The Challenger's Return: Rebirth of the Rainbow Mage

Otto looked around at the familiar gray room and breathed a small sigh of relief.

He would never let it show on his face, but the girl in the white robe had given him quite a lot of pressure.

The fact that he couldn't even read her attributes with [Analyze] was deeply alarming.

The one thing Otto felt he could take comfort in, rather, was the fact that the [Tower] would not make him fight such an enemy so easily.

She was far beyond the bounds of [Titled I] difficulty.

Well, as far as he knew.

From what he could see, perhaps even one as strong as Verasha would not be a match for this 'girl'.

And while Otto had many speculations about her identity…he decided to shelve them for now in favor of officially finishing the floor.

Otto also took a second to routinely remove all of his equipment.

He wanted to see his status in its barest form.

Currently, it looked like this:

[Toto]

Floor Cleared: 2nd Floor

Class: Rainbow Caster

Race: Enhanced Human II

Profession 1: Alchemist

Profession 2: Magic Arrayist

Profession 3: None

Profession 4: None

Health: 5,750 (12.00/minute)

Stamina: 1,680 (18.75/minute)

Mana: 48,060 (46.50/second)

[Attributes]

Strength 60

Agility 100

Stamina 75

Sturdiness 100

Mana Pool 200

Intuition 174

Magic Power 169

Regeneration 235

AP: 296

[Titles]

[Poison Aficionado]

Permanent +10% Poison Damage

[First Floor Completer]

Usage Unknown

[Trailblazer of the Human Race]

Privilege Used.

[Innate Traits]

[Multitask Level 4]

[Personal Traits]

[Noira Temple's Inheritor]

All light element spells cast by you are 25% more effective.

[Unfriendly Fire]

Your spells will not affect you and up to 10 designated allies.

[Split Symbiosis]

Evolving Trait White

…

Conditions of upgrade: Trait owner must split off five portions of his soul and implant them into others.

Current: 4/5

[Racial Traits]

[Immersive Magic]

Your magic is resistant to penetration and interruption.

[Class Traits]

[Ethereal Network]

[Magical Prodigy]

[Perception-Reaction Link]

[Magical Equivalence]

[Walking Generator]

[Pure Magic]

[Tower Pioneer (Locked)]

Otto marveled at his status screen.

His fingers swept across his face.

Unconsciously, he realized he had broken out into a wide grin.

He wanted to whistle.

To take a moment to marvel at how far he'd come.

For this, Otto could say from the bottom of his heart, was a truly excellent start.

Then, the grin was erased.

The moment passed.

A notification emerged before his eyes.

[Congratulations on completing your mission.]

[Mission Difficulty: Titled I]

[You have received 100 AP.]

[You have received a Title.]

[You have received a Title.]

Before moving on, Otto checked his new titles.

One thing that confused him slightly was that even though he only passed 'Titled I' difficulty, both on this floor and on the last floor, he got two new titles.

Well, not that he was complaining.

[Analyzing…]

[Analysis Complete]

[Among Us]

All attributes +5% when you find yourself at odds with everyone.

[Second Floor Completer]

Usage Unknown

[Among Us] as a title was an ode to his time spent as an assassin, where Otto found himself to be set against the rest of the group.

It was a good title, in general.

Off the top of his head, Otto could think of quite a few floors where its application would be useful.

As the [Tower] pitting the challengers against floor denizens was not merely a one time thing.

Regarding the new [Second Floor Completer], Otto still had no inkling to its use.

In the meantime, it was no better than nothing. Until the [Tower] revealed a portion of its secrets, Otto would simply pretend this title didn't exist.

Though Otto had a hunch it might be important later down the line…

The notifications continued.

[Your class has responded.]

[+5 to Basic Attributes]

[+5 to Magical Attributes]

[You have received a spell book.]

[You have received a spell book.]

[You have received a spell book.]

…

[+9 more. Expand/Collapse]

'12 spell books this time…quite a lot.'

Otto mused to himself.

He actually thought it was a bit of a waste.

While it was true that he could never go wrong with 12 new spell books, it wasn't the most optimal means of strengthening himself at the moment.

Quite frankly, Otto already had plenty of spells.

He could barely find the time to practice them all.

And there were plenty more spells throughout Area 1, too. Clatenis had told him the last time they'd spoken.

But just as this thought passed through his mind, a new notification also appeared in front of him.

[Your class has alerted you to its supreme flexibility.]

Otto's eyes bulged slightly.

Why did this notification make it sound like his class…was alive?

[Your class has provided you with an alternative option.]

[Would you like to see the alternative option?]

Otto raised his brows.

It was the first time he had heard of this.

"Yes."

[Trade in 12 New Spell Books (rare) for 1 Inferior Class Trait.]

