Tower Ascension

Peter nodded his head and said "Both! Why can they find the key? And, did you literally decrease your strength just to meet me?"

"You are half-right, boy." Suddenly, the old man pressed his hands on Peter's shoulder. In an instant, his entire body bones were broken.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Peter screamed in pain but the next moment, yellow mana entered his body and started healing him. Peter's eyes turned red due to pain but soon they returned to normal. He looked at the old man and looked with confusion and fear.

"Yes, we are restricted by levels but that doesn't mean our strength will be equal to yours. Do you think we are dipping bread in the sauce every single day after reaching the top ninety floors? Many of us are trying to increase our strength, doing everything we can just to break the hundredth floor."

"Of course, this won't give us any chance to defeat but still. If you think can fight the people that arrive on the lower floor from the higher floor then you are nothing but a fool. Do you know why the admin says Passive Skills are important?"

"It's because of this reason. If your level is blocked, the part of your physical strength will be blocked as well. But, it can't block the strength you gain from Passive Skills. Iron Body trained to Diamond Body. My strength is something that your mind can't comprehend."

"So, you better stop underestimating those guys. If that admin and I haven't been protecting you from them, then you would have died. Of course, for now, you don't possess much threat to them, so they don't make any big moves."

"In fact, they want you to gather all three keys. Then, they can kill you and take those keys. But of course, they will keep sending more people to take away that key. Because they have another fear. If you do end up winning the third key, your strength would be on the level that can't be defeated by some of the same level."

"Do you think that boy was asking for one on one fight just because he was arrogant? Don't make me laugh! He just wanted to recruit you. And then, they will have a chance to fully control you. This is why they will not hesitate to send someone stronger next time."

"Of course, if you are killed in the process that means you are not qualified. In simple terms, you are on a road that has no escape. If you decided to fight, it would be harder than defeating the hundredth floor. If you decided to surrender, you will be nothing but their puppet."

Hearing his words, Peter bites his lips and clenched his fist. He never thought he would face the problem as such as this big. Retreat? He can't do that. His family and Camellia will be in deep trouble. He absolutely can't retreat now.

Not to mention, if he doesn't complete the chain quest, the punishment would be death. He knew he can't underestimate the tower. If it is death, then he might really die. This would be the worst-case scenario.

Because if he dies then what about his family? He was doing all this just to give them a good life. But, if he fails, what then? Everything that he has will crumble. He clenched his hand and his heart absolutely rejected the idea of surrendering or not fighting back.

"Since you have the answer in your heart, let's talk about how they were able to find you. Do you remember when the admin told you that you can cover your inheritance track on the tenth floor?" The old man asked.

Peter nodded his head.

"He literally means it. I know you have a way to dispel that tracking but as long as you are inside the tower, they can easily find you. There are people who can see others' fate through several methods. Someone is calculating you."

"He has already found your location and now he can keep sending more people to fight you. Of course, for now, you are safe. As I said, I will be your support if you help my granddaughter reach higher floors. I meant it."

"I have interfered with his calculation and until you come closer to him, he can't sense you. But, either way, he will find you in the end. After all, you have no choice but to climb the tower. And, climbing the tower will lead you near him. In the end, you will still face him and at that time, I won't be able to make much difference." The old man looked at Peter with seriousness in his eyes.

He knew Peter will face serious trouble but from his viewpoint, Peter has the most chances to succeed.

Bet? Yes, he was taking a huge gamble. If he loses, he will lose his granddaughter. If he wins, he will have a chance to leave this tower. It was a huge gamble but he feels it is worth it. But, he still said all this to make Peter realize something.

Suddenly, a smile appeared on his lips when he heard Peter's words "You want me to train as hard as I can and reach the limits of each floor before moving into the next floor?"

Peter wasn't an idiot. He also found the risk that the old man was taking. He didn't say that he should separate from his granddaughter once he reaches the upper floors. But, he still said all the trouble Peter might face upon reaching the higher floor.

And, it's not like he doesn't care about his granddaughter rather. Peter felt he was trying to say something. And, instead of telling him directly, he wanted Peter to realize it.

"Yes, I want you to train. The young man that you faced was not even an inch of the nail of that opponent that you will face in the future. He was only proficient in mana and even that wasn't good. He was only good because he had higher rank Skill than yours."

"If he had complete control and practice like you, then he would've slaughtered you. Remember, the only reason why you survived is that special skill that you inherited after entering the tower. There are lots of people with such talent or even better talent."

"That's why you need to improve on another factor to face a better opponent."

This made Peter even more frightened. He knew just how strong his opponent was. If hadn't gained that buff from his passive skill, he would've died. At that moment, he had no chance of defeating his opponent.

Suddenly, the old man crouch down and spoke "When I told you that they will come after you while they also want you to get three keys, I meant it. Let me give you an example!"

Peter looked at the old man and saw him taking out a block of wood. There was an ant moving on the ground.

"This is you." The old man pointed at the ant and spoke. His words made Peter feel bitter. But, there was nothing he could do.

"I don't want you to go left. But, you are an ant. You don't understand my words. And, I don't need to manipulate you from my words. I can simply do this." Saying so, the old man puts a block on the left side. The ant kept moving but suddenly struck the wooden block.

After moving for a while, that ant finally moved towards the right because it couldn't move the block.

"You think you are controlling others. You think everyone is an idiot. Then, you are wrong. They are manipulating you without even you knowing anything about it. And, this is where the strength comes in." Saying so, the old man puts another block on the ground but he flicked at the middle of the block and made a hole.

The ant first collided with sealed part but soon it found its way from the hole.

"If you have strength, you can still move on the path that you want."

Peter stayed silent for a moment and said "That means I must train, right?"

"Yes, you must train but there is another thing that I want you to understand. There are different kinds of people in the world. Not everyone is an idiot but not everyone is smart as well. Some of them will come while some of them will stay at the top."

"Do you know why they want to come down taking so many risks?" The old man asked.

Peter shook his head. Everything was only getting messier for him.

"Because you have that thing. If you get another one, they would have a hard time killing or controlling you on the upper floor. That's why some people might seem to do a stupid thing but they are doing exactly the correcting thing."

"There are four checkpoints. Floor Zero, Floor Twenty-five, Floor Fifty, and Floor Seventy-five. Each of these floors holds the key and those unknown weapons. If you get all of those, you have a chance to cross the hundredth floor."

"But, this also means you are invincible on the same floor.. That's why they want to kill you as soon as possible if they can't control you."