Chapter 58 - CHAPTER 58: Inside The Tower

After resting enough, Lian stood up, approaching the tower with light steps, his movements cautious yet resolute. "Those monsters were tough…" he thought with a smile, rubbing his ankle where an old wound still throbbed. He had defeated the gargoyles and was elated. Sure, he had used underhanded tactics like exploiting distance, but a result was a result. Approaching the doors, Lian examined them carefully. Nothing noteworthy could be seen on them. "There seem to be some kind of carvings…" he murmured, touching them and scrutinizing the details. "However, time is a cruel thing. Nothing is clear." And with that, Lian officially entered the tower. Once inside, the darkness glimpsed from outside vanished, light took the place of shadow, and the entire ground floor became visible, a sudden shift that startled him. Lian exhaled a breath of cold air. "What kind of place is this?!" he hissed, frightened, taking an immediate step back. Before him, countless statues were visible everywhere, fueling Lian's fear, which he thought was a distant memory. He was about to turn and flee like a coward when a realization struck him. The statues were not intact. Debris and fragments littered the tower's floor, while the statues all appeared damaged. Some lacked an arm, others a leg, some were split in two, and others still were headless. Lian could not see any intact statues. "What the hell is this place?" he thought, shocked, as he gathered his courage and walked among the statues, his steps tentative yet determined. It was not a wise choice, but it was the least Lian could do. Fleeing was not an option, and using his spells could awaken all the statues, leading to certain death. Despite the statues being damaged, Lian did not want to tempt fate. After wandering for several minutes without noticing anything strange, Lian returned to his starting point. "Let's try touching one… if nothing happens, then I will try destroying it," he murmured, taking deep breaths. There was no indication of what to do; Lian was walking blindly. Closing his eyes for a moment, Lian began forming a small triangle. He did not utter any formula, wanting the spell to remain slightly weaker. An air blade appeared casually beside him, flying toward the statue of an unidentified, armless monster. The air blade struck the statue's neck but could not cut it cleanly. The statue merely chipped. Lian was ready to flee at the slightest odd sign, but nothing happened. "Let's try again," he said, sighing as his tense nerves eased, relief washing over him. Using the triangle shape again, this time Lian created its concentric variant. "Ventus Surge, Ventus Aeris." An air blade of incredible power materialized beside Lian, streaking with intense speed toward the statue's head. Without suspense, the head detached cleanly from the body, falling to the ground and shattering into pieces, a clean strike echoing in the silence. The moment Lian saw the scene, he turned and ran back. But after a few steps, nothing seemed to change in the tower. "I am getting too paranoid…" he whispered, letting out a panting hiss. Just as he was thinking this, a glimmer caught his eye. "Huh?" he murmured, turning toward the object that had fallen from the statue. "A Mana Core?" he asked in disbelief as he bent to pick it up, his fingers trembling with curiosity. [Mana Core: Bronze 3] [Would you like to absorb it?] Lian inhaled a breath of cold air, looking around. "I am rich!" Excitement overwhelmed him, momentarily banishing hunger and fatigue, a surge of hope igniting within. Hundreds of broken statues filled this tower floor. If each statue held a Mana Core, Lian would obtain hundreds. He targeted the next statue. It resembled nothing he had seen before. Without further hesitation, he drew a concentric triangle in his mind. "Ventus Surge, Ventus Aeris." The air blade sank into the already-cracked torso, shattering the statue into pieces. A Mana Core rolled out, glimmering like a treasure. [Mana Core: Bronze 2] [Cannot be absorbed] "Huh?" Lian stared at the core in his hands, hearing the system's notification. He did not understand why absorption was impossible. "Maybe it is because of the monster's element? It looked like a marine monster, so I can't absorb it because I lack the water element…" he thought, trying to recall the shape of the destroyed statue. It was an unrecognizable figure, like a mass of twisted rocks with petrified tentacles, as if it were a marine monster frozen in stone. "Hm, maybe I can only absorb cores of an element I have unlocked?" he wondered, rubbing his chin. "Interesting…" Lian continued shattering statues into pieces, careful not to cause too much destruction at once. He did not want trouble. "These statues… I wonder what kind of monsters they are," Lian murmured as he destroyed another, a shapeless stone mass with multiple eyes carved across its body. "Besides the gargoyles, there are many other types of monsters. They seem far more menacing than the gargoyles; it is fortunate they are all dead." "But I can't keep casting spells endlessly; I need to recover mana…" he thought as he destroyed the tenth statue. He had collected more cores, ranging from Bronze 1 to 3. Except for two, the others could be absorbed. "Alright then. It is time to get stronger…" Lian began absorbing the Bronze 1 Mana Cores. Unable to distinguish their elements, Lian played it safe. He could not risk absorbing a Bronze 3 wind core first. That would be suicide. He had to start with the lowest-grade core, at least Bronze 2. And so, the relentless process of destruction and absorption began. Lian was improving by leaps and bounds as he absorbed every possible core, his power surging with each one. "I feel damn powerful!" Lian shouted, exhaling a breath rich with mana, a triumphant roar echoing in the chamber. Since absorbing his first fire core in the sandy desert full of worms, Lian had assimilated a total of five Mana Cores for Bronze 1, five for Bronze 2, and five for Bronze 3 for each available element. In total, 15 fire-element Mana Cores, 15 earth-element, and 15 wind-element. Though absorption after the third Mana Core provided minimal enhancement, it was better than nothing. And since they were available, Lian used them without issue. Absorbing a sixth core would yield no enhancement. However, Lian discovered another use for Mana Cores: mana banks. Whenever he ran out of mana, Lian could absorb mana from a Mana Core. "Now I just need to start Geometric Meditation! With this accumulation, I am sure Bronze 4 shouldn not be far off, not to mention Geometric Cultivation. I am certain I can reach Iron 5 in one go!" Lian's words echoed in the empty room. He had destroyed all the statues, leaving only piles of scattered stone on the floor. But as he checked the dark corners, he noticed something he had missed before. "Huh?" In a hidden area behind a collapsed column, a statue was still visible. "I did not notice it at all… strange—" he murmured, standing up and approaching it. His steps were slow as he navigated the debris on the ground. Once closer, Lian saw it. An intact statue, the only one intact in this place full of rock fragments. "Strange…" he whispered, staring at it intently. The statue was quite tall, about two and a half meters, depicting a tall, slender humanoid in a light robe. Its face was carved with a serene, almost wise expression, hands extended forward, holding something, an aura of mystery surrounding it. Approaching cautiously, Lian closely examined the object in the statue's hands. An ancient parchment with slightly crumpled edges appeared before Lian. "How odd…" he murmured, observing it carefully. "There's nothing written on it…" "…but I think it must be important. After all, it's the only thing different in this place full of statues." The parchment seemed to draw Lian in somehow, an inexplicable pull tugging at his senses. "I may not be the smartest, but I know when to stop—" Lian said before turning. "Since the statue is intact, it will surely wake up and kill me badly. I can't take the risk…" "…at least not now. I need to meditate and cultivate first to maximize the gains from this tower floor. Then we can think about the rest—" With determined steps, Lian turned, ready to leave the tower.