CHAPTER 195: CHAPTER 195 – A LITTLE BREAK

The boss chamber on the fiftieth floor had fallen into silence once more, its vast space echoing faint traces of the fierce battle that had just concluded. Dust drifted lazily from the towering stone ceiling above, settling like dull gray snow onto the fractured floor. The ancient pillars some visibly cracked remained standing in solemn stillness, bearing silent witness to the grueling struggle Sylvia had just endured.

Still slightly breathless, Sylvia eased herself down beside one of the massive columns, the cold stone pressing against her skin damp with sweat. Her long black hair was tousled and unkempt, a few strands clinging to her pale cheeks disheveled, yes, but still striking in that enigmatic, haunting beauty that never left her.

She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to steady her breathing and calm her mind. Although her zombie body had near-limitless stamina, her mind clearly had its limits. More than twelve hours of nonstop fighting, climbing through fifty perilous floors of the tower it was no wonder she felt mentally exhausted.

After a few minutes of silence passed, Sylvia slowly opened her eyes again. The soft red glow in her gaze had calmed, though weariness still lingered on her face. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, leaning back more comfortably against the pillar.

"All right... let’s see what I got out of all this," she murmured to herself, her voice echoing gently through the vast, empty chamber.

With a light hand gesture, she summoned a small translucent system screen. A dim light glowed softly from it, casting a bluish hue over her face. Sylvia’s eyes landed on the clear display of her current level.

[Level: 20]

She raised an eyebrow slightly, a small but satisfied smile forming. From the beginning of this tower run until the fiftieth floor, she had risen from level 4 to level 20. A solid gain, even if it wasn’t near the highest she could reach. But it brought her a little closer to her ultimate goal: defeating the gods.

Next, she opened her inventory system. Along the way, she had collected reward boxes from each boss she’d defeated, but in her rush, she had simply stored them without checking their contents.

Still seated against the pillar, she began opening the boxes one by one, casually. But as she opened more, her expression gradually shifted from bored to annoyed. Box after box yielded nothing but useless items.

"More regeneration potions? How boring," she muttered, tossing a small bottle of pink liquid onto the floor.

The next box contained a small short sword made of silver, engraved with faintly glowing runes. Sylvia sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I don’t even use short swords," she said, slipping it back into her storage.

She kept opening box after box, and the results remained the same: potions, elixirs, light gear that didn’t match her fighting style, and other completely useless items.

Several minutes later, only one large chest remained, positioned at the far end of the room. Sylvia eyed it lazily, too tired to get up and walk to it.

With a bored look, she waved her hand in its direction. An Abyss Chain emerged from the shadow behind her, shooting toward the chest. The soft clink of metal echoed as the chain coiled around it and pulled it gently toward her.

The heavy chest landed in front of her with a thud, sending up a cloud of fine dust.

"Let’s hope this one’s not a disappointment," she grumbled, nudging the lid open with her foot.

As the chest creaked open, Sylvia’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. Inside lay a pair of glossy black high heels, elegantly designed with an unusual material that looked both strong and smooth. Intrigued, Sylvia carefully picked them up and examined them.

"High heels? I don’t even remember the last time I wore shoes..." she whispered to herself, amused and curious.

She had always gone barefoot, either for practicality or simple preference. But something about this gift piqued her interest enough to try. Slowly, she stood up and placed the shoes on the floor in front of her.

With a bit of hesitation, she slid her pale, slender feet into the high heels. They felt comfortable, yet strange, an unfamiliar sensation, but not unpleasant.

Standing up straight in them, Sylvia wobbled slightly at first, adjusting to the unfamiliar height.

"This... feels weird," she muttered with a faint smile.

Carefully, she tried taking a few steps. But just after the second one, the heel of the shoe caught in a crack in the stone floor, throwing her balance off.

"AHH !"

Sylvia toppled over with a loud thud, her body lightly slamming onto the stone floor. She sat there for a few seconds, eyes wide with the stinging pain shooting through her ankle after the minor mishap.

"Damn it..." she hissed, biting her lip, her face flushed from a mix of embarrassment and frustration. Though her zombie body healed the twisted ankle within seconds, the sudden pain was still very real.

She yanked off the shoes quickly and threw them back into the chest with an annoyed huff.

"Tch, I’ll have to practice if I ever want to wear those properly," she grumbled, sitting back down on the cold stone floor.

After a few moments of stillness, Sylvia finally let out a long sigh to calm herself. She knew this wasn’t the time to be playing with new footwear, not when the next floor awaited, possibly with an even greater challenge.

Her eyes turned to the stairway leading to the next level, its entrance cloaked in shadow at the far end of the room. Though her body was tired, her resolve remained unshaken.

"All right. Enough fooling around. Time to finish this tower," she said firmly, standing up once more.

Sylvia walked forward with confident steps this time barefoot as usual toward the next staircase. Her eyes were filled with determination as she climbed, leaving the boss room of the fiftieth floor behind in the silence that once again consumed the space.