The jungle on the 11th floor of Abyss tree was a dreadful environment reminiscent of the aftermath of the Red and Black Mountain Range.

Bone sucking mosquitoes, blood-sucking flies, vines armed with thorns like spears, heavy fruits like clubs, narrow and deep cliffs cunningly covered with rotten leaves, and so on

For an ordinary person, not only traversing this forest but even enduring half a day would have been impossible.

Moreover, it was night at this moment.

It was a daring adventure even for the seasoned adventurers who usually resided in this forest to venture out carelessly.

However,

Crunch

Vikir moved freely as if this forest were his own living room.

His fur coat was flying in the wind to deter other predators and found the hidden cliffs among the fallen leaves, crossing them. He even broke open an air sac of Bloodsoaked jade flower to deter venomous insects.

The spider silk emitted by the baby madam effortlessly bridged the gaps between cliffs that would take hours to traverse.

All of this was carried out skillfully and effortlessly, as if he had been living this way for decades.

Naturally, for Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Bianca following behind Vikir, it was nothing short of astonishing.

Damn, its even more surprising than finding out that Vikir was Night hound. How does he move so well?

Even Basilios, the Mercenary King of the North, wouldnt be able to do this. WAIT wHAT?!

V-Vikir is night hound? Wait, what are you talking about?

When we fought him he wore the night hound mask. Well ask him about it later.

Meanwhile, Vikir reminisced about his past life.

Two memories came to mind.

The era of destruction.

A harsh time when survival depended not only on swordsmanship but also on skills like herb gathering, surveillance, tracking, stealth, ambush, assassination, restraint, healing, cooking, and everything else.

And another memory was the two years spent in the Red and Black Mountains.

Spot!

Vikir effortlessly split a rotting log blocking his path in half and passed through.

With a lightning-fast vibration from the edge of his blade, he effortlessly severed everything with his Graduator aura spinning at high speed.

And once again, Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Bianca were amazed by his strength.

V-Vikir. What level are you?

My word! How much have you raised your stats?

Youve been this strong since outside the Tower?

Hes really a secretive one.

Then,

Pause!

Vikir, who had been walking ahead, stopped in his tracks.

He examined the footprints left in the mud on the ground, checked the direction of the wind, then lowered his body and turned back behind the bushes.

To conceal their scent.

Beyond the thick darkness, a faint beam of light could be seen.

About a dozen people were gathered around a small campfire.

Tudor whispered softly.

Those guys. Savages. The ones who stole our food.

The challengers of the Tower who had arrived on this floor before Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Bianca.

They were all warriors with robust builds.

Their faces smeared with mud, bodies covered in animal skins and leaves.

Tudor whispered softly from the side, Those guys have laid dry branches similar to dry reeds near the camp area. Stepping on them makes a loud noise and breaks them.

I know. Lets clear away the dry reeds and approach.

Vikir cautiously approached, avoiding the scattered dry branches on the ground. Moving at a slow pace, barely covering a few meters in an hour, Vikir managed to get close to the food thieves.

Crunch!

Stepping over the dry branches and bushes, Vikir emerged right in front of the campfire.

Hand over the food.

Without a sound or warning, the attackers, taken aback by Vikirs sudden appearance, grabbed their bows and arrows from the side.

Ping!

An arrow was shot immediately.

The attackers, each seemingly a master archer, effortlessly shot arrows with a familiar motion.

And seeing the arrows flying, Vikir was certain.

These are Ballaks warriors.

He had already heard through Cindiwendys report about their mysterious disappearance before entering the Tower. He had worried about where they might be, trapped in the depths of Amducius Abyss tree.

Nevertheless, its fortunate theyre alive.

Vikir thought the problem would be unexpectedly easy to solve.

Eventually, Vikir removed his mask, revealing the tattoo on his shoulder representing Ballaks hunting grounds.

Stop. Its me.

The natives of Ballak, or rather the warriors of the indigenous tribe existing in the vicinity of the Red and Black Mountains, could not have been unaware of Vikir.

Wasnt he the hero who saved all tribes from the terrifying plague of Red Death and the colossal flood?

But.

Unexpectedly, trouble was brewing.

Whos that guy?

Why does he have our tribes tattoo?

Does anyone know this guy?

Dont know him. Just knock him down for now!

The warriors of Ballak had absolutely no recollection of Vikir. Despite their considerable age, tattoos on their shoulders, archery skills, and faces adorned with black ash, it was evident they were from Ballak. Yet, they seemed to have no memory of Vikir.

Bang!

Avoiding the arrows now being shot in earnest, Vikir had to step back a few paces.

