The butler pressured everyone with his Nu, including Zenith and the rest who were just peacefully sitting on the tiered seats. He didn't spare a single one of them at all.
As they got exposed to the butler's Nu, their veins bulged while their face turned red. They were suffocating. It was like they were in the deepest part of the sea, being crushed by its enormous weight. At this point, they didn't even have the leisure to talk as all of them were focused on enduring the butler's invisible attack.
They just gritted their teeth and mentally prayed for time to start ticking faster.
With each passing second, those who were still standing dropped down on their knees one by one with some of them even losing their consciousness. As for those sitting, they were doing much better than the others but they were also struggling a little bit.
"The butler's Nu..." Zenith muttered to himself as he recalled the oldest known epic in the tower: The Epic of Primo.
During time immemorial, there exists divine water sought after by myriad gods. It was the first water in existence— the primeval water of the universe.
It was said that the divine water possessed the mystical ability to create life, and it was even believed to hold the key to true eternal life.
The Epic of Primo recounts the exploits of Primo, the human race's ancestor, and one of the countless living creatures created from the primeval water of the universe. It was a very famous tale in the tower often used by parents as a bedtime story for their children.
The reason why Zenith thought of the Epic of Primo in this specific moment was that the divine water or the primeval water was often referred to as Nu, which was something that the butler used on them.
"Your ten seconds is up!"
Zenith was broken out of his thoughts at the butler's announcement. At the same time, the latter retracted the invisible pressure he imposed on them.
Zenith looked around and saw that most of the people who had been told to stand earlier were unconscious on the ground. Only a few remained awake, but they were the most miserable out of all. They were on their knees, bleeding and panting heavily due to the butler's invisible pressure.
In contrast, those who remained in their seats just looked exhausted with only one person suffering from a nosebleed.
The staff backstage along with a few physicians immediately came running towards the tiered seats, bringing first aid kits to tend to the injured and unconscious.
"Make way please!"
"Let us through!"
Without wasting any time, they checked their conditions, prioritizing those who seemed to have the most serious injuries.
"This one's fine. He's just unconscious. I need one more person here along with a stretcher!"
"Fuck, someone is having a seizure! Place him on his side and make sure he doesn't hit anything!"
"One of this girl's internal organs has ruptured! Where's the physician?!"
Zenith raised a brow at that.
He assumed that the butler would only use intimidation on them but it would seem that he was mistaken. He had actually injured them to this extent. At this point, this was no longer something that could easily be brushed off. If this matter wasn't handled properly, someone among the injured might die. Moreover...
"Those beings might just make an appearance," he thought as he gave the butler a deep look.
If his assumption turned out to be right, there might be an interesting show later.
In any case, the butler should've known the consequences of such a foolish action. If he wanted to fail them convincingly, there were many different ways to do so. He didn't seem stupid nor impulsive so why did he resort to this method?
There had to be a deeper meaning behind his actions.
"If anyone of you is feeling unwell, please don't hesitate to tell us! Don't act tough!" announced one of the rescuers.
The remaining audience only looked at the scene with apprehension.
As for the boy who started this whole mess, he tried to stand up but he had no strength remaining. His nose was bleeding and his eyes were bloodshot. He was on his last legs, but even though he was already in that state, he was still glaring at the butler.
One could say that he had an admirable will.
"Boy, don't force yourself! You're injured!" admonished one of the staff who came to assist him.
"I endured it... I passed... isn't that right...?" the boy ignored him as he asked the butler between breaths.
The butler merely stared at the boy while everyone silently waited for his answer with bated breath. Eventually, the butler shook his head.
"You failed," he answered.
"W...What?"
He gave a deep sigh before looking at the boy without any emotion on his face.
"There is a reason why I eliminated you all earlier. I have simply deemed your talents to be far lesser than the others so I failed you right away before you needlessly get yourselves killed in the tests. Unfortunately, you are far too stubborn for your own good and I was forced to make that little test just now."
The boy looked at him incredulously. "But... what if you made a mistake... in your judgment...?"
"I wasn't mistaken. The best proof of that is— well, look around and see for yourself."
If the boy was in perfect condition, he would've already noticed that those who fainted or had injuries were mostly those who were told to leave earlier. But since his whole attention was on the butler and he was also injured, he only took notice of this detail after being told by him.
After he figured this out, he was at a loss for words.
Meanwhile, Zenith was deep in thought as he listened to the butler.
"What I used on you just now is Nu, a substance that exists within every creature that was created from the primeval water of the universe. It is within me, and it is within you as well; it is everywhere in this tower!"
His eyes shifted from the boy to the rest of the audience.
