The Tower King

"AH, FUCK. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING?"

[ This Is The Plant's Skill: Assassin's Nettle ]

[ This Skill Is Called: Piercing Teeth ]

"Shit, I wasn't expecting that.

Not only do I have to watch out for their jaws when I'm close, but now I also have to be careful of their teeth even when I'm far away.

System0, use Collector's Catalog."

[ COLLECTOR'S CATALOG ]

[ - Name: Assassin's Nettle ]

[ - Age: 2 months ]

[ - Condition: 100% (220 HP) ]

[ ABILITIES ]

[ - Strength: 0.20 (+0.15) ]

[ - Intelligence: _ ]

[ - Agility: _ ]

[ - Speed: 0.30 ]

[ - Vitality: 0.25 ]

[ - Magic: 0.45 ]

[ - Magic Resistance: 0.30 ]

[ SKILLS ]

[ - Piercing Teeth ]

"Alright, this should be manageable. The strength bonus it gained—was that thanks to its skill?"

[ Affirmative ]

"Are you alright, young man?"

"Yes, yes, don't worry. Just a little scare, that's all."

"System0, use Stats Scan."

[ STATS SHEET ]

[ - Name: Sora ISOSHI ]

[ - Age: 17 ]

[ - Gender: Male ]

[ - Condition: 72% (72 HP) ]

[ - Level: LV.0 ]

[ - EXP: 2/100 ]

[ ABILITIES ]

[ - Strength: 0.55 ]

[ - Intelligence: 0.6 ]

[ - Agility: 0.55 ]

[ - Speed: 0.45 ]

[ - Vitality: 0.21 ]

[ - Magic: _ ]

[ - Magic Resistance: 0.1 ]

[ SKILLS ]

[ - The Collection ]

[ TITLE ]

[ - The Climber ]

"Oh, it's fine. I didn't lose that much HP.

But I still need to be careful not to lose too much, or things could get troublesome."

Charging in once again, Sora attacked the plant, which still showed no interest in him. But this time, unlike earlier, he was prepared for its skill. He managed to dodge the flying teeth twice before slicing through the stalk that kept the Assassin's Nettle alive.

"Shit, I’ve barely taken down three of them, but they're getting faster.

It’s like they get angrier every time I kill one.

I need to take down two at once and see if something happens."

With this idea in mind, Sora quickly scanned the base of each plant and noticed that one Assassin’s Nettle had two heads growing from a single stalk.

He moved toward them while keeping an eye on the airborne teeth that occasionally flew at him.

Dodging everything while staying at a safe distance from their jaws, he got within striking range of the stalks.

With a powerful swing of his sword, he cut them both down.

But the moment his blade sliced through the second plant, two new fangs sunk into his right leg.

Finishing his attack, he lost his balance, and one of the Assassin's Nettles was now close enough to bite, leaving a deep mark on his left shoulder.

Despite suffering two consecutive wounds, Sora managed to back away to safety.

"AH, WHAT A STUPID IDEA!!

TRYING TO KILL TWO AT ONCE— I SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT THIS THROUGH!!

System0, Stats Scan."

[ STATS SHEET ]

[ - Name: Sora ISOSHI ]

[ - Age: 17 ]

[ - Gender: Male ]

[ - Condition: 48% (48 HP) ]

[ - Level: LV.0 ]

[ - EXP: 2/100 ]

[ ABILITIES ]

[ - Strength: 0.55 ]

[ - Intelligence: 0.6 ]

[ - Agility: 0.55 ]

[ - Speed: 0.45 ]

[ - Vitality: 0.21 ]

[ - Magic: _ ]

[ - Magic Resistance: 0.1 ]

[ SKILLS ]

[ - The Collection ]

[ TITLE ]

[ - The Climber ]

"Ugh... You didn’t even give me a warning message...

You're really useless...

Use 4 Alfa of Oblivion seeds."

[ Affirmative ]

[ The Climber Has Recovered 40% Of His Maximum HP ]

[ HP Remaining: 88 ]

"Ah, damn, that feels good."

"How did you do that? You can heal yourself too?"

"Oh, right, I forgot to mention it, but I can heal minor wounds.

It tires me out a bit, though, so I don’t overuse it."

