Chương 57: Gauntlet

Luna and I arrived at a grand building—not as big as the church, but still massive. It reminded me of the Colosseum from Rome that I've seen in pictures. But again…I don't think this is the right time period, tower! Wait…Isn't the Colosseum actually older than the medieval ages? Hm…Okay tower, I'll let it slide this time. But! Just know that if I see elevators or water fountains, I really won't let it slide!

"It's as impressive as always." Luna nodded, taking in the view.

"Is there a colosseum in every event town?" I asked.

"No," She shook her head, "The 'landmarks' are different for each town."

"Hm?" I tilted my head but didn't think further about it. I figured I'd see these 'landmarks' eventually—maybe I should make a tier list? So far, the church is an A tier and this colosseum is a B tier. I wonder what the other landmarks are like. Luna and I headed inside and my brows furrowed immediately. Tower!!! This really isn't right! We were inside a lobby and the interior had a modern feel with fancy white tiles and furniture. Is that a gym I see through a window? Gah! Tower! Be honest with me!

You just wanted a cool exterior, didn't you?!

"Is something wrong?" Luna asked, turning to me with a head tilt.

"Ahem," I coughed, "Nope." I smiled sweetly, continuing to internally grumble about the interior. I mean, if I'm being honest, I do prefer a modern interior where I can relax with AC. It's way better than being hot and sweaty in a old building from the ancient ages. But! That doesn't mean I can't poke fun at the tower and it's misaligned timeline!

"Do you want to explore first? Or we can go straight to the stands." Luna said.

"I think I'd lose my mind if we continue to explore! Let's go to the stands!" I replied.

"…?" She tilted her head in confusion, but took my hand and led me to the desk anyways. Behind the desk was a burly looking man with a handlebar mustache. He wore no shirt and had no hair on his crown.

"Two seats, please." Luna said.

"Okay! That'll be 2, 000 points." The man replied with a soft voice. …Am I going crazy? Luna promptly paid and he handed her two tickets that looked like old-timey movie tickets. I think I'm going crazy. Luna pulled me away from the counter and handed me a ticket. It read 'Seating Ticket'.

"When we rip these, we'll be teleported straight to our seats." Luna kindly explained. But…To be honest, I was just staring at the ticket that looked like it came straight from the 1900's. Let's see…We have the ancient era, medieval era, modern era, and now the industrial era? Now, I'm just curious about how much more era's can the tower pack into this place.

"Bin?" Luna said.

"Ah," I flinched and turned my attention to her, "Got it, rip and teleport." I nodded. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Mhm." She nodded, "Do you want to go now? We've got about 10 minutes before the event starts."

"Yeah, let's go." I replied and showed her that I was about to rip the ticket. She nodded and we tore the tickets. Just like teleporting to a floor, my surroundings changed in an instant. The familiar silver-haired girl was sitting on my left and all around me were people sitting in their seats. Most people wore casual attire or even jerseys, while only a few had on equipment. Luna and I sat right in the front, so there was no one ahead of us.

Below, was a large, empty area where I presume the event would be showing. But… What really got me was the floating screens hovering above the arena… We got the future era now too… Luna must've caught my gaze as she started to explain,"That's where the hosts will be." She said, "They'll commentate the matches and it'll show a better view of the arena."

"…I see." I nodded, "So…How does this work? Are we just following one match the whole time?" I asked, pointing at the arena below.

"Nope, it's tower magic so I don't know the specifics, but basically what we see changes. I think it's similar to the servers I mentioned—the arena will show players running the gauntlet."

"Mm…" Could that be considered the magic era then? What're we up to, six eras? Come on tower, step it up, we need the Victorian era too! Luna and I continued to casually chat and about five minutes until the event started, two people appeared on the screen. One was a cute pink-haired girl who radiated idol energy. The other was a black-haired man in his twenties who seemed like the smart kind.

"Hello! Hello! Hello!" The pink-haired girl cheerfully said. The sudden voice drew mine and Luna's attention, but just then, I had a thought. I leaned in closer to Luna's ear and whispered,"Hey…How does language work?" Luna flinched, her ears turning slightly red before she turned to me,"Don't whisper in my ear!" She shouted in a hushed voice, "Ahem, everything's automatically translated. No need to worry about language barriers." She explained.

"Sorry, hehe." I nodded, "Got it, thanks." Turning my attention back to the screen, the pink-haired girl continued to speak,"For those of you who don't know me, I'm Jenny, also known by the alias: Popcorn Cutie!"

"And I'm Will, known by the alias: Black-haired Strategist." The man said.

