The first floor was simple. Thousands of interwoven tunnels filled with goblins. The second floor was slightly more difficult than the first. It too was packed goblins and tunnels, but the weapons they wielded were more varied. Instead of just short swords, they wielded spears, shields, maces, bows, etc. For newcomer ascenders with no combat experience, this changeup made things significantly more difficult. Dealing with a few goblins was simple for modern humans; goblins were short and frail compared to a tall and strong human, but once they started using different weapons, things became harder.
To Jason, this was nothing. He’d fought against all types of weapons and monsters. He swept through the second floor without breaking a sweat. As luck would have it, he acquired a crude wooden buckler while making his way through the floor. It was a crappy shield, but a shield nonetheless. Using two short swords wasn’t uncomfortable, but using a shield was second nature to him. With it, his combat prowess immediately doubled.
A few hours later he reached the third floor. He reached level 7 after slaughtering every goblin he came across. For every level he would gain 5 stat points. His plan for stat distribution was thus: 1 to strength, 1 to agility, 1 to endurance, 2 to vitality. After several decades of research and testing, this was found to be the best stat allocation for a tank.
Jason felt a strong sense of familiarity when he inspected his surroundings. If he were to rank which floors he was most intimate with, the third floor would definitely rank among the top five. The first time around, Jason had passed the trial to become a Battleshields guild member. For a few years he was tasked with farming the third floor for materials. It was only after the Battleshields guild disbanded that he started to climb the floors.
He was in a giant cavern filled with ravines. Beams of light fell down from holes in the ceiling, giving a bit of light. Attached to the walls of the cave was wooden scaffolding reaching multiple stories high. An incredibly complex system of pulleys and ropes could be seen connected to the scaffolding.
The air smelled of metal; mainly copper and iron. The sound of clanging echoed off the cavern walls, along with the shrieking of goblins. Indeed, the goblins had a major operation underway. The third floor was a massive underground mine packed with the little creatures.
For low-level guilds, the third floor was incredibly profitable. There was a special monster here called ‘goblin miner’ which had a chance of dropping copper, tin, or iron ore upon its death. These low-level guilds had multiple teams assigned here to hunt goblin miners and sell the drops to corporations on the outside.
It wasn’t apparent at first, but the towers were a goldmine. An infinite amount of materials could be brought out; wood, iron, copper, tin, coal, steel, mithril, etc. Now that two decades have passed since the arrival of the towers, a complex economy had formed around the tower. The materials were farmed by guilds and purchased by governments and corporations. And that was just for materials. Skills books, equipment, pets, mounts, and land within the tower were much more expensive. Much more.
All of these thoughts spun through Jason’s head as he glanced around. He stood on top of the scaffolding and got a good look at the cavern. Already he could see teams from different guilds fighting goblins for their loot. He even recognized some of them.
Competition between guilds was fierce inside the tower. There was no oversight here; no government, no military, no police. In the beginning, because things were so profitable, there had been countless fights between teams, leading to innumerable deaths. Eventually the guilds came to an agreement and farmed in designated locations only. But not all locations were equal. Some spots had rare spawns, more drops, better terrain, etc.
To prevent further fighting, the guilds decided that there would be a competition every month. Once a month, the guilds would gather together and compete against each other. The guild that won first place was allowed to pick first from the plethora of farming locations. The second guild was next, and so on and so forth. The weaker guilds could only complain inwardly. Of course, only the low-tier guilds fought over the farming spots on the third floor. The mid-tier, upper-tier, and top-tier guilds didn’t care at all.
As Jason’s thoughts reached this point, he couldn’t help but frown. If he started killing goblins here, there would inevitably be conflict between him and the guilds. He was much too weak to be a threat to even low-tier guilds at the moment, so in the end he decided to skip this floor and head to the next one.
He received glares as he passed by farming teams. Only after seeing his crappy equipment did they give a disdainful smirk before ignoring him. He knew what they were thinking. When the towers arrived, professions such as blacksmithing exploded in popularity, especially because outside weapons weren’t allowed into the tower. If you tried to enter the tower with a gun, you would be kicked out via teleportation.
As a result, as the years passed, blacksmiths became increasingly desired. They now made just as much money as top ascenders. As the skill level of blacksmiths rose, they were able to craft better equipment than the equipment dropped on the lower floors. For someone like Jason who wore goblin equipment, it meant two things: he was dirt poor and had no guild. Why would these farming teams worry about a newbie like him?
Jason thought he might be yelled at for encroaching on these teams’ territory, but his equipment led to him being ignored. He only shrugged in response. Better this than getting into pointless arguments.
Just as Jason was about to enter through the portal to the fourth floor, the cavern suddenly shook. Pieces of rock fell from the ceiling and crashed into the ground, with some even killing a few goblins. The shaking died down a moment later, but not before a roar echoed through the cavern.