"That's quite a useful ability."

"Oh, absolutely. You’re telling me.

Alright, just 15 more of these little plants, and I’ll be done."

With two plants down, a gap opened in the middle of the group.

Sora took the opportunity to slip inside, cutting down two more Assassin’s Nettles without taking any damage.

This gave him a direct path to an isolated plant, which fell easily under his sword, withering as it died.

"Alright, just 12 left.

I’m almost halfway there, ma’am."

"Yes, I see that. You're doing very well. Keep going, young man."

"Now it's going to get tricky.

They're packed too tightly together, so I have very little room to maneuver.

Every move needs to be precise and deliberate."

Finding no obvious opening, Sora circled the plants.

As he moved, he noticed that the plants struggled to track circular motion.

An idea formed in his mind—attack while circling them.

Approaching the Assassin's Nettles, he waited for the perfect moment—

the instant when the plants had to pivot their heads in the opposite direction of his movement.

That moment lasted less than a second, but it was enough.

Sora struck, slicing through three plants before retreating.

Unfortunately, he got greedy.

As he cut the third plant, it managed to realign itself just in time to bite his hand before withering away.

Taking two steps back, Sora was suddenly thrown off balance by a shockwave from the remaining Assassin’s Nettles.

As he regained his footing, he noticed something strange—the plants were merging.

Now, standing before him was a single, enormous Assassin’s Nettle.

"System0, how is this possible?

It's at least five meters tall—

How the hell am I supposed to beat that?

Its jaw is as big as I am!"

[ This Is The Plant's Second Skill: Assassin's Nettle ]

[ This Skill Is Called: Merging Leaves ]

"Oh-ho-ho, this is starting to look really bad.

This is seriously fucked.

Ma’am, please step back—this is about to get really dangerous."

"But, will you be alright?

We should request help from the Order."

"I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. Please go hide."

"Alright, but don’t do anything reckless."

"Yeah, yeah, everything's under control."

' SHIT!! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BEAT THAT?! '

"System0, Collector's Catalog on this giant plant."

[ - Name: Assassin's Nettle ]

[ - Age: 2 months ]

[ - Condition: 100% (55 HP) ]

[ ABILITIES ]

[ - Strength: 2.07 (+1.11) ]

[ - Intelligence: _ ]

[ - Agility: _ ]

[ - Speed: 2.89 ]

[ - Vitality: 2.13 ]

[ - Magic: 4.35 ]

[ - Magic Resistance: 2.82 ]

[ SKILLS ]

[ - Piercing Teeth ]

[ - Merging Leaves ]

"This is impossible.

It's way stronger than the Lapenard.

I barely have a 1% chance of winning.

System0, tell me my odds against this monster."

[ At His Current Level, The Climber Has Only A Few Chances Of Defeating: Assassin's Nettle ]

[ System0 Advises The Climber To Flee The Battle ]

"You’re funny. I’d love to run, but I can’t leave that old lady alone with this thing.

Besides, System0, before I die again, won't you tell me how I can use my sword's skill?"

[ Negative ]

With no time to say anything else, the plant decided to attack Sora, who was now in its field of attack.

Having seen the attack coming, he stepped back to dodge it, but unfortunately, the plant's speed was far greater than Sora's, so it managed to hit him before he could get to safety.

/ ! \ WARNING / ! \

[ Condition: Dangerous ]

[ Climber's HP Just Dropped Below: 50% ]

[PV Remainder : 38]

"Shit hurts...

Système0, please use the last seed of Alfa Of Oblivion... "

[ Affirmative ]

[The Climber Has Just Healed Himself To 10% Of His Maximum HP.]

[ Remaining HP: 48 ]

Thinking again, Sora had the idea of doing his technique again, and started spinning again.

But this time, with the plant having increased all its stats, Sora couldn't find a single opening.

Until he saw a place where the plant couldn't reach, because a tree was in the way.

So he approached it and, just as he was within a metre of the plant, two teeth sank into his stomach.

Making him spit blood and stagger.

But unable to retreat, he put all his remaining strength and concentration into his final sword thrust and tried to slice the plant.

[Congratulations!]

[ The Climber Has Just Used His First Skill: Big Cutting Edge ]