Chapter 14 Preview - How I Became The World's Strongest Warrior Book 2!

I woke up early the next morning, feeling completely refreshed after a night in the empty safe zone. The automated food dispensers had provided a surprisingly good breakfast. There was some kind of magical fruit that tasted different with each bite and gave a steady buff to stamina regeneration. Not as good as Mayra's cooking, but efficient.

After checking my equipment one last time, I headed for the stairs to floor seventeen. My plan was straightforward: speed run through the floors I'd already cleared to reach floor twenty-one and whatever challenges waited there.

The climb through the previously cleared floors was almost comically easy. Floor seventeen's pleasure palace was a ghost town, with only a few newly respawned elite succubi hiding in the shadows, clearly terrified of another encounter. They teleported away the moment they spotted me.

"Smart choice," I muttered as a particularly beautiful succubus vanished in a flash of purple light, abandoning her luxurious divan rather than risk confrontation.

I passed through the floor in less than ten minutes, encountering only three enemies brave enough to attack. None survived more than a single strike.

[Perfect Strike Activated!]
[Total Damage: 3,025.6]
[Elite Succubus Health: 0/5,000]

Floors eighteen and nineteen were similarly depopulated, with only scattered pockets of resistance that posed no real challenge. The respawn rate in the Tower was clearly much slower than standard hunting grounds outside, another unusual feature that made it distinct from normal dungeons.

Within just thirty minutes, I reached the ruby staircase leading to floor twenty. Lilith's chamber remained exactly as I'd left it, the massive bed now covered in a thin layer of crimson dust that I assumed were her remains. There was no sign of the boss respawning anytime soon.

I paused, remembering something Mayra had mentioned during our last communication. "You should look around more," she'd said. "Not everything valuable is dropped directly by the bosses. Sometimes there are hidden treasures for people who take the time to search."

It wasn't something I'd normally consider, efficient progression usually meant moving forward rather than lingering, but Mayra's advice had proven useful in the past. I decided to spend a few minutes searching the chamber.

The bed itself contained nothing of interest beyond the dust. The various cabinets and dressers around the room held exotic but ultimately useless items: perfumes that changed scent based on the user's desires, silks that adjusted their texture to maximize pleasure, and various implements whose purposes I chose not to contemplate too deeply.

I was about to give up when I noticed a subtle pattern in the floor tiling near one wall. The tiles there formed what looked like a faint spiral, nearly invisible unless you were specifically looking for irregularities.

"Interesting," I said, moving closer to examine it.

When I stepped onto the center of the spiral, the tiles shifted beneath my feet, revealing a hidden compartment. Inside was a collection of items that had clearly been Lilith's personal stash:

[Items Found]
• Phial of Eternal Beauty (Legendary) x1
• Elixir of Fire Resistance (Superior) x3
• Potion of Major Healing (Superior) x5
• Essence of Elemental Binding (Epic) x2
• Scroll of Safe Return (Rare) x2
• Tower Mapping Stone (Rare) x1

The Elixirs of Fire Resistance immediately caught my attention. Each would provide 50% additional fire resistance for four hours, which could be extremely useful depending on what lay ahead. The healing potions were also a welcome find. They were considerably more powerful than the standard ones I carried.

I collected everything and approached the door to floor twenty-one, touching the Charm of Ascension to its surface. The door swung open, revealing a staircase that glowed with intense heat. The steps were made from what appeared to be barely cooled magma that still bubbled occasionally.

Heat slammed into me like a physical wall as I began to climb. By the time I reached the top of the stairs, sweat was pouring down my face despite my gear's considerable environmental protections.

Floor twenty-one opened onto a hellscape of fire and brimstone that made floor nine's lava rivers look like a pleasant hot spring. The entire floor was a massive volcanic caldera, with islands of solid rock floating in a sea of churning magma. The air shimmered with heat, and ash fell constantly from the smoke-filled "sky" overhead.

I immediately felt thankful for my equipment's protective properties. The Imperial Wingcase Cloak and Enhanced Adaptive Spider Silk Armor both provided significant environmental resistance, reducing the ambient heat from "immediately fatal" to merely "extremely uncomfortable."

