The Tower (1)

Fizzle...!

CRACKK!

"Ah, damn it. This energy really is chaotic..." Matthew sat down as beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

He was currently testing the [Chaotic Energy] that had been revealed.

"At least, I can still separate and fuse the attributes together..." He sighed heavily.

After making a few tests with this new energy, he knew why it really was called "Chaotic".

If he simply used it against a dummy, for example, the three attributes would be exposed at the same time.

It would freeze the dummy, trap it within vines, and then disintegrate into small wisps.

All in a very fast sequence, which was the ice element, the plant element, and finally [Nether] itself.

However, Matthew found out that he could still control what kind of element, or even a fusion of those, to use.

And as the classes at the academy progressed, Matthew could confidently say that he was the weakest in terms of talent.

He really underestimated the other student, they were progressing at a very fast rate that seemingly only increased after the [Tower] arrived.

But he could still easily beat them in terms of raw power, obviously.

"Open the authority panel..." He mumbled.

[——+——Authority Store——+——]

⋙ Talents

⋙ Titles

⋙ Active Skills

⋙ Passive Skills

⋙ Items

Authority: Platinum

Star Coins: 5000

——+——+——+——

"Mhm... I'll really need to save up..." Matthew sighed deeply.

The authority store was something that Pearl had told him about. It was something like a store that could grant the players things like skills, equipment, or even talents.

But talent is the most expensive thing available.

However, there are some items that are blocked because you don't have the necessary authority.

Those are divided into a few grades: bronze, silver, gold, platinum, diamond, and finally, emerald.

To elevate your authority, there are a few conditions. For example, to reach the bronze-level authority...

You need to reach level 20.

Have at least 200 points in Mana.

And have completed 10 bronze-level quests.

Those quests have appeared in the tower, where, currently, most of the awakeners are.

Now, the most important thing...

The [Starstream] which is the best way to get coins. Each player has access to it, and they can create their own [Stream] for the constellations to see their actions.

The constellations can donate [Star Coins] to help the player or can even grant things like elixirs, weapons, skills, or even talents.

So, the new meta in this world is basically becoming a streamer... lol.

"Well... I should hurry up." Matthew stretched his arms before he walked towards the main hall of the academy.

The principal decided to lead the students into the tower herself. If it weren't for that, Matthew was pretty sure that everyone would be in the tower right now.

In the current world, which is called [Arcadia], there are a lot of Towers that have been put all around the world.

Not to mention that Arcadia is 5x times bigger than Earth; however, it's still divided into the same continents.

Every tower is interconnected with the others; it appears that each tower's entrance serves as a portal to "another world," where players can level up.

"Oh... there are indeed a lot of people." Matthew uttered as he looked around. "I didn't know there were so many students in the academy, but I guess that now even the 2nd and 3rd year students are present."

'But one thing that I should worry about... is definitely the world's will. Many characters have already been corrupted by that fucking bastard.'

Only three days have passed since that counter with Lilian, Roxanne, and Stacy, but in that small number of days, a lot of rumours have already been spread.

There were a lot of rumors that Roxanne has been toying around with a lot of students and is even said to be working with the Death Hand's Society.

'Well... the first rumour has a chance of being true. But the second one is impossible.'

Step...

Swish!

Suddenly, Matthew's thoughts were swept aside by a gust of wind that rippled through the entire hall.

Upon the grand stage, a striking woman emerged, her long purple locks cascading around her shoulders, and her eyes twinkling with mischief beneath a purple witch's hat.

"Hello everyone~" She chimed michievously as she suddenly snapped her fingers.

In an instant, every student found themselves whisked away to the entrance of the tower. Matthew's eyes widened briefly, but he swiftly regained his composure.

'Space magic... interesting.' He glanced towards the principal.

"Well, let's keep it simple," she began.

"After arriving at the tower, you'll undergo a sort of tutorial. Essentially, the tower will assess your potential and assign you a difficulty level accordingly."

"The levels range from easy, normal, intermediate, hard, nightmare, to chaos. So far, nobody has demonstrated enough potential to tackle the chaos difficulty... but regardless, the rewards correspond to the challenge."

"Easy difficulty has -0.5 times the usual rewards, normal offers the standard rewards, intermediate grants +1.5 times, hard offers +2.5 times, and nightmare has a 3 times multiplier. As for the chaos difficulty, it remains a mystery."

"The academy will be on break for two weeks to prepare environments where you can strengthen yourselves. You'll spend your time in the tower during this period."

"That's all for now~! Best of luck to everyone!" With a warm smile, the principal vanished from the crowd.

With the instructions given by the principal, students began to chatter amongst themselves before entering into the tower.

"Matthew!" Roxanne's voice came from behind as she wrapped her arms around him.

"What...?"

"I just missed your warmth~!" she confessed shyly before releasing him.

"Let's head into the tower now!" She seized his arm before he could respond.

But just as they were about to step forward, Roxanne halted and turned to face Matthew.

"Mhm?" He cocked his head in curiosity.

Smack❤!

Giggle~

"I'll catch up with you later!" Roxanne beamed, waving as she disappeared into the portal.

"Sigh..." Matthew shook his head with a faint smile before stepping into the tower.

.

.

.

.

[Welcome to the Tower!]

"Agh..." Matthew groaned softly as he opened his eyes, just to be met with a single blue panel.

