Alex hadn’t even bothered to check his stats on his march back toward the village. As Rich had predicted, a few wolves had come searching for prey after smelling the blood of humans and deer alike. Despite how he was feeling Alex still participated at least in part to distract himself from the actions early in the day. He dwelled in his thoughts. He knew that this was going to be a dangerous place. That some people were going to treat the Tower like a game. But the ramifications of those thoughts hadn’t hit him until now.

They returned to the village around midafternoon. While Eric and Kai wanted to stay out in the forest a bit longer practicality won out. Their bags were bursting with supplied that needed to be sold and mana was constantly needing to be drained by Kai and Taylor. After all the fighting they needed some additional time to recharge and rest their minds.

Few people outside of the locals were in the village when they entered. They all were likely outside the walls hunting for levels. Of the few humans that Alex found in town most he saw were crafters. They did not need nor get any XP from killing so there was no need. Instead, they could gain levels through the variety of items they could craft.

This need for crafting for levels meant that the loot gathered by other climbers was very valuable. Outside of a few sellers in the village, there was no other way to gather materials unless they wanted to try and do it themselves. The result was buying from other climbers. Sometimes in currencies other than Tower Points. And that was something Rich wanted to capitalize on. The dollar to Tower Point ratio was fluctuating wildly and wouldn’t likely settle down for a week or two.

After dumping most of the gear at the general store and armory Rich began searching for a human buyer of goods. Alex and the others followed him partially out of support, boredom, and interest in what price they could get for the goods. Alex of course also wanted to use this time to distract himself from the day’s events. As they walked around the village talking to a few people but never stopping for long he pulled up his stat sheet.

<<<>>>

Name: Alex

Path: Magic (Sub-Path: Lightning)

Rating: G

Level: 3 (17%)

Abilities (1/1):

Manipulate Electricity [G]

Tower Points: 0

<<<>>>

The fights if the day had netted him enough XP for level 3 but not much more beyond that. He felt his progress was slow, but he felt everyone was going slow for the time being. If he wanted to jump in levels, he needed to fight monsters at levels even higher than his own but that also meant handling more danger and higher risk of death.

As they walked down the street, they passed some stables. “We should look into getting some horses,” said Alex.

“Horses?” said Eric.

“Yeah horses,” said Alex. “For traveling and getting to hunting spots sooner.”

“Maybe if we if more money,” said Rich. “Even renting them would probably be too expensive for us now. Not to mention buying one would be costly in terms of food and upkeep. Maybe we could buy them on Earth but I’m not going to be the first one to test what would happen when living things other than humans step through the portals. Horses might also be a liability while going out to hunt monsters. And not to mention it may not be possible to bring a horse to higher levels of the tower without bringing the animal harm.”

Eventually Rich found the man he was looking for and after some negotiation, they left for Earth. Credit cards and cash couldn’t be found in the Tower after all. Once they were through the portal Rich summoned the items from his inventory, a separate space unavailable in the Tower directly, and took out the items to sell. Everyone else followed his lead and dumped their bags onto the grass of the park as Rich and the seller traded bank details and set up the transfer of money. It was a quick affair and a few minutes later Rich was transferring a portion of the money to everyone else.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Seeing the bank balance go up by 500 dollars took away Alex’s bad thoughts as his mind went to how he could do this more often and make a living by way of the Tower. It was the first of many possible payments he hoped to receive. He started walking back toward his apartment and made the trip quickly. On his way back e picked up some food for dinner.

Alex walked up the stairs of the apartment building. As he walked down the hallway to his place Caleb opened his door.

“Oh, hey Alex. It is nice seeing you. I was wondering when you were going to come back if at all.”

“Yeah, I will still be very much tied down to Earth and my apartment for the foreseeable future. I can’t quite live in the Tower. I am still very much stuck with the convenience of life here. The food, the bathrooms, running water, lights, phones, and all that. I couldn’t easily leave that behind.”

“How have your experiences in the Towers been so far? I’ve only read about some of it on the web.”

