Tower of Paradise

Chapter 56: The second floor

In the vast and resonant darkness, I heard with clarity:

[Welcome to the Tower of Paradise, Arceus!]

Entering the tower was simple for me. I just had to activate the runes that were engraved in my mind, alongside my other abilities.

Over time, I had noticed an interesting temporal pattern: one day in the outside world was equivalent to three days inside the tower.

I closed my eyes and felt how my consciousness faded away. Everything sank into darkness. When I opened my eyes again, I involuntarily frowned due to the bright light that blinded me.

I felt a tingling in my eyes and my vision shook violently. Dizziness invaded me as if I were flying at a great height.

Inside my body, I perceived something twisting, a strange sensation that gradually stabilized my perception of the world that was previously spinning out of control. Gradually, the motion sickness faded away.

[Entering the second floor of the Tower of Paradise.]

[The objective of the next test is to survive.]

[Reach the pond safely.]

After hearing the tower's message, I was able to examine my surroundings more clearly. I found myself in a passage that extended in a straight line. With my analytical mind, I observed every detail: the hard stone walls, the ceiling covered with luminescent stones that emitted light at regular intervals.

The lighting was scarce, limiting my vision to barely two meters of distance. Beyond that, everything was lost in darkness. I knew I had to proceed with extreme caution.

I felt as if the darkness was calling me, inviting me to venture into it. I took a step forward with caution, keeping my nerves under control. Despite maintaining my guard up, nothing happened for a considerable amount of time. The silence was absolute, as if nothing had ever existed.

A normal person would have relaxed in this apparent calm, but not me. With each step I took, my state of alertness intensified. My experience had taught me that danger always came without warning and, when it did, it swept through everything like a furious storm.

As happened at that precise moment.

Out of nowhere, an arrow pierced through the darkness. My body reacted instinctively, turning to one side. Even so, the arrow grazed my left forearm, causing me a burning pain. I felt blood splatter as my clothes tore.

A steel arrow!, I thought as I came to my senses, frowning as I observed the arrow deeply embedded in the wall. It wasn't a common wooden arrow, but pure steel.

I understood it instantly: if that arrow had hit me fully, it would have torn off my arm. An impact to the head or abdomen would have been fatal.

The Eyes of the Successor had warned me about the various traps, but this information proved of little use. The traps changed location constantly and activated randomly. My only option was to stay alert and dodge them.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

More steel arrows flew toward me in rapid succession, all from different directions. It was impossible to track them with the naked eye. I ducked and rolled forward, simultaneously grabbing the saddlebag I carried on my back. I had brought it specifically for this purpose: filled with clothes and various tools, it served as effective protection.

Puck! Puck! Puck!

Three steel arrows embedded themselves in the saddlebag. Each impact was so violent that I felt as if my arm was being torn off. Two of them completely pierced through the saddlebag, their tips protruding as if mockingly greeting me.

I managed to straighten up and pressed myself against a wall. It was a lesson I had learned the hard way: when you don't know where attacks are coming from, you must minimize your physical exposure as much as possible.

However, my caution was not enough.

A sharp pain shot through me when an arrow deeply embedded itself in my left thigh. Before I could fully process it, the traps that had been installed not only in the front but also in the back and bottom were activated.

—Huh! —Despite the intense pain, I gritted my teeth and tried to turn my body, but...

Puck! Puck! Puck!

More arrows flew, piercing through the saddlebag and penetrating my left shoulder, forearm, and ribs. The pain was unbearable, as if my arm was being torn apart. I could barely breathe.

This sensation wasn't unfamiliar to me. I gritted my teeth and clung with all my might to my consciousness. This pain, though intense, was nothing compared to what I had suffered at the hands of the goblins.

I tried to quickly assess my condition: 'The arrows are embedded in my left shoulder, forearm, and thigh. The ribs... were only grazed. The wounds look bad, but I can still move.'

I acted immediately. I lifted my backpack, now completely destroyed, and retreated as quickly as I could. I had identified a pattern: the traps activated when passing through specific points. There was a particular area where they were concentrated.

The steel arrows continued to fly toward me as I retreated. At first there were one or two, but soon they became four or five simultaneously. I moved trying to minimize my exposure, though a long trail of blood stained the wall behind me. Two more arrows embedded themselves in my calf before I reached a point where the attacks ceased.

I leaned against the wall and dropped the backpack full of arrows. My vision was spinning out of control and an unpleasant, suffocating smell persisted in my mouth. I barely managed to maintain consciousness, aware that if I lost it at that moment, I would die instantly.

With difficulty, I put my hand into the broken backpack. All its contents had spilled and scattered, now replaced by steel arrows. With my left arm practically useless, it took me a considerable amount of time to collect all the objects.

Once my preparations were complete, without hesitation, I brought my hand to the steel arrow embedded in my left shoulder and tore it out. I grunted as intense pain shot through me, as if my arm was being torn off.

My hand trembled as I held the bloodied arrow. Blood flowed from the wound, but I maintained my determination.

I knew it. I could have avoided all of this by using my private attribute: The Man Who Overcame Adversity. However, that would have been the easy way out.

If I really wanted to grow, if I really wanted to strengthen myself, if I really wanted to improve, I needed to face pains even more terrible than this. Besides, this was the best way to train and sharpen my senses quickly.

I extracted the arrow from my leg and stopped the bleeding. Fortunately, no bones had been broken thanks to my instinctive movements.

I could barely catch my breath after treating all my wounds.

My breathing was labored as I felt how all strength was leaving my body. My left arm and leg were practically useless.

—It was a very hard start from the beginning. It's madness. —I muttered, so stunned that I wanted to curse myself.

I knew it would be dangerous, but reality had exceeded my expectations. There was a huge difference between knowing something theoretically and experiencing it firsthand. The only thing I was clear about was that this experience, as brutal as it was, would be useful to me on my path.

With that thought, I quickly put my ideas in order, preparing myself for what would come next.