Jason was led to Purity’s team. Amanda was wearing a full suit of decorated armor. A greatsword hung on her back. Next to her stood a man in leather armor wielding a set of daggers, and a woman in light robes holding a staff. Jason inspected the team. A rogue, priest, mage, warrior, and me, a tank. It’s a pretty well-rounded team. In particular…
Jason recognized Amanda’s suit of armor. It was a novice-grade set equipment which required the user to be level 35. It boosted the strength stat significantly. The equipment of the other members required at least level 25. He scratched his cheek sheepishly. They must have thought l leveled up after three weeks.
If he didn’t have the bonuses granted by the battle physique, he never would have accepted, though he would probably still be around level 25 after three weeks. If others heard what he thought, leveling from 1 to 25 in three weeks, they would call him crazy.
Amanda glanced around before taking a deep breath. “Just fight to your fullest and leave Henry to me.”
Everyone nodded heavily. After hearing that Victor was a natural-born, they all lost confidence, Amanda included. Jason spoke up. “Leave Victor to me.”
Amanda’s eyes lit up. “Are you sure?”
“I’m 50% confident in beating him,” Jason said after a moment of thought.
“Great!” Amanda’s guild members grew excited. Amanda added. “If we win, I’ll give you four more gold.”
Amanda noticed Farcry’s group approaching. “Okay, everyone ready up!”
Chapter 11
Henry’s group approached Amanda. All of them wore confident smiles, as if the competition was no big deal. With a natural-born on their side, it was impossible for them to lose. Henry wore a mix of chainmail and leather equipment. On his back were two large axes. His companions had a mixture of weapons.
Everyone on Amanda’s side focused on one individual in particular. His gear was poor compared to Henry and his other companions, yet nobody looked down on him. He wore mismatched leather gear with a bow strapped to his back. It was Victor.
Henry paused when he noticed Jason standing in the back. He felt that he was familiar. When he saw Jason’s poor equipment, his eyes lit up. “Oh, isn’t this that brat who stole from my guild? Good! I’ll personally kill you in the arena.”
“Over my dead body, Henry.” Amanda stepped forward with a cold smile. Henry and Amanda were on the verge of fighting on the spot.
Victor lazily glanced over his opponents, only pausing briefly when he saw Amanda. The only threat to him was her. Nobody else caught his eye. He yawned. “Can we get started already?”
Henry cracked his neck. “Of course. I’ll send the challenge now.”
When in the vicinity of the colosseum, a screen packed with options appeared in front of everyone. You could send a challenge, accept a challenge, view public battles, etc. Henry sent Amanda a private challenge, which Amanda accepted.
Jason was listed as one of her party members, so when Amanda accepted the challenge, a screen appeared before him.
You will be teleported to the arena in 10 seconds.
Ten seconds later, Jason found himself in the middle of the colosseum. The arena was a large circle about a hundred feet wide. There were different fields to battle in, but the most popular one was the basic arena. His teammates were at his side. They had participated in the competition numerous times, so they were competent. All of them were the best Purity had to offer.
Fifty feet in front of Jason, on the other side of the arena, glowered Henry and his team. They were already getting into formation. Surrounding both parties was a blue circle that prevented them from leaving. The match would begin once the circle disappeared.
A large number appeared in the middle of the arena.
5
4
3
2
1
During the countdown, Amanda and her team got into position. Amanda formed a triangle which protected the priest in the middle while Jason stood awkwardly at the side. Amanda glanced at him. “We’re counting on you.”
The blue circles suddenly disappeared. Just as Amanda’s team was about to rush forward, an arrow appeared a few feet from her face. She was stunned. What? How’d it arrive so fast? The arrow arrived too quickly; she had no time to dodge.
Just as it was about to pierce into her, a loud ding rang out. A shield had blocked the arrow. Jason had arrived just in time. The arrow jarred him and knocked him back a step. As I thought, he has the snipe skill. The snipe skill was a long-range ability which specialized in speed and accuracy. Judging by the power behind the arrow, the skill was already apprentice-grade.
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Before the battle had even started, an arrow had almost dealt a lethal blow to their guild master. Amanda’s guild members were disheartened. Seeing this, Jason shouted. “Don’t worry, that skill has a fifteen second cooldown! Hurry and close the distance before it's too late.”
“Charge!” Amanda roared as she used a berserk skill. Her body grew larger and her skin turned pink. Her guildmates woke up and followed after her, using all sorts of movement abilities. The rogue disappeared after using stealth, while the mage and priest ran behind Amanda.
Unfortunately, Jason didn’t have the charge or leap skills yet, so he could only run as fast as he could. The twenty-five agility granted by the battle physique was the only thing that allowed him to—barely—keep up with his team. As they ran, Jason blocked arrow after arrow. None of them were the snipe skill, so he didn’t take any damage. It was all thanks to his earth armor skill.
In just a few seconds, both teams would clash. Henry pulled out his axes and roared. “Amanda, I’ll definitely kill you this time!”
