Leo looked at the broken golem lying face down in the sand. The signs of his last attack had left the area around it completely devastated.

The attack that had finished it off—Call of the Storm—was even more destructive than when he’d used it just earlier today. Whether it was because each time he used it his bloodline was tapped into or whether it was due to an increase in his power, only time would tell.

Thankfully the trials had been resetting his cooldowns, he wasn’t sure how much longer he would have been able to slug it out otherwise.

What had changed was the backlash, his storm inside felt unruly and untamed. It took him a bit to grasp hold of it again, clamp it down until Storm’s Guidance could assist him. This was definitely something to keep an eye on.

The pain in his body rushed through him all at once, but so did the sweet, delicious, addictive feeling of the level ups.

Your Elemental Adept Class has reached level 28

Stat points distributed

+3 Free Points

Your Elemental Adept Class has reached level 29

Stat points distributed

+3 Free Points

Anchored progression:

+2 All stats, +4 Free Points

Ellie has reached level 21

Stat Points distributed

+3 Free points

…

Ellie has reached level 23

Stat points distributed

+3 Free points

Ellie’s gains from race:

+15 Free Points

Five level ups in total from one enemy, or perhaps the entire Tower, as no doubt his achievements must have given him some experience—if it worked that way. Either way, he wouldn’t complain.

Another 19 free points were sitting waiting for his distribution too, and while he thought about trying to balance out his stats more, Leo just fired them all into Agility.

If not for his current level of Agility, fighting that Golem would have been virtually impossible.

The only reason he was successful was due to his ability to dodge. One off-handed hit from the golem had caused him to lose more than half his HP, and been enough to immobilise him. Which meant one sword attack or that laser beam of death touching him likely would have meant his end.

Although something about this arena made him feel like death wouldn’t be the end. A fleeting thought he spent no time considering.

Leo’s fatigue caught up with him all at once and he collapsed into the sand. Ellie bounced over to him, completely unharmed and oozing delight. It appeared she was looking for praise as Leo felt her tug through the bond.

He groggily raised his hand in order to stroke her. “You did so great Ells, I wouldn’t have been able to win this without you.”

She gave a feigned angry look. Leo got the idea.

“Okay, okay,” Leo conceded. “We made the best team.”

Ellie’s expression changed to drooling joy as Leo’s hand continued to rub her in that great spot—just behind her horns. He really was proud of her.

Never had he expected her to be so proficient in fighting already. Sure, she was already E-grade, but in terms of fights she’d been in it had been almost non-existent. Perhaps he had been coddling her too much but to him she was still just that same baby he’d hatched.

While he was praising his feisty little companion, Leo checked out the skill upgrade he received during the fight.

Earth Wall (Common)

Upgrades to

Layered Bastion (Uncommon)

Layered Bastion (Uncommon)

One wall can block perhaps a single attack, a bastion can defend from an assault. Use the power of your Earth mana to conjure several walls of layered defense.

Scales with Toughness and Intelligence

Cooldown: 30 Seconds

This was his first skill from an Essence that gave him a scaling in a stat that was not bonded to the Essence in question.

For example, his Scarlet Impact only scaled with strength, even if the fiery explosion would perhaps work with Intelligence. Now, this was all speculation on Leo’s part as he didn’t actually have a clue what each stat actually did. But it was fun to guess and figure out this kind of thing for himself. To an extent.

While he didn't like games that had countless tutorials that held your hand to the point of taking the fun out of it, Leo still liked to at least get a brief rundown.

“I think it’s time for some rewards,” Leo said to Ellie. “What do you think? Want to see some loot?”

Her eyes seemed to sparkle at the sound of loot, like a child being told they can have some chocolate. She had gotten the taste of rewards for effort, even if the elixir did nothing, and now she wanted more.

Leo smirked. The greed of dragons was a tale in many stories, often depicting them sitting on a hoard of golden coins and trinkets. He wasn’t sure what the currency would be after the tutorial ended but if it ended up being gold coins…

Hobbits might be a real thing with the system… I’ll need to warn her of burglars.

After a few minutes of rest and cuddling a content dragon, Leo got to his feet. The fairly lazy dragon clambering up to his shoulders, resting across them. He looked like a woman with a controversial fox scarf. One day she would definitely get too big for this, but for now, Leo would enjoy it while he could.

