The test of the tower pt1 (Patreon)

##### Author's Note ####

Hey everyone! I'm sorry for taking one extra week to publish this one. I wanted to finish it up by last friday, but stuff got in the way. A small heads up, this one is big. This chapter is about twice the size of regular chapters and it will probably be like that for all the chapters in this side story. My intention is to make 'The test of the Tower' in 3 to 5 parts, but it depends a bit on how the story develops. Anyway, I hope you guys like it! 

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Becca knocked on the door, "Hey, it's me. Can I come in?"

"Sure, it's open," two voices replied at the same time.

Becca walked inside and saw the two people who she would be accompanying in their attempt to beat the tower. Audrey Gillian was a short, petite woman with short black hair framing her face and big brown eyes filled with wonder, which was a nice change of pace. The woman already worked as an idol for almost 15 years, but she wasn't jaded by the industry even after all this time. She was on the right side of the room in front of the wardrobe, picking her outfit for the day. Since they would fight, she had to pick something that would provide protection and mobility and not just something to put on a show. Not many people know her true name, but almost everyone would recognize her as Dark Star.

On the other side of the room, there was a tall woman with long silky golden hair and narrow blue eyes who was in the process of applying makeup. As her long and slender fingers moved around, Becca noticed how despite her intimidating presence, she was being very meticulous and even showing signs of being somewhat nervous, cleaning up some parts and redoing her eyeshadow that already seemed perfect. Her hair went all the way to her hip and ended with a blunt cut. The same could be said for her bangs, but they ended right on her thin eyebrows. With a satisfied nod, the woman stopped putting on her light yellow eye shadow and started putting on a white lipstick on her thin lips. Just as it was with Audrey, almost no one knew the true name of the singer called Bright Night. However, now, before her 'transformation' was complete, she would answer by Julia Kalaw.

"Hey girls, how are you feeling?" Becca asked.

"Nervous. I heard what some people are saying about the tower. It seems like the test is not something easy, and it changes every time," Audrey sighed.

"Same. I hope we can do it," Julia added.

"You guys can still walk away. No one will blame you. The people who know what we are doing won't say anything about that. That's the whole point why we are recording first before doing any kind of advertisement," Becca explained.

"Thanks, but we need to get that role. It's too good for us. Like, did you see the video of that violinist healing an entire village with a song?" Audrey seemed so excited that she was almost jumping while speaking.

"Exactly. Despite the danger, the role matches too well for us not to change," Julia said.

"Yeah. Imagine being able to do shows in deeper layers without worrying about the support staff. Or just feeling like singing and making a stage anywhere. Man, those skills seem really good," Audrey added.

"Can't you do that already?" Becca asked.

"Sort of. If we do that, it takes way too much mana. We can make shows that last just five minutes or so. Julia, are you done with your makeup? I need help getting into this."

"Yeah," Julia got up and walked towards Audrey, she was about 30 centimeters taller than her partner, and she wasn't even wearing heels like she used to during shows. Julia turned to Becca, "Don't worry. We know what we are doing."

"OK, then. I'll leave you to it," Becca left the room so the two could get changed.

The reporter went to the rest of the support team. Even if only the three of them would be challenging the tower, there were a lot of people who would be on standby. Among them, there was someone who was studying the test, and that was the person she needed to talk to right now. Ever since she started organizing this event, Becca had this specialist on speed dial. Luckily, she also had a pretty good idea of where they were. Leaving the building, she walked to a cafe on the other side of the street. A person with long light blue dreadlocks, dark skin, purple and green eyeshadow, and green lipstick was calmly having breakfast at one of the tables. They were wearing a burgundy sundress with open shoulders. As soon as they saw Becca approaching, they let out a long sigh.

"Hey Taylor, mind if I pick your brain?" Becca said with a smile.

"Honestly, Becca. You probably know me better than my psychiatrist. What else is there to pick?" Taylor glanced at Becca with their chestnut eyes.

"I mean, you are the biggest authority when it comes to the tower. I'm sure there is something I'm still missing. Besides, today is the day. I promise I'll leave you alone after this."

"Now you are just trying to hurt my feelings. I thought we were friends," Taylor pouted with a mischievous expression before taking another sip of coffee.

"We are. That's why I didn't mention to anyone that you came out of his room in the middle of the night."

Taylor choked on the drink and spat it out on the side, "Fuck me. You saw that?"

"Yep. I was trying to see if I could give one of my cameras some more complex instructions and how far away they could be, and I caught someone sneaking around. For an assassin, you are surprisingly clumsy. I mean, c'mon. Tripping over a wet floor sign? That's something from a teen comedy movie," Becca smiled.

