Whatever, Eden thinks, as he then starts to look around and examine what the place looks like. It is a dark, ancient looking room, with stone walls covered in cracks and vines and no visible door or entrance at all. There are some medieval lanterns around the room, providing little light due to the fact that they are half burnt. So where is this? Why did the demon send me here? Knowing how people describe demons, he must want something for what he did for me. But then, a blue message box appears in front of Eden, interrupting his thoughts.
New user has entered the tower. Connecting the new user to the tower System. Welcome to the tower:
Eden.
Collecting personal information on the new user:
Age: 30
Height: 6ft 4
Weight: 145lb (65.77 kg)
Blood type: O-
Scanning for Proficient Stat(s).
3...
2...
1...
Scan successful!
Found 3 stat proficiencies!
Perception: +1
Intelligence: +2
Constitution: +4
Calculating stats of the user.
3...
2...
1...
Stats have been found.
Stats:
- Strength: G-
- Intelligence: F+
- Stamina: H+
- Dexterity: F+(Max)
- Constitution: E
- Endurance: G
- Agility: H
- Perception: E-(Max)
Selecting the best fit job for the user. 3.2.1. Best fit job has been found! The user has gained the Farmer(c) job! Stamina stat goes up by 1: H+ → G-. User has gained the following skills:
Egg Finder- (H+) Action
(You can find eggs if they are put in the most obvious places. You will know where all eggs are in a 20 ft (6.1 m) area when you are looking for eggs.)
Chicken Wrangler- (G) Passive
(You have fought some chickens in your time, and you know how to round them up. You deal +20% damage to all chicken creatures. Furthermore, you have a 10% chance to apply the fear status effect to a chicken you hit.)
Planter- (F+) Passive
(You are okay at planting crops, and you have some potential to become skilled at the art of planting. All plants planted by you grow 10% faster and all plants harvested by you give 10% greater yield.)
Harvester- (E) Passive
(Every time you use a farming skill to harvest your crops, there is a very small chance to get a small amount of gold.)
Notice! You have slain a chicken warrior much stronger than you and will have some of your skill level readjusted:
Egg Finder- (H+ → F-) Action
(You can find eggs if they are put in obvious places. You will know where all eggs are in a 100 ft (30.48 m) area when you are looking for eggs.)
Chicken Wrangler- (G → F+) Passive
(You have fought some chickens in your time, and you know how to round them up. You deal +50% damage to all chicken creatures. Furthermore, you have a 30% chance to apply the fear status effect to a chicken you hit.)
Notice!
You have been in a near-death situation and still kept fighting. You have gained a special skill “Wounded Warrior”
Wounded Warrior- (E+) Passive
(You have been wounded a good amount of times in your life, but it has paid off with your new-found strength from Pain. You get an okay increase in power and have some pain numbed when you are badly wounded. You will also have an increase in your pain tolerance when this skill is not active.)
All necessary lists have been created!
Eden, would you like an explanation of the tower?
What the hell is this? System? Is this like a manga? What do these stats even do? I mean what would I even do with these skills?
Eden looks at his ‘Chicken Wrangler’ skill and is reminded of the chicken that killed his best friend Ivor, and then almost killed Eden himself. Now he realizes the true value of his powers. He thinks back on that fight; what was most notable was the odd blinding light that surrounded the chicken in their final clash. Wait, were these the abilities that helped the chickens control humanity? Why would they have the ability to use this though? Why would the system be attached to their race? Whatever. These skills will definitely allow me to take my revenge against the chicken lords. He thinks.
Abruptly, Eden sees a shimmering light, beaming down from the ceiling. Some nearly silent footsteps follow shortly after. The light is composed of a swirl of vibrant colours, like a rainbow in the sky. A voice follows this light, with an alluring melody that draws Eden in, but the Shakespearean words that follow take him out of his trance.
“I would dissuade thou to scheme such machinations pertaining to thy vengeful crusade, young master Eden” A man says, interrupting Eden’s trance. The extravagantly coloured light beam he descended from vanishes without trace. The man is a tall, handsome guy, with beautiful black hair that glistens even without the brightness of the sun. The man is holding a golden-encrusted cane, made from an old white tree, but it has a sinister feel to it. Along with that, he’s donning a black tuxedo with a layer of golden fabric he fashioned along the borders of it. Eden fixates on the ground instead of this person, due to an odd, incomprehensible disdain toward their upper body. As Eden’s gaze sinks towards the ground, he sees their black pants and dancer shoes, giving off the same hideous feel. But nothing can compare to the terror brought on upon meeting his face. The man has a wicked smile that does not reach his own eyes. Eden gets into a defensive position, preparing for an attack from the mysterious man.
