It’s okay to not be okay.
Amanda O’Connor
This was so boring.
Even in the darkness of night I would make out the path I was slowly wearing into the ground. This was all the fault of those women. They were the reason I had to spend the whole night slowly walking around the village.
The advantage of being on a floor with other climbers is that I did not need to do everything by myself. By the end of the first day Julie and Sarah had met the leaders of the village to come up with a plan to defend the village, while Amanda had met with all of the climbers and villagers to determine their talents and abilities. By nightfall we had a plan to defend the village as well as jobs for each villager to do to help prepare the village for the attack.
The downside of being on a floor with other climbers is that I had to follow others directions for the first time in a long while. At first that wasn’t bad as I gave the four of them a lecture on how to cultivate. The problems started when they were preparing to go to sleep. Much to Susan’s disappointment, I was given work to do overnight since the other three learned that I did not need to sleep for the next month.
Susan didn’t care about their plans for the village and was more concerned that I would not be sleeping with her. Much to the shock of Sarah, Susan had even offered to have a group ‘experience’ that night with all of us. Julie found the whole suggestion humorous. I did not like them trying to decide what to do with me or to treat me like a prized horse. Luckily Amanda was the quietest of all of us and offered no opinion one way or the other.
The work I was given was so meaningless that it was frustrating. I had suggested something far more beneficial. Earlier I had used the map to see if I could find the monster horde. I was able to eventually find the hidden treasure which was slowly making its way toward the village. I naturally assumed that it was with the monsters and used that as a way to identify where they were and from what direction they were coming. My idea for the night was to go scout out the location of the monster horde. Not only could I ensure the monster horde location, I could secure the hidden treasure and discover what type of monsters we would be facing.
My idea was shot down by all four of the women. Julie was concerned about a surprise attack on the village. Sarah was concerned I might be waylaid or injured while taking the journey. Amanda was worried that the hidden reward may not have anything to do with the monster horde and may just be a distraction. Susan, as expected, just didn’t want me to leave without her.
Instead I was given the task of scouting around the village and the surrounding forest. Which is what I had done for the past five hours.
I was tempted to ignore their advice when I first left the one room house the village lent us. I knew I was going to spend the whole night just walking slow circles around the village. Instead I could go inspect the monster horde and be back before anyone woke. But I was no longer alone. I was not so bullheaded that I would ignore them and their advice. They had so cleverly overcome the first ten floors. We needed to work together and I was too used to acting as an individual.
But my actions on the previous floor had brought me to this point. And it's not like it was all bad; I had gotten titles to prove just how effective I had been.
Titles
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Tower Climber - Rank 10
Granted to those who challenge the hard difficulty of the Eternal Tower.
Grants +10 to all stats
Hero - Rank 2
May enemies of humanity cower in fear when a hero emerges. You have been identified and called a hero among mankind.
Increase all stats by 10%
One Man Army - Rank 3
Not all men are created equal. You have proven that there is no true strength in numbers.
Increase all stats by 3%
Dungeoneer - Rank 3
A dungeon is not a vacation. This title demonstrates that you come to dungeons for one reason only: to complete them.
Increase all stats by 3%
Anti-Druid
While some see the natural beauty of a forest, you only see underutilized firewood.
Grants +1 to all stats
Harbinger Rank 2
Where you walk change follows. Those that see this title will naturally flee the area as fast as possible.
Increase all stats by 10%
Paladin
[redacted]
Increase all stats by 10%
Dragon Slayer
You have single handedly proved that dragons are not the greatest creatures ever created.
All dragons can see the blood of their kin on your hands.
Increase all stats by 5%
In the end the titles added 11 stat points and increased all my stats by 41%. Really all of the titles felt overpowered. I could understand a few stat points but with the percentile increases, my stats had vastly increased.
Was I even human anymore?
I had always viewed the old man as superhuman. But he had only been level 15. Even if he had far above average starting stats, none of his would be over 40. My weakest stat was now over 480. What did that make me?
And what the hell was up with my ‘paladin’ title? Did the goddess truly censor the information on it? What could it possibly say that she did not want me to know? Perhaps it was like ‘dragon slayer’ and would have a negative as well as a positive reward.
As I was thinking about my titles, I noticed an icon on my map move from the house toward the edge of town. Great, Susan was likely out looking for me. I could easily avoid her, but with how crazy she was that would likely only cause more problems. Taking a deep breath I turned and headed to the location where the icon stopped just outside the village.
“Oh it’s you,” I said when I finally arrived.
“Hi Miki,” said Amanda. “Do you mind if we talk?”
“I don’t mind, but Susan may do something reckless if she finds you with me.” That woman was crazy. Who knew how far she would go?
“Why would she do that? She was the one who suggested that I was coming to see you.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“She may broken in many ways, but she is not dumb. She knows that you would likely benefit from talking to me almost as much as you teaching me cultivation will benefit me.”
“Why would talking to you help me?”
“I understand your skepticism, but just as you had a life before the Tower, so did I. Do you know what a therapist is?”
“I am familiar with the concept. Not all knowledge was lost when the Tower appeared. That being said, I don't think anyone really does that sort of job anymore. The old world was weird and I don’t think talking about my mother will help me get out of the Tower quicker.”
To my surprise she smiled brightly at my words.
“Don’t worry about offending me. Instead let’s spend a little time talking about you. Do you mind telling me about what brought you to the Tower?”