Grabbing the ticket with both hands, Nikolai tore it in half. In front of him, the time increased by ten minutes, granting him extra time to progress farther into the tower.

He turned to the Lucky Orb and used one Fate Point to get a perfect item. This time, the reward that appeared wasn’t a weapon but a small watch.

[Malfunctional Pocket Watch: This perfect-grade item can stop time for five seconds. You can use this watch up to five times before it stops working. The usage’s cooldown is ten seconds.]

‘Another overpowered item,’ Nikolai grinned as he threw the watch into his pocket. ‘If I meet a powerful monster, I’ll just kill them when they’re frozen.’

After the giant machinery disappeared, a small cylindrical pillar emerged from the ground in its stead. Nikolai walked up to it and touched the engraving, prompting another message to appear.

[Would you like to visit the Second Floor?]

‘Yes.’ Nikolai’s body began disappearing as he ascended to a higher floor of the tower.

This game reminded Nikolai of the actual Towers of Gods and how they played an essential role in surviving the apocalypse. The Elves weren’t the only threat out there, as the war they started was only a result of a greater calamity.

Pushing the ominous future away from his mind, Nikolai looked at the second’s floor interior. This time, he was in a giant cave. He looked at the stalactites that dropped from the ceiling and the countless monsters hanging from them.

‘Bloodsucker Bats.’ Nikolai felt a headache coming. This Floor would be more effortless for stealth classes to clear, like assassins. Anyone else will suffer. ‘It’s time to use my foolproof discreet plan.’ He took a few steps forward, as quiet as he can.

“WAKE UP, YOU BLOODSUCKING VERMINS!”

His roar shook the cave, and it threw the bats into a frenzy. They flapped their wings, obstructing Nikolai’s vision completely. He took out Galvin’s Fang and stabbed the ground, creating the Ice Domain.

The domain covered the bats’ wings with a layer of ice, making them collide against each other as they failed to steady themselves. Taking this opportunity before they began attacking him and ripping him to pieces, Nikolai took out the watch and activated it.

Everything came to a halt.

He could see the bat’s freeze midair, their fangs protruding as the ice ran over their skin. Their red eyes were looking for the prey that dared venture into their cave.

One second was up.

Nikolai ran forward, slashed with his sword, missing his gun greatly. If he had obtained it, killing these bats would be a lot easier.

His sword wounded multiple bats every time he slashed. He made us of the unique power the sword had and the pocket watch’s ability to paralyze the bats.

By the time the five minutes were up, the bats were all paralyzed. They fell to the ground, ready for Nikolai to kill and advance. Stabbing their necks with his sword, Nikolai watched as the bats turned into light particles and disappeared.

He walked through the cave until he found another group of bats. Repeating the same actions, Nikolai advanced through the Floor until he met the boss again.

A giant bat that breathed out poison. Nikolai looked at the pocket watch, which had a single usage left, and strode forward. The boss spotted him and gave a loud shriek accompanied by fumes of poison.

Nikolai activated the watch as the fumes raced to poison him. However, he disappeared from his position and appeared behind the bat instantly.

The bat turned to bite its prey, but suddenly, countless wounds radiating powerful ice energy appeared on its body. Ice worked to freeze all of its blood until the bat turned into a giant ice statue.

“A fine piece of work.” Nikolai admired the ice statue and sighed when it disappeared. A message arrived from the game to notify him that he was the first to clear the second floor. “Well, I’m excited to get those silvers.” He smiled after he remembered his bet.

***

The countdown had fifteen minutes left. Nikolai emerged from the dust storm and looked at the temple in the distance. The seventh Floor seems to be the limit of his current ability and abnormal luck.

He took out a health potion from his bag and drank all of it, healing his wounds. The scorpions in this desert used the sandstorm to launch sneak attacks that he could barely evade.

If not for his three artifacts, Nikolai would have died. The bracelet he wore had three beads out of the five. It was another perfect artifact that gave him five extra lives in the game.

He died twice because he didn’t react in time and used the other artifact, the pendant he wore. It created a shield that negated all attacks. The catch was that the protection lasted a fraction of a second before disappearing.

This artifact was all about timing, which Nikolai failed because of the sneak attacks the scorpions made. As for the final artifact, Nikolai had yet to use it. However, calling it a weapon of mass destruction was more appropriate.

He used the rest of the rewards fighting against monsters and avoiding traps. They were the items that had limited usages. If not for them, then Nikolai would have failed countless times.

Despite tickets to extend the time, Nikolai was still unable to go beyond the seventh Floor. However, he was sure that no other students would be able to pull it off. The reason was simple: they weren’t as lucky.

The temple stood imposing, made of black marble, a contrast to the white sand beneath it. The red sky looked like it was there to bring down the apocalypse upon him.

He walked straight in without trying to mind any traps because he knew this was the boss’s room. The temple had many pillars, big and small. Nikolai passed them all until he reached the grand hall, where a giant creature coiled around itself.

At his arrival, the boss uncoiled itself and stood up. It was a giant centipede with teeth and legs as sharp as his sword. The joints crackled in the empty temple as the monster studied him.

“You’ll be the last boss I fight over here.” Nikolai’s sword left an ice trail as its tip slid across the sand. “Let’s get this over with.”

Nikolai jumped forward and slashed with his sword. The temple’s temperature dropped as ice exploded from his sword. The many legs the monster had gathered to block the sword before freezing.

With the buzz of an insect, the monster bent over to bite Nikolai’s head off. The bead on his bracelet broke as he allowed it to teleport him above the centipede’s head.

Nikolai swung downward, and the ice exploded again. His sword collided with the hard shell and left a deep scratch but didn’t penetrate it. The monster whipped its body and headbutted Nikolai, sending him cracking to the wall.

“Cough, you bastard.” Nikolai decided it was no time to hold back. If not for his shield, he would have died just now. He needed to create an opening so that his final attack wouldn’t go to waste. Nikolai jumped forward and used the shield to deflect the monster’s attack before striking again.

After a few rounds of fighting, Nikolai finally found his opening. The monster was dizzy after Nikolai struck its head again, and it fell to the ground.

This opening was what Nikolai needed. He took out the small book from his bag and raised it high. Mana was injected into the book as the skill activated.

The book turned to a giant meteor above his hand. Nikolai raised it high before he swung his hand down, bringing down the meteor with it. The destruction began before it slammed to the ground as the ground caved in under pressure.

The meteor descended on the boss and obliterated everything in its path. Because of the cramped space, Nikolai was swept away by the explosion and lost two of his lives before he managed to teleport outside. The notifications arrived in hauls as the meteor demolished the temple to the ground.

[You have cleared the Seventh Floor!]

[You are the first to clear the Seventh Floor in this exam round!]

[You obtained three rewards!]

[Exam has ended!]

[Logging out of the virtual world… Calculating your score… Calculating your ranking… Creating a list…]

[Congratulations, you have scored the highest in this exam!]