This high tower plane fragment is, as the description states, a purely instance-based plane.
When Jiang Qiao first entered this plane, what greeted him was a towering white high tower that seemed to reach the clouds, almost as if it were floating in the sky. In front of the high tower was a small piece of floating land, hardly sizable, serving as preparation ground for the adventurers arriving here.
While Jiang Qiao was examining the high tower in front of him, pondering what NPCs should be placed below it, a strange voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Young man, which country's mage are you?"
Jiang Qiao turned around upon hearing the voice and saw an elderly man dressed as a mage standing in front of him. Behind the old man were several other mages, looking much younger but equally wary of Jiang Qiao.
The Spirit game system comes with a built-in translation function, capable of translating any language from any plane or race depicted on the star map.
Having played the Spirit game for a while now, Jiang Qiao had developed the habit of casting a scanning spell first whenever he met someone.
The scanning spell was far more effective than a simple introduction. Naturally, Jiang Qiao cast a scanning spell on the elderly man.
'Name: Pru, Level: 45, Class: Mage, Description: Native resident of this world.'
"NPC?" Jiang Qiao, seeing this brief description, quickly understood where these strangers came from.
They were natives of this high tower plane fragment. Though they technically couldn't be considered natives, because the high tower plane fragment was derived from a complete plane. For the residents of that complete plane, this place was like a trial ground or challenge illusion.
These people were likely natives from that complete plane, mere NPCs in Jiang Qiao's eyes.
"I am a wild mage," Jiang Qiao made up an identity on the spot. If possible, he wanted to gather some information from these natives.
"A wild mage? Young man, looking at your outfit, you seem to be a mage from the Dark Flame Country," the old mage said. Stroking his beard with a knowing look, he added, "The magic wand in your hand doesn't seem like something a wild mage would have."
Sorry, but my epic magic wand dropped from a monster, and currently, Jiang Qiao's status was more accurately described as a... wild person.
That is, an independent player with no team and no guild.
"If you say so," Jiang Qiao didn't feel like debating with this old mage who had an 'I know everything' expression.
"Are you here alone to challenge the Tower of Trial?" the old mage asked again.
"Yes."
Jiang Qiao indeed planned to test the content of this instance first. However, as Jiang Qiao responded with "Yes," he heard the young mages behind the old mage chuckle.
"Young man, the Tower of Trial is not as simple as you imagine. Although you won't really die if you die in the Tower of Trial, your spirit will suffer a heavy blow in reality."
Uh... sorry, if I die in the Tower of Trial, I only lose some experience points.
"Oh," Jiang Qiao nodded as if he were earnestly receiving the lesson. This elder was explaining the mechanics of the tower to Jiang Qiao.
"With your current level of magic power, you can only challenge the first floor, but the chances of passing it alone are minimal," the old mage continued to advise earnestly.
"What if I pass the first floor?" Jiang Qiao asked innocently. He started playing the role of a fledgling newcomer. Though, as he said this, the young mages behind the old mage couldn't hold back their laughter.
"Give up on that idea, child... I've seen many talented geniuses who tried to challenge the first floor of the Tower of Trial alone in their youth but without exception, they all suffered great setbacks and failed," the old mage said.
"Pru, we shouldn't waste our time here with this Dark Flame Country mage," a young mage behind him spoke up.
Jiang Qiao cast another scanning spell.
'Name: Segman, Level: 32, Class: Mage, Description: Native resident of this world.'
"I saw extraordinary talent in this young man. Your team is missing one member. I think he could fit the role," the old mage inexplicably started recommending Jiang Qiao.
What talent? Killing monsters for loot?
Jiang Qiao, looking bewildered, remained silent but continued listening quietly as the old mage shared substantial information about the Tower of Trial.
"A stranger? Mentor! We trained for a whole year not just to clear the first floor but to secure the legendary reward!" a young mage protested.
"I'm just here to take a look. I won't interfere with your team." Jiang Qiao spread his hands, indicating he had no interest in joining their team.
"Sigh, Segman will turn thirty in a week. He doesn't have much time left for training. Alright, kids, prepare yourselves and go in," the old mage said.
After saying this, the five young mages behind the old man walked into the Tower of Trial under Jiang Qiao's watchful eyes.
The old mage then approached the six huge stone tablets in front of the Tower of Trial.
Jiang Qiao glanced at the six massive stone tablets. Five of them were already filled with densely packed text, while the last one only had a single line of text.
According to the translated content from the system, these texts were all names. For instance, the first line on the first tablet wrote Pru Phoenix, Lianyi Phoenix, Hilzerui Laiseta... and so on, listing six names.
There was also a line of numbers after these names, indicating recorded times. The system translated the numbers to forty-two minutes and fifty-three seconds.
Upon seeing this number, Jiang Qiao instantly understood what the so-called 'legendary reward' was.
It was the fastest instance clear record!
Even in an alternate world, there existed record systems for instance clears. How amazing!
Wouldn't it be more fun to have an instance record system embedded in the plane fragments themselves?
Jiang Qiao's gaze fell on the old mage beside him. The old mage's name was among those who held the top record on the first stone tablet.
"Why don't you go with them to challenge the first floor?" Jiang Qiao curiously asked.
"Young man, is this your first time at the Tower of Trial? The first floor is limited to children under thirty. I am already over a hundred years old," the old mage said, shaking his head. However, the proud expression on his face as he looked at his name in the first-place record couldn't be hidden. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something.
"Young man, what is your name? How old are you this year?" The old mage stared at Jiang Qiao. Jiang Qiao's character appeared very young, like a fifteen or sixteen-year-old, and Jiang Qiao's magic aura was not much weaker than his prized disciples.
"Me? My name is Today No Update, and I am around twelve days old," Jiang Qiao said earnestly.
"What?"
The old mage was perplexed by Jiang Qiao's introduction. He wondered if he had misheard.
"Today No Update, just turned twelve days, zero years and twelve days old, not even a month old. Can you understand?"
Jiang Qiao earnestly reported his account's age. It was true; the Spirit game had only been live for twelve days.
"What's your name again?" The old mage was still confused. He thought Jiang Qiao's name sounded similar to something he recognized, just longer.
"No Update," Jiang Qiao replied.
"How old?"
"Twelve days."
"Twelve days old?"
"Are you joking with me?" Jiang Qiao was both amused and exasperated.
"Young people these days sure like to joke. If you don't want to tell me, I won't press you. After all, the Dark Flame Country and our Flowing Water Country are arch-enemies," the old mage candidly stated, showing he wouldn't hold it against a kid.
I am telling the truth, brother! In a few days, you'll probably see more strange names and a bunch of players who aren't even a month old causing trouble.