POTLS - Chapter 15: Stronger

Paul eliminated sleep whenever possible. This made his movements somewhat hazy, but it was necessary. Another reason companions were essential—without someone keeping watch, a person could oversleep and miss monster attacks.

Ghouls would at least climb trees to wake him, but Shadow Hounds were useless for that purpose. So he had to meticulously plan his rest periods.

On the third night, he stayed completely awake, using all his time to move from one monster field to another. While farming experience points, he encountered other Survivors. Most simply passed each other by, no one interfering with anyone else's prey.

However, there were always exceptions. Hungry groups sought experience by killing monsters the map had allocated to him. This explained why he wasn't leveling as quickly as anticipated—even slower than his previous run.

He'd been fortunate in leveraging his luck stat to gain a decent skill set. Beyond that, he'd been unlucky to choose a run with so many groups present.

Paul suspected some individuals might be like him, using tokens to boost their rank, or actual E-rankers farming in F-rank portals. This practice wasn't uncommon but remained an unpopular choice. First, rewards decreased significantly despite good performance—in extreme cases, you might receive nothing. The system naturally wouldn't allow situations where less effort yielded equivalent results. Second was the risk. E-rankers entering lower maps often had blind confidence and aimed for higher rewards, challenging stronger monsters. One mistake and they'd lose a life like anyone else.

The PDI recommended Survivors attend training and enter appropriate portals to optimize resources.

The final reason was system punishment. Repeatedly entering lower Portals would still result in life deductions.

Paul avoided conflict and optimized his approach, reaching level 16 by the end of the fourth night. This wasn't good enough. With his current abilities, without rest periods or missing any monster spawns, he should have hit level 18 by now.

This outcome frustrated Paul, but when he reached level 17 after defeating three elite monsters at dawn, his Luck stat finally smiled upon him.

//

You leveled up! Choose your skill!

<<Option 1: Shattered Memory>>

• Chance to confuse enemies, better exp drops

<<Option 2: Blood Pact>>

• Exchange health for damage

<<Option 3: Lunar Flare (Level 1 -> Level 2)>>

• Increase radius

//

Without much thought, Paul immediately selected [Shattered Memory]. This skill arrived precisely when he needed it most. The experience boost was one-third, meaning for every 1 experience point, he'd receive 1.33. The chance to confuse enemies was only 10%, but Paul figured something was better than nothing.

He spent the remainder of the day pushing forward. His stamina hovered between 40 and 50 due to overexertion without rest. He ignored everything and continued his rampage.

The number of common monsters he encountered hadn't increased, but he didn't miss a single elite. The red experience shards helped recover what he'd lost to others. He always tried to keep these monsters alive long enough to inflict [Shattered Memory]. The confusion effect on elites diminished greatly, sometimes lasting only one or two seconds, but the experience multiplier remained, which he exploited thoroughly.

By the fifth night, Paul had reached level 21, matching his level from the previous run.

He had now nearly filled all his skill slots.

[Status]

Name: Paul Steele

Age: 23

Species: Human

Occupation: Breach Survivor

Rank: F

Level: 21 [140 EXP needed for next level]

Lives Remaining: 1

[Base Stats]

Under the effect of Rank Transcendence Token

Strength: 8 => 12

Constitution: 7 => 11

Dexterity: 8 => 12

Intelligence: 6 => 10

Wisdom: 6 => 10

Luck: 5 => 9

[Resources]

Mana: 100/100 (Intelligence × 10)

Stamina: 160/160 (Base 50 + Constitution × 10)

[Active Skills]

Silver Strike (Level 7)

Blood Barrier (Level 3)

Crimson Echo (Level 3)

Lunar Flare (Level 2)

(Empty)

[Passive Skills]

Blade Mastery (Level 2)

Blood Resonance (Level 2)

Shattered Memory (Level 2)

[Special Note]

Current Location: F-Rank Portal, Crimson Moon Estate, 6th Night.

Objective: Survive for 7 days.

And so the fateful day arrived—the sixth night once again loomed before him.

Paul couldn't suppress the fear rising in his heart, conflicting with the confidence he'd built during this run. He was two levels ahead of his previous attempt. His skill set was better. His physical condition was undeniably superior.

Despite these reassurances, he still felt uneasy. Not because he doubted his abilities, but because he worried about unexpected developments.

When everything seems perfect, you must prepare for trouble.

Trying to dismiss unnecessary thoughts, Paul focused on what needed to be done.

Last time, he'd spent half the day setting traps for the monsters that would appear at night. This time, he decided not to be so elaborate or complicated. He should make himself stronger rather than relying on the environment.

Reading about the final day was one thing, experiencing it was entirely different. People said the seventh day was usually quite gentle—survivors could hide somewhere and merely needed to survive monster waves that weren't too difficult. But Paul didn't just need to survive; he needed enough essence to rank up.

