Segman had been living comfortably these past few days. As the prince of the Flowing Water Country, he broke the fastest record for the first layer of the Tower of Trial two days ago. This record was known among players as a clearance record, but to the natives of this world, it was an extremely sacred honor, referred to as a holy record.
This news had already spread to all the other countries in his world. Now, Segman was a great hero of the Flowing Water Country and the entire world, the most talented and powerful young genius under the age of thirty.
This was indisputable, and the Flowing Water Country had celebrated this event for a whole two days.
Segman basked in joy for two entire days until one of his servants hurriedly came to him with bad news.
That being...
"Prince Segman! The holy record for the second ranking of the first layer of the Tower of Trial has been broken! It's the holy record set by your mentor, Pru!" The servant's voice sounded fearful.
"Who?"
Upon hearing this news, Segman knocked over all the bottles of wine around him. After casting a Clarity Technique on himself, he quickly sobered up from his drunken state.
"This... this..." The servant hesitated, seemingly struggling with whether or not to speak the truth.
"Quickly, tell me who it is! The brutes from the Dark Flame Country or the clowns from the Thunder Country? Give me their exact names! Who is it?"
Segman valued this information highly, as the second place holy record was set by his mentor in his prime. Segman broke it with the assistance of over twenty sacred artifacts and some little-known clearing techniques.
He knew people from other countries wouldn't sit idly by! Breaking the second holy record was a threat to him.
"Your Highness, this... I..."
"Speak! Everyone who creates a holy record has their name inscribed on the Honor Stele! You come to report this and don't even remember the name? Speak quickly!" Segman hoped to hear the names of some of his old rivals so he could prepare a response.
"The name of the creator of the second place holy record for the first layer is... Tonight Your Mom Dies, Black Pot Cooked Meat, Furry Rabbit, Rain Song, Mo Shigui, and Dog Barking Mama," the servant said with a trembling voice, informing Prince Segman of the names listed on the Honor Stele in second place.
"What did you say?" Prince Segman questioned whether his Clarity Technique was malfunctioning, still not fully sober himself. But what the servant said didn't sound like names; instead, it seemed like insults to him and his mother.
"These are the names that appeared on the Honor Stele," the servant said anxiously.
"What? Say them again," Segman demanded. He insisted on hearing the names directly from the servant's mouth, his expression warning that failing to convey the message clearly could be life-threatening.
"This... this... the second name on the Honor Stele for the first layer is Tonight Your Mom Dies."
"What did you say?"
"Tonight Your Mom Dies," the servant felt his brain getting tense beyond control, and so was his mouth.
"Say it one more time!"
"Your Mom Dies."
"Are you insulting me?" Prince Segman finally realized, "You're not just insulting me! You're also insulting my mother?"
"Your... Your Highness! I dare not! The name on the Honor Stele is indeed this," the servant panicked, falling to his knees with his forehead touching the ground, his whole body trembling.
"Listen up! Insulting the royal family is a grievous crime that can get you executed! I don't know which country's prince sent you to humiliate me, but you have one last chance to truthfully report the names on the Honor Stele, starting from the last name in second place!" Segman said each word with a tone already tinged with murderous intent.
"The last one, the last one..." The servant's brain was about to seize up. In his panic, he glanced at the list in his hand, not thinking, and blurted out, "Dog Barking?"
"Guards! Bring me a sword!"
Segman could no longer tolerate it. A nearby knight handed him a Longsword, and Segman decided to execute the insubordinate servant on the spot.
"Your Highness! These really are the names that just appeared on the Honor Stele," the servant wailed in nearly despair.
Just as Segman was about to draw the sword to execute the servant, his mentor, the old Mage Pru, hurriedly arrived.
"Prince Segman, Prince Segman! Your servant speaks the truth," the old Mage said.
"What truth?" Segman did not understand what the old Mage meant.
"In the past two days, many new adventurers have appeared in the realm of the Tower of Trial. The records on the Honor Stele for the first layer have been continuously refreshed, with some inexplicable names showing up," the old Mage quickly explained.
"Inexplicable names? Mentor, the Tower of Trial only records everyone's true names; no one in the world would choose such names."
Segman referred to names like 'Tonight Your Mom Dies.'
"Maybe there really are people, and more than one," the old Mage smoothed his beard and motioned Segman to follow him, saying, "The area outside the Tower of Trial has become very lively, almost like a marketplace now."
"A marketplace? We have a limited time to enter the realm of the Tower of Trial! Who would be bored enough to set up a shop there?"
Segman heard this and stopped arguing with his mentor. He followed him out of the room directly, leaving the servant who delivered the news collapsed on the ground.
They directly transported through the illusion gate to the plane where the Tower of Trial stood.
In just two days, the scene before Segman looked completely different. Wherever his eyes could see, there were human figures dressed in various strange attires. Segman could vaguely identify that one or two were dressed like Mages.
He even saw someone with a horse's head jumping around.
What is this? Had the portal to the Tower of Trial been discovered by a group of lunatics?
Segman had no mood to think further. He and his mentor walked with darkened faces to the Honor Stele of the Tower of Trial.
The name of the first-ranked record of the first layer still belonged to him and his comrades. This brought Segman a slight relief as the second place was still a full two minutes behind.
Don't underestimate these two minutes. His mentor Pru's former top-ranked holy record stood unchallenged for twenty years until he was born and came of age.
Segman expected his newly set holy record to last for decades, perhaps forever, for his descendants to admire.
This wish could have been fulfilled... until strange names began appearing on the Honor Stele. Segman felt threatened.
"What's with these strange names?" Segman looked closely at the names in second place on the Honor Stele. The servant was indeed right; the second-ranked team's leading name was 'Tonight Your Mom Dies.'
"I... can't explain," the old Mage shook his head with a puzzled look.
Just as he wanted to find out where these bizarre people came from, a devastating announcement struck the ears of both the old Mage and Segman.
'Congratulations to Mo Shigui, Rain Song, Furry Rabbit, Tonight Your Mom Dies, Dog Barking Mama, and Hilze'er Wicetone for breaking the Tower of Trial's Steel Insect Nest speedrun record with a time of thirty-eight minutes and thirty-two seconds, currently ranked first!'
"This voice... wait, has my holy record been broken?" Segman had never heard this strange female voice before. She wasn't even speaking their language, yet he understood it perfectly.
In the past, breaking a holy record would be reflected only on the stele. But now, his focus was on his previously held top record being broken!
As Segman watched his name being erased from first place on the Honor Stele, those bizarre names pushing him to second, he widened his eyes, a mix of shock and fury enveloping him, especially when he saw the familiar name, Hilze'er...
Hilze'er was the prince of the Dark Flame Country, his absolute arch-enemy.