Leaving Wolf's Den, Mike headed straight to the Tower of Truth. He summoned the Core Crystal of Truth, placed his palm on it, and was engulfed in a white glow.
"Transferring, current level: 2."
"Best of luck in conquering the Tower of Truth."
When he opened his eyes again, Mike found himself in a desolate landscape, scarred and strewn with debris. The sky was covered with heavy clouds, pitch black and oppressively dense, making it hard to breathe.
"Tower of Truth Second Level—Class Transition Realm!"
Mike observed his surroundings, and information about the level surfaced in his mind. The first level of the Tower of Truth mainly served as a leveling area for levels 1 to 10. Level 10 is the first major class transition for participants.
Thus, the second level of the Tower of Truth, as a personal instance, is dedicated solely to class transitions. Participants achieve this by defeating monsters, which drop class transition items. They then select the most suitable transition item to complete their class change.
However, Mike faced an awkward situation—he had already transitioned classes! His class was the SSS-tier Stormweaver (Lightning), the most suitable choice for him. For him, the Class Transition Realm was essentially superfluous.
That's what Mike thought before entering the second level. But once inside, new information appeared before him:
[Reaching 100% Exploration Rate will grant additional rewards.]
[Stormweaver will gain an additional elemental attribute.]
"What a stroke of luck!" The [Stormweaver] class template Mike had acquired was based on Lightning, with maximum output capability. It was an SSS-tier class template, the pinnacle in terms of all attributes and enhancements.
However, relying solely on Lightning magic made him vulnerable to targeted counters, so learning additional types of magic or skills was certainly a profitable deal for Mike.
"There's no guide for this level, just brute force it!"
Mike eyed the surrounding monsters, eager to test his skills. Since his debut, Mike's method for dealing with bosses had always been to charge up and then unleash a Lightning Arrow to solve everything. Even when he killed Arthas Bloodscribe, he used the same tactic.
In fact, among Mike's damage-dealing skills, [Thunderclap Strike] dealt higher damage than [Lightning Arrow], and when the target's health was below 30%, [Thunderclap Strike] could inflict true damage.
However, outside the Tower of Truth, Mike would not easily use [Thunderclap Strike]. The reason was simple. [Thunderclap Strike] was a signature skill of the Stormweaver, highly recognizable. Using it would leave traces that could easily lead back to Thor, especially since the whole world knew Thor had transitioned into a Stormweaver.
Whereas Lightning Arrow was more common, any mage could learn it, making it hard to trace back to Mike.
"This is a good opportunity to practice Thunderclap Strike!" As a signature skill of the Stormweaver, using [Thunderclap Strike] enough times could increase its proficiency and potentially upgrade it.
With his plan set, Mike surveyed his surroundings with clear objectives:
"Goal 1, achieve 100% Exploration Rate to gain an additional elemental attribute!"
"Goal 2, use [Thunderclap Strike] as much as possible to strive for an upgrade!"
Mike opened the skill description for [Thunderclap Strike]:
[Thunderclap Strike (Lv1)]: Summons a thunderclap from the sky to strike the enemy, dealing (200+2*Intelligence) Lightning damage. When the enemy's health is below 30%, it converts to true damage. Each hit with Thunderclap Strike permanently increases the skill's base Lightning damage by 5 points. Enemies hit by Thunderclap Strike are 100% slowed and randomly receive a negative buff.
Mana cost: 200 points
Cooldown time: 2 seconds
With an Intelligence attribute of 285, that's 200+285*2=770 damage! Stormweaver doubles Lightning skill damage, and Force of Nature adds 15%, making it 770*2.15=1655 damage! Without any buffs, against a target with zero magic resistance, it deals 1655 Lightning damage! If the target's health is below 30%, it converts to 1655 true damage!
The most terrifying aspect is the scalability of Thunderclap Strike; each use increases the base damage by 5 points!
Closing the skill description, Mike looked towards a nearby two-headed ogre.
[Two-headed Ogre, Health: 2500/2500, a perfect target, oh, it has noticed you and decided to make you its lunch.]
The ogre looked at Mike and lumbered forward in a charge.
"Thunderclap Strike!"
"-1364!"
A bright red number appeared above the ogre's head, and its movements slowed as if in slow motion.
Slow buff!
[Thunderclap Strike] has a 2-second cooldown, but Stormweaver reduces it by 50%, leaving only 1 second.
"Thunderclap Strike!"
A second later, another bolt of blue lightning struck down.
"-1665!"
The ogre's health dropped below 30%, ignoring magic resistance and dealing true damage!
Boom—
The ogre collapsed, its body emitting a burnt smell.
"Experience +200!"
"Exploration Rate +0.1%!"
In less than two seconds, the ogre was defeated, and Thunderclap Strike's base damage increased by 10 points.
"Not bad!"
Mike was satisfied and looked towards more distant monsters. To him, these monsters were walking experience points, perfect for growing his Thunderclap Strike.
"Don't go, take another Thunderclap Strike!"
Boom, boom, boom—
Across the barren wilderness, thunder roared continuously, and monsters fell one after another, with Mike thoroughly enjoying himself.
...
"Is this the second level of the Tower of Truth?" Jessica curiously surveyed her surroundings, her shoulder canary looking disdainful. She had fought in the first level for six hours yesterday, relying on her powerful pets and a temporary buff provided by Thor, reaching level 10 early.
Today, she even managed to clear with an 83% Exploration Rate!
Before entering the Tower of Truth, Blaze Morrow had specifically instructed her to complete her class transition today. A great opportunity awaited her, and missing it would be a regret for a lifetime.
Jessica didn't dare delay and hurried to the second level, ready for her class transition.
"Kill as many monsters as possible, drop high-tier transition items, and increase the Exploration Rate."
Jessica's shoulder canary once again transformed into a golden-winged roc, its golden flames sweeping across the land, continuously burying monsters in a sea of fire.
"Fortunately, the second level is a solo instance, allowing me to fully unleash my power."
Jessica thought to herself, her second awakening to an S-tier talent still needed to be kept secret. Even Blaze Morrow supported Jessica's approach. In these extraordinary times, it was crucial to keep a low profile. Only a fully grown talent could truly be considered strong.
"Based on my previous experience, reaching an 80% Exploration Rate on the second level and obtaining an S-tier class template would be an exceptional performance."
"Aiming higher would be challenging and likely to fail."
Jessica was well aware of her limits.
"Aiming for 80%, let's strive for that!"
An 80% Exploration Rate, for an S-tier talent, was already an excellent achievement.
With her mind made up, Jessica followed the golden-winged roc, embarking on their campaign of conquest.
...
"Exploration Rate at 90%."
Mike looked over the corpse-strewn wilderness, retracting his Force of Nature, his body free of any dust, appearing effortlessly graceful.
On the entire barren land, he was the only living person left.
Like the Grim Reaper descending upon the earth, wherever he went, no one survived.
"According to the guide, after killing all monsters, reaching a 90% Exploration Rate will summon the final boss!"
"Inflicting as much damage as possible on the boss can increase the Exploration Rate. Successfully killing it will bring the Exploration Rate to 100%!"
Mike's eyes were bright and alert, looking towards the sky.
"Inflicting as much damage as possible on the boss can increase the Exploration Rate. Successfully killing it will bring the Exploration Rate to 100%!"
Mike's eyes were bright and alert, looking towards the sky.
As the last monster breathed its last, the heavy clouds began to shift, emitting deafening roars, and a massive shadow loomed over Mike, as if an indescribable terror was about to descend!
Mike braced himself, fully focused.
The big boss was coming!