“Oh?” Jason paused. He recognized the roar. It came from a rare monster called a rock golem. While the goblins were mining, they would occasionally wake up an earth elemental. An elemental was an unintelligent creature of nature, and the rock golem was of the earth attribute. If he recalled correctly, the rock golem that spawned here was a novice grade field boss.
Monsters were categorized by two things: their rank and grade. The ranks went from common, elite, field boss, to raid boss. The grades went from trainee, beginner, novice, apprentice, veteran, expert, master, grandmaster, to hero. The goblins Jason had fought were trainee common monsters while the rock golem that just spawned was a novice field boss. The two couldn’t even be compared.
Jason remembered that news of a rock golem spawning spread on the day he had passed his trial. The farming teams on the third floor tried fighting the rock golem, but even with all of them combined they were no match for it. In the end, an ascender from a higher floor killed it.
Just as Jason was about to leave this mess behind by entering the portal, he froze. Wait, the rock golem drops an incredibly rare skill for tanks. If I pass this up…
He clenched his hands as he fell into thought. As of this moment he was incredibly weak. Even if he did manage to kill the rock golem, would the farming teams let him leave with the loot? He was alone, while they were many.
“Well, I’ll check it out at least.” He turned around and made his way over to the rock golem.
Chapter 5
During the process of mining, the goblin miners had created numerous rooms in the cavern walls. In one such room, a group of goblin miners were swinging their pickaxes tirelessly. Each time the pickaxe made contact with the wall, a little bit would chip away. Each collision would make a soft clang. The goblin miners had gotten used to such sounds.
Among the numerous clangs, one suddenly sounded different. A goblin miner felt his arms vibrate from the collision. It was like he hit an indestructible wall, and he could even see a crack in his pickaxe. His face lit up with excitement as he called out to his brothers. All of the nearby goblin miners gathered around and inspected the cracked pickaxe. The only reason why it would break was because it encountered something it couldn’t damage. That meant a high-quality ore!
The group of goblin
s swiveled their heads to take a look at the wall, only to freeze in shock. A face stared back at them. Embedded in the wall was a pair of hollow eyes. It glanced around the room before taking a close look at the pickaxes in the goblin’s hands. As if it understood what the goblins were doing, the room began to tremble. Two hands extended out of the wall and grabbed a pair of goblins before they could react.
“Eeekkk!” The hands clenched tightly, and with a pop, the two goblins exploded. The rest of the goblins staggered backwards in horror.
What followed the two hands were a pair of arms, then a head, a torso, and finally two legs. A creature made of rock towered high above the puny goblins. The goblins turned and fled. The golem let out a deep, booming bellow and chased after its prey. The goblins ran haphazardly in every direction, so the golem could only stomp a single goblin to death.
It looked around the cavern, only to see a massive mining project underway. It could see thousands of goblins, hacking away at its home. The golem trembled in rage. As if the cavern and the golem were one, the entire floor began to tremble. Bits of the ceiling broke off, sending numerous boulders crashing into the ground. Several goblins died instantly, and some of the scaffolding broke apart.
Just as it was about to go tear down the scaffolding, a group of humans appeared before it. Their eyes showed no fear like the goblins, but were filled with greed and anticipation. This group of humans was a team from the Quicksilver guild. They were close by when they heard the golem roar and were the first to arrive.
The team leader, Andy, shouted anxiously. “Quick, let’s kill this rock golem!”
“Andy, t-that’s a field boss. Are you sure we can kill it?” A black-haired youth trembled as he read the screen above the rock golem.
(Field Boss) Rock Golem - Level 15
Health: 1,000/1,000
Andy knew more than the rest of his team. Unlike them, he’d been farming on the third floor for over two years now. He could count the number of times the rock golem appeared on one hand. By the time he’d arrived, there were already plenty of other teams fighting it. But this time he was actually the first to arrive. This was his lucky chance to get promoted!
“Don’t worry, look at its health!” Andy didn’t want to waste time explaining.
The black-haired youth took a closer look at the rock golem’s health. “Ah? Why is it so low?”
Andy was also confused as to why a field boss’ health was so low, but he didn’t have time to worry about it as he could already see another team approaching. “Quickly, kill it before the other teams arrive!”
The other members of Andy’s team were excited at the prospect of getting loot from a field boss, so they rushed into battle. The black-haired youth drew back his bow and released an arrow. With a soft clang, the arrow bounced off the rock golem.
-0
“Huh?” The black-haired youth could hardly believe his eyes. That wasn’t a regular arrow, but one backed by his skill ‘power shot’. It increased the damage of an attack by 25%. Even with that he dealt zero damage?
Andy saw the zero-damage notification as he ran up to the golem’s feet. He shouted in frustration. “Use a skill next time!”
The black-haired youth felt aggrieved. “I did!”
Andy used the skill he was most proud of. He had used three months of pay to purchase ‘deadly blow’ from a merchant guild. It was what allowed him to become the leader of his team. When he saw the zero-damage notification, his heart leapt up to his throat. “How high is its armor?!”
