Jason had just arrived after hurrying over, only to see two teams left. As he saw the tanks kiting the rock golem without fighting it and the necklaces around Richard and Ashley’s necks, he immediately understood what was going on. I have about ten minutes, should be enough.
Jason cracked his neck as he strode forward. Ashley was startled. “Hey, didn’t you hear me?”
“Let him be.” Richard snorted. He already looked down on Jason for his gear, but now that Jason had ignored his rival, Ashley, Richard felt personally attacked. He couldn’t wait to see Jason be smacked to death.
Hm, two short swords will be better than using a shield for this fight. Jason stored his shield and took out the short sword that he’d saved before looking up at the golem. It stood twenty feet high and had thick rocky limbs. Its strengths were immense physical power and high armor. Its weaknesses were its slow speed and the joints in its limbs.
Jason’s eyes flashed. There!
He dashed up to the golem just as its foot landed. With a twist of his body, Jason carved his sword across the joint connecting its lower leg and upper leg. Bits of dirt splashed across his chest.
-15
Before the golem could respond, Jason utilized his speed to the limit and attacked three more times.
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The golem roared in pain. It twisted its head and gave Jason a fierce glare before punching down with its fist. Jason smirked. “Too slow!”
Just as its fist was about to smash into him, he took a simple step back and dodged the attack. The golem missed, but its fist continued downward and smashed into the ground. Before the shockwave reached Jason, he jumped up and climbed onto the golem’s thick arm. He grabbed onto small crags and made his way to the golem’s neck. He used one hand to hold him in place and used the other to stab into the golem’s neck. It was child’s play.
-29 Critical!
Most monsters had a weak spot. If this spot was attacked, an attack would deal double damage. The golem’s weak spot was the joint in its neck, and Jason took full advantage of this. The golem roared in anger. It used its hands to slap at Jason, but he crawled all over it like an agile monkey. No matter how hard it tried, it couldn’t hit him.
Richard and Ashley had long since fallen into shock. When they saw Jason dodge the first attack by taking a simple step back with no wasted movements, they immediately knew something was off. Perhaps it was only by chance, they thought. But when Jason jumped up and climbed all over the golem as if it was his own backyard, they knew he was skilled.
But there was one thing they were confused about. Why would such a skilled expert like Jason be in crappiest gear in the whole tower?
Ashley bit her lip and glanced at Richard. “How come he can deal damage?”
Richard took a closer look at Jason’s actions. After a few seconds he exclaimed. “He’s hitting the joints that are connecting the golem’s limbs!”
Ashley watched Jason hit the golem’s neck and nodded. “You’re right! Is there no armor there?”
“Quickly, let’s get some damage in!” Richard began casting a fireball. Ashley followed suit.
If they dealt some damage to the rock golem, when it died, they would gain a portion of the experience. And if they dealt a significant amount of damage, they could argue that they deserved a portion of the loot. Both of them told their teammates what they learned, and soon roars of pain came from the rock golem.
Now that they’d learned the trick to killing it, the rock golem was no match for the ascenders. After five minutes, it fell to the ground with a thud. Jason was the closest one when it died, and when he saw the skill book that dropped, he quickly picked it up and used it.
You have learned 'Earth Armor'.
“How dare you!” Richard roared furiously. Not only did Jason take the skill book without consulting them first, but he actually dared to consume it before their very eyes. A ball of fire shot towards Jason, followed by a water whip.
Jason felt sorry for taking loot before consulting with the other parties involved in the kill, but he desperately needed this spell. His future depended on it. With a simple backflip, he dodged both the fireball and the whip. When he landed on the ground, he put his weapons away and shouted. “Sorry!”
When Richard and Ashley saw how easily Jason dodged their spells, they momentarily paused, but when Jason said sorry, they were enraged. “Stealing loot and then apologizing? Have you no shame?”
“Surround him!” Richard gnashed his teeth.
Jason scratched the back of his head as the two teams surrounded him. He truly felt embarrassed for stealing loot, but he really had no other option. He would rather have a hit to his reputation than the possibility of losing out on the skill book.
“What’s going on?” A charming voice rang out.
“Where’s the field boss?” A deep voice sounded out at the same time.
Richard recognized the voice. He turned around and exclaimed. “Guild master!”
“Big sis!” Ashley ran up to her sister and hugged her arm. She pointed at Jason. “We killed the rock golem together, but he actually stole a skill book that dropped right away!”
Amanda, the guild master of Purity, squinted her eyes at Jason. “Oh? A loot thief?”
“How despicable!” The guild master of Farcry, Henry, stepped forward. “Hand over the skill book right now, or else!”
Richard growled. “He already used it!”
