There is evil inside of every person.

Herbert Meadows - Father

The next thing I knew Gregor was shaking me awake.

“What did you do to piss off the elder’s granddaughter?” he asked with a smile and a wink. “She came by to ask if we were choosing the short or long path and I could swear she wanted to kick you in your sleep. I told her that we would both take the long path to stop her from hitting you.”

“The girl who approached me last night? She kissed me and I had no idea what she was saying so she hurried off after a minute.”

Gregor turned and talked with one of the locals for several minutes before turning back to me.

“From what the locals say, she complimented your ability to hold alcohol along with your wealth. She then asked if she was pretty enough to spend the evening with you and you rejected her.”

“Is that a problem?” I asked. Maybe she wasn’t a prostitute afterall.

“Apparently she is one of the brewers of the Klawn Aerd. They warned that you might get something that causes diarrhea instead of the vision quest. Judging from their smiles I think they're joking. With a small town like this she will likely be teased about it for the next couple of years.”

I hadn’t intended to take the long route. Since the goal of this floor was so straightforward and there was no chance of me gaining any experience I was just going to rush through. But now it appeared too late. In the end it didn’t matter as I could just run ahead and leave Gregor behind if I was running low on time. Checking my map the hidden item looked like it was on the other side of the island and would likely be found on the long way around.

The village elder and a couple older women walked forward at that moment and greeted us. Gregor started translating as the elder spoke.

“He greets us again and thanks us for joining them yesterday. We are each to be given a dose of the Klawn Aerd that was based on our ability to handle liquor last night. Once the vision takes hold we are to start walking down the path.”

At least the process was straightforward.

Gregor was handed a cup and quickly drained it. He stood still for several minutes before his eyes widened. As he looked around his eyes did not seem to focus on any of us. The elder spoke to him and pointed down the path. After looking around one more time he turned and briskly walked down the path around the mountain.

The village elder said something to me and handed me a much larger cup. I tried to gesture my gratitude and quickly down the large beverage. If it was based on my alcohol tolerance there was a good chance it wasn't going to do anything. Afterall my constitution stopped me from getting intoxicated the previous night. I didn’t care if the concoction worked as long as it counted towards the goal .

Welcome to the Eternal Tower Floor 8 Hard!

Goal:

1) Undergo the Klawm Aerd - complete

2) Climb Mt. Nasijuf - incomplete

Time limit: 30 days

Time remaining: 29 days 10 hours, 3 minutes*

*Overtime not in effect

I stood there staring at the elder waiting for something to happen when the young woman from the previous night ran out hissing and cursing at me. The village elder and older women looked shocked at her words. Then that shock turned to anger and finally it settled on horror as she became more irate. Whatever speech she was giving came to an abrupt end as she pointed at me for emphasis.

As soon as she pointed at me, the ground opened as a large fissure formed underneath me. I fell. Down and down I fell, deep into a vast cavern.

It was impossible to tell how long I fell but I judged it to be several days. Despite the time it took to fall at no point did I become familiar with the falling sensation. Just as I started to think I would never stop falling, my body hit the ground hard. If it wasn't for my cultivation I was sure that the fall would have killed me. While I had survived the fall, I felt extremely weak as I stood up and looked around me.

Fire was everywhere and the smell of sulfur burned my noise. As I turned I saw twisted humanoid shapes standing over me.

They were demons.

I was certain it was demons over me. They were vaguely humanoid and roughly the same height as me, but the color of their skin was all wrong and they had curving horns jutting from their heads. Behind each I saw wings of fire moving, spreading the heat that I felt on my skin. I tried to use my scan skill but it would not activate.

As I rose, the unintelligible chittering sounds they made quieted and the one closest to me pointed off to the distance. I followed its finger and could see a glowing path along the ground leading on and on slowly upwards. Certainly this was my exit; my path out of this hellscape. I went to take a step forward when one demon that had been standing off from the other three ran at me. As it reached me it moved to swipe me with its claws.

Instinctively I drew my sword and cut off the demon's head.

