Obelisk Difficulty

The words floated in the air again: "Congratulations on choosing your primary skill. Now, choose the difficulty of the tower you wish to challenge."

All the students looked at each other in silence.

"Easy, Normal, Hard," the voice continued.

"Isn't it better to choose Easy?" asked the haste user from before, his voice filled with nervous energy.

"You're right, but do you think it's up to us?" replied Mark, the strength user, casting a glance at Luis and his gang.

Natalie, noticing the tension, stepped forward. "Guys, I think we should choose Normal. Greater risk means greater reward."

Grace and Ethan nodded in agreement.

Luis, however, grinned. "Greater risk, greater reward, huh? Then we should choose Hard."

"But we don't know how difficult it could be," Grace protested. "We can't risk everyone's lives."

Luis shrugged dismissively. "So what? We shouldn't give up our reward just because others are weak." He threw a sharp glance at Samuel, who stood quietly in the corner.

Samuel felt the weight of Luis's words. He looked down, the shame burning inside him.

Grace opened her mouth to argue further, but Ethan gently stopped her, knowing it was futile. Luis had already made up his mind.

"So, we're choosing Hard?" Natalie asked, turning her gaze toward Luis in a seductive manner. "I'm sure our brother will save us."

Luis puffed up with pride, boasting, as he stepped forward to make the selection.

Then, another message appeared: "The Tower is pleased with the courage of the challengers and offers the highest difficulty—'Hell.'"

"What?!" came the collective gasp. "How can this happen?"

The shock rippled through the group as the new message hung in the air like a death sentence.

"Hell difficulty?" Natalie's voice wavered.

Luis's confident smirk faltered, but only for a second. He quickly recovered, crossing his arms. "So what? Hell or not, we're still going through with it. If you're too scared, just stay behind."

Grace gritted her teeth, "This is insane. We don't know what we're up against. You can't just risk everyone's lives for your ego, Luis."

Ethan nodded, stepping forward. "Grace is right. We were going to choose Hard, but 'Hell'? This changes everything."

Luis scoffed. "Stop being cowards. You wanted a challenge, didn't you? Now we have the ultimate one. If we succeed, the rewards will be beyond anything we could imagine. Think about it."

His words had an undeniable pull. The thought of untold rewards, power beyond their peers—it was tempting, dangerously so.

"Don't let him manipulate you," Grace warned, her voice rising with frustration.

Luis shot her a dangerous look but before he could respond, the ground beneath them began to rumble.

The Tower was reacting.

A crack split the earth just ahead of them, spiraling upward into the sky. Towering stones rose from the ground, forming a twisted, ominous gate. An icy wind blew through, sending shivers down their spines.

"This is it," Luis said, his grin returning as he stepped forward. "The real challenge."

Natalie hesitated, then moved to follow saying, "Damn it! If we're going to survive this, without a doubt we can only rely on Luis strength or is there anyone one to win over him"

others too gathering their thoughts followed after.

Grace shot a worried glance at Samuel, who had remained silent the entire time. "Are you okay?"

Samuel, still standing apart from the group, felt his chest tighten. His mind was racing. The way Luis looked at him earlier—the way everyone seemed to see him—weak, unworthy. This was his chance to prove them wrong. But was he ready?

"I... I'll be fine," Samuel said, though his voice lacked the certainty he wished it had.

Grace frowned. "Samuel, you have to stay strong. We can still find a way out."

But Samuel shook his head. Deep down, he knew running away now would only confirm what everyone thought about him. He wasn't going to stay in the shadows anymore.

"No, I'm coming," Samuel said, finally stepping forward, though his heart hammered in his chest.

The twisted gate loomed ahead, the dark energy swirling ominously around it. One by one, they stepped through.

The group stepped through the swirling gate, their bodies tingling with the strange energy of the tower. The world around them shifted, and soon they found themselves standing in a murky swamp forest. Gnarled trees twisted toward the sky, their branches heavy with dark, dripping moss. The air was thick, humid, and the scent of decay clung to everything.

The ground squelched beneath their feet, waterlogged and uneven. A low mist swirled around their ankles, making it hard to see too far ahead.

Suddenly, a system window flashed in front of them, glowing faintly in the dim light:

"Defeat the monster. 0/1"

For a moment, there was silence. Then, the group collectively exhaled.

"It's just one monster," Ethan said, his voice filled with relief. "We can handle that."

Natalie nodded, though her eyes flicked nervously toward Luis. "If it's just one, we should be able to take it down quickly. Right, Luis?"

Luis smirked, clearly unfazed by their surroundings. "One monster? This is going to be easier than I thought. Stay behind me—I'll handle it."

Despite the eerie setting, there was a noticeable lift in everyone's spirits. If they only had to deal with a single creature, surely someone as strong as Luis could handle it. The tension began to ease as they ventured deeper into the swamp, the squelching sound of their footsteps the only noise breaking the heavy silence.

Grace stayed close to Samuel, casting glances his way. "Are you okay, Samuel? You've been quiet."

Samuel gave her a weak smile, but the doubt lingered in his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just… thinking."

The truth was, he was still battling his own insecurities. Even though they all hoped Luis would be able to deal with whatever monster awaited them, Samuel knew this was his chance to prove himself. But how? Could he really do anything meaningful against something Luis might easily defeat?

As they pushed through the dense fog, the swamp seemed to stretch on endlessly. Luis led the group with unwavering confidence, swatting aside vines and stepping over twisted roots with ease. Every now and then, he'd glance back to make sure the others were following, his eyes locking on Samuel with a smug grin, as if to say, I've got this. Stay out of the way.

Suddenly, from the dense forest behind them, there was a sharp, gurgling sound.

"Ahh!" A scream echoed through the swamp, and everyone whipped around just in time to see one of the boys at the back—the student who had earlier suggested choosing "Easy"—being yanked into the shadows by something unseen. His terrified eyes widened in shock as a long, something shiny wrapped around his waist, pulling him away into the dense fog.

"Help!" he cried out, his voice quickly fading as the swamp seemed to swallow him whole.