These warriors of this age dont recognize me?

With a hint of doubt, Vikir drew his sword.

Do you still not recognize me?

His Baskerville-style swordsmanship unfolded. It was something the warriors of Ballak, who had fought against Baskerville for their entire lives, couldnt possibly not recognize.

However.

This guy is using strange swordsmanship!

What!? Fangs??

Ive never seen anything like this!

Dont engage! Fight from a distance!

The warriors of Ballak still didnt recognize Vikir, only acting strangely agitated.

It doesnt seem like a memory issue. Somethings off.

Vikir furrowed his brow.

Certainly, the people in front of him were Ballaks warriors. Yet, for some reason, they behaved as if they had no memory of Vikir, despite having no traces of any mental magic affecting them.

With a sense of resignation, Vikir said, If youve forgotten, Ill have to remind you. How a former foreign slave like me became your tribes hero.

At the same time, Vikir took out an item.

It was the only hidden item that Vikir, who had always dismissed the need for items and received all rewards as candies, had ever desired.

[True scale of equality] / Scale / S

Depending on the highest stat value, the values of other stats change. All stats gradually increase in accordance with the highest stat until all stats become equal.

With the golden scale in hand, Vikir opened his status window.

[Vikir]

LV: 1 (%)

Nickname: Rat Hunter, Hells Dogmaster, Lumberjack, Majin Killer, Black Seas King Executioner, Dragon Trainer (NEW)

Stats

Strength: 798

Agility: 92

Stamina: 100

Physical Resistance: 1

Magical Resistance: 1

Reflexes: 1

Originally, Vikirs three main stats, Strength, Agility, and Stamina, were each set at 300, totaling 900. However, the sum of Vikirs three main stats now totaled 990, with almost all of it being allocated to Strength.

This was because Vikir had exchanged all the stats he had gained so far in the Lost Paradise for candies, then absorbed them back and redistributed them.

Here, there exists the Towers largest candy shop.

Challengers can exchange the items they possess here for candies.

Even the candies that have been consumed and stat-boosted can be regurgitated and turned into candies, especially for the residents of this floor!

If you regurgitate candies consumed before entering this floor, youll receive an additional candy for every 10 candies!

Vikir hadnt planned to use the store, but he exchanged his stats for candies and received extra candies for every 10 candies. Then, he consumed them all over again.

Its like just removing the bait from the trap set by the demons.

Probably, if Amdusias and his fairies caught wind of this, they would likely be hopping mad.

Vikir received the most common red candies based on probability. Although green candies boosting agility and blue candies boosting stamina hardly appeared, it turned out to be better for Vikir. It was because he possessed the True scale of equality as mentioned earlier.

The True scale of equality was an item that gradually increased all stats to match the highest stats value and would disappear once all stats became equal.

It was originally an item I sought to raise the values of special three major stats, not the basic three major stats But

Due to the slow rate at which stats increased by the scale, challengers rarely benefited from it. To fully utilize it at 120%, one had to spend an extremely long time inside the Tower, perhaps long enough to pass through all stages of youth and become elderly. What good would it be to become stronger only after becoming old?

But.

Fortunately, time flows like water in this forest.

Vikir was aging rapidly.

His hair grew rapidly, his bones and muscles thickened.

His voice gradually deepened, and lines began to appear on his face.

And accordingly, naturally, the stats Vikir possessed also began to change.

Ting!

[The item True scale of equality begins forcibly adjusting the balance of stats!]

[The balance between Strength stat and other stats is not matching!]

[Other stats are being forcibly adjusted based on the value of Strength stat, which is 798!]

[The Agility stat has increased from 92 to 93! This change will continue until the Agility stat reaches 798!]

[The Stamina stat has increased from 100 to 101! This change will continue until the Stamina stat reaches 798!]

[The Physical Resistance stat has increased from 1 to 2! This change will continue until the Physical Resistance stat reaches 798!]

[The Magical Resistance stat has increased from 1 to 2! This change will continue until the Magical Resistance stat reaches 798!]

[The Reflexes stat has increased from 1 to 2! This change will continue until the Reflexes stat reaches 798!]

[The Agility stat has increased from 93 to 94!]

[The Stamina stat has increased from 101 to 102!]

[The Physical Resistance stat has increased from 2 to 3!]

[The Magical Resistance stat has increased from 2 to 3!]

[The Reflexes stat has increased from 2 to 3!]

.

.

The value of the highest stat, Strength, is 798.

And all six stats Vikir has developed are increasing by 1 to match this value of 798.

[Underground 11th Floor. River of Time]

Waves of time flowing like a river.

It was entirely in favor of Vikir.