"Look. I was still drunk. Very drunk."

"Too drunk to remember?"

"Oh no. I will remember last night for a long time. It's not every day I can have some fun like that," Taylor became more serious for a moment, "Can I ask you not to tell anyone about what you saw? You know how those idols are, and by that, I mean how their fan base is."

"I'm not interested in gossip, don't worry. Besides, if I wanted to make you get caught, I wouldn't have stopped Night from coming out of her room when you were in the hallway. Just… don't let the girls find out about you two. He's their junior, and they take that very seriously. You don't want to end up on their bad side."

"Trust me, I have no intentions of being on anyone's bad side. Well… only if I was being naughty," Taylor gave Becca a playful smile.

Becca just rolled her eyes and took one of the cookies that were on the table, "This is why I have to talk to you. I never know when you are being serious or not, which brings me to my point. Am I missing something?"

"Well, you could work a bit more in your love life. I worry about you. When was the last time you went out on a date?" Taylor called the server over and asked for another tray of cookies since the ones they had bought were under attack.

"I'm not talking about that, and I had a date last month, thank you very much. The guy was just so self-absorbed that it made me sick. Seriously, by the end of the day, he was still calling me Beth. I know that it's hypocritical of me, but I expected that he would at least know my name."

"Really? I thought almost everyone in the MAZE would've heard about you at some point," Taylor tilted their head.

"He's one of those 'I don't waste time with useless things like television and social media.'"

Taylor let out a loud groan, "Oh, one of those. OK, I won't blame you. But what are you talking about then? What do you mean missing something?"

"I mean about the tower. We talked about the different tests, the monsters that could be in there, the rewards, the environment, and all that. But am I missing anything else?" Becca explained and took the chance to order some coffee when the server arrived.

"Ah… well, there are some weird effects that can happen, but so far, no two tests had the same effects."

"Walk me through them. Maybe that can help, so we at least know what to not expect."

"I mean… that's a big stretch. We have very little information about the tower, and we don't know what is possible there," Taylor scratched the back of their head.

"I know, but I don't want to end up getting hurt or hurt one of them. I mean, if something happens with either one, I'm doomed. If you think fans would complain about an idol hooking up, imagine what they would do with someone responsible for hurting said idol."

Taylor nodded, understanding the situation, and then they started explaining the weird effects, which varied wildly. For instance, a test happened underwater, but people could breathe without any issues. Another was in the middle of the ocean, but they couldn't breathe underwater. There was one where a massive hurricane formed that had no relation to the objective aside from being something to annoy them, and a test happened inside a tornado, and the people had to jump from platform to platform. Volcanoes could appear, and it was a coin toss if they would hurt or help the challengers. According to the reports, there was about a 40% chance of some weird situation interfering with the test that simply had no reason to be there.

About half an hour went by before Becca went back to the dressing rooms. Inside them, she talked with the singers and explained what they should expect in the tower again. The guild would be supplying anything they might need to help with the test, and Becca wanted to be sure they weren't missing anything. She would even get some better equipment herself to improve her chances of not getting in the way of the challenge.

"I think we have everything we need. Or at least I do. How about you, Night?" Audrey turned to her partner.

"I'm good too. But are we going straight there?" Julia asked.

"Not yet. I'm just making sure that we have everything. Now we have to record the opening of the show. It's going to be just a quick recap of our plans, and we will have the two of you leaving the hotel all ready to fight, then a small scene in front of the tower. Are you guys ready for it?" Becca asked.

They nodded and started recording. They shot a few takes of their entrance and arrival at the tower. After all, this wasn't a live show, and the singers were familiar with these types of productions. When everyone felt good about the recordings, the three women walked inside the tower and entered the challenge as a group.

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The TV screen was black, not because it was turned off, but because the show was about to start. With a soft tune that filled the views with hope and a sense of discovery, the white tower of the 26th layer faded in. The camera moved around the tower almost as if it was on top of a bird, showing an incredibly blue sky behind it. The image seemed to dive towards the ground, then circled back up, trying to reach the top of the structure. It panned to the side, showing a few buildings and three women in front. As the camera got close, everything went dark again, but this time it was showing what looked like the night sky. The words 'The tower's challenge' appeared on the screen and an upbeat song started playing, a song written and performed by the duo who were the stars of the show, Bright Nigh and Dark Star.

The image changed again and now showed Becca Swan in front of a small building, "It's not rare for people to find something unique inside the MAZE. Items, monsters, rooms, legacies, spells, skills, you name it. We have new discoveries every single day. Yet, most findings only affect those around it. Uncovering something that has wide ramifications for all the MAZE is something that can take lifetimes to happen, and that is exactly what we are here to show you today."

