"You sure are a strong one," Xangril mumbled, cheerfully smiling, as a black shirt appeared on his body out of thin air.
Panting, Nox quietly lay on the ground, gazing up at the dark black sky.
His shadow soldiers had already disappeared due to his lack of arcane, but only after slaughtering the two giant monsters that lay lifeless on the ground. One of them had half of its body severed from the rest, while the other monster looked as if it had been beaten to death.
Blood trickled down from underneath Menace's mask as he got back up on his feet, barely able to keep his shaky legs under control.
[You have completed the 20th round!]
His lips curled up slightly as he examined the windows that had appeared before him.
[You have completed an impossible achievement!]
[Your rewards are being calculated]
"I must admit," Xangril said, breaking the silence, "even I did not expect you to actually win the twentieth round."
"With this..." he added, snapping his fingers.
**********
[Rankings of the tenth floor (all time):]
(?) [Information has been blocked] (Round– 20)
(?) [Information has been blocked] (Round– 20)
Menace (Round– 20)
Sun Wukong (Round– 19)
.
.
**********
"You have officially become the third person to complete the twentieth round of the Colosseum's trial in the entire history of the Tower!"
'The information of the people above me is still blocked,' thought Nox, examining the screen. It was the same on all the lower floors he had climbed.
The dense dome covering the battlefield had now started to dissipate, giving rise to holes all around it before finally completely disappearing in a few minutes.
As soon as the dome vanished, hundreds of messages popped up in front of the masked man.
[The God of Lightning wants to make you his servant]
[The God of Hunting wishes to make you her servant]
[The God of War wishes to make you his servant]
[The Deity of Farming wants to make you his servant]
[The Lord of the Zodiacs has expressed his interest in you]
[You have been invited to Olympus]
[You have been invited to Zion]
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.
.
The crowd, which had been in complete disarray up until the moment, grew silent upon seeing the masked man standing face to face with the trial's administrator.
If the man wearing the red cape was alive, it could only mean one thing… History had been created, and they were present to witness its magnificence.
Even the daltokki, who sprinted in the air all around the battlefield just moments ago, floated quietly, observing and examining everything on the battlefield.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"My fellow players!" shouted Xangril, raising both of his arms in the air. "An event such as this has occurred only twice before! As such, the cost of the tickets has now increased by one hundred times! Kindly pay your dues before exiting."
Before anyone could get a chance to raise an objection, the trial's conductor yelled once again, "We will now invite our next participant!"
"WHAT!" the members of the audience as well as the daltokki blurted in unison.
Even after such a historical event, Xangril didn't even give the masked man any chance to bask in his glory. Neither did he allow anyone to talk to him, nor did he himself say much more. Just what was going on within his mind.
The shouts were the last thing Menace heard before his eyes were covered in darkness.
What was before his eyes wasn't mere darkness. It was the complete absence of even a single strand of light. Something he had experienced a lot in his grim life.
He couldn't feel his body, not even a single muscle. It was as if his consciousness had been transferred entirely somewhere else.
In the darkest hue of black, a golden screen appeared before him.
[Your rewards have been chosen!]
[You have received a sensory skill scroll (SS)!]
**********
Sensory Skill Scroll (SS)
When opened, you will receive a skill related to any one of the five senses of your body, which may vary from C-rank to SS-rank.
**********
A single skill for all his troubles was not what he had expected. But upon observing that it was an SS-rank, his inner complaints soon died down.
[You have reached level 60!]
[You have unlocked access to the First Hall of the Eternal Library!]
'The first hall?' he thought, glancing at the screen, before waving it away with the thought of checking it out later.
"MENACE!!!"
The loud yells and cries forced him to raise his eyelids, only to witness a humongous crowd of more than a hundred players standing all around him, calling out his name.
It looked as if he was back on Earth.
Contrary to the mediaeval architecture of the lower floors, the place where he was currently standing resembled a humongous square, surrounded by concrete and glass buildings, each at least ten floors high.
The concrete road on which he was standing was filled with numerous designs and arcanic signs.
The sky above his head was the lightest shade of blue, filled with thin white clouds that wandered about aimlessly, blocking the blinding rays of the dazzling sun.
Beast-driven carriages had come to a halt behind the crowd gathered before him, and were yelling to make way.
The daltokki slowly began to appear in the sky, with their cameras floating beside them as they hovered over the region.
Cracking his knuckles and adjusting his mask, Menace finally decided to pay attention to what the crowd had been shouting for the past few minutes.
"The Kioku Inn offers you a fifty percent discount!"
"Only fifty percent? My inn will offer you a one hundred percent discount!"
"Mine will too!"
"We will pay you a hundred gold coins to rest at our inn!"
"We will pay you eight hundred gold coins to visit our inn!"
As if shouting their wares, the innkeepers and owners yelled out attractive offers that would have instantly made anyone stay with them.
The men and women in the crowd pushed each other aside as every single one of them tried their level best to come to the front and make themselves heard.
Menace examined the place, trying to find any way he could escape the crowd, but it was in vain. He had been completely surrounded.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sound of soft and elegant clapping sent a wave of silence throughout the horde of players as they began to move away to create a path for a beast driven carriage, heading slowly for Nox.
The monster pulling the carriage resembled a black bison, but was almost double its size and had long, curved, and pointed horns.
The carriage it pulled was exquisite, similar to the waggon that kings of old might have travelled in. Its huge wooden wheels raised its gorgeous red and golden body a few feet above the ground. Numerous beautiful engravings covered it all over, and not a single scratch or dent was visible on it.
It finally came to a stop, barely ten metres away from the masked man, before its door slowly opened without the lightest screech.
The crowd had already stepped back, with their heads bowed and eyes directed at the ground.
Out of the beautiful carriage stepped an even more spectacular specimen of an elf, wearing an elegant black suit over a white striped shirt and a black bow tie.
The elf's dark skin complimented his graceful face and sleek, black eyes. His golden hair was trimmed neatly, with just a few strands floating over his forehead.
With both of his gloved hands behind his back, he walked towards Menace in a dignified and refined manner, a slight smile plastered on his face.
"My name is Juino," he said, stopping a few feet away from Nox before raising his open palm over his chest and slightly bowing.
"I am a humble waiter in the Black Inn," he continued, straightening his back, "the largest chain of inns in the entirety of the Tower, with one of its uncountable branches on almost every floor of the Tower."
Turning his body to the side, he pointed his open palm towards the carriage. "We humbly request your presence in our inn."
Menace calmly stood still, attentively listening to everything he had been told. Seeing as how the people revered a waiter of the Black Inn, he was intrigued to see just what kind of place it would be.
Plus, if the inn really did have a branch on each floor, it wouldn't be too bad to get acquainted with them. After all, if he was able to maintain a good relationship with the inn, he would no longer have to look for a new place to rest every time he climbed to a new floor, let alone sleep in the shade of trees every day.
"Lead the way," he replied, bowing his head before taking the first step towards the carriage.
{Author's Note: I Plan to do a Q&A section one reaching chapter One Hundred! Please do leave your questions below, no matter what they may be.}