Just call me Thor - Chapter 274

Chapter 274: Heaven and hell were often just a thought apart
Mike was also filled with anticipation for the second awakening of the Eye of Truth.

Placing his palm on the core crystal of truth, a familiar prompt sounded in his ear,

“Wishing you an early conquest of the Tower of Truth!”

The mist-covered maze had an entrance overgrown with moss and vines, and the damp environment made everyone feel uncomfortable all over.

Staying here for too long made the skin feel sticky.

Mike appeared at the entrance of the maze, looking relaxed.

“Logically, this kind of instance shouldn’t be too challenging.”

First of all, in terms of sheer power, he was undoubtedly the top existence below level 300.

Apart from Morpheus, Ares, and Apollo, Mike couldn’t find a match for himself among his peers!

Secondly, the Eye of Truth had an absolute advantage in maze-type instances.

Looking ahead, the maze entrance split into two paths, left and right.

The maze rules on this floor were interesting; at each fork, there were choices like [Hard] and [Easy] modes.

Some forks led to dead ends, but there was more than one path to conquer the maze.

Of course, these choices were hidden from participants, visible only to the Eye of Truth.

The two paths before Mike, based on experience, were likely: one [Hard] mode and one [Easy] mode.

If luck was on his side, he could choose [Easy] mode every time and stroll through the maze!

However, doing so wouldn’t yield a high final rating.

There was once a human participant with a Luck value of 9 who conquered the maze this way, ending with an S rating.

Mike’s current Luck value was 17, and he had the Eye of Truth.

“This is a huge advantage.”

Mike thought, as the Eye of Truth’s prompt appeared before him.

[Left: A weak level 290 mini-boss awaits your defeat]

[Right: Although it looks safe, there’s an unsettling feeling, possibly hiding great danger]

[I get it, the left is the easy mode!]

Looking at the prompt, Mike fell into thought.

“Is something wrong here?”

Clearly, the left path was the wrong choice!

Choosing the left meant fighting a boss.

Choosing the right allowed for smooth progress for a while.

Mike saw through the Eye of Truth’s little trick.

Fighting monsters would help Mike reach level 300 faster, allowing his talent to undergo a second awakening sooner.

“I need to get an SSSS rating. Can you be more reliable? Don’t rush; I’m already close to level 300.”

Mike scolded the Eye of Truth, and reluctantly, after maxing out Charge Up, chose the left path.

In a way, the Eye of Truth wasn’t wrong.

The hard mode, though difficult, provided higher Exploration Rate!

To achieve an SSSS rating, accumulating Exploration Rate early on was crucial.

After walking less than ten yards, Mike encountered the level 290 boss.

It was a giant skull, roaring upon appearance, exuding an impressive aura.

Mike wondered how a skull without vocal cords could make a sound.

He casually swung his staff, “Thunderclap Strike!”

Red Lightning struck down.

Not even ashes remained.

After killing the boss, Mike’s level rose from 286 to 287.5, bringing him closer to 300.

The boss dropped some gold and materials, nothing valuable.

After ensuring he collected everything, Mike continued on his way.

Walking a bit further into the maze, Mike saw the path ahead and fell into thought again.

“Why is there a pit here?”

The path was broken, with a large pit filled with traps!

For this trap, the Eye of Truth quickly provided a prompt.

[Wow, what’s this? A trap?]

[Analyzing…]

[When leaping over the pit, blades will fly up from the bottom. Be careful to dodge. Planning flight path.]

With the Eye of Truth planning the flight path, Mike still wasn’t reassured.

“Mirror Shadow.”

Mike’s shadow flew out, separating from his body.

Whatever Mike did, the shadow did the opposite.

Once his shadow safely crossed the pit, Mike swapped places with it and summoned it back.

The operation was smooth and skillful.

After crossing the pit, Mike encountered a fire trap…

In short, although the journey was thrilling, Mike’s instance experience was poor.

[Completed the first section of the maze]

[Current Exploration Rate: 10%]

Standing at another fork, Mike looked at the three paths ahead.

[Left: Dead end]

[Middle: Killing monsters yields a generous gold reward]

[Right: A dull and boring scenery, not worth seeing]

[Preliminary estimate: Choosing the middle path yields 69,969 gold]

Knowing the truth, Mike chose the middle path without hesitation.

Boom—

Continuous explosions accompanied by some wails.

Although the monsters’ levels scaled with Mike’s, the power gap was too large.

Mike could throw a Meteor Fire Rain and wipe out the entire room of monsters.

“Ah-choo—”

Mike yawned, feeling a bit sleepy.

Earning money gave him some energy.

“Keep moving!”

With his level and power increasing, Mike realized that fewer and fewer things in the Tower of Truth posed a threat to him.

SSS-grade talent, six-element class, dual-job template…

With so many factors stacked, if Mike still found it difficult to clear the instance, that would be strange.

Without any surprises, Mike easily reached the next fork, facing another choice.

[Current Exploration Rate: 25%]

This time, there were more choices, four paths!

Before Mike could scan them, the rightmost path caught his attention.

“What’s this?”

The maze walls had water element residue, which looked familiar to Mike.

“You despicable scoundrel, you killed both my daughters…”

After saying that, Mike was stunned. Why did he sound like the villain?

The Eye of Truth provided a prompt:

[An ‘old friend’ who owes you 1.95 million Lord merits has prepared a gift for you]

[Choosing this path has a chance to evolve a certain element class template]

The Eye of Truth also provided various probability assessments for Mike’s reference.

Clearly, this path offered high rewards but also high risks!

Gift? Trap?

Heaven and hell were often just a thought apart!

“This is the path!”

Mike gripped the Thunderclap Hammer, pursing his lips, a hint of excitement appearing on his face.

Things were getting interesting.

He wanted to see what kind of ‘gift’ the sea god had prepared for him!

“Let’s see!”