Early in the morning, Long Chen opened his eyes and left the cells that were unlocked. Just like him, the other prisoners had also left. 

Zia Uzhi met up with Long Chen, escorting him outside. 

"So, what's the plan for today? Going to train with Gu Chen again?"

"I want to attempt the Dark Tower instead since I need some credits to use the Training Tower."

"Want to borrow some credits from me?"

"It's alright. I think I should be able to get some from the Dark Tower. And that way, I can also see what it's like inside. At the moment, I have no idea, and you can't even tell me about it since I didn't go in. So it's better to just get it done as fast as I can."

Long Chen didn't need any directions to get to the Dark Tower since it was already shown to him yesterday on the tour. He led the path while Zia Uzhi walked behind. 

"It might be interesting. I'm really curious to see what your performance will be like inside," Zia Uzhi said.

"If I give even an average performance for my level, how many credits can I receive?" Long Chen asked. 

'"That depends on your performance. I'm not sure what your challenges will be inside and what counts as average for that, but generally the first attempt gives the most credits. So everyone tries to prepare themselves before attempting the Dark Tower."

"Because it doesn't matter if you do twice as good in the second attempt, the credits you receive are generally lower than the first attempt. So it's good that you want to go in at the start, but you should still think once more."

"I don't need to think about it. I've already made up my mind," Long Chen answered. 

He wasn't planning to stay here for long. All he needed the credit for was the Training Tower. Other than that, he didn't need the Credits. Moreover, he was soon going to escape. So it is easier to use as many things as he could without thinking too far into the future.

He soon reached the Dark Tower and stopped at the entrance. 

"Alright. You can write your name on the wall before going in. It'll track your score," Zia Uzhi informed Long Chen. 

Long Chen stepped closer to the tower. He touched the wall with his fingers and wrote his name on the wall. For some reason, the wall acted like a paper while his fingers acted like a pen.

He took off his fingers and watched his name merge in the wall. 

"Long Chen: Zero. Unranked."

The wall not only showed his points but also showed his rank. Since he hadn't entered the tower even once, he didn't have a single point or a rank. 

There were many more names in the tower which were written in larger words. There appeared to be hundreds of thousands of names carved on the tower. The lower ranked names were so small that one had to look from up close to even see them. 

On the other hand, the names of High Ranking participants were in bigger letters. Moreover, the name of the person with the highest score was on top of the tower, so big that people could see it even from a distance. 

Most of the names were shining with a golden shine. On the other hand, there were some names that had a white shine, but they were less in numbers.

The white names were of players that were either inside the tower or had registered to go inside the tower. The Golden Names belonged to the rest. 

"Best of luck!" Zia Uzhi told Long Chen. 

"Thank you. I'll see you soon." Long Chen pushed the door open and stepped inside the tower. 

As soon as Long Chen stepped inside, the door closed behind him. 

"Let's see what this young man can achieve," Zia Uzhi muttered, smiling. He sat under a tree in the back, keeping an eye on Long Chen's name. 

...

Inside the tower, Long Chen found himself confused. 

He found himself in an open field that wasn't something that could be inside a tower. He looked up to see a beautiful sky above his head. The sun was shining brightly, different from what he saw from outside the tower. 

"Where am I? Is this the trial place?" He asked. 

He looked all around him, only to realize that he appeared to be inside an abandoned City instead. There was one statue behind him which was of a Stone Sword. 

The sword statue was standing tall, pointing towards the sky as if challenging the heaven to come fight it. 

"Greetings, Challenger. Welcome to the tower of challenges." A heavy voice fell in Long Chen's ears. 

He looked around to find an old man standing in the distance.

"Who are you?"

"I am but a remnant of the past and the guide of yours for the challenge in the trial. I'm here to tell you about your various trials that you'll go through. And I'll also be the one grading you accordingly."

"Are you Lord Genso?" Long Chen asked. The old man wasn't wearing a golden Armor, so he wasn't a Heavenly Warrior. Moreover, it made sense that the person who made this tower made something in his image to make sure the tower worked like it was supposed to. 

The old man shook his head, smiling. 

"I was created by him, but I'm not him. Moving on, let me tell you about the Trial."

"Looking at your soul, we have decided that the trial of perseverance will be your first trial. The sword behind you depicts the sword of Lord Genso, which he's pointing to the sky in resistance to the injustice that was made."

"Your job is to protect the Sword from a myriad of enemies of varying strength. If the statue is broken before the trial is completed, you'll be kicked out of the tower. If the statue survives, you'll move onto the next stage."

"How many enemies do I have to defeat to pass?"

"When the enemies stop coming at you, the trial will be over. That's all I can say. So, best of luck. And be wary. The enemies won't only try to destroy the statue, but they'll also try to kill you. So when you want to surrender, do so immediately so I can save you. If you're late, you might die."

"Are you ready?'

'"One more question. How strong will the beasts be?" Long Chen asked. 

"Their strength will be the same as you in the first wave. And each wave after that will be stronger than the last. So, best of luck, challenger.. May you persist until the end."

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