“Mm.” Jason moved away from the portal and sat down on a boulder. Ten minutes later, Jason received a message from Olivia. “I- I failed.”
Jason was surprised. He knew that Olivia’s will was one of the best. If she failed, what exactly did she fear? Although impolite, he asked. “What did you see?”
Olivia didn’t respond for a moment. Jason added. “The illusion targets what you fear most. You don’t have to explain if you don’t want to.”
“What I fear most, huh?” Olivia sighed. “It was my father. I- I couldn’t face him.”
Her father? Jason had already felt in the past that he didn’t quite know Olivia as well as he thought he did. It was even more so now. A moment later, Jason responded. “Do you know what you have to do to complete the floor?”
“Yes… but I don’t know if I can do it. I’m sorry I disappointed you.” Olivia ended the call.
Jason stood up and prepared to run over to the thirty-ninth floor, but a notification stopped him in his tracks.
Humanity has been upgraded from a Tier 2 to a Tier 3 Trial Taker. Changes will now occur. Many previously locked mechanisms and rewards have been unlocked. To adjust to this transition, use caution.
Roy appeared before the portal, grinning from ear to ear. He hopped over to Jason and exclaimed. “Jason, guess what?! I just got accepted as Piety’s champion. Isn’t that amazing!?”
Jason was unresponsive. Only when Roy waved his hand in front of Jason’s face did he react. Jason’s face was grim. “Why is this happening?”
Roy tilted his head in confusion. “Huh?”
Cheslov arrived next to Jason and waved his hand, sending his notification over to Roy. As Roy read through it, his jaw fell. “What does this mean?”
Jason covered his face with his hand. No, what is this? Why is this? What is going on? The first major divergence from Jason’s alternate timeline had occurred. He had never seen this message before. Tier two? Tier three? What did they mean?
A new notification appeared in front of Jason.
God Aros is summoning you.
Accept / Decline
Before Cheslov’s eyes, Jason suddenly disappeared. He turned to Roy. “Where’d he go?”
“Uh, he’s fine.” Roy raised his hand. “I’ll be right back.”
In the next moment, Cheslov was alone. He scratched his head. “Strange things happen around this Jason fella.”
Chapter 18
Once again, Jason found himself in a milky white world, except this time there was no wave of terrifying killing intent. Aros wore a gray robe and still had the same short gray beard. With his hands clasped behind his back, he gave Jason a nod. “I’ve been watching your progress. I’m quite pleased.”
Jason forced back his irritation and put on a respectful expression. Although he doubted Aros was a god, Aros was still the most powerful living thing Jason had ever encountered. It was best to be polite and not let his emotions get the best of him. “Sir Aros, what does tier two and tier three mean? Please enlighten me.”
“Of course, of course.” Aros stroked his beard and gave a light chuckle. “Now that the tower recognizes your species as a tier three trial taker, I can tell you many things.”
Jason grew expectant. Perhaps he would learn more about the Tower’s origins? Aros began to explain. “This tower was created by a… human?”
Aros scratched his head. “He assumed the appearance of a young male, though I doubt that’s his true appearance.”
Aros paused. “Anyway, he stated that the goal of the tower is to find a disciple.”
“A disciple?” Jason repeated.
“Let me take a few steps back.” Aros grew solemn. “In our universe, there is a type of energy. It has many names. Qi, mana, and chi, just to name a few. To be clear, your galaxy lacked any form of this energy. Quite rare. Oh, now that I think about it, maybe that’s why he was so interested in this galaxy?” Aros coughed. “Pardon my rambling. Anyway, by cultivating and manipulating this energy, one can go beyond their mortal body. For example, I’m several million years old, and am quite renowned in the universe for my battle energy, a unique usage of the energy I mentioned earlier.”
“Several million years old?” Jason gasped.
