The Challenger's Return: Rebirth of the Rainbow Mage

[Mission Rating: 4.8]

Otto's face was plastered in an expression of shock and stupefaction.

He had never received a mission rating above 4.5, no matter how well he believed he did, even in his past life.

In the [Tutorial], his rating before the mission enhancement was still only a 4.3.

A 4.8….from what Otto understood, came pretty close to perfection.

As far as mission ratings went, Otto didn't fully understand the intricacies involved in the [Tower's] judging.

It was rumored that the [Tower] used itself as a standard when judging for a 5.0 score.

But machine like precision in completing a mission on any floor was impossible.

Rather, a score of 4.9 was considered the absolute pinnacle for what humans could complete.

So a 4.8 meant that even the [Tower] couldn't find many problems with Otto's method of clearing the floor, and Otto had also obtained most if not all of the hidden pieces therein.

Perhaps if he had killed another 100,000 Throskarts, his score may have reached a 4.9...

Otto continued to read the notifications.

[Congratulations. You have made an exceptional achievement.]

[Achievement Type: Mission]

Description: Pass a Titled difficulty mission with rating ]=4.5

AP +20

Another mission related achievement.

Otto actually thought it stood to reason that he received this.

For passing any mission with a rating above 4.5 was quite the feat, let alone passing a mission on Titled difficulty, which was above even the most drastic Extreme.

It was indeed an 'exceptional' achievement.

[Mission Rewards]

1. Spatial Enchantment

2. Rohrsan Pineapple

3. Sentani's Gavel

4. 25.33 G1 Coins

The rewards list was shorter than what he had received in the [Tutorial], with only four entries.

But Otto had a feeling he wouldn't be disappointed.

"Receive spatial enchantment."

A hefty piece of paper appeared in Otto's hands.

On it lay a glowing blue, deeply curving rune that Otto didn't recognize.

Enchantments were different from arrays.

First, the runes used were different.

From what Otto understood (which was, incidentally, quite a lot), runes were essentially words written in an unknown language that somehow resonated with mana.

Every rune allowed mana to flow through it in a different way, allowing various real effects to occur when these runes were strung together.

There were runes affiliated with certain elements that would transform mana into said element, runes that converted mana into usable power, runes that solidified mana, and billions of other effects and combinations.

If arrays were said to use runes of one language, then the language of enchantment runes was entirely different.

They belonged to two different systems.

Otto didn't know enough about enchantment runes to parse their similarities and differences.

He was likewise not able to see any commonalities between the two entirely disparate sets of runes.

What he did know, however, was that while magic arrays had little effect on objects themselves, enchantments were geared specifically towards such objects.

For example, if Otto tried to put a magic array on a sword to make it sharper, it would involve all sorts of complicated maneuvering.

He would have to use a specific kind of mana ink to ensure that the rune remained on the sword, draw in mana to create a kind of 'new edge' that surrounded the sword to make it sharper without losing durability, and then add runes to 'sharpen' the mana itself as well as add density and weight to it so the sword still felt like a 'sword.'

None of which had anything to do with the actual sword.

But if he were to use an enchantment, it wouldn't take more than a single rune to alter the properties of the object itself, making the sword itself 'sharper' without going through all the additional steps.

Otto used 'Analyze' on the spatial enchantment.

[Spatial Enchantment]

Use on a spatial storage ring to upgrade the space inside. Expands dimension to 15m x 15m x 3m, upgrading any spatial storage ring to [Silver Grade].

Otto smiled slightly in contentment.

Though he didn't know exactly how the rune did it, it upgraded the space inside his ring to the size of a large, one story house!

He immediately used it on his spatial storage ring and watched the dimension expand drastically.

Now, Otto could essentially put everything he owned inside this ring.

The next object was called a [Rohrsan Pineapple].

Otto was not ashamed to admit he had no idea what it did.

Yes, he was an alchemist.

As such, he was familiar with a great many herbs, roots, monster materials, and even some foods that could be used when making potions and pills.

But the [Tower] was simply too large.

He wouldn't be able to memorize every single thing in [Area 1], not to mention items on the floors within the area.

This was not his first time encountering strange new objects from the [Tower], either.

A miniature golden pineapple appeared in Otto's hand.

He quickly analyzed the fruit.

[Rohrsan Pineapple]

Eat its flesh to recover lost attributes. Randomly recovers 0-50% of a challenger's lost basic attributes depending on challenger's luck.

NOTE: Use requires prerequisite event where challenger loses attributes.

Otto barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes as he read the description of the pineapple.

Was it just him or was the [Tower]….comforting him?

It must have foreseen Otto using his new trait and losing a good portion of his attributes, and prepared this as a reward to get some of them back.

Otto had an odd feeling.

It was as if….the [Tower] couldn't bear to see him get weaker…

He quickly shook off the thought, speculating that perhaps those spectators on the first floor had started to fill him with their brain holes as well.

Next was an item.

[Sentani's Gavel]

Gold Grade

Attack Consumable (2 uses)

Unconditionally depletes 50% of a target's maximum health instantly. Renders target unable to feel the body's condition.

Otto's brows rose as he read the description of this item.

Sentani, like the Great Mage Ofrand, was a famous name one could hear throughout the tower.

