Omniscient Necromancer POV

Despite my eagerness to help my family earn money, I knew that the only two ways I could earn enough money to get us out of that old apartment in the next few days were the Tower of Babel and the Tower of Giants, which I could access with the key I had just won.

The Tower of Giants was a dangerous place, and the probability of me encountering Hunter Ruse was not zero, but since I couldn't go to the Tower of Babel until I received the letter from the Church, this was my only viable alternative.

The locations of the pocket dungeons were diverse, but in "The Journey to the Beyond," the entrances were always in places that resembled the appearance and history of the dungeon.

Thanks to that, I could still remember the locations of several pocket dungeons very well. I couldn't access most of them, since I didn't have the keys yet. However, it was good to know where they were, so I could find them easily.

The Tower of Giants was also in Lovikalen, in a large corporate building called King Sun Trust.

The name of the King Sun Trust building was a tribute to the King of the Kingdom of Durtch, King Thomasin Berkeley First. However, the building had been constructed by wealthy merchants from the Theocracy of Betham to strengthen ties between the two nations.

King Sun Trust had approximately fifteen floors and therefore stood out in a city like Lovikalen, where most buildings were five or six meters high.

I arrived at King Sun Trust around the end of lunchtime. Getting in would be a problem, as I didn't have a merchant's license, but luckily I didn't need one. The area behind King Sun Trust, easily accessible through a side alley, was where the entrance to the Tower of Giants was located.

To the eyes of any normal person, it was just an empty alley, but to me, it was the place I was looking for.

[You are standing in front of the entrance to the Tower of Giants.]

Right in the middle of that hallway, before reaching the carriage loading and unloading area, two rocky double doors appeared.

In the middle of the two doors was a space for inserting a key.

I took the key out of my inventory, and immediately the stone door shook. When I inserted the key into the lock and turned it, rust scattered across the surface of the door, and it began to slowly open. The smell that escaped from inside was hot.

When I walked through that door, I found myself in a completely destroyed version of Lovikalen. Countless buildings were reduced to mountains of rubble, and those that weren't were overgrown with moss and plants. It was an alternate version of Lovikalen, where it had been abandoned and reclaimed by nature. Coincidentally or not, this was the only version of Lovikalen where there was a blue sky.

[You have entered the First Floor of the Tower of Giants.]

[Difficulty: Rank-C]

[You have received a New Mission!]

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[Mission Details!

Mission Name: The Golem's Nest.

Description: The Tower of Giants is home to countless magical creatures, but the destruction caused by Golems is threatening the existence of these creatures. Your job is to exterminate as many of them as possible while advancing through the Tower of Giants.

Objective: Kill 1000 Golems before reaching the Tenth Floor of the Tower of Giants.

Difficulty Level: C

Rewards: Unknown.

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The Tower of Giants was actually a Rank-B Dungeon, but it was divided into floors of different difficulty levels. Most Dungeons had the same idea, but none of them were as big as the Tower of Giants, except, of course, the Tower of Babel.

Composed of 100 small floors, each level of the Tower of Giants housed creatures of different types and powers, becoming progressively more challenging as one ascended.

The floors were organized hierarchically, of course. The weakest monsters, considered lower levels, were on the lower floors, while the most powerful were on the upper floors.

Every 10 floors there was a Boss, but most of them were not much stronger than the other golems on their own floor.

Most, I said.

The boss on the first floor was called the Guardian. The Spirit Summoner was on the 50th floor; the Apostle was on the 75th floor; and finally, the Giant was on the 100th floor.

So, the first big opponent was right on the first floor. There was no room to run, and I wanted to defeat him before going home. The next day, I could come back to advance further.

Watching from a distance, I could see not only the rubble of the fallen city, but also many unique glows coming from the Golems. My mission was clear: exterminate 1,000 of them before reaching the tenth floor. I knew it wouldn't be an easy task, but the reward was worth the risk. For that reason, I decided not to take it easy from the start.

"Hear my call, Laufus," I said as I stretched out my hand.

A large cloud of red mist appeared before me, and a knight nearly three meters tall quickly took shape.

The first time I summoned Laufus as my summon, I didn't have time to analyze him, but now, with more time, I could see how Laufus' appearance was quite different from when he was a Dungeon Boss.

Laufus still wore the same armor as before, but it was now made of pure black metal. His long cape, which had once been rotten and worn by time, now stretched out majestically and cleanly, fluttering in the wind in its crimson hue. The helmet that covered his face used to be smooth, but now it had a pair of curved horns. The eyes shining behind that helmet were now also bright red instead of white.

Laufus raised his blade and stuck it into the ground while bowing his head and knees toward me.

"Laufus, your first real mission will be in this place. Take a good look."

The crimson warrior stood up and gazed at the landscape.

The first few floors of the Tower of Giants were considered Rank-C not because the individual enemies were powerful, but because of their overwhelming numbers.

Every alley, every ruin, every shadow hid at least one golem. To complete my mission and advance, I would have to exterminate a thousand of them before the tenth floor, but that was only the minimum goal. I intended to use this place to farm as many Soul Fragments as I could.

As Laufus and I looked toward the horizon, the first group of golems emerged from the shadows. They weren't as large as classic golems, but rather thin and tall with gray skin like concrete, with a single eye composed of a crystal. They didn't pose much of a threat, even to Laufus.

A dozen of them appeared and started running towards us. Well, "running" was the best word I could find, but being Inferior Golems, they weren't very fast or intelligent.

"Go ahead. Kill everyone you find," I ordered Laufus.

As soon as I gave the order, Laufus disappeared like a shadow.

The result was visible before I heard the sound of the blade cutting through the air. In one swift movement, five golems were torn in half.

[Laufus eliminated 'Lower Golem (Rank E)!]

[Laufus eliminated 'Lower Golem (Rank E)!]

[Laufus eliminated 'Lower Golem (Rank E)!]

[Laufus eliminated 'Lower Golem (Rank E)!]

[Laufus eliminated 'Lower Golem (Rank E)!]

[You received +10 Soul Fragments!]

'10 Soul Fragments?' I almost laughed when I read that. 'I thought I could farm a lot here... But you can't expect much from such easy creatures. It wouldn't be balanced if I earned hundreds of thousands of Soul Fragments before even reaching Floor 10.'

While I was thinking about my farming, the other golems were frightened to see their companions killed in the blink of an eye. They stopped moving, but Laufus didn't give them time to think about running. His blade described a glowing zigzag arc, tearing through more creatures. But the real problem was yet to come.

I could feel the vibration in the ground. Something that made the small stones and dust on the ground rise a little with each step.

The Lower Golems were only the first layer of defense, but that was exactly why I was here. If Laufus was taking care of the small threats, I would have to take care of the bigger ones.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment and focused on the sounds around me to figure out where those tremendously heavy footsteps were coming from. I concentrated on the tremors in the ground.

The pace was slow, but each step made the enemy's weight manifest in the environment. When I opened my eyes, I already knew exactly where the heavy creature was.

Before, it was practically impossible to see it because of the mountains of debris, but now that I knew its location, I could see it. It was a creature over four meters tall, with gray skin covered in marks. Its face was not as simple as that of the weaker Golems.

This one's face resembled that of a bull, with sharp fangs protruding from its lower jaw and eyes made of completely black crystals.

"It's a shame that I probably won't be able to revive it as a Summon, since golems have no souls. However, I'm trembling just thinking about how much those jewels you call eyes are worth!!!"