Aros chuckled as he stroked his beard. “Anyhoo, over the years, many life forms have come up with unique methods of combat by utilizing this energy. In order to let their legacy survive, they find disciples to pass on their techniques. Sects are formed, wars are raged, blah, blah, blah. That has nothing to do with you right now.”
Jason’s eyes flashed. “So that means… I’m your disciple?”
“Ehhh.” Aros tilted his head back and forth. “Quasi-disciple, maybe? You haven’t learned my core techniques yet.”
“Okay. I think I understand.” Jason nodded hesitantly. “So the creator of the tower is looking for a disciple to pass on his techniques? How powerful is he, compared to you?”
“Let me tell you a story.” Aros grew serious. As he did, the surroundings dimmed. “Nobody knows his name, where he came from, or how old he is. It was as if he just randomly appeared.”
A gray light flashed through Aros’ eyes. “I was just minding my own business when he arrived before me. You must imagine my surprise. At my level, nobody in the entire universe could sneak up on me. And yet there he was. I could sense nothing from him. It was as if he was just a mortal.”
Aros glanced at the ground as he recalled that moment. “Back then, I was rather arrogant, haha. I immediately struck him with my strongest attack.” Aros clenched his hands. “How laughable. The attack I was so proud of, it was nothing to him.”
Jason gulped. “W-what happened?”
Aros raised a finger. “One finger blocked my attack. There was not even a scratch.”
Both Aros and Jason fell silent. Aros was already far stronger than Jason could imagine. He didn’t even know how strong, and yet someone else blocked Aros’ strongest attack with a finger?
Aros waved his hand, dispersing the heavy atmosphere. “Back to the tower. Based on your civilization’s potential, you are designated as one of three tiers. Tier one is the lowest, while tier three is the highest. The rewards for completing the tower’s trial are different based on your tier.”
“Huh?” The last sentence Aros said struck Jason like lightning. “What did you say?”
“Oh, just that the rewards are different based on the tier.” Aros gave Jason a strange look. “Don’t ask me what they are. Even I don’t know.”
Jason collapsed to his knees. How could this be? Most likely, based on what Aros was saying, instead of a wish, there was now going to be a different reward. How was he to revive his father? The realization that his father might now be gone forever left Jason gasping for breath.
“What’s wrong?” Aros teleported over to Jason and helped him to his feet. Seeing that Jason was unresponsive, Aros lightly placed his finger on Jason’s forehead and sent a wave of energy into his soul.
A feeling of peace and surpassing calm spread through Jason’s mind, awakening him from his thoughts. With a complicated look, he sent Aros a grateful nod and silently wiped away the tears in his eyes.
Aros quietly glanced at Jason. Everybody had their own problems. It was best not to pry. Seeing that Jason’s soul returned to normal, he sighed. “I can’t say any more about the tower, lest I get in trouble.”
Jason gritted his teeth. He now knew the purpose of the tower. The reason why all his friends, family, and comrades had died. The reason why humanity was annihilated. It was all to find a disciple. How laughable.
Aros’ voice broke Jason from his thoughts. “The main reason I summoned you here was to pass on a technique to you. Now that you have been recognized as a tier three trial taker, you get to learn it a bit earlier.”
“Another technique?” Jason’s expression brightened. All of Aros’s skills were extraord
inarily powerful. Hearing that he would get another one was a nice surprise.
“This is one of my core techniques. It converts the ambient energy in the universe into battle energy, thereby increasing the amount of battle energy you can utilize. Because your galaxy doesn’t hold any energy, you can only use this technique in the tower.”
“Great!” This was a great surprise. Aros’ skills were powerful, but were limited by how much energy they cost.
When Aros saw how excited Jason was, he grew proud. He stroked his beard as he asked. “Are you able to sense mana?”
Jason nodded. “I can feel it, but I can’t control it.”
Aros slashed out with his hand. “Control your battle energy to carve out a portion of mana. Then, drag it into your body.”
“So, domineering?” Jason blinked. Wasn’t that too simple?
“Battle energy is meant to be domineering!” Aros smirked.
