Tower Ascension

As soon as the wolves pounce at him, he stands up and catches their claw while letting their attack land on his body. Soon, his hands start heating up, and when those wolves start struggling the flames erupt out of his body and explode.

Boom! Boom!

"PETER"

For a moment, Alice could see nothing but blackness in her eyes. When she shouts with the hot stream of tears falling down her cheeks, a voice rings on her ear.

"Didn't I tell you not to get emotionally attached to me?"

[Dying Divine Breath Activated]

Splash!

A burning sword instantly cuts the wolf in half. At this moment, Peter was covered with burnt bruises and a few slash marks. Even his blood was burned and he only had 5 HP left.

At the same time, he takes out the Healing Potions that he got by completing the quest. After drinking the healing potion, he throws one at Alice and falls on his back.

Thud! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

"Sniff! Sniff! Dumb Peter! Idiot Peter! Sniff! Sniff!"

Suddenly, Alice threw away the Healing Potion and rushed near him. As soon as she gets near him, she starts smashing his chest while crying out loud.

"Hey, hey, hey, I will lose more HP if you keep on hitting me like this," Peter shouted while watching Alice cry. He felt very complicated about Alice.

She kind of resembles his sister. When he was in his depressed days, she always help him pass each day and spent most of her time with him.

And, Peter realized just who he needs in the most insecure moment of his life. Isolating himself from the world, only his family can feel his pain. Because when he was at his most vulnerable point, he can't share his feeling with others.

But, he still doesn't want to admit it to Alice. He wants to return to his home. Except for that reason, he still has another reason. If he can, then he must return to his family. If he makes such a relationship with Alice, he will be entangled between two choices.

That's why he doesn't want to maintain a sister-brother relationship with Alice. After all, it's the same as having a family. And the family inside a cage is still hard to accept.

"How come you act like a matured lady for a few minutes and then act like a little girl the next minute?" Peter came out of his thoughts and asked while slightly lifting his head.

"I AM AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD kid. Sniff! Sniff!" Alice shouts as she smashes both of her hands on his stomach.

'A person like her will only shows her emotions to the person she is close to. It seems even a small act of kindness can have such a big impact. Sorry Alice but I can't return your emotions.'

'...….'

'Not now at least.'

.........….

Peter lays his head on her lap as he looks at the status screen in front of him.

[Climber- Peter Johnson

Age- 21

Level- 3 (EXP- 600/800)

Trait- Adaptability, Stone Heart, Mind of a Hero, Triple Personalities

HP- 25/25

MP- 15

Internal Energy- 15

Genetic Power- Nil

STR- 8

AGI- 11

VIT- 6

STM- 6

Passive Skills- Greed (Lv.1- 4%), Dying Divine Breath (Lv.1- 3%), Iron Body (Lv.1- 70%)

Active Skills- Basic Sword Skill (Lv.2- 70%), Burning Sun Skill (Lv.2- 5%), Lesser Demon Transformation (Lv.1- 80%)

Stat Points- 23

Fame Points- 30

Items- Sword*2, Healing Potion*2, Wooden Arrows Skill, Mana Coins*20, Passive Skill Book*1]

'Hmm! It seems I still need more EXP to level up. I should grind some after returning to the city. And, I also gained quite a hefty amount of mana coins...…. Nah! Considering those shops, these mana coins make me feel quite poor.'

'But, on another hand! I got a passive skill book. I just had a single spot left. Let's see what kind of skill book is this.' Thinking for a moment, Peter decided to open the skill book. Suddenly, a blue screen appeared in front of him.

This blue screen was in the shape of a book. And, few characters appeared on the cover page of the book.

[Energy Absorption Skill]

At the same time, a new panel appeared in front of his eyes.

[Skill- Energy Absorption Skill

Rank- Rare

Description- This skill absorbs energy from anything it touches as long as there is nothing that can repel this skill. After absorbing the energy, it stores it inside Climber's Heart.