Or he would get so strong that he could bench press something the size of Iskarion.

“Now. Where do I go?” Leo asked aloud.

The golem had turned to ash a minute or so after fighting it, not due to anything Leo did. It was a bit of a shame the sword and shield crumbled too. Those would have been a good thing for his friends, although perhaps a little too big in their current state.

A blue portal appeared suddenly before him. That answered that question. Or did the system read his mind and answer because he asked? Seeing no reason to delay any longer, Leo stepped through the portal.

A moment later he reappeared in not a white, sterile nightmare room. Instead, it was like the plateau of a tower with large open sightlines that let one see across the entire city.

He was standing at the top of the Tower! In the centre of the room sat a white crystal, about the size of his head. Before he could even inspect it, a system notification appeared.

Congratulations!

You have cleared the Solo Combat Trial and with it earned the right to destroy the crystal atop the Tower.

Calculating Rewards…

Diamond rank reward has been achieved

First Clear reward added

Title gained: Trial Tower Allstar

Trial Tower Allstar

You are the first to clear the final Trial and through the more challenging Solo combat version of it. Not only did you clear it, you achieved one of the highest rewards possible. Through this achievement, you have proven your prowess and skill in this new world.

Go forth and conquer, new initiate.

+10 All stats

Leo immediately enjoyed the rush of stats, like getting several levels all at once.

He couldn’t help but smile to himself. This was the second time he had been rewarded for doing something first in this tutorial, and again for killing something. It appeared that the system appreciated those that took the initiative or proved their worth through first completions. It was weird that he hadn’t gotten a reward for the first clear of the Beast Pens, but it could have different rules—not like the system would tell him.

Now, Leo had two questions.

The first: did he have to keep up this kind of pace in order to stay alive? And if so could he?

And secondly and more importantly: what was a diamond rank reward and where was his precious loot?!

The system was apparently just pausing for dramatic effect, or was actually reading his mind.

One…two…three..

Five chests.

Leo’s eyes must have looked like golden coins as he gazed upon his trove.

The chests were lined up in a row and spaced out evenly. The last chest was very large and very sparkly. With the four chests before it being quite diverse in size and shape. He would save the big chest for last.

Ellie was almost skipping with anticipation as the pair approached the first chest.

Opening it up with shaking hands, Leo was a bit disappointed. A quick Identify showed that it only contained five E-grade Essence Crystals. Unsure of the other uses now that he had unlocked all his Essence skills, Leo just stored them and moved on.

In the second chest it was a bit more exciting, as it was something entirely new. A pink crystal in the shape of a diamond, and not like a diamond you’d see in a ring. The kind of diamond one would draw when asked to draw a diamond.

Crystal of Healing (Uncommon)

A Crystal containing life energy. It can be used to heal 1500 HP over the span of 30 minutes restoring any body parts that have been lost.

3 Charges

“Now that’s some good loot!” Leo cheered.

Ellie seemed to enjoy his enthusiasm even if she didn’t fully understand. She was running around the outskirts of the room like a child on a sugar high. It was adorable.

Leo stored the crystal. This would no doubt help someone in the future, most likely himself. It certainly beat the health potions that sat uselessly in his storage ring. Those were basically obsolete. A drop in the bucket of his current pools in comparison.

Two chests down and three to go. On to the next.

Opening it, Leo looked at it in confusion for a brief moment. It was just a rock. That was, until he identified it.

Shard of Golemic Earth (Rare)

A shard of earth taken from the materials used to compose a War-Golem. This treasure contains a high amount of earth affinity mana.
Has many crafting and alchemical uses

Leo wasn't sure how to feel about this one. It appeared to be a purely used in crafting kind of item. The system called it a treasure so it had to be at least a little valuable, but for now it wasn't of much use. Leo stored it in his ring. So far two duds and a winner.

It was time for the big chests.

The second to last chest was medium sized that sparkled with a diamond luster. Both of the final chests had the same delicious gilding that made him giddy with excitement.

He opened it slowly but as he did the shape shifted, becoming longer and smaller.

The outcome left him a bit unenthused. Not because it was something not spectacular, just that it wasn’t great for him.