[Environmental Analysis]
[Ambient Temperature: 800°F]
[Base Damage per Minute: 100]
[Gear Protection: 85% reduction]
[Actual Damage per Minute: 15]

I quickly drank one of the Elixirs of Fire Resistance I'd just found.

[Elixir of Fire Resistance Applied]
[Fire Resistance: +50% for 4 hours]
[Actual Damage per Minute: 7.5]

That made the environment manageable, though still dangerous for extended exposure. I'd need to monitor my health carefully and find shelter periodically to recover.

I'd barely taken three steps when the first enemy appeared, a massive bull made entirely of living flame, standing at least seven feet tall at the shoulder with horns that trailed fire as they moved.

[Flame Bull]
[Level 35]
[Health: 7,000/7,000]
[Special Abilities: Charge Attack, Fire Aura, Magma Hooves]

The creature pawed the ground, sending sparks flying, then lowered its head and charged. I dodged to the side, feeling the intense heat of its passing even through my enhanced resistance. As it thundered past, I struck with both weapons.

[Vampiric Blade Strike]
[Total Damage: 3,025.6]
[Fire Resistance: 75% damage reduction]
[Flame Bull Health: 5,730.6/7,000]

[Mana Infused Short Sword Strike]
[Total Damage: 1,228.4]
[Minor Arcane Bolt Triggered]
[Additional Magic Damage: 3.5]
[Fire Resistance: 75% damage reduction]
[Flame Bull Health: 5,421.0/7,000]

My attacks had significantly less impact than I'd expected. The fire resistance that protected the creature from its own burning environment also made it highly resistant to my physical attacks. Even with no dual wielding penalties remaining, I was only doing about a quarter of my normal damage.

The bull circled around for another charge. I timed my dodge perfectly again, but this time it anticipated my movement, adjusting its course mid-charge to clip me with one flaming horn.

[Charge Attack Hit]
[Damage: 85]
[Fire Damage: 50]
[Fire Resistance: 50% reduction]
[Total Damage: 110]
[Health: 90/200]

That hurt. A lot. The physical impact was bad enough, but the fire damage penetrated even my enhanced resistance. I popped a healing potion immediately.

[Major Healing Potion Used]
[Health Restored: 100]
[Health: 190/200]

The bull prepared for a third charge, but this time, I changed tactics. Instead of dodging, I timed my attack to meet its charge head-on, aiming directly for the space between its eyes where the flames seemed thinnest.

[Perfect Strike Activated!]
[Critical Hit! Vulnerable Area Struck!]
[Total Damage: 6,051.2]
[Fire Resistance: 75% damage reduction]
[Flame Bull Health: 3,907.8/7,000]

The bull staggered but didn't fall. It shook its massive head, disoriented but still very much alive. I pressed the advantage, striking repeatedly at the vulnerable spot I'd identified.

[Vampiric Blade Strike]
[Total Damage: 3,025.6]
[Fire Resistance: 75% damage reduction]
[Flame Bull Health: 3,149.8/7,000]

[Mana Infused Short Sword Strike]
[Total Damage: 1,228.4]
[Minor Arcane Bolt Triggered]
[Additional Magic Damage: 3.5]
[Fire Resistance: 75% damage reduction]
[Flame Bull Health: 2,840.2/7,000]

[Perfect Strike Activated!]
[Total Damage: 3,025.6]
[Fire Resistance: 75% damage reduction]
[Flame Bull Health: 2,082.2/7,000]

It was taking too long. The ambient heat was steadily draining my health despite the elixir, and the bull still had nearly a third of its health remaining. This was a war of attrition I wasn't equipped to win efficiently.

After several more exchanges, I finally managed to defeat the bull, but at significant cost:

[Flame Bull Eliminated]
[Experience Gained: 200]
[Health: 105/200]
[Elixir of Fire Resistance: 3 hours, 42 minutes remaining]

I drank another healing potion and assessed my situation. Just one enemy had taken nearly five minutes to defeat and consumed valuable resources. Looking across the volcanic landscape, I could see dozens more flame creatures. There were more bulls, humanoid fire elementals that were clearly more powerful than those on floor nine, lumbering golems made of cooling magma with still-molten cores, and smaller darting imps that moved with unsettling speed.

