'Ding.' 

“Third wave completed. Fourth wave commencing.” 

The Tower announcement signified the death of the last remaining goblin and the end of the third round. It was a good thing too since the sounds of whimpering were beginning to make Joe feel sorry for the little green creatures, even if they had tried to brutally murder him. 

Joe tried to persuade himself that they deserved it. That they were vicious monsters sent by the Tower to rampantly kill him and those around him. Though, in reality, it was hard to know what was true and what wasn’t. Were the goblins a creation by the Tower, or actual creatures, captured and forced to fight for the Heavens? If goblins did exist, did this mean there were other species out there in the realms beyond earth? Sure, goblins might just exist in the Tower, spawned by the Angels or God’s to pit against humans in preparation for the war with demons. But, even if that was the case, they still had to be based on something, and Joe doubted the Gods had taken the time to study Earth’s culture before conscripting them. 

Joe hoisted himself up, ignoring his groaning muscles thanks to his enhanced willpower. While willpower didn’t reduce the pain, it did keep it at a more manageable level. However, that didn’t mean he could shrug off injuries like they were nothing. Even with several hours of rest, he was barely able to stand without his whole body screaming out in protest. All he wanted to do was lie down and rest, though, he couldn’t complain, a couple more hours wouldn't have made much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, and his supplies were running low. At least his wounds had stopped bleeding, even if they still hurt like hell. Joe even suspected a few of his injuries had become infected due to the stench of pus wafting from the bandages, all of which had turned a deep shade of red. However, it wasn’t all bad. In total, he had gained 1000 exp from round three, bringing him closer to level 7.

Using what energy he could muster, Joe gathered up the fallen spears and swords the goblins had dropped from the last wave. His only hope now was to take a few out from a distance before the goblins could reach him. The fourth round meant the arrival of level 4 goblin warriors, which were bad enough, but the biggest challenge would be the goblin shamans. He had only caught a glimpse of them last time, and from what he saw, they were powerful spell casters capable of killing elite humans with a single attack. Add in the ability to generate defensive energy barriers, and Joe was up the proverbial shits creek. However, he didn't despair just yet. There was no guarantee they would spawn, and it wouldn't make much of a difference to his situation even if they did. While he had no desire to die and go back to that dark hell hole, at this point, it seemed death was inevitable.

Finally, the tower announcement blinked out and another ten goblins spawned some distance away, each was equipped in decent leather garb and steel swords, a substantial improvement over the last wave. Joe had positioned himself close by in order to enact his last stand, but a quick scan caused Joe to frown in consternation the second he saw the dreaded shaman standing in the middle. It wore a dark black robe and held a wooden staff adorned with a skull on top. An almost cliche caricature that was impossible to miss.

Joe groaned in frustration. Completing the floor solo was proving harder than expected, even with a reduced number of goblins. A normal human with only a bronze tier skill would have no chance of completing this floor alone, and the blue gate was meant to be the lowest difficulty! Joe could only shudder thinking about what the red and black floors held. 

Before the goblins could orientate themselves, Joe unleashed a barrage of spears in their direction, sending one spear after another barreling through the air towards the unsuspecting group. Two spears managed to find targets before the goblin shaman reacted and lifted its staff to create an energy barrier to repel the rest. The first spear hit a goblin straight through the neck, killing it instantly. The other pierced a goblin's shoulder, causing it to collapse in agony.

With the energy shield up, the goblins reorganized. Once they caught sight of the human that had dared attack them, their eyes turned blood-red with anger and killing intent. 

“Here we go,” Joe muttered as he hefted his shield, ready to receive the first volley of attacks. A second later, the goblins launched their own barrage of attacks, sending several spears and a dark orb pulsing with energy shooting straight at him. The spears slammed into his shield and the grassy earth around him, making Joe grunt out in pain as the weight transferred from his shield to his embattled body. The darb orb followed, it shot forward and spluttered against his shield, releasing an explosion of black embers that caused anything they touched to turn a blackish gray color. 

