I Died and Became a Noble's Heir

Chapter 477: [Floors Sealed: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 23]

Jack stood in the forest with Rhys, Brutus, Pho, and Slyph all staring at him with varying degrees of shock, concern, and in Pho’s case, carefully controlled wariness.

The Deathfrost Demon hadn’t relaxed at all despite Death’s departure. His blank white eyes were still fixed on Jack, clearly processing the implications of everything he’d just witnessed.

Jack reached through the Soul Link, pulling on specific consciousnesses from his bound army.

Twenty minotaurs materialized around them in flashes of red lightning, warriors from the two hundred forty-seven he’d bound in the wasteland.

Each one carried weapons recreated through the binding process, their red eyes burning with perfect loyalty as they awaited commands.

Brutus’s expression shifted. Confusion for a brief moment as he processed why his master was summoning more of his kind, then understanding as he realized what Jack intended.

”These twenty are yours,” Jack said, gesturing to the newly summoned minotaurs. His tone carried absolute authority, making it clear this wasn’t a suggestion. ”Brutus will command them. Use them to clear Floors Five through Nine as quickly as possible.”

Rhys blinked, exhaustion slowing his processing. ”You’re giving me twenty minotaurs?”

”I’m putting you on a leash,” Jack corrected, his tone carrying no apology or softness. ”You’ve been clearing floors at your own pace. That pace is too slow. I want Floor Ten accessible within three weeks. These minotaurs will accelerate the process.”

The young tempest mage looked at the assembled warriors. Twenty eight-foot-tall creatures of muscle and horn, each one radiating power that marked them as threats to most adventurers.

Then back at Jack, his silver hair falling across exhausted features.

”And what will you be doing?” Rhys asked.

”That’s not your concern,” Jack replied.

His golden eyes gleamed with something cold and hungry. ”Consider it a lesson in why you should never settle for being merely strong when you could become something that terrifies gods.”

The next twenty days passed in a blur of systematic conquest.

Jack checked on Kyren and Emberion in the Soul Warden’s domain, where he could operate with complete authority over respawn rates, environmental conditions, and territorial control.

Every three days, he opened portals from his domain to whatever floor Rhys had just cleared, arriving to seal the conquered territory and claim it officially.

Floor Five costs 150,000 Death Tokens.

A crystalline cavern system where Rhys had fought through hordes of crystal golems before bringing down the Refraction Golem.

A massive construct that could split itself into dozens of smaller forms.

Floor Six cost another 150,000.

A volcanic hellscape where heat alone killed weaker adventurers.

Floor Seven: 150,000 tokens.

An underwater realm where Rhys had nearly drowned.

Floor Eight: 150,000 tokens.

A sky realm with floating islands where gravity shifted randomly.

Floor Nine: 150,000 tokens. A corrupted temple where undead swarmed in endless waves.

By the end of twenty days, five more floors were sealed.

Jack’s Death Token reserve had decreased by 750,000, but his control over the tower’s lower levels was absolute.

[Current Death Tokens: 38,942,250]

[Floors Sealed: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 23]

And now they stood at the entrance to Floor Ten.

Jack looked at Rhys, noting the exhaustion in the young man’s posture.

Three weeks of near-constant combat had pushed him to his limits. His mana reserves were depleted, his stamina drained, and even his contracted wind spirit looked dimmer than normal.

”You can rest,” Jack said, his tone carrying approval buried beneath layers of cold indifference. ”Ride on Brutus’s back and watch what happens next. You’ve earned a break.”

Rhys nodded slowly, relief evident despite his attempt to maintain composure. ”What about Floor Ten?”

”I’m going to decimate everything on that floor within a day,” Jack replied. His golden eyes gleamed so coldly and looked so hungry that the statement felt less like a boast and more like an inevitable fact.

”Consider it a demonstration of what power.”

He reached through space itself, opening two portals simultaneously.

A display of the portal manipulation skill he’d been developing over months of practice.

The first led to Floor Twenty-Five, where Father Caelen waited among the Soul Warden’s claimed territory.

The second connected to where Loryn kept his studies, followed by an unlikely sight.