Sword of the Golem (Epic)

A sword used in crafting Tower guardians, awarded to those who show true excellence within the Tower Trials. Its blade is forged with a composite metal that helps any Essence channeled through it to have increased power.

Enchantments:Essence Affinity: Increased power of any Essence channeled through the blade

Retaliating Parry: Guarding or parrying an attack will cause the next attack to deal increased damage

Golem’s Fervor: Guarding or parrying an attack gives the user a stack of Golem’s fervor, increasing the strength of the user.

Self Repair

Requirements: Level 25+ in any E-grade class or Profession

“Woah.”

That was the only word that came to mind upon seeing the sword. It was completely useless for Leo at the moment and for the foreseeable future. But that didn’t mean he didn’t have a use for it.

It was almost tailormade for Cecelia’s fighting style.

Leo smiled. “Cece’s gonna love this.”

He couldn’t resist picking it up and swinging it around a few times. The blade whooshed and swished through the air with basically no resistance. This was a good sword.

Leo had played with a few swords and weapons in his time in Boyd’s gym and nothing compared to this. Suddenly, the life at Boyd’s gym at this point felt like a complete lifetime ago, after being through so much in such a short time.

He did wonder what that intense man with his axe named Princess would be doing in this new world. Maybe he’d find out once he left this place.

“He’s probably a monster,” Leo chuckled to himself.

A surge of pain shot down his arm causing him to drop the sword on the ground, clattering as it hit the stone.

“Damn. Really not allowed to use weapons.” Leo sighed.

Forever bound to not wield any cool magical swords or a bow that fires magical arrows. The life as an unarmed fighter sure was a basic one. Not that Leo actually cared all that much. The things he could do with his magic and skills were enough to satisfy him and then some.

Carefully storing the sword into his ring before it could hurt him again, Leo moved to the final chest.

This one was similar to the last but instead of diamond coloured and regal looking, it was more opaque and ethereal. If the last chest he’d opened had been the Diamond reward then this one would perhaps be the reward for the first clear.

Opening the final, glorious chest, Leo could only give a saddened smile.

“Yeah. Figured.”

Shield of the Golem (Epic)

Awarded to the initiate who achieves the first clear reward in the Tower Trial during the tutorial. This shield is forged using unknown composite metals, often seen in golem crafting.

It holds a large amount of Earth affinity mana and can unleash it in a shockwave to deflect projectiles.

Enchantments:Earthen Defense: Increases efficiency and defense of Earth affinity skills

Blessing of Stone: Can grant the wielder a Blessing of Stone, increasing toughness for a set period.

Active ability: Deflecting Shockwave

Cause all projectiles in a cone in front to be sent off course or completely negated.

Cooldown: 30 Minutes

+20 Toughness

Self Repair

Requirements: Level 25+ in any E-grade Class or Profession

It wasn’t anything he could use, but again, Leo could appreciate incredible loot when he saw it. The shield was like the Golem’s but sized for a human to wield.

It was a round shield, with a golden inlay running through it, similar to the golem’s golden veins. The center looked to be the toughest part of it, and considering how easily the Golem’s shield took one of his strongest punches without a dent, Leo didn’t doubt this would be very useful against the ants.

With all the loot now stored, and none of it really of interest to Leo at the moment, he decided to take a small break. He couldn’t be sure there wasn’t a trap or some kind of last trial to take. His resources had been restored but he could feel the weight on his mind. An entire day spent fighting for his life was enough to warrant a quick nap.

Awaking from his nap after an unknown amount of time passed, Leo approached the final item in the room.

The Crystal.

Taking a steadying breath, Leo approached the crystal. Its white and sparkling shine filled the Tower with gorgeous light. The dark had encroached upon the city without Leo even realising it. It had been a hell of a day, and now it could come to an end. As long as it wasn’t trapped.

Would you like to deactivate the Dome Crystal?

Yes/No

Warning: Doing so will cause the dome shield to deteriorate, and regardless of the other tower being deactivated, the shield will drop in five days.

This cannot be undone.

You will be teleported out immediately upon decision.

Ready to explore the rest of the city and the treasures and enemies that lay in store. Leo gave his mental assent.

A loud crack echoed out, and a second later, Leo and Ellie vanished. Leaving nothing but five empty chests.