Joe breathed a sigh of relief once the last attack landed. He had survived the first volley, but there was no time to celebrate. The goblin warriors were already upon him, swinging their swords with abandon. Joe quickly backpedaled to avoid getting skewered, and soon, swords clashed as Joe desperately evaded or parried their unrelenting strikes. Unfortunately, Joe’s injuries and the higher levels of the goblins meant more strikes made their way through his defense, leaving new wounds and causing old ones to open. Joe knew his luck was up once he saw the shaman arrive, preparing to utter another spell. 

Joe yelled out with conviction. Determined to make his last attack count.

Using the last of his strength, he bent his knees and pushed off the ground with all his might, sending him barreling forward with a burst of speed that caught the goblins by surprise. He crashed through the line, using his shield like a battering ram. However, the goblins refused to give any leeway. They responded with vicious attacks, hacking and slashing at every part of Joe's body they could reach. Joe did his best to block the oncoming attacks but there was only so much he could do in his current state. Multiple strikes landed, causing Joe to cry out in pain, however he pushed through until he finally weaved past the last goblin. 

Without stopping, Joe rushed straight toward the goblin shaman, leaving the other goblins behind to holler out in fury. The shaman, seeing Joe head straight toward him, cackled with mirth. It placed its staff out in front while whispering a silent incantation. A black orb began to materialize at the end of its staff. The sphere shimmered with a dark hue that reminded Joe of an endless abyss. With a simple wave, the shaman sent the orb hurling toward Joe at the speed of a cannon. 

While the black orb looked unimposing, the power it held was no joke. Joe had seen the sphere kill elite fighters with a single hit and now he was preparing to receive the very same attack. However, the dark orb did have one weakness. The orb was devastating against living beings but appeared to have little impact against inorganic matter. Taking a gamble, Joe lifted his shield and held it at an angle, praying it would be enough to deflect the oncoming attack. The sphere smashed into the shield, causing the dark orb to explode into a hundred embers. Just as Joe hoped, the shield held, absorbing the brunt of the attack. However the proximity caused some embers to hit his exposed skin. Tendrils of darkness began weaving their way through his body, burning him from the inside. It was like his life force was being sucked away, with death welcoming him into its embrace. However, Joe refused to die just yet. He gritted his teeth and thundered forward, risking it all on a final hail mary. 

The shaman, realizing its attack had failed, started to panic, it desperately tried to form a defensive barrier, but it was too late, Joe was already in range. Joe lunged at the shaman with his sword pronged to deliver the final blow. The blade pierced through the goblin effortlessly, cutting straight into its heart, causing it to cough out a mouthful of blood. The shaman grabbed the blade and stared at Joe with rebellious eyes. It tried to mutter one last spell, an incoherent ramble of words came flowing out of its mouth, but Joe refused to let it have its way. He twisted the sword, ripping it out, making the shaman sputter and collapse on the ground listlessly. It was dead.

Joe mumbled something with gasping breaths before dropping his sword and crumpling to the ground, battered and broken. His time to celebrate was short lived once the goblins caught up screeching in rage. Before Joe could even respond, they ripped into his body with swords and spears, sending him to death's embrace once again.

***

The second time in the abyss was more bearable now that Joe knew how the skill worked. He spent his time counting the seconds, trying to understand how long the process lasted. It was excruciatingly boring, but it helped focus his mind for short periods. His best score was 1000 seconds until he inevitably lost his train of thought and succumbed to the suffocating sense of claustrophobia. Though it did feel like he was able to go longer between each bout of insanity—another benefit of higher Willpower.

Another area Joe spent time on was attempting to sense his soul. It was only a theory for now, but he couldn't help but postulate that if he could somewhat feel the flow of spiritual energy in his body, perhaps he could do the same for his soul. While there was no guarantee spiritual energy and the soul were connected, Joe refused to give up so soon. If spiritual energy wasn’t connected to the soul then why even call the attribute Spirit? Joe attempted to find the flow he had sensed when charging his skill sigil. Yet no matter what he tried, there was no flow to distinguish. 

