[Welcome to the Tower of Destiny!]
In contrast to what many believed, this place is not only reserved for the [Golden Star Academy Entrance Exam], it's an actual area that would appear later in Universal Descent.
It was in fact, one of the three [Universal Towers].
[Tower of Destiny - Impossible Difficulty - Rank 8 Area]
Many people backed away as they saw the difficulty warning, but they didn't have to: after all, as in the name, it is a tower, meaning that there are upper and lower levels.
The ranking it was given was based on the highest level available, meaning the one you needed to complete to conquer the tower.
Of course, it was the same for the two other towers, though this one was the easiest among the three, as it only went up to level 1000.
They were allowed access specifically for this event only, which meant that no one would usually be able to return as they crushed the tokens.
No one except for Alex, duh.
Ding!
["Tower of Destiny - Entrance" has been added to your World Map]
The notification brought a small smile to Alex's face. Unlike the others, he could return to the tower whenever he pleased.
Then what followed were panels that explained exactly why they were here.
[Golden Star Academy Entrance Examination].
The event's rules were straightforward.
Players would compete within the tower, with the goal of earning as many points as possible.
Higher floors yielded more points, but they also meant facing tougher monsters.
Each floor corresponded to a specific level range, with the first floor designed for levels 100–200.
Floors unlocked sequentially, meaning participants had to complete a lower floor before accessing the next.
[The top 10,000 participants with the highest scores will gain entry to the Golden Star Academy. For the elite top 10, the rewards will be even greater]
[Event duration: 1 week.]
After the initial explanations, glowing panels materialized before every participant.
Alex was no different, and though he already knew about the general premise of the examination, he still decided to check them out.
[Tower of Destiny - Floors Selection]
[Floor 1 - Recommended Level 100–200]
[Floor 2 - Recommended Level 200–300 - Locked until you complete Floor 1]
[Floor 3 - Recommended Level 300–400 - Locked until you complete Floor 2]
...
[Floor 9 - Recommended Level 900–999 - Locked until you complete Floor 8]
[Floor 10 - Recommended Level 1000 - Locked until every other floor is completed]
"Yeah, I get it," Alex grinned as wide as he could.
He had no clues where these tokens could have been before, but now that he saw all of this, there was no way it wasn't coincidence: the [Token of the Tower] was probably at the very top of the [Tower of Destiny], at the tenth floor.
Which meant that Alex would need to grow strong enough to take on monsters at level 1000 if he wanted to grab it.
"I guess that's one of the five found," he mumbled, though unsure, "And we're not even close to reaching it."
"That's all I wanted to say," Alphox said, his voice carrying a note of finality.
With that, the dragon vanished in a swirl of black mist, leaving Alex alone.
Taking a deep breath, Alex refocused on the task at hand. He tapped the panel before him, selecting the first floor.
Click!
[First Floor Selected: Lightwood Plains.]
[Good luck!]
In a flash, Alex was gone, leaving the quiet entry hall of the tower behind.
...
The Lightwood Plains, the first floor of the tower, stretched out before him. Lush grasslands dotted with clusters of trees created an incredible scene.
However, the serenity was deceptive, and you could see it almost immediately.
When selecting a tower floor, you were teleported randomly to one of the thousands upon thousands of "safe spots".
It was a way for people not to instantly form groups as they would need to find their comrades: and it would be the same for every other floor.
Even if you reached the end of the first floor and climbed to the second with your companion, you wouldn't stay with each other.
Around him, monsters stirred, hulking boars with razor-sharp bodies, lightning wolves with crackling fur, and armored beetles the size of small cars.
But of course, Alex wasn't interested in any of these things.
Seriously? He was able to defeat level 500 angels and monsters at levels up to 550 currently, there was no chance these weaklings could even scathe him.
Meanwhile, players scattered across the floor began their frantic attempts to score points.
They tried taking down monsters while carefully managing their stamina, even going as far as creating groups with random people they just met.
Solitary players, confident in their skills, hunted alone, their movements swift and precise.
Amidst the chaos, Alice carved her path.
With her agility and precision, she dispatched monsters with ease.
Her arrows shimmered in the light, and her movements were a blur as she tore through packs of monsters
[+20 points]
[+35 points]
"That's... too easy," she muttered, her eyes scanning the horizon for the next floor.
She was one shotting these monsters, so no reason for her to stay here, and finding Alex was also her top priority, though she knew he wouldn't be in trouble anyway.