Amanda used the charge skill. “Go, leave him to me!”
Because both teams had fought each other numerous times, they knew each other's strengths and weaknesses. Amanda and Henry began their solo duel, while a three versus three began not far away. Jason didn’t stop running the entire time. He ran past Henry, moving in a zig-zag pattern, and focused on Victor in the back.
If an Archer was left unchecked, they could deal significant damage. Victor didn’t focus on anybody else but Jason. He was incensed after having his snipe skill blocked, so he took a closer look at Jason. When he noticed how poor his gear was, a guess formed in his mind. Is he like me? No, he’s a bit old. Is he taking the trial of a top-tier guild then? Only then did his anger dissipate a bit.
Victor pulled out three arrows and drew back his bow. “Taste my triple shot!”
Jason grew grim when he saw three arrows fly towards him. Considering Victor was a natural-born, this triple shot skill would take most of Jason’s life if he was hit by all three. Even worse, the arrows were aimed at different locations. One at his head, another at his chest, and the last at his leg. He could at most block two. That was unacceptable.
Jason was no newcomer to ascender-on-ascender combat; he had a vast wealth of experience under his belt. As soon as he saw Victor pull out three arrows, he rolled to the side. If he couldn’t block, why not dodge? Dodging was an integral skill of tanking, one that Jason had long since been skilled at.
Just as Jason got back on his feet, another arrow was already before him. He quickly brought his shield up at an angle, causing the arrow to be deflected to the side. He recovered quickly and ran forward, but was stopped two feet later by the double shot skill.
An intense exchange began, with Victor firing off a plethora of skills which caused Jason endless troubles. It took all he had to dodge arrow after arrow. After a mere twenty seconds, both were exhausted. It looked like Victor had the upper hand, but he had yet to deal significant damage to Jason, while Jason had barely made any progress.
Victor had never felt so frustrated in his life. Never had he encountered a foe who dodged all of the abilities he was proud of. Suddenly, he paused. He has too much time to dodge. I’ll wait until he’s closer! Victor drew his bow but didn’t fire. He waited.
Jason took t
his chance to charge forward. He knew what Victor was planning, but there was no way around it. He had to close in. When Jason was just ten feet away, both of them shouted in their heart, “I won!”
Three arrows whistled through the air as a sword beam exited from Jason’s sword. Cleave! It was able to attack all enemies within ten feet. Upon activation, it would release a wave of battle energy.
Almost simultaneously, both parties staggered backwards. Three arrows were imbedded in Jason’s body, while Victor dropped to the ground. Jason took -90, -101, and -99 damage, dropping his health close to zero. If he hadn’t been putting most of his stat points into vitality, he would have died from a single skill. A natural-born was terrifying indeed, all of their skills were at a high grade.
Jason ignored the pain and ran forward, only to stop when Victor’s body dispersed into light. He let out a sigh of relief before turning around to help out Amanda. With the addition of Jason, the battle ended shortly after that.
Amanda’s team has won!
Chapter 12
As soon as Henry was kicked out of the arena, he strode up to Victor, snarling. “You sure talked a big game, didn’t you?”
Victor glared at Henry but didn’t say anything. Henry took Victor’s silence as weakness, so he grabbed Victor’s collar. “Didn’t you say to leave everything to you? I paid so much, and yet this is all you can do? Some random beat you!”
Both Amanda and Henry’s teammates stood nearby. Purity’s members watched with schadenfreude while Henry’s teammates sneered at Victor. They were pushing all the blame onto him.
Jason walked up and grabbed the wrist holding Victor’s collar. “Enough. He’s more skilled than any of you, yet you’re actually blaming him for your loss?”
Shocked, Victor took another look at Jason. For his whole life, nobody around his level was his match. Monsters fell before his feet, and everybody praised him to no end. This caused him to grow arrogant and disdainful of normal ascenders. Having lost to Jason just now caused his thoughts to fall into disarray, thus his silence.
Henry faced Jason with a grim smile. “Brat… you have guts, I’ll give you that.”
Henry’s guild mates had drawn their weapons when Jason put his hand on Henry. Almost simultaneously, Amanda’s guild members did the same. Both sides glared at each other in silence. Victor looked at Jason’s hand clasping Henry’s wrist before looking up at Henry. “The loss is my fault, so forget about paying me. But the next time you put your hand on me, you’ll regret it.”
Henry suddenly remembered that Victor was a natural-born. Victor might not be a threat right now, but his parents were. Henry noticed the kingdom’s guards walking toward them with their hands on their hilts, so he took a deep breath to calm himself. He released Victor’s collar. “Fine, fine.”
He turned to Amanda. “Farcry accepts this loss!”
After saying his piece, he smiled at Jason. “Do you dare to tell me your name?”
“Jason Woltz.”
“Good! Good! Good!” Henry said the word three times in a row. Only when he was truly angered would he do that. His guild members gulped as they watched their guild master turn and storm off. After giving Amanda’s group one last glare, they followed after him.
