Chapter 40 - Yuuki

"Goddamn, you're famous…" Alchimie exclaimed as the two watched Yuuki's 2v1 trial on a hologram screen that's being projected by a kiosk-like device in front of them.

"Yeah, who knew they have a way to record shit? And who the hell even recorded it?"

"I know, right? Look, this is just like the internet! I never knew this Neural Network exists until now!"

The two talked with excitement as they browsed through the hologram more, finding more and more content. The most popular of which are the content about Players. Countless articles and sites highlight the players and their mysterious arrival in the tower. Multiple media outlets are rapidly procuring news about the mysterious outsiders left and right. Even scientists of the tower are baffled by their existence, and according to them, active research are currently taking place.

"Wait, lemme check up on something…" Yuuki checked the [Eternal Library] to check up on the things players had found out about these Neural Network and as expected, there are articles by players, but not really that much information yet.

Satisfied with his find, the two continued browsing the Network and saw more and more news about many things, especially the prominent figures of the Tower.

They browsed through the screen as if they were using the internet and managed to find some information regarding the High-Rankers.

Currently, these figures are also heavily invested in the research of the Players and the forums are also being bombarded by discussions about many players being kidnapped by mysterious organizations, being interrogated, experimented and tortured, albeit the simulated pain is negligible. But weirdly enough, they are actually being rewarded with EXP by the game for their trouble and because of that, nobody really tries to fight back or do anything other than gather more info about their captors and the Tower while in captivity.

They browsed through more news while also figuring out the features of the Neural Network and saw more and more battles from the floor 1 trial in earlier time and some other past ones.

They managed to watch interesting battles such as MasterAhn's first attempt in the trial, the battle between the son of Zeus and that one NPC that Yuuki first met in Floor 1, and a lot more.

"This facility's really cool, I'm definitely gonna come here frequently." Alchimie said.

The two walked out of the facility, satisfied with their find and experiences.

Neural Network works akin to early 2000's internet. It is rough, but has a multitude of functionalities. These facilities, called Neural Hubs, are usually free to access in the whole tower and they are usually always situated in a Green Zone. The Network has been in use for millennias by now and it is what connects the Tower's massive populations across the floors. Although non-climbers can move between floors unrestricted, when it comes to communications and long distance endeavors such as banking, news browsing, etc. the Network provides a way for them.

Users can create Neural IDs equivalent to usernames and passwords through their unique innate mana signature and personalized symbols. Since mana in the tower is interconnected and acts like a brain that contains information that can never be erased, this allows the Neural Network to be a popular and working form of technology widely used in the tower. This technology is free to use since only the building costs were procured and the buildings are meant to last very long and functions solely through using the nearby mana from the atmosphere.

The functionality and processes of the Network is actually derived from the Marketplace itself. Since the latter had existed long before the former, the scientists of the tower had replicated its process to store information instead, a revolution of how communication is done happened and paved way for the current Neural Network that they have today.

"So? What's next?" Alchimie asked.

"Dunno, we need to level up to go up."

"Of course."

"I think I'll spend my Eternium first… Buy some equipments, ya know."

"Sure, let's go."

They exited the facility and went to an equipment shop.

The Floor 2 of the tower, also known as Floor of Joy. Unlike the Floor of Hope or Floor 1, this floor doesn't have a dominant ruler in its lands compared to the Hasan Empire that occupies most of that previous floor.

In here, most of the lands are occupied by small independent cities and towns that manages their own thing, and affairs, and economies. However, there is a singular kingdom called Shendo here, which is the largest in the whole floor.

"What kind of equipment are you gonna buy anyway?"

"Not much, just those that can improve my stats."

"I see… Hey, you have ten, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"How 'bout you invest in me?"

"What?"

"You know, give me three. Invest in me, I promise, I'll make both of us rich again in this game."

"Eh…" Yuuki was skeptical.

"Come on, didn't you and AbsoluteZero invested in me last time too?"

"Well, yeah, but still… Fine, I know it's worth it last time anyway, so why not do it again…"

"Good choice…" Yuuki retrieved 3 pieces of the Eternium coins from his Inventory and then handed it carefully over to his companion.

