(XXI) The Second Isle

Jackson sat in frustration staring at the jagged edges of the melted blades lying in the dirt in front of him. Sighing heavily as his heartbeat returned to normal, he noticed the flashing icon, bringing up the notifications:

[New Martial Artes Detected!]

[Creating New Martial Arte Skill: Twenty Moons Under the One Sun]

[Rank: <Unknown>]

[Mastery: <Unknown>]

[Type: Movement]

[A new Martial Arte has been born! The system requires additional time to evaluate and determine the Arte's capabilities...]

[New Martial Artes Detected!]

[Creating New Martial Arte Skill: Inferno of the Twin Storms]

[Rank: <Unknown>]

[Mastery: <Unknown>]

[Type: Twin Blades]

[A new Martial Arte has been born! The system requires additional time to evaluate and determine the Arte's capabilities...]

[Modified Challenge Completed!]

[The grotesque Mutated Horror Wolf and his pack have been exterminated from La Primera Isla, granting access to the next floor! For your contributions toward the completion of this challenge, you have received a reward!]

[Reward: 'Rank A' Martial Arte Skillbook Received!]

Jackson swiped the notifications away as he thought about the small icon of a blue book as the screen began to ripple like water as a larger book slowly floated toward him out of the window. A kaleidoscope of colors began to flash as the book appeared, dropping into his open hands, inspecting the sizeable blue book.

[Asura of the Four Rivers Skillbook]

[Rank: A]

[Mastery: 0%]

[Type: Unarmed]

[Read this skillbook to learn a fisticuff-focused Martial Arte described as four rivers flowing violently against their opponents and beautifully for those lucky enough to spectate.]

'It's like the system is taunting me for losing my weapons...' Jackson lamented to himself, however, after opening the skillbook and flipping through the pages as he briefly glanced at the various poses; his joy was too much to hide.

With a massive grin, he placed the skillbook into his Gobbii Bag and stood up, turning around and staring at the chest of the deceased Hollow, 'Since it mutated, I wonder...'

He dropped to his knees and grabbed the hilt of the destroyed sword icepick style, plunging it into the chest of the Hollow as he carved a massive hole, searching through the corpse.

Located in suspension with various muscles attached to it between the lungs and heart, a white sphere glistened against the tough tendons. Using the blade, Jax carefully separated it from the Hollow, standing up as its body began to convulse, vanishing in a wisp of smoke as the skull clacked against the ground.

"Huh..." Jackson muttered as he knelt, picked up the skull, and turned it over in his hands as he inspected it.

[Mutated Hollow Skull]

[Rank: C]

[A material often used by Climbers as a defensive material in the creation process of armor.]

He placed it in his Gobbii Bag and carefully began using his fingers to rip the remaining bits of flesh from the <Common Hollow Spirit> as he casually strolled through the jungle toward the waterfall.

Unlike the previous Spirit Core, the stone-like material gripping the stone was a faint copper color and did not grip as much of the orb. He knew better than to check for the cores from the remaining nine Hollows. His father had warned him about none of the Hollows having one until the tenth floor.

Kneeling next to the pond, he plunged the Spirit Core into the water and shook it, cleaning it and removing the grease from his hands before he tossed it too into his bag.

Jackson stood, brushing his pants as he observed his now serene surroundings, his gaze locking on a faint light permeating from behind the rushing waterfall, reflecting various colors.

"Kinda cliché..." He said, approaching the waterfall from the water's edge. A narrow gap in the stone allowed him to slip behind the waterfall into a small cove, a blue portal floating in the center.

Shaking his head, Jackson stepped through the portal. Once again, his body distorted as he was sucked into it; disorientation and nausea rushed through his whole body again.

Forcefully exiting the portal onto the top of a large plateau, Jackson stumbled forward, turning around as he saw the blue portal floating behind him.

He walked to the edge, looking out over the second island. It wasn't much larger than the first, but it included the mountain range Jax was currently standing atop. The forest was denser as more Arecales trees grew closer together, creating a thick blanket of palm leaves.

Large beaches extended beyond the jungle, meeting the ocean that stretched as far as the eye could see. Shades of yellow, orange, and red streaked the clear skies as the sun began setting within God's Tower.

He sat on the edge, taking in the scenery, turning his head, and noticing a small mountain path that descended the range into the jungle. Unlike on Terra, where a single day was 24 hours, within God's Tower, time flowed three times faster.

This was the peril that one faced within God's Tower... Spending an entire Terran day within God's Tower was equivalent to losing over a week of your life!

To make matters worse, only particular floors maintained a checkpoint portal where one could leave and exit freely. On the higher floors, the checkpoint cities were more frequent, with the highest floors having one on each level; however, there was only one checkpoint within the first ten floors, and Jackson still had three more levels to reach it.

"This seems like as good a time as any to set up camp!" Jackson said, stretching into the air as fatigue started to set in. Looking around the plateau, he quickly gathered small branches, tossing them into a pile.

Opening his Gobbii Bag, he grabbed his <Climber's Cartridge Case> once more, grabbing a camouflage-covered cartridge and opening it, tossing it out onto the ground as a massive cloud of smoke appeared.

Waving his hands, Jackson cleared the smoke, revealing a decently sized campground fitted with a tent, sleeping bag, small metal frame grill, and a large three-legged stand holding a big pot.

Jackson picked up the branches, tossing them underneath the pot, kneeling and using a flint and steel, it didn't take long before a roaring fire was ablaze, and after a trip back to the La Primera Isla to fill the pot, it was boiling on the stand.

He sat on a large rock next to the campfire, gazing into the flames; he waved his hand in front of his face and dismissed the notification, sighing heavily.

[Time Remaining Until Next Challenge Begins: 00:02]