Effect 1: This skill allows Climber to transform energy into the talent

Effect 2: This skill allows Climber to enhance the physical body

Effect 3: Climber can store specific energy and gather more to finally condense a better talent.

(Note: This skill doesn't allow Climber to use the energy absorbed by the skill for offense, defense, or movement or even take it out of the body.)]

'Hmm! Since this is a passive skill, I can assume that it doesn't cost me mana. So, I can use the energy to enhance my physical body or talent.'

'It seems my previous thoughts were truly correct. Passive Skills are just like the Cultivation Technique. And Active Skills are the combination of Secret Art and Martial Art which can be called Battle Technique as one.'

'Though, I will go with calling it passive and active since it is much easier.' Laid on the ground, Peter thinks for a short moment while looking at his screen panel.

'From the description, I can assume that I can only absorb the energy from dead bodies. It seems Energy Absorption Skill is similar to Greed but works completely different. On one hand, Greed absorbs the EXP from living beings and their skills as well, on other hand, Energy Absorption absorbs the energy of a dead being.'

'That being said, I can now have four passive skills and four active skills, each with different uses. I wonder if I can use this power in the real world. But, Hodder did say that the gods live in the higher floor.'

'That being said they must have come out and chosen earth as their fighting zone. And, when one year passed, they were forced to retreat. After all, the outcome wasn't decided. Since they could use their power, I might be able to do the same.'

'That means! I can finally become the Soul Defender!'

As he thought, he clenched his hand and bites his lips. The insane craze for going out once again surges through his body.

[Would you like to learn Energy Absorption Skills?]

[Yes] [No]

[Disclaimer- Once it is learned, it can't be removed from the slot.]

After seeing this notification, Peter lifts his hand and clicks on yes. Soon after, his mind gets flooded with a massive amount of information. It took a while to

After an hour of rest, both of them stood up. After collecting the mana cores from those wolves, both of them left for the city. Before leaving, he tried Energy Absorption on Wolves. He gained a little bit of energy from those wolves.

After that, he used that same energy to enhance his physical body. Surprisingly, his strength and vitality rose by one. He remembered Iron Body improving his strength and vitality but the number didn't increase because he hadn't reached level two.

But now, that gap was filled by that energy. It made him satisfied as he glanced at his mana cores.

Although Peter could absorb the mana cores, he only had five in his possession since Alice took five. That means he must steal a hundred EXP inside the city. After half an hour, they reached in front of the city.

Unlike previous times, he wasn't blocked. But he noticed something. The people of the city were looking at Alice with disgust and anger. Although no one made a move, he knew they will do it once he disappears.

Peter couldn't help but sigh. He knows he has started to take Alice as his little sister. But, he couldn't admit this feeling because he wanted to leave. But this means he doesn't want to see her in danger as well.

"Sigh!"

"Greed!"

[Greed has locked on to a massive number of targets!]

[Would you like to decrease the number of targets to improve the effects?]

[Yes] [No]

This ability of greed always keeps on surprising him. In the description, he found that he could only absorb the EXP from a certain distance. It was true but he didn't know he can increase the distance by decreasing the effect.

This time he clicks on 'No' and turns his head at Alice, whispering "I know this will be a little hard but can we walk slowly?"

Alice slightly turned her head at Peter and nods her head with a smile.

Peter chuckles and then starts walking slowly. It took them two whole hours to reach the eastern outskirt of the city. In the outskirt, he saw many shops that were selling a variety of items. As he passes through, he sees more and more people slightly feeling offended by him?

For the first time, he saw the unwillingness and hatred in their eyes for him. That made him startled. But, he didn't care. Along the way, he had earned more than one hundred and twenty-five EXP. Although he could use it for longer, he decided not since he was entering the shop.

But as soon as he enters one of the shops, a man ran out and stops him.

"Sir, our shop doesn't welcome you! Please go back!"