Chapter 218: Tower of Sun?

Jacob got up as quickly as his body could carry him, rose to his feet, and immediately began pacing around the moderately sized room. What did this system mean by Tower of Sun? He had not heard of such a thing before.

I’d better speak with the Regulator, he thought to himself, coming to a halt and sitting back on the king-sized mattress. "System, contact the Regulator."

He sat back, and as though it were a phone call and the other party would simply be on the other end of the line, the system immediately began contacting the entity while Jacob waited.

He knew the system could explain everything perfectly well on its own, but he needed to know whether this was the right step to take. Since the Regulator seemingly had all the answers, he figured he’d get some advice on what to expect. It was already clear enough that the Tower of Sun was not from this world, or any of the other worlds he had visited, so it was worth knowing whether to take the leap.

"Jacob! My boy. A little birdie told me you’ve been selected to participate in the 100-floor tower ascension."

Of course you’d know, Jacob mused internally before gathering his thoughts. "Yes, that’s what the system said, but I need to know what to expect. I’ve been to towers with more than even a hundred floors, but none have been directly tied to ascension the way the system mentioned."

"Yes, yes. Think of it as a tournament. If you emerge victorious, you will fulfill the system requirement for ascension. If you don’t, you will have only two more tries." The Regulator’s voice was indescribable, a contrasting mixture of deep and soft, scratchy and smooth, loud and quiet. It was everything and nothing at the same time.

"So, limited tries then. And I’ll be fighting other people?" Jacob inquired, placing his head on the pillow as he began to think.

He was finally going to fight seriously after two years of training with the guards, who were no match for him. Every battle was too easy, and he won without breaking a sweat. He had also trained with Light a couple of times over the years, but the result was the same regardless.

"Not people, Jacob. Existences. Most of the existences you will face in the tower are reincarnators or transmigrators such as yourself. They come from different worlds, but all of them share the same goal. To ascend. Their reasons, however, I will not say. It is left to you to look within and ask yourself if this is something you want, and how badly you want it," the entity responded.

Jacob remained silent, but only because he was considering what ascension meant to him. He weighed the pros and cons, and upon discovering that the pros outweighed the cons, he let out an exasperated sigh.

He was going up against other reincarnators and transmigrators, which meant it was going to be more difficult than anything he had faced so far. There was no fear in his heart; heaven knew Jacob had never feared anything but for his family’s safety.

There was something else: he was suddenly brimming with newfound radiance. The thought of facing people almost as strong as him, or even stronger, made every hair on his body stand on end with excitement. A wide grin flashed across his face as he lay there, staring into empty space.

The Regulator had caught wind of how Jacob was feeling and said nothing.

"Is there anything else to be gained but ascension?" Jacob questioned after his brief daydream had ended.

"There is a cash prize, and think of all the interesting abilities you could gain along the way. A hundred floors is larger than you think."

There was a faint, almost imperceptible glint in Jacob’s eyes the moment he heard "cash." After all, who could say no to money? It wasn’t free money, but it was money regardless. And even though he was the heir of one of the most powerful noble families in the world, he never joked around with money, especially when he was on the receiving end.

"Just how strong are these peo—existences am I going to be facing?"

"No, no, Jacob. This is a trial you should undergo alone. I’ve already told you what you need to know. The Tower of Sun consists of 100 floors, 100 opponents, and 100 goals. You need to complete all 100 battles and emerge victorious to be granted Ascension. The rest is up to you."

"Aren’t you supposed to be like my guardian or something?" Jacob asked the Regulator, a hint of annoyance in his tone, his previous question not answered the way he had hoped.

"I am your guardian, I guard your existence. Not only yours, but many more. One thing you need to know is that sometimes even parents have to let their children choose their own path in life, as I have witnessed many a time."

The Regulator was right, in more ways than one. Every decision Jacob had made over the course of his life so far had turned out well, helping him advance further. If the Regulator had been there to tell him what to do, it would be as though it were dictating how to live his life.

"Also, there is no time limit. You are free to choose when you’re ready to enter the Tower of Sun and compete. Good luck in all your endeavors. I have provided you with the necessary tools." The Regulator continued, and with that, it was gone, not even leaving room for Jacob to say goodbye. But the young man understood—the watcher of the omniverse probably had a plethora of things to attend to.

Jacob was left with his thoughts. He quickly realized this wasn’t something he should rush into, so he decided to just go to sleep for now.

Tomorrow he would make a decision regarding this matter, as for right now, even powerful young cultivators needed their beauty sleep to recharge their energy. After a long while of thoughts flowing in and out of his head, he finally drifted into a long, deep sleep.

***

So far, nothing had happened between Jacob and Violet, he had felt her skin on his, purely off hand-to-hand contact, but that was it. Jacob was not the least bothered by it. They had an entire three months of walking in the same hallways and attending the same class, as such there was no rush. He would take his time.

The morning sun spilled into the white-walled room, sprawling across the floors and giving the sizable space an effervescent glow as Jacob woke up with with a wide strength of his arms. He turned to the window, which allowed for the sunlight to seep in perfectly, and then turned ti the floors.

The room was intact, but something was different, each time he called his system up, it was stuck on the same panel.

<Complete the 100-floor Tower Ascension Requirement>

<Would you like to continue?>

<Yes/No>

His hand flew carelessly to his head as he scratched it relentlessly, he was unable to do anything until he accepted or declined the offer. Declining the offer would mean staying as he was forever. However, if he did accept the offer, the possibilities were quite endless, as far as calculations went.

He was even unable to check his sign-in screen as the message lingered, unvavering just before his retinas. He remembered the quests to complete the sign-in, so that wasn’t an issue, the only issue was knowing whether or not the message would stay there even during his work out.

It was no matter, he’d just use his senses to navigate through the forests.

He rose to his feet and hopped on one foot, then quickly went to the washroom to freshen up, brush his teeth, and then put on a new, ironed set of clothes.

’Now that’s more like it J." He said to himself as he put on a neat pair of shirt and trousers fit specially for jogging and most outdoor activities.

Jacob was to do 500 pushups, 500 sit-ups, and a 1000 meter run. For a regular human, these would be almost impossible tasks, but he completed them rather easily, and in no time.

He jogged out of the room. Upon crossing the threshold, a wave of silence hit him hard. He soon realized that none of the first year students had prepared for school as the classes weren’t to begin yet. Not even Violet had woken up, talk less of preparing for class.

This silence gave him a warm feeling as he breathed in and out slowly, making his way out of the building. Once he crossed the building door, he pivoted to the left almost instantly.

Even though the halls of the first year dorms were quiet at this time, second and third year disciples roamed around the school premises. Jacob, however, managed to slip by undetected as he made a way to the back of the building and jumped over the fence, to the same ex ap place that Violet had taken him not more than two days ago.