NOVEL NEXT Chapter 38: World Building
No more than a month after its construction, almost all the prominent strong fighters have started to flock toward the Dragon Tower—or so it is known to the general public.
At the moment, deep inside a dense jungle blanketed by snow, some people are running ahead in a single direction, their speed moderate.
They all look somewhat similar to each other—men with big, strong muscles. It would be fair to assume they are fighters. Every one of them wants to see for themselves this so-called center of martial arts.
Even from where they are, far away, a structure looms on the horizon. No road seems to lead to the place, so they are forced to rely on their legs.
Among the group of men, a six-foot-tall boxer sporting a red mohawk approaches another fighter, starting a conversation.
"Oi, have you heard? There's a great dragon living atop the tower."
"I have," the other fighter, a wrestler and apparently his acquaintance, replies. "It is said that's how the tower got its name. I also heard that apparently no one has ever seen him face to face. There's a rumor going around about him being a disciple of the renowned Master Shen."
The wrestler has tattoos all over his body, evident as he is wearing nothing but tight shorts. It's a mystery how he isn't freezing in this snowy weather. Still, suffice it to say, combined with the earlier guy's rooster-like appearance, these two look like a pair of hooligans.
"Wow!!" The boxer exclaims, his carelessness leading him to bump into someone else.
The unknown bald person he bumped into slowly turns his head, seemingly unaffected. In fact, he hadn't even been knocked off track—merely a minor inconvenience.
"Huh? You bastard... you have something to say?" the boxer taunts, smirking like he isn't the one at fault. Yet the bald man silently ignores him and is about to turn back around.
This gets on the boxer's nerves. He is about to show his anger when—
"Oi, stop it! Don't you know that's King Chappa?" his acquaintance, the wrestler, whispers, advising him against acting any further.
Sweat drips down the unscrupulous man's forehead. "Y-you mean the infamous King Chappa who recently went on a spree, defeating all the champions in so many major championships?"
"Yes!"
"Eek!" The boxer's soul leaves his body.
The place becomes eerily quiet, yet nothing major occurs. Everyone resumes their run and proceeds onward.
.
.
.
Hours later, at the entrance to the Dragon Tower...
The tower is visible for all to see—something one can't miss even if they want to. It stands prominently, an astronomically tall structure dominating the entire landscape.
King Chappa and the rest of the entourage enter through a large metal door adorned with two golden figures of an Eastern and Western dragon roaring face-to-face.
. . .
**Notes**
I have decided to write this to record my journey.
I, known by others as Chappa-O, had once thought of myself as the strongest man on Earth. It was arrogance.
But then things took an unprecedented turn. Because of a great loss suffered at the hands of the youngest disciple of Master Shen in the last Tenkaichi Budokai, my ignorance was shattered. The loss was unbearably shameful for my prideful self. In my despair, I roamed the world, searching for a new light.
During those difficult times, I found myself a teacher: Master Roshi, the Turtle Hermit. A great man, he took me in and taught me a great deal of knowledge. He extensively trained me in martial arts.
I came to understand how mediocre I truly was. Master Roshi helped me grow from my shell, and in just three years, a new, expansive world opened up for me. I know my worldview is still lacking, and my strength is not yet up to par with the greatest, but I want to grow as much as I possibly can.
Thus, the reason why I have come here: to try my luck and test myself.
As our group entered the tower through the main door, we came across a grand hall. It wasn't packed with people—vastly contrary to what we expected. There were only a few people there when we entered.
On the first floor, we met a bald man who could be a member of the Crane School or maybe an employee. Either way, he brought us to a spot where a large number of individual jars were spread on the floor. These clay jars were big enough for two normal adults to hide inside at once.
The bald man explained to us that getting inside these jars would transport us to different parts of the tower, more specifically the first layer. It was hard to believe, but we decided to at least try it once. We weren't losing anything by doing so.
It seems two people are allowed to enter a single jar. There are numerous jars, so getting a chance to enter one isn't a problem.
Entering through the hole at the top, I fell into what, at first, felt like a bottomless pit.
Yet almost immediately, without even noticing, I landed in a completely different place. A four-story pagoda stood before me, surrounded by walls and similarly styled buildings with armed guards. It looked like a castle.
I was astonished. The person who came after me was also similarly amazed. I forgot to mention, but this is Bongo, a fellow student of the Turtle School. However, unlike me, he was taught by Master Roshi's eldest disciple, Master Gohan. Including him and me, there are some others whom Master Roshi and Master Gohan have recently trained.
I met Bongo on the first floor of the tower. He was waiting for my arrival, it seems. I also recognized him, so we decided to enter the same jar.
Coming back to our situation...
There was a holographic sign in the sky telling us to fight. We did just that. We fought. Strangely, every enemy we defeated would dissipate into smoke.
Even after fighting for a long time, the enemies wouldn't decrease; they would always appear out of thin air. We two were exhausted beyond belief. During this conundrum, I noticed something weird. The wounds we suffered—though profusely bleeding—seemed inconsequential. We were neither weakened nor unconscious. For some inexplicable reason, we were relatively fine. It was only physical exhaustion we were experiencing.
This led to a single conclusion—something Master Roshi had warned me about before.
I decided to test my theory.
I extended my arm and let the blade of a shadow soldier slice my chest.
My mind's protective mechanism was screaming at me to dodge, but I forced myself to endure. Sure enough, my deduction turned out to be correct.
"Ta-ta-daaa!!!" Sounds of firecrackers bursting filled the air. We were presented with another big jar. I saw some text written on it that I hadn't noticed before:
"Made by the Great Launch-sama."
Who could such a boastful person be, I wonder?
We decided not to proceed onward for the time being and instead rest on the same layer. We made a proper camp with the capsules we had brought. These things are truly handy, allowing us to store a large number of items inside a small capsule that we can carry anywhere.
The Second Day
We successfully completed three whole new layers. Unlike the first layer, our enemies were real going forward. We faced actual monsters.
The second layer was filled with land creatures such as snakes and dinosaurs. The third layer was largely aquatic, with many water-based creatures. The fourth layer, keeping up with the trend, was teeming with flying monsters.
...Current Progress- Fourth layer
The Third Day
We fought and defeated an even stronger monster—a blob-like creature that absorbed and tanked every attack we threw at it like a sponge. The fifth floor was extremely difficult to get past. Luckily, through keen observation, we found its weakness.
The Fourth Day
By far the most magical experience.
We found ourselves surrounded by ice and snow all around. The other layers were strange, but the sixth layer was an entirely different world.
From its outward appearance, the tower is already very wide—approximately 150-200 meters. But on the sixth layer, the scale defies belief. Everything we saw was a seemingly endless icy expanse.
Here, the proportions are truly spectacular. The earlier floors matched the tower's visible size, but the sixth layer felt infinite.
We lost our way multiple times, finding ourselves at the same spot over and over again.
To make matters worse, we were being chased by a white shadowy beast. Encountering it was terrifying. The two of us immediately understood that fighting it was pointless, so our only option was to outrun it.
The situation turned dire, and we were about to be caught when the white monster suddenly turned around and retreated.
Before we could process this, a voice rang in our heads. It sounded young and unfamiliar. The message was clear: leave the tower for now.
We had failed.
The voice also recommended we climb the Korin Tower first before attempting the Dragon Tower again.
...Progress- Sixth layer – Failed to reach the top.
**Notes- End**
The duo isn't aware yet, but if they had continued, they would have faced the Skull Robots, with power levels around 500. Further up, even stronger foes like the upgraded Android 8 and Major Metallitron await.