I've died four times already so far.
The first time, my ATK dropped by - 70 points. Thanks to that, a monster's casual swing nearly tore me in half.
The second time, it was DEF — down 50.
The third, HP — minus 250.
The fourth… AGI — minus 60.
Each penalty is random. Each death is permanent in cost. So if I die I don't know which abilities would get a negative
---
> Status Window
Name: Krai Andrey | Level: 8 | Rank: E
HP: 521 (–250)
MP: 65
ATK: 74 (–70)
DEF: 53 (–50)
AGI: 61 (–60)
STR: 70
VIT: 67
TEC: 36
INT: 9
Skill: Eternal Revival
My current AGI is barely above 1 now. If I keep getting killed, soon only a single point in each stat will remain. I'll be a living corpse in name and function.
In the Tower, your physical structure mutates based on your stats.
If AGI drops too low, your body becomes sluggish—eventually paralyzed.
If STR drops, your muscles degrade—you can't lift even your own weight.
If VIT collapses, your body turns fragile—bones shatter from standing.
If MP or MAG drops too far, mana becomes toxic—magic backfires or eats at your insides.
And when INT falls?
> "Your mind shatters into fragments. Voices echo where thoughts once lived. Magic is a foreign language now, and every face is unfamiliar…"
And you forget who you are.
---
Once that happens, I'm finished.
Not just as a Raider—but as a person.
No guild would take me. No sponsor would touch me. I'd be thrown into debt, crippled, labeled a failure with a worthless, self-destructive skill.
The thought makes me grind my teeth.
"Damn it…"
My body felt like a sack of bricks. My movements were sluggish—probably the AGI penalty hitting me again. Just lifting my leg took effort.
Where am I?
I should've fallen down to the lower floor after dying again.
But this…
This atmosphere—something's wrong.
I've never heard of a place like this in the beginner levels.
The air was cold. Too still.
---
It looked like a temple.
Massive pillars towered overhead, cracked but still standing. Symbols carved into the stone flickered faintly. Dust drifted like snow through broken skylights above.
"This place… looks like a hidden room."
My voice echoed back at me, hollow and lonely.
At the center of the chamber stood a towering statue. Faceless. Arms too many to count.
Some folded in prayer.
Some clenched into fists.
One—was pointing directly at me.
I stepped forward. My foot clicked on an old tile.
CLANG!
The entrance slammed shut behind me.
---
> "Deathless one…"
A voice, dry like rusted chains, echoed from the walls.
"You who are cursed to rise again… You seek power? Then earn it."
The statue's blank face seemed to twist. I couldn't see eyes, but I felt them. Deep in my soul.
---
The trial began.
And so did the pain.
---
I was burned alive.
Flames gushed from the cracks in the floor. My skin peeled. My bones turned black.
> You have died.
Skill: Eternal Revival activated has a
Penalty applied: STR –25
Then I woke up.
---
I was crushed.
The statue's stone hand came down like divine judgment. My ribs snapped like twigs. My skull burst.
> You have died.
Eternal Revival has been activated as a Penalty applied: STR –30
Then I woke up.
I kept going for one reason—
The skill stone.
Rare. Priceless. If I could survive this… I'd be rich.
Let go again
---
I was drowned, buried, eaten alive by rats, torn by iron chains, forgotten in a pit of darkness for what felt like years.
Each time—
> You have died.
Eternal Revival has been activated as a Penalty: HP –250
> You have died.
Eternal Revival has been activated as a Penalty: TEC –25
> You have died.
Eternal Revival has been activated as a Penalty: MP –60
> You have died.
Eternal Revival has been activated as a Penalty: VIT –90
The pain came with me.
The screams echoed even after revival.
My sanity flickered. My thoughts blurred.
The reason this narrow passage exists was to lure Raiders enticed by rare skills and to effectively killed them with this traps and trials in normal circumstances instant death no matter how many lives you have you won't be able to pass through but unfortunately surely I am currently the weakest raider in this tower.
---
This was the curse. The real curse of Eternal Revival.
Most who get trapped in a place like this would die instantly. There are rumors—whispers of "temptation chambers" hidden within the Tower. Special zones that promise power or treasure, but are actually death loops, designed to kill even elite Raiders.
No one ever returns from them.
Except me.
Why?
Because I have lives to spare.
I'm probably the weakest Raider in the Tower. But unlike anyone else… I can keep dying.
Over and over again.
> You have died.
Enternal Revival has been activated as a Penalty: INT –60
> You have died.
Eternal Revival has been activated as a Penality: RES –40
---
I feel it—my consciousness fading.
Thoughts unravel. Memories slip like water through my fingers.
But I couldn't stop.
I refused to stop.
One step after another.
Then another.
Even if I had to drag my broken body through this hell—
I would not stop.
---
And then… I touched it.
A floating crystal hovered in the air, pulsing with faint white light.
Deceptively small.
Deceptively quiet.
I reached out—
> [You have obtained: Skill Stone – ???
My breath was ragged. My heart barely beating.
My fingers closed around it. I could see the statue smiling at me.
The moment I did, the crystal glitched.
System text warped across my vision.
> [System Awakening…]
[Initiating Core Transfer…]
[Fake title removed. Welcome, Chosen Host.]
The crystal shattered into light.
A voice—not ancient, not broken—but clear, almost human, whispered directly into my soul.
---
> "Do you wish to accept the skill?"
But I couldn't respond.
"No response detected. Auto-fusion commencing."
Light surged through me.
> [Skill Acquired: ???]
[Main System installed.]
---
> "Welcome, Player.
Your curse has been acknowledged.
Your journey begins now."