And then more notifications started to bombard Ark.
[You have killed a Cambium]
[You have obtained 5000 coins]
[Contribution: 100.00%]
[You have achieved an impossible feat]
[You have obtained 10,000 coins]
[Your story is blooming!]
Ark was pretty sure that even more notifications were going to come in at any moment. The fact that killing the monster was an impossible feat slightly surprised Ark. It was difficult certainly, but not impossible. Maybe it was impossible for a person from Earth? In hindsight though, it did make a certain kind of sense. Cambiums were nearly unkillable and only had one fatal weakness which was difficult to exploit. It was only because of Ark’s knowledge and the beast’s lack of intelligence that he was able to beat it.
[You have leveled up 8 times]
[You have completed the first scenario before the time limit!]
[You have completed the upgraded first scenario before the time limit!]
[You have achieved a fabled feat!]
[You have obtained 50,000 coins]
[Your story has reached its conclusion!]
Ark’s eyes widened when he saw the notification about the fabled achievement. This was huge. Fabled feats were the third highest feat someone could obtain in the Tower. The fact that Ark had achieved one in the first scenario itself was a huge deal for him. Feats enhanced stories by a huge margin. The fact that Ark had leveled up 8 times was good enough. He had already leveled up 7 times earlier with all the Dustbroods killing and now he had killed a Cambium, technically as a level one. The rewards were great too. The more you struggled in the tower, the better your rewards got.
Ark’s story had finally finished forming too. It was a legendary one, right below fabled. Obtaining stories was tough but the advantages they gave were a great help. Even obtaining an uncommon story was hard for an ordinary person in the tower. Ark did not bother thinking about those things much though. The tower would probably explain all the details anyway in the second scenario itself.
[Your story has been written]
[The rating of your story is: Legendary]
[You have obtained the story: “An army of thousand men”]
Ark had heard about such a story in the previous time line too. He was not too sure about the story’s specifications though, he would have to check it out when his status page opened up in full swing. Speak of the devil and another notification popped up at the exact same time. This time, it was a screen where a jackal in a suit sat atop a couch, its fingers interlocked together as if it was thinking. The jackals were the workers who were responsible for the workings of the Scenarios in the tower.
The first thing the Jackal did was sigh, as it used its own two paws to slick back its fur and push its glasses up to its nose. The people had seen all kinds of strange things. Seeing a talking Jackal would not be out of the ordinary for them now. It started talking and unlike the guttural sound that should have come out of its mouth, a smooth baritone voice rang out instead.
“Humans…Humans…Human…Welcome to the Tower. I will open your status boxes now and then you listen carefully to what I say”
[Your status has opened up]
[Your Card deck has opened up]
The Jackal introduced himself as Coscos and began explaining. “Hello, Humans! The First Scenario has been completed and you deserve explanations! Yes, you do! Don’t you?”
“What you humans have experienced is the initiation of the Tower. There will be two more Scenarios and further information will be provided then” Coscos made an impression of a regal king giving away scraps of information to the dirty peasants.
“But! You have to survive till then right? Right!” It looked like Coscos had become excited at the thought of blood as it continued to sniff excitedly at the fresh scent of blood.
“You will now learn how to open your card deck and status screen, repeat after me…” and then like a mother guiding her first child to slowly walk, the Jackal said, “Open card deck”
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Wow! Everyone can follow instructions! Your chances of survival have increased by two percent! Yuppie!”
Ark did as Coscos asked. ‘Open Card deck’ was actually the phrase that activated vocal and thought commands of the status screen. You only had to say it for the first time. The rest of the time, you could simply think about it. Ark had seen many people on the lower floors who had continued to shout out ‘open card deck’ anytime they wanted to view their status page.
[The deck has 21 cards]
[The Deck has five foundation cards]
The bloodthirsty Jackal began speaking again, “Now humans…you have five foundation cards, what are they you ask, well you can see for yourself” Coscos snapped his fingers and almost immediately the previous screen disappeared giving away to a new screen
[Strength] [Agility] [Constitution] [Perception] [Arkana]
Ark noticed no number under the cards. They would probably be visible after the Coscos finished explaining the status screen too. Each of the five cards was like a Tarot card, where there was a picture of someone and underneath was written the original purpose.
