Mud Tower

Back at the landing spot, the group of eight reconvened and reported their findings. Other than the one Chronus found, there were two other nests of Twisted Abominations nearby. From their descriptions, the Twisted Abominations should all be rank 1, but for humans with no profession and extraordinary power, that is not something they can safely contend with. A forest lay to the north of them and a depleted magic crystal vein was discovered at their west. Edward also found a clearing with a rocky overhang that could serve as a shelter.

Seeing that it was the only suitable location for the group to set up camp, they took up the free possessions they had and set off in the direction Edward indicated. They arrived not long after at the clearing. It was fairly flat, covered in irregularly sized pebbles and patches of crooked grass. A monolithic rock formation jutted out from the ground and could serve as a refuge from wind and rain.

"We should construct a shelter. We don't know if there will be bad weather conditions, and the night could be cold," said Edward. Everyone expressed agreement and took their respective tasks.

Since Chronus possessed an axe, he took the initiative to cut down a few smaller trees. The branches were removed and the remaining logs set up against the rock formation. While Chronus and Kenan, who had brought an almost machete-like knife with him in his backpack, worked at gathering wood, the rest of the team collected vines and grasses to patch up their makeshift shelter. Some people also took the time to create makeshift weapons out of large sharpened sticks.

Eventually, a wooden structure stood against the rock formation. The eight people could barely squeeze inside and it was by no means pretty, but it was solid and could offer limited protection. Previously while going around and collecting suitable grasses, someone managed to find the burrow of a mutant gopher, which was then promptly rounded up and killed. The plump animal was now roasting above a flame, a tempting smell wafting off of it and dripping yellow grease. The group crowded around their cooking dinner in a circle.

"Those monsters I saw were so scary. Why don't we use our embryonic tower cores? The voice said it would give us superpowers." Seeing as they were all gathered together, Emily raised her question.

"Didn't you hear what it said? We can only have one tower in our life, and the material it absorbs during birth will affect its characteristics forever! We have to choose carefully!" Kenan shouted in a loud voice.

"This place is dangerous. I think we should all get our powers as soon as possible," said Charlene.

"This decision will likely have a large impact on our future. I agree with Kenan, we should first try to find more detailed information," stated Alice.

Edward frowned, both points of view were reasonable. While he was inclined to not rashly build his tower, the frightening descriptions of the Twisted Abominations made him hesitant.

Chronus put forward a suggestion. "Why don't we have a volunteer and try to use the embryonic tower core? We can then learn from the experience and see what to do from there."

Edward thought about it for a moment and nodded. "This is a good idea. Is there anyone who wants to do it first?"

Leopold leapt up and raised his hand, "I'll do it!"

Seeing no one objecting, he excitedly looked all around him. When his eyes passed over a spot in the distance, he abruptly froze, then dashed out without an explanation. The group followed the impatient Leopold until he stopped at a location that had nothing out of the ordinary.

"This will be the perfect material for my embryonic tower core!" Leopold said with gusto, gesturing at the ground beside him. Upon closer inspection, the group found a puddle of particularly foul smelling mud. Thumb sized flies with shiny black bodies buzzed around on the festering pustules that bubbled up. Catching a waft of the fumes, many of the group members gagged.

"No need to question me! I've decided! The starting point of the supreme stink wizard will begin here! System, ACTIVATE!"

Leopold summoned his embryonic tower core and plunged it along with his arm into the sludge. A second later, he laughed maniacally. "Haha! I do have a system!"

"Did something happen?" asked Edward with concern. He didn't have a chance to say anything before Leopold had acted.

Leopold smiled smugly, "My system asked if I should confirm. It also told me the rule fragments it detected are curse and earth type magic and corpse type mutant genes."

"Of course I confirm!" As he spoke those words, a small vortex appeared in the murky purple pool of mud. Leopold quickly let go of his embryonic tower core and retracted his mud covered arm. The volume of the mud rapidly drained away. Once none was left, his tower core was revealed in the empty basin. Different from the colorless glass orb it had just been a moment ago, now it was colored a pale purple with swirls of brown. Leopold swiftly picked up the newly born tower core. He stood up and turned to find Alice holding an embryonic tower core of her own against a tree.

"You mentioned being able to detect the rule fragments in an object, right?" asked Alice.

"Yeah."

"I see, that means every tower core has this ability."

"?"

"This tree only has druid rule fragments."

"Wha... What did you say?"

"Hmm? I said this tree has druid rule fragments." Ignoring Leopold who looked like he suffered an emotional blow, Alice inquired, "Do you feel any different? What powers did you gain?"

"Ehhh..." Leopold took a moment to rein in his depression, "I don't have any right now. It said to choose a location to place the tower core and that it can be relocated later."

"Well, since you can change it, just try it," said Edward.

Leopold nodded and placed his tower core onto the ground. A wave rippled through the ground, propagating from the core. After reaching a certain radius, they bounced back to the core. Wave after wave was sent out. With them reinforcing each other, the amplitude gradually increased. A section of mud rose up around the tower core. After a while, the ripples subsided, revealing a mud tower less than half a meter tall, constructed from the same foul smelling mud from the pool it was birthed from. The tower looked very much like a sandcastle formed by placing a bucket upside down. A small series of openings revealed the tower core nestled neatly inside.

Everyone examined the tower with interest, but didn't dare to get too close. Even though the tower was birthed from mud, Chronus didn't disregard it. The strength of a tower didn't depend on the rarity of the materials it was birthed from, and every single tower has its use. Chronus knew that towers built from common materials such as mud or wood have a unique advantage, and that is their strength in the early stages. A tower master grows their strength through constructing their tower, and the materials that don't conflict with their tower can be easily found for a tower like a mud tower.

The only weakness of such a tower master is their relatively simple and straightforward methods. An enemy that can be easily predicted is less threatening. In fact, the patch of mud Leopold chose was relatively special. From the curse magic and corpse mutant gene rule fragments, it could be inferred that a special creature had died and was decomposed there. With these additional paths, Leopold's tower would be slightly more difficult to develop but also bring more diverse means.

"Is there anything different now?" asked Alice, looking slightly disappointed at the small mudcastle.

Leopold closed his eyes and held out his arm. After concentrating for a few seconds, a small brown magic circle appeared on his palm. A globule of mud shot out and landed a short distance ahead with a plop.

"My ability will be stronger when I improve my tower," Leopold said embarrassedly.

"The strength of a new tower master just after being initiated shouldn't increase by much," stated Chronus. "I doubt changing the absorbed materials will result in a different result."

"So your suggestion is?" asked Edward.

"We shouldn't rush to create our towers. Doing so won't change our immediate situation," analyzed Chronus. An unstated reason was that he hadn't collected his desired materials. If the group decided to all pursue immediate combat power, he would be forced to stand out. Favorably for him, from the current situation, it was highly unlikely he would have to.

"I agree. We should first spend time scanning objects for rule fragments with our embryonic tower cores and see if we make any discoveries," said Alice.

"I also agree," said Kenan. The old man Griffin also agreed.

"Well it looks like we've decided," commented Edward, seeing their responses.