[You pulled out a Perfect Item!]

A message of bright color appeared in front of him as his hand gripped a handle. Nikolai pulled as a long and icy sword emerged from within the orb.

“Ugh, a sword?” Nikolai groaned. Swords were a bother and required a lot of effort. For him, Nikolai wasn’t used to swords because he always found comfort in using a gun. That was until he had to learn to use a dagger.

[Galvin’s Fang Sword: A master blacksmith created this sword from the fang of the giant Ice Dragon, Galvin. Forsaken by his race, the dragon lived forever in hatred. The hatred within Galvin’s fang works to strengthen the user.]

[Special Power 1: Ice Doman.]

[Special Power 2: Freezing Poison.]

[Special Power 3: Flame of Hatred.]

Nikolai expanded the powers and realized they were too overpowered. Ice Domain would create a domain around him where every other object or creature would receive ice damage over time. Freezing Poison would paralyze his opponents after the first wound he gives them for 10 seconds. As for Flames of Hatred, it would double his strength when he wields this sword.

“Can I take this sword out?!” Nikolai’s mouth gaped. This weapon would make him instantly powerful enough to open a guild of his own.

[Players can’t take weapons out, as they are not real.]

The game answered him, and Nikolai felt embarrassed. He knew that. After a cough, he examined the sword closely. It was crystal clear with a blue sheen over its surface. As he pushed his finger close to the blade, frosting appeared on his fingernail

“Overpowered!” Nikolai grinned as he slashed with the sword. The sword felt light in his hand, and it left a trail of ice. The ice slammed to the wall and froze it instantly. “Well, I better leave this room before I break it down.”

Nikolai walked out of the room and into the yellow-brick corridor. The vegetation spread over the walls and ceiling as chunks of metal lay in every corner.

‘Right, the first stage’s enemy is…’

As Nikolai remembered, a machine woke up from the few that were scattered around. It hovered in the air as its single eye turned from blue to red.

“Enemy… Identified…” The machine said with a crackling voice, warning its long-dead owner.

‘Ancient machinery,’ Nikolai sighed. ‘These pieces of machinery always remind you of the passage of time.’

The machine turned a few gears as giant scythes protruded from the machine’s spherical body. They were each a meter long and would rip you apart if they managed to touch you.

“Let’s test you, Fang.” Nikolai slashed with his sword, and it left a trail of snow as it struck the machine. The ice covered the device as it ceased all movements.

“Damage… Damage. Da…”

The machine froze and fell to the ground, breaking apart into small pieces. It seems the ice has further weakened the parts that time eroded.

Nikolai’s mouth gaped, as he has expected that he needed to put a bit of effort. He looked at the sword in his hand with a speechless expression.

“I understand that it’s to make people addictive to the game, but isn’t this too much?”

What he didn’t know was that the program has made sure that players wouldn’t pull this sword easily. You’d have to be Lady Luck herself for you to pull this one on the first floor. Unluckily for the game, Nikolai was precisely that, except he was a guy.

Nikolai wouldn’t kick away a pie that fell from the sky, so he simply shrugged and advanced. Another machinery rose in the air and began its assault, but Nikolai’s single slash brought it down again.

He breezed through the corridor until he reached a giant door. When he touched it, the door opened to reveal a circular hall with massive machinery inside.

“Are you the boss?” Nikolai walked in, unhurried and confident. With his bugged item in hand, even the gods would fear him. The giant machinery didn’t answer, of course; it simply stayed still. “Hah, afraid?” Nikolai gave a wicked smile of a second-rate villain.

As he got closer to it, the machinery finally awoke. It rose in the air as cannons appeared on its back and giant scythes protruded from its sides. Red eyes glowed on the head as it looked at Nikolai, who looked puny in front of it.

“Uh, you’re a big boy. How about we talk things out?” Nikolai backed away as he saw the cannons on its back. Not even his godly sword could create a shield.

The machinery seemed to have an antisocial personality and an aggressive one too. Without answering, its cannons began glowing red as the machinery fired countless missiles.

The missiles flew upward before falling toward Nikolai, who stabbed his sword into the ground, making it produced a massive ice shockwave.

“Ice Domain!” Nikolai shouted, but it seemed the game needed to make a fool out of him.

[No need to shout the name of the skill.]

The area around him started getting frozen rapidly as the air around him turned icy. The ice attack obstructed the missiles who worked to turned their flames off but couldn’t do it in time.

Nikolai grabbed his sword and swung with everything he had, creating a giant ice wind slash that traveled toward the missiles. The missiles and ice storm collided, and an explosion occurred midair.

Nikolai dashed toward the machinery without pause and struck it with his sword, leaving a giant scratch on it. From there, the Freezing Poison spread and began freezing the machinery rapidly.

Despite not being frozen still, the ice still slowed down the machinery. Nikolai had an easier time avoiding the scythe as it arrived to cut him down.

With light steps, Nikolai appeared behind it and attacked again, slowing it down once more. The hit and run game began as Nikolai used the sword’s freezing effect to outrun the machinery.

In the end, the machinery broke down and fell, unmoving again. Nikolai smiled and almost kissed his sword, but he refrained after remembering he would turn into a popsicle if he did.

He didn’t even reach the first boss in his past life because his stats were below that of an average person. That’s why he ranked at the bottom again.

[You have cleared the first floor.]

[Rewards: Lucky Orb and one health potion.]

[Exam-Mode has been detected. You have obtained the first-clearance reward: Ten-minute ticket.]

Since they had an exam using the game, Nikolai obtained an extra reward for being the first person to clear the floor. The ticket he received would give him ten more minutes of the exam, instead of the usual three hours.