Though the process of teleportation didn't have any sensation attached to it, the very idea itself made Noah slightly queasy. Taking a moment to stabilize himself, he wondered what kind of mess he'd gotten himself into. Correction, it wasn't him that had volunteered to be a part of this nightmare.

The encounter with that unknown entity had thoroughly rattled him, and he got goosebumps when he tried to recall the details. The hand had been slightly translucent and faded, though Noah couldn't help but consider that bit a figment of his imagination. Either that, or he had been possessed by a spectral entity of some sort. An existence beyond his understanding had chosen to mess with him for some unknown objective, a terrifying situation he found himself absolutely helpless to deal with. Trying to take his mind off the depressing circumstances he found himself in, he decided to take stock of his surroundings for now.

"Wow," he exclaimed, and then took a deep breath of air as he temporarily forgot some of his worries. Noah had envisioned the inside of the tower to be full of alien technology, as the first thing that came to his mind when he saw the aged structure was that it was an outpost meant for reconnaissance by an alien civilization. Instead, he found it teeming with life.

He found himself facing a sea of flowers that stretched out further than his eyes could see, painting the landscape in beautiful hues of violet, bright yellow, and dark pink. The flowers easily reached his waist in height, though the general substructure did not seem to be different from the common varieties found on Earth.

From what he'd seen on television, the tower couldn't be wider than a kilometer. That meant that whatever civilization owned this construct had somehow managed to compress this huge swathe of land into that small space, a feat humans would probably find impossible to replicate even thousands of years from now. He wanted to understand how the laws of physics worked within the tower, as it could potentially advance human civilization at a ridiculous pace.

For now, though, that was the least of his worries. The first thing in order was to determine a route in the wilderness that could secure food and water, and if there were any 'denizens' of the tower around like the blue screen had mentioned, rapidly run in the other direction.

Taking a quick 360-degree scan of the area around him revealed that there was nobody nearby, so he could take a breather for now. If a ghost had possessed him, it chose not to make its existence known. Or maybe, he was the only one the tower allowed inside, and the passing ghost simply wanted to have some fun at his expense. That sure would be the ideal scenario.

His current position was situated on a series of rolling plains right at the outskirts of a massive forest, which complicated the selection of a safe route. Massive trees jutted out into the 'fake' sky, easily four or five times taller than an average tree one would find on earth. They completely rebuffed Noah's attempts to peer into the forest, only serving to increase his anxiety regarding the situation. It was currently daytime, and a light source that was practically indifferentiable from the Sun's illumination allowed Noah to clearly admire the mighty landscape. Except there was no Sun, just a few patchy clouds that seemed highly unnatural and reinforced the notion that this was just an artificial construct.

In front of him was an unknown species of plant life that happened to be just tall enough to hide any predators, while behind him was dense vegetation that could hide even more terrifying predators, but came with the advantage of having a much higher likelihood of securing a source of food and water. If he decided to run off into the plains only to die of starvation or thirst later it would be quite the ironic situation.

Welcome to Gridlocked, floor 1 of the Tower of Glory. Congratulations on taking the first step towards true immortality.

Number of Survivors: 1000/1000

Rules:

Each challenger is assigned a position within a cubic landmass, with a limitation of thousand challengers per cubic landmass. Requirements for ascension-

Slay the level 10 [elite] Goblin Lord, allowing all remaining challengers to progress to the next floor, regardless of participation.

Or

Automatic ascension once 50 percent of challengers are eliminated.

Perks:

- Essence Points (EP) and experience are awarded for each monster kill.

- Upon killing a fellow challenger, all the Essence Points and items in their inventory will be transferred to you.

- Access to the Essence Shop, as long as you are not in combat.

- Access to Inventory

- Access to Status Screen

- Access to an inferior grade weapon.

The Trial shall commence in 9M 59S.

The Tower seemed to have heard his whining, providing him with some much-needed information. Though after quickly going through the contents, he only found himself sickened instead. Not only did he have to look out for monsters out to hunt him, but the Tower seemed to encourage killing fellow challengers too. At least it wasn't the main objective. He didn't have a degree in human psychology, but as long as there was a clear target the logical course of action should be to kill the Goblin Lord and minimize casualties. Or well, he hoped so.

