Chapters (122)
- Tower Climber
- Jakob Tanner
- Contents
- Newsletter
- Dedication
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 53
- 54
- 55
- 56
- 57
- 58
- 59
- 60
- 61
- 62
- 63
- 64
- 65
- 66
- 67
- 68
- 69
- 70
- 71
- 72
- 73
- 74
- 75
- 76
- 77
- 78
- 79
- 80
- 81
- 82
- 83
- 84
- 85
- 86
- 87
- 88
- 89
- 90
- 91
- 92
- 93
- 94
- 95
- 96
- 97
- 98
- 99
- 100
- 101
- 102
- 103
- 104
- 105
- 106
- 107
- 108
- 109
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- Author’s Note
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“Alright, last question, just to make sure I’m understanding everything,” said Max. “Since I have a mana affinity stat of 2, does that mean I can only go up to floor-2 of the tower?”
“Not exactly,” said Sakura. “It’s a combination of your rank and mana affinity. You’re currently unranked so you could go as high as floor-10 technically without dying, though you might begin to feel a bit strange if you go that high. Does that make sense?”
Max nodded his head as he ran. He thought about his sister, Elle. He couldn’t know for sure, but he felt certain she was up high in the tower. Definitely higher than floor-10. He needed to get stronger.
“Mana affinity really is the most important stat then,” sighed Max as he quickened his jogging pace.
“Yep, glad that’s gotten through that thick skull of yours. Now,” said Sakura, “that concludes the academic portion of today’s training. So—”
She blew the whistle extra hard.
“I want you to pick up the pace and do another hundred laps. NOW GO!”
* * *
Only after another five days of training did Max begin to see an uptick in his stats. He lay down on his bed that night and stared up at his profile with satisfaction.
Name: Max Rainhart
Rank: Unranked
Trait (Unique): Mimic. Unleash the last move you were hit with at double the power.
Strength: 5
Agility: 5
Endurance: 5
Mana Affinity: 2
Passive Skills:
Kokoro (Warrior Spirit)
Amazing, thought Max. He had gained a point in strength and agility.
He was one small step closer to achieving his goals.
He couldn’t wait to progress more.
20
Over the next two and a half weeks, Max stuck to Sakura’s grueling training regimen. He managed to gain another two points in both strength and agility and another point in endurance. He stared at his new profile fondly.
Name: Max Rainhart
Rank: Unranked
Trait (Unique): Mimic. Unleash the last move you were hit with at double the power.
Strength: 7
Agility: 7
Endurance: 6
Mana Affinity: 2
Passive Skills:
Kokoro (Warrior Spirit)
He felt his whole body tightening as muscles grew and strengthened everywhere. If he was back at his old high school, people would have barely recognized him. Not just because he was walking around on two feet, but because he no longer stood out as a scrawny feeble kid. He looked like an athlete. A jock, even.
Max looked in the mirror and felt pretty good about himself.
Except for one thing.
He hadn’t managed to raise his mana affinity stat even one measly point.
The laps and exercises had become less of an excruciating experience, but one he had actually grown excited about. The laps brought him a new kind of satisfaction each and every day as he pushed himself further and further, but there was still one exercise that brought him pain and frustration though.
The balancing of the book on his finger.