Who the hell is this guy!? How can a man give off such a worrying feeling? Eden is powerless to truly solve the dreadful feeling given off by the man. The man’s smile starts to die down a few seconds after Eden starts to interlude into an internal panic attack. But the man regains his smile as quickly as he lost it, looking as sleazy as before.
“For what purpose hath thy joyous smile vanished, young master Eden? Thou should know one shall never be fully garnished without such a grim.” The man says with wicked joy. “How can thou be a fine chap without noble spirit in thy labours?” The man then asks.
Error!
The Floor manager has appeared!
The duty of explanation must be transferred to the floor manager Loki, the God of Mischief.
Loki? The Norse God Loki? Why is a Norse god here? And why is he working as a manager for the tower? What kind of fool hires Loki for anything pardon tricks? Eden wonders in confusion. Loki then interjects his thoughts a few seconds after;
“My deepest apologies, young master Eden, but I must refute such a query. Now time is always ticking in Big Ben’s clock, so shall I commence this grandiose lecture?” Loki Questions, answering Eden’s thoughts again. “Ahem. Welcome to the obelisk which seeks calamity, the collector of the will fuelled souls in ruined worlds, a location that is both crueller than no other, but also your greatest saviour, The Tower, which was forged to defy death itself.” Loki professes with a proud expression. “Thou hath noticed the peculiar System I assume? ‘Tis the mainframe of this humbling tower, the piece that solves the puzzle, but also the riddle that shall not be solved. The System grants the user eternal life, as a mockery to death.” Loki states, with the same look as before. Eden lights up in great joy, but when Loki notices this, he also smiles deeply, but falls into a cold laugh. “Hahaha, thou truly believed that?” Loki mocks, seeming surprised. “That is but an ancient tale of long ago, for the orators to tell, causing reinvigorating morale. I propose a question. How would such a land ever prosper? Furthermore, what purpose would the System's power fulfil if all shall never slaughter nor falter in combat? Immortal effects are predominantly non-existent, besides 10 praiseworthy exceptions, and of course there are resurrection spells and skills from the gods. But on the contrary, they hardly compare to true, absolute immortality.” Loki rambles on for another couple of minutes, with his overly sophisticated attitude, leaving Eden very confused. Loki then abruptly stops and gets back to the speech. “Nevertheless, shall we continue the conversation of which pertains to the specialities contained within the enigma called The System, young master Eden?” Loki asks with a smug smile on his face, looking like he is trying to set up the punchline of a joke. Eden, even though he knows this is surely a trick, he feels hypnotized by Loki’s words. He shows Loki his status screen, disregarding his better judgment.
“Here is what you wanted to see. Is this really all that important for you to know?” Eden asks.
This one seems rather interesting. Eden, was his name? He does not even know the basic rule of never showing your status screen to someone else, though it is humorous acting all fancy in front of him. It is a rather good thing he does not have any mind reading skills! But to think he would also go for a human, he never picks humans! But given the last few people he picked, But I would have to guess that this one is not all that impressive.
Loki immediately starts hysterically bawling in laughter. He continues to read the status screen, laughing harder and harder as it goes on. “What an impudent excuse for a man. In summary, thou hath come into possession of the ‘Farmer’ job, one of the most incredulously disgraceful jobs in the whole tower, and as a cherry on the top of thy sad, sad dessert, thine hath a lack of proficiencies which utterly cease to benefit thy job!” Loki Giggles out. “The only skill of true value is Wounded Warrior and, I guess thine stats are not discreditable for a human, but thou lack the most essential stat, the mana stat. My, thou is much more pitiful compared to his former protégé, and all that imbecile managed to accomplish is achieving the ‘high ranking’ job as a butler to an idiotic baron.”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Can you just hurry up with this intro speech, Loki?” Eden asks, interrupting Loki’s mockery of him. God, I do not care about any of this. Why do I need to know about some random butler? I guess it may be helpful, so I will try to remember it but still, can he just tell me what he needs to and end this? Actually, Loki, Guessing from the fact you answered my thoughts twice already, you can clearly read minds to some capacity, so do your damn job and tell me what you have to and leave. Edens angrily thinks. Loki, with a bit of a delay, forms a smile on his face and starts talking.
