver coins or a hundred copper coins. These coins could be used in shops around Sith Town and on the upper floors to purchase food, items, and even pleasure.

These coins were the universal currency inside the tower, allowing the trade among challengers to grow. However, money brought out the horror of humans, and forms of extortion, theft, and murder were committed.

Vesper had yet to send his men after them, which meant he did not know what they looked like. It might be that his lackey, who has seen Arthur, had a change of heart and turned out to be a better man than they predicted.

"Many challengers loath Vesper but cannot do anything about it," said Whisker as he guided him through Sith Town and its back alleys. "Although he has some loyal men, many would like to see him fall. However, even if one villain falls, another takes his place."