Towers Of Heaven - 59 Book 3 Chapter 54

The barrier surrounding Korata Mountain let Jason pass unhindered. A few minotaurs glanced over before turning back to whatever they were doing upon recognizing him. Humans were no longer strangers to the minotaur tribe, or rather, they were quite intimate with each other. Not long ago, Peter sent some ascenders over to teach minotaurs how to grow food. Although crops in the tower grew much faster than usual, Lavos was too impatient. By using earth and life spirits, he was able to shorten the growth time drastically.

As Jason entered the tribe, all he could see were vegetables and fruits wherever he looked. One minotaur gorged on a boulder-sized watermelon, while another ate apples by the handful. It was quite a sight. Jason went over to the fields and saw a group of ascenders following Lavos around as he pointed this way and that. As Jason approached, he could hear Lavos ask, “You say there are many types of apples? Which one is the best?”

“Fuji!”

“Granny Smith!”

An older man and woman responded simultaneously, though their answers were at odds. The two glared at each other, “Fuji is too sweet. Aren’t ya afraid of gettin’ a toothache?”

“I ain’t had a single cavity in ma’ life!” The man scoffed as he showed off his pearly white teeth, “Aren’t ya afraid of getting more wrinkles from yer tart apples?”

“What’d ya say about ma’ wrinkles, you pile o’ manure!” The woman pulled the man by the ear as she hollered.

“Ow, ow, ow!” The man collapsed to his knees and pleaded, “Ma wife, why ya always resortin’ ta violence? Ya know I’ma pacifist.”

“Ya still know to call me yer wife?” The woman smacked her husband across the back of the head with a snort.

By the side, Lavos couldn’t help but mutter, “What about the apples?”

Lavos learned a lot about the world of farming from this couple, but their constant bickering gave him a headache. That was why he excused himself as soon as he noticed Jason waiting nearby.

“Elder Lavos,” Jason greeted with a warm smile. “Are they giving you any trouble?”

“No, no, no, none at all!” Lavos wrapped his arm around Jason and dragged him away. “I almost didn’t recognize you!”

“I’ve had a change in mentality recently,” Jason gave a summary of what happened, hoping Lavos could shed some light on the matter.

Unfortunately, Lavos, too, was at a loss. “That’s strange, indeed. Although I’ve had my share of battles involving souls, I’ve never had such a thing happen. Souls are mysterious things and beyond my understanding.”

Jason’s eyes lit up upon hearing Lavos recount some battles. “Do you know if there’s any demons skilled in soul techniques?”

“A few, a few,” Lavos nodded his head and unknowingly went into teaching mode. “There are three general paths all skills take: body, energy, soul. A demon can specialize in all three, depending on what type of direction they choose to go in. Not all lifeforms have this talent, you see.” Lavos pointed at himself. “Take my tribe, for example. We’re born with strong bodies, so we focus all our efforts on the body path. Oh, I’m an exception. I specialize in the energy path.”

Jason listened patiently, having gotten used to Lavos going on random spiels. However, as Lavos went on, Jason came to a realization. Body, energy, soul. All skills and stats belonged to one of these paths. Ascender or monster, there was no exception. Ascenders were like demons; they could focus on any path. On the contrary, monsters generally specialized in one. Understanding this, Jason asked, “Which path is the strongest?”

Lavos turned and pointed at Jason’s chest. “It depends on you!”

Jason nodded and returned the topic to demons, “Soul attacks are my specialty. Do you know if there’s any generals on the soul path?”

“Not sure,” Lavos shook his head, “I’ve only met a few of them.”

“How strong are they compared to you?” Jason probed, hoping to compare his current strength.

“Hmm,” Lavos furrowed his brow. “I can beat some. It depends.”

Jason was surprised to hear that. “What about the doom hydra?”

“That thing?” Lavos snorted in annoyance. “It can’t kill me, and I can’t kill it. Although as dumb as a beast, it boasts tremendous vitality.”

Jason had another question, but this one was insensitive, so he was reluctant to ask. Lavos could tell something was up from Jason’s expression. “What is it?”