"What are you gonna do with it anyway? How will you grow it?"

"By doing what I'm best at, alchemy."

"Okay, I trust you then…" Soon enough, they arrived in front of the shop and entered. A young lad welcomed them, who seemed to be an apprentice craftsman in this place and greeted them cheerfully.

"Welcome to our shop, may I ask how we may be of service to you?"

"Ah… I'm just here to buy some equipment for myself."

"Then, I'll be happy to give you a tour of what we have to offer."

They went around the shop and saw a variety of different equipment. From weapons, armors, accessories and more.

"Ya'll got anything that can improve mana and stamina?"

"Of course, mister. My father is our craftsman here, almost everything that are here are made by him! Come, let me guide you to those kinds of pieces."

After looking through the many pieces of equipment, Yuuki smiled a little in satisfaction. "These are good stuff, cheaper too."

A deep voice suddenly startled the three of them, prompting them to look at the source. "Of course it is cheaper, it's locally made, unlike in the Marketplace where it's all about money."

"Father! You're done in the forge?"

"Mm… What do these young lads want, son?"

"Oh, only one of them are buying, this mister!" The son then presented Yuuki to his father with enthusiasm.

"I see… Young man, have you found what you're looking for?"

"Um… yes… It's these items, my focus is to improve my stamina and mana, after all.." Yuuki presented the items he had already picked up.

"Good choices… But let me recommend you something..." The man picked up something from inside the forge and came out with a pair of black gloves. "A pair of gloves made out of webs of Man-Spiders from Floors above 100. You're a Kenshi, aren't you?"

"A Kenshi…?"

"You're from Shogunato Domain, aren't you?"

"I… suppose?"

"You're weird, but this will help you, I heard catching fast opponents are where most Kenshi are having a problem, this will help. It's only 1 Eternium."

"What the… I thought you're genuinely helping me…"

"I know you had the money, so I offered you. This will give you a huge boost in Magic stat too."

"How'd… damn, the Network?" Yuuki was baffled.

"That's right." The man replied with a smug.

"Let me see it first."

"Sure."

The man handed over the item to Yuuki and his jaw dropped.

[Item Name: Thread Spinning Gloves**

Rarity: Epic

Tier: 122

Level: 1

Requirements: None

Stats Bonus: Suppressed (215 Magic, 193 Dexterity, 137 Vitality) >> 7 Magic, 6 Dexterity, 5 Vitality

Effects: By consuming the User's Mana, the gloves will produce a powerful line of thread that can be easily manipulated by applying more mana onto it. The Mana cost of this effect goes up by how thick and how long the produced silk is.

Description: A powerful equipment made from Man-Spider's internal organs from Floor 122]

"How 'bout it? One Eternium?"

"If I bought this, can I get any discount for all the others?"

"We both know that you really like and needed this, but I will give you ten percent discount, if that will make you happy."

Yuuki's face turned sour but he still accepted it. This item's value is undeniable, especially with its tier.

"Oh, by the way, what is the tier of weapons and materials?" He asked the man.

"Oh, that? Let's say that it's in accordance to the number of floors where those said items are relevant in."

Alchimie then interjected. "Care to elaborate, mister?"

"Sure, sure… just like these gloves, which have a tier of 122, right?"

"Uh huh…"

"We're in floor 1, so its stats are currently suppressed to match the allowed power of this floor, but not its effects. As you go up, the power of that item will be freed up little by little because the higher the floor, the lesser the restrictions of power will be. When you reached floor 122, its full potential will be freed up and you will be able to access its suppressed stat, allowing you to use it to its full power. Was that clear?"

"Goddamn… that's interesting…" Alchimie was awestruck, "I'm positive that those are one of the system mechanics of the game imposed by the devs, but for the NPCs to know those?"

"So? Young man. Will you also buy from my shop?"

"Eh? No, no, only my friend here will."

The man waved his hand in dismissal. "I'm just joking, haha."

"All right! I've picked out everything I needed, mister. Where should I pay."

"Oh, let's go to the counter." The son said, leading them to it.