The next document was a lot less practical than the others, but written in a more engaging manner.
My theories on the possible origins of the Tower of Transcendence
By Alkus the Sage, High Academe of the Multiversal Academy
The Tower of Transcendence is a topic bathed in mystique, veiled in the web of secret that surrounds many high leveled occurrences and beings within this Multiverse. It is an edifice that has been here seemingly since the beginning, when the Multiverse rose out of the cosmic ether, ready to challenge the newest generations of beings. Many think that it was a blessing from the System, but others still think that it was a tool sent from a higher level of the Boundless Expanse to foster growth. Because of the nature of the Tower, it is hard to find out anything from exploring its depths. A being can only enter it once, at the beginning of E Rank, and once there, the levels change to suit the person being tested. As such, there are no strategies that can be formulated to pass, no ways to cheat the system, or perhaps, the System. In any case, I have come to my own conclusions about the origins of the Tower from my observations of the Tower itself, as well as the interviews of those who have passed through, in addition to my own experiences. In almost all cases, those passing through it report a feeling of primal awe upon entering, a feeling that quickly fades away. Many say that they feel as if some of their memories on the matter have been erased, with strange gaps present. These gaps are either from a purposeful erasure, or from beholding a level of power that they are not ready for. In any case, it is thought that no matter what the purpose behind this, it is evidence that the Tower was placed there by a higher power. The way that it is able to read the strands of fate, for all of its challengers, is nothing short of astounding. Billions of E Rankers flock there every day to find their purpose, raging against the ephemeral strands of destiny that bind them. Ironically enough, they only cause those strands to tighten. The ability to know how far you will be able to go is heartening to some, but devastating to others. Whoever made this system was a cruel and calculating individual, but it is unclear what exactly they get out of it. In my personal opinion, the Tower is similar to the System in many ways. The deaths of its challengers serve to fuel its power, and are perhaps funneled away to whoever created it. But I digress. You have come here to evaluate my theory. Well, here it is. I believe that the Tower is the creation of some hegemon of Fate, a being beyond the scope of mortal comprehension. The layers of magical might woven into the substrate of the Tower are something that I doubt even the gods of this Multiverse could achieve. More importantly, what reason would any lesser being have to make such a thing? Only a true monster of a cultivator would send such a tool to a lower realm.
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After that, it simply devolved into what seemed to be nothing more than academic one-upmanship between the author and a few other academics who believed in alternative theories. It seemed that some things never changed, no matter how powerful those involved were.
Sam suspected that this version was a heavily dumbed down one as well, given that it was available in this low level section of the Interweb.
Closing the document, he took a break, thinking over what he had found out. When he came to the base of E Rank, he would have to embark upon the journey to the Tower. With his Dao Heritage and his other various abilities, he knew that he would get a score higher than would be safe. He would need to use an alias, dropping out under his real name beforehand. Using the name of the Arbiter would not cut it anymore, given that he was already associated with that moniker. He would have to find something else. However, that could wait.
The last two documents were informational missives that he quickly read over and digested. Both of them spoke heavily on the matter of knowing one’ own limits, because of the lack of exits once a level had started. They also spoke about the exponential rise in difficulty. Every level past one’s potential would reduce the challenger’s power by 50 percent. What that meant was that even after 2 levels, it would be basically impossible. Of course, the potential level that a challenger was assigned would be a bit different to their absolute potential. Generally, it was a level lower than their theoretical potential. This was to make sure that people knew when it was time to back out.
With all of this in mind, Sam felt prepared for what was to come if he was to reach E Rank. He had spent enough time engaging in conjecture however. It was time for him to embark upon a quest to kill the Titans. Those monsters were the greatest threat to his planet at the current moment, and an obstacle in his path to power. They needed to be gone before he could progress. In fact, the essence from their deaths would fuel his ascension.
With a quick application of will, he left the Interweb, appearing back in the city. He made a beeline for the city hall, ready to convene with his captains about their plans for the future. By the time he reached the hall, he was starting to grow impatient with the amount of time that it was taking him to arrive. At his current level, his speed was beyond anything that a normal human could imagine.
His reflexes and mental processing speed had been shifted to accommodate that. Because of this, whenever he moved at anything less than his full speed, it felt like he was moving in slow motion. The one saving grace was that he could adjust his perception to match this. Because of the many low leveled citizens in his city, he was unable to move at full speed, in case he ended up injuring one of them. Compared to him, they were like ants, and ants were easy to crush by mistake. He could sense that his Daos would crack if he ended up going against his core tenets in such a way, so he stayed far more vigilant than was strictly necessary.