“Oh of course, young master Eden, the first commandment thou shalt always follow is that thou shall never show thy status screen to others. Adversaries or comrades alike.” Loki starts off with.
“Wait, why did you not tell me this either you damned fool!” Eden yells out at Loki, greatly angered at how bad Loki is at his job.
“Well thou had never asked, unless I am ignorant to the contrary, young master Eden.” Loki snarkily answers. “Anyway, I welcome thou to the tower, if thou had a glance at thy status screen, there shall be some stats, skills, jobs, an EXP bar, and an assortment of letters. The letters go from H- to EX grade, H- grade, for stats, is somewhat the strength of a normal adult human, with H+ being the peak of humanity without the assistance of the tower.
I guess I have pretty good stats then, I thought I was at the bottom but turns out I am one of the strongest of my race before entering the tower.
“For balancing sake, all who are of the Homo sapiens race and enter the tower will receive a stat buff. On the topic of balancing, the System will sometimes give balance updates, though be careful as the System is rather petty and shall target those it finds problematic. Skills are like special abilities in a video game. Thou can receive skills through doing special activities, such as endangering thou’s life, level up rewards, or from thou’s race. Skills also have hard limits that shall never be breached under normal means, some of these skills can be enhanced into other skills. Levels follow a similar concept. Thou hath played video games, correct? I really have little feeling to explain what each mechanic is,” Loki asks.
“Yes I have, though you do not really have to explain what a skill is, I can figure that out myself.” Eden responds. However, Loki completely ignores this and continues.
“Thou shalt see that skills have descriptions such as action, passive, and so on, that preemptively explain the skills’ functions. Passive skills are constantly active, action skills thou would have to activate, and they have some delay, on the contrary however, reactions have no such drawbacks, but can only be used after someone else does something. Now jobs are like skill trees that give different abilities and stat buffs. Thou can have up to 5 different jobs at once, however, as always there are some exceptions. Jobs have 5 different classes: Support, Production, Melee, Ranged, and Tanker. A job can be made up of multiple different classes or just one class, thou’s job is farmer, a pure production class, and widely recognized as the weakest class branch.”
Oh great, looks like my revenge will not come so easy now will it.
Loki continues to talk, ignoring Eden’s thoughts for some reason. “Jobs have 1 of 6 varying grades which are as followed; Common (C), Rare (R), Epic (E), Unique (U), Legendary (L), and Mythical (M). A Common grade job would be a simplistic or unskilled job. A Rare grade class would be a more specialized version of a Common class. An Epic grade job would be a high grade version of a Rare class and is also the highest job grade a standard person would possess, so thou will require great strive to achieve anything with purpose in thou’s life.”
Jackass Eden thinks, expecting some kind of rude quip, but to his surprise, Loki says nothing about this and continues to talk.
“A job with Unique grade can be put into 1 of 3 different categories, 1: a completely unseen job that no other shall have while thou is alive, 2: a job with a feature that no other job possesses or accomplishes, 3: An Epic grade job that thou have mastered to perfection shall become a unique grade job. A legendary grade job is rather comparable to a Unique grade job with how they shall be classified, but are more commonplace and strength based. But all Legendary grade jobs have special buffs that make them superior and are shared throughout all Legendary grade jobs. This includes immunity to all debuffs from outside effects and, once per day, whenever they should have perished, they are impervious to harm for 5 seconds. A Mythical grade job is the pinnacle of power in a job classification. They hold the special features of a Legendary grade job and are also immune to curses and poisons. Alongside everything else, all attacks from people without a Mythical grade job will do less damage.”
“Can you hurry this up, Loki?” Eden asks, holding back a smile. “I would like to see what is in this room.” Loki then proceeds to smile, as he starts talking, but a little slower this time.
“The grade of a job also drastically affects thou stat grade cap. The normal cap for the average race is F grade, if they have not gained a job, with a few exceptions such as special items and proficiencies. However, jobs raise such limitations. The values for this are +1 for common, +3 for rare, +5 for epic, +8 for unique, +10 for legendary, and +25 for mythical. In case thou does not possess the knowledge of counting, the highest stat grade, EX, would need +25, assuming thou’s base grade limit is F grade. There are also hard caps, with only 2 exceptions to get through, that will be pushed when thou obtain a job of a certain grade. These caps are, at common level, B+, rare level, A+, epic level, S+, unique level, SS+, legendary SSS+, and Mythical level, EX.
