+20% Effectiveness of elemental skills.
“That suits you perfectly,” Jason commented. The skills Olivia learned from her master were of the darkness element.
“Ahem.” Cheslov butted in from the side. “Guess what I got?”
“Gorilla serum,” Jason, Roy, and Olivia replied simultaneously.
A tear fell from Cheslov’s eye as he sniffled. “You guys know me so well.”
Rare-grade Gorilla Serum
Increase Strength by up to 30% at the cost of extra stamina consumption. Prolonged use will cause damage to the user.
By this point, everyone was awake. It took a few minutes to adjust to the changes in their bodies and share what serums they took.
“You’re all awake, then?” A feminine voice came from nearby, startling them all.
Jason turned and found a slender woman leaning against the adjacent wall with her arms crossed. She wore a white military outfit with a short red cloak draped over her shoulders. Her black hair was short, no longer than a few inches, while her face was angular and sharp. She pushed off the wall and walked over with measured steps. “Rowdy bunch, you are.”
Who’s this? Jason was baffled and alarmed. Not only had he never seen or heard of this woman; astonishingly, he was unable to detect that she’d been watching them from only twenty feet away. When did she arrive? Just now or when they were unconscious? If this weren’t the Sanctuary, a place known for being safe, he would have been terrified.
Ebba sent a message after using Inspect.
(Field Boss) Commander Fox - Level 120
Health: 300,000/300,000
Shenlong felt the same as Jason. Nonetheless, he stepped forward and clasped his hands in greeting. “Hello, my name is Shenlong. To meet someone of your caliber is my honor.”
Fox glanced at Shenlong, her expression hard. “So what Cable said was true. You can sense a person’s strength.”
“Somewhat.” Shenlong gave a slight nod.
“I’m in command of the military here. Just call me Fox.” She looked over Jason’s party before returning her gaze to Shenlong, her expression softening. “You’ve done us well. I won’t suspect you.”
“Thank you.”
“No doubt, you want more powerful serums after having a taste, right?” Fox smiled playfully.
Shenlong caught on quickly. “What do you have in mind for us?”
“Nothing much.” Fox reached into a pouch on her waist and handed over twelve metal collars. “I want you to infiltrate the territory of a noble who calls himself Hector.”
Shenlong stored the collars away as he asked, “To kill him?”
Fox burst into laughter before replying a few moments later. “No, I want you to disguise yourself as Hector’s slaves and find out if he’s found any other Sanctuaries.”
Shenlong’s face twitched when Fox laughed. It felt like she was looking down on him for being weak. Cay Wolf would’ve responded with anger, but Shenlong had something he didn’t. Patience and tolerance. He asked serenely. “You don’t know where the other Sanctuaries are?”
“Not a clue.” Fox shrugged. “Cable, Decker, and I, none of us expected to take charge of this place. Only Decker was a part of the military back then, but information about other Sanctuaries was classified.”
“I understand,” Shenlong summed everything up. “So, you want to connect with other resistance groups to have a better fighting chance?”
“Fighting chance?” Fox shook her head. “The fighting is over. We lost. Survival is the only thing that matters now.” She turned to leave. “Your map has been updated with the relevant information. I’m busy, so I’ll take my leave.”
Shenlong turned to his companions. “What do you all think?”
“Let’s do it,” Amara and Peter agreed.
“I want to see what a Noble is all about.” Eboni cracked her knuckles.
Jason was frightened when he heard his party’s response. “Guys, hold on. I think we should drastically increase our strength before doing this quest.”
Eboni clarified herself. “Hector sounds like a raid boss, so fighting him is a no-go until we get back up. I only want to see his stats.”
“No, I mean, we shouldn’t go near his territory, period.” Jason was desperate. His party was severely underestimating a Noble’s power, not to mention they grew stronger over time. Worse, such monsters ignored some rules. They could travel wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted. Hell, they could even ambush ascenders.
Eboni narrowed her eyes and snorted. “I didn’t think you were such a coward.”
