I watched the video in one go.
It was my fight with Elena. However, that wasn’t the only part of it. It also included small parts of the preparation, like me blindfolding myself and throwing away my weapon.
Many of the comments were in awe of what I had done. Most even thought it was fake.
However, it didn’t matter what they thought. Those who believed it would enter the Tower to obtain that power, and those who didn’t would enter it to prove to everyone that it was fake.
In the end, we would get more challengers who would be able to protect Earth.
Especially since the first monster wave was coming in a little under 10 days.
They had to become stronger fast to resist it.
"C-Can we take a picture with you?" Two girls in the line approached me shyly.
"Uh... sure?"
Leia moved slightly to the left as the two girls went on either side of me, taking a nice selfie.
"Oh my god, he’s so handsome from up close..." one of them whispered as they started walking away. "Did you touch his back? It’s so hard and muscular."
Then, another small group of people approached me for pictures.
’Have I already become famous?’ I thought to myself.
Many probably didn’t care about me, but it was the group effect that prompted them to approach me.
Though, I didn’t really care since I needed to bring Leia all the way to the front of the line. However, my fame seemed to surprise her.
"Are you really that popular...?" She looked away, her cheeks flushed red. "I thought you were just trying to impress me."
I couldn’t help but smirk.
It was funny to see another side to Leia. In the past, she never got close to anyone and was always so serious, almost like she would kill anyone who approached her.
’To think she was like this before...’
Well, the Tower changed everyone. It was always a matter of time.
After some time, a few government officials came to take the two of us to the front of the line. We were distracting the line with constant pictures, and a massive crowd had formed around us.
"So, you found her?" Alexia said as she saw me approach the Tower’s entrance.
I nodded. "Yes, I’m here to help her register."
Alexia nodded and guided Leia closer to the Tower. "To register as a Challenger, just press your palm against the Tower. A screen will appear before you, asking you to choose your difficulty. Feel free to choose whatever difficulty you prefer."
"I’m taking Hell Difficulty," she said with resolve.
Alexia wasn’t surprised since I was with her.
While Leia was registering, I asked Alexia a few questions about the people who had been registering, especially about the difficulties they had decided to pick.
"Even with the video we posted online about your strength, most people are too scared of the hardest difficulty and mainly choose the [Easy] Difficulty. However, contrary to before, there have been a few Hell Difficulty Challengers."
"They’re inside the Tower right now?"
Alexia nodded.
"I see..."
There was a good chance many had already died, especially since I hadn’t been able to give them any information. But it didn’t matter.
"What about inside the other Towers worldwide? Have there been Hell Difficulty Challengers?"
She nodded. "Yes, many who were part of the first players chose the Hell Difficulty in other Towers. However, none have made it back yet."
I continued to nod.
’Now that I’m on the 3rd Floor, I’ll be able to discuss with those in other Towers and even see the number of participants in each difficulty.’
I looked at the Tower, and I just couldn’t wait to go back inside it.
"Um... sir?" Leia called out to me. "I’m done, I think."
"Remember what I told you and trust your instincts. I’ll send you a message shortly after you enter. If you have any questions, just ask me."
[You have sent a friend request to Leia Brown.]
[Leia Brown has accepted your friend request.]
"Since we’re friends, I’ll be able to contact you inside the Tower at any given time."
"Oh... is that a thing?" a familiar voice said behind me.
[You have received a friend request from Elena Ross.]
[Do you wish to accept it?]
[Yes] [No]
I selected [Yes]. After all, Elena was the "leader" of the [Easy] Difficulty. It was important for me to stay in contact with her at all times. However, it wouldn’t be too hard starting from the 3rd Floor since the Inter-Difficulty Floor was now available.
"Thanks for accepting it~!" she said with a bright smile. "I’ll contact you if I have questions too!"
I nodded without interest as I looked back toward Leia.
"Good luck."
Then, after saying those words, I pressed my hand against the Tower and was teleported back inside it.
I was smiling.
I had made very good use of my 24-hour return ticket. I had made contact with the government and formed a relationship with them. I had already started making my organization and recruited Leia, the future best assassin. I had even gathered some fame through the help of that sparring match.
Now, there was only one thing left.
Become as strong as possible in the next ten days, so that the previous tragedy wouldn’t repeat itself.
[You are now back to the 3rd Floor.]
[There are now other challengers within your difficulty. You have unlocked the community’s forum.]
[You have also unlocked the Inter-Difficulty Floor, a place where you can exchange with other challengers from all the difficulties.]
I opened the community forum and glanced at the number of active challengers.
[Easy: 84,372/450,021]
[Hard: 7,918/15,213]
[Hell: 1/123]
There still weren’t that many people since the government had restricted access. However, it wouldn’t take long for those numbers to reach the millions or even billions.
Nevertheless, I was the only one who had access to the forum in the Hell Difficulty. It seemed the others were still stuck below.
I sent Leia a small message saying that I would be waiting for her in the Inter-Difficulty Floor once she made it to the 3rd Floor.
After that, I decided to glance at the community forum and couldn’t help but smirk at the posts.
The first one read:
[What’s the purpose of the Tower?]
I clicked on it.
[ User: ManiacKiller (Hard) ]
[Post: At the end of the 4th Floor, I was given the power to ask any questions to the viewers and they would give a truthful answer. I asked them about the purpose of the tower and they said...]