Becca gestured to the camera, and the image rotated, showing what was behind her. Aside from a small crew with microphones and light reflectors, there was a massive white tower. It was plain with no significant decorations or identifications aside from the fact that it seemed endless. There wasn't a single picture of the top of the tower. It was just a massive pillar rising up to infinity.

"The tower. We say it in the singular, but every single room in the 26th layer has one of those towers. They are completely identical, from the size, shape, and color, to the number of tiles inside the central chamber. Today, we will show you what happens when someone tries to challenge the tower, but first, let me tell you why some people are willing to defy reason and go head first in the face of danger. You see, when you enter the test of the tower, which is essentially a dungeon, you don't know what rewards you might get. Only after completing it, you will know if all your efforts were worth it," the camera turned back to Becca, "The rewards can vary depending on how well you do inside the test. But even those who are barely able to complete any of the challenges can gain the option to change their roles. You will lose all the progress and all the role skills you have, but you can start fresh with a new role and all the experience and knowledge you already have. Let me be clear, this reward is the equivalent of a participation trophy. You can change your role just by being around a group that beats the challenge. Of course, this also means that the better you do, the better the rewards will be. So far, people have received unique skills, spells, growth-type equipment, and even the ability to summon an exclusive pet. A creature that, as far as we know, is the only one of its kind. Now, now, don't be afraid. That particular reward is more akin to a mana construct with an ego. They are still bound by an item and can be dismissed at will."

Becca got closer to the camera and whispered, "Can I tell you all a secret? Those are not even the best rewards possible. The highest grade that anyone received when completing the test was a B, and the people who did that were the best of the best. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that an A grade might give you something even better, and, if this challenge goes as far as S rank, it is safe to say that whoever managed to get it would go down in history."

Becca paused after that sentence, letting the idea soak in everyone's minds before continuing, "Well, but I think I already rambled enough. It's about time that we proceed with the main event, and to start, let me introduce you to the stars of today's show. And when I say stars, I mean that quite literally. Here they are, Bright Night and Dark Star!" Becca gestured to the side and allowed her camera to pan towards the two singers exiting the small building.

Dark Star was wearing a pair of dark purple thigh highs that glittered like the night sky. The apparent socks were, in fact, a pair of boots that had what looked like feathers right on the ends close to Dark Star's hips. Beneath that, she had a pair of white and orange leather pants that made it look like the event horizon of a black hole. Her chest piece was a completely black-fitted body. However, right in the center, there was a swirling purple circle between her breasts that seemed to emanate shadows. If someone started paying attention to that detail, they would notice how the rest of her chest piece was also covered in tiny bright spots, but this sphere of darkness kept them hidden. Coming from her shoulders, an almost translucent cape was split in the middle, forming what looked like a pair of wings covered in a galaxy of stars. Being a singer, she wouldn't be wearing any heavy helmet. Instead, she had a black and lilac circlet with a single black gem in the middle with three leaves framing it, one pointing upwards and the other two leaning outward. Her hair looked like something similar to the sphere in her chest. A pitch-black void that made the shadows spread out.

By her side, Bright Night was walking in her black catsuit. Almost like they were chains on her legs, small diamond-shaped pieces of pure white metal were connected on the sides. That odd adornment was also present on her arms and shoulders, forming something that seemed to be binding her movements, but the singer moved with such grace that made anyone feel stupid for thinking that these were any sort of restraints. She had a pair of white gloves on her hands that seemed to come out of the catsuit as if the light was breaking through the darkness. The metal pieces that touched her hands changed from white to pure obsidian, becoming even thicker than the rest of the decorations. In the middle of her chest, there was a pattern that looked like a painting of a wave breaking. However, the wave was golden, and instead of droplets of water, one could see small stars trying to shine. Her face was being framed by her hair, which was now completely white and went all the way to the back of her knees. Each strand seemed to glow with sunlight. At first, it looked like she wasn't wearing any type of helmet, but when she approached, you could see a thin, almost transparent veil covering the top of her face going all the way to the ground. With each step, the cloth would move and occasionally expose one of the strands of hair that would become a blinding light.

As the duo walked forward, everyone was silent. Seeing them in their full combat get up was incredible, to say the least. Even Becca took a moment to recover her train of thought. The two singers were already amazing when they were doing presentations, but this was on a whole other level. She cleared her throat before talking to the camera again, "Well, it's time to head to the tower. While we walk, let's see what our intrepid duo has to say about this.

She proceeded to do a small interview with both singers, asking why they wanted to challenge the tower and what they were expecting.

"If we are being honest, we are here mostly because of the role. We are performers, and the performer role seems like something that would fit us too well for us not to make that change," Bright Night explained.

