Towers of Heaven

by Cameron Milan

  Copper and Iron Mine

  Produces 10 copper and 10 iron every hour.

  Spawns a level 1 golem every hour.

  That’s it? Usually a territory gave more detailed information, like what was needed to upgrade it, the miners mining the ore, and so on. This mine was different in that it produced ore automatically, but most importantly, spawned golems.

  There was a flash of light next to Jason. He glanced over to find a stack of ore, twenty in total. Half the stack was orange and half was gray. Next to the ore was a level 1 golem inspecting its surroundings. Jason watched, perplexed, as the group of golems ran over to the ore. In multiple flashes of light, the ore disappeared. A couple golems grew a few inches in size as they leveled up.

  Jason jumped to his feet and exclaimed. “Hey, you guys, don’t touch the ore without my permission!”

  The group of golems turned to face Jason and bowed their heads, hiding the red blushes on their cheeks. Jason slapped his forehead. “Sheesh.”

  He learned something new today. Golems could actually level up by eating ore of all things. He thought monsters leveled up by killing other monsters, but it seemed like they had their own culture as well. He froze. Wait, does that mean I can consume ore to level up as well? He glowered at the golems. They had stolen his XP. His free XP!

  Suddenly, the largest golem among his subordinates faced the ceiling and roared. Its body began to shine with white light as a notification appeared in front of Jason.

  One of the golems under your command has reached level 10 and is ready to evolve. It looks to you for guidance.

  Should it become a golem specializing in speed, strength, or defense?

  I’ll be the tank. Jason decided with a grin. Tanking was his role. His pride. He wouldn’t let others take it from him. That left two options: speed or strength. Strength would most likely increase their damage output, while speed increased their reaction and movement. Jason considered for a moment before picking speed.

  As soon as he pushed the button, the golem shrunk, becoming slender. It looked down at its body, curious at its new form. Jason walked up to it with a nod. “All right, your name shall be Scout One. Go search the area surrounding the mine and report back to me. Remember, do not engage in any battles. Flee as quickly as you can.”

  “Okay, chief.” The golem slowly spoke before dashing out of the mine.

  Huh, that was a surprise. It looks like after evolving, the golem became more intelligent, although only a little. Jason glanced at his territory. Fifty-eight minutes until the ores spawned. Instead of sitting around waiting, he wanted to be more proactive. He pointed at five golems. “You five, stay here and guard the entrance of the mine. The others, follow me.”

  To clear the floor, he had to find the portal. The easiest way to do that was to increase his strength. That way he would be able to overcome any obstacle. He was currently level 9, which was far from enough. Jason exited the mine, finding himself in a large pit. He climbed up the slope and glanced around.

  The biome he was in lacked any type of life. It was a barren rocky wasteland. The only thing he saw were massive rocks of various shapes. One thing of note was that far, far in the distance were two enormous slabs of rock leaning against each other. That’s worth checking out, but it’s too far for now.

  Jason cautiously made his way forward, prepared for battle at any moment. Sure enough, as he made his way around a large boulder, he ran into a group of kobolds. Unlike the lower leveled kobolds back in the mine, these had levels around 10 and held short swords.

  “Attack!” Jason roared, startling the small creatures. He stormed into the pack of kobolds and crouched over, activating his spike barrage. The spikes on his body shot out at a speed too fast for the kobolds to react to. Every kobold recoiled in pain as the spikes pierced into their bodies. That was when the horde of golems stomped forward, barbarically smashing into the kobolds. Bones were broken and skulls were cracked.

  The battle was quickly over, thanks to Jason creating a gap in their defenses. Jason suddenly spun around, only to find Scout One approaching him. Lowering his guard, he asked. “What did you find?”

  “Chief. Mine, that way.” The golem pointed, its low intelligence causing it to speak awkwardly.

  Jason inspected his subordinates. Due to how quickly the battle ended, few were wounded. He faced Scout One. “Lead the way.”

  “To where?” The golem tilted its head.

  Jason inwardly groaned. “To the mine you found.”

  “Follow me.” The golem turned and ran off at full speed.

  “Wait!” Jason hastily called out. “Go slower.”

  Meanwhile, back on the fifteenth floor, Olivia stood before a group of ascenders. “Yeah, we saw him. A young boy with blond hair and green eyes, right? He entered the portal leading to the sixteenth floor.”

  “Thanks.” Olivia turned and headed towards the portal. Earlier, she had tried contacting Jason only to receive no answer. When she finally learned where he was, she was surprised. They already made it to the sixteenth floor? Considering that Jason only entered the tower less than two months ago, this progress was record-breaking, and he wasn’t even a natural-born. Olivia felt more confidence in making her decision. It was the right choice to pick Jason as her master.

  Much like her brother, Victor, Olivia was ordered by her father to climb the tower without any of her family’s help. She had yet to enter the sixteenth floor, and instead had been grinding her skills and techniques on slimes. Unlike Roy, Olivia did plenty of research on which monster to pick. After browsing through the library in the Vistar Kingdom’s capital, she stumbled upon a rare and unique monster that complemented her skills. If she could acquire its ability, she would grow vastly more powerful.