Even 'commoners' were aware of some of his deeds.

He was also a rare example of a powerful combination class, with the ability to use both mana and energy with skillful ease.

For some unknown reason, most of his powers had something to do with death.

Sentani, although nowhere near as powerful as Ofrand had been, was quite a strong challenger in his own right.

He was also believed to use weird and abstruse combinations of attacks that would instantly bring an enemy closer to death.

Sometimes, his opponents wouldn't even know that they'd been hit.

As he continued to gain fame for himself by facing ever more powerful opponents, he came to be known as 'Santani the Death Bringer.'

Because even if his opponents survived the fight, they would inexplicably die in odd and mystical ways minutes to hours after the fight had ended.

To Otto, this gavel was an excellent tool because it had two uses.

There was no restriction that disavowed it from being used twice on the same target.

Meaning, if he truly ran into an opponent he couldn't face, he could use the gavel twice in succession.

The target would never know how he died.

Stealthy, untraceable, and lethal.

It appeared in Otto's hand as a gavel.

Otto needed only to swing two times to make a guaranteed kill.

Suddenly, a frightening thought appeared in Otto's mind.

Could this also be used in a safe zone?

Otto gazed dispassionately at the gavel in his hand.

His brows were lightly furrowed, expression scrunched in thought.

Were safe zones really as inviolable as they appeared?

The gavel mentioned that it would harm someone 'unconditionally.'

Didn't that mean it overrode the priority of the safe zone entirely?

Which means…

That it was possible others could get their hands on tools like this as well.

He'd never heard of anyone actually dying from getting hit in a safe zone, even in his past life.

But just because Otto hadn't heard of it didn't mean it wasn't possible.

A solemn expression crossed his face.

He may need to be more vigilant in the future.

Especially after they returned in such a high profile manner to Area 1….

Finally, Otto glanced over the additional coins and nodded.

It was three times more coins that had been awarded to him upon clearing the [Tutorial] on [Extreme] difficulty with the same rating.

Given, this was his unadulterated rating, but Otto rather thought that the 4.8 of the first floor was perhaps 'worth more' than a 4.8 from the [Tutorial].

Then, he felt an ache in his head at the thought of having to spend most of this money before the 'apocalyptic event' in 8 months.

Actually, it wasn't that Otto HAD to spend all of this money by then.

His rewards had instead been given in 'official' tower currency.

Meaning they would be valid even when he ascended to Area 2 and beyond.

But after eight months, it would be much more difficult to buy anything from Area 1.

Otto preferred to milk things for all they were worth before letting them go.

Area 1 was obviously not an exception; he would do his best to buy anything worth buying.

Maybe he should hire a few more assistants…

Otto was interrupted from his thoughts when his eyes happened to catch the corners of the six books laying neatly on the floor beneath his feet.

His class had given him only six spells for clearing the first floor.

Since Otto had never had such a powerful class, he wasn't sure if six or sixteen was the norm.

Though truthfully, he was guessing it was the former. If he really received 16 spells for each floor he cleared, it wouldn't be long before even the most powerful memory would experience delays in trying to pick an appropriate spell for combat.

The spell books on the floor each displayed a single circle on the cover.

Three of the six books were grey, reflecting their lack of element affiliation.

One was red: a fire element spell.

One was light green to indicate the wind element.

The other was black, revealing a dark element affiliation.

Otto carefully read the names of the spells.

[Magic Eye]

1st Circle Spell

Scout the surrounding area.

Required Intuition: 43

[Lesser Rain of Fire]

1st Circle Fire Element Spell

Fire rains down in a very large radius.

Required Intuition: 118

[Shockwave]

1st Circle Wind Element Spell

Shockwave blasts enemies back.

Required Intuition: 77

[Substantiated Mana]

1st Circle Spell

Turn mana into objects.

Required Intuition: 49

[Lesser Blanket Silence]

1st Circle Dark Element Spell

Briefly restrict skills and spells.

Required Intuition: 103

[Imbue Persuasion]

1st Circle Spell

Add persuasive charisma to your words.

Required Intuition: 155

Otto nodded to himself as he finished reading through the spells.

Other than [Shockwave] which Otto had heard of, the other five were ultra rare spells that Otto would basically not be able to find even if he searched throughout the entirety of Area 1.

Well, he expected nothing less out of his [Rainbow Caster] class, in any case.

Since they were all in the form of spell tomes, Otto went ahead and learned them all with no hesitation.

He could always learn their unlimited versions when he had both the time and the required intuition to do so.

As usual, a rush of knowledge filled his brain.

Otto took a second to marvel at the [Tower's] method of imparting knowledge.

Simple, efficient, and fast.

Otto checked his new, updated status screen.

[Toto]

Floor Cleared: 1st Floor

Class: Rainbow Caster

Race: Enhanced Human II

Profession 1: Alchemist

Profession 2: Magic Arrayist

Profession 3: None

Profession 4: None

Health: 2,237 (3.72/minute)

Stamina: 1,352 (14.25/minute)

Mana: 15,180 (24.00/second)

[Attributes]

Strength 55

Agility 69

Stamina 57

Sturdiness 62

Mana Pool 175

Intuition 137

Magic Power 153

Regeneration 218

AP: 230

"…"