Please select a weapon- shortsword, longsword, axe, lance, dagger, spear, etc. (Any weapon visualized will be made available)

Unfortunately, Medieval weaponry was an aspect that rarely got any coverage in his high school history class. All he had was extrapolation to go on, but it couldn't be helped. Standing at a height of 6 feet 2 inches, he had a large wingspan that could be made use of. He was neither skinny nor brawny, and in all fairness, it was a bit of a stretch to call him athletic. He exercised just enough to maintain a healthy lifestyle, though he neither strongly liked nor strongly disliked the process, it was simply a means to an end; a basic aspect of life much like drinking water or eating food. So, 'healthy' would be a fairly accurate description of his build.

The second problem was, he had no confidence in using a complicated weapon like a spear or a lance. If a monster closed in at him, he would most likely fumble or miss his strike. And if it got in close range, both those weapons could do nothing to save his ass. While the idea of swinging around a massive claymore appealed to his gamer side, it was probably a hell lot more inconvenient in real life.

For him, the right answer was not the most unique one or the oddest one out, but instead the most ordinary. He visualized, and the tower responded.

Generic One-Handed Sword, Quality: Inferior.

A worn-out blade, long since having passed its prime. Having a longer reach than a shortsword, while not requiring two hands to wield like the longsword, it is ideal for those well-versed in one-handed combat while requiring a weapon with slightly longer reach to keep their opponents at bay, presumably because their combat style is not suited to fighting with a shield.

Confirm selection?

Yes

No

Looking at the item description, Noah ventured a guess that he would have to replace his weapon in the near future, so over-thinking it served no purpose. He tapped 'yes' on the screen, only to have a weapon chucked out from a mini black hole that materialized in front of him. He.... wasn't quite sure if the tower's miraculous powers could be constrained within the limitations of scientific laws anymore.

That aside, he looked at the slightly dull-looking grey sword with satisfaction. Picking it up and giving it a few practice swings, he found the weapon fairly easy to direct and control. Though the real test would come later.

Checking the timer, there were only 6 minutes left. He had a few more things to test before all hell broke loose.

"Essence shop" Noah muttered out loud, hoping that was the way to trigger it. He wasn't sure if monsters would jump up at him the moment the timer ran out, so knowing what things he could get in there may end up being crucial later on.

Essence Shop

Water (1 day's worth)- 5 EP

Food (1 meal) - 10 EP

Healing Potion- 50 EP

Common rarity weapon- 500 EP

Uncommon rarity weapon- 5,000 EP

Elixir of Life (Maximum 10 purchases per person) - 10,000 EP

.

.

.

.

There were loads of items available on the Essence Shop, but he didn't have time to go through all of them. However, there was one item on the list that sent shivers down his spine. The tower had mentioned the first step towards immortality, could it be it meant.....

He pressed on the item description for confirmation.

Elixir of Life, Quality: Inferior

Increases the lifespan of a mortal by 100 years, loses effectiveness after a single-use per person. Removes all existing illnesses/disabilities. Tradeable.

Noah cursed out loud after he read the item description, instead of being thrilled at the prospect of potentially increasing his lifespan and even that of his family. Earlier, he had hope for cooperation. Now, he had to do everything in his power to make sure that he'd last until the end. Nobody could be trusted.

In a survival situation, if killing someone else would increase your odds of survival, basic morality would still be a stumbling block for most people. It was not that easy to fight against an instinct honed since birth, engrained by society in every aspect of life unless you chose not to play by those rules from the very beginning. Now though, when killing others not only brought a higher chance of survival but also increased your lifespan..... He had been scammed, for the second time.

"Status screen" he muttered, hoping to find something in there that would increase his chances.

Name Noah Smith Level 1 Race Human Primordial Spirit (0/8 slots filled) Combat Art - Intelligence 4 Strength 2 Wisdom 2 Constitution 1 Dexterity 2 Luck 0

Primordial Spirit and Combat Art stood out to him instantly, though he had no idea what they entailed. Another one was his 0 luck, which kind of stung. He considered himself a pretty lucky guy, but he guessed that changed when that mysterious entity decided to mess up his life by pressing the wrong button and consigning him to this death trap.

Still, there were no points to assign or anything, so he could only move on to the last item on the menu.

"Inventory," he said, hoping there was already some food and water stashed in there for his use.

Inventory (1/120)

-Token of Residence (Key to the residence on the Paradise of Aeons assigned to the Smith family. You may apply for a separate residence upon reaching the Paradise of Aeons if you wish).

"Ouch" he dryly remarked, because that one really stung. That was the place he was supposed to be. Oh well, crying over spilled milk served no purpose. All he could do now was let the adrenaline wash away his fears, hoping it would keep it at bay for a while.

Gridlocked commences. May the worthy prevail.