Jason closed his eyes and did as he was told. Over the past few months, his control over battle energy had risen considerably. It was a piece of cake to carve out some mana and drag it into his body.
“Now send your senses inward.” Aros placed his palm above Jason’s head. “Move the mana along this route until it is converted into battle energy.”
Jason found to his surprise that in his mind’s eye, he was able to see a line marking out a complicated path through his body. He did as instructed and used his battle energy as a shepherd to guide the mana through his body. After several laps, the quantity of mana grew smaller and smaller. Sensing Jason’s confusion, Aros’ explained. “My battle energy is made up of mana, but it is a very pure form of it, so you are grinding away the impurities. Because your body is a battle physique, it naturally converts mana into battle energy.”
Time passed slowly, and after around half an hour, the initially large amount of mana was now reduced to a sliver. Suddenly, the blue energy flashed as it turned gray. As it did, a notification appeared in front of Jason.
Energy Conversion
Convert Mana into Battle Energy. The time it takes to convert is based on the quantity of Mana and your Willpower Stat.
You have successfully converted Mana into Battle Energy.
+.1 to maximum Battle Energy.
“Ugh.” Jason was expecting a bit more than point one battle energy. It took over half an hour, after all.
“Greedy kid.” Aros chuckled. “Your soul is weak, so don’t expect much. Oh, your Willpower stat increases the power of your soul, so you should focus on that.”
Jason too felt that he was a bit greedy. He turned to Aros. “I’m grateful for this technique. Thank you, Aros.”
Aros patted Jason’s shoulder. “Well, that’s all. You can be off now. Remember, the tower is going to be different from now on. Be careful as you adapt.”
“Ah, wait.” Jason quickly asked. “When do you think I’ll be strong enough to use your sword?”
“Ah?” Aros’ face grew ugly at the mention of his stolen sword. “At the very least, you need to have a stage three battle physique, and have at least two hundred Willpower.”
“So much?” Jason gasped in shock. To reach a stage three battle physique was simply a matter of money. Two hundred Willpower, however, was much harder to get. Only when he remembered how powerful the sword was did he realize he might have bitten off more than he could chew.
Aros waved his hand in irritation. “Get lost!”
With that, Jason was forcibly teleported back to his previous position. He still didn’t realize how important the sword was to Aros.
Chapter 19
In the residential district of the Vistar Kingdom, there was an exclusive gated community for the rich. High-level guards were posted at the entrances to keep out the riffraff. Inside, only mansions could be seen. There were teams of servants inside each one, prepared to serve their masters at a moment’s notice. Only nobles could afford such treatment, or those with money. Several upper-tier and top-tier guilds had a mansion here to use as a base of command. It was a place of respite, safe from monsters.
Stormrider, an upper-tier guild with little to no renown owned one of the cheaper mansions. Members of this guild could be seen entering and leaving their mansion throughout the day. This guild owned few hunting zones, and had few enemies. From all appearances, it was just like any other guild.
But that was just a front. Once a member of Stormrider entered the mansion and was far from prying eyes, their aura underwent a drastic change. From a cheerful ascender, to a bloodthirsty murderer. This mansion was one of Yama’s headquarters. Unlike Stormrider, Yama was the world's most infamous organization.
The top floor of the mansion was closed off from the majority of Yama’s members. To enter meant death. The largest room on the top floor was completely devoid of furnishing, except for one thing. A stand made from black wood held the sword of a samurai. It was purely decorative.
Cay Wolf, the leader of Yama, sat in front of the sword in the seiza position. He was of Japanese descent, though he was raised in America. He had short black hair, razor-sharp eyebrows, and appeared to be no older than twenty-five. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was calm and measured.
Unlike his outer appearance, his mind was in chaos. He prided himself on being the strongest assassin in the world. It was the core of his ego. Every bounty he accepted, he completed perfectly. Politicians, CEOs, guild leaders. Everyone fell before his deadly attacks. That was, until a few weeks ago.
