William paced near the tower core, the dome-like artificial sky casting shadows that made his muscles look even more defined. He was still in his boxers, and three hours had already passed since the protection period started.
His thoughts raced, desperately searching for the best way to survive the test. 'I could go high risk and bet everything on Gacha—maybe ten normal draws or a single rare one. But damn, I don't trust my luck, and I'll be on my own. For fuck's sake, I'm totally clueless. I don't even know if my troop can fight, or what I can buy with the Tower Points I got from the merchant.'
He muttered quietly, "Should I try to summon a single troop to see what they can do? But how the hell do I even do that? Should I just say 'Summon Troops'?"
As soon as William spoke, Rollie chimed in,
[Please specify the number of troops you wish to summon.]
[Each summon costs 10 T.P.]
[All summoned troops will be the same rank as your tower core.]
"When did you start doing this? Isn't it the tower core's job?" William asked, genuinely curious. He'd thought he needed to be in contact with the tree, just like before when he checked the Tower status.
[I've assimilated myself with the core as well.]
[Now you can view the tower status and use any function from anywhere in the tower.]
[See? I'm awesome, right? Praise me!]
"Well, that's convenient, but damn—each summon costs 10 T.P. That means I could only summon ten at most. Hell no, I'll just summon one for now, and I had to figure out how to get more T.P. later."
"Rollie,one summon for now."
[Okay, dear Will~]
As soon as Rollie confirmed, the Luminara Tree began to tremble gently, emitting a faint, melodic hum. From beneath the branches, a small figure emerged. She had delicate, childlike features and pointed ears reminiscent of an elf.
Draped in a yellow frock that looked like autumn leaves, she was barely the size of a palm. Two small, translucent wings fluttered on her back, catching the light and casting a subtle golden glow.
Her yellow hair fell softly over her small shoulders as she slowly opened her bright, golden eyes. She glanced around, taking in her surroundings, and the moment her eyes landed on William, she dashed toward him without hesitation.
As soon as she reached him, she began circling around William, giggling softly. He just stood there, watching her spin, and couldn't help but notice she looked like a child overjoyed to see her parent. Noticing William's confusion, Rollie spoke up.
[Any troop summoned will be completely loyal to the Tower Lord.]
[Especially main troops, since they're summoned through the Tower Core, which is now a part of you.]
[So, she thinks of you as her own.]
Knowing this, William thought, 'First a system wife, and now a fairy child. This is getting complicated.' After a few laps, the fairy stopped and hovered right in front of his face, gazing at him with pure affection shining in her adorable eyes.
"Well, damn. She's adorable," he muttered, raising his hand to gently brush his fingers against her cheek. The fairy leaned in, pressing her cheek to his touch and letting out a soft, "Kyuu~." William clutched his chest with his other hand and groaned, "Fuck, that's too much."
William slowly withdrew his hand as the fairy fluttered to his shoulder and perched there. He glanced at her and said, "Rollie, show me her status."
⟡⟡⟡
Name: Glow Fairy
Race: Light Fairy
Rank: Tier 1 (Low)
⟡⟡⟡
Attributes
Strength: 2
Constitution: 4
Agility: 7
Intelligence: 5
Mana: 15
Affinity: Light
⟡⟡⟡
Skill
Light Touch (Low)
Casts a buff on a single person, increasing all their attributes by 20% for 30 seconds. While the buff is active, it cannot be cast again.
⟡⟡⟡
Rank Upgrade Conditions
Tower points: 20/20
Tier 1 core: 0/3
⟡⟡⟡
He thought to himself, 'Well, just as I expected—all her attributes are low except for Mana. But that skill's actually pretty damn good for a low-tier: a straight up 20% buff, and her upgrade conditions are pricey . What the hell are these "cores" anyway? Is it something to do with monsters?' As usual, Rollie was listening in and immediately answered.
[Yes! Tier 1 cores come from monsters killed during the Ascension Test, as well as from test rewards.]
[You can also get them from the Tower merchant, but they cost twice as much as a standard summoned Troop.]
"Okay, upgrading is a no-go for now, but I should give her a name since she's my first summoned Troop," he said, gently rubbing his finger against her cheek again. "You'll be called Lumina." As William spoke, the fairy responded with an adorable, pleased "Kyuu~" that made it clear she loved her new name.
After a moment, he pulled his hand back and asked, "Rollie, are all the troops I summon the same, or are there different kinds as well?"
[Yes, there are other kinds too; they're summoned at random.]
"Well, that's good, but it won't really help even if I get an attack type—they're all too weak at the start. What I need right now is a way to get more T.P. If I summon again and get another buff fairy…" He stopped mid-thought, shaking his head. "I'm such an idiot. I have a motherload of buff flowers right next to me."
He smirked. "Right now, millions of people are probably panicking to get something useful. I could easily sell these on the regional chat."
Thinking about the regional chat, William remembered Dante and Archie. "I hope those morons got something good. If we're in the same region, I'll hook them up with some free flowers," he muttered. Not wanting to waste any more time, he said, "Rollie, open the regional chat."
[Please mention your name that would be shown in chat]
"Just use my name. I'm not going with Gacha Lord or something that dramatic."
[Username: William Hart]
[Connecting with Region #19201]
As soon as he entered the chat, hundreds of messages flashed by in the general channel every second.
'Don't worry, guys. My dad's a famous psychologist. Before we came here, he said it's all just a dream.'
'Dude, check the regional market. Someone's got a technology-based talent—he's actually fucking selling nukes.'
'Please help me, I'm 22, hourglass, and untouched.'
'I got naked goblins as my troops. I'm dying just seeing them uncensored.'
'I got giants as my troops. Whoever sends me T.P., I'll help them in the future.'
'Baby, have you eaten anything?'
He lingered in the general channel for a few minutes, hoping to catch any important information. The chat remained chaotic—some shitheads were still having fun, even with the possibility of dying in three days looming over them.
Still, he managed to pick up a few things. First, anyone left behind couldn't be called here. Second, everyone was split into regions of one hundred thousand people each. He'd searched for both Dante and Archie's names but didn't find them; since they worked on opposite corners of the country, they were probably in different regions. And lastly, when you summoned the tower merchant, a rabbit appeared in a black tuxedo suit.
In the top corner of the chat, he spotted the Regional Market tab and clicked on it. "Well, I should get some T.P. first to fill the rabbit's pockets."
⟡⟡⟡
[A/N]: Powerstones greatly help the novel. If you enjoy it, please throw some!