Dragon BAll- Hermit Shen[A Human Story]

Meanwhile, Earth...

The final phase in the construction of the new Crane School has already been initiated... A completely attention-grabbing structure that will stand at the center of the island, symbolizing the school's power and its new identity.

The design proposed by the engineers of Crane Enterprise and approved by Giran is a grand pagoda of 16 stories, 200 meters in height.

If Shen were present here, seeing the design, he would have probably commented something to the notion of:

The pagoda—not overly gloating in its own glory but also demanding reverence. Perfect for a humble man such as himself, who always seeks to balance vanity with purpose. —Maybe it would have sounded profound to him.

Other than the basic framework of the pagoda, many of its parts, like the exquisite woodwork and stone columns, had to be made elsewhere and transported to the construction site.

Being a skill-intensive work, it will take longer to wrap up the final stages than all the previous phases of construction. Great things require time, despite the unlimited wealth at disposal.

In the meantime, as the pagoda's exterior had noticeably begun to take form on the newly reclaimed island, infrastructures were also in the process of being set up to connect the site with the underwater hideout.

Abandoning the hideout would be a significant loss, as its secretive position, hidden deep in the ocean, proves advantageous for use as a base for any work requiring isolation from observant eyes. Dr. Flappe has even suggested turning the entire place into an advanced scientific research facility.

However, before anything concrete regarding its future usage could even be discussed, the fact of the matter is that linking the two places is easier said than done.

With more than a kilometer of nothing but salt water in between acting as an obstacle, much work needs to be done to create a hypersonic channel that quickly transports people and cargo back and forth between the two locations.

Work is in progress despite the challenging scope of the project.

Furthermore, while they were at it, Giran also decided to add some new levels to the Dragon Tower. The existing levels were insufficient, seeing the number of people trying to climb the world-renowned martial arts center.

With the pace at which strong individuals like King Chappa are climbing the tower, it is only a matter of time before they run out of levels.

So he requested additional help from Kami-sama and Mr. Popo. The large, empty spaces in the upper layers of the tower, long awaiting use, will now serve their intended purpose.

The tower is structured in such a way that it is divided into numerous layers. Every single layer contains multiple floors, with all the floors occupying the same layer featuring similar trials of equal difficulty but slightly altered from one another.

An individual, or a maximum of two together, is allowed to climb the tower. Multiple people can be present on the same layer simultaneously, each engaged in their separate trials on different floors.

Anyone wishing to climb the tower must pass a single trial in each layer to reach the top. To move from one layer to the next, they need to fulfill the objective presented to them via holographic texts and voice announcement, which appears as soon as they enter a new layer.

During the trials, in case of actual physical enemies obstructing their path, they can either choose to fight head-on or skillfully avoid the enemy altogether. If one has the appropriate abilities, some intelligent beasts or monsters encountered in many of the layers can even be tamed.

Someone who has already passed a particular layer doesn't need to redo the trial if they drop out afterward for any reason. They can resume from the layer they had left, provided they return within a year. With each passing year, however, they lose access to one upper layer, annually.

Anyone, including the living enemies who die during the trial, is instantly revived inside the tower. However, in the case of climbers, they are demoted to the bottom-most floor, forced to restart their journey.

In most cases, such situations rarely occur, as before a challenger is about be killed, a automatic teleportation system would bring them down to the starting, ground floor.

. . . . . .

The new trials are:

Gravity Chamber:

-As the name suggests, it applies increasingly stronger gravity with every step, across a 100-meter-long path.

Lightning Mountain Trial:

-A lone individual must endure an intense assault of lightning strikes while summiting a tall, rocky mountain to reach the crown which is placed in the middle of a eroded flat plateau located at the top. The lightning becomes more frequent and violent toward the end.

Realm of Tragedy:

-A place that forces individuals to relive horrific memories and experiences of their past.

Ki Showcase Test:

-Requires the demonstration of techniques like flight and energy blasts.

Wind and Sandstorm Trial:

-Features strong, unrelenting winds and sandy tornadoes.

Thin Atmosphere Trial:

-Takes place in an area with a very low oxygen level.

Other challenges include:

A swampy forest.

A maze with moving walls.

A trap house filled with contraptions that could trigger from the smallest mishap. Running along a thin, elevated path in a narrow corridor surrounded by hard stone, with sharp spikes on both sides, all while enduring a barrage of laser-beam-like attacks from the front.

. . . . . .

To reach the very top layers of the tower, a power level surpassing 1,000 is required. Below that, it is nearly impossible. A few layers at the very top remain empty, and their use is still undecided.

For the foreseeable future, the newly added challenges will effectively slow down the pace at which climbers advance in the tower. These changes will force even prominent strong individuals to endure unimaginable hardships to reach the topmost layers.

.

.

.

Presently, The boy Tien Shinhan is sitting on a large rock, overlooking the ocean.

Rapid waves approach and recede, playing a symphony of tunes. A uniformity in randomness.. 

However, Contrary to this peaceful atmosphere:

"Auuuggghhh!!! I'm such an idiot! How could I fall for that obvious lie?" Frustrated, Tien grips his head with his tiny hands, pulling on his messy locks of hair.

He recalls recent events...

The bet he had with his fellow disciple, Blue, who is much older than him.

Having been assigned the same kinds of tasks, Blue proposed a deal: whoever completed the most work would get a single request granted by the other.

Initially, things seemed normal. Like any two people competing, they tried to outdo each other at every turn. But things started to get weird after just a few days.

Blue began slacking off more and more. Yet Tien, being a rather innocent child, was oblivious to what was happening around him. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to his young mind.

Lost in the moment, he was even somewhat excited at the idea that he had an edge over his older brother.

Only after everything was built and their part in the work was over did he realize the bet was nothing but a farce—a ploy for his older brother to avoid work.

In every sense, he had been duped... played like the child he was. Still, at least he won the bet, right? Surely his older brother was now obliged to fulfill a single wish of his?

Wrong!

Blue shamelessly said to his face—"Well, technically, it wasn't determined when I have to fulfill the wish, so there's no hurry. Also, I know what you want: you want to learn ki usage, right? Well, you're not ready for it yet.

"You know, Even I had to wait a full year for Master Shen to deem me eligible, and moreover, back then I was older than you are now. Besides, you can already use psychic powers somewhat. That's good enough for your age! So, why the rush?"

To Tien, Blue obviously didn't sound convincing in the slightest—words reeking of a deceptive attempt to evade responsibility. it was manipulation in its purest form. The boy of near 5 and half years had his perspective on people altered by this blatant scam.

"Seniors are so cunning. Juniors like me are no match for them. A simple trick worked on me... tch! I wonder when I'll get to have my own juniors. wish that day would come sooner..."

Tien smiled wistfully, thinking about the prospect of someday having juniors who'll look up to him—for a change.