It has been a few hours since the notification appeared in front of every ascender, both inside the tower and out. The strange notification was like a rock falling into a calm lake. The ripples spread like wildfire. n.o.body knew what to expect. Was the notification a small or big problem? Only the champions of G.o.ds knew the exact severity of the situation.

On the internet, the person known as Index was both hated and loved. Hated, because he gave out secrets that the guilds kept to themselves, and loved, because the secrets were shared to the public. Besides the kingdom building manual, Index released incredibly detailed maps of floors one through thirty-nine for free. Not only that, Index released common build manuals. For example, what skills and stat distribution was best for an archer? For a mage? A healer? All of this was now public information, thanks to Index.

Index's most recent announcement shocked the world. The mystery behind the notification a few hours ago was cleared up thanks to the announcement.

"h.e.l.lo, Index here. I have recently learned what exactly 'Tier 2 trial taker' and 'Tier 3 trial taker' means. To clear things up, a trial taker is what we call ascenders. The tower grades civilizations based on its own grading system. Previously, humanity as a whole was a tier 2 trial taker, but upon all of the G.o.ds getting a champion, humanity was upgraded to a tier 3 trial taker. What this means going forward is unknown. In order to ensure humanities survival and safety, I call upon all ascenders to publicly announce any changes they find in the tower. Please proceed with caution!"

Every time Index posted on the internet, it was always on the same website; the most popular social news network in the world. This time was no different. Index's post was quickly upvoted to the top of the website, and was quickly known to every ascender. Over the next few days, as if spurred on by Index's prestige and selflessness, many ascenders commented on Index's post with information. Each comment was a bombsh.e.l.l, shocking every ascender to the core.

GreenApple commented. "Everyone, please read! One of my guildmates had an arrow pierce through his skull. Normally, he would have taken a bit of damage and would have been fine, but this time, he was instantly killed!"

RagingFlame replied to GreenApple. "I did some experiments on some low level monsters. The same thing applies to them. If I hit their head with overwhelming force, they instantly die, but if I attack them with a mediocre amount of strength, they stay alive, but fall under a dazed state. Even more shocking, if I pierce their heart, they fall into a critical state. My conclusion is that monster and ascender bodies are now more aligned with reality. Everyone, proceed with caution!"

Mysterion replied to RagingFlame. "I did a bit of experimenting in the colosseum by duelling people. Attacks done to non-critical body parts now do negligible amounts of damage. For example, before, an arrow hitting the wrist would have done fifty damage. Now, it does a pitiful five damage. One thing I found was that people with very high fort.i.tude are more resistant to critical attacks. My tank friend was pierced through the heart, but was pretty much fine."

Randodly commented. "Does anyone else feel like the number of elite monsters have risen?"

Ghosthound replied to Randodly. "I also noticed more field bosses."

Volker replied to Ghosthound. "Guys, I just found an entirely new raid boss!"

More information came in every hour, and the post quickly flooded with comments. It was so chaotic that it became impossible to read through everything. Thankfully, one ascender with O.C.D went ahead and compiled all of the information into a nice looking doc.u.ment.

Five days after the notification, things started to calm down. The top-tier guilds halted their ascension and focused on adapting to the new rules. Jason and his guild was no different.

On the thirty-ninth floor, the sun was hanging high in the clear blue sky. In the center of a prairie, Jason stood still with his eyes closed. Inside his body, mana was circulating along a certain route. The mana slowly shunk, until finally it became a stand of battle energy. At that moment, Jason's eyes opened and saw a strange sight.

In front of him, Cheslov was performing squats. Each hand was holding up a giant broadsword. The weight must have been several hundred pounds, and yet Cheslov was as steady as a statue. Cheslov stared into Jason's eyes as he worked out. Up, down, up, down. The two men stared at each other, until finally Jason had to look away from embarra.s.sment. The corner of Cheslov's lips rose triumphantly.

Jason coughed as he tried to ignore the muscle head in front of him. Instead, he focused on a battle in the distance. Roy was fighting against an earth bison, a muscular creature that could control the earth element. The fight in the past would have been easy, but not now. Any attacks Roy landed on the earth bison was but a flesh wound. The hide and muscles of the bison was armor in itself.

Jason narrowed his eyes as he fell into thought. Monsters now have more strengths, but it's balanced by having more weaknesses. This earth bison is resistant to slashes and cuts, but pierce attacks would be devastating. Jason's deep pool of combat experience and the fact that he mastered the three realms allowed him to quickly adapt to the changes in the tower.

Jason glanced at Cheslov and sighed inwardly. This musclehead. Cheslov didn't even try to adapt and change his combat style. He focused on brute strength and only brute strength. He was basically the hulk with two broadswords.

"Ah!" Roy's alarmed cry caught Jason's attention. He glanced over and found a caucasian woman with short black hair crouching on top of the earth bison's head. Her pair of daggers plunged into the bison's eyes, instantly killing it. As the monster dissipated into light, she stepped forward and landed lightly.

Roy was frustrated. "Hey, I was using that to train. Why did you kill it? Don't you know that kill stealing is rude!"

The woman walked up to Roy. "Sorry. I wanted a flashy entrance."

Roy was about to retort, but upon recognizing the woman's voice, he frowned. "Who are you?"

The woman's hand grabbed at her face. Shockingly, her face was ripped off and turned into a mask. A familiar face appeared underneath. Roy's face brightened as he ran forward and hugged the woman. "Olivia, you're back!!"

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Olivia felt a warm feeling in her chest from Roy's hug. Her cold heart once more beat with life. Only now did she realize how deeply she cared for the little rascal. If that was the case, then what about Jason? She looked over Roy's shoulder and found Jason standing there. "Yo."

Olivia smiled. "I'm back."

"I'm glad you're safe." Jason nodded and casually commented. "I like your hair."

Olivia quickly put the mask back on to hide her red cheeks. Glancing behind Jason, she found Cheslov doing lunges while holding both broadswords at his side. "Is he okay?"

Jason waved his hand dismissively with a snort. "Ignore him. He's a weirdo."

"He's a hard worker!" Roy stepped back and defended Cheslov, though he didn't deny the 'weirdo' remark.

Jason clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention. "So, everyone's gathered. I was looking forward to showing you the next set of floors, but we were delayed a bit. Since we've all adapted, I can finally show you."

Roy glared at Jason while tilting his head at Olivia. Jason frowned for a second, but quickly got the message. He looked at Olivia. "Oh, sorry. I forgot."

Olivia shrugged. "I already pa.s.sed the illusion on the fortieth floor."

"That's great!" Roy swung his arm around Olivia's shoulder and gave a thumbs up. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Roy ran ahead while Jason and Olivia followed from behind. Cheslov's eyes lit up when he saw Roy. "Ah, cardio exercise. Good thinking!"

Cheslov chased after Roy, each step shaking the ground from the weight of his broadswords hanging over his shoulders.

Olivia and Jason gave each other a smirk before sprinting after their friends.