"However, not all of us have the same amount of Nu in our body. It differs from person to person. Some are blessed with abundant Nu while some only have a tiny amount of it. The same principle applies to every floor in this tower. The Nu in our surroundings isn't the same on every floor. The lower the floor is— the lesser the amount and potency of Nu. Inversely, the higher the floor— the stronger and greater the amount of Nu. I'm sure some of you are confused so think of Nu as the energy that exists inside your body and everywhere around us as well."
In his last sentence, those who had a hard time keeping up with his explanation were starting to understand a little bit.
"Am I right in thinking that... you failed us because we only have a tiny amount of this energy...? And if so... why can't we climb the tower...?" the boy asked tiredly. "Is this energy... really necessary...?"
"In the tower, this energy is everything. The more energy you have, the more you will be able to withstand the foreign energies in your surroundings."
The butler gave him a cold look.
"The energy or Nu that I used on you is nearly the same as the Nu on the 50th Floor. If all of you were on that floor, you would have died in less than a minute from overexposure to Nu."
They all sucked in a deep breath.
They had seen with their own eyes what happened to the people exposed to that kind of Nu for ten seconds. If that ten seconds was extended to a minute...
There would have been no more people to rescue as they would've all died.
"E...Even so... I still want to climb the tower... I must climb... even if I die in the process...!"
The boy understood the butler's point but it wasn't enough to scare him from climbing. He'd rather die trying to reach his goal than not try at all. For him, that was a fate worse than death.
The butler narrowed his eyes.
"Each of us has different reasons why we want to climb this tower: for some, it is wealth; for others, it is glory; and then some, for power. Why do you want to climb this tower? Is it for a noble goal or a selfish reason? Is that goal worth risking your life?"
"It is!" answered the boy fearlessly.
"What a stupid boy," the butler cursed under his breath.
Hearing his words, Zenith looked at the boy with curiosity. What kind of goal was driving him to the point that he wouldn't even fear death? After hearing the butler's words, most people would've already given up at this stage.
"You have a really strong will, I acknowledge and respect that. In my generation, I have encountered plenty of people with extraordinary will myself. You remind me of them. Back then, even though their bodies were broken beyond recognition from the various challenges we faced, they didn't easily give up for the sake of their dreams. But do you know what happened to them? They were the first ones to fall in the Tower Ascension during my time!" the butler said, throwing a bucket of cold water among the hopeful few. "What we need in this grand event are not cannon fodders like them! We need people with the potential to climb to the top! Unfortunately, you do not have that potential."
The butler's eyes swept across the crowd.
"Strong will? Determination? These aren't enough if you want to climb the tower! If you want to succeed, what you need the most is strength, wits, and luck!"
"The strength to overcome the obstacles in your way!
"The wits to overturn every difficult situation you may face!
"And the luck to be born with either a strong body; a good brain; or a body with a great capacity for Nu!
"With good training, you might obtain great strength!
"With proper education, you might obtain great wisdom!
"And with enough luck, you might be able to improve your talent for Nu. However, luck isn't something you can control under normal circumstances!
"Right now, you do not have that potential so I have no choice but to fail you. As for the rest, they will remain here to prepare for the test."
In the Tower Ascension during his generation, the butler had seen too many people die in front of him. Among those people, who didn't have determination? Who didn't have a strong will? However, how many among them survived and reached the top? Those who did were either the most talented or the luckiest of their generation.
As for him? He was just one of the luckiest.
"I... I failed because I'm not lucky enough?" the boy asked, finally starting to regain his breath.
"In my opinion, you are lucky," answered the butler.
In the near future, would those who passed here still think they were lucky? Or would they curse themselves for being too unlucky that they were able to pass this initial screening, forever regretting all the decisions they made that led them to climb the tower?
Only time will tell.
When the butler was done with his speech, the staff and physicians immediately sent those with serious injuries backstage and tended to them. As for those with only mild injuries, they were escorted out of the amphitheater after making sure they were fine overall.
While all of this was happening, a few staff were tasked to hand over a small box to those who passed the butler's test. Since only less than half remained, it didn't take long for them to give the boxes to everyone.
"Please handle this with care. This will be a big help to you in the Tower Ascension," said one staff ambiguously as he handed a box to Zenith.
The latter didn't bother responding to him.
After everything that happened in this seminar, the thing that he was waiting for was finally here. If not for this item, most people probably wouldn't bother coming to this place at all, him included.
When he saw everyone start opening their boxes, Zenith opened his as well.
Inside the box was a small marble-like object the size of a coin. It was glowing with blue light and there was a gear symbol carved in its center.
His eyes glinted when he took in this sight.
At long last, he finally obtained it.
"The System Seed."
[https://i.imgur.com/APPrZA5.png]