The strength card was that of a man who had a boulder in both of his hands, standing on top of a mountain. The Speed card was that of a child running away from gusts of wind. The Constitution card was a healer praying in front of a statue. The Perception card had a picture of someone overhearing a conversation. Every card was beautiful in its own right but what fascinated Ark the most was the Arkana card. It had a single picture of an open book.
Unperturbed by Ark’s own thoughts, the Coscos continued to speak, “Now some sentient creatures don’t understand what the foundation cards mean. Are you like those creatures humans? No matter No matter…I shall explain anyway. Strength is for the strong, Speed is for the fast, and Constitution is for those who are healthy. Perception is sense and Arkana is magic”
Ark was pretty sure that most people would have been excited about the prospect of having magic. It really was a shame. Earth had a really low amount of Arkana, so most people started out with very less points in it as their base. You had to have at least twenty-five points of Arkana before you could even feel it. Ark was different of course, he had been able to feel the Arkana in the air because of his past experience.
Even Ark had dumped points into Arkana because of necessity. In his past life, out of all the stats, his Arkana was the lowest. He had much preferred Strength and Agility over Arkana.
“Now then humans, do you want some hints? Do you? Most of your base stats start at ten! Isn’t it amazing! You have a chance to survive again. Come on then! See your stats”
Ark didn’t think his stats would be much different from his previous life. It would only be changed after his stats from the level ups came. It would only be after Coscos truly opened up the status screen that he would be able to reap the benefits of his previous level ups. Ark visualized the status screen again and this time it came with numbers.
[Strength] [Speed] [Constitution] [Perception] [Arkana] 11 14 12 12 14
Ark felt a sense of nostalgia as he watched his foundation cards. They were the same as before. He touched the Strength card. The resemblance to the tarot cards was uncanny. A black arch at the top with golden engravings of various designs and shapes. The picture was that of the man with the pick axe and on the bottom, was a simple text, “Strength of a miner” or just Strength.
Every card, even if it was a foundation card had a story attached to it. Even if it was a common one, a story could always be found in the tower. The black arch and golden engravings were common in all the cards. His Agility card had the picture of a rabbit, the constitution contained the picture of a green plus sign. His perception too was a green glowing eye.
What had always fascinated Ark was his own Arkana card. It was something he had always been proud of. It was proof that he was talented, that he was not a waste the others had thought of him as. On Earth where there was almost no trace of magic, most people would struggle to get even a five in their Arkana. It was said that people who were blessed by the tower started with 7 or 8. Ark started with 14 in his Arkana, something that was unheard of even by the Gods themselves. The picture which greeted Ark was that of the Tower.
“You have seen your foundation cards, right? That is not everything though! You have to select your card slots now! What! Do I have to explain that too? You humans really are pathetic, aren’t you? Well, I suppose it can’t be helped…”
“Let me explain something first, In the tower, there are stages and ranks. It starts from common, then it becomes uncommon, rare, epic, and legendary. You, pathetic humans, can only hope for rares. There are three ranks that are even above legendary! The first is Fable. The second is Narrative and the third is Mythical. Well, this is just a pipe dream for you… I would not even be explaining this too if not for the protocols”
Coscos had become too excited and decided to calm down by clearing its throat. “In the tower, you can have four different types of cards” Coscos raised its hand and coincidentally it had four fingers in its paws too
“The first are utility cards! They are boring cards, you would only use them for useless things. They are ease of life cards in a straightforward manner”
“The second are combat cards! Yes, Humans, you heard that right! Battle for Survival is possible only because of that. Yes! Fireballs, swordsmanship… everything that fits the combat slot but wait, you humans! There are more”
“Third are story cards. You should probably select only two. Most humans are pathetic anyway. Story cards are obtained by gaining achievements and such. You form your story, you gain a skill bah boring”
“This is the most exciting one! You humans worship the Gods, don’t you! Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon. If you lick their boots hard enough, they could even give you skills. These cards are called Guardian cards. Hoh Hoh! They are perfect for you groveling creatures”
“Ah! Ah! Ah! Before you get any ideas, you only have 21 slots though and once you select them, you can’t go back.”
“So then humans…What shall you choose?”