Floor 25, the Lower City so its called. The biggest place we've been in so far and honestly disgusting, well it's expected really.
The slums here are the ones you think of when you hear the word, this time plagued with a drug, they pull them in with the promise of increased stats and is very very addictive. Thankfully no kids, well no kids below 12 at least since they haven't activated their statuses.
It's been a year since we started the climb and maybe puberty is hitting late for Crystal, she's still a kid but lately shes been worrying about it. I've mostly been staying away from battle, occasionally buffing Crystal when she needs it though it doesn't happen often.
I stayed in the inn and Crystal went out to take a look, since I could sense the entire city at will it didn't really hold any interest to me, it was the typical corrupt city.
Well trouble struck when I started to doze off, Crystal found a kid her age buying the drug and took him away. She brought him to our room and explained it to me, since his age was close to hers I just decided to live with it, what's the worst that could happen?
Well gents I must say a lot. The kid turns out to be a 'royal' of this quite honestly tiny city and wanted to get away from his family and climb the tower.
The thing is even though the kid is on the 25th Floor his stats don't match up and they need escorts or a team to help them fight the monsters on that dungeon, they can't even go down since they've never been there.
They need someone to bring them there, and if they don't they have to use the drugs.
Well honestly I do not care about these things, the kids aren't kids anymore when they get the system.
Crystal on the other hand, does. Spent a good two years cleaning up this shit hole, initially it went smoothly the 'nobles' were cleaned up and the 'royals' too. The trouble then came cleaning up the slums, the drugs did more as they always do.
Their minds destroyed from the addiction and ecstasy, their bodies destroyed by the attribute increase and decrease. When the drug ran out it halved the attributes one had and permanently decreased it by a quarter.
Enough use and they were weaker than babies, a long time was spent transporting them to the newbie village, not that there was specialized care for them.Well at least I had to point out before they had it in mind.
In the end they payed the slum dwellers at Floor 1 to take care of them, no idea how money is gonna help them but whatever.
Puberty hit Crystal a year ago and shes definitely starting to grow. Well she still has some fat to burn off but I'm sure she'll look like a goddess, well for some she already is.
The first kid she saved joined us in our climb, called himself Grey. Well he had gray hair from his ash skills so I wasn't going to complain.
The kid didn't have as good a synergy as I wanted for her party but it will do, a magician and a swordsman and a buffer.
Ash magic was a little interesting though, a complicated yet simple mix of the Fire element and Nature element. Instead of an increased intensity of the Fire, it was a remnant of Nature.
It was a little hard to figure out since balance was not the key, some other thing was. A third element in the mix perhaps? I didn't go too far into it, the magic was very inefficient. It specializes in binding and is really good at it but the mana costs is just stupid.
Climbed a few floors and the years passed quickly, its been 10 years since we started the climb and Crystal has fully transformed into a beauty a goddess of war some call her. Her Ice physique upgrade many times over the years and the party has inevitably grown.
A few years ago the party joined some war, hired by a guild to fight the other simple stuff really. The first battle ended badly to say the least, at first they were treated as another mercenary team but since they were effective at clearing enemies mostly due to Crystal's wide ranged ice magic stronger opponents came.
Their strength increased too fast and it almost caused the party their lives, I had to step in. Well in the end they were mortals, there was no tension in who could have won. I was still dressed in the same robe and staff, a simple swipe from left to right and I bisected the guy.
Of course the looks I got was jarring to say the least, had to deal with them asking why I hid my strength. Crystal didn't seem to worry too much though, I suppose she knew I had secrets I wanted to hide at some point, trusted me to tell her one day she says.
Well I don't really plan to, in the end mortal life span just simply fades away with a blink of our eyes.
We've reached Floor 86 and at this point the tower's history is starting to come in to play, you see there was not just one god in this universe but multiple, multiple pantheons!
One of the gods had gone crazy it seemed, I would have to ask. They trapped the many pantheons within the last nine Floors, from the 91st Floor would be puzzles and riddles on the gods and trials the gods made.
Though it seems we have a bigger trouble on out hands, the look Grey is giving me these days makes me think there's a coup going on! How fun!
I didn't say anything of course, didn't want to ruin the surprise. I just made sure that Crystal wasn't poisoned, no fun in that.
Seems quite a bit of the party was in on it, thankfully no Guild. They wanted the key to her success it seems, where she got her arts from. No idea honestly, I didn't provide them she had either made them on her own or somehow escaped my senses and found a cache.
Bah who am I kidding of course the kid made it on her own, quite the art I must say. Most likely peak mortal realm, it's an art made for herself of course so even if she did teach it to the rest they just wont bring out the same power.
The child handled the betrayal nicely, killed them and cried about it for a night. In the end the party was left with the two of us and with how she was it stayed that way till the end.
At the 91st stage, I discovered the way this universe creates a god. This universe categorized their beings with authority levels, level 0 was mindless beasts, level 1 was sentient beings, level 2s were peak mortal beings and level 3s were gods.
Increasing one's life order was tricky however, it wasn't totally about combat strength, it was important but it wasn't all. I shared the theory with Crystal but I don't have any expectations.
The trials we went through, well I suppose it happens when the gods were this weak. They were so mindless.
Obstacle course, fight a hundred enemies in a row, play chess, gambling. To name a few, basically boring. These gods weren't very good anyways.
Crystal and I reached the last Floor and the god greeted us, well greeted Crystal. He was clearly on guard against me, maybe he could feel my divinity.
Of course he said only one could receive the wish, but I quickly snuffed out his stupid shit. Trying to get us to fight each other, I gave up my wish since well what kind of weak shit could grant anything to me? Excuse my language.
The kid didn't know what to wish for so I decided to tell her what I am, a god. She went through the whole existential crisis and what not for a bit, but in the end she wished to be a god?
Quickly put an end to that, that weak god couldn't grant that. Not in a way that could satisfy me, if I didn't see the feelings she had for me I'd be blind.
In the end she wished for immortality but it gave an extremely weak one claiming it was impossible, I almost slapped him out of spite then.
Well this universe entertained me a for a bit, the system wasn't very interesting no superior mastermind or anything. The god on top did it apparently cause he thought it would increase his providence to become a stronger being.
Well its a good place to stop by, 6.5/10.