  Not wanting to fall behind Jason and Roy, she entered the portal.

  If you were to become a monster, which one would you choose?

  “Shadow panther.” Olivia stated confidently, having already long decided on her choice.

  The world spun, only to stabilize in the next moment. Olivia found herself surrounded by darkness. Strangely, she was able to see as clearly as day. The shadow panther was attuned to darkness and had the innate ability to see in the dark. As she was now a shadow panther, Olivia gained access to its abilities.

  Shadow Teleport - Level 1 0% - Trainee

  Consume 10 stamina to teleport to a shadow within fifteen feet.

  1-minute cooldown.

  Shadow Bind - Level 1 0% - Trainee

  Consume 5 stamina to manipulate a shadow to bind a target for 5 seconds, preventing movement.

  2-minute cooldown.

  Shadow Clone - Level 1 0% - Trainee

  Consume 30 stamina to create a clone from your shadow for 5 minutes. The clone has 30% of your stats.

  10-minute cooldown.

  The tree to her left suddenly rustled. A black rabbit with red eyes popped out. It sniffed, turned to Olivia, and bared its long fangs.

  Olivia opened her snout and licked her now sharp teeth. “Wanna fight?”

  The rabbit screeched and jumped towards her, its body splitting into three. Olivia’s ears perked up, listening to the sound of the grass. Just as the rabbit was about to bite into her, she swirled her head to the right and snapped her mouth shut. Fresh blood dyed her teeth red as the rabbit struggled in her mouth. She chomped down again and again, ripping the rabbit’s body to shreds. When she felt no more movement, she spat. The rabbit hit the ground with a thud before dispersing into light.

  Glancing around the dark world, she jumped onto a nearby tree and disappeared into the darkness. This floor was perfect for her, who was raised as an assassin. Becoming a shadow panther was like giving her wings. The hunt was on.

  Chapter 32

  The tower was beyond what scientists could understand. All they knew was that the tower was able to freely manipulate space-time, but as for how, they had no clue.

  On a floor that was not accessible to ascenders, an entire world la
rger than Earth was housed. The planet was devoid of any form of life, and ravines as large as continents crisscrossed through the rocky surface. Floating above the planet was an island covered with lush green plants and herbs. Every single herb contained a vast amount of lifeforce. If an ascender consumed one of them, their lifespan would be increased by thousands of years, and their bodies would contain incredible strength.

  “Oh, ho, ho.” An elderly man with a short grey beard, wearing a plain grey robe, bent over and gently picked up a yellow herb with seven leaves. “The lifebloom herb finally has seven leaves.”

  If Jason were here, he would recognize the elderly man as Aros, the god of battle. Aros sniffed the herb before popping it into his mouth. “Mm. Mm. Tastes quite bitter. Perhaps I should ask Piety to refine it into a pill?” He considered it, then shook his head. “No, no. I don’t want to owe her a favor.”

  The vast amount of lifeforce within the herb caused deafening booms to ring out from within Aros’s body. He trembled as the booms rose, combined, growing stronger with every blast. Aros opened his mouth and let out a burp, releasing a terrifying wave of energy. “Ahhh. It took ten thousand years for that herb to grow, yet I only gained a few hundred years of extra life. The effect of these herbs is weakening the more I consume them. Is my life really going to come to an end while I’m trapped in this damn tower?”

  The faint voice of a young woman suddenly echoed through the island. “Elder Aros, we are having a meeting. Would you like to join us?”

  Aros recognized the voice as Piety, the god of light. The gods took on the role of overseers in the tower and normally had a meeting every year or so. Time and time again, Piety would come asking for him to join, which Aros would decline, saying it was a waste of time.

  “A meeting? No-” Aros paused, recalling something. A grin tugged at his lips. “Actually, I’ll be there in a second.”

  “Really? That’s great!” Piety was pleased.

  Aros stepped forward, space warping around his body as he disappeared from the island, only to reappear in another location of the tower. Aros found himself standing on a large marble platform, hovering in the vastness of space. Faint glittering stars twinkled in the distance. In the middle of the platform was a circular table, around which sat numerous figures.

  One of the figures, a young woman with shining blond hair, rose from her seat and bowed towards Aros. “Elder Aros, your seat is over here, next to me.”

  “Well, well, well.” A ghastly voice caused the surrounding space to shudder. “Old man Aros has finally come out from his little cave. What a surprise!”

  Aros glanced towards the owner of the voice, a figure shrouded in billowing darkness. “Oh, Vex. I see you’re still too embarrassed to show your appearance. I wonder how ugly you really are?”

  Vex chuckled, his laughter grinding on the ears. “Oh, poor Aros. I can sense the aura of death exuding from your body. Anytime now you’ll fall over, dead.”

  Aros raised an eyebrow. “Vex, do you really want to anger me? I’m getting old, and might go crazy at any moment. Who knows if I’ll snap and break some rules?”

  The blackness surrounding Vex shuddered slightly. “Hmph.”

