Everything that Solus had seen and heard over his years as guardian of the tower did nothing to prepare him for his new masters arrival. Not that it had thought the small girl before itself worthy of being called master of the tower. Instead, Solus was stuck in a state of disbelief.

'How did she get through?' Even after hearing Sarah's explaination of her skill, the age old being still couldn't understand the intricate workings of her power.

'I still dont understand what a respawning point is?'

Solus' long life had made the door to proud to ask the woman to keep dumbing it down for it, even though it was desperately curious to know how her mystical power worked.

What she had asked, after reading the last book on the shelf, had finally tipped Solus over the edge and the door could no longer keep its composure in check.

"How the hell did you get in the tower in the first place!?" The door's frustration vented out by accident. It wasn't angry because her lack of power, or even due to her becoming its master, but due to the sheer stupidity of her question. Worst of all, Solus didn't actually know the answer. No one had ever mentioned how they came and went from the tower and even if they had, the old soul would be hard pressed to remember. Its memory was not what it used to be.

"Aren't you a like...a magical door? Doesn't that mean you can open your doors to another location?" The girl asked.

If Solus had arms he would have slapped her. What did she think he was? A teleport gate? She kept spouting one ridiculous notion after another, until Solus stopped listening.

'It would be easier to go back to sleep than put up with this.'

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁

Sarah felt as frustrated as the door looked. Not only did it not have the key to leaving her prison, but it had also decided to go quiet and was giving her the silent treatment.

'Well screw you too,' she cursed, slumping down into her comfortable chair. She was tired of being stuck in the tower. All she wanted was a hot meal, a cold drink and a refreshing bath.

'What good is it having magic and power and stuff if I'm trapped in here with nothing but...' her thoughts trailed off. '... Wait a minute. Magic and power! That's it!' Jumping up, Sarah quickly approached Solus. "Hey. Do I still have to die if I want to go through you. Now that I'm the master that shouldn't need to happen, right?"

"It is as you say Master." Solus finally broke his silent strike to answer a question he was actually able to respond to.

"Good. In that case, open up." She was practically bouncing on the spot as she waited for Solus to open the way. For some reason, it seemed to take longer than the first two times Sarah had witnessed the event. She slid her hands into the pockets of the dark, green trousers she had looted from the drawers. She had also found a shirt the same color which she had happily traded for the wraps during her looting. Although everyrhing there was technically now hers, it still felt like she was taking someone else's

She rocked on her feet in anticipation as she waited patiently for Solus to open. 'The Karinthian order had no sense of fashion whatsoever. Hopefully, I can find a better outfit before I get out of here.'

"Where are you going Master?" As Sarah walked into the dark, but still familiar corridor, Solus sounded like a lost lamb as he sheepily repeated the question he had asked millenia ago.

"I need to get out of here, why? What's up?" Sarah had already guessed what was troubling her new and rather expressive servant. Even though the door wasn't a person, that didn't mean that it wouldnt be lonely after spending x amount of time alone.

"Your company... although short and strange... was warming to my wood." The answer he gave made Sarah pause for a moment. 'Was that a joke? Or a metaphor?' She felt oddly cruel leaving the murder door alone, but it's not as though she could carry the heavy relic with her.

"Because you're made of magic, can't you just change shape into like a ring or something, then you could come with me?" The thought of having a talking ring made Sarah smile in delight, but Solus' response shattered her illusion.

"I don't know where your idea of what magic can do comes from, but how would I change into something so small? It's physically impossible. Plus, who would guard the control room while the Master was away? Anyone could walk in and claim ownership if you weren't there and I did not stop them."

'So that's how it works? Because there was no master and I took ownership of the tower.' Sarah understood that even though she had died twice to get into the so-called control room, quite a bit of luck had helped her get here. That and an incredible amount of pain that she wished to forget.

"In that case, I will be leaving alone. Sorry, Solus. After I get out of here, I'll scout the area to see if the reports in the books are still accurate. Afterwards, I'll come back and let you know what's happening. I need to plan my next steps carefully after all. I'm pretty sure your friendly neighbourhood necromancer is not a thing around here. I mean, even the class description was pretty blunt on that fact. Anyway, please guard my room and I'll be back as soon as I can, Solus."

With that, Sarah made her way down the corridor and round the corner. She had decided on two different plans of escape, after remembering that magic exists and that she had still not yet attempted to use it.

'Gotta stop forgetting that!'

Plan A was to recheck the fountain, other rooms and everything between, now that she was in control of the tower, hoping that some magical switch would respond to her touch or presence. With that thought in mind, Sarah checked each room individually. She meticulously checked every wall, door and floor tile, she could find but all to no avail.

She checked every brick and slab on the fountain and even went as far as to shake the container of the waters of sin, almost ripping it out of its place in the process. She was still unused to her increased strength. That combined with her rising frustration wasn't helping.

'Well, Plan A was a bust!' Sarah took a well-needed drink from the fountain to refresh herself before movinh on to plan B.

[You have drank from the water of sin. HP, MP and Stamina recovery are increased by 500% for the next 2 hours.]

