Reincarnation Of A Swordsman: The Omni Mage

The island transformed into what looked like a forest in the blink of an eye. In fact, it looked like they were transfered to another place altogether because of the contrasting new environment that seemed infinite from their point of view.

Kyle found himself standing alone in the silence of the forest. He glanced around for a while before saying to himself.

'Kill the beasts, find an orb and get transported to the Tower. Let's begin.'

He immediately activated [Lightning Dash] and bolted through the forest, looking for the first beast to slay.

It didn't take him long to meet the first creature, or rather, the beast met him. Lunging at him was a Tier-1 wolf-like beast who wasn't worth inspecting.

'Please have an orb,' Kyle prayed internally before sidestepping its charge with practiced ease then bringing his katana down at it in a clean arc.

The blade cleaved through the beast effortlessly, leaving it dead.

"That was easy," Kyle muttered, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the beast's remains. The system offered no notification of a mana core harvested and he didn't know it he was meant to search for an orb himself.

Kyle thought for a while before deciding to take a gamble.

'Would I be notified if an orb is found?' he asked within him, hoping for a reply, which he got:

[Yes]

"Thanks for the reply," Kyle said dramatically before pleading. "Only inform me if there's an orb, don't harvest it."

[Okay]

The system's reply gave Kyle some comfort and he continued with his hunt. 'This should be more faster without the need to check for orbs.'

He pressed forward, activating [Lightning Dash] to cover ground more quickly. The skill wrapped his body in crackling energy, propelling him forward with bursts of speed.

The next beast that appeared was a lanky, humanoid figure with clawed hands and glowing red eyes. Kyle didn't slow down.

A single swing of his katana gave it two bodies. He glanced at the remains, hoping for something different, but the system remained silent.

Another beast appeared moments later, this one a massive insect-like creature with chitinous armor. It reared back to attack, but Kyle extended his hand, calling forth a [Lightning Bolt]. The crackling spear of energy struck the creature with precision, and it fell on impact.

Still, no orb.

"This is going to take a while," Kyle muttered, shaking his head as he pressed forward.

***

Several minutes passed, and the bodies of countless beasts littered the forest behind Kyle.

He had slain over 50 beasts already, yet none of them contained an orb. Kyle noticed that the forest seemed to throw stronger creatures at him the deeper he ventured but they were just mere Tier-2 beasts at the end, and taking them down was just as easy as their Tier-1 counterparts.

Kyle moved like lightning through the mist, his [Lightning Dash] and katana a deadly combination. He cut down creatures in droves, and those too far to reach were struck down with pinpoint [Lightning Bolts].

"How many more of these do I have to kill?" Kyle muttered after taking down yet another wolf-like creature. The system remained silent, confirming that the creature carried neither a mana core nor the orb he sought.

Frustration began to creep in, but he held himself. Cursing his luck once again, he took off deeper into the forest.

***

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Kyle encountered a creature that stood out. It was larger than the others, and it was Tier-3 beast.
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"Finally," Kyle muttered. "This should be it."

The creature lunged at him with surprising speed for its size, but Kyle was faster. Activating [Lightning Dash], he blurred out of its path and reappeared behind it in an instant. His katana sliced through the beast's neck in a single, precise strike.

The creature let out a final roar before collapsing to the ground like others.

[Orb detected]

Tbe system notified as promised, making Kyle to grin in happiness.

He had sliced the creature in half, so it was easy to locate the orb and retrieve it.

"Finally," Kyle muttered, inspecting the orb. "Took long enough."

He channeled his mana into the orb as instructed by the spirit, and in an instant, he disappeared from the forest.

Kyle reappeared in a dazzling white room, so pristine and unblemished that it felt like he had stepped into a void made solid.

The walls, floor, and ceiling were entirely devoid of texture or ornamentation, save for a single feature: a simple, unassuming door standing at the far end of the room. Its plain design contrasted sharply with the almost ethereal glow of the space.

Kyle took a moment to process his new surroundings, his katana still loosely held in his grip. Before he could take a step, a voice echoed in his mind, a voice he recognized as the spirit's.

"Welcome to the Tower of Ascension. The tower has a total of 40 floors. Conquer floors to obtain rewards."

Kyle nodded his head at the spirit's words and just when he was considering if using the door would lead to the trials, the voice came once again.

"This is the resting area. Feel free to use any item here. Items consumed cannot be carried out. Enhancers and boosters are not allowed."

Kyle raised an eyebrow at the warning. "Resting area, huh?"

He sheathed his katana, still glancing around, searching for anything beyond the door or the voice to make sense of the stark, featureless room.

As he paced, a sudden thought struck him. His mind raced back to the countless mana cores that would aid him in his breakthrough.

He was originally worried on when he could use them after the announcement that they couldn't use their storage items, and while he had found out that he could still freely use his inventory, he deemed it too risky to break the rules.

But now he was given a chance to use his inventory, he might as well just gobble down his cores with this opportunity.

"This is perfect," he said aloud with excitement, before calling out:

"Inventory!"