As the war in Brazil’s tower raged on, the tension between the United States and China increased. The person the U.S. feared most was Shenlong, acclaimed as the strongest ascender in the world. If Shenlong entered the war, the U.S. would be pushed into a corner. To prevent this possibility, the US hired Cay Wolf to assassinate him. The result was a complete and utter failure.
Since the assassination attempt, Wolf had remained locked in his quarters, his pride in tatters. Wolf replayed the moment when he released his arrow. Everything had been going perfectly. The target was unaware of his presence, and the arrow was released. How could he be so strong? It was like Shenlong had eyes behind his head. With a simple tilt of his body, the arrow had missed. The battle after that was a disgrace.
Wolf clenched his hands as his breathing quickened. The only person he could trust was himself. What he valued most was power, and yet there were no avenues for him to increase it. Because of his profession, he had many enemies. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the entire world wished him dead. If he went out to hunt monsters, it was likely that someone would recognize his skills. The only reason his strength still increased was because he was the champion of Vex, the god of darkness. With every assassination, he gained rewards. Still, progress in recent years had been slow.
The only thing that gave him hope was the recent meeting with Vex, but the price for the strength he sought was great. Wolf sensed something and glanced behind him. A moment later, the door opened and two figures entered. One was a youthful-looking woman. She had long black hair, thin eyebrows, and an unblemished complexion. Her name was Aiko Wolf. The boy was Victor Wolf.
Victor followed behind his mother as they walked into the dark room. Aiko frowned upon noticing that the room was empty. She looked over her shoulder at Victor. “Didn’t Ghost say that your father was looking for us? Why isn’t he here?”
As Victor was about to respond, his eyes widened in horror. A large portion of his mother’s chest was missing. Through the hole in his mother’s chest, he could see his father nocking another arrow. Victor’s mind was frozen, unable to understand the scene playing out before him.
Aiko’s face was as white as a ghost as she glanced down. She twisted her wrist. A high-grade health potion appeared, which she promptly drank. Unfortunately, a notification appeared before her.
You have been cursed for 1 minute. All healing is negated.
“C-cu
rsed?” Aiko gasped. Victor knew only one person who had a skill like this. Both he and his mother swiveled their heads around just in time to see an arrow. In the next moment, Aiko’s head exploded. Her body fell to the ground before disappearing in a flash of light.
“AHHH!” Victor screamed and fell to his knees. He reached out, but there was nothing there. Not even a body.
The sound of footsteps caused Victor to shudder. Scared out of his mind, he glanced up. “F-father, why did you-.”
The words got stuck in his throat. Victor stared in abject horror into his father’s eyes. It was like staring into an abyss. Pitch black pupils shrouded in darkness. These weren’t his father’s eyes. They were different.
Victor was filled with so much fear that he didn’t realize his father had nocked another arrow. In his final moments, he could only see the eyes of a demon, before being completely consumed by darkness.
The room fell silent. Wolf glanced down at his feet, his heart unnaturally calm. He knew something was wrong. Like he lost something precious. But in the pursuit of ultimate strength, it was worth sacrificing. The notification before him verified his thoughts.
Severing the Heart
Kill that which you hold dear.
Progress: 2/3.
Reward: Race Change into a Demon
This was the quest Vex had given him just hours ago. It was a simple quest, and yet required the strongest of wills to complete. Vex had promised that upon becoming a Demon, he could become the strongest person alive. Although, at that point, he wouldn’t be human. But that wasn’t important. Strength was the only thing that mattered.
“What have you done?” A voice as cold as ice broke Wolf from his thoughts. He glanced up and found Ghost standing at the door.
“Brother-in-law…” Wolf’s voice was devoid of any emotion.
Ghost trembled with rage. Just a moment ago, he sensed that something terrible had happened. Upon entering the room, he found his sister’s items on the ground, surrounded by a pool of blood. Even a fool could figure out what had happened.
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