Plan B was much simpler than plan A. It involved one of the empty room and is something that Sarah was eager to test out. Truth be told was quite happy plan A had failed. She had only designated this as plan B because the tower was now her possesion and Sarah had never been a fan of destroying her own things. With no choices left, it was time to test the limits of her strength stat and brute force her way out of the tower.

Sarah returned to the first room she had arrived in. It felt fitting. The cold and empty room was the perfect place for some home renovations.

'Please don't hurt too much!' Sarah took a few deep breaths and with all the willpower she could gather to not hold her punch, she drove her clenched fist straight into the floor with all her might.

"Argh! Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. You fucking bastard. Ow." Sarah cradled her fist as tears began to run down her face. She didn't do anything other other wallow in self pity as she nursed her self-inflicted injury for the next ten minutes. Slowly, the pain began to fade and eventually it had all but gone away completely. Sarah wiped her eyes with her uninjured hand before inspecting her now, magically-healed right. It looked good as it did before it had been mangled, but her body finched when she went to touch it.

[Necrotic Soul has reached Level 2.]

'That's the one that heals my wounds, right?' checking her skills, Sarah was indeed correct after reading the skill's description again.

- Necrotic Soul - Level 2: Your soul has been shrouded in the magic of death. All damage recieved is reduced by 70% be it physical or mental. You are even capable of healing minor wounds without the services of a paid healer.

Good job I have that or else I'd never be getting out of here. Sarah wasn't turned off by the pain, she knew it was necessary. Thinking about how long it would take to break through the floor, Sarah smiled at the fracture she had caused with her first punch.

"If that hadn't happened after my first hit, I'd probably have given up and died of starvation. Not that death is permanent, but I definitely don't want to go out that way. Also, it's crazy to think that I've just managed to damage a stone floor with just one punch. I'm not sure how many more this will take, but at least I will eventually be able to break through... hopefully." Wishing she hadn't added that last word, Sarah once more punched the ground with all the strength she could.

After her third punch and a little trial and error, she had begun adding the Karinthian Form into her attacks.

- Form of the Necromancer - Level 1: You have been given limited access to knowledge of a secret style of hand-to-hand combat known only to those in the order of Karinth. Train your form in the tower of Death and you may even be able to unlock further techniques. All damage inflicted to enemies through physical or magical actions whilst in the necrotic state is 75% more effective.

It didn't boost her attack power against the floor, but what it did do let her increase the precision of her strikes with each one doing subsequently more damage.

After the first hour, the stone floor finally broke loose allowing Sarah to remove some pieces. She wasn't oblivious to the fact that she was carrying large segments of rock either. Another feat that would have been impossible for her back on Earth. Each strike she delivered afterwards caused more and more piece to dislodge as she meticulously worked her way further in.

After her second hour had passed, Sarah went back to the octagonal room to replenish her buffs. The waters of sin, which had seemed sketchy to begin with, was a welcoming sight. Whilst there, she took a few minutes to rest before continuing.

Her plan was working and although she was in no rush to throw herself back into the hole of pain, she did want to get out of the tower as fast as possible. 'You'd think the master would be able to teleport in their own tower, right?' Sarah thought as she flexed the fingers on her right hand and a shiver ran down her spine at the memory of her bones breaking under her own strength.

'I hate this place,' she complained gloomily before looking at her stats.

Form of the Necromancer had reached Level 2 and Necrotic Soul has also increased once more to make it Level 3. Pain Tolerance had also reached Level 3.

'There's got to be a faster way to do this. My tiny arms weren't built for this type of work.'

Sarah's eyes lit up as a simple idea sprung to her mind. 'Why didn't I think of that before?' She ran down the corridor towards the room she had been working in full of excitement. The damage looked less impressive since she had left and returned, but a renewed vigor was coursing through her.

Sarah immediately began stomping on the ground. The power in each movement were causing shockwaves that made her teeth chatter. It wasn't in vain though and each stomp delivered was much more potent. 'Duh, my legs are a lot stronger than my arms.'

Sarah continued that way, periodically throwing large portions of stone out of the hole she was creating, for another two hours. Replenishes her buffs from the water of sin was her only reprieve before she was straight back stomping stone.

Necrotic Soul wasn't needed as often to heal the larger muscles that were doing most of the work. It took less than 60 seconds for tissue damage to heal, compared to the minutes spent waiting for bones to repair on her hand. Sarah kept Form of the Necromancer active throughout. Even though she was using her feet, she felt that each stomp was driven down with more accuracy and precision to make sure that no momentum was lost or misused in the destructively-fluid movement.

Just as Sarah received a new set of notifications, her foot broke through the floor.

[Necrotic Soul has reached Level 4]

[Karinthian Necromancer has reached Level 2]

- 5 stat points have been awarded.

The increase in skill and the rise in class level were short lived. Her smile also left her as shock and confusion took over Sarah. The floor crumbled beneath her and before she could even think about moving to safety, Sarah was free falling through an abyss. Down into whatever it would be that lay below. It wasn't what she had expected to happen, but at least she was free.