After Soji has confirmed that his senses are even more profound, he glances again at the three Upgrading Skill Cards left in his hand. Soji then watched the cards, their faint glow pulsing between his fingers like a heartbeat.
"I can't upgrade my Null... So what's left is... Physical Enhancement."
Soji's mind went into his first ever passive skill—Physical Enhancement. As he uses the remaining three cards filled with hope and excitement, he experiences how overpowered the cards is.
[ SKILL UPGRADE SUCCESSFUL ]
[ UPDATING SKILL INFORMATION... ]
[ Passive Skill: Physical Enhancement (Rare) → (Epic) → (Heroic) → (Legendary) ]
- Increases STR, DEX, and CON by 200%. Incoming damage is reduced by a lot. Grants resistance to only physical status ailments. Regenerates 1% of HP per second. Reduces stamina consumption and increases stamina regeneration by 50%. Grants ever muscular body.
[ SKILL RENAMING IS POSSIBLE ]
[ Physical Enhancement → Heavenly Constitution ]
[ ACCEPT ] | [ DECLINE ]
Soji declined the skill renaming out of strategic purpose. "Renaming? Yeah, no thanks I want to look weak to those players with observation skills."
"But holy shit! This is fucking overpower—" before Soji could start rambling more about the skill's evolution, his body started to twitch. His muscles started to involuntarily move again, but this time it's more intense. He could feel his temperature rising, his sweat pouring down more intensely. And this time, Soji got dizzy.
"Ahhh— fuck... Not this again..." Soji muttered as he started to falter and dropped down to his knees before he went back to normal like nothing happened.
"What the fuck..." Soji uttered as he was sweating profusely.
"That was insane..."
As Soji stands up, he can't help but notice that he feels even lighter but larger. As he checks his hands while clenching his hands over and over again, he could feel the strength surging. And for some reason he feels high as he looks down.
"Hold on... Did I get fucking tall—holy shit!" Soji uttered in an exciting surprise as he inspected his whole body.
"Wait... the skill also said it grants an ever muscular body..." Soji wasted no time and began to undress his tattered white shirt.
He stared at himself, his heart pounding with both excitement and disbelief. His body had changed; it had transformed into something unbelievable. His muscles were bigger and more defined, and his frame was wider and more imposing. Soji couldn't remember himself being like this... It was like looking at someone else's body, but it was undeniably his.
"What the hell happened to me..." Soji muttered as he ran his hands over his now-chiseled abs and thickened arms.
His once-average build had now turned into something of a body that even gymrats would die for just to attain this build. He looked down at his legs, feeling the raw power and muscle in each limb. Even his neck had thickened as he placed his hand measuring it, adding to the overall stature. His whole body felt solid, like a walking fortress.
But there is something Soji is even more curious about... Something that every man would check after transforming into a body of perfection. His penile size—
As Soji stretches his worn pants... He almost cried as tears started to pile up in his eyes. For Soji it was a sight to behold. Something some men would dream of...
.....
"Why... why... why does it look fucking... big..." Soji muttered in disbelief, hope, and happiness, his eyes almost watery and his smile almost reaching the heavens.
"This goddamn... Tower..." Soji uttered while wiping the almost teary eyes falling. As he returns back to his normal expression.
Soji took a last look at his muscular build once more before dressing up; he began wearing his tattered white shirt as he began to notice the tightness due to his massive frame. He adjusted to the sensation, pushing aside any further distractions. His eyes set back to the five random stat potions.
"Alright, let's not waste anymore time and use all the remaining stat potions." As Soji uncorked the five bottles, he drank them all at once, ignoring the weird taste.
[ Base Stats: ]
STR: 2 → 4 ( 8 )
DEX: 3 ( 6 )
CON: 3 → 5 ( 10 )
INT: 6 → 7
LCK: 3
Soji sighed in relief and content as he watched his stats grow. "Two points each on Strength and Constitution, while the last point is added to my intelligence... Oh wow..."
As Soji picked up his Large Subspace Pouch placing the five remaining vitality elixirs and his weapons, the items slowly descended into the magical pouch. He took a glance at the second objective... The bridge of peril, which he didn't choose due to the risk. Soji took a closer step into the bridge as he felt the dark aura of the bridge putting immense pressure and uneasiness on his mind.
"This bridge ain't a fucking joke..." he muttered as Soji started to feel a little dizzy.
.....
"But let me try something just one last time..." Soji kneels and places his hands on the bridge as something grabs it—a dark hand with an unknown whispering. But Soji knows this is an illusion due to his upgraded sense, but the weight of the illusion feels so real, and it's just the tip of the entrance to the bridge.
"Null... Activate!" Soji exclaimed like a fucking third-rate MC.
Suddenly—a loud screeching scream can be heard as Soji stumbles back, his hands both placed on his ears.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—"
The screaming was screeching so loud, but it started to fade along with the dark aura the bridge had contained. As Soji notices the screaming is gone, he slowly retracts his hands from his ears and stands up slowly while half-guard.
"Holy shit..." he muttered, eyes wide, still half-expecting the bridge to lash out again. But nothing happened since the sinister presence was gone.
"I haven't even stepped once on that goddamn bridge, and it tried eating my sanity away..."
