Bone Key

I fiddled with the skull waiting for the T-system prompt. One thing I can be sure about the T-system is that it is always punctual, meaning the Skeleton Foot Soldier wasn't dead. But its motionless body spoke otherwise. I am missing something—

*Clack* *Bite*

"Ahhahaaaa!"  When I tried to remove the gray plumed helmet on the skull, it bit my hand. The skull was fucking alive. It was playing possum, waiting for the proper movement to escape my grasp. I had almost let go of the skull due to the exuberant pain I felt in my hand. If not for the rubber gloves, I might have lost my fingers. Despite the pain I felt, I tightened my grip on the skull. 

*Clack* *Clack* *Clack* The skull let go of my hand, thinking I would let go of it to tend to the pain, but I didn't. Instead, my grip tightened as the injury to my fingers and pain were manageable due to the protection of the rubber gloves. Seeing that, I didn't let go of the skulls. It began biting its teeth repeatedly. 

*Smash* Despite the pain in my arm, I grabbed hold of a bulky bone, then bashed the front of the skull with it while my other arm held the skull in place. Soon cracks began to show up on the skull, and finally, the face of the skull shattered to pieces. 

*Whoosh* *Thud* My ass fell on the bone bed as the broken skull in my hand, and the headless skeleton under me turned to ash, leaving behind its gray armor set, round wooden shield, and rusty single sword. And then the tiny blue dot in the upper left corner of my sight expanded into a translucent blue screen reading, 

[You gained 600 Exp for killing a Level 0 Titled Skeleton Foot Soldier.]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up. 

 Level 0 (100%)  >>>  Level 1 (10%)

+10 Health

+10 Stamina

+2 Stat points]

[Congratulations! You have defeated Grayroch's Skeleton Foot Soldier and successfully cleared the Tutorial Floor. Deeming yourself worthy of climbing the Tower of Trials. 

Tutorial Floor Rewards: 

1. Bone Key

2. Full Recovery 

Note: The tower will teleport you back to the entrance in 10 minutes. Please collect your loot.] 

With the T-system prompts, a warm aura washed over my body, healing all my bruises and scratches while relieving my pain and fatigue. I felt relaxed and energetic. But it could not undo my foul mood. 

"What the heck?" I cussed, having read my tutorial completion rewards. Everyone else was awarded T-coins and skills after tutorial completion, but I was rewarded with a key made out of bone. 

'I have had it! First, the unfair pairing of the opponent, and now shitty tutorial completion rewards.' I was fuming with anger, but I didn't lose sight of my current objective. I had to grab my loot before the tower sent me back to the entrance. 

First, I reached for the gray Pauldrons. As I touched them, the T-system sounded with prompts providing me with the item info. 

[Item: Right Shoulder Gray Pauldron (Common) 

 Durability: 39%

 Effect: Defense +2

 Note: Mass-produced item for Grayroch's undead army.] 

[Item: Left Shoulder Gray Pauldron (Common)

 Durability: 41%

 Effect: Defense +2

 Note: Mass-produced item for Grayroch's undead army.] 

[Item: Gray Plumed Helmet (Common)

 Durability: 54%

 Effect: Defense +3, Agility -1

 Note: Mass-produced item for Grayroch's undead army.]

[Item: Gray Gauntlets (Common)

 Durability: 47%

 Effect: Defense +3, Agility -1

 Note: Mass-produced item for Grayroch's undead army.]

[Item: Gray Boots (Common)

 Durability: 27%

 Effect: Defense +1, Agility +2

 Note: Mass-produced item for Grayroch's undead army.]

Going through Item info, I equipped both the Pauldrons and the helmet, but I couldn't fit the Boots and Gauntlets onto my sausage hands and feet. It would be a pity to throw away such loot, so I managed to strap them with the straps of the Pauldrons. And then equipped the round wooden shield on my left wrist and the rusty single sword in my right hand. 

[Item: Rusty Sword (Common)

 Durability: 33%

 Effect: Strength +3

 Note: Mass-produced item for Grayroch's undead army.]

[Item: Round Shield (Common)

 Durability: 27%

 Effect: Defense +3

 Note: Mass-produced item for Grayroch's undead army.]

Having equipped the items, I had 4 minutes to spare. So I decided to check out my shitty tutorial reward, Bone Key. I focused on it to view the Item Info,  

[Item: Bone Key (Unique)

 Durability: Consumable (2/2)

 Effect: 

1. Enter Ten Stairs Bone Maze. (1/1)

2. Opens Grayroch's Treasure Chest. (1/1)

 Grayroch's Treasure Chest is hidden in Ten Stairs Bone Maze. Please clear the maze to get to the treasure chest.

 Note: The difficulty and penalty of the Ten Stairs Bone Maze will depend on the difficulty and penalty of the floor on which you use the key.]

[Would you like to enter Ten Stairs Bone Maze?

(Yes/No)]

"..." Reading the T-system prompt, my anger rose to another level. To add to my wounds, the tower wanted me to clear a fucking maze to get my shitty reward. And I had only one attempt to do so. I felt like flipping the tower, but I didn't let my anger cloud my judgment. And weighed my options. 

The Note section in the Bone Key item info caught my attention because it read that the difficulty and penalty of the Maze will be the same as the difficulty and penalty of the floor where I use the key. 

If I were to use the Bone Key on the tutorial floor, then the penalty for failing to clear the maze would be Resurrection because the penalty for failing the Tutorial Floor was Resurrection. And the difficulty of the Maze will be within my power as the difficulty of the tutorial was equal to trial takers' prowess. 

Coming to this conclusion, I replied to the T-system prompt without hesitation, "Yes."