Tower Ascension

'Hu! This is easy. Just don't make any mistakes.' Peter thought to himself and used Ground Stance. The marble on his finger moved out with a slow speed. But, it was still enough to reach the hole. And, unlike the previous throw, his marble didn't rotate a lot.

It went straight to the hole and reached the edge of the hole. But, suddenly it stopped. Seeing this, Peter clenched his fist. He thought he had poured enough power. So, why? Why didn't the marble enter the hole?

Roll!

But suddenly, the marble suddenly tripped towards and hole and slides inside it. Seeing this, Peter's eyes widen.

"Yessssss!" Qin clenched his fist and cheered himself. That shot almost gave him a heart attack. He thought it wouldn't go in. But, in the end, it did. And, that was something he was especially waiting for.

"Congratulation, you won the first game." Peter's clone walked near him and congratulated him while taking out two marbles. One was big while another was small.

"Please choose!" Peter's clone asked him.

Peter smiled and looked at two marbles. But, the next moment his expression turned solemn. If he wins the next round, that would be he will clear the second stage. But, if he fails, the stake will only increase.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to go with small marble. Although he has a better chance to strike with big marble, it would be a good idea to be safe. After he chose small marble, Peter's clone put the big marble back.

After that, he went to the hole and Peter followed him but suddenly he raised his hand and said: "Since I lose, it is my turn to throw first."

Hearing his words, Peter nodded his head with understanding. Based on his understanding, this clone isn't perfect. That means it necessarily can't drop his marble at the line. And, this is an advantage for him.

If his clone doesn't throw the marble at the line, he can throw it near him. Of course, he has to win otherwise it would backfire him. But, there is an advantage. If Peter's clone throws his marble and if it reaches outside the line, Peter can throw his marble a little further.

Because the rules for inside the line are opposite to the rules outside. Peter's clone waited for a moment threw it with low momentum. For it to reach the line, he can only throw it at the perfect speed.

Otherwise, it will go out. But, the problem is he can't throw it with the perfect speed. Because he is not perfect. The first throw was just a stroke of luck.

His marble dropped to the ground and slowly moved towards the line. But, Peter's expression sank. His marble was moving too slowly. It's almost like it can't reach. And, just as he thought, his marble stopped a few inches away from the line.

Although it didn't reach the line, it became a great problem for Peter. Because if Peter throws it out, it will backfire him. And, it was close to the line even if it was not at the line.

Peter walked up to the hole and took a deep breath. He raised his hand with a swing and threw it. The marble was moving slower but he had thrown it in a way that it actually spun in the air.

Unlike in the ground, the spin increased its speed and thus the marble reached near the line before it dropped to the ground. It slowly moved forward and surpassed Peter's clone' marble. But, there was now a greater problem.

Peter doesn't want his marble to go out of the line but suddenly, a smirk appeared on his face. The marble moved towards the line and it just stopped on the line. Because the marble was still spinning. And, the line was one centimeter deep.

Even though it wasn't a lot, with enough spin, the marble was able to stop in time. This almost made Peter jump in excitement. He rushed towards the marble without even waiting for his clone's response. But, now he had another problem that he must face.

How to hit the marble so that his marble can reach near the hole? After all, his marble was behind his clone's marble. Unlike the clone, he doesn't have that much of an advantage. But suddenly, he smirked. He chose the Ground Stance since the marble was only a few inches away.

But, it was still going beyond his clone's marble. This made him confused. How to strike now?

"You can take half measurement with your hand. We normally stretch our hand and use the middle finger because it makes the distance shorter. But, if the distance is already short, you don't need to stretch it completely."

"Just by stretching it by little, you can shoot. Of course, you can also stretch to the side and strike. Both ways work properly." Peter's clone explains with a bitter smile. If Peter wins this time, he will disappear.

Although he was just a clone, he didn't want to disappear. Just when he was created, he had already the feelings like humans. To be exact, the tower created a human itself. But the only problem is that the tower can be made him disappear just like how it can create him.

Peter also noticed his expression and asked "There is one thing that I don't understand. You are a clone but you seem no different from a normal human especially when it comes to emotions. Why is this?"

"Because I am a human." Peter's clone replied with a big smile on his face.

Hearing his words, Peter frowned and asked "Wait, you didn't correct me when I said you are a clone but you are still calling yourself human. Why is this?"

"Because I am a clone who is no different than a human. In fact, I have all of your qualities but I am a clone because the tower created me and can destroy me. Creating a flesh isn't hard but the tower has to share part of its power to create my soul and thus it has full control over me."  Peter's clone bitterly explained.

Without a soul, he would be nothing but an empty body but the soul is created by the tower's own power. Hearing his words, Peter frowned a little. He instantly turned his head at the marble and strike it with full force.

It sent Peter's clone marble a few meters away from the hole while his marble reached near the hole.

Seeing this, Peter's clone bites his lips, and sadness appeared on his face. He thought Peter would have some pity on him. Although he can't be saved, he still wants others to recognize that he is no different than a human.

But before Peter threw his marble into the hole, he walked towards his clone and stood in front of him.

"If I can free you, do you think you can be loyal to me?" Peter asked.

Hearing his words, Peter's clone got stunned but soon shook his head "It's impossible. The tower has an imprint on my soul after all it was created by the tower. I can't be free. And even if I become free, don't you think it's just betraying my current master to become someone else's dog."

Suddenly, his eyes shrunk. Peter took out his Trident and touched his chest. The moment he released trident's power, Peter's clone trembled. At this moment, Peter took back the trident and spoke "Living as a dog or dying without living a life as a human. Which do you choose?"

At this moment, Peter's clone turned silent. But, Peter didn't care. He walked to his marble and shot it inside the hole. As soon as he shot it, the message appeared in front of him.

[Congratulation on passing the second level. Please head to the third level!]

Seeing this panel, Peter's clone trembled even more. This time it was fear. He knew what this message mean. It means he will die. And, the next time, another participant's clone will replace him. But, suddenly he noticed he wasn't disappearing.

Everything around him was changing and returning to the previous lane but he was still there. His eyes were full of shock. Just when he looked at Peter, he caught Peter's gaze. He knew this man was waiting for an answer.

He walked towards Peter and kneeled in a single knee "Please bestow me a name!"

He couldn't do anything. He was just an ordinary person now. Yes, he wasn't a clone now. He was a true person.

"If you follow me, you will be in the most dangerous situation. People will chase you and try to kill you. And, I want to use you as a decoy." Peter didn't give him the name instead answered his current situation.

"If you ever surpass this tower, can I live my own life?" Peter's clone raised his head and asked.

"Yes," Peter nodded him without a single hesitation.

"If I can become someone's dog to live as a human then I will survive to live my life." Peter clone kowtow in front of Peter and spoke.

"From now on, you will be called John!"