Jason turned to face Victor. “That was a close one. I had just under 40 health left.”
Victor didn’t expect that the person who beat him would be so humble and amicable. He forced down his frustration and declared. “Next time I’ll be the victor!”
“Good luck!” Jason gave a thumbs up.
Victor was prepared to retort to whatever Jason was going to say, but he didn’t think Jason would wish him luck. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Snorting, he walked off. Jason called out, “What’s your name?”
Victor didn’t turn around as he replied. “Victor Wolf!”
“Wolf?” Jason’s countenance fell. How could this be? He had planned on building a relationship with Victor. To save humanity, bridges had to be built, not walls. When he heard the name ‘Wolf’, the name of a terrifying guild rose from his memories. Yama. A dark guild with skilled assassins. Their leader was a legendary archer who was shrouded in secrecy. Before Jason returned to the past, Jason, along with Roy and his companions fought against the Yama guild. Jason himself had nearly died in that battle. Upon Yama’s collapse, they learned of the identity of its leader. Cay Wolf.
Jason never heard of Cay having a son, though Jason knew little of Cay in the first place. What do I do? He had to deal with the dark guilds at one point, that was certain. They were a huge detriment to his plan of saving humanity. Assassinations, smuggling, kidnapping, all sorts of crimes were committed by the dark guilds. They were basically criminals that possessed powerful abilities. Perhaps he could use Victor to get close to Cay?
“Hey.” Amanda tapped Jason’s shoulder, interrupting his thoughts. Jason turned around only to see a flash of gold. He caught the gold coins before looking at Amanda.
“Thanks to you, we can pick the best farming spots this month.” Amanda smiled gratefully. The difference between the best farming spots and the next best was large. First pick would generally earn around thirty percent more.
“With this, you might be able to become a mid-tier guild.” Jason remarked.
Amanda glanced at the colosseum before shaking her head. “I’m afraid I’m still a bit away from beating the fifth arena challenge.”
“Ah.” Jason nodded knowingly. “I’ve heard the arena challenges are pretty hard.”
Besides having battles between ascenders, the arena was also a place to challenge oneself. The arena had a set of challenges which grew progressively harder, with rewards to match. The classifications between guilds weren’t set by the tower, but by ascenders. They used the arena challenges as the qualifier. A low-tier guild had no requirements. Anybody could become a low-tier guild. To reach mid-tier, a guild had to have a member beat the fifth challenge of the arena. For upper-tier guilds, the seventh challenge. For top-tier guilds, the tenth challenge.
Amanda wrapped her arm around Jason’s shoulder. “Enough about that. We’re going to celebrate our win at a restaurant, wanna come?”
Jason shook his head. “Thanks, but I have plans already.”
Amanda sighed inwardly. “Ah, well. Maybe next time.”
Building bridges was good and all, but Jason had high standards. He was once one of the strongest humans alive. Amanda and her low-tier guild didn’t enter his eyes.
Jason said goodbye to Amanda and her guild mates before heading towards the market district. Now that he had money in hand, it was time to buy some equipment, and if luck would have it, some skills. Seeing Victor fire off skill after skill reminded him of how empty his arsenal was. Sure, he had three overpowered skills, but they were limited in versatility. They only dealt damage. Jason was a tank at heart. He needed some defensive skills.
Five gold coins was equivalent to fifty thousand dollars. To low-tier guilds, this was a hefty sum, but to Jason, it was pennies. He was used to having platinum coins, not measly gold coins.
The Vistar Kingdom was populated by residents of the tower. They were humans who were born and raised in the tower. Unlike humans from earth, they were under various restrictions. For example, they couldn’t leave the tower or even the floor they were on. After twenty years, ascenders only made up twenty percent of the population.
The Vistar Kingdom had one city and numerous towns under its command. The city was its capital and the location of the king. The architecture of the Vistar Kingdom was mostly reminiscent of the medieval ages with buildings made of wood and stone. The roads were made of cobblestone and the city was filled with animals.
Residents of the tower specialized in many things. Blacksmithing, gathering, tailoring, potion making, etc. Many ascenders went under the tutelage of these residents and developed their own craft. Only now, with twenty years having passed, have ascenders become more skilled than the residents of the tower. Of course, that
was only compared to the residents on the thirtieth floor. Who knew if there was some mysterious crafter on the unexplored floors?
Jason had two options before him. He could go to an ascender shop or a resident shop. Ascender shops were run by guilds and had a wide range of items acquired by their farming teams. That meant skill and spell books. It took a vast sum of money to develop a shop in the capital city, so only guilds with significant strength could do so. Resident shops had less variety, but the items were cheaper.
It had taken Jason several years to reach the thirtieth floor the first time. This time he reached it much earlier, so the economy was vastly different than what he remembered. The prices were unfamiliar and the items that were considered rare or not were different. After a brief moment of thought, he decided to familiarize himself with the market.
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