24 Book 3 Chapter 20

Jason made his way through the capital of the Vistar Kingdom, alarmed at just how packed the city was. Although he knew the discovery of the community floors caused the six kingdoms to experience unprecedented growth, he'd been so busy working together with his companions that he hadn't paid much attention. Now that he was here in the flesh, he thought that perhaps it was a little too full.

As he made his way to Peter's place, he spotted a teenage girl expertly weave in between the crowd, her eyes darting about. In mere seconds, the girl pickpocketed dozens of people. By the time cries of alarm filled the street, she was gone.

They're all from the second wave, huh? Jason grew depressed upon noticing that every victim was clearly new to the tower. Some still wore modern clothes, while others looked amazed by the medieval city.

The second wave was the name for the biggest migration to the towers since they first arrived. Not everyone was comfortable putting their life on the line to fight monsters, but with the discovery of the community floors in combination with the relatively safe thirtieth floor, everything changed. From this point on, ascenders weren't all battle maniacs. The second wave was the start of a new era. Innovations in magic, potions, and all crafting skills came nearly every week.

Apparently in this timeline he would see the 'second wave' as it happened. Realizing this only caused his mood to drop further. Whenever he compared this timeline to the last, he was reminded of countless memories and people he'd never get to see again. Technically those people were now alive, but the relationships and experiences Jason had with them would never be the same. Sometimes he wondered why he survived. Why not Roy or Shenlong?

Jason slowly entered a state he normally avoided at all costs. Now that his stats were so high, he had more than a perfect memory. He was capable of experiencing a memory as if it was happening then and there. Senses and emotions, all of it was replicated.

Many ascenders in the previous timeline willingly or unwillingly became drunk on the joys of yesterday. Jason always pitied those who lost themselves in the past, but now he understood why so many chose to do so.

As much as he tried to ignore his emotions and focus on saving humanity, it felt like he was missing a part of himself he'd never get back. The companions he spent decades with now only existed as memories.

With his mind closed off from the outside world, Jason stood before a mental landscape. Ahead of him were the people he spent decades with. Happiness, joy, love. Countless positive emotions accumulated over decades assaulted him like a ten thousand foot wave.

Normally, he would push these feelings back, but his burden was now shared by many people. He could leave things to them, right?

Just then, a high pitched squeak came from behind, grinding the wave of memories to a halt. Jason trembled as he turned around and found Tank looking around innocently.

"Tank… how are you here?" Jason muttered hoarsely when he felt Tank's curiosity. As far as he knew, this place was deep within the recesses of his soul. He understood little about souls, yet he still knew this place was impossible for anybody else to enter.

Tank waddled over to Jason and climbed up his body before resting on her typical spot. Jason sighed helplessly as he rubbed her head. "You know some people laugh behind my back because of y-.... Oh nevermind."

A feeling of contentment came from Tank. It was so small and feeble compared to the giant wave of memories, yet it was all Jason needed to understand something. Somehow, Tank was so connected to him that she was able to enter this place. That meant if he lost himself, Tank would probably be implicated. That was unacceptable.

He turned to stare at his memories before vanishing from wherever he was. All that was left behind was a deep sigh. Perhaps one day he'd come back here, but not now. People depended on him.

When Jason awoke from that strange state, he gasped in shock. The street that was so full of life a moment ago was now deathly still. The air itself had turned sickly and grey, while every resident and ascender had collapsed to the ground. The tears that they all shed allowed Jason to understand that he had unwittingly used his mental suppression skill. Due to Jason's high stats and the deep turmoil he just went through, apparently he was able to affect reality itself. Interesting. I thought the mental suppression skill could only affect living things.

The air returned to normal when he came to his senses. Jason fled the scene in shame before anyone found out he was responsible. As he ran, he belatedly noticed a notification.

You have gained 32 points in the Willpower stat.

Jason gasped, the message lifting his mood. 32 points? Never had he seen such an absurd notification. Hundreds of hours of work skipped, just like that.

Jason could only think of one reason for the sudden windfall: the m-serum. It was more powerful than he could have ever imagined.