This wasn't a matter of capability. I could fight my way through with enough time and resources, but I couldn’t do it efficiently. With my current loadout, optimized for physical damage rather than elemental warfare, this floor would be a costly, extended grind.

I made the tactical decision to retreat and reconsider my approach. Using another Orb of Return, I teleported back to floor sixteen's safe zone.

[Orb of Return Activated]
[Destination: Floor 16 Safe Zone]
[Transportation Successful]

From there, I used the Tower's exit portal to return to the outpost at its base, and then took Mario's teleportation service back to the city.

"Ah! The Dummy Slayer returns!" Mario exclaimed when I emerged from his green pipe. "Still alive! Lou owes me-a 100 copper this time!"

"Do you guys always bet on whether I'll survive?" I asked, mildly curious.

"Of course! Is good business model!" Mario grinned behind his magnificent mustache. 

I shook my head with a slight chuckle, finding a genuine bit of amusement with the brother’s bets, then headed directly for Witch's workshop. I hoped she might have a solution for my fire resistance problem. Surprisingly, I found not just Witch, but also Mayra and Nelson gathered there, all looking up with expressions of shock when I entered.

"Chuck!" Mayra launched herself across the room, wrapping me in a tight hug that made breathing difficult. "You're back! You're actually back!"

"I told you I would be," I pointed out, awkwardly returning the hug.

"Yes, but you also said you weren't coming back until you either found the Essence or hit something you couldn't handle," Witch noted, studying me with a mixture of relief and curiosity. "So which is it?"

"Neither, technically," I explained, gently disentangling myself from Mayra's embrace. "I reached floor twenty-one, but it's extremely fire-focused. Fighting there with my current equipment is inefficient."

"Fire, you say?" Witch's eyes lit up with professional interest. "What kind of creatures?"

I described everything I'd seen on the brief excursion, the flame bulls, fire elementals, magma golems, and imps. As I spoke, Witch began pulling reference books from her shelves, flipping through them with practiced efficiency.

"Based on what you've described and the Tower's established patterns," Witch said with a thoughtful expression, "floors twenty-one through twenty-five are likely designed to test adaptability and elemental affinity."

"So I need better fire resistance," I concluded. "And ideally, weapons effective against fire creatures."

"Ice," Nelson said immediately. "You need ice-based weapons. They'd be twice as effective against fire entities."

Witch nodded in agreement. "I can enhance your armor and cloak with additional fire resistance, but for weapons, you'll need something with innate ice properties. Can't just enchant that onto existing blades, especially not ones with void or arcane affinities."

"Wait, you've been to floor twenty one?" Nelson asked, apparently just processing this information. "That means you beat floor twenty? And Lilith?"

"Yes," I confirmed. "It wasn't particularly difficult once I identified her attack patterns."

The three of them exchanged glances that contained an entire conversation I couldn't quite decode.

"You're saying you beat Lilith, Mother of Desire... and it 'wasn't particularly difficult?’" Nelson repeated slowly.

"Correct."

More glances.

"Right," Witch said finally. "Anyway, ice weapons. We should check with Gerald at the pawnshop. If anyone has something suitable, it would be him."

"Good idea," I agreed. "Can you work on the armor enhancements while I look for weapons?"

"Already planning the formula," Witch confirmed, moving to her workbench and beginning to gather components. "Bring me your armor when you get back, and I'll have everything ready." She paused. “Though, you might need to collect some stuff.”

Mayra insisted on accompanying me to Gerald's, maintaining physical contact with my arm the entire way as if afraid I might suddenly disappear. Her behavior was puzzling, but not unpleasant.

Gerald's shop was busier than usual when we arrived, with several adventurers haggling over prices for various items. The proprietor himself stood behind the counter, his impressive mustache seeming to bristle with delight at all the activity.

He spotted me immediately. "Ah! The Tower climber returns! Word of your exploits has spread, my friend. The first solo defeat of Lilith? Quite remarkable!"

"I need an ice weapon," I said, getting straight to the point. "Preferably something with substantial damage output."

Gerald stroked his mustache thoughtfully. "Ice weapons, eh? Not many of those in circulation. Most enchanters prefer fire for the straightforward damage bonuses." He consulted a ledger. "I don't have anything in stock currently, but let me check the auction listings."

