1992 Enter the Tower
"The requirements being the combat ability and high ranking ability in any professional skills. I am assuming you are going to submit formations as that skill?"
The Dean asked in a calm tone.
Sam nodded with a smile and placed the letter he brought on the table in front of the dean.
"You came prepared.
So, what academies do you want to attempt?" The Dean asked as he got ready to sign the document
"All of the Olympian academies." Dean froze on spot and looked at Sam with utmost focus.
"I want to ask, what you want to do. But I feel like I already know it and I feel it's a bad idea."
"I feel that you don't need to worry about it. I am just going to be a good student that challenges himself using the amazing opportunity I have.
I will make the most of the privileges that I have and challenge all the towers to increase my honor and glory."
"Both of us know that's a bunch of bullshit." Dean sighed and helplessly signed the document.
Sam is a bit surprised with that calm reaction. He was expecting a bit more resistance from him. After all, not a single subordinate of Zeus he met until now was cooperative. They always made unnecessary troubles for Sam and giving him a hard time was their only approach.
Seeing Dean being cooperative is almost unbelievable.
Dean passed the letter back to Sam and took out a token from his storage. The token didn't see the light of a day for a long time. He took out an inscription pen and tweaked it a little bit, before handing it over to Sam.
"Whatever you are planning, my advice is to not do it. You might have hostility towards Olympus and Olympians, but openly displaying it and that too with added disdain is not going to give you any relief.
You will just make more enemies that way."
"Thank you for your advice."
Sam took the token and the letter before walking out of the office.
At that moment, Pearl is standing outside waiting for him.
He raised an eyebrow and spoke.
"If I didn't know any better, I would say you are head over heels in love with me."
"Maybe, I am."
"Oh, that's a lot of heartbreak awaiting you in the future then. Too bad. Crying and swollen eyes don't go well with your pretty face. It's more suited for swollen lips and blushing cheeks."
Pearl didn't know what to say. This is the first time she felt utterly stumped.
She shook her head of the wild thoughts in her head and asked.
"What are you doing here Sam? Today is the first day of the tower opening. What are you doing here instead of attempting to ascend Gambler Academy's tower? I hear that many people are waiting for you in anticipation."
"It seems like you hear a lot of things from a lot of places."
"I do." She noticed the letter and token in Sam's hands.
"What is it?"
"You will know soon enough. Come, let's go to your tower. I want to see what's going on there. I want to see the performance of the so-called Geniuses of the Zeus Academy."
He didn't wait for her reply and started walking in the direction. Pearl frowned in confusion. She is feeling a bit irritated not knowing what Sam's angle is. She could only follow him trying to figure out his thoughts.
Soon, they made their way to the tower and their arrival instantly attracted the attention of every single person there.
Freshmen, sophomores, instructors, elders, everyone is looking at him with a wide spectrum of emotions directed at him.
"Don't look at me with those hostile eyes, I might be tempted to fucking gouge them out."
Sam said out loud and at the same moment, more than a dozen freshmen instinctually turned their eyes away.
He chuckled at the fear he commanded and Pearl frowned at the same.
She really underestimated the impact of Sam's performance on the entrance test. More than half of the freshmen are afraid to make eye contact with him and those who make it are too intimidated to keep it going.
Sam looked at the current ranking board.
Even though there are a bunch of names of seniors within the freshman bracket signifying their record as freshmen, everyone is focused on the portion where the names of the current freshmen appear.
Sam noticed two familiar names, Vidyut and White.
At the same time, he eavesdropped on the whispers talking about both of them.
Vidyut and White are part of the second batch of people who went into the tower, but they haven't come out yet. The rest are already back and the third and fourth batches are also finished, right now it could be said the fifth batch is entering, but these two are not stopping yet.
Sam looked at their scores.
Both of them are at the twenty-third floor, they finished twenty-two floors with a score very close to Nineteen thousand points. That is approximately 87 percent.
Pearl came and stood beside him.
"Do you know, the record for a freshman's first attempt at the tower is twenty-six floors? Right now these two have a very great chance of breaking it at the pace they are going.
This year, the candidates are indeed better than the past few decades, it's just they are outshined by a person like you. But I am sure it will change pretty soon."
"You seem awfully confident."
Sam said and at the same moment, both Vidyut and White ascended to the twenty-fourth floor.
Their score barely crossed twenty thousand points. Sam had a smile on his face.
"Yes, I am confident. You underestimate the influence of the academies on the students with potential. You are indeed strong, but that is because of your unique way of battling and your resourceful physique with all those elements.
You won't find anyone who could guide you to use them better while the rest of the realm is going to educate themselves to defeat you. You are going to end up as a giant whetstone.
You should have taken up my offer when I was still being kind to you."
Sam chuckled at that and didn't answer, instead, he talked about something else.
"Let the future you worry about the future me. I am very clear on what my future is like."
"Oh, you planned it that well?"
"No, I declared it as such."
"Blind Arrogance."
"Backed by competence."
"If you are so confident, prove it. Not with your words."
"Oh, I will. I am here precisely because of that."
Sam raised his token and the letter to show it to the elder in charge of the tower.
"I would like to enter the tower and because of my special privilege, I believe I don't have to wait too long."
Pearl was shocked when she heard his and grabbed the letter and the token. Her shock only grew as she read the contents.
The elder already noticed the Olympian tower attempt to pass.
"You are an honorary student here?"
He asked with a clear trace of anger and unwillingness.
"Yeah, if you have any more questions, your dean will be happy to answer you."
Sam took the letter and token back before turning to Pearl.
"Let's forget about the future. Right now, right here I am challenging you. Ascend the tower with me and beat me. Since you are the leader of this generation's Zeus academy, I am giving you a chance to beat me fair and square in front of all these people in your tower.
Stop me from stealing the glory that should belong to one of your academy members."
Sam's words made the students feel a sense of foreboding.
The next moment two people were kicked out of the tower emptying two slots as if on cue.
Sam turned to the entrance and started walking.
"It doesn't matter if you take up the challenge or not, because I am going to do what I want to no matter what."
"Pearl, you better take this challenge, I have a really bad feeling and I have never been wrong with that."
The Elder also nudged Pearl who gritted her teeth and ran to the entrance. She even overtook Sam and occupied one of the two slots to enter the tower.
Sam took his time. His pace is leisurely and he walks like a man admiring the scenery as if he is trying to savor the image in front of him.
By the time Sam entered, Pearl was already halfway through clearing the first floor. She is very fast.
Sam entered the first floor and he was greeted with a humanoid figure condensed from the pure purple lightning energy. The figure leaped at Sam and tried to attack him.
Sam didn't even move his feet, he just bent his upper body and caught a hold of the arm and the rest of the body of the humanoid figure and then suppressed it with his hold.
He then used his observation ability to see what these things are actually made of.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