The atmosphere grew tense. This was the first time a disagreement had arisen, and Eboni threw out an insult right off the bat.
“Jason? A coward? Hah!” Roy found Eboni’s comment ridiculous.
“Stupid.” Olivia sneered.
Eboni never backed down from a fight, so she stepped forward. “We can’t even enter his territory? If he’s not a coward, then what is he?”
Ebba had no relationship with anyone here, but she felt the need to speak up. “Have you already forgotten that he jumped in front of that plasma beam to save my life? Do you not just have a gorilla body, but a gorilla brain too?”
Eboni turned to Ebba with a growl. “What did you just say?!”
Ebba shook her head as she spread her hands. “I suppose you do have a gorilla brain.”
Just as Eboni raised a fist, the air trembled as a wave of mental suppression encompassed everyone.
“Enough bickering.” Shenlong’s voice was stern as he glared at Ebba and Eboni. “If you have any more to say, then you can take your leave.”
Eboni’s posture collapsed under the suppression. Unwilling and humiliated, she growled and slapped Ebba across the cheek, hard.
Ebba took a step back but never took her eyes off Eboni. She spat out a mouthful of blood at the ground and snickered. “That all you got?”
Now truly angered, Eboni transformed her right arm into a tiger and stabbed at Ebba’s heart with her claws, only to get slammed into the ground. Shenlong, Peter, Dubaku, Jason, Cheslov, and Zhen Hu pressed her against the floor, preventing her from moving.
“Let go of me, you bastards!” Eboni screamed in indignation. Unfortunately, no matter what she did, she couldn’t escape their grasp.
Only after several minutes of struggling did Eboni realize that perhaps she had gone a bit too far. Still, she was too prideful to admit it, especially to those she respected. Seeing that Eboni calmed down, everyone let her go.
“I quit. I don’t need you guys anyway.” She stood up and stormed off without looking back.
Everyone watched as Eboni left the armory, baffled at what had just transpired. The first disagreement they’d had ended up causing them to lose an influential party member.
A few moments later, Shenlong and Jason locked eyes. “I think it’s about time, isn’t it?”
“Hah,” Jason let out a long sigh.
Carly whispered to Peter, confused, “What does he mean by ‘it’s about time’?”
Peter shrugged. “No idea.”
Roy, Olivia, and Cheslov gave each other a knowing look, anticipation in their eyes.
Chapter 13
Everyone’s eyes were on Jason as he suddenly faced the most difficult decision in his life. Although he’d imagined this scenario countless times before, now that the moment finally arrived, conflicting emotions made his resolve waver. Hesitation, anxiety, nervousness, unease, hope, anticipation.
Jason was the only thing giving humanity a fighting chance. Because of that, any decision he made could cause things to spiral out of control. Every day he had the same thought: were all his choices up to this point helpful? Or had they made things worse? Not knowing the answer was more stressful than even the death of his father.
Only social gatherings, going on dates, and training distracted him from the nightmares that plagued him at night. The weight of his burden was heavy, oh so heavy. He’d almost divulged his secret s
everal times only to make excuses like ‘the risk was too high’ or ‘he wasn’t strong enough’. But could he say the same even now?
No.
Now he had the strength to defend himself, and more importantly, people he trusted.
Shenlong, Zhen Hu, Ebba, Amara, Dubaku, Peter, Carly, Cheslov, Olivia, and Roy. Jason could confidently leave his back to them in battle. The chaotic emotions vanished, leaving only doubt behind. Would they trust him?
Jason glanced over his allies before staring into Shenlong’s eyes. Over the next several minutes, he summarized the last years of humanity, the final battle, and his ‘reward’. At first, he narrated everything like a bystander, but as he poured his heart out, one tear after another fell.
Everyone besides Shenlong, Cheslov, Olivia, and Roy was doubtful. The only expressionless one was Shenlong, his thoughts unknown.
“...and that’s why my alias Index and I know so much.” Jason finished as a feeling of tranquility filled his soul.
Jason’s story was shocking, and yet everything was too elaborate to be fake. No one responded for a while until finally, Amara broke into laughter with a hand on her stomach. “Nice prank.”
