"Arcus... I beg you, please continue on your journey to save this world... For me" Her beautiful voice immediately entered my already frenzied head, emotions overflowed and memories of the past played endlessly.
Her face darkened at that moment, giving off a faint smile. However... The dark black sword blade pierced through her fragile body. I want to scream loudly, call out her name and change this destiny. However... I can't
I could only watch without a fight, as she slowly disintegrated into shards of light and flew through the blood-stained air.
While I... Fall into the endless dark abyss
No... I don't want to be like this... Veronica... please, don't leave me...
Do not... go...
--
!
"Huah! HA.... Ha..." On a sunny morning, while the birds were chirping, a teenager with a slightly fat body woke up and jumped from his bed. His breath was heavy as if he had run a half miles street. sweat was dripping down his forehead and body
"That.. Just a dream..." Arcus who woke up started to calm himself down, got up from his bed and started stretching
'Everything will be fine, I... Won't let that happen a second time...'
--
"That's how it is, however... What should I eat today?" Arcus who had finished the morning stretch, smiled bitterly as he looked at his refrigerator filled with only cold water and a cup of instant noodles
"I need a lot of energy and protein to start shaping my body, with this fat body..." Arcus once again glanced at the mirror at the end of the room, and what he saw was a 17 year old black haired teenager, only 5,4 inch tall and full of body fat. Avarage height for asian, but his fat make him makes it hard to move freely
This was the reason in the past why it was so slow to develop. When a new tower is opened, he can't get the attention of a single constellation in the 'Event'
And as a result, he lags very far behind everyone else. When others have started to enter the tower and climb, he is still on earth and must live on the verge of death to only be able to eat one meal a day.
In order to hunt monsters, he even nearly died when fighting a slime that suddenly grabbed his head and nearly suffocated him
"Come to think of it, that's really embarrassing" Arcus smiled bitterly once again as he thought of himself having to be saved by a stranger woman at the last moment.
'Thinking about that woman, isn't she one of the people protecting the earth?' Arcus returns to remember his past. As monsters and gates appeared, the spike in deaths continued to increase and many territories were destroyed, of course all over the world.
However, Arcus remembered that the earth still lasted for approximately 100 years before the 7 Demon guild entered the earth
In the tower, the climbers do not only come from the earth or the original inhabitants of the tower. But they are formed from billions of climbers or survivors who successfully complete the test to enter the tower from their world, and finally start on the 1st floor and continue to climb.
However, these climbers can return to their original world by paying a dimensional teleportation fee. However, climbers from different worlds are not allowed to enter the other world because it can cause chaos and overexploitation
But, there is a gap in the system.
Other climbers can enter a world that is not where they belong, with the permission of the 'Key holder'. The 'key holder' is chosen by the tower itself to control the influx of other climbers into their world, with the hope that the key holder can wisely choose enemy or friend and to open trade flows that can benefit both parties
However, the problem with the key holder is that in order to get it one has to go through many difficult and complicated trials in the original world in order to attain full power
And the one who held the key holder of the earth in the past was
Blue demons!
One of the 7 crimson demons who are elders of the Demon God's Sect, who is also the Demon God's messenger.
In other words, he betrayed his own world
"I have to get the key in this life, many people must fall and are not given the opportunity to climb the tower, just because of the slavery and destruction brought by the devil, and I have to protect it" Arcus clenched his fist tightly. In the past there were many innocent souls who died, even those who were precious to him died in horrific circumstances because of this blue demon's betrayal
"Then let's start training for 1 month, from now on!"
"The first is, eat!"
Unwrapping the instant noodles he had brewed, Arcus once again looked at him with a dark face
The content of instant noodles is very bad, contains a lot of msg and carbohydrates. But the protein content he needs can even be compared to nothing
"Well, I have to be grateful. In the past just eating a nut was very happy"
"Bon Appetite!"
--
City street in the morning. Not many vehicles at this time, because the time is still showing 05:30. Even the sun still hasn't shown its face
And here, Arcus was ready with his tracksuit. Sets the stopwatch on his cellphone and says
"My first exercise will be jogging in the morning, to be able to form the body optimally, I have to maximize my breathing capacity" Starting to warm up for a few minutes, Arcus then started walking and slowly increased his speed
He then remembered a word from the past, it was the words of a friend from the past. And the muscles... So terrifying
"Haha, little Arcus. If you want to build up your muscles and physique, then what you need to do first is 'maximize'" The big and muscular man said loudly to a man in black armor, the two of them were currently roasting a wild boar and the muscular man instantly took the biggest piece, eating it like a predatory lion
"Maximization?" Arcus asked, slightly surprised to see his friend's act of eating meat so quickly
"Yes, it's true that building up your physique and muscles with exercise is paramount. However, there are other aspects that can maximize your training, even you can achieve muscle mass like a bodybuilder who has been training for 5 years, in just 6 months"
Arcus was slightly surprised, he then asked again
"Like what?"
"The first thing you need of course is adequate intake. Protein is the main building block of your muscles, and the second is energy, I suggest adding some carbohydrates in your diet"
"And the second is maximizing breathing. When you practice without maximizing your breathing, what happens is that you can only do a few sets of exercises. Your lungs that have not been trained to the maximum will only force you to stop exercising."
"After maximizing the breath. What you need to do next is practice gradually, practice according to your abilities. However, I recommend practicing swordsmanship even if it's only for a few hours a day."
"And one of the secrets of my training, is with real combat! When fighting, your muscles will tighten and your adrenaline will be awakened. And when you fight fiercely, your body will begin to change its shape due to the impulse of your brain that wants to survive"
"And in fighting, all the muscles in and out of your body work continuously. Along with the adrenaline rush, you can do physical building exercises several times more efficiently and quickly than training in any gym in your world."
--
'He does talk a lot, but his tips are very valuable' Arcus who had walked for 30 minutes, paused for a moment beside a lake and watched the beautiful sunrise.
"Hah... Ha... My physique is really bad. This fat is blocking me" Arcus complained, but all he could do was change himself. Easy to say, but hard to do
"Alright, 10 more rounds!"
Meanwhile, at the school where Arcus attends
"Ted, did you see the pig today?" The youth of Arcus' age with red hair asked, took another puff of his cigarette and embraced the girl beside him
"No, could it be that he died yesterday?" Ted said
"Damn it, if the police find out we did it..." Beside him, the yellow-haired youth felt a little panicked. Last night they accidentally met Arcus, at that time they were drunk and upset because they lost a gamble. Venting their emotions to the point of making Arcus faint and leaving him
"Heh, calm down. My father is a member of the council, and he's just an orphan. There's nothing to be afraid of" Merin without the slightest fear answered her friends' concerns.
'Huh... Why are the kids around here all broken?' In the front seat, a girl with long black hair mumbled as she saw her classmate's attitude
'I hope Arcus is okay...'
"Hah... Ha... Unexpectedly... I arrived in this forest" Arcus who was already exhausted, stopped when he arrived in front of a gate leading to a mountain covered in many trees.
'Should I look inside?'
But not long after, Arcus without hesitation entered the forest. Past the trees and up the mossy-looking stone steps, it seems like no one has entered this forest for a long time