“Well,” Jason began hesitantly, “you said there are other tribes, right?”

“Twelve in total.”

Jason watched Lavos’s expression as he asked, “Why does the demon king allow your tribes to exist?”

Lavos’s body tensed up for a moment before he sighed, “This is a shameful matter. A long, long time ago, the demon king gathered the leaders of all the tribes and answered that very same question.”

“How arrogant,” Jason remarked.

“Yes, but he has the strength to back it up,” Lavos shook his head. “The demon king wants a sustainable ecosystem. My tribe, along with the others, acts as a balancing force. The general’s and tribes’ strength are similar, and there have even been cases where tribe leaders have killed generals.”

“The demon king doesn’t interfere?” Jason asked, learning that the demon king cared little about ruling the world.

“No, he hasn’t been seen for centuries,” Lavos revealed. After a pause, he looked at Jason, “Are you wondering how strong he is?”

“Yeah,” Jason admitted. The demon king was the tower’s final boss, so if Lavos knew something, he needed to know.

Lavos lowered his voice, “Actually, many lifetimes ago, there was a legendary warrior in the ash orc tribe. She was unrivaled in her time. After forming her twentieth rune, she directly slew all twelve generals and forced the demon king to appear.” Lavos smacked his lips in envy. “Twenty runes! Can you imagine that?”

“What happened next?” Jason held his breath.

Lavos grew excited, “The battle between them destroyed the land, crumbling mountains and forming ravines. Only after three days and nights did their fight end in a tie!”

“A tie?! Is she still alive?” Jason quickly asked, hoping to find a powerful ally.

“No, she was mortally wounded and died soon after,” Lavos sighed with regret. They were so close to freedom back then.

“Ah,” Jason knew the tower wouldn’t make things easy, but that didn’t stop him from hoping.

“On her deathbed, she revealed a terrifying secret,” Lavos’s voice was barely a whisper now. “The demon king can copy his opponent’s runes.”

“What?!” Jason nearly shouted. If that was true, didn’t that make runes useless? Wasn’t the point of this floor to build up a vast arsenal of miraculous abilities through runes? Now it appeared once you were confident enough to face the demon king, the runes you believed in would be the shackles leading to your death. It turned out runes were a trapa deadly trap set by the tower.

“It’s true,” Lavos folded his arms, “I was going to tell your tribe once you could protect yourselves.”

Jason still had some doubts. “What if my runes boost my strengths? Like, enhance a skill I have unrelated to runes?”

“Mm,” Lavos smiled approvingly at Jason, “This is why I changed my focus to spirits. They are another strength, one the demon king cannot copy.”

“There must be some limits,” Jason continued, “If a thousand of us were fighting him, he couldn’t copy all our runes, right?”

“I don’t know,” Lavos shrugged helplessly.

“Ahh,” Jason rubbed his forehead, feeling things just got more complicated. How many of Jason’s current runes would the demon king find useful? Oh, no. Unity and One Against Many would buff the demon king significantly. If the demon king wore equipment like ascenders, he’d probably become unbeatable. Worse, Lavos already told them before there was no method to remove runes. Damn it, when was Lavos planning on telling them this?

Jason tried to stay calm as he pulled out a map, “Can you tell me where the abyss is?”

“What’s this?” Lavos ignored Jason’s question as he inspected the paper.

“A map,” Jason explained as he informed Lavos of its functions.

After a minute, Lavos exclaimed in understanding, “Amazing. With a map, you’d never get lost. The abyss? It’s right here.”

“Got it,” Jason stored the map after determining the location of the abyss. It just so happened to be located at the center of the floor.

“I think you’ll be fine on the upper levels, but be careful not to venture too deep. Even I can’t reach the bottom,” Lavos explained the appeal of going to the abyss. Apparently, after staying inside for a certain amount of time, your runes would automatically level up. The deeper you went, the faster the process.

“Thanks for all the help,” Jason felt both gratitude and frustration as he said goodbye to Lavos. Before heading to the abyss, Jason needed to inform Peter what he learned today.

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