[Accept?]

"…"

What?

Since when did clearing floors let him gain class traits?

Well, it did mention it was 'inferior,' which implied it wouldn't be as strong as his other class traits…

But still!

Class Traits were something normally only available for selection after clearing the 10th floor…

"Accept."

Either way, Otto was not stupid.

A spell enhanced his strength in a single situation.

A trait, on the other hand, could enhance all his spells by itself.

In other words, it was a no brainer.

[Class Trait Awarded]

A new trait appeared below his status screen.

[NEW]

[Multiple Magical Spurs]

When casting more than one spell at once, spells with shorter cast times will help to spur on spells with longer cast times.

Caster may take the average cast time of multiple spells and use that as the overall cast time for the multiple cast.

Otto nodded.

This was not particularly helpful to him now.

As there were few to no spells in his arsenal that required long cast times.

But when he started to learn spells of the second circle and above, Otto had no doubt that this would change.

Imagine cutting a 3 minute cast down to a minute by pairing it with two instant-cast spells.

He grinned.

In his eyes, this was a very good trade.

He continued to read the notifications below.

[Analyzing Mission…]

[Congratulations. You have made an exceptional achievement.]

[Achievement Type: Racial First]

Description: First of your race to complete the second floor as an [Assassin].

AP +20

[Congratulations. You have made an exceptional achievement.]

[Achievement Type: Floor Impact]

Description: Made contact with the ruler class of an entire floor.

Reward (Challenger may select one of the following):

+1 Chosen Personal Trait (available for selection in the [Neutral Zone])

+1 Mysterious Rune (consumable)

+100 AP

Otto's eyes narrowed.

If these rewards were of approximately equivalent value, then the personal trait would be worth around 100 AP.

Same with the mysterious rune.

Hmm.

He had no idea what the best option would be for him.

Perhaps the choice came down to…did he trust the [Tower] more to make the decision for him (i.e. the mysterious rune), or should he choose his reward himself?

There was a certain draw to letting the [Tower] choose.

Otto had no doubt the [Tower] would optimize the rune to best suit his needs.

Hmm.

He sighed.

In the end, Otto would always prefer to choose his reward on his own.

"I choose the pers…"

But right before he made his decision, Otto was interrupted by a notification.

It was an odd notification, this time.

It flickered once before disappearing entirely.

Otto was fortunate he was paying full attention, else he would not have had the chance to read it.

[Your class has warned you to take the r…$@/#(%//*&#@(@#*)%(#.]

[ERROR]

Otto rubbed his forehead.

His head was lowered.

His hand swept through a nonexistent beard, as he spent a few minutes deep in thought.

His eyes were hooded, providing windows to unknown thoughts swirling deep within.

When he raised his head once again, his gaze was clear, his voice firm.

"I choose the mysterious rune."

A small yellow rune written on what appeared to be a flimsy piece of paper appeared in his hand.

Otto immediately analyzed it.

Even he couldn't help but feel a hint of anticipation towards this mysterious rune.

[Cancellation Rune]

Use this rune on a target to permanently erase a single line or portion of their status. Requires target's consent.

NOTE: Erasing a target's name will prevent a target from clearing further floors.

NOTE: Erasing a target's race will have unknown effects.

NOTE: Erasing a target's attribute will set the attribute to 0. Target will permanently be unable to raise said attribute.

NOTE: Erasing a target's profession will also erase a profession slot.

NOTE: Erasing a target's class will delete the class and bar the target from receiving further class benefits.

NOTE: Use this rune carefully.

Otto raised his eyes.

Then, he grinned.

It would have been even better if this was something like an [Alteration Rune] where he could literally go in and alter a portion of his status.

Still, this was enough.

His class hadn't steered him wrong.

He knew the perfect target for this rune.

Still, the notifications continued.

[Mission Analyzed. Gathering Data…]

[Data Gathered.]

[Mission Rating: 4.5]

He nodded.

It wasn't his best mission rating.

But for him, other than the run-in with the white-robed girl at the very end, it hadn't required a ton of fighting.

At least, the spiders hadn't posed too large of a threat towards Otto.

Either way, Otto was confident the rewards given would be suitably excellent.

[Achievement Type: Mission]

Description: Pass a Titled difficulty mission with rating ]=4.5

AP +20

Hopefully, Otto would get this achievement every time he cleared a floor…

[Mission Rewards]

1. Consumable Durability Enchantment Rune

2. Gunther's Ring

3. VIP Entrant Token to the [Constant Competition]

4. Domain Builder

5. Unknown List

6. 14.803 G1 Coins

A good haul, if he did say so himself.

Though his money was slightly lacking, at least compared to the first floor, the other rewards were truly excellent.

Otto just smiled and went through them one by one.