Amanda and Henry knew more than everyone else here. They were aware of the skill book that the rock golem dropped, and how valuable it was. Because of this, Jason felt killing intent rolling off of them.
“To be fair, I dealt over 50% of the damage to the golem. Me being the first to choose the loot is fair enough. I don’t want anything else.” Jason explained after a moment of thought.
“Oh, is that true?” Amanda was surprised. A single person dealt more than two teams combined?
Ashley nodded truthfully. “That’s right. If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have been able to kill it.”
Amanda took a second look at Jason. Equipment from goblins, does he have no backing? Then how was he able to deal so much damage? Wait, is he one of them? After a moment, Amanda sighed. “Fine, since you dealt over 50% of the damage, then you have the right to pick first.”
“Many thanks.” Jason nodded gratefully towards Amanda.
“Hmph! Brat, this better not happen again.” Henry glared at Jason like a tiger eyeing its prey. If Amanda hadn’t been there, he would have killed Jason to teach him a lesson.
Jason ignored the rest of the loot at his feet and walked off. When he found himself alone, he sighed softly. I can’t believe Henry let me off so easily. Henry was a tyrant among the low-tier guilds. He was known for his short temper.
Just then, a notification appeared before Jason.
Your performance has impressed Aros, the God of Battle.
Do you dare take his trial?
Yes / No
*If you pass the trial, you will become a champion of Aros.
“Are you serious?” Peals of thunder went off in Jason’s head.
Chapter 6
The champion of a god. Before Jason returned to the past, there were tens of thousands of people who had qualified to take the trial of a god, but fewer than a thousand successfully passed. The people who failed died during the trial. It was incredibly dangerous, and yet that didn’t stop people from trying. If you became a champion of a god, you gained incredibly strong abilities based on whatever god you were representing.
Roy, for example, was the champion of the god of light, Piety. Many among Jason’s comrades had been champions of a god. Unfortunately, Jason had never qualified for a trial. In a twist of fate, on the first day he traveled to the past, he actually qualified for one. The only question was: should he take it?
Who was it that became the champion of Aros? Jason thought back to before he returned to the past. He knew a lot about t
he different champions that came and went over the decades, but he didn’t recall anybody being the champion of Aros. Was it that none qualified, or did they all die during the trial?
Should I do it, or not? He would undoubtedly gain incredible strength if he passed the trial, but if he failed, humanity was doomed. He thought about his time limit of five years. Five years to clear the tower. Could he do it as he was now? He lacked the confidence to answer.
Jason’s heart hammered in his chest as he pushed the ‘yes’ button. The world suddenly twisted, and before he knew it, he found himself in a milky white world. Ahead of him hovered an elderly man sitting cross legged a few feet off the ground. He had a short grey beard and wore a plain grey robe. The elderly man’s eyes slowly opened. As they did, Jason felt himself drown in bloodlust. Even the milky white world turned blood red. The world returned to normal a split second later and if it wasn’t for the sweat that covered his body, Jason would have thought that what just happened was an illusion.
“Good, you can handle this level of killing intent. It seems I wasn’t mistaken in choosing you.” The elderly man’s voice came from every direction, as if the world and him were one.
“Sir, might you be Aros?” Jason bowed respectfully, his heart still beating rapidly. The man before him had no screen above his head. Only humans from outside the tower had no screen, but Jason knew that the man before him was not like him. He felt no presence from the man at all, like he didn’t even exist.
“It is I.” Aros stood up straight as his feet touched the ground.
Jason recalled the killing intent that nearly caused him to fall unconscious. He gulped. “Sir Aros, was that the trial?”
Aros laughed lightly. “Of course not. Do you think becoming my champion is so easy?”
Jason shook his head. Not even Baal, the final boss of the tower, had such a fearsome killing intent. It seemed like Aros could kill with bloodlust alone. Based on what Jason knew about the other trials, Aros’s trial was most likely one of the harder trials, and might even be the hardest. He was already starting to regret accepting this trial, but now that he’d committed, he couldn’t back out.
“Sir Aros, I’m ready whenever.” Jason demeanor was respectful. If he somehow angered Aros, he could die with a single snort.
“Good.” Aros snapped his finger. A cracked grey sword suddenly appeared in the air before plunging into the ground. It sunk halfway into the floor before stopping. At the same time as it appeared, the air became as sharp as knives. Tendrils of grey energy wrapped around the sword, and when one tendril touched the floor, a deep cut appeared. So sharp! Jason was profoundly shocked.
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Every second, a damage notification appeared, as well as a gash in Jason’s armor. He immediately jumped backwards. The further away he got from the sword, the less damage he took. When he was a hundred feet away, the air returned to normal. Jason was deathly afraid as he took a look at the sword. No way, is that?