Jason turned to Amara and slowly said one word after the other. “Rebirth. Of. Th—”
“STOP!” Amara interrupted. Horror, but more so shock, covered her face.
“Rebirth of the?” Peter glanced between Jason and Amara. “What does that mean?”
“A skill,” Shenlong answered first. “Most likely a deep secret of hers that only Jason would know if his words are true.”
Zhen Hu and Dubaku tensed and stared at Jason cautiously. Only when Dubaku remembered his private conversation with Index did he relax.
“Jason.” Shenlong narrowed his eyes. “If you can say everything about a skill I’ve never revealed, then I’ll believe you.”
“In front of everyone?” Jason raised an eyebrow, delighted and concerned at the same time.
Shenlong shrugged. “It’s only right I repay your trust in me.”
Jason was relieved. If Shenlong was on his side, then he felt like everything would turn out all right. As such, he said, “Absolute Domain, a custom passive skill awarded from the arena challenge. You intuitively know everything about your surroundings. Distance grows per level.”
Shenlong’s face suddenly drained of color. Zhen Hu, seeing his master’s abrupt change, rushed over. “Are you all right? What’s wrong?”
Shenlong took a moment to calm his heart before he glanced over everyone with a pained expression. “How can I be the only one to feel this grief, this loss?” He laughed bitterly. “How naive was I? To think I could reap the benefits the tower provided without consequence. What greed! What selfishness!”
“Master, you’re too harsh on yourself,” Zhen Hu consoled, shocked that the person he respected so much looked so vulnerable.
Amara bit her lip. “Shenlong, you believe him?”
“What if he is just using an unknown inspect skill?” Ebba asked.
“No.” Shenlong shook his head. “He knew where I acquired it. Would an inspect skill know that?”
“Doubtful,” Peter remarked with folded arms.
Amara finally snapped. “So what? Are we all going to die? I refuse to accept that!”
“N-no, you’re w-w-wrong,” Carly directly refuted Amara. “H-he’s only been in the tower for less than a year in this t-timeline, right?”
Amara glared at Carly, causing her to hide behind Peter.
Peter coughed. “I think what she’s saying is if Jason used his foreknowledge to reach our level in less than a year, what if he shared everything with us? Wouldn’t our strength skyrocket as well?”
“She’s right. How foolish of me to overlook that.” Shenlong was renewed with confidence as he turned to Jason. “Are you willing to share your knowledge with us?”
Jason grew solemn and looked over his companions. “Of course I will.”
At that moment, Roy, Olivia, and Cheslov approached Jason with tense expressions. “Uh, we’re sorry.”
“Whatever for?” Jason blinked in confusion.
Roy smiled regretfully. “Well, we kinda figured you had a secret because you always seemed to know everything.”
Cheslov spoke next. “We, uh, might’ve gambled with each other about what your secret was.”
Olivia bowed her head. “We didn’t think it was like this.”
“Sorry,” all three said in unison.
Jason broke into laughter. “You’re apologizing over this? It’s just harmless fun! Don’t worry about it.”
From the side, Ebba inspected the companions she’d teamed up with not long ago. To her, this party was only temporary. It was just a way to bring her closer to her goal. Friends and companions? They were just a means to an end. It had been many years since she felt emotion, but when Jason explained the reward for clearing the tower, a long-lost feeling began to blossom: hope. The thing she had been chasing all this time couldn’t possibly be right in front of her, right?
After a deep breath, she called out, “Jason.”
“Hm?” Jason gave her a quizzical glance. He could count the number of times Ebba took the initiative to speak on one hand.
Ebba clenched her hands tight underneath her robe as she asked, “In your… original timeline, did I—” She braced herself for disappointment. “Did I ever succeed in reviving my family?”
The atmosphere froze. Everyone stared at Ebba, surprised that her cold exterior was hiding such a selfless desire.
“Um.” Jason’s smile froze as he awkwardly answered. “We were barely acquaintances back then, so I don’t know, sorry.”