Currently, he felt his performance was good but still insufficient. Choosing the safe path out of the portal was an option, but next time he'd have to proceed with his stats back to normal, a certain recipe for failure. That was without considering the hungry tiger-like pursuit of the Crouching Tiger group.

Having made his decision, Paul threw himself into the monster waves heading his way.

With his powerful skill set, each sword swing dropped more corpses. Pools of blood became his battlefield and propelled him forward.

By day's end, when night fell, he had reached level 24. At dawn he had nearly reached level 22, so the experience shards collected throughout the day were just enough to take him further than any previous run.

Finally, he had attained it.

The [Last Stand] skill.

In summary, he now had two evolution paths in his inventory.

[Silver Strike] would transform into [Holy Strike] thanks to [Blade Mastery]. The level would transfer, so if [Silver Strike] reached level 9, he would achieve [Daybreak Executioner].

[Blood Barrier] and [Blood Resonance] would help [Last Stand] evolve into [Immortal Defiance].

Either path was excellent.

Targeting evolution without using it would make him a laughingstock. Therefore, Paul also aimed for the Lord-class monsters or the map boss of Crimson Moon Estate on the seventh day.

Night fell, and the blood-changed moon cast a red hue that painted everything with an eerie tinge.

In this moment, Paul saw David, Kate, and Lina laughing happily instead of appearing gloomy.

Kate was telling them about a colleague who had approached her, how the young man had been so nervous his hands sweated.

Lina cheerfully mentioned an event at university. She planned to go with friends to a bar for a proper night out.

David just smiled as he listened, not daring to boast for fear his accomplishments would leave others speechless.

Everything was hopeful.

And the brief peace, thanks to Paul's positive mental state, was shattered just like before.

Blood Courtier fell from the sky.

Paul sprang up, swinging an elegant arc toward the monster.

Unlike before, [Crimson Echo] left shadows that tore the Blood Courtier's bat wings into shreds. It shrieked in pain before falling backward with a thud, roaring orders for its army to advance and take its place.

After several days of practice, Paul had refined his movements, helping his stamina decrease more slowly. His increased Strength and Constitution had boosted his endurance and explosive power, but out of habit, each movement still used more force than necessary.

Now, his every step and jump carried a touch of elegance—light and precise.

Blood poured everywhere, but Paul didn't hesitate. The red liquid strengthened the monsters, but it empowered him too.

The Blood Courtier, despite its increased strength, seemed afraid and wanted to retreat. Nevertheless, its brain was programmed to attack, no matter how unfavorable the situation.

The monster shrieked, using all its energy to drain its fellow creatures below dry. Blood streams like tentacles floated up and shot into its mouth. Even the protective shield of [Blood Barrier] shuddered.

Paul didn't falter at all, waiting for the monster to finish what it needed to do since he couldn't fly and had no bow to bring down the creature. His movement was restricted because, unlike last time, he didn't have [Night Adaptation], making it impossible to run quickly or see where he was going.

The Blood Courtier grew angry at the human's contempt, its eyes increasingly frenzied. It pulled its wings back and launched downward like a cannonball, its skin stretched back, making soft fluttering sounds.

Paul narrowed his eyes, sidestpped, and flicked his fingers to cast [Lunar Flare].

Caught by surprise, the monster floundered and crashed to the ground, churning up the area. But being part bat, it didn't need sight to know its opponent was swinging a sword from the right. It raised its claws, blocking one strike. Its foot swept across midair, only to be stopped by the human's skill.

The cunning Blood Courtier fired Blood Lances it had prepared under its wide wings, shooting directly at the creature emitting the most delicious scent.

Paul was pushed back slightly by the rebound force from [Blood Barrier], a few gaps appearing as the Blood Lances dissolved. He shifted, trying to adapt as [Blood Resonance] lost its effect because of the bastard before him. He tightened his grip on his sword, launching a combination attack, using all his mana to create three [Crimson Echo] shadows from three different directions.

The Blood Courtier twisted and dodged, but despite its increased speed and resilience after drinking blood, it still suffered fatal wounds. Its opponent had targeted its most vital part.

After the assault from shadows difficult to see, the Blood Courtier's wings resembled a sieve, torn with holes. It could no longer fly.

When its eyes regained sight, it only saw the hateful human smiling, swinging his silver sword. A moment later, it saw its own eyes close to the ground, then roll once, sticking to dust and dirt, finally seeing the sky with the red moon. It had every advantage, yet still couldn't kill anyone.

Paul flicked his sword to remove the blood, collecting the experience shards that fell.

He hadn't needed to run or lure the monster swarm but had dispatched them right there.

He would have no more trouble returning to the garden where the beautiful but deadly flowers of this vampire map grew.

Through the iron gate, along the pebbled path and past the fountain filled with indelible dried blood, a presence awaited him.

The rematch with the Crimson Court Noble was about to begin.

What he didn't know was that not far away, hidden in the shadows of the bushes, someone shared his purpose.

Seeing Paul's presence, this stranger smirked and slowly retreated.