Unexpected Situation, Clash of the.....

Ace saw a handsome boy coming towards him, tho not as handsome as him, and his age seems to be around 17-18.

" Hell-lo, The Name's John Barlow, What about you? " The boy who called himself John Barlow said to Ash with a buoyant smile.

Ace reciprocated with a smile of his own, " Hello, I am Ace, " and then he asked about the so-called pressure, " so what is all these mental and physical pressure you just mentioned? "

" It's like this, The pressure is something this mountain generates, Tho I don't know what this pressure is but it will strain your physical body and mind both and it will increase as you climb higher floors " explained John keeping that smile of his.

" No wonder..." Ace had some understanding of this mountain, The pressure upon him will increase as he climbs higher, " Thank you, John, Then I'll be on my way " Saying this Ace started heading towards the stairs which leads to the 6th floor.

John was startled by Ace's sudden departure, " Hey hey bro, wait a second. "

Ace turned around spoke, " What? do you need anything? but I don't have anything?"

John almost slumped hearing Ace and said, " Haha, I don't need anything but are you sure you want to continue? Generally, people will rest for a while before climbing the next floor. "

Ace didn't want to waste time resting, " No, I want to reach the 100th floor in one month, I can't afford to waste time. "

John was speechless and shook his head, " If you want to reach the 100th floor in a month, then you definitely have to rest each floor and adjust your pace, otherwise you will never be able to reach the 100th floor in one month. "

Ace was stumped by what John said and asked, " What?! But I don't get why i won't reach 100th floor if i don't rest "

John said with a sigh, " didn't you notice that people were less as you climb higher? do you think they are unable to climb higher and thus stayed on lower floors? "

" Obviously " Ace answered matter-of-factly.

" looks like you didn't pay attention to the atmosphere of the mountain when you were climbing from 1st floor to 5th floor. You should sense the mana density on the 5th floor and remember what was the density in lower floors. " john said while shaking his head.

Ace sensed the mana density on this floor and then tried to remember the mana density in lower floors, after he compared, he was surprised and said, " The mana density in 5th floor is lower than 4th floor, Why? "

John resumed his buoyant smile and spoke, " Yep! That's it. People stay on the lower floors to practice because you are not allowed to return to the previous floor after you've passed it. The pressure will increase and Mana density will decrease as you climb higher and higher, But The rewards will be well worth it if you can pass the 100th floor as the density above the 100th floor is more then a hundred times higher then 1st floor. "

Ace was surprised again and spoke with a smile, " I see, Thank you for your information, but can't you just use your Mana stone to energize your body? "

John grinned mischievously and said, " Take out your mana stone and try to absorb it. "

Ace took out his mana stone and just as he was about to absorb the mana from it, something strange happened.

All of the mana from the mana stone was sucked out instantly and the stone disintegrated.

" What?! " Ace was shocked seeing the scene. while John laughed and said, " haha this is the magic of this mountain, There is a kind of formation from 1st floor to the 100th floor which instantly absorb the mana from the mana stone "

"I see..." Ace now understands the importance of resting in each floor and only climb after getting in top condition.

John once again spoke, " This is the reason why people practice and try to reach a higher level because if your strength is strong then you can resist the pressure and unlock your body's potential, This is the real use of this mountain. Of course, the strength of your Level doesn't stop the pressure completely and it will only be helpful until the 50th floor, "

John paused for a bit to take a breath before continuing, " But after the 50th floor, it doesn't matter if you are a Star Warrior or a beginner, the pressure will remain strong and won't be blocked by your Power Stage. Everyone who comes to climb this mountain is given 3 months, If they can not reach the 100th floor in three months then they will be kicked out."

" I see... " Ace pondered for a bit and then sincerely thanked John, " Thank you very much, John, I don't have anything to give in exchange for this information but I've remembered your help and so I will help you in the future if I get a chance. " As the dude had helped him a lot by explaining him about this mountain, otherwise if he continued like this, he would probably suffer as he climbs higher on the mountain.

John smiled and said, " haha no problem, It's my hobby to help others. I hope you can climb the 100th floor in one month. " saying this john left.

' Weird fellow ' Ace thought and said to the system, ' hey is it possible to have a hobby like helping other peoples? '

< How would i know? But I think this john had some other motives besides informing you about this mountain tho I don't know what is it. >

Meanwhile, John smirked as he walked away, ' Another one in the pocket, You will definitely repay me in the future, hahaha '

Ace then rested for a bit to regain his top condition and when he felt that there was no exhaustion on his mind or body he started climbing again.

As expected when he arrived on the 6th floor the mana density decreased and pressure also increased.

Ace continued his journey of climbing mountain and he always rested on each floor before climbing, He also felt his body and mind both improving as he climbed higher and rested on each floor, and instead of sleeping he meditated to refresh his mind.

Today was the 20th day and he was already on the 87th floor but he was sweating like a pig and slumped on the ground after arriving at the 87th floor.

The improvement of his body and mind was not catching up to the pressure generated by the mountain's each next floor he climbed.

The time spent on resting increased after the 70th Floor which made his speed of climbing slow down considerably.

He took a whole day's rest on the 86th floor to recover his top condition but he felt more exhausted after arriving on the 87th floor.

' Damn at this rate I won't be able to reach the 100th floor in the next 10 days. ' Ace thought frustratedly.

He asked the system for any solution, ' Dear system, is there any way for me to recover faster? '

< I don't know, The pressure on this mountain affects you on the deepest level in both mind and body to arouse your potential, If you want to explode your potential and get the strength to reach the 100th floor then your only choice is to continue without rest. >

' WHAT?!! Bull sh*t, look at my situation, I can't even lift my pinky ' Ace grumbled.

< Take full rest on this floor even if it takes more then a day. Then try to climb two floors without resting. >

Ace took rest for 30 hours on this floor.

" Let's go. I've got to squeeze every single fiber in my body and try not to fall before completely climbing two floors, I CAN DO IT, YES I CAN, "

' SLAP!! '

Ace slapped his own cheeks and motivated himself before starting to climb the 88th floor.

He didn't rush and waited for a while on each step before moving on.

It took him 5 hours to reach the 88th floor and he was so exhausted he wanted to just lie down and sleep, But he stopped himself.

With red eyes and trembling legs he continued. When he took the first step of the 89th floor, he nearly fell down due to the pressure but held on and adjusted to pressure for while before moving on.

taking every step was a torture to his body and mind, But he could feel that he was also gaining strength in his mind, and body during this process which was the sole reason he continued.

he climbed up each step ever so slowly, his whole body wet due to sweat, He paused for a bit to take out a bottle of water before emptying it and continued with red eyes and trembling legs.

After more than 7 hours of slowly climbing, He was only 8 steps away to reach the 89th floor.

He pushed forward and didn't stop, He wanted to drink water because he could feel dehydration due to sweating too much, But he didn't even dare to open his mouth right now, He willed himself to move his legs forward.

In his mind, there was only one thought ' Move forward ', He had already closed his eyes and moved forward through will alone.

After what felt like an eternity, Ace felt the pressure on him slowly decreasing, and strength regaining, He instinctively tried to climb up but didn't feel any steps.

He opened his eyes only to see that he had reached the 89th floor.

But before he could take rest.....

< Another Host with system detected, The competition will start in 3 seconds, Get to ready, Host Ace >

3

2

1

" Fu#$%&#$&%#%$... " Ace spouted a string of curses before his vision blurred.