[Adrian ]
[Age: 17]
[Trait: Pragmatist]
[Strength: 3 ]
[Dexterity: 12 ]
[Health: 4 ]
[Magic Power: 0]
[Skills: Greedy Hand, Envious Eyes]
[Would you like to view details?]
"Yes, please," Adrian replied politely, even as he tried to digest the words he had just seen.
Tower of Avaritia?
Greedy Grimoire?
While he had previously heard of grimoires, the only tower Adrian was aware of was the magic towers created by mages across the various kingdoms in the eastern and western continents.
As for the name Avaritia, he had never heard it before.
Was it a great mage he didn't know about, or some kind of magical creature?
As someone who grew up in the slums, he was as far from the magical world, and although he kept his ears open for rumors, he hadn't heard anything about a new mage tower popping up.
Miyche might be a smaller city, but if something as amazing as a magic tower appeared here, everyone and their mother would be talking about it, not to mention the nobles and mages rushing to take control of it.
But he hadn't heard or seen a single thing, so was this a fake?
Or was it hidden by some secret mage?
Additionally, what were these numbers?
Was this a representation of his physique?
How did it know?
What was the baseline?
And why was there such a huge disparity between his dexterity and other things?
Now that he was thinking about it, how did it know his name?
Was the tower listening in on conversations, or was there a connection elsewhere?
As his brain began coming up with different scenarios, Adrian took a deep breath.
Calm down and focus.
Overthinking and panicking when he didn't have enough information was stupid.
For now, it would be best to read any additional information provided and then figure out what to do and how to get out.
First was…. The trait?
[Trait: Pragmatist]
Allows you to remain calm in any situation, so the optimal path can be decided. Helps resist mental and magical skills that can cause emotional agitation.
This was…an eerily accurate description of his personality.
Haste makes waste, and it was better to measure 10 times to cut once.
He wasn't quite sure what use traits had, but it was good to know his wasn't something negative.
Next.
[Skill: Greedy Hand]
Using mana, you can create an extra limb.
Well, this would be useful if he were a mage.
Unfortunately, he had no magic power and no idea how to get any.
So effectively, this was useless.
Next.
[Envious Eye]
A third eye opens when it senses something or someone you envy and allows you to have insight into the person or object.
"This is… almost useful. But…It only lets me see when I feel envy? Hmmm."
How to use this...
Thinking for a bit, Adrian stared hard at the cuffs lying on the ground while trying to hypnotize himself.
Envy the cuff.
He needed to envy the chains.
If only he could be as sturdy and tough as it, wouldn't he be able to chain people up and knock them unconscious?
His hands could become cuffs, and then-
Sclurp.
Schlurp.
It felt like something licked his face then, as if a worm were burrowing itself in his skin, his forehead began writhing and bubbling.
Feeling nauseous, his vision wavered and blurred, and he could feel the skin on his forehead wiggling, when it suddenly became clearer.
He felt his field of vision widen, and he could now see words floating above the cuffs and chains.
[Iron cuffs and chains]
Simple handcuffs made of pig iron. It's quite brittle and rusty. It will break when hit with enough force at the joint.
Reaching up to touch his now still forehead, Adrian felt a wet, jelly-like substance on his fingers, as if he had sunk his fingers into a slimy, semi-solid object that moved around, causing his vision to shake again.
It felt like there was an eyeball on his forehead.
Due to the disgusting, disconcerting feeling, Adrian immediately retched and threw up.
Blarghhhhh.
Wiping his mouth, Adrian wanted to see if the eye would go away on its own, but first, he had to test something else out.
Ripping a long strip from his shirt, he tied it over his eye.
His previously widened vision felt normal once more, so he tried utilizing the skill again.
Envy the chain.
Envy the chain.
[Iron cuffs and chains]
Simple handcuffs made of pig iron. It's quite brittle and rusty. It will break when hit with enough force at the joint.
Thankfully, it seemed to work even with the blindfold, even though the vision was a bit covered.
Perfect.
Now…was there anything else he could get here?
What happened to the weapon selection screen?
"Hey tower?"
No response.
"Avaritia?"
No response.
"No weapons for me?"
There was still no response apart from the text disappearing and the surrounding white light fading into the appearance of a narrow path that seemed to be carved from the same rock as the cavern he was inside earlier.
Tsk.
Clicking his teeth, Adrian wrapped his leg chains around his waist, tucking the cuffs into his pants while holding onto the ones previously wrapped around his arms.
If anybody dared to attack him, he would swing to kill.
Cracking his neck, he began to creep forward, doing his best to stay silent.
It was time to get out of here.
**********
Adrian walked.
And walked.
And walked.
Just as he was getting tired and frustrated, wondering what exactly how long he had to walk, he finally arrived at an arched door made of the same white material as the wall he had touched earlier.
Like the white wall, there were carvings on this door as well, and an extra guest standing, or rather flying, in front of it.
The guest was a tiny green humanoid with four crystalline wings resembling those of a dragonfly.
With scale-like green skin, large compound eyes like a bug, two curly antennas nestled in the short green hair, and black jagged teeth open in the semblance of a smile, rather than thinking this was a cute fairy from fairy tales, Adrian felt an acute sense of danger.
For some reason, Adrian felt that if he was hostile or tried to use the Greedy Eye on it, he would somehow die.
Not willing to take any risks, Adrian stopped several feet away while clutching the chains.
What should I do?