[Note: The tower will send you back to the entrance in 3 seconds. Please retreat to safety.]
Standing on the bone stage, darkness filled my sight, and a second later, I found myself standing in front of a familiar worn-out closet door with chipping paint. If not for the pauldrons on my shoulder, I would have questioned whether the whole tutorial ordeal took place, to begin with. Just when I wanted to relax, the T-system prompt sounded again.
[Ding! New feature T-commerce unlocked.
Congratulations on completing the tower tutorial. Now you are eligible to access the tower of trials featured tower commerce.
Note: Use the command 'tower commerce' or 'T-commerce' to assess the new feature.]
Minimizing the T-system screen to a tiny blue dot on the upper left corner of my sight, I lay in the bed on my back and watched the ceiling. It felt assuring to be surrounded by things I was familiar with. I felt so glad that I was back on this bed again. Funny, a week ago, this very room felt strange and unfamiliar. Today I am finding comfort in it and feel like I have lived in this room for ages. I guess being almost swallowed by the dreadful empty void puts your life in perspective.
After a few minutes of self-reflection, I decided to check out the rewards I risked my life for. And used the command " T-system Inventory."
T-system inventory is a storage space meant explicitly to store the tower rewards we get after completing a floor. It doesn't allow us to store our loot or items we bought through T-commerce within it. Making it necessary for us to own a storage item. Thankfully my storage bag was a tutorial reward, so I could store my loot in it and then store the storage bag in the T-system inventory.
[ T-system Inventory
> Miracle Elixir (Unique) x1
> Tower Ticket (Unique) x3
> Skill Acquisition Jade (Rare) x1
> Storage Bag (Rare) x1
> Health Potion(Rare) x10
> Stamina Potion(Rare) x10 ]
[Item: Miracle Elixir (Unique)
Durability: Consumable (1/1)
Effect: The user is bestowed with a Miracle upon consumption of the elixir.
Note: Miracle bestowed is unique. One person is limited to one miracle.
Stock: 1]
[Item: Tower Ticket (Unique)
Durability: Consumable (1/1)
Effect: It can be used to contact the tower administration for queries, complaints, compensation claims, or any other issues.
Note: Tower administration is here to help.
Stock: 3]
[Item: Skill Acquisition Jade (Rare)
Durability: Consumable (1/1)
Effect: Using the Skill Acquisition Jade, the user can develop a Rare-Grade skill based on their achievements in the tower of trials.
Note: The skill developed is random in case of too many achievements.
Stock: 1]
[Item: Health Potion(Rare)
Durability: Consumable (100%)
Effect: Upon consumption, the user can recover 1000 Health points.
Note: Total Quantity of potion is 150ml. Minimum consumption of 15ml for recovery of 100 Health points.
Stock: 10]
[Item: Stamina Potion(Rare)
Durability: Consumable (100%)
Effect: Upon consumption, the user can recover 1000 Stamina points.
Note: Total Quantity of potion is 150ml. Minimum consumption of 15ml for recovery of 100 Stamina points.
Stock: 10]
"Tower Tickets," out of all the rewards, this one caught my eye because I had too many queries and questions about my tutorials. And primarily because of the word compensation in its description.
Before entering the tower, I did in-depth research on tower tutorials on the internet. I went through every post regarding it on social media to get a rough idea of what to expect in the tutorials. Therefore, I know that the tutorials I experienced and others experienced were different. While everyone faced off against a monster of equal prowess, I had to fight for my life against a Skeleton Foot Soldier armed to the teeth who kept using one skill after another.
Bonus Dungeon, there is no mention of such a thing on the Internet. None of the other trial takers had to complete a dungeon to get their tutorial rewards. I was the only unlucky soul who had to go through this, or maybe I am the only lucky soul who survived to tell the story.
*Growwl* Thinking of all this, my stomach grumbled in hunger. I promised myself to cut back on carbs, but after what I went through, I mentally hungered for some comfort too. And good food satisfies your hunger and comforts you.
"Fuck it!" Cussing, I got up and searched for my phone to order food online but remembered the delivery rate to my remote location and slumped back on my bed, thinking, 'Instant Ramen is the best comfort food.'
*Growwl* My stomach kept reminding me to hurry. I reluctantly got up from the bed. Freeing my hands and feet from the rubber gloves and gumboots, I removed the gray pauldrons strapped to my shoulders and stored them in the storage bag. Throwing the coveralls in the laundry basket and freshening up. I changed into something more comfortable. A dark blue t-shirt and gray sweatpants.
Walking into the kitchen, I found four carton boxes of instant ramen on the kitchen counter. Each carton box contained a different flavor of instant ramen. The predecessor had bought them at a discount. He has been living on these since his granny passed away. I don't blame him because if he didn't switch his three-time meals to instant ramen, he would need to find a part-time job to pay for the house's utility bills. It costs money to keep the gas, electric, and water running, which his estranged mother did not consider in his monthly allowance that he hadn't received for this month or the previous one.
"Veggie Spicy Chicken, it is." Choosing one of the four flavors available, I boil water in a saucepan. And cooked the ramen according to the directions given on its packaging. I didn't try to cook using those ramen hacks mentioned on the internet because I was physically and mentally exhausted after the ordeal in the tower. But I did crack an egg and dropped it on the top of the boiling noodles at the last minute.
*Sniff* Taking in the smell of the steamy Ramen, I carried the saucepan to the living room. Making myself comfortable on the couch, just when I was about to dive in with my fork, yelling, 'itadakimasu!'
I heard two cars pull over in front of my house, alerted I had to stop midway as this body's predecessor had zero visitors. I preferred being cautious, especially with everything going on.
...
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