[Please choose one of the weapons before you.]

In front of Matthew, there stood all kinds of weapons. From guns to things like halberds or axes.

"Mhm, what should I choose?" Matthew pondered.

Normally, he would easily choose a sword or something like that. However, his eyes suddenly lighted up as he saw something that was hidden before all those weapons.

He curiously picked it up...

[You have chosen the War Scythe (Common)]

"Ah... I didn't know that by simply touching them would mean that I chose it." Matthew tapped his forehead.

"Anyways... this looks pretty damn cool." He examined the war scythe in his grasp.

"The weight... feels just perfect."

[The "tutorial" will be starting now.]

[An difficulty will be awarded to you depending on your potential.]

"I'll probably get the nightmare difficulty..." Matthew stretched his arms, preparing himself to the fight.

[...Error.]

[You've been granted the Chaos Difficulty. Please kill the monster in front of you to finish the tutorial.]

[After killing the monster, your wounds will be healed, no matter how severe they are.]

"Uhhh...?" Matthew's eyes widened as a massive monster materialized before him.

It had the body of a lion with three freaking heads, and it even had a lance-like giant tail.

ROOARRR!

It roared at Matthew, sending a gust of wind that propelled his hair backwards.

[Three-headed Chimera.]

[10.000 Health Points.]

"Ah... of course. What would I expect?" Matthew grinned wryly.

Around him, a violet-colored aura suddenly propelled, envelopeing his body with a layer.

The white stars on his eyes also brightened up as this happened...

"Fuuu..." He exhaled sharply.

As he did that, his eyes sharpened and his body tensed as he dashed towards the giant chimera.

Swish!

As he approached the monster, the Chimera's tail sliced through the air with deadly accuracy, aiming for Matthew's legs.

"Huff...!" With a rapid sidestep, he narrowly avoided the attack, as the rush of the wind whistled past him.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he assessed the situation, searching for any weakness in the creature's defenses.

"Go!" A deep amount of energy was propelled from his body.

Rustle...!

Vines erupted from the ground, entwining themselves around the Chimera's legs with a powerful grip.

Ice crystals formed around its heads, freezing them in place with a glittering yet sharp sheen.

ROOARRRR!!!

The creature roared in fury, thrashing against its icy prison with all its might.

Crack...!

Swish!

Matthew took the opportunity and swung his scythe craving a deep wound on the paralyzed Chimera's thick hide.

SPLURT!

ROARRRR!

The strike was met with a spray of blood and a guttural cry of pain from the creature, however, the chimera quickly got out of the ice prison and swung her tail at Matthew directly.

It was too fast and Matthew couldn't help but grit his teeth and he received the blow against his scythe.

"Kreugh....!"

ROARRR!

THUD!

The chimera was stronger than Matthew which resulted on him being thrown a few meters again.

"Haah..." He quickly got up and wiped the blood from his lips as his breath came in ragged gasps.

[4.230 Health Points.]

"Just a bit more..."

ROARRR!

The chimera suddenly rushed at Matthew which surprised him. This time its eyes had turned blood-red, but everything was explained as he saw a notification on top of the chimera.

[Berserk State: 2x Status.]

"Fuck..." Matthew gritted his teeth.

Swish!

Like a whip, it swung its tail at a very faster speed than before and Matthew this time simply jumped up to avoid it.

But at that moment, he realized he had fucked up.

ROARRR!

One of the heads of the chimera rushed towards Matthew and opened its wide mouth, showing her sharp teeth.

CLUNCH!

SPLURT!

THUD!

"HAAAUGHH!!!" Matthew's body was bitten off.

His lost his left arm, and a wide part of his upper body, and if that wasn't enough, the chimera's tail attacked him once again, making roll a few meters on the ground.

"Hahgh...!!" Matthew gripped his right arm tightly, using his scythe to get up as pain lanced through his body.

He struggled to rise, his vision swimming with darkness as he fought to stay conscious.

"Fuck... this."

Matthew put all his remaining Chaotic Energy on his war scythe, and awaited until the chimera rushed towards him.

ROARRR!

It roared loudly, the saliva from her mouth spreading in the ground as she took huge jumps to get to Matthew.

ROARRR!

SWISH!

SPLURRTTTT!

And then, in an instant, it was over.

Just as the chimera jumped to Matthew, prepared to bit him, Matthew's closed eyes opened and he threw the war scythe directly at the chimera's heart.

Greugkhhhg...

The creature let out a final, anguished cry as its giant form collapsed to the ground, lifeless and still.

"Fuuu... haaah... ahh..." Matthew collaped to the ground as he took small deep breaths to calm down.

[You have killed an Three-Headed Chimera.]

[You have completed the chaos difficulty tutorial.]

[You have realized an impossible feat!]

Fwoop!

Suddenly, as Matthew was about to close his eyes, he felt a strange energy enveloped his body, and his eaten body returned to normal.

Another thing was that he felt full of vitality!

"That... was tough. I can't believe I almost died at an tutorial... But what kind of tutorial is this!?"

"Even 200 points in the strongest energy in the world wasn't almost sufficient to beat it!"

[Calculating rewards...]

"Oh.. at least that." Matthew smiled in satisfaction.

[You have completed the chaos-level tutorial...]

[You have killed a Level 50 Chimera...]

[Rewards calculated!]

"Uhh... Level... 50?"