raknovel Chapter 166, 1rd Floor
Chapter 166, 1rd Floor
Chapter 166, First Floor
As Ronan passed through the portal, he felt as if he had entered another world.
The environment here bears no resemblance whatsoever to the area around No Dark City.
The occasional white specks drifting down from the sky are a testament to the extremely poor air quality in this area.
Looking up, all I could see was an endless wilderness, stretching to the horizon and meeting the gray-blue sky.
If it weren't for the towering Tower of Babel standing silently, it would be easy to mistake this place for a monotonous painting.
The Tower of Babel pierced the sky, even more magnificent than Ronan had imagined.
Although there were no guards at the entrance, the entire surface of the tower was covered with fine runes, which inspired awe from afar.
There weren't many participants from the four colleges; initially, each college had only about ten people, totaling less than 50.
Before we entered, the vice principal had already briefly explained the rules:
The main task for the contestants is to climb the tower; the higher they climb, the more points they get.
It sounds easy, but in reality, a little research into the Tower of Babel reveals that as a trial tower, the trials on each floor change randomly, and the overall difficulty increases with each floor.
Ronan had intended to undergo some specialized training, but after learning more, he realized that the trials of the Tower of Babel were too broad and all-encompassing, making specialized training almost like finding a needle in a haystack.
So he simply lay down and did the same thing as everyone else when they went in, without making any preparations.
During this period, several first-tier members of the Necromancer Valley came to see him.
Ronan was a new addition to the group, so he wasn't familiar with the first-tier team from the Necromancer Valley, who had already secured a spot in the competition.
Upon learning that they had gained a teammate from their own faction, the group quickly approached them, hoping to establish a united front and earn as many points as possible for the Dead Valley.
Ronan wasn't naive enough to think he could fit in with these people; he preferred to act alone.
However, a direct and forceful refusal would seem a bit too blunt and hurt the other party's feelings, which might provoke dissatisfaction from some people and could potentially cause them trouble at any time.
Therefore, Ronan simply gave a polite but perfunctory reply and then dropped the subject.
The other party thought Ronan had agreed and went back happily.
Just as they were about to enter the tower, all the contestants clearly separated into several groups.
Each academy forms a wave, making a total of four waves, and each wave contains various complex and intertwined forces.
Ronan glanced at it once and then didn't bother to look at it again.
There are only a few people, yet the relationships have become so complicated.
"Bai Ye, are you sure you don't want to come with us?"
Dark Raven, the first-tier sorcerer who had contacted him before, asked.
Sorcerers generally do not easily reveal their real names, so they all use their code names as their only name.
After Ronan expressed his desire to explore on his own first, and then help each other out if anything happened, the other people in the Dead Valley became much less enthusiastic about him.
"Yes, be careful too."
Ronan spoke firmly, but offered a polite reminder.
There are six participants from the Valley of the Dead, excluding Ronan.
As the lowest-ranked of the four academies, this number of participants is in line with its ranking.
They seemed to sense that Ronan didn't want to join the team.
Without the protection of a team, a lone individual is easily targeted by deliberate attacks from other academy teams within the tower.
The group either looked at him with mockery or simply ignored him, seemingly accepting that he wouldn't be able to climb many floors.
Seeing Ronan's resolute attitude, Dark Raven could only shake his head helplessly and walk back to the Necromancer Valley camp.
By this time, people from other colleges had entered the tower one after another, lining up like a queue, creating a scene full of discipline and harmony.
The order in which people enter the Tower of Babel is determined by the current ranking of the four major academies, with the Valley of the Dead naturally being the last to enter.
The people from the Dead Valley obediently lined up at the back of the queue without a single complaint.
Ronan thought that in a little while everyone might be fighting fiercely inside the tower, and looking at the harmonious atmosphere in front of him, it felt somewhat like dark humor.
Because he didn't want to travel with the people from the Dead Valley, Ronan was placed last, a well-deserved last place.
After he was the last one to enter the Tower of Babel, the tower gates slammed shut, and the scene before him began to change.
Everyone then realized that the space inside the tower was larger than it appeared from the outside, which must have involved spatial expansion magic.
The first floor is the easiest part of the entire Tower of Babel.
After the scene changed, Ronan felt an invisible pressure coming down on him.
This pressure not only affects the body but also the mind, much like a weakened version of the combination of his mental and physical realms.
Although the entire ground floor was spacious, there was very little room to move around; the rest of the floor was covered with scalding, flowing, deadly lava.
Ronan expanded his mental domain, and the moment his mental energy touched the lava, it felt as if it were being devoured.
He quickly withdrew his mental energy, abandoning his exploration of the lava's interior.
Just then, a charred corpse suddenly leaped out of the lava, looking exactly like it had been lured out by spiritual power.
What kind of creature is this?
Ronan was somewhat curious.
The charred corpse flashed by, seemingly able to move freely within the flowing lava.
This scene seemed to go unnoticed; everyone was more focused on the progress of climbing the tower.
Their target was the circular staircase in the central area of this space.
That's the entrance to the second floor.
The area available for movement is very small. Everyone has to withstand the oppressive force and jump quickly to pass through certain areas where lava is rolling, giving the feeling of walking on plum blossom stakes.
Overall, most of the contestants who make it here are able to overcome the pressure of this level.
Therefore, everyone gradually arrived at the entrance leading to the second floor.
Among the best performers, the two contestants from the already leading Dark Abyss are Gan and Er.
The leader of the group of twelve was the first to step onto the steps, and his brow furrowed slightly.
But soon, he continued on as if nothing had happened.
The others behind them did the same. Although they realized something was wrong the moment they stepped onto the steps, they relied on their strength and continued forward as if nothing had happened.
But the situation is different for those who are weaker later on.
One contestant from the Eternal Night Kingdom was unwilling to fall behind. Although his mental strength was average, his physical body far surpassed that of other mages of the same level.
With just a slight push of his feet, he easily overtook the people in front of him and rushed to the very front.
Then, he followed closely behind the contestants from the Dark Abyss, slowly stepping up the steps, looking somewhat smug.
Before he could turn around and boast to his fellow contestants, an immense pressure, far exceeding anything he had experienced before, suddenly descended upon him.
The pressure was negligible on his strong physique, but it was unbearable on his mental level.
He stumbled and fell backward down the steps, his face pale and his expression listless.