Ebba released a breath, along with all her hope. Seeing the light in her eyes vanish, Jason quickly added, “However… whoever created this tower has the power to resurrect your family. Definitely!”
Cheslov smacked his lips. “Ain’t that the truth! I’m not a scientist—far from it, but I say traveling backward through time is a hell of a lot harder than resurrecting a few people.”
Ebba’s mind trembled. Right! Why worry about the slim possibility her necromancy could revive her family when a being capable of time travel was so close? Especially since that same being was the tower's creator, a structure capable of so many fantastic and magical things.
“The reward for clearing the tower is a wish, right?” Ebba asked for verification.
Jason was just about to nod when he suddenly remembered something. When humanity’s status upgraded to tier three, wasn’t there a chance the reward changed too? He wanted to answer honestly, but he abruptly changed his answer when he felt Ebba’s emotions through his awakened soul. “Without a doubt!”
A smile spread across Ebba’s face, so broad and carefree it was as if she became another person. Seeing this made Jason feel confident he’d made the right decision.
“Wait, something doesn’t make sense.” Amara furrowed her brows as she turned to Jason. “You said that being couldn’t grant your wish of resurrecting humanity. He said, ‘Not enough energy’, right?”
Carly hastily tugged at Amara’s robe when she saw Ebba’s pale face, but Amara continued anyway. “I agree with Cheslov. Sending you through time seems much, much harder than resurrecting a few people, hell, even humanity.”
“Huh?” Jason tilted his head. He usually tried his best to ignore such painful memories, but he, too, felt that something was off upon hearing Amara's comments. “So what are you saying?”
Amara placed her hands on her hips. “Simply put: I think that glowing asshole lied to you!”
Jason fell silent. While all of this was mere conjecture, it sure did feel accurate. Just thinking that a god-like being had lied to him left him exasperated. Why would someone so powerful beat around the bush and say, ‘Not enough energy’? In fact, after thinking about it some more, ‘Not enough energy’ sounds like a lazy excuse a child would come up with on the spot!
Carly trembled in fear after hearing Amara. She
promptly fell to her knees and clasped her hands in front of her chest. “Oh glowing god upstairs, please don’t be mad at Amara for calling you an a-asshole! I beg for your forgiveness.”
“What are you doing?” Amara looked down at Carly in disdain.
“Quickly, quickly! Get on your knees and copy me.” Carly pulled on Amara’s hand.
“Hmph.” Amara glanced up and yelled. “Screw you!”
“AH!” Carly shrieked as she jumped to her feet and covered Amara’s mouth with her hand. “She doesn’t mean it! It was just a joke, haha. Just a joke!”
Carly anxiously glanced around, fearing that a lightning bolt would strike her at any moment. Only after a few seconds passed did she sigh in relief. Patting her chest, she nodded victoriously. “Looks like that shining ass—I mean person—forgave you.”
“Hmph.” Amara turned around and folded her arms. It was only then that she saw everyone else laughing hysterically. As much as she tried, she couldn’t stop herself from joining as well.
A party such as theirs rarely formed, even if it was a temporary one. Each member belonged to a different faction and would usually never cross paths, but all of this was possible due to Jason. While a skilled fighter, he was good at networking, too. He could bridge the gap between two people, allowing them to get along harmoniously. It was only because of his skill that things progressed to this point.
While Jason couldn’t be certain of the future, he was sure humanity had a better fighting chance now than ever before.
Chapter 14
Several hours later, Jason lay on the roof of his house, his arms crossed behind his head and one leg over his knee. Above, the night sky glittered with countless stars. There were several constellations, both foreign and beautiful. Sometimes when taking in this majestic sight, it made one go through an existential crisis. After all, how big were their problems when compared with the vastness of space?
While others tried to avoid that feeling, Jason deliberately sought it out. Night after night, he found a spot to lie down and lose himself among the stars. It was calming, that feeling of meaninglessness. The painful memories and burdens he carried didn’t matter to the universe.
Towers of Heaven: A LitRPG Adventure (Book 3) Page 6