The Tower's Smart-Phone

"This sure looks fascinating," Nox mumbled, standing in front of a large store, one of the biggest in the city.

Its walls were made of glass, displaying the various crystal balls kept on the display shelves inside it.

A large board hung on top of the building, which read: Jorut's Teleballs. The silver letters dazzled due to the sun's brilliant rays falling on it.

It was on one of the most crowded streets in the town, with the roads brimming with people and creatures of all kinds.

"Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you inside?" Margaret inquired, standing beside him.

"Indeed," he replied, "I'll be directly heading to the higher floors after this, so it'll be better if you head back to the inn."

"Very well," she said, offering him a slight bow before disappearing amidst the thick crowd.

Looking around one last time, he headed inside through the glass doors that automatically slid aside when he neared it.

The inside of the store was grander than anything else he had ever laid his eyes upon back on his planet.

The huge hall's walls and floor were made of smooth and shining white marble tiles. Chandeliers with glowing golden orbs hung from the ceiling every few meters, not leaving a single unlit spot in the great hall.

Tables with glass tops were lined up a few feet from the wall, with a handful of graceful and sophisticated people in silver suits standing behind them. Even the walls behind the tables were covered with display shelves.

Crystal balls were kept on both the shelves attached to the opposite walls as well as the tables. Some were the size of a palm, while a few were as big as an entire human.

A crowd of about thirty high-class customers strolled around the grand hall, assisted by the men wearing silver suits.

"Welcome to Jorut's teleballs!" exclaimed a man wearing a silver suit, approaching Nox, "How may I assist you, sir?"

He looked like he was in his early middle-ages. His black hair was short and neat, and his calm, dark eyes joyfully looked at Nox.

On his silver suit, he had a small nameplate over his chest, which read: Orijo.

"I was looking for communication devices," Nox replied, gazing around the hall, which contained objects alien to him.

"I see… Would you like to see our low-end devices or–"

"Anything…" he replied, "it should just last long and be able to perform the basic functions."

Orijo examined him with gleaming eyes before beckoning him to follow behind and walk towards one display case.

"Will money be an issue, sir?" he calmly asked, not turning to face Nox behind him.

"No," he replied, sliding his hand into his trousers pocket and looking up at the chandeliers.

"Very well," Orijo mumbled, extending his arm to pick up one of the crystal balls from the table, covered by a glass case.

As if it was an everyday occurrence for him, his hand effortlessly passed right through the glass as if the barrier never even existed in the first place.

Taking out a small glass ball, smaller than the size of his palm, he held it out towards Nox.

"It's the most advanced one we have…" he said, making a grand gesture with his other hand, "It has a new-generation Tollen microphone which detects the arcane fluctuations in the air, as well as the sound waves to deliver the clearest and crispest sound."

"Not only that," he continued, letting go of the crystal ball, which instead of falling down, hovered in the air, "It also has an advanced air element technology and is able to follow its user around if he tells it to."

He walked a few steps away from Nox, with the crystal ball hovering right beside him.

"It also has the best camera technology that the Tower has to offer," he said, making his way back to the ponytailed man, "If you're interested in live streaming your climb of the Tower, there is no device better than this."

Lifting the crystal ball in the air, he exclaimed, "This beast of a teleball can be yours for just… 499,999 gold coins!!!"

A sarcastic smile escaped Nox's face on hearing the otherworldy price for the teleball. It was priced almost twenty times the B-rank sword he had recently bought.

"May I examine it?" he inquired, extending his open palm towards Orija.

Swiftly, he softly placed the ball on his open palm.

**********

9000-XT Teleball (B)

One of the highest-end teleballs available on the lower floors, created by the master technician, Jorut.

Its quality cannot be compared with normal teleballs.

If broken, it can attach itself back to its original state unless it encounters an A-rank attack or higher.

Even though it is highly desired, most people on the lower floors scram on hearing its high price tag.

