The tower turned silent.
All across the five floors that mankind had stepped into, a single notification window floated.
[Congratulations! The fifth floor of the tower has been cleared]
For all those who had Hoped.
[The Tutorial is now over]
For all those who had Dreamed.
[The sixth floor of the tower has been opened]
For all those who had Loved.
[Climb. Climb the tower and grasp freedom. Freedom that comes without any clauses, without any repercussions]
For all…
Who lived.
[May your actions bend the will of fate]
Change had come in the tower.
***
The messages of the tower exploded in front of me like firecrackers going off on new year's Eve.
[Congratulations! You have defeated the Slithering Serpent]
[You have received 30000 points for an unimaginable feat.]
[You have earned the title 'Jormungandr'
-Affinity with snakes rises
-Snakes type monsters will respect you!]
[Charm +15]
[Luck +3]
[Non-tangilble Stats have not changed. Please consider training]
[Skill {Shadow Manipulation (D)} has leveled up.]
[Skill {Sweet Talk} has leveled up]
[Congratulations on your feat.]
"That's it?" The words left me on their own, causing the regressor to flinch.
Thirty thousand points were good. I again had a lot of cash on hand, thrice what I had spent.
Now, the most important bit remained.
"Open tower ranking."
[~Tower Ranking~
1) [No Moniker Granted]
2) [No Moniker Granted]
3) [Seer of Tomorrow]
4) [No Moniker Granted]
5) [No Moniker Granted]
.
.
.]
I scoured through the entire rankings. There was only another moniker granted to the ninth rank. Thankfully, there was nothing yet that could tell people who had killed the boss.
This was good enough.
As the people that had cleared the fifth floor, it was only the regressor and I that could open the doors leading to the sixth floor. Without being targeted by the masses, I was going to establish myself only in front of the people that were of use. The current top rankers.
And in the back scenes.
I still had to clear up Ativan's business. I was too afraid to face and associate myself with a group of criminals that were ready to betray me at the tip of a hat, but now I had no other choice.
If I wanted to live. I had to make them all mine.
"Let's go, Regressor."
The regressor stood up at the simple words.
I eyed him up and down, it seemed his rewards were that different. I felt a slight sense of connection with him.
Was it because of camaraderie?
"Did you get any titles?"
"Ah… yes… one. About being a giant dick."
I tilted my head.
"Is that a joke?"
The regressor bit his lips and looked away. "I-it's called Jormungandr."
Was it a joke?
"Hah, it matters not. We must move."
The reporters from the outside and the lower floors could be coming at any time. It was a shame, but the snake was not in any condition to be harvested anyway.
I needed to escape before anyone found out about us.
And…
I hadn't slept in the last three days.