William stood near the Tower core, Lumina dozing peacefully on his shoulder. As he stepped into the Regional Market, he saw more than a thousand deals listed. He scrolled through them, eyeing each offer to see if anything caught his interest, maybe something useful that he could buy later.
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Item: Hand grenade
Effect: Powerful enough to obliterate a Tier 1 (Low) target.
Available: 12/20
T.P.: 10
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Item: Royal Jelly (5ml)
Effect: Boosts stamina and grants minor regeneration.
Available: 95/150 ml
T.P.: 5
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Item: Water (50ml)
Effect: Nothing special—just pure spring water.
Available: 5,500/10,000 ml
T.P.: 1
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Item: Wood (50)
Effect: For upgrading the Tower Core.
Available: 650/1000
T.P.: 3
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A troop summon cost 10 T.P., setting the benchmark for all other item prices. If something was more useful than a Tier 1 (Low) troop, it would naturally be priced higher. Resources were available too, but since he didn't urgently need them, he scrolled to the top to check out the pricier goods.
There, he found a few spears and a machete, each priced around 12 T.P. But when he reached the very top, a freshly listed item caught his eye. It wasn't a weapon, nor was it anything that would help in the Ascension test.
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Item: Sexy Lace Tong (Red)
Effect: Personally worn by an OnlyFaz Top 10 Model
Available: 1/1
T.P.: 35
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Within seconds, some horny bastard snatched it up. William shook his head and muttered, "Even when the world ends, these fuckers would be jerking off while dying."
"I dont have time to think over these shits, i need to sell some flowers fast and prepare for what coming" he then glanced at the Luminara Blooms, there were at least 100 of each he mutered" I can sell each of them for at least 2 T.P easily, but i can sell them all as there isnt a mention when they bloom again, I think 20 of each would be good enough"
He could see where to list his items, but how the hell would they get sent after the transaction? He was completely clueless about that, so he turned to Rollie. "Hey Rollie, how does the transaction work?"
[Just put the items in your inventory. When someone buys them, they'll be transferred to their inventory.]
He went straight for the flowers and plucked exactly twenty-five of each. After storing them in his inventory, he set up separate listings for each type—2 T.P. a piece. Once he was done, he closed the chat, wandered back to the tree, and sat beneath its shade, waiting for his stock to sell off.
It didn't take long; within an hour, they sold out faster than watermelons on a hot beach. All seventy-five gone, just like that, and his T.P. shot up to 240. William sat there, eyes wide. "Well, damn, that was fast. I even got messages from others begging me to sell more."
He grinned at his T.P., a flicker of greed sparking in his chest. For a moment, he was tempted to sell the rest of the bloom flowers too. But he shook the thought off, muttering, "Hell no! What if it takes them a month to bloom again? I'd be seriously screwed."
Now that he had T.P. to spend, he needed to use them wisely. First, he glanced at Lumina, still asleep. Gently, he scooped her up in his hand, stood, and carefully laid her on a tree branch.
He walked a few steps away from the tree and called out, "Rollie."
[Yes, dear~]
"Rollie, roll a Rare Draw," he said, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.
He went straight for the Rare draw. Why? Maybe he'd get a better item, and if not, he still had 140 T.P. left to get something from the Tower Merchant. As soon as he spoke, Rollie started the draw.
One by one, ten cards appeared, floating in front of him. They looked just like the ones during N draw, except instead of white, every single one gleamed bright blue.
William stepped closer. None of the cards looked different. But the second one in the top row seemed to be screaming for his attention. He reached out and grabbed it. Instantly, the rest vanished, leaving just a single card in his hand. He muttered, "Please, anything that'll help with the Ascension Test." This time, he made his wish clear.
Slowly, he turned the card over. The words came into view, and he read aloud, "B-rank Troop."
[Congratulations! You have won: Random Troop summon token (B-rank)]
[Token has been added to the inventory]
Seeing this, William grinned. "A B-rank—thank God, finally something good!" He pulled the token from his inventory: a small, coin-sized golden disk. One side was engraved with a tower; the other, with a bold letter B.
A bit confused about how it worked, he asked, "Rollie, do I just say the term? And will the random troop also be born from the Tower Core?"
[Yes, the process is the same, but random troops are not summoned from the Tower Core.]
[Each Lord's Tower Core can only summon one Troop.]
[All other troops are summoned from a different realm.]
[If the Tower Core is destroyed, only the Lord and the main troop die.]
[All other troops are transferred back to the realm.]
"So they get summoned, and if they survive until the tower is destroyed, they just get sent back to where they came from, waiting for another Lord to call them again? Damn, that's rough," he said, genuine concern in his voice.
[No, Will. The universe itself is a rough place.]
[There are far more dangerous forces out there, ones that destroy worlds just for the hell of it.]
[The Trial of Towers isn't cruel. It's the gods' way of helping countless races grow strong, so they can protect their worlds against those forces.]
[The ones in that realm? They're survivors from worlds that got destroyed. They choose to participate; no one's forcing them.]
[So you must grow strong. The Trail of Towers is just the beginning]
For the first time, William heard Rollie's voice turn serious. A flood of new questions filled his mind—who were the forces she mentioned? What came after the trial? He asked, "What are those forces you mentioned, Rollie?"
[You don't have enough authority to know that yet.]
[And honestly, it's better not to know until you're stronger.]
"Well, that's my plan, to build a tower that never falls." He didn't dwell on getting answers; he knew the truth would come out eventually.
He focused back on the token in his hand and muttered, "Let's get this over with." Then, clear and firm, he spoke the word: "Summon."
As William spoke, the token vanished from his hand. For a few moments, nothing happened, then the air in front of him rippled. A dense white fog rolled in, blanketing a seven-meter area. He couldn't see a damn thing through it. The fog swirled, thick, before slowly fading.
As the mist thinned, what William saw made him gasp. Standing before him was a seven-foot-tall figure, its lower half unmistakably that of a horse, while the upper half resembled a man. Sleek, light brown fur covered its body, trimmed neatly, and its tail reached below its knees.
The upper body was lean, muscles coiled beneath lightly tanned skin. In one hand, he gripped a spear. His face looked like a man in his thirties, framed by a light beard and long, dark brown hair.
William realized instantly what stood before him. Shocked, he blurted out, "A centaur! Now that's a real goddamn warhorse."
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[A/N]: Powerstones greatly help the novel. If you enjoy it, please throw some!