“Wait, Loki, Why are there so many rules and features in this system? It feels more like a game than something in real life.” Eden asks Loki, as he exhales deeply.
“Thou should be thankful that there are! Thou were not in the great tower in the time period, but there used to be none of these rules and limitations, and that was a living hell for all! Everyone was to contain their level up rewards into one stat and make it EX, and it restricted the freedom of the world. So the system shall construct updates to its world, based on the reports of us tower managers, and now people shall not become all the same.” Loki exhales
“Now did thou enjoy my ‘short’ explanation on how the System works?” Loki says, believing he has bested Eden.
“Oh yes I did Loki, I enjoyed tricking you to the last moment, and you even showed me multiple flaws in your mind reading.”
Eden says with mocking pride. You were so caught up with thinking I wanted you to not talk, you gave me such a good explanation on every little thing I should know. Cannot wait to see your reaction in a few seconds, once your mind reading catches up with my thoughts. Eden thinks, leaving Loki to be silent for a few seconds, and then he is greatly shocked once his mind reading activates, though he tries to hide this and come up with a comeback.
“Poor, young master Eden, what makes thou think I was ignorant to thou’s plans?” Loki asks. “I could have just peered into thou’s mind to find out thou’s scheme, and there is no value in not telling thou this commonplace information.”
“That could be true, but you would have had some kind of reaction to the insults I was thinking of, with how petty you are. Now let me take a shot in the dark and say that you lack the ability to use your mind reading at all times. Now my guess is whenever you are talking, given you are always quiet before you answer my thoughts. Did I guess right, oh great god of mischief? But I think you are better suited for being the god of stupidity. Eden remarks, mocking Loki for falling for the very thing he is the best at, a trick.
“Clever trick, young master Eden. To think thou could predict my actions so effortlessly, maybe thou was not such a bad choice.” Loki says
You really picked a good one, did you not, merchant? I think I want a bite of the apple, however. So forgive me for what I am about to do. Loki thinks, preparing for the Merchant to find out about this, as he conjures a green ball of light and hands it to Eden.
Notice! You have accomplished a task thought to be impossible! You have gained partial respect from the first floor manager, Loki.
All those of Norse Origin will have more respect towards you, and you will gain a skill that Loki has of his choosing.
Notice! You have gained the Special skill, ‘Trickster’! This skill will follow the level of your intelligence stat.
Trickster- (F+) Passive
(You are okay at tricks and can trick unsuspecting people. You will be able to trick someone with an intelligence of F- or lower as long as it is not obviously harmful or false, and you will have a slight advantage in all attempts at tricking someone.)
As Eden gets this System message, Loki summons a yellow beam, and disappears, leaving Eden by himself. Well, that could not have gone better! To think I could trick Loki of all people and get a new skill! Trickster may not be an attack skill, but it is better than most of the other skills I have. Eden thinks happily.
Right on cue, the System sends a message to Eden.
Welcome to the first floor! We hope you grow to become a great being in the tower!
Notice! You will be provided with a hint because of this being the first floor
Notice! You will receive equipment based on your job.
You have gained the farmer starter pack!
Equipment:
Old Hoe- (H) 0.8 lb (0.36 kg)
Item Type- hoe, two-handed
Requirements- N/A
(An old hoe that can be used to farm, does minimal damage from its halfway broken nature. This hoe could be repaired to make something greater. Does 2 damage.)
Farming vest- (G+) 0.5 lb (0.23 kg)
Item Type- chest piece
Requirements- Farmer class
(Standard farming vest. Gives small protection from the weather. Gives +2 defence)
Farming pants- (G+) 0.4 lb (0.18 kg)
Item Type- leg piece
Requirements- Farmer class
(Standard farming pants. Gives small protection from the weather. Gives +2 defence.)
Farming boots- (G+) 0.2 lb (90.72 g)
Item Type- foot piece
Requirements- Farmer class
(Standard farming boots. Gives small protection from the Ground. Gives +1 defence)
Set bonus- (G+) total = 1.1 lb (0.5 kg)
Collect- (G) Action
Attack Type- grab
Useable Weapons- hand
(You can add an item in a 10 ft (3.05 m) radius into your inventory as long as no one is using or touching the item. You will also get all materials in a 5 ft (1.52 m) radius put into your inventory.)
Notice! You have gained access to the inventory function! All items will be stored here. To withdraw an item from the inventory, just say the name of the item. You can select items in the inventory to be equipped. All items of value to you will also be stored and gain grades.
