Chapter 259: 51st Floor

“Meeehhhhh!”

The bleating sound tore through the expanse again as the purple goat looked up at Jacob and immediately began trotting away from him. It was clear that in the process of breaking down her DNA particles, it had also affected her intellectual capacity.

Most would think that even as a goat, Leena would still be able to communicate as humans should, but brain capacity was a large part of a human’s genetic makeup, and as such, if her DNA was broken down, so would her brain capacity.

“Hahahaa! Jacob, you are hilarious!” Elyssara broke into an almost maniacal laughter as her eyes shone with amusement. The scene that had just unfolded before her eyes was beyond the scope of her expectations.

Romstad also sat, somewhat bewildered, as he did not know Jacob could achieve something of that manner.

…

The battle was over. Surely, Jacob could not keep on fighting with a goat.

“Meeeehhh! Meehhhh!”

The goat cried out as a pair of Meereens found their way onto the arena and picked it up. She would immediately be transported back to her world. As for whether the effects of the decay would still hold once she was sent back… it remained to be seen.

The 51st floor awaited Jacob as he immediately turned without so much as an expression on his face. He had learned to feel no remorse for people on this tower because, as much as they had their reasons to win, he also did. And if they were unfortunate enough to go through him, then his victory was already assured.

Uga appeared at Jacob’s side as though it were the most natural thing to do.

“Congrats on another win, Jacob. You are finally past the halfway mark in the tower.”

Uga’s voice was calm, like flowing water on a riverbed, and as usual, it sounded like a thousand voices all rolled up into one with the way it now echoed across the vast expanse of land they currently stood in.

“I have a question, Uga, and I think it’s something you should have told me beforehand.” Jacob’s tone was mellow. He looked down at the ground as he kept walking to an unknown destination, clearly not ready to open up the portal to the next floor yet.

“Ask away, Jacob.”

“Why did the terrain change? I mean… on previous floors, I fought in an arena fit for judo or sumo wrestling. And now I’m in an endless space covered in red dust and earth. Why the change? And what am I to expect going forward?” Jacob said carefully, making sure Uga understood what his question was.

He did not particularly like the fact that the Meereen had kept the information from him. But he understood that if he wanted to learn about the tower, then he was going to have to ask questions.

“That’s a good question, Jacob. The first half of the tower is something of… a trial. One that prepares you for the second half, which is the real test. From now on, you will fight in different terrains to see just how powerful and adaptable you really are. The terrains will differ, so will the atmosphere and the fighting conditions. For some floors, you may even wait days before discovering who your opponent is,” Uga concluded, and Jacob understood perfectly.

The young man knew that the last part would not be an issue, as his Luck Manipulation would make it so that he faced his opponent on time, and the ones who would take less time to beat.

Jacob—being an adventurer at heart—would naturally want to extend his fights just to enjoy them a little bit. In his opinion, it would be boring if he just went ahead and defeated everyone in one move, essentially one-shotting them.

“That’s understandable,” Jacob responded flatly as he immediately opened the portal to the 51st floor.

The entire crowd watched as Jacob switched floors, all very eager to see what he would accomplish going forward. This time, it was not just Romstad and Elyssara. A couple of other gods had finally piqued a reasonable interest in the young man, even the regular spectators, a bunch of women—and men.

They all wanted to see how powerful this extremely powerful young man was and if he could go on and eventually win the whole thing.

Murmurs could be heard across the entire crowd, although imperceptible to Jacob and Uga, who now stood on the 51st floor of the tower. As expected, Uga bowed out without so much as a word to Jacob, like it had always done.

They all argued over whether Jacob was the strongest fighter they had seen so far. Some even went as far as saying that Jacob was the strongest fighter they had ever seen, period.

Jacob’s eyes spun around, taking in the entirely new and different sights that spread out before him. He was on the 51st floor, and it looked nothing like the 50th.

Instead of the red land that spread out infinitely, the land here was green. Instead of the wide space and thick air that blew all around, this terrain was covered in trees and leaves.

If Jacob did not know any better, he’d think he was in the Amazonian rainforest, with how big and wet these leaves were.

Now he understood why Uga said what it said. Maybe he would have to move around to find his opponent.

He used his water affinity to move these wet leaves out of the way, creating space for him to walk through.

Jacob would rather fight nonstop for the next four days than get wet in this forest.

“Ugh, it had to be the forest,” he muttered to himself as he finally reached a clearing.

The entire place reminded him of the Forest of the Ten Thousand Beasts, and with what he was currently sensing, there must be more similarities than just what the place looked like.

He took a deep breath and spun around. Sounds were coming from all over. He could already feel the danger coming as every hair on his back stood at attention, adrenaline coursing through his veins.

Not from fear, but from excitement.

He could hear large footsteps and low growls, all suggesting that there were threats nearby.

Jacob smiled as he held his hands by his side. A flashback popped into his head.

Jacob’s flashback

“Uga, I have a question,” the young man said, extremely self-conscious and immediately realizing that he had asked a lot of questions. Although Uga did not seem to mind much, as it had already reiterated many a time that that was its purpose.

“Go ahead, Jacob. I have said before that you only just need to ask,” Uga reiterated once again.

“The tower says specifically that we are not allowed to use weapons. Not unless we are being sponsored by a constellation. Is that right?”

Jacob paused and watched as Uga nodded slowly.

“So let’s say… hypothetically… that one of the warriors has a pet who is also very skilled in combat. Would that pet be technically considered a weapon?” Jacob inquired with a serious expression.

“The tower refers to inanimate objects that can inflict bodily harm when speaking about weapons. Swords, guns, clubs, magic staffs, and wands. All of the above are restricted without sponsorship. The tower says nothing of pets,” Uga calmly replied, its soulless eyes staring back at Jacob.

Whenever Jacob looked into Uga’s eyes, he immediately felt as though the alien could see into his soul.

This flashback replaying in his head meant Jacob could use Raijin at any point during the competition.

But for now, even though he could sense the footsteps and hear the incoming, ferocious snarls, he did not really have a need to pull his dragon out of Kalgin.

Jacob wanted very badly to draw his sword, and he thought briefly about having a sponsor, but he soon realized what it would mean for him. If he were ever going to have someone sponsor him, it would neither be Elyssara nor Romstad.

He knew he was going to have to go on without Excalibur, but that was fine since he knew exactly what to do in this situation.

Jacob waited. It was clear that his opponent was here somewhere.

In fact, Jacob knew exactly where his opponent was—the exact location and coordinates.

But first, he would create a display, one that would show his opponent that he was not here to joke around.

Jacob had met a plethora of beast tamers, but the person he was about to face was different. This person did not just control beasts from the shadows or possess them. This person could literally take the soul of a beast hostage and force it to do whatever he wanted, according to his will.

But much as this opponent was powerful, Jacob knew that it was of no use, as he was also way past a Sovereign Beast Tamer.

It was not long before Jacob could smell them, all around him. He stilled himself and waited for the slightest movement.

…

Then they attacked…