"Tut-Tut. Kids these days, so damn impatient. Before I answer that, let me ask you one question. Think carefully before answering, or I'll be disappointed. What do you think the tower's intention is behind the design of this floor?" Liam asked in a slightly serious tone.
Noah took a minute to consider the question and then replied with the best answer he could muster " A test to see if humanity will succumb to its greed or put aside their differences and work together for the greater good."
Liam nodded as he heard Noah's response, shutting his pizza box and letting it vaporize into nothingness as he opened his mouth to respond.
"Wrong" he stated plainly.
Noah looked at Liam with visible confusion in his eyes, his pride suffering a slight blow as he had believed himself to have answered perfectly earlier.
"Whether the challengers in each grid manage to cooperate and slay the goblin lord or wait for the timer to out is completely and utterly inconsequential in the bigger picture. Do not take a two-dimensional approach when trying to ascertain the Tower's objectives. I'm not reprimanding you lad, but I need you to develop this skill. Question everything. There are certain things I will never be able to see from my perspective but may be as clear as day to you. An elephant can never look at life from the perspective of an ant, despite an earnest wish to do so" Liam explained as if he were compounding a scientific theory instead of being an insufferable prick.
Noah didn't mind it at all, too interested in what the actual objective behind this floor was to care about trivial details like being reminded of his own insignificance.
"The people on this floor are those who chose to be here. Whether they'd been dinged up in real life to the point where they had no chips left to lose, were tired of simply going through the motions and wanted to throw themselves into a pit of insanity for stimulation, or just wanted to be a degenerate demi-god like me don't matter one whit. The moment you step into Gridlocked, a certain aspect of you is fundamentally transformed. When you step out of the Tower of Glory, having survived countless brushes with death, killed both monsters and men alike to survive, and taken the first step towards divinity...... How would you feel when you reached the main tower and saw a bunch of people eating and sleeping in comfort as if nothing had changed from their days on Earth?" Liam asked, in a confident tone, as if he already knew what the answer would be.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Noah visualized the scene Liam had so vividly painted for him, staring at Liam as if he were in a trance. The usually calm and rational Noah felt blood rush to his head as he felt.... anger as he imagined the scenario playing out in his mind.
"Cowards" Noah softly whispered. A moment later, he snapped out of the trance and felt horrified at his own words. Not choosing the Tower of Glory was the most logical and safest option, yet.... he felt an instinctive revulsion to those who chose to hide away in ivory towers while they carved out a bloody path to divinity. He had already killed two humanoid creatures and had one close brush with death, and the challenge had barely even started. While he had Liam's assistance, one could only imagine how challenging a journey it'll be for others who weren't as fortunate.
"Weaklings. Trash. Rats. Scuffed challengers. Inferior. Dregs of society. Milksops. Namby-pamby. Okay, maybe scratch out the last two. But kid, I'm sure you get the idea. The tower was messing with us right from the beginning, but most of us had our heads far too up our arses to notice. Its intention was never to drive a wedge within the participants of the Tower of Glory, but make them feel revulsion and disgust for those who didn't participate instead." Liam finished the explanation calmly.
Noah slightly shuddered as he realized why the tower had forced them to make a choice so early on. What frightened him more, however, was that for an instant he could sympathize with those twisted sentiments.
"Well, that's enough of the downer stuff," said Liam, as he waved his hand with an eloquent flourish. An ornate tray with 2 piping hot dishes and some sort of flatbread materialized right into Liam's lap.
"Chicken Tikka Masala, Kadhai Paneer along with some Garlic Naan. I swear mate, this stuff is fit for the Gods." Liam exclaimed in delight, as he tore some of the flatbread and dipped it into the curry.
"You know, instead of glaring at me like that," said Liam as he stuffed another mouthful of naan, "you could order it too. The tower can replicate any cuisine as long as you think about it, though it'll only be enough for one meal. But for now, we've got ourselves some trees to climb!" Liam said with a hearty laugh.
"....." Noah gave Liam a death glare until he finally relented.
"Gridlocked doesn't have any combat arts available on the floor, but there are loads of unclaimed weapons and armor just waiting to be plundered. Since we're currently in a forest that has ginormous trees, even someone with half a brain can figure out where most of them would be stashed away." Liam explained quickly, more out of a want for getting back to eating than an urgent need to help Noah.
"But I don't feel much of a difference after putting points in dexterity...." Noah protested.
Liam's face twitched. "Do you trust me?" he asked Noah.
"Do I have a choice?" Noah snapped back in protest.
"No. Shut up and climb, lad. And stop whining." Liam said, making a shooing gesture with his hands, even though he was the armchair ghost that flew after Noah without his consent.