"And we've been selected as your hosts for this month's tower event!" Jenny said with a bubbly tone, "I may be lacking in some areas, so please bear with me!" Will nodded. He seemed like the taciturn type. Popcorn Cutie…Black-haired Strategist… I quickly gave those two names a search and found that they were quite known. Alias - Popcorn Cutie Title - Bubblegum Power Followers - 723, 189 Alias - Black-haired Strategist Title - Villain With Glasses Followers - 421, 190 …What kind of titles are these?

'Villain With Glasses'? Isn't that copyright!? And 'Bubblegum Power'? Does she chew gum when she fights or something? Though…They're not that far away from me in terms of followers? Oh, tower! If you happen to need a host for a future event, please feel free to reach out at any time!

"I'm excited for today's event," Jenny smiled, "How about you, Will?"

"I am as well." He nodded, "It's always fun seeing combat events, especially one's like this where it's continuous fighting. It gives us a good view of the current strength of rankers who participate."

"Right!? I remember the last combat event, about a quarter of the rankers participated and really proved to us why they deserved that title! Do you think we'll see a similar participation rate this time?"

"Hm…" Will thought for a moment before replying, "I think we'll see a similar number of rankers or more. Unlike the last combat event which was pure wave defense, this one is a continuous battle to see just how far you can go with the monsters getting stronger and stronger after each fight."

"I totally agree!" Jenny nodded, "The last event had them just sitting in one spot and waiting for the enemies to come. This time, they'll be able to be proactive and won't have to worry about protecting anything other then themselves!"

"That's right." Will nodded.

"And smoothly transitioning to event explanation… Will take it away!" Will looked at the pink-haired girl incredulously before replying,"For those of you who don't know, this month's event is 'Gauntlet'. It's as the name implies, it'll be a gauntlet of battles starting with the weakest monsters. After the fight, the players will have a small respite before the next battle.

With only that brief period of rest, players are unable to pause between rounds to take a break—so, it's also a test of stamina management and endurance. The fights get progressively harder as they go further and further into the gauntlet."

"Mhm! Mhm!" Jenny cheerfully nodded next to him, seemingly unwilling to explain herself.

"…" Will silently stared at the girl next to him before continuing, "We haven't had this type of combat event in a while, so rankers will likely be curious just how far they can go. This event also has the [Deathless] modifier, so people can push themselves to the limit without worrying about death. Depending on how today goes, we may see a slight shift in the [Ranker's Strength Ratings], made by the public."

"That's right!" Jenny nodded, "I'm really curious to see just who is the strongest ranker currently! And! We'll be able to show the fights directly, it'll be a blast! Do you think the rank 1, Anonymous, will be here too?" She asked her co-commentator.

"Likely," Will nodded, "But, just like all the previous events, he'll probably have viewing turned off so we won't be able to see him. At most, we'll see his number going up."

"A shame as always! I don't know what he's hiding for! Show the people what we want to see!" Jenny pouted. Will didn't indulge and swiftly moved on,"The event's about to start. Let's see who appears first." Next to the screen, another appeared with the current rankings. They all currently had '0' next to them.

"She's a bit lively, isn't she?" I commented.

"…Wouldn't you know?" Luna said.

"Huh?" I tilted my head.

"Never mind…The arena's changing." She smoothly changed the topic. Just as she mentioned, someone appeared at one end of the arena. It was a swordsman with plate armor. He waved to the audience. People cheered.

"Is he famous?" I asked.

"No idea." Luna shrugged, "Right now, the arena will show just about anyone. Only later will the hosts start mentioning names and really commentate the match."

"I see." I nodded.

"And we're starting!" Jenny shouted, "The Gauntlet has officially begun!" … The swordsman waved to the crowd. Somehow, he had gotten chosen to be shown in the arena. Though the monsters will be weak, even this brief showcase of his abilities could get him better conditions in his guild. It was also kind of exhilarating. People were cheering him on. The attention made his heart race, yet, he didn't dislike it. Was this how rankers felt? Licking his lips, he took a deep breath and watched at the timer ticked down.

10… 9… 8… He debated whether or not to take his time so he showcase more of his strength while he had the opportunity. But… It just didn't seem feasible. Most of the monsters that'd appear would go down in a single swing of his sword. And if he took too long, the audience might start getting bored. So, he'd act as usual and swiftly dispatch the monsters and hope the camera stays on him. 3… 2… 1… As he finished his thoughts, the timer hit 0. Just on the opposite side of the arena, five monsters spawned—Giant Rats.

They were F-ranked creatures that only looked displeasing. Clicking his tongue, he swiftly charged forward. I'll clear this fast and hope the camera stays on for the second round! He thought. As both sides reached the middle of the arena, the man deftly swung his sword and instantly cut through the five rats. [Round Complete] [2: 00 Until Next Round] Those holographic screens appeared in front of him and he sighed. There was no way the spotlight was staying on him for that long.