Just call me Thor - Chapter 265

Chapter 265: State of flow
Tower of Truth, Twenty-Second Floor.

A flash of lightning, and Mike appeared in front of a mirror.

He glanced to the left, then to the right.

The twenty-second floor was also known as the [Mirror Floor].

On this floor, there was a special rule: any action taken must be mirrored within a specified time, or face corresponding penalties.

At best, you could get injured and lose health; at worst, you could lose Exploration Rate and be directly eliminated!

Mike’s reflection appeared in the mirror, then quickly vanished, along with the mirror itself.

[Small wave of monsters 230 yards to the left rear]

Mike raised his right hand and released a Thunderclap Strike to the left rear, instantly killing them.

After waiting a few seconds, he raised his left hand and released Thunderclap Strike into the empty space on the right rear.

“This rule is quite interesting.”

After dealing with the first wave of monsters, the marble slab beneath Mike began to float.

The marble slab carried Mike, flying around the space, while monsters randomly spawned.

The mirror rule meant that if Mike took a step forward, he would need to take a step back.

In other words, throughout the challenge, Mike couldn’t leave his spot for too long and had to return to the marble slab quickly!

Moreover, the Exploration Rate on this floor was earned by killing monsters.

The total number of monsters was fixed, and killing them all would grant a 100% Exploration Rate.

A monster had to be killed within a set time after spawning.

Otherwise, once the monsters disappeared, that portion of the Exploration Rate would be lost forever.

The mirror rule, floating platform, and timed monsters.

These three factors combined made the twenty-second floor’s difficulty skyrocket!

Historically, only Morpheus and Ares had achieved an SSS rating on the twenty-second floor!

Other floors had geniuses who could achieve an SSS rating with effort.

This showed how difficult the twenty-second floor was and how hard it was to achieve a 100% Exploration Rate!

Even Mike, upon entering the twenty-second floor, found it a bit challenging.

The Eye of Truth provided the spawn locations and times of the monsters, and Mike quickly planned the most efficient kill order and simplest actions.

After overcoming the initial discomfort, Mike entered an extremely focused state, executing each move flawlessly.

He even began to ignore the Eye of Truth’s prompts.

Without needing to know the monster spawns in advance, Mike could still handle the situation perfectly.

Mike’s actions became more fluid, and monsters fell under his barrage of skills.

“Star Pluck!”

“Wind’s Reach!”

“Meteor Fire Rain!”

“…”

In fact, the traditional strategy guides for the twenty-second floor emphasized: simplicity and efficiency!

If one move could kill, don’t use a second.

The mirror rule required that all previous actions be replicated within a specified time limit.

A flashy series of moves would make replicating them very difficult.

Why make things harder for yourself?

Once Mike entered a state of flow, he relaxed, discarded all rigid rules, and acted at will.

He executed flawlessly, never triggering the mirror rule’s penalties!

Meanwhile, the Exploration Rate soared.

10%… 25%… 46%… 90%!

Boom—

The previous magic mirror reappeared, shattering into countless fragments, each releasing monsters that swarmed Mike, trying to tear him apart.

This was the hardest part of the floor; the sheer number of monsters could easily overwhelm and confuse you.

“Mirror… Shadow…”

In his state of flow, Mike naturally closed his eyes and casually struck out.

The feeling was familiar.

Just like he had experienced yesterday.

Shadow elements appeared around Mike, and his shadows multiplied beneath him.

Each shadow mimicked Mike’s actions, dealing damage to the enemies.

There were nine shadows in total!

The number of shadows stopped increasing and began to merge.

After the nine shadows became one, Mike opened his eyes and charged forward.

“Star Pluck!”

But his shadow didn’t follow his steps; instead, it charged in the opposite direction.

Body and shadow separated!

During the 0.5-second pause of Star Pluck, Mike wielded the Thunderclap Hammer, fighting bravely, and so did his shadow.

After 0.5 seconds, Mike finished Star Pluck and returned to his original position, merging with his shadow.

The Eye of Truth helpfully prompted,

[No need to mirror actions]

Mike’s lips curled into a faint smile.

He only needed to swing his hammer.

Star Pluck! Wind’s Reach! Tear Wound! Void Tremor…

In an instant, it seemed like countless figures were fighting in the space!

Boom—

Countless figures merged into one, and Mike returned to his original spot.

The next moment, countless monsters showed bloodlines on their bodies, their forms beginning to disintegrate.

Boom—

[Current Exploration Rate: 100%]

Mike didn’t settle immediately but looked at his shadow.

During the previous battle, Mike had comprehended a new skill.

Comprehending a new skill was such a wonderful thing!

Comprehending skills was a process of trial and error.

Once you crossed that threshold, it meant your comprehension was sufficient, and further skill comprehension was more about timing.

Moreover, Mike’s first skill comprehension, [All Things Grow], had fused six elements!

This time, Mike comprehended a skill using only the Shadow element, which was a hundred times easier.

Mike looked at his newly comprehended skill:

Skill Name: None

Effect: Creates a shadow that mirrors your actions, only mimicking physical and Shadow element skills.

The shadow inherits 100% of the user’s health, deals 60% damage, and takes 200% damage.

When the shadow stays near the user, it can absorb damage for the user.

If the shadow is destroyed, the skill enters a 5-minute cooldown.

Within 10,000 yards, the user can swap positions with the shadow at any time.

Cost: Maintains shadow existence (3500 mana/second), consumes equivalent mana when the shadow uses skills.

Cooldown: None

After reading the skill description, Mike nodded slightly. It had survivability, mobility, and damage output.

But calling it top-tier would be an exaggeration.

This skill was born under the strict rules of the twenty-second floor, with inherent limitations.

It would be more effective in team battles, in solo fights, its main benefits for Mike were survivability and mobility.

“I’ve comprehended the skill, but what should I name it?”

Mike found himself in a new dilemma.

Mike was puzzled by one thing.

In life-and-death battles, why would anyone shout out their skill names while attacking?

Wasn’t that just alerting the enemy?

If a skill were named [I Want to Eat Shit],

Even if it could kill a demon god, Mike wouldn’t want to use it!

Putting away the skill panel, Mike didn’t name the skill immediately but summoned the core crystal of truth.

“Calculating conquest rating…”

Everyone within the Tower of Truth received a new notification, some even becoming numb to it.

“Congratulations to participant [Thor] for conquering the twenty-second floor of the Tower of Truth with an SSSS rating!”