Free Web NovelChapter 16: Ascending (1)
Misha never expected to join a party this early inside the tower. She knew she shouldn’t be too trusting but then, she couldn’t help but welcome the opportunity especially when travelling with others offered better odds of survival than wandering the tower alone.
From what she could see, Yara and the others seemed trustworthy and that was all that mattered for her. With them by her side, the dangers ahead felt a little less daunting.
"We’ll be leaving tomorrow morning. Use the rest of the day to prepare."
That was Yara’s instruction so following the advice, Misha spent the afternoon gathering supplies with the remaining money she had. She bought dried food that would last several days and a sturdy water container. She had hoped to purchase a few healing potions as well, though their prices quickly put an end to that idea.
Four coins. That was all that’s left to the money King gave her and she needed to save it for now instead of using it all up.
That evening, Misha packed her belongings so that she wouldn’t have to prepare much the next day. freewёbnoνel.com
At dawn, she found Yara, Nyxie, and the rest of the party gathered near the gate.
Yara noticed her approach and gave her a small wave. "Perfect timing, everyone’s here now."
Misha noticed an unfamiliar face. A massive shield rested against the man’s back and despite his intimidating appearance, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly when he met her gaze. "H-heya..."
"This is Jules," Yara introduced. "He joined Skyreach recently. He specializes in defense."
Jules nodded with a shy smile.
Misha stared at the mountain of muscle standing before her. He looked capable of stopping a charging beast with his bare hands but surprisingly... his personality seemed far gentler than his appearance suggested.
After the introduction, the group made their way toward the gateway leading to the Second Floor.
The portal was located at the far end of the city. A small church had been built around it, serving as a checkpoint for Raiders who traveled through. Several Rankers stood guard outside, their presence alone was enough to discourage anyone who would try to cause trouble.
Thanks to being a part of Skyreach, Misha passed through without inspection.
Once inside, her eyes were immediately drawn to the center of the building. Ancient stone pillars framed an archway carved with faded runes. Within it swirled a curtain of blue energy, its surface rippling like water.
For a moment, Misha could only stare. It looked exactly like the portals she had seen in comics... only this time, it was the real deal.
"Don’t monsters come out of this?"
Nyxie snapped her head towards her and stared before she raised a brow at her. "Misha-girl, just tell me the truth. You weren’t a good student, were you?"
"..."
Was that supposed to be another common knowledge that everyone inside the tower was expected to know?
Nyxie narrowed her eyes. "Did you ever attend class?"
"Occasionaly..."
"That explains a lot."
Before Misha could press the matter further, Yara stepped in. "You’ll learn the details later. For now, we should get going."
In the end, her question remained unanswered.
As the group prepared to enter the portal, Elyes approached her. He held out a small stone engraved with the Roman numeral ’I’.
"Take this."
Misha accepted it and turned the object over in her hand. "What’s this for?"
"It’s a teleportation rune, but most people call it a return stone." He folded his arms. "If you’re ever separated from the group or find yourself in trouble, crush it."
A strange feeling settled in her chest. For a group that had only met her a day ago, they were surprisingly considerate of her. They had given her advice, tested her fairly, and even entrusted her with a return stone.
Misha held the stone a little tighter before slipping it into her cloak. "Thank you..."
Compared to some of the people she had met back then outside of the tower, they were practically saints.
She then raised her gaze towards the portal ahead. If she remembered correctly, King had mentioned that Floor 2 through 10 were considered the tutorial section of the tower.
A tutorial... that sounded reassuring, but she highly doubted that it was. It sounded more suspicious actually.
Was getting stabbed by goblins considered beginner-friendly now? The tower’s standards were ridiculous.
Before she realized it, she had already reached the front of the line. Misha couldn’t help but gulp. Then, gathering every bit of courage she had, she stepped inside.
===
Misha stumbled forward. Cool air brushed her face, and the scenery around her changed completely.
Ding!
「 〔 FLOOR QUEST 〕
Goblin Extermination (0/100)
Time Limit: 72 Hours 」
Misha stared at the floating window for a few seconds before letting out a long sigh.
A hundred goblins... a hundred.
The tutorial quest on the Basement Floor only asked her to kill a handful, and even then, she would have nearly died if it weren’t for her [Traits].
Now the tower wanted a hundred? Did goblins reproduce faster than rabbits or something?
"Why does the quest want me to commit goblin genocide?"
Nyxie burst out laughing. Even Yara was mildly amused.
"She’s going to ask questions the entire trip, isn’t she?" Elyes grumbled from behind her.
"Most likely," Yara admitted.
Misha glanced at him with a small pout before she turned to Yara. "Can’t we just teleport directly to the highest floor you’ve already reached?"
"If only it were that easy." She heaved out a sigh. "The tower doesn’t allow that. Every floor has to be climbed in order. And if you use the return stone, you’ll be sent all the way back to Genesis."
Misha blinked. "All the way back?"
Yara nodded. "Then you’ll have to climb from the beginning again."
"... That’s evil..."
Suddenly, the return stone felt a lot less comforting.
"Just leave it to Nyxie." Elyes commented with a lazy yawn. "She’ll be done in no time."
Nyxie snorted. "Of course I will!"
With a flash of light, she pulled a massive claymore out of her subspace and rested it on her shoulder as if it weighed nothing.
Misha couldn’t help but stare since the sword was nearly as tall as she was.
"The last record she set on this floor was 23 hours," Gerbaut added while unloading the tent from his subspace.
"W-wha... 23 hours?" Misha’s eyes widened in disbelief.
"Mmm." Yara smiled proudly. "She got competitive after someone almost beat her previous record."
Nyxie pointed her claymore at the sky. "I’m breaking my record again!"
"That’s what you said last time," Gerbaut replied with a blank look on his face.
"And I almost did!"
"You missed it by 2 hours."
Misha couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The quest had a 72 hour time limit, and these people were treating it like a speedrun challenge. And yet here she was... still trying to figure out how anyone could kill a hundred goblins without getting stabbed.
