I had to do all of that again, from talking about the Sabertooth Tigers to banging my head to make him take me as a disciple. It was tiring, but indeed reassuring. But the only thing that didn't happen was that dream… that dream didn't occur to me anymore.
'Was that dream related to my regression by any chance…?'
I had no other explanation. Maybe it was related to me? Or this body?
"Haa… let's focus on the task at hand first."
I was practically a nobody in the Tower.
"Climbing the Tower isn't easy. There will be absurd trials. People will try to stop you from climbing the Tower. You need strength, a strength that will never let you down and will trample upon everyone. You need an authority to show others the difference between you and them."
I had neither strength nor authority. I was a nobody.
"Strength is obtained by training and improving yourself endlessly and by the countless artefacts spread throughout the Tower."
Meaning I'd have to hoard every artefact in the Tower and spend thousands of hours training myself.
It was a hard task but the return was so tempting that I just had to do it.
'I'll have to wipe every floor clean.'
And I had to train without resting. Only then I could truly become a monster in the Tower.
"As for authority, your actions and popularity in the Tower will decide your authority. You may become a notorious devil that shakes the Tower to the very core or you may become an idol that soars through the sky like a rising dragon. In both cases, your authority will decide your place in the Tower."
Authority would come along with the achievement I get in the Tower.
'But I will aim to become a figure that sends shivers down everyone's spines. A monster that will not stop and will crush those who become a thorn in his way. Only then I can reach the 100th floor.'
But it was idealistic thinking. I didn't have the means and neither did I know anything about the Tower. What I lacked right now is information about the floors and their trials. But that could wait. I could learn about the trials from Musashi anyway.
'What concerns me right now are the hidden artefacts on the floors. I need to know about them but I doubt anyone will tell me anything, especially since the Tower is a place where people compete.'
This was troubling.
"Haa…"
"What's with that sigh?"
"Oh, nothing… nothing at all."
'No matter. Let's prepare ourselves first.'
***
I couldn't sleep. The thought of me finally learning the way of the sword from the Sword Saint himself was… inexplicable and thrilling. The more I thought about this, the more I felt exhilarated.
"Haha, can't believe I am getting excited about something."
'Ahh…'
An unpleasant thought resurfaced. I looked at my wrists. There were no scars or scratches. The handcuffs that kept me tied to the walls… I wanted to break free from them. They treated me like a dog, with no affection or any attention. They had stuck me to a wall for as long as I could remember. The memory of the handcuffs scratching my hands as I tried to free myself still made me feel irksome.
'Come to think of it, the only time I was excited about something was when I ran away from home.'
The vast world that was before me enticed me to no end. I had never been set free, I was always stuck in a small room with not even a comfortable place to sleep. And I ran away and found the beauty outside of the four rooms. Markets and stalls, people shouting the price, children running around in joy and smiles plastered on their faces, old men walking and gossiping about something I had no idea about… it was a peaceful scene and soon, I got fed up. A strange sensation rose within me watching all those smiles and words. I felt that… they were living a 'life'. While I was… not 'living'. It was only after getting slapped and thrown around like a garbage bag by my mom did I know what that sensation was.
"..."
It was jealousy.
"Fuu… I shouldn't think of those things now. I am not that helpless boy anymore."
Yes, I was not XXXXXX anymore. I would climb this Tower… and definitely die.
'I swear…'
{Status updated!}
NAME- KIND YULEN
RACE- HUMAN
STRENGTH- 2.018
ENDURANCE- 2.001
SPEED- 2.736
PERCEPTION- 9.000
MANA- [sealed]
SKILL(s)-
Reading (Grade-1), Regression (Grade-1)
"...what?"
Something… strange popped up in front of me.
'This is…'
This was the status screen I couldn't view earlier. So, why did this thing appear now?
'Was it because I acknowledged this body?'
That was a probable and the most likely explanation. Maybe the Tower didn't see me as someone who would climb the Tower until. And now that I was determined to climb the Tower, the Tower finally presented me with a status screen of my own.
'And considering that I can see other people's status, I can say that other people also have their own statuses.'
"Musa— master, what is a status?"
"...huh?"
What? Was that something that surprising?
"Haha, so the Tower finally acknowledged you huh…"
Oh… I guess he was thinking about how to get the Tower to acknowledge me.
"Now that the Tower acknowledges you, you are officially a Climber."
"Climber…? Wait, what is the basis of the Tower's acknowledgement?"
"The Tower is filled with races from other worlds. Sometimes people are invited by the clans of the Tower, sometimes the Tower holds a tutorial when it feels the need to have more Climbers. And then, there are cases like us who are dragged into the Tower out of the blue and we are not acknowledged by the Tower. It took me around 15 years to have the Tower acknowledge me. "
"Can you elaborate on the acknowledgement part?"
"Right. It was my goal and desperation that drove me forward, and when I realized that for the first time, I got acknowledged by the Tower. But I am not sure if that's how the Tower acknowledges someone."
That was it. That was how the Tower worked. Self-realization. The Tower was a place of many races and naturally, all of them had their own goals in their mind. Cases like me and the Sword Saint were the same. And the time the exceptions like us realize their goal and steel their hearts and bodies to climb the Tower at all cost, the Tower sees them as Climbers.
'This is great.'
I finally got rid of the questions regarding the status screen.
'Maybe I understand a little about the Tower now.'
"Hmm…"
Curiosity… I was curious now. Seeing my status, I was obviously pathetically weak. Then what would a strong person's status look like?
'Reading!'
I was left speechless.
***