“It has honestly been a lot. If I was to live there, then I’d be expected to make a lot more Tower Points. And that means fighting a lot more. Only the Crafter path can avoid the fighting in the Tower while leveling up. Though they need the results of the fights to grow. These past two days have also been some of the most exhausting days I have lived through. When everything around you wants you dead then there is a lot of fighting to survive. The only safe place is the village that I teleport to each time I enter the Tower. But it is only kept safe by the fact that the guards are many levels above us. Fighting or resisting them means death.”

“And how has the leveling gone? How strong are you now?” asked Caleb.

Alex chuckled. “Not that strong. Only level three. Which feels so low because it is really. But the grind to get to this point was hours. It is completely different from games where all you had to do was mash buttons and fiddle with a controller. Everything I do is exhausting and I can’t stop for a second. I don’t have the funds for health potions, or anything fancy like consumables now so I have to fight through it all, or else I could get myself of my teammates hurt or killed.”

Caleb nodded sympathetically. "I can't imagine how difficult that must be. It sounds like a completely different world from what I'm used to."

Alex nodded in agreement. "It definitely is. But there's something exhilarating about it, too. The feeling of leveling up and getting stronger is addictive. And when you finally beat a tough monster, the sense of accomplishment is incredible. Though it's not for the faint of heart," Alex replied. "But I feel like I've learned a lot about myself since I started climbing the Tower. I've had to push myself harder than I ever have before, and I've had to rely on my teammates for support and protection."

"That's cool," Caleb said. "I'm glad you're finding fulfillment in it. And hey, if you ever need someone to talk to about your experiences or to help you out with anything, you know I'm here for you."

Alex smiled gratefully. "Thanks, man. I appreciate that. It's good to have friends like you back here on Earth, too."

They ended their conversation and parted ways. Alex felt exhausted once again from the day's activities. It wasn’t so much from the physical actions and movements but the mental fatigue of the day. It weighed on him like a stone tied to him as he walked.

As Alex entered his apartment, he collapsed onto his couch, feeling utterly drained. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, his mind still racing with thoughts about the Tower. It was a strange feeling, being so immersed in a completely different world, and then coming back to Earth, where everything felt so mundane in comparison. He knew it was a large part of why he entered the Tower in the first place and had continued to enter after seeing the monsters that it spawned.

Though even as he tried to sleep with his tired mind he couldn’t. His eyes closed and his body was ready after changing. Alex kept going back to the events of the day. The unfortunate events of the day he told himself. Men had died today. Not in some far-off place on TV. Not from old age or some hard-fought illness but from fighting. Fighting with him and those he climbed with in the Tower. He could still feel the weight of the body of the swordsman he pushed off himself. Piercing wounds had covered the man’s body dripping blood from him to Alex.

He twisted and turned in bed. His mind couldn’t bring itself to focus as his heart raced. Alex tried to shake off the gruesome images that were haunting him. He knew he couldn't change what had happened, but he couldn't help feeling responsible for the swordsman's death. If only he had been faster or stronger, maybe he could have found another way to deal with the situation. The weight of that thought bore down on him heavily. He knew it was foolish to think that way - they were all in the Tower to fight, and sometimes people would die. It was a harsh reality, but one that he had to accept if he wanted to keep climbing. He had to focus on the goal and keep pushing forward, but his mind was too clouded at the moment.

After hours of tossing and turning, Alex finally succumbed to sleep. But even in his dreams, he couldn't escape the events of the day. He saw the swordsman's face, pale and lifeless. He woke up with a start, covered in sweat, and gasped for air. He knew he should take a break from the Tower, at least for a little while. He needed time to recover mentally and emotionally. But the lure of the Tower was strong, and he wasn't sure if he could stay away for long.

The next day, Alex woke up feeling a little better. He decided to take a walk around his neighborhood to clear his mind. As he walked, he couldn't help but notice how different everything looked now. The buildings, the streets, and the people all seemed dull and lifeless compared to the Tower. He missed the adrenaline rush of fighting monsters and the feeling of accomplishment that came with each level-up. He wondered if he would ever be able to find that kind of excitement on Earth ever again.