**********

"How long will it last," Nox asked the man after glancing at its status screen.

"I assure you," Orija replied, "As long as it is not smashed into microscopic pieces, you will never need to replace it."

"Can their locations be traced?"

Shaking his head, the man replied, "Not at all, Sir. A few of our cheaper tele balls can be easily traced, but this is our greatest product! As long as you don't intentionally send someone your location, no one will be able to trace these."

Nox doubtfully looked at the man. If what he was saying was true, then this would indeed be an excellent purchase.

"Very well…" he replied, after looking at the crystal ball for a few minutes, "I'll take three of these."

.

.

.

[You have completed the main challenge of the sixth floor!]

[You have completed the main challenge of the seventh floor!]

[You have completed the main challenge of the eighth floor!]

In just under two weeks, Nox climbed three floors, which was almost record-breaking, even among the legends of the Tower.

"Why are you going for the fingers?" Nox mumbled, lunging backwards, evading the strike of the enormous sword aimed at his wrist.

He stood in the middle of an open field inside a humongous lush, green forest, expanding thousands of kilometres in all directions.

He wore his skin-tight vest and pants, with a red cloak hanging from his broad shoulders, shielding his back. His face was covered with a black mask.

Three shadows surrounded him. The spear goblin, the assassin and the warrior.

Without warning, the elite goblin lunged with astonishing speed, aiming to strike at Nox's legs with his spear. But Nox, ever vigilant, had anticipated the attack. He leapt high into the air, expertly contorting his body mid-flight, and delivered a powerful kick that sent the goblin hurtling into the trunk of a nearby tree.

As he prepared to land gracefully on the ground, the assassin materialized behind him, wielding a deadly dagger. With uncanny reflexes, Nox pivoted his entire body, evading the blade and countering with a swift, upward kick aimed at the shadow's chin. However, to his surprise, the assassin vanished into thin air, only to reappear behind him once more, this time thrusting the dagger at his abdomen.

With a hint of a smirk, Nox swiftly sidestepped the attack, demonstrating his extraordinary prowess. In one seamless motion, he seized the wrist of the shadowy figure behind him, effortlessly lifting it into the air, and then brought it crashing down to the ground with astonishing force, using just one hand.

"You've become proficient in using your clone," he said, looking at the shadow assassin who had already gotten back up, "Good work, Kenichi."

In his time with them, he had given his shadow soldiers names. Still, it wasn't official since the system only allowed him to officially name them after they reached the knight-rank.

"Yong, you should have aimed for the head when you had the chance," he commented, turning towards the knight who had made his way beside him, "Why did you even aim for the fingers?"

The shadow warrior slightly blushed, looking at the ground. Even though its facial expression was impossible to perceive underneath its armour, its shyness could be clearly felt.

"And Shane," he called out, facing towards the shadow of the spear goblin standing behind the warrior, afraid that he would get scolded too.

"Aiming for the legs was a really nice move. Your coordination with Kenichi was satisfactory," he said, smiling at the goblin, whose chest puffed up with pride.

"Ambrose," he mumbled, sitting down on the soft green grass.

Heeding his call, the magician emerged from within his shadow.

Nox raised his finger, pointing at a tree a few metres away.

Understanding his order, the magician hovering in the air, moved to his master's side, raising its open palms at the tree. The other shadow soldiers had gotten behind him and were eagerly observing.

The air in front of the magician's palms began to gather in one place, creating a soft breeze which lightly crashed against Nox's face. In under a minute, he managed to compress it into a ferociously swirling ball of air before pushing it in front.

Like a bullet swirling out of a high-grade rifle, it launched towards the tree before finally crashing into it.

Even though it wasn't powerful enough to pass through the other side, it was able to make a substantial spiral-like dent in it.

"That's good," said Nox, lying on the soft grass with his palms under the back of his head, "Keep practising… The rest of you spar with each other… We'll head to the next floor after I catch a quick nap."