Soji slowly sets his foot on the bridge, expecting another wave of torment, another dark illusion to claw into his sanity. But nothing happened... No voices. No darkness. No random phantom hands or screaming lady ghosts. Just silence and the eerie sound of humming space.
He then took another step... Still nothing...
"I guess it's safe now? I hope so..."
Soji then continued walking; every step was a relief, and ease could be felt. As Soji reached the end curious on what was about to happen. The system appeared again with its familiar chime.
[ SYSTEM ANALYSIS COMPLETE ]
[ TRIAL 3 PERFORMANCE EVALUATED ]
[ OBJECTIVE 2 COMPLETE ]
[ STATS: ]
[ DAMAGE SUSTAINED: 1% ]
[ TACTICAL EFFICIENCY: MODERATE ]
[ TIME COMPLETION: FAST ]
[ COMPLETE BASE CONDITION: SUCCESS ]
[ ONE IN A KIND RECORD! ]
[ OVERALL RANK: A ]
[ COMPLETED BOTH OBJECTIVES ]
[ SECRET REWARD RECEIVED ]
[ SYSTEM REWARD ALLOCATION COMPLETE ]
[ REWARD GRANTED: ]
[ x2 Upgrading Skill Card ]
[ x3 Vitality Elixir ]
[ x1 Strength Elixir ]
[ x1 Dexterity Elixir ]
[ x2 Stats Allocation Potion ]
[ x3 Random Stats Potion ]
[ SECRET REWARD ALLOCATION COMPLETE ]
[ Title Acquired ]
- The Perilous Bridge Walker
[ Rare Passive Skill Acquired: Mental Fortitude - Rare ( Passive ) ]
- Increases resistance to mental debuffs and illusions.
...
The reward was not as good, unlike the S+ Reward earlier, but Soji is already more than content with this. Soji let out a small chuckle as he scanned the system's final reward, the glow of the reward screen fading slowly from his view. As the items start to materialize into his hand, he puts each of them one by one in the subspace pouch.
"Good... not bad... not bad..." he muttered happily, slipping the elixirs into his Subspace Pouch.
His eyes paused briefly before glancing at the new title:
[ Title: The Perilous Bridge Walker ]
It had a nice ring to it... A little ominous, but dignified. He liked it. Then his gaze shifted to the newly acquired skill, which is Mental Fortitude.
Soji raises his chiseled jawline slowly while placing his finger, his expression calm but satisfied.
"This is going to be useful since the tower keeps on throwing random shi onto me..."
He took a deep breath, feeling the weight of his choices settle in. Two objectives. Two paths. Both are completed. And both rewards were very rewarding for him.
Soji then spent the next fifteen minutes carefully preparing himself. He drank all the remaining stat potions in one go, ignoring the various weird taste, and neatly stored every leftover item into his Subspace Pouch. Curious, he attempted to upgrade his legendary skill Physical Enhancement once again, but the system rejected his attempt indicating it had reached its current evolutionary limit.
Soji shrugging it off instead he redirected his focus into upgrading both of his newer skills which is MentalFortitude and KeenSenses, optimizing both of them further for whatever awaited him next.
[ Rank: F- → B ]
[ Title: The Perilous Bridge Walker ]
[ Race: Human ]
[ Condition: Perfect Condition ]
[ Passive and Active Skills: ]
[ Physical Enhancement (Legendary) – Passive
– Increases STR, DEX, and CON by 200%. Incoming damage is reduced by a lot. Grants resistance to only physical status ailments. Regenerates 1% of HP per second. Reduces stamina consumption and increases stamina regeneration by 50%. Grants forever muscular body. ]
[ Alter Ego (Unique ) - Active
- The player can switch into an alternate body with an alternate personality. This second personality can be chosen and pre-determined by the player. The player can assign how many stats and skills go to the second alternate body. Can switch to first and second alter ego anytime. Automatically activates to the strongest Ego when in sudden danger. No cooldown. ]
[ Keen Senses ( Epic ) → ( Heroic ) – Passive
- Greatly enhances the five senses and perception into a new whole level. Great chance to detect hidden entities, traps, and illusions. Grants a good clarity when observing falsehoods or deceptions. Greatly increases reaction time. ]
[ Mental Fortitude ( Rare ) → ( Epic ) – Passive
- Greatly increases resistance to mental debuffs and illusions. ]
[ Unknown Skill: ]
[ Null ( ??? )
– A mysterious force that disrupts the target's mental and physical functions, rendering them unable to act for a long time regardless of the target's resistance. Effects are temporary. Very Short Cooldown. ]
[ Base Stats: ]
[ STR: 4 → 5 ( 10 ) ]
[ DEX: 3 → 4 ( 8 ) ]
[ CON: 5 → 6 ( 12 ) ]
[ INT: 7 ]
[ LCK: 5 ]
As Soji watched the system screen displaying everything from his updated information, skills list to base stats. He couldn't help it but feel like he made a huge improvement... The numbers didn't lie... It felt like he have came a long way for this to happen.
Time has passed before the realization hit him fully. He clenched his fists, feeling the raw power surging through his veins.
"Woah... This is surprising... It seems like... I HAVE GOTTEN STRONGER. "