NOVEL NEXT Chapter 44: The Second Descent – Universe+ Tower
[Date: March 13, 2025 | Time: 4:00 PM | Location: Ashvattha Guild City – Tower Dungeon]
The atmosphere inside the Tower Dungeon lobby pulsed with an eerie intensity as Ankush and Soymojit stood in front of the hundreds of glowing gates, each leading to a world of battle beyond mortal comprehension. The entire structure radiated a sense of infinite challenge, an endless abyss waiting for warriors to step forward and claim their fate.
Soymojit's face paled, his body trembling as he stared at the overwhelming sight before him. "Bro, there's no way this is normal."
Ankush smirked at his reaction. "This is just the beginning, Soymo."
Soymojit swallowed hard and took a shaky breath, scanning the massive selection of dungeon gates before him. After a moment of internal debate, he stepped toward an E-Tier Gate, glowing softly with an azure hue.
The E-rank tower wasn't easy, but at least it wouldn't send him straight to his grave.
Ankush, however, had his eyes locked on something far more dangerous.
At the very edge of the hall, standing in its own isolated presence, was a gate unlike any other.
[Universe+ Tower]
It did not glow. It did not hum with energy. It simply existed.
Soymojit noticed the direction of his gaze and immediately panicked. "No. Absolutely not. Bro, if you're thinking what I think you are—"
Ankush smirked. "What do you think?"
Soymojit grabbed his arm. "Listen to me, Ankush. Do you even know what kind of monsters lurk in there? Universe+ monsters are not even supposed to exist. No one has ever seen one, let alone fought one!"
Ankush's grin widened. "That's exactly why I need to go."
Before Soymojit could argue further, Ankush stepped through the Universe+ gate.
---
[Location: Universe+ Tower – Floor 1]
The moment Ankush's feet touched the ground, reality shattered around him.
A suffocating, overwhelming silence engulfed him.
For a moment, he couldn't feel his heartbeat.
Couldn't hear his breath.
Couldn't even be sure if he still existed.
Then—
Reality snapped back.
A massive endless void stretched before him, filled with swirling stars and celestial storms. The ground beneath him was something impossible—constantly shifting between solid, liquid, energy, and time itself.
And then—
It appeared.
---
[First Floor Guardian – Universe+ Rank]
[Name: ???]
[Level: 1]
[Strength: 10,000,000,000]
[Agility: 10,000,000,000]
[Defense: 20,000,000,000]
[Magic: 10,000,000,000]
---
Ankush stiffened.
The monster was not a beast.
It was not a humanoid.
It was not even something that could be classified as a creature.
It was a shifting mass of cosmic energy, a swirling singularity of power compressed into a monstrous form.
Its mere existence bent space around it.
Ankush felt his muscles lock, his mind scream in warning.
This thing wasn't just powerful—it was something beyond human understanding.
And then it moved.
A single shift in its form sent a shockwave of force through the area. The moment it reached him—
BOOM!
Ankush was blasted backward, slamming into the ever-shifting ground. His entire body shook violently, his bones screaming in protest.
Even with his monstrous stats, he felt like an insect.
The creature did not wait.
It launched forward, faster than anything he had ever seen before.
A massive claw of condensed gravity materialized in an instant, slashing toward him.
Ankush reacted on pure instinct.
"ZERO COOLDOWN: INSTANT PHASE SHIFT!"
His body blurred, instantly shifting three meters to the left, avoiding the attack by a hair's breadth.
But the moment he reappeared—
Another attack came.
A sphere of pure destruction, condensing the very fabric of existence, was fired directly at him.
His mind raced.
If that thing touched him—he was dead.
"ZERO COOLDOWN: MULTI-PHASE SHIFT!"
His body flickered, dodging multiple times in an instant, moving at unthinkable speeds.
The moment he landed, his breath hitched.
The monster was learning.
It adjusted, predicting his movements.
The next attack came faster.
A distortion in reality itself, aiming to erase him from existence.
Ankush's mind raced faster than ever before.
He couldn't win in a direct battle.
Not against this.
But—
It had patterns.
Every attack, no matter how incomprehensible, had a rhythm.
And that meant it had weaknesses.
For the next ten minutes, Ankush did nothing but dodge.
He pushed his 0 cooldown skill to its absolute limit, using Instant Phase Shift hundreds of times.
His reaction speed, combined with his mental stat, allowed him to analyze its attack patterns.
And then—he saw an opening.
---
The Universe+ Guardian launched another void slash, a wave of pure nothingness cutting across space.
Ankush saw the slight delay.
The moment it finished the attack, there was a fraction of a second where its defenses were weaker.
He moved.
"ZERO COOLDOWN: MAXIMUM FORCE STRIKE!"
His fist glowed with condensed mana, vibrating at frequencies that tore apart the air itself.
BOOM!
His strike connected.
For the first time—
The monster staggered.
---
Phase 3: The Final Strike
Ankush didn't let up.
The Guardian was regenerating, but its core was now slightly visible.
He gathered every ounce of power he had.
His physique-enhanced body moved at inhuman speeds, flickering in and out of existence.
And then—
He struck the core.
With everything he had.
---
[System Notification]
[You have defeated the First Floor Guardian – Universe+ Rank]
[You have obtained the following rewards:]
- [Universe+ Mana Stone – Level 1]
- [Blueprint: Cosmic Engineering Foundation]
- [Special Points: +1,000]
- [EXP Gained: ???]
---
Ankush collapsed.
His breath came in ragged gasps, his entire body screaming in pain.
He was alive.
Barely.
But one thing was certain.
This was a power beyond anything the world had ever seen.
And now—
He was one step closer to mastering it.