Entering the Tower of Death

Chapter 33 – Entering the Tower of Death

It didn't take long before Jhin arrived in front of the majestic tower.

The burning rays from the sun caused the tower to emit a metallic sheen. With the disappearance of the fogs, Jhin was now able to get a clear view of the tower.

The tower was like a fat black rod impaled on the ground. Its wall was ink black, and full of lifelike engravings of beasts and humanoid creatures.

As he stared at the engravings, a chill ran through Jhin's spine. All the engravings were that of a dead creature! And from his estimate, there were at least millions of these lifelike engravings.

The feeling of watching and being watched by countless dead bodies was unbearable. He quickly shift his gaze and looked at the entrance.

The entrance was situated inside the mouth of a huge skull.

At this moment, four guards in black armor were guarding the place.

"Halt!"

The moment Jhin entered the periphery of the tower, one of the guards shouted.

"State your business!"

Jhin stopped walking and looked ahead. With a light bow, he took out the note from his pocket and said, "I am here under the orders of Captain Lucy. Can you take me to her?"

Hearing his words, one of the guards walked out of the entrance. It was a soldier wielding a staff.

He looked at Jhin for moment before pointing his staff to his hand.

Suddenly, the note escaped from Jhin's grasp and flew towards the man.

The guard carefully looked at the note. A moment later, he nodded, "Follow me!"

Jhin smiled and hurried forward. He could feel a rush of excitement mixed with fear surging inside him. The thought of entering a mysterious place recorded inside a book thrilled him.

"How grand!" Jhin exclaimed inside.

The moment they entered; his sight himself in a vast hall, at least a soccer field in size.

The floors and walls were made of a black crystal. While a huge Moon Pearl hung in the ceiling, its gentle glow illuminated the entire place.

'A place that rivals my Tower of Clouds and Snow.' Jhin complimented as he recalled the scenery of the hotel where he died. His last interviews, and last dance briefly flashed in his mind.

"Hays~"

A defeated sigh escaped his lips. No matter how hard he tried to forget those scenes, it just keeps on replaying inside his head.

With a wry smile, he continued looking around.

Aside from the three wide corridors at the distance; one at the center and two at corners, the entire hall was empty. There wasn't a human in sight.

He couldn't help but wonder where the soldiers gone to.

The guard headed to the right corridor and Jhin followed behind.

Based on his estimate, the corridor was at least ten meters wide, and five meters tall. Its size alone was enough for a house to fit inside. Every corner of the corridor has glowing crystal shards.

They entered the corridor.

"What's this?" Jhin exclaimed in surprise. He could feel a warm current caressing his skin. "This is wonderful!"

The few minutes of walk while carrying the child brought tension on his shoulders and arms. However, when the warm current swept through his body, the tension around those areas loosened. Leaving behind a comfortable feeling.

Noticing his monkey-like behavior, the guard chuckled, "That's the body warmer. It relaxes the individual's muscles so that they won't need to do warm-up exercises when they entered the training ground."

Hearing the man's words, Jhin was astonished. He hadn't thought of such a thing before.

'If I could imitate that kind of technology on Earth, I would surely profit a lot. It would be beneficial to old people. Perhaps, it might extend their lifespan.'

As a businessman, Jhin was keen when it comes to judging the value of a technology or things. The warm current could enhance the performance of the body. Especially to those with stiff muscles.

If he could put this technology back on earth, then he would for sure struck rich. He could establish gyms and hotels with these functions. Ensuring a high-quality treatment to the costumer's body.

He asked the guard how the warm current was made but the guard just chuckled and remained silent. This time, Jhin didn't continue asking. He was immersed in looking the surrounding.

They continued walking for about two minutes. It was then that they arrived in a dead end where two portals of different colors were shining; one white while the other black.

"The portal to the Magician Hall is temporarily closed." The guard pointed at the black portal. "You should wait here until it becomes white. Only then will you be able to enter."

Jhin nodded in understanding. "What about you?"

"I'm returning to the post." The guard replied and started to leave.

"Hey, aren't you afraid that I'll do something bad here?" Jhin probed. He was puzzled by the guard's lax behavior.

Hearing his words, the guard paused before sneering, "Do whatever."

Jhin scratched his head in annoyance. The guard's action left him in confusion.

Should he wait? Or what? If he waits, he doesn't know when the portal would turn white. And he only has less than five hours left to complete the mission.

"This won't do! I can't stay passive." Jhin started wracking his brain.

To rescue the children, he must fulfill three conditions: Strength, location of the base, and time limit.

The last two conditions aren't a problem. He could just wake up the child and ask where the base was. Since she escaped from there, she should know its location. As for the time limit, he could also fulfill it but, he must gather strength fast.

But the only way to have sufficient strength within the limited time was to ask help in the army. He needs a combatant that could match the Tier 2 rat woman from earlier. Moreover, he needs more than one of these combatants. He doesn't know how many enemies were present in the base. Thus, the more people he could invite, the better.

He has one problem though; Lucy was the only one he could contact in the army. But he doesn't know how long he should wait before he could meet her. And it wasn't certain that she would agree to help.

'Sigh~ If only Crystal had woken up." Jhin couldn't help but remember the servant he scammed. Until now, he could feel from the master rune that she was still unconscious. Her presence was weak, it was as though she was in coma. With Crystal's status as a commander, he could easily ask her to do his bidding.

Pursing his lips, Jhin's eyes wandered around before landing on the white portal. An idea formed inside his head. He pondered for a moment before gritting his teeth.

"Let's try it then!" He said before entering the white portal.