All around me the demons chittering turned to screaming and gnashing. Before I could do anything else more demons seemingly appeared out of thin air. I didn’t have a chance to form a plan before the 30 demons surrounding me. As they screeched and howled, I could feel their bone chilling anger directed at me.

It was not that they moved with extreme speed, but more like my thoughts and movement were slowed in this infernal plane. But it would take more than their demonic curse to stop me as I took each of them down with a swipe of my weapon. Soon there was nothing but bodies of demons around me.

Despite how short the battle was I was panting from the effort. I tried to take a deep breath to calm my body but it felt like my lungs couldn't expand in this blistering heat. Turning towards the path and could tell instinctively that salvation lay down it. Or should I say up it, as it slowly led up towards a light in the distance.

I gravely underestimated the challenge of the Hard Difficulty. Clearly these last several floors were meant to lure me into a false sense of security. My strength felt barely adequate to move in the location. If I was even a single level lower, I wouldn’t be able to move with the strength sappening effect of whatever hell this was. But I had my levels and I had my strength. I hoped it was enough.

I slowly walked on. Each step took more effort than any challenge I'd ever completed. Onward and onward I slowly walked, unable to tell how much time had passed. After what felt like an eternity I came across another group of demons.

There were only a dozen. As they laughed their harsh wicked noises at me I pushed forward and drew my sword once more. I dispatched the demons one after the another, even managing to get one that attempted to flee. Once more I continued down the path.

I don't know how I didn't fail the challenge of this floor of the Tower. It had to have been more than a month since I started down this glowing path. Numerous times I tried to pull up the notification for the Tower but it always failed. Just like how my scan skill did not seem to work in the hellish place.

Suddenly another group of demons appeared but these ones were not laughing. They approached me cautiously with shovels and pitchforks held out in front of them. I'd always heard tales of demons with pitchforks but never really understood why they would use a farming tool as a weapon. Now it was clear as they tried to use the pitchforks to trip me, grab ahold of my sword, or push me to the ground.

But they didn't know who they were attempting to defeat. I ripped open the gut of one of the demons holding a pitchfork and pried the tool from its grasp before throwing it at another trying to rush me. I turned a cut down one that was moving to hit me in the back of the head with a shovel. It was difficult work with how sluggishly my body responded to my desires. To make matters worse when their blood splattered upon me it burned as if I was plunged into a fire.

On and on I walked. Numerous times I was saved by the magic of the boots as they prevented me from stumbling on the path. I could not have even a moment of weakness as there were always new groups of demons waiting to ambush me. At one point I saw a demon leading many smaller demons away from me but I let them run as I feared leaving the path. If I moved too far off of the path I may never find my way out of this place.

I walked on, trying to focus on just moving as I came upon another grouping of demons. Once more they rushed to attack me and tried to drive me to the ground, but as always I overcame them. As I went to leave their bodies on the ground I saw my map indicated there was a hidden treasure nearby. Trusting my map I stepped off the path a dozen feet into a cave and reached for an object glowing with holy light.

Rewards: — Items absorbed. [??]% complete to unlock skill [??????]

Damn, I had forgotten. Where was the goddess’s skill? Could such a skill have saved me from falling into this hell? Could it have helped me escape this endless path?

In the end it didn't matter. I had vowed to move on to let go of troubles and woes. Let go of regrets and embrace the positive.

I don't know what I did to deserve this punishment. But I had to maintain my resolve.

How was my family? For so long I had tried not to think about them. How old was Emily now? She was 17 when I left. I was in the Tower for about a year and a half before this floor. How long have I been on this floor? Five years? 10? If it had been 10 years that meant my little sister was now the same age as me when I entered the Tower. Surely she would be smarter than me and not climb the Tower. She was bright and far more cautious than I ever was. She probably would be helping mom and dad run the store now.

Mom and dad. If I could change something I wish I could have properly said goodbye to them, but it was too late now. Thinking back to our last argument I wish I would have listened to them as it seemed like they were right.