  Alister, the god of tricks, sat next to Vex. He was a beautiful young man with long black hair. “Every time you two do this, squabbling but never actually fighting. It’s boring. Just fight already!”

  A bald, short, middle-aged man roared with laughter. His name was Brundo, the god of professions. “Everyone knows that Vex got his ass whupped the last time they fought. He’s all bark and no bite.”

  A woman with curly hair defended Vex. “Hey, at least he’s the only one among us who has the balls to still challenge Aros.”

  Piety made a pitiful expression. “Everyone, we’re all friends here, right? Why do we have to fight?”

  “Spare me your fake pity.” Vex snorted in irritation.

  Just as the gods were about to get into another round of arguments, a calm, even voice silenced them. “Enough bickering. What are you, kids?”

  The gods turned, inspecting the new arrival. It was a man with short black hair, a narrow face, and a long tail. He wore glasses. The gods knew not his name, only his title. He was called the Architect, the designer of the floors in the tower, and also… the servant of the one who imprisoned them here.

  The Architect strode up to his chair and sat down before sparing Aros a glance. “Oh? Aros, you’ve arrived. I’m glad.”

  Aros sat down in the empty chair next to Piety. “Well, I thought I might as well show up at least once.”

  “Well, whatever the case, let the meeting begin.” The Architect nodded slightly. “Unfortunately, we just barely missed the mark to upgrade earth’s status from a tier two to a tier three trial taker.”

  “What does that mean?” The gods glanced around in confusion. To upgrade from a tier two trial taker to a tier three meant that all of the gods, the overseers, must have chosen a disciple, or in other words, a champion.

  The gods all focused on Aros, their eyes widening in surprise. “Aros, you finally picked a disciple? None of the lifeforms from the past five civilizations that took the tower’s trial caught your eye.”

  Piety smiled widely. “Elder Aros, congratulations!”

  Aros caressed his beard, grinning from ear to ear. “Ho, ho, ho. I may have picked up a young lad.”

  Vex snorted. “About time. It’s because of you that I could never unleash my minions. They keep complaining to me, going on and on about how bored they are.”

  Piety turned to the Architect. “Sir, who is Aros’s disciple?”

  All of the gods glanced at the Architect. Aros was known for being a stickler with extremely high standards. If Aros actually picked a disciple, they had to be someone special. The Architect replied calmly. “His name is Jason Woltz, 28 years old. He entered the tower two months ago and has already completed the fourteenth challenge of the colosseum. Most notably, he killed a level 15 field boss without using any skills at level 7.”

  The gods let out audible gasps, shocked at what they heard. This human named Jason had terrifying potential. Piety turned to Aros. “Elder Aros, that’s amazing.”

  “Well, he’s just barely passable.” Aros leaned back, laughing. He truly felt happy that all of the gods were praising his disciple, especially when he noticed the nearby Vex was silent.

  Brundo turned back to the Architect, his expression one of confusion. “You said we just barely missed the mark. I thought every one of us had disciples, except Aros. Now that he has one, shouldn’t everyone have a disciple now?”

  Vex spoke up, his tone haughty. “Well, my disciple may have killed Piety’s…”

  Brundo exclaimed. “Piety, is that true?”

  “It is quite unfortunate, but yes it’s true.” Piety lamented.

  Vex chuckled. “Piety, don’t blame me for this. It can only be said that your disciple was too weak.”

  Piety faced Vex with a warm smile. “Of course, Vex, what you said makes sense.”

  Aros glanced over to Piety, unable to tell if she was putting up a facade, or if she truly didn’t care. His eyes narrowed. That was what made her dangerous. Of all the people the Architect’s master captured, Piety was the one he was uncertain about. She appeared weak and was non-confrontational, always trying to keep the peace between the gods. She was the god of light, while Vex was the god of darkness, so they were diametrically opposed, and yet she was friendly with him, no matter how harshly he treated her.

  Aros didn’t understand. If someone treated him badly, he would just smack them around a bit until they bent the knee. Vex was a little special. Even though they dueled time and time again, Vex never gave up. Aros sighed. He had been like that too, in his youth. Always seeking greater strength, no matter how much his pride was stepped on. That was why no matter how vile Vex’ character was or how cruel his minions were, Aros respected him. He nodded to himself. Strength, in the end, was what mattered most.

 
Brundo asked Piety. “When do you think you’ll get another disciple?”

  Piety placed a finger on her chin. “Hmm. It all depends on their character, not their strength. I haven’t found anybody I like yet.”

  Alister reprimanded Vex. “Damn it, you fool. I know you sent a message to your disciple to kill Piety’s! If you hadn’t, you might have been able to unleash your minions.” He slapped his knee. “Now THAT would have been fun!”

  Vex’s action of meddling among the disciples backfired. If his minions got wind of this, they would definitely chew him out. He clenched his hands and felt regret, which was rare for him. “Sorry. I didn’t expect Aros to get a disciple.”

  The Architect narrowed his eyes, his tone cold. “Vex, did you tell trial taker Cay Wolf about the appearance, location, or abilities of trial taker Sam Kraus?”