(XXIV) A New Day

Jackson reclined asleep on a sturdy branch of an odd tree that rested close to the mountain range. The tree itself wasn't bizarre; only its location on a tropical island where it didn't belong didn't make sense.

The sun was finally breaking across the horizon, the rays revealing the blood covering his entire body. Gnarly gashes slashed across his chainmail in various locations, showing the bloodstained bandages beneath.

When the rays of sunlight hit his face, he scrunched his nose and slowly opened his eyes, raising his hand to shade his face. He winced in pain, leaning forward as he straddled the sturdy branch.

He checked on his mastery of the <Asura of the Four Rivers Skillbook> briefly before returning it, sighing heavily and shaking his head:

[Mastery: 9%]

'Three hours and only a measly seven percent increase...' He thought to himself, slipping off the branch and landing with a thud on the ground below before he ascended the mountain path.

Using only his fists and rudimentary knowledge of Asura of the Four Rivers, Jackson could only remain atop the plateau for three hours before he had to flee. He had picked that tree so he wouldn't have to lie on the ground, and after bandaging himself up, he rested.

Atop the mountain range were eight <Hollow Skulls> lying on the stone ground along with nearly a dozen <Mutated Hollow Skulls> and their <Common Hollow Spirit> Cores.

"Not even worth the effort..." Jackson muttered to himself as he grabbed all the items, annoyed at himself for falling for The Guardian's trap despite his father's warning.

Placing the last item inside his Gobbii Bag, a notification appeared in front of him as a series of green floating orbs appeared, duplicating themselves every few meters as it led down the mountain pathway.

[Modified Challenge Completed!]

[The darkness has been lifted, and the path to the third floor is revealed. Your prowess and contributions were enough to receive credit for this floor; you defeated 118 Hollows! Continue on the correct route, Climber!]

[Reward: 2/10 Modified Challenges Completed! Complete all ten to receive the reward!]

Jackson began following the floating orbs when a whisper appeared in his left ear, "Jax... Are you there..? Jax... Can you hear me..?"

He turned around, looking everywhere as his eyes darted around the mountains, searching for the source of the voice, "Who's there?" He called out.

Hearing no response, he shrugged his shoulders, following the path down. After a long silence, the whisper in his ear grew louder as he looked around, "Jax..? Jax..! Jax!!! Can you hear me..? It's-"

"I can't hear you! Who are you?" Jackson replied, a bewildered look in his eyes as he looked around.

A few hours later, "Can you fix this, please? I can't seem to get through!!" The voice rang clearly inside his ear, instantly becoming discernable: "It's Megan! Jax, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I can hear you; are you okay?" Jackson said, smiling as he shook his head, "What are you doing?"

"Aha! There we go! Huhuhu!" Megan chuckled into his ear a few hours later, "I gave you a Zoís Corde! I'm wearing its match so we can stay in touch! Isn't this so cool?"

"Yeah..." Jackson replied, "How did you afford them? Aren't they ridiculously expensive?"

"Ah... That... Well, it doesn't matter! We have them!" She replied, quickly changing the topic as she caught him up on the nearly three days that had passed on the outside since he first entered God's Tower.

The Zoís Corde was a unique item made from a particular metal inside God's Tower. Due to the extraordinary properties of the metal to conduct sound waves and how no matter how many pieces the metal is broken into, if one were to hear the sound, every part could listen to it.

The only drawback is that due to the time dilation of God's Tower, the earrings act more like a voicemail machine than a phone call.

"I'm entering the third floor now; when I get to the fifth floor, I'll come visit, alright?" He said, stepping through a blue portal nestled in a secluded cave near the mountains' base.

Stepping through, Jackson was once met again with those disturbing feelings before landing roughly on another beach, shaking his head as the challenge window appeared immediately:

[Modified Third Floor Challenge]

[Normally, it would be your task on this island to find a suitable weapon for the challenges that lie ahead. Instead, you are tasked with climbing to the top of Mount Nina Urqu. No Time Limit! Once you have reached the top, you will know what your objective is...]

"Now we're getting vague challenges..." Jackson shook his head as he surveyed his surroundings.

The Third Floor was a relatively small island with nearly no trees. The sandy beaches gave way to large rock formations. Dozens of mountain peaks pierced the sky, reaching for the gigantic Mount Nina Urqu.

Various cracks and fractures broke through the mountain's crust as lava rivers freely flowed down the massive volcano, creating magma pools. Thousands of paths cut through the mountains, creating an intricate network of rare and precious materials.

Reviewing his map, Jackson traversed across the island until he found a suitable location to set up camp that provided the most protection. After establishing his temporary residence, he looked toward the mountains, recalling a throwaway comment in his father's journal,

"I swear, Vayne must have an extraordinary power to gain information from people. Thanks to him, Zaxocid shut down and confiscated a small circle of Climbers who stayed on Tutorial Island intentionally and created a massive fortune! Our guild will never need another credit!"

Jackson pulled the tent closed and laid down in the sleeping bag, tucking his arms underneath his head and staring up at the tent's ceiling, his mind racing at the obstacles in his path.

"Hmm..." He muttered. Typically the challenge would have a 72-hour time limit, but this development threw a wrench in his plans. He didn't even know how much he could store within his Gobbii Bag; he may only need a little bit of time...

'What if I need more time..?' Jackson thought for the first time. He had no clue about the limitations of the Gobbii Bag, and given its rank, it might be even more ludicrous...