It was best to dwell on the positive. Surely John and Joanne had already started a family by now. Maybe they would name their first son after me. I mean it was the least they could do after all. But it didn’t really matter as long as they were happy. It is good that I am no longer there to keep them apart.

I wish I could say I was never tempted to give up. But there were times where the desire to lay down and die almost overwhelmed me. But I had achieved so much. And this was just an obstacle. If there's one thing I did well, it was overcoming obstacles.

I could tell I was getting closer. There were less and less demons over the past few years. The demons I did come across looked more human, although their features were still unnatural. I would often come up on them and they would kneel down before me with their hideous mockery of crying. Of course I would end their unholy existence with a single swipe of my blade.

Before me I could see the path was coming to an end. The path that had slowly been climbing upward now leveled off and at the end were the two last demons. One was clearly the leader while the other shook in fear. The fearful one spoke in its chittering demonic language to the leader. The leader in turn replied in the language and pushed the other demon away from me.

Like I was going to let that happen. I pulled a dagger from my storage bag and threw it at the fleeing demon. My aim was perfect and the blade struck the demon’s head killing it instantly.

The leader looked at me and spoke in a hissing voice.

“Why cultivator? Why kill them?” It was the first time I was able to understand a demon and its voice made my skin crawl.

“To escape this hell, evil must be destroyed,'' I responded.

The demon pulled a shining sword from its waist and charged at me. Looking at the sword I was shocked and in my slowed date I was almost struck, but I managed to stop the sword with my own. I knew the sword the demon carried. I had only seen it briefly, but it was the same weapon Gregor carried when he left on his vision quest.

Again and again the demon attacked and each time I was able to defend. With each blow I blocked, I could feel my strength slowly return to me. The demon looked less and less monstrous as well. I don’t know what magic it was using to change its appearance but I could not let it walk among the normal world. Luckily as my strength returned, so did my speed. Feeling a sudden rush of strength and speed return I whipped my sword forward and decapitated the lead demon.

I sat on the ground with my eyes closed panting from the effort. It was the most difficult fight I had since first encountering the orcs. If not for the demon magic weakening me, I could have taken the demon without any effort.

A cool breeze. The smell of grass. I opened my eyes and found myself sitting at the top of Mount Nasijuf.

Somehow I was transported here. Slaying the demon must have let me escape from hell and return to the normal world. Well the normal world of the Tower. Better yet I could see the open portal waiting for me to move on to the next floor.

The smell of blood touched my nose and looking down I found Gregor laying on the floor decapitated.

Those bastards.

For once Gregor had a chance at a normal life and those demons took it away from it. I don't know how they got a hold of him and why his body was left upon the top of this mountain, but I wouldn't let the death go to vain. I reached over and unhooked his sword.

Item: Wandering Cultivators Gregor’s Sword

The trusted sword of a man who survived a life of defying the heavens. While this weapon was forged by mortal blacksmiths, this is the highest quality blade a human cultivator can wield.

It was a far better weapon than my current sword. Better yet, if my scan now worked surely I could view the information on this floor now.

Welcome to the Eternal Tower Floor 8 Hard!

Goal:

1) Undergo the Klawm Aerd - complete

2) Climb Mt. Nasijuf - complete

Time limit: 30 days

Time remaining: 10 minutes, 32 seconds*

*Overtime in effect

I stood on top of Mount Nasijuf. The air was calm and refreshing. And the scene of the ocean surrounding the island mountain made me feel as if I were on the top of the world. I wanted nothing more than to stand there for another day and recover but there was too little time.

I quickly pulled off my clothes and shoved the bloodstain clothes into my bag and changed into a clean outfit. My armor was dirty and bloody as well, but the bathing crystal helped me rinse off the grime before I needed to put it back on.

Why was I flung into hell? Did that young woman do it simply because I had rejected her? What kind of magical power did she have to send somebody to such an abysmal place? I wanted answers but I did not have time to spare as I stepped through the portal with only seconds remaining.

Floor 8 complete!

Rewards: — Items absorbed. [??]% complete to unlock skill [??????]