NOVEL NEXT Chapter 39
Chapter 39: The World Tower’s First Floor
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Chapter 39: The World Tower’s First Floor
The process to enter the World Tower was straightforward.
In addition to entering a name the first time, one only needed to scan it for subsequent entries.
Wang Wen, who had drawn much attention, was at the World Tower’s entrance at the time, communicating with the miniature scanning device in the air.
A mechanical voice said, “For a first-time entry to the tower, please provide a name for the registration.”
Wang Wen said, “Wang Wen.”
The mechanical voice said, “Name is taken; please provide it again.”
Wang Wen was dumbfounded.
“Are you serious? It is the lovely Wang Wen, not the ordinary Wang Wen!”
The mechanical voice said, “Name is taken; please provide it again.”
Wang Wen pondered it helplessly and responded with a single letter. “A.”
The mechanical voice said, “Name is taken; please provide it again.”
Wang Wen said, “BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ.”
The mechanical voice said, “Name is taken; please provide it again.”
‘What?’
‘Is this thing broken?’ Wang Wen wondered as he said, “A, B, C, E, C, E, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G, G.”
The mechanical voice said, “Registration successful.”
A beam of light fell from the device’s belly and engulfed him. It vanished instantly, and the mechanical voice said again, “Your belongings have been deposited. Please apply with your teammates if possible. Please enter the tower if you do not. Mr. A, I wish you well.”
Wang Wen stepped into the light screen at the World Tower’s entrance, his eyes twitching.
The scenery changed.
He realized he was standing in a square stone room after the screen went black. The area was small, but the height was not low. He guessed it was about ten meters.
A mechanical monster the size of a man’s waist stood in the center of the stone room. It appeared to be a bull walking on its head. When it saw someone, it charged in rage.
Wang Wen realized what was going on when he saw the massive hammer resting on the bull’s hooves.
He should run to the side first, just in case.
The massive hammer had landed where he was standing.
The World Tower’s first floor. It was a straightforward delayed attack.
The textbook, too, had a lengthy introduction.
The monster would attack incessantly, but each strike would only land where the climber had been a second before.
There was basically no danger as long as he did not stand still.
The main disadvantage was that it was unwelcoming to newcomers.
If an inexperienced newcomer ran continuously to avoid the attack, they would quickly deplete their stamina. It would also be difficult for them to calm down and find the entrance to the next level.
For that level, bringing a few more people to lure the monsters, explore, and divide the work was pointless.
Wang Wen stated unequivocally that there would be as many hammers as people.
The first condition for getting through that stage was maintaining mental stability and not panicking.
It was a mechanical process that occurred every second. If one walked faster, one would be able to avoid the giant hammer’s attack range.
Even newcomers could avoid the hammer as soon as it fell; the giant hammer’s target was always two-thirds of the body’s position, and timid people would always have a way to make two-thirds of their body appear where it should appear.
Wang Wen had outgrown the stage where he liked to brag.
In addition, he was not in a good mood at the time.
So he chose to walk, using the least amount of energy while observing the stone wall to avoid the giant hammer.
The way to pass the scattered skill level was basically a trap.
Since the main difficulty had already indicated that it was a delayed attack and it was only the first level, the trap to open the door should not be too complicated.
Wang Wen’s main reason for entering the tower at the time was to warm up and adjust to his new body, which was still somewhat foreign to him.
However, there were still people and things to be concerned about outside the tower.
With his experience, he could stay in the World Tower for an extended period without leaving.
Which level offered food?
On which level could he rest?
He even knew which level allowed him to take a bath and change his clothes.
That week, his initial goal was to reach the 100th floor.
Then he would decide whether to wait for the tower to refresh or to exit and return to the academy for a look.
He did not dare to be arrogant enough to say that he could pass the first floor in seconds with his eyes closed, despite having climbed it nearly a thousand times in his previous life. He could not afford to waste too much time.
He decided to be more conservative.
He would have it sorted in a flash!
Wang Wen took quick steps along the wall after making his decision.
He moved quickly around the wall, accompanied by the pounding of the giant hammer behind him.
His eyelids twitched as he stood in the same position as when he first entered the stone room.
There were no booby traps!
He did not give up and continued to walk around. He even took a close look at the floor at that point.
There were no more signs of traps.
The stones were all neat.
All the most common color differences, as well as size, thickness, texture, and hollowness, were tested. There were no distinguishing features.
Why?
It had only been the first floor. How difficult was it?
Wang Wen’s mind was racing, combing through his memories piece by piece.
Among the numerous documents, he discovered an extremely rare possibility.
That one-in-a-million possibility gave him pause.
‘Isn’t that impossible? Is it possible… sh*t!’
The tower climber would be distracted, but the massive hammer would not. It slammed mercilessly into Wang Wen’s head.
Boom!
The crashing sound echoed through the stone room, shaking the sand between the cracks in the wall.
Wang Wen carefully shifted his gaze away.
He noticed strange cracks appearing on the tip of the massive hammer.
The cracks covered the entire body of the monster.
The entire mechanical monster, including the ox and hammer, shattered into pieces on the ground before long.
He leaned against the wall and sat on the ground, his emotions mixed.
“It is the same situation as before.”
‘It was obviously a skill-based tower, but it forced me to use violence.’
‘Wang Wen, how old are you?’
Wang Wen thought silently about the sharp pain in his brain.
He would develop good habits after years of life-or-death struggles.
The more dangerous the situation, the more he needed to remain calm. The more critical the situation, the more he needed to stay calm.
When he first entered the tower, he realized something was wrong with his mental state.
Wang Wen was, in a sense, the world’s number one in his previous life, and his highest achievement was the 929th floor. It was not hyperbole.
He was the strongest tower climber in the world because of his ability to break through the World Tower.
However, he was no longer in that life.
His overall ability level could not keep up with his memory.
Even as a student, he was not the average student at the academy.
Even if he had done everything he could to mentally prepare himself to be a newcomer and start from scratch, he would continue to make uncontrollable errors after entering the tower.
He overestimated himself while underestimating his adversary.
Furthermore, what happened at the academy affected his mood.
He became irritated.
Who knew how many lives had been swallowed by the World Tower since its inception?
A purgatory that devoured people was a terrifying existence on any level.
He wanted to complete the level in one minute?
He could not help but slap himself when he thought about it. His nose, which had finally stopped bleeding, started bleeding again.
How stupid must one be to show off in a life-or-death situation?
Worse, in addition to underestimating the enemy, a more serious error was made.
He was preoccupied!
He could not believe such a minor blunder had happened to him after all those years!
The lesson of dying once was insufficient.
Carelessness? Underestimating one’s adversary? Absent-mindedness?
A series of questions felt like resounding slaps to his bloody face.
Wang Wen jerked his head up.
He opened his mouth and inhaled deeply.
He inhaled and held it in until his heart rate increased and his chest swelled with pain before exhaling.
That exhalation seemed to have gone out with the jumbled thoughts in his head and the bloody taste in his throat.
His expression and heart finally calmed after his breathing had settled.
He was aware that the moment for self-reflection had arrived.
He had corrected his mental state at the start of the attack to avoid making even bigger mistakes in the future.
Wang Wen wiped his nose with his hands. He looked at the blood. He laughed mockingly at himself. “If this trend continues, I may be the first person to die due to a nosebleed in the World Tower.”