'Is it because I have no body?' Joe pondered.

It made sense. Perhaps his body contained pathways for his Spiritual energy to flow. Like water following the flow of a river. Without a body, the water had no path to follow, making it more like a lake or well. 

With no success and nothing else to do, Joe began to think about his battle with the goblins. His swordplay had gradually improved with each battle, but he was struggling to fight multiple enemies at once. Joe imagined facing a goblin one-on-one. What would he do if it rushed him? How could he respond more efficiently? Suddenly a feeling came to him. An instinct, something he had felt all too often. It told him to deflect the attack to the side using the enemy's momentum against it. He knew this feeling! It was his [Swords Mastery] skill. But how? He thought of another scenario of facing two goblins charging him from each side. The image was hazy, but he managed to maintain it long enough for the skill to kick in. Again, an instinct kicked in to push off towards one of the goblins before the other reached him. Other ideas of using sand or dirt also flowed into his mind as the skill presented several options to counter such an attack. 

The level of detail he was able to picture was beyond anything he was able to picture before entering the Tower. With higher levels and stats, he could now imagine fine detail, such as the position of grip on his sword or the way the goblin looked after each attack. 'Is this another benefit of Will or some other attribute?' He thought with curiosity.

For the next several hours, Joe began to review many of the fights he had gone through. One by one, the skill showed new ways to respond. He began to see many of his mistakes—when he was off-balance or should have attacked instead of defended. 

He wondered how and why the skill worked in this space. [Sword Mastery] was a passive skill that was constantly active, though he had been able to increase or decrease the flow of energy to the Sigil to adjust the level of sensitivity. He guessed it was to help users adjust the amount of insight they received while training or in battle. However, one thing Joe was confident about was that the skill required spiritual energy to operate. 

Joe got excited thinking about the possibilities. If that’s true then other skills must be accessible here! The realization validated his assumption that the soul and spiritual energy were connected in a way he wasn’t able to see. If he were able to improve his spiritual sense, he might even be able to see while in soul form. He tried thinking back to the shop and the types of skills he had seen. He wasn't certain, but he was sure he had seen several skills with the words soul in them. As soon as he was out, his first action would be to check out the store.

With nothing but time on his side, Joe continued reviewing his battles until the white light flashed around him, returning him to the hall of beginning. Joe felt his body slam into the stone ground of the hall, he was back.

With renewed vigor, it only took Joe half the time to get used to his new body before he sprinted off to the Altar to access the Divine Shop.

- - - - -Divine Store- - - - -  

Available Points: 4700

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'To operate, please speak or think of the category you wish to browse. You have 1 hour to make your choices.'

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

 

'Tsk' Joe clicked his tongue in disappointment. The amount of DP he had earned was low considering the number of enemies he had defeated. He checked his notifications and saw the number of DP he received varied from 50 to 500 DP per kill. A level 1 goblin gave 50 DP, while a level 3 gave 150 DP per kill. A low number compared to the 250 DP for a level 4 goblin or the 500 DP given for the shaman. At least the amount awarded per kill was unaffected by the level difference. A welcome discovery, but at this rate, he would have to kill thousands of goblins to even afford a single skill. While he wouldn’t be able to afford a skill anytime soon, he had managed to make more than last time. The extra funds weren’t much, but would allow him to purchase a few more items to increase his survivability. 

After confirming his DP balance, Joe moved on to check the skill options under unranked for anything related to soul. He had come away with a game-changing skill the first time, so there was no reason not to give it a go. Who knew what other gems might be hidden. However, this time proved less than fruitful. None of the skills seemed particularly powerful in any way or had any relation to the soul. He once again saw the [Respawn] skill but it was still grayed out. Joe gave out a long sigh. If Smokey and the others had this skill, they would still be alive today. However, any regrets he had would have to wait. He still had to find a way through the first floor.