Roy had had a divine-grade sword, and he felt that the two were comparable. Equipment had classifications just like monsters. It went from crude, basic, grand, rare, arcane, heroic, unique, celestial, and divine.
Aros’s figure flashed, and in the next moment, he appeared at Jason’s side. Jason wiped the blood from his cheek as he asked hesitantly. “Sir Aros, is that sword of the divine grade?”
“Grade? It has no grade. It’s just a sword I used in my youth.” Aros chuckled as he playfully rubbed his beard.
“As expected of a god…” Jason mumbled. He turned to Aros. “Sir, what exactly is the trial? Do I have to pull it out of the ground?”
“No.” Aros folded his hands behind his back. “To become my champion, there is but one requirement: to possess a battle physique.”
A battle physique? Jason had never heard of this term before. Instead of interrupting, he waited patiently. Aros continued. “A battle physique is one in which every fiber of your body has been filled with battle energy. Usually it would be impossible to get one in this tower, but fortunately for you, I’m here.”
Aros pointed at the cracked sword. “As this sword accompanied me in my youth, it bathed in my battle energy and eventually possessed its own. To acquire a battle physique and thus pass my trial, you must bathe in this battle energy. The closer you get to the sword, the faster it will be.”
Jason immediately did some calculations. Considering that at a hundred feet away he took 1 damage a second, and at thirty feet away he took 15 damage a second, he would most likely be immediately killed if stood before the sword. Jason asked respectfully. “Sir, how long would it take if I stood a hundred feet away?”
A playful glint appeared in Aros’s eyes as he replied. “About a thousand years or so.”
“As I thought…” Jason mumbled to himself. There’s only one way to leave a trial, and that was to pass it. Jason didn’t have much time. He set a limit of five years for himself, but if he was stuck in the trial for the whole five years, that would just be the greatest joke of all time.
“Well, I’ve said everything that needs to be said. Good luck.” Aros disappeared silently, leaving Jason alone in the white world.
Jason’s eyes hurt as he focused on the sword. It was like he was being stabbed. Summoning his resolve, he stepped within the hundred-foot range and sat down. Every second a damage notification would appear, informing him that he took 1 damage. Considering that he restored 1 health every two seconds, he would eventually have to take a step back or else he would die.
When his health was nearly 0, he stepped back and waited for his health to restore. A few minutes later, he stepped in range of the battle energy again. When this happened a few times, a screen appeared before him.
Battle Physique: 0.0000000000001%
Jason’s face fell. This really will take a thousand years. Is this trial impossible?
Chapter 7
The Jason of the future, before he’d traveled back in time, would have been confident in completing this trial.. He’d had ridiculous levels of regeneration and all sorts of defensive skills. Standing before the sword would be no problem at all, but right now he was only level 10. He’d gained three levels from killing the rock golem, but it still wasn’t enough when he distributed his points.
“Am I going to die here?” Jason muttered to himself. He only had enough food for three days, not a thousand years. Aros must have known this was impossible for him, and yet he still summoned Jason here. No wonder the god wore that playful smile.
After ten minutes, Jason realized his equipment was losing durability every second. It would all be destroyed in less than an hour, so he stored them in his inventory. This only increased the pain he felt when he was cut by the battle energy, but he could handle it. One thing that a tank needed to have was a high tolerance to pain. A tank would be the focus of many spells, curses, and attacks. If a tank faltered for just a second, it could lead to a party wipe. Thus, Jason prided himself on his ability to take pain.
Jason was quickly losing hope, and soon the idea that he was going to die here was taking over his mind. He truly regretted taking this trial at level 10.
A notification, separate from the battle physique, suddenly popped up.
Earth armor has leveled up.
It is now trainee grade level 2.
Peals of thunder exploded in Jason’s mind. He recalled that the skill he’d acquired from the rock golem was earth armor. If that was the case, then this trial wasn’t actually impossible. Normally, leveling up earth armor and skills like it were a bitch, but because he took an attack every second it gained experience much faster than normal.
Earth Armor - Level 2 0.2% - Trainee
Reduce the damage from all attacks by 0.2.
Level 1 earth armor reduced damage from all attacks by 0.1, so each level would increase the damage reduction by 0.1. If it continued to level up like this, then the trial was impossible. But Jason knew that when a skill upgraded to the ne
xt grade, it would gain a boost in power.
The main reason why Jason and his allies had been able to survive until the very end of humanity wasn’t their incredible innate talent or their equipment. It was their ridiculously high skill levels. The trial just so happened to be the best method to powerlevel the earth armor skill. If Jason’s allies had found out that he had the opportunity to powerlevel a skill, especially a rare one like earth armor, they would definitely have been jealous.
Towers of Heaven Page 4