He disappeared into his back office, returning a few minutes later with a sheet of paper. "Only one item currently listed that might suit your needs. A two-handed battle axe with level three ice enchantment. Primary effect is physical damage, secondary is a chance to proc an ice blast on hit."

"Stats?" I asked.

"Let's see... 'Rimeheart Axe, Exceptional Quality. Base damage 25.6, +15% from ice enchantment, 10% chance to trigger Ice Blast (100 frost damage) on successful hit.' Starting bid is 50,000 copper."

I considered this. The axe's base damage was higher than either of my current weapons, but using it would mean abandoning dual wielding and all the proficiency I'd built up. Still, against fire enemies, the elemental advantage might outweigh those considerations.

"I'll take it," I decided. "Is it available immediately?"

Gerald nodded. "I can finalize the purchase right now. The auction had no bids yet, so the starting price stands."

I paid the 50,000 copper, which barely made a dent in my accumulated wealth. Gerald processed the transaction through a specialized communication crystal, and the axe materialized on the counter in a flash of blue light.

[Rimeheart Axe]
[Exceptional Quality]
[Base Damage: 25.6]
[Ice Enchantment: +15% damage]
[Special Property: Ice Blast (10% chance, 100 frost damage)]
[Requirements: Strength 15]
[Durability: 95/100]

I lifted the weapon, testing its balance. It was heavier than I was used to, designed for big sweeping strikes rather than the precision attacks I'd perfected with my swords. The blade was tinted a pale blue, with frost patterns etched across its surface.

"It'll take some practice," I admitted. "But it should be effective against the fire creatures."

Gerald beamed, clearly pleased with the sale. "Excellent choice! The previous owner claimed to have used it against a fire elemental matriarch with great success. May it serve you equally well in the Tower!"

With the axe secured, we returned to Witch's workshop. Thankfully, she had prepared all the components needed for enhancing my gear's fire resistance.

"This won't be cheap," she warned, examining my cloak and armor with a critical eye. "The materials for maximum fire resistance are rare, especially since you've already got other enchantments on these pieces."

"Cost isn't a concern," I assured her. "Efficiency is."

Witch nodded, already beginning the enhancement process. "This will take about six hours. Why don't you get some proper rest at the inn? I'll have everything ready by morning."

That seemed sensible. Mayra and I headed to The Broken Shield, where Martin had apparently heard of my Tower adventures and insisted on providing a celebratory meal on the house.

The food was excellent, as always, with substantial stat buffs that would be useful for my next Tower excursion. Mayra sat beside me rather than across the table, maintaining that strange constant proximity she'd adopted since my return.

"You're acting differently," I observed as we finished eating. "Is something wrong?"

She looked at me with an expression I couldn't quite decipher. "I thought you weren't coming back," she said quietly. "When you said you were going beyond floor sixteen, I was sure that I'd never see you again."

"I told you I would return," I reminded her.

"Yes, but..." She sighed. "Chuck, nobody gets past floor sixteen. Nobody. And then you just... went through it like it was nothing. Killed Lilith like she was some random monster. It doesn't make sense, and it's terrifying."

"Why is it terrifying if I'm succeeding?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Because it feels like the Tower is setting you up for something," she replied. "Like it's letting you win to draw you in deeper, to some point where..." She trailed off, blinking rapidly.

I considered this. It aligned with Witch's theory about the Tower testing me specifically. "That's possible," I acknowledged. "But I'm being careful. I came back when I encountered something I wasn't optimally equipped for, didn't I?"

She nodded reluctantly. "Yes. That's the only reason I'm not completely panicking right now."

When we went up to my room later, Mayra was unusually quiet. She curled against me in bed, her arm wrapped tightly around my waist as if to physically prevent me from disappearing.

"I'll come back tomorrow too," I told her, trying to provide reassurance. "After I test the new equipment on floor twenty one."

"Promise?" she whispered.

"I promise," I said. "It's just a fire level. With proper ice weapons and enhanced resistance, it should be straightforward."

She nodded against my chest but didn't loosen her hold. I found I didn't mind, and my last thought before drifting off to sleep was that perhaps some things had value beyond what could be measured in damage numbers or experience points.

Those numbers would still go up tomorrow, of course. But maybe this was worth having too.