The Tower of Ascension was physically located in country S, on the African sub-continent.
It was a monumental structure, whose construction methods went beyond the scope of modern engineering.
The base of the tower covered tens of kilometers in width, and it stretched nearly a hundred kilometers into the sky.
However, as the climbers that entered its grounds already knew, the tower's true expanse was not limited to its physical appearance and that there was a physical tower of the same dimension on every planet housing life across the universe.
The materials used in its construction when tested by scientists, appeared to be of unfamiliar origins, suggesting the use of techniques and resources not known to current mankind as the elements used in its construction seemed to be outside the scope of the periodic table entirely.
It was truly a mystical structure, and the only thing that was confirmed about it was the fact that the tower existed since before the first sentient lifeform was born in the universe.
Not just on Earth, but on every planet across the universe, the lore of the tower remained the same that it existed on their planet since the first sentient beings roamed.
Existing as it is, since time immemorial.
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While the tower only physically existed in Country S, there were several dimensional portals across the world which connected various major cities to the entrance of the tower.
These portals proved to be fast access points for climbers across the world to reach the tower, however, all the known portals in the world were guarded and monopolized by the Climber's Association, who restricted the entry of non-climbers inside the portal.
Today, as Rocky entered the tower for the first time ever, he was escorted by Pope Cole and a security team of several dozen climbers to the nearest portal in country X, where after having his documents verified, Rocky was given his climbers pass.
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Name - Rocky Yadav.
Age - 18
Talent - SSS
Floor - 0
Freight Limit - None ( Special )
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Usually, new climbers were given a white pass while they were newbies who had been a climber for less than one year.
This pass had a freight limit of 5kg for bringing luggage outside the tower, over which weight limit if one was carrying an artifact they needed to pay customs in TG.
Even if they were carrying freight under 5kg, if the value of goods carried was over 1000 TG, they still needed to pay customs, which was a great source of revenue for the Climber's Association.
Rocky, however, was issued a pink pass, the one that was usually reserved for Church personnel with an unlimited freight limit.
Usually, the church only gave this pass to their highest ranking officials such as bishops and archbishops, however, Pope Cole had specially instructed the Climbers Association to make one for Rocky as well.
It not only had no freight limit, but also had the privilege of the bearer paying no duty for goods valued under 100,000 TG, which was a big benefit for a new climber like Rocky.
" Gee, thanks Pope Cole" Rocky said looking at the pass, as tears welled up in Pope Cole's eyes for being complimented.
" Bless Gemini, the champion is such a kind soul. He thanks me for every small thing" Pope Cole said, as his voice started to break from becoming too emotional.
Rocky cringed listening to his response as to him it seemed like the Pope was becoming more and more emotional as days passed with his current rate of decline being such that he would soon begin crying whenever Rocky took a breath.
'Bless Gemini, the champion took a breath-'
Rocky could imagine him saying these words, as just the thought of it made him feel suffocated as he silently vowed to never complement the Pope again.
The duo then proceeded to walk through several layers of security, finally reaching the innermost room where the portal was located.
" Tower of ascension, here I come-" Rocky said, as with a deep breath he took a step into the portal, closely followed by Pope Cole and the security team as they were instantly teleported to Country S, where they walked out at yet another Climber Association facility.
[ Welcome To Ground Zero ]
A big banner informed Rocky that he was at the most famous point on Earth, the singular location where all the various portals across Earth converged to create the biggest operational hub for the Climber's Association.
"It's him! It's the champion! The champion is here!" someone shouted almost instantly, as the second that Rocky walked out on ground zero, he was greeted with a flurry of camera flashes and devout climbers.
" Nobody comes close to the Champion! Move, move! " His security team shouted, as they created a human shield around Rocky and escorted him outside the ground zero facility, as for the few minutes that it took for him to escape the crowd of climbers, Pope Cole beside him maintained a murderous aura of focus, as he was ready to cut-down anything that moved, unlike his usual calm demeanor.
Rocky entering that tower was a historic event for mankind and anticipation about his visit to ground zero had been building for days, which was why press spotted him the second he arrived.
While normal press could not access ground zero, there were still climber press who although smaller in number had the privilege to access ground zero and the battlefield of blood and cover all news regarding it.
This climber press had been awaiting Rocky's entrance for over 24 hours now, ever since he stepped foot outside the medical facility, as they waited to capture the historic event of his first entrance to the tower.
If not for his security, Rocky would have found it really hard to tackle this press, however he did not dare thank Pope Cole for it, fearing another emotional breakdown if he did.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the PS target! Good job everyone!
For this week, the target is one bonus for every 100 GT and 300 PS///