Items stored:
Harvesting Switch Knife- (H+) 0.1 lb (45.36 g)
Item Type- dagger, one-handed
Requirements- N/A
(A small knife that is specialized in harvesting corpses, but can be used as a normal weapon as well. Does 5 damage.)
Random Seeds x50
Box of a dozen cigars
Half empty match box
Golden Key
Riddle: One little boy was dancing on the street. But then the DJ stopped the good old beat. So the little boy went to the store. But then he became really really bored! But then he remembered he was in the U.S.A. So he decided to shoot up the day.
Really?! All I get is a hoe and some basic clothes as equipment?! What the hell am I supposed to do with that? As Eden is thoroughly enraged with his horrendous starting equipment, storing the hoe in his inventory. Suddenly a part of the wall in front of him disappears, and reveals 3 different hallways. The first hallway, which is rather dimly lit, contains a wooden chest, with a crumbly floor around it. The second hallway has a pyramid shaped object, made of a glowing blue crystal that is around the size of a human. Then, in the third and final hallway, there is a metal door, with a snake design on it, with the head as a door handle.
“Whatever. I can probably use this stuff to some sort of benefit.” Eden states, as he starts his journey through the tower, walking right into the devil’s snare.
Eden Status report-
Proficiencies-
- Perception: +1.
- Intelligence: +2.
- Constitution: +4.
Jobs (1/5)-
- Farmer(c)
Stats-
- Strength: G-
- Intelligence: F+
- Stamina: H+
- Dexterity: F+(Max)
- Constitution: E
- Endurance: G
- Agility: H
- Perception: E-(Max)
Job abilities-
New! Harvester- (E) Passive
(Every time you use a farming skill to harvest your crops, there is a very small chance to get a small amount of gold.)
New! Planter- (F+) Passive
(You are okay at planting crops, and you have some potential to become skilled at the art of planting. All plants planted by you grow 10% faster and all plants harvested by you give 10% greater yield.)
New! Chicken Wrangler- (F+) Passive
(You have fought some chickens in your time, and you know how to round them up. You deal +50% damage to all chicken creatures. Furthermore, you have a 30% chance to apply the fear status effect to a chicken you hit.)
New! Egg Finder- (F-) Action
(You can find eggs if they are put in obvious places. You will know where all eggs are in a 100 ft (30.48 m) area when you are looking for eggs.)
Special abilities-
New! Wounded Warrior- (E+) Passive
(You have been wounded a good amount of times in your life, but it has paid off with your new-found strength from Pain. You get an okay increase in power and have some pain numbed when you are badly wounded. You will also have an increase in your pain tolerance when this skill is not active.)
New! Trickster- (F+) Passive
(You are okay at tricks and can trick unsuspecting people. You will be able to trick someone with an intelligence of F- or lower as long as it is not obviously harmful or false, and you will have a slight advantage in all attempts at tricking someone.)
Inventory-
Equipped-
Farming vest- (G+) 0.5 lb (0.23 kg)
Item Type- chest piece
Requirements- Farmer class
(Standard farming vest. Gives small protection from the weather. +2 defence)
Farming pants- (G+) 0.4 lb (0.18 kg)
Item Type- leg piece
Requirements- Farmer class
(Standard farming pants. Gives small protection from the weather. +2 defence.)
Farming boots- (G+) 0.2 lb (90.72 g)
Item Type- foot piece
Requirements- Farmer class
(Standard farming boots. Gives small protection from the Ground. +1 defence)
Set bonus- (G+) total = 1.1 lb (0.5 kg)
Collect- (G) Action
Attack Type- grab
Useable Weapons- hand
(You can add an item in a 10 ft (3.05 m) radius into your inventory as long as no one is using or touching the item. You will also get all materials in a 5 ft (1.52 m) radius put into your inventory.)
Old Hoe- (H) 0.8 lb (0.36 kg)
Item Type- hoe, two-handed
Requirements- N/A
(An old hoe that can be used to farm, does minimal damage from its halfway broken nature. This hoe could be repaired to make something greater. Does 2 damage.)
Stored-
New! Harvesting Switch Knife- (H+) 0.1 lb (45.36 g)
Item Type- dagger, one-handed
Requirements- N/A
(A small knife that is specialized in harvesting corpses, but can be used as a normal weapon as well. Does 3 damage.)
New! Random Seeds x50.
New! Box of a dozen cigars.
New! Half empty match box.
New! Golden Key.