"Exactly. We may be mages now, but some of the skills that a performer gets would help us too much. The portable stage for one," Dark Start added.

"For those who are not aware, performers get a skill that allows them to make a stage in any place, as long as they have enough mana for it."

"Correct, and the ability to increase the effects of our spells is also something we want. For now, our music can make you happy or sad, but with the right role, and the right spells, we might be able to truly heal someone with a song," Bright Night gave a sweet smile that showed the contrast between her appearance and her personality.

"I feel like there is a story behind that idea. Is it something you are willing to share?" Becca asked.

"That is a story for a different time," Bright Night's smile turned sadder.

Seeing that, Becca changed gears and started talking about the preparation for the test and what they were expecting when they got inside. This segment lasted for about 10 minutes, and it was mostly like a talk show. With every story or explanation given, a picture appeared on the side of the screen related to what was being discussed. There were even a couple of moments where clips of old shows or appearances of the duo were played with their answers as a voice-over. Entertaining, yes, but not what most people were watching for.

When they reached the tower entrance, all the crew and the people who were helping with the shot stepped back. Becca turned to the camera and explained, "This is where we will be splitting off. You see, just like dungeons, the tower recognizes the people who are going as a group, but the actual entrance is here and not the door inside. If we all went inside now, even my crew would have to join in the test, increasing the difficulty accordingly. To make this even worse, if we walked inside and a single person gave up before taking the test, the tower would lock us out for an entire month. So, we will be splitting off here. I apologize if the sound quality gets a bit worse, but to record this test, we won't have a studio microphone."

There was a quick shot of the crew before the three women walked inside the tower. As the camera showed the interior, everyone watching felt like this was surprisingly bland for something like this. It was just an entryway filled with white tiles and a set of double doors on the other side. It wasn't that tall or big, and it didn't even seem to be covering the entire tower. In fact, Bright Night herself, being the tallest of the group, stretched out her hand and touched the ceiling confirming that it wasn't an illusion.

"This is…" Dark Star started speaking.

"Anti-climatic?" Bright Night asked.

"Yeah. I mean, the walls are something incredible since they split entire rooms, and moving through doorways is amazing. This is just… Bland. It's like food seasoned just with salt," Dark Star slowly turned around, taking in the entire room, "Scratch that, this is like eating unbaked bread."

"I agree. It is weird. But that's only here at the entrance. Inside the tower, things are much, much different," Becca smiled.

The three kept walking towards the other side of the room while Becca explained to the viewers how this worked. They had to walk to the other door and touch it as if it was a doorway. Following that, a notification would appear, and when everyone currently inside the tower pressed yes, the door would open, and they would cross over, much like it was with a doorway. Then the test would start.

Arriving in front of the door, they didn't say anything. This was rehearsed like this to make this moment more intense and keep everyone on edge. When they touched the door, an image appeared on the screen, representing the notification that they were seeing.

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The Test of the Tower

The test is performed on multiple stages, each harder than the last. You will be evaluated by the number of stages you completed, how well you completed each stage and how quickly you completed each stage. After completing the first stage, you can choose to receive your rewards and leave or continue for a harder challenge and greater rewards.

During the test, you are allowed to give up at any moment. By doing so, you will relinquish any rewards you were eligible to receive, and you won't be able to re challenge the tower for 365 days.

Do you wish to challenge the Test of the Tower?

[Yes]   [No]
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The picture on the screen was split in three and showed three hands moving to press the yes button. These hands belonged to the three women who were about to enter the tower. Everything started to become brighter until there was only white on the screen before it turned black again. Some rumbling sounds and whispers started to play.

"Becca?!" a voice called. A few seconds passed before something else broke the silence.

"Night? Where are you?!" Dark Star's voice seemed worried. Following that there were the sounds of wet steps running through some place with a lot of echo.

"Get the hell away from her!" Bright Night's voice was angry, and she seemed to be struggling to speak. The sound of a laser cut through her voice and the cries of agony of a monster followed that noise.

"What the hell is that!" Becca screamed in desperation.

"Crap, Run!" Dark Star yelled, but her voice was covered by the roar of an unknown creature.

Then, everything stopped. For 5 seconds, there was nothing on the screen until the words 'The tower's challenge, Thursday at 10 P.M.' appeared, showing that this was the end of the preview.

The test of the tower pt2

The test of the tower pt3 

The test of the tower pt4

##### Author's Note ####

Small note. I want to publish the next chapter next Thursday at 10 A.M. to keep the time frame that a MAZE chapter would drop. I'm also not sure if this is going to be like an episodic in-world thing or just a full special. We will figure that one out together lol 

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