The golem didn’t feel a thing from the attacks, but that didn’t stop it from getting angry. It raised its foot and prepared to squish Andy. Andy jumped out of the way just as the foot smashed into the ground. A shockwave rippled outwards, knocking him off his feet. He felt the wind knock out of him as he hit the ground. He could only watch as the golem reached down to pick him up. Andy wanted to move, but he couldn’t find the strength to.
Just then, a ball of fire collided against the golem’s face. The golem stiffened before turning its attention towards a human garbed in robes. Andy calmed his breathing and fled. Only when he was a safe distance away did he look back. The person who saved me was Richard? Richard belonged to the Farcry guild. The Farcry guild had a decent chance to win first place in the monthly competition on the third floor. They were one of the strongest low-tier guilds.
Damn. Andy clenched his teeth. He knew he had no chance of getting the loot from the field boss now that Richard was here. Richard was an incredibly strong fire mage. Andy had personally fought against Richard in the competition and suffered greatly at his hands. Andy’s teammates gathered around him.
The black-haired youth exclaimed. “Is this boss broken or something? Why can’t we deal any damage?”
Andy was the most experienced among his team, so he explained. “It’s an earth elemental, so it has naturally high armor, and because it’s a field boss, it's even more exaggerated.”
The black-haired youth’s face lit up with realization. “I see! But isn’t this only the third floor? Shouldn’t we at least be able to deal some damage?”
Andy shook his head in defeat. “A field boss is stronger than I imagined. I’m afraid only people on Richard’s level can damage it.”
Richard cast another fireball. It flew through the air and exploded on the golem’s chest, knocking it back a step.
-0
“Huh?” Andy’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the damage screen. “Even Richard can’t damage it?”
“Hahaha!” A condescending laugh rang through the cavern. A female youth arrived, flanked by three people. She wore blue robes and held a gnarled staff in her hands. “Richard, is that the best you can do?”
Richard gritted his teeth in shame and anger. The girl was his biggest rival, Ashley. They became ascenders around the same time and constantly fought in the competition. Their record against each other was 3-3. To put on such a pitiful performance before his rival caused him to turn red in embarrassment. He could only spit out. “Try it yourself.”
“Okay!” Ashley’s eyes twinkled as she flicked her fingers. A stream of water appeared around her, forming a whip. ‘Water whip’ was her strongest spell. It had already reached the beginner grade, increasing its damage dramatically. The whip flew forwards and flicked the golem’s head. This time it was knocked two steps back.
“Heh.” Ashley had a look of victory on her face. Richard only knocked it back a step, but she knocked it back two steps. Only when she read the zero-damage screen did her expression falter.
“Hahaha!” Richard’s laughter rang out through the cavern. Seeing his rival knock the golem back two steps caused his mood to sour, but when he saw the zero-damage screen, he was instead delighted.
“This boss is broken, damn!” Ashley cried out in embarrassment.
The golem roared out in anger. It made its way towards the humans surrounding it, but it was too slow compared to them. It only ended up being kited around the cavern. Over ten teams had arrived by now. All of the people with ranged skills and spells attacked relentlessly, but none of them dealt any damage.
After ten minutes, Andy shouted in frustration. “This is a waste of time, screw this!”
He commanded his team to go back to farming. Even Richard and Ashley dealt no damage, much less him. A bunch of teams seemed to wake up to reality after they saw Andy’s team leave. They had been blinded by greed, but now they saw that it was hopeless. Only Richard’s and Ashley’s teams remained behind.
Richard and Ashley stood side by side as their team’s tanks kited the rock golem. Both Richard and Ashley were each grasping a necklace in their hands. It was the necklace of communication. The necklace allowed one to communicate with others, as long as a few conditions were met.
After a moment, Richard and Ashley gave each other a smirk. “Want to bet who will get it?”
“Definitely my older sister!” Ashley raised her chin proudly.
“Hmph, we’ll see
about that.”
Both Richard and Ashley belonged to top low-tier guilds. Their guilds could just barely afford to hand out a few necklaces of communication to their members. Both of them knew just how valuable a field boss was, especially a rarer one like the rock golem. Even if they couldn’t kill it, sending this information to their guild would give them a bit of contribution.
Ashley’s older sister was the guild master of her guild, while Richard was the most talented person in his guild. The only problem was that he had only been an ascender for less than a year, so his position in the guild was low. In terms of backing, Ashley was more formidable than him. Most likely, the guild master of Purity, Ashley’s guild, would arrive personally.
“Just you two are left, huh?” A voice came from beside Richard and Ashley.
Richard and Ashley turned towards the voice, only to see a man in shabby, low-quality gear. They immediately determined that the man was guildless and broke. Even though their positions and backing were vastly different, Ashley gave a few words of warning. “Be careful, that’s a field boss, it’s much stronger than a goblin.”
Towers of Heaven Page 3
