Tower Climber (A LitRPG Adventure, Book 1) by Jakob Tanner (free children's online books TXT) 📕

idea what exactly the current test was. In fact, the instructor’s words could be just a bluff, a bit of showmanship before the start of the school year.

The crowd of students was quickly turning into an angry mob as they murmured and complained amongst themselves.

The instructor at the front shouted, “SILENCE.”

The crowd of students quieted down, but a feeling of discontent still lingered in the air.

The instructor grinned at the power he held over them all.

The students could complain all they wanted, but they still had all come here with the goal of becoming climbers. In the end, they would do as the instructor told them.

“Beyond these doors is a battle chamber,” said the instructor. “Each and every one of you will have to fight to the death. By the end of the day, this year’s class of student climbers will be cut in half.”

A fight to the death!?

None of the students around Max were yelling any more. A foreboding silence overtook them all. Had any of them honestly woken up that morning with the expectation of killing someone? Or dying themselves?

The instructor crossed his arms. “If you have qualms with this form of testing, you can stay here and formally rescind your place from the academy. You have ten minutes to make your decision.”

The man lifted his wrist watch to his eyes.

“Tick-tock,” he smiled.

Someone at the front of the crowd shouted at the instructor. “This isn’t fair! What kind of test is this!?”

Max looked up to the clock tower of the academy building. They had ten minutes to make a decision.

He wasn’t sure what to do. After the attack from the assassin last night, he’d resigned himself to doing what he had to do to find his sister, even if it meant getting his hands dirty. But this did feel a bit extreme. Then again, if after ten minutes, no one went through the doors—Max could run through and win by default.

One climber strutted up the steps of the academy. “Ha! I’m not afraid of a little fighting. Bring it on.”

The boy was the first to step into the building. A whole slew of students then followed behind him.

After two minutes, the crowd of student climbers had been cut in half.

A boy sighed at the back.

“I give up. I’m going to do as my parents told me and become an accountant,” he said. “Climbers still have to pay taxes after all.”

With that, the boy dejectedly walked away from the school.

The faces of the other students were full of anxiety. Some were pale with shock, others red with stress and frustration.

There was five minutes remaining to make a decision.

To enter the building and take another step towards becoming a climber and searching for his lost sister.

Or to stay out here and let all those goals fall out of his grasp.

Max observed the climbers who remained. Casey was standing beside him. She was shaking, clearly wrapped up in her own head on what decision to make.

But then Max noticed something unexpected.

Cyrus and his goons were still waiting outside the doors. Same with Sybil Westley.

That didn’t feel right, thought Max. If anyone had a thirst for cruelty it was that group over there. Unless, they had been all bluster and were actually scaredy-cats on the inside, but that didn’t seem right either.

Cyrus Archer’s father was a powerful man, who presumably expected a lot from his son. He wouldn’t be above cheating or dropping hints to his son about what to do at the academy in order to graduate.

All of which meant, Cyrus knew something the rest of them didn’t.

Max took a deep breath and replayed the events of the last ten minutes in his head.

What had the instructor said exactly?

Max closed his eyes to try and remember it more clearly.

There was only two minutes left on the clock.

“This whole term is an exam. Starting right now.”

That was the first thing the instructor said. He said all of that before getting into the fights to the death and the cruel decision he was forcing upon them.

That was it, thought Max. The test was never the battle to the death beyond those doors. The test was the decision in and of itself.

Max grinned with confidence. He was going to stay and wait for the remaining time to pass. He had made his decision.

One minute remained.

Casey was still squirming beside him. Then, with tears in her eyes, she took a step forward. She was going to go beyond the doors and fight.

Max reached out and grabbed her wrist.

She turned around, her bright eyes were red with tears, and she looked shocked to see him grabbing her wrist so boldly.

“What are you—”

Max still didn’t know the full parameters of the current test, so he didn’t want to say much. He just shook his head and then said, “Stay. Trust me.”

He let go of her wrist and Casey took a step back and stood beside him once more. She sighed and watched the final seconds of the clock run out.

The instructor looked at his watch.

“Time’s up!” he shouted.

Everyone waited with bated breath to hear what the man said next.

Max’s heart pounded against his chest.

This was it.

The stern man suddenly smiled brightly.

“Congratulations! You have all passed the test. Welcome to your first day at the climber academy.”

25

You have all passed the test.

With those words, all the student climbers in the courtyard sighed with relief.

The only student who didn’t was Cyrus Archer, who had a big smug smirk on his face. He wasn’t relieved because he had known all along the exact parameters of the test beforehand. Max had no doubt in his mind that the boy would have happily gone into that battle chamber to kill another student if it had been legitimately encouraged.

“What happens to all those who entered during the test?” asked Casey.

“Each and every one of them will be handed the paperwork necessary to remove them from the school,” said the instructor. “There are times when climbers need to make quick difficult decisions and