Let's climb the tower... again

This past week, I have been doing the same thing repeatedly: meditating and browsing the internet.

I meditate to better understand my body and to cleanse it. If I want to climb beyond floor 20, I need my body to be at its best.

I must focus on this now, as my soul is still not fully aligned with my body.

If I were to do this in the tower, my progress would be greater, but the time needed would be significantly longer.

Honestly, the more I understand this body of mine, the more surprised I am by it.

This body, Lean's, is somewhat unique; he can balance multiple energies without any drawbacks for extended periods.

While this doesn't surprise me—since my "talent" in my first life was a thousand times better—it's remarkable to think I would end up with a body like this in this life.

If I can hone this body as I intend, I might be able to harness all three basic energies before even reaching floor 80.

Mana in my heart, Ki in my dantian, and Aura in my head.

If I can achieve this, I will undoubtedly surpass the limits I faced while climbing the 100 floors in my first life.

That is, if I can achieve it. Which is why I spend at least half of the time I'm awake meditating.

Now for browsing the internet.

"Information."

I need to learn as much as I can about how humanity continues to thrive after my death. So far, I have learned about religion, politics, healthcare, and the economy.

The existence of an academy now suggests that the tower is recognized as a normal part of life. Once I complete my preparations, I plan to drop out and explore the globe.

After the heroes killed me, some gods from the tower descended and introduced themselves to the remaining people and offered their assistance.

They provided strength and taught young adults how to harness and control mana, enabling them to access the tower more quickly and easily.

Those who learned from these gods already possessed valuable skills and knowledge, even before they were introduced to the tower's system.

"T^T"

This feels incredibly unfair to me. I remember struggling to navigate my situation and survive on the next floor without any information about the monsters I would face or tips on how to complete the quests.

Each floor was pure hell for me as the first climber of the tower. I still vividly remember the boss I fought on the 10th floor.

That long-eared bastard broke both my legs and arms, then buried me underground and forced me to eat his waste.

If I hadn't learned the mana arrow skills back then, I would never have killed him and would probably have spent days enduring that horrific experience.

Well, at least these gods, are not the ones I fought before. They are new gods whom I have met once and know.

Though they may not be the strongest, they certainly have the greatest potential among the others.

In total, seven gods are now connected with the remaining populace and have helped establish a religion on Earth that strengthens their power and the blessings they bestow.

The individuals currently in positions to rule the country are now the climbers; the stronger they are, the better.

Although there is no active war, each nation is wary of the others, fearing that conflict could arise, potentially overpowering and subjugating the weaker countries.

Consequently, every country selects its president based on who can reach the highest floor. They don't just base it on how many floors you have cleared but also your stats, titles, equipment, and most of all, your reputation from the tower natives.

As for the economy, the people of Earth have adapted to the tower's economic system as well. Within three years after my death, currencies like the dollar, yen, yuan, and every other currency became worthless.

Now, people use a currency called tower coins, which is different from the actual currency used in the tower, namely the gold coin.

People now ascend the tower to collect as much gold as possible, hoping to return to Earth and start a business to thrive with their earnings.

Each gold coin in the tower is worth 1000 tower coins on Earth. I know I should learn this, but after I visit those countries, I don't plan to come back to earth anymore.

The people are now safe from the dungeons forming around the globe, the safe areas are working well, and people don't live in constant fear of monsters.

So climbing the tower is a set point in this life again.

"....."

Kinda suck I can't access my soul space, since I was the strongest back then, the amount of gold I hold was tremendous. I probably have more gold, even if the entire world joined together to compared with mine.

The first 500 floors of the tower are nothing but a replica of the actual world they are based on. So each floor would gain diversity and liveliness the more players there are on that floor.

Since the gap between me and the rest was so big, each floor I got to was a dull and lifeless place where I couldn't even look at the people living there as actual people.

They act with a single purpose, doing the same thing every single day without changing it. If I ask them something, they answer like a machine, and if I do something to them, they see it as nothing, like it's normal.

So in the end, the gold I got from clearing the floors and from monster drops was placed into a single area rotting with no purpose.

If I wanted something back then, I would make it; if I needed something, I already have it.

The amount of gold I had was so much that I went and used it to clear the floor 402-412, only using it. I melted them into bars and made the sky rain in gold, killing the monster on the floor.

Made them into weapons and a mannequin, controlled hundreds of them, and waged war against the boss monster. I even went back to the floor 320, and made an entire country made of only gold.

But in the very end, they became worthless to me and were essentially forgotten.

---

Cough... Cough...

Sorry, looks like I forgot the main idea of this talk. Back to the topic.

Health care... Let's not waste any time on this subject. Just like how the economy changed thanks to the tower, people now enter the tower to heal all their health-related problems.

Just by entering, the tower would heal all forms of disability and disease you are carrying, putting you in your best condition.

The minor problem with this is your age. One needs to be at least 18 years old to enter the tower.

But for those who have already reached floor 150+, they can bring back items called: advisory ticket, guardians stamp, and tower recommendations.

That allows those who gain this enter the tower even without being an 18-year-old.

***

Looking outside the window, the sky was dark with tiny lights hanging in it, and seeing my monitor, I noticed it was already eight o'clock at night.

I spend another day without fighting, seeing blood, killing, or running for my life... It feels great.

Then I guess I should eat now. This past week, I have been eating the instant noodles I found in the cabinet and the eggs Lean brought.

Oh! If you're wondering what happened to Lean, he died, not like die as in killed by someone or by something, but died naturally.

Lean lifespans were not long; at best, he would live two more weeks if I hadn't overtaken his body.

His death would happen outside the city, where a dungeon would collapse and start a dungeon wave, with him being eaten to death in that moment.

So me taking over his body is technically saving him from this fate, besides his soul is pure, so pure that he is probably already in the line for the cycle of reincarnation and about to reincarnate in half a year.

...

Putting down the steaming bowl of noodles I made at the table, I smiled. Seeing it steam like this reminded me of the time my mom and I ate when it was the rainy season.

Well, for tonight's dish, there are two pockets of noodles, chicken, with an egg on it. A kilo of rice, leftover from this morning, and two boiled eggs on the side.

I gently poured some soup over my rice and ate it, slurping down the noodles in the bowl and biting into the boiled eggs.

It wasn't the best food there is but having something like this felt amazing.

"Lean, I don't know if you can hear me, but thank you for your body, I'll make sure to use it for good, like how you'll live with it. And I hope you enjoy your next life, not as an orphan but in a happy family surrounded by friends and family."

Standing up, I made my way to the balcony. The apartment I'm in is on the fifth floor, which makes it great for sightseeing the starry night.

Turning my head to the right, I found a child staring at the sky as well. She looked around the age of 4-6 and seemed to be Chinese too.

The child turned around to face me and waved her tiny hands at me. I waved back.

Moving closer to her, I bent down and asked: "Wanna see magic?"

The little girl nodded. I quickly cooped my hand together, then slowly opened it.

"Whoa!!!! Your hands have stars on them!" The little girl screamed.

I only smiled at her and let her enjoy the magic.

As the night went on, my body made its way to the bed, ready to end today and greet the next day.