Just call me Thor

551  Mike’s plan

Thor guarding eight of the nine floors?

At first, it sounded quite heroic.

But Gabriel couldn't help but ask, confused, n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"What about the other human Supreme Beings?"

Mike, with complete confidence, replied,

"They'll guard the first floor."

Everyone: ...

Nine generations of Supreme Beings tasked with holding back the apocalypse.

And what was Mike's plan?

Eight of them would be stationed on the first floor, turning it into a nightmare difficulty right from the start!

Imagine a level 1 newbie confidently entering the first floor, ready to fight some low-level monsters and level up.

Only to be greeted by Morpheus, Ares, Apollo, and five other Supreme Beings...

Even the Supreme Demon God would have to kneel!

Mike, still confident, continued,

"Look at the Tower of Truth—its design is ridiculous! It's basically a monster-farming dungeon! Why make things harder for ourselves?"

In Mike's view,

If possible, he'd put the final boss right on the first floor. Don't give the enemy any time or space to grow—that was the most logical strategy!

From a strategic standpoint, Thor's plan actually made sense!

Fool Master's evaluation of Thor's idea was simple:

"Heh."

She sneered.

"Thor, I'd love to know—does Ares agree with this plan?"

"That's not something you need to worry about!"

Regardless, this was Mike's rough idea for now.

But he was willing to take real action to make it happen.

Even if it meant spending money!

After all,

The apocalypse was a direct threat to his life.

Mike asked sincerely,

"Fool, if I wanted to turn my SSS-grade armor into a tower, how difficult would that be?"

"No difficulty at all," Fool Master replied just as sincerely.

"Your SSS-grade armor was already designed to be a mobile fortress. Turning it into a tower is just a cosmetic change. In fact, it would reduce the workload!"

Hearing Fool's response, Mike felt he needed to consult a professional.

He turned to Dracula and asked,

"Do you have any advice on building a tower?"

Dracula: ...

"My advice is... don't build one."

Hearing Dracula's advice, Mike nodded in satisfaction.

"Since you've volunteered to help build the tower, I can't refuse. Alright, you're in."

Dracula: ???

With Dracula, the tower-building expert, on board, Mike was confident that at least the labor side of things was covered.

"Alright, everyone, feel free to speak up. Don't hold back!"

Mike knew this was a big deal, and it would be hard to handle on his own.

Why not have a brainstorming session, see what terrible ideas everyone had, and then improve on them?

Vladimir remained silent, and Sylvanas hesitated to speak.

But Gabriel stepped forward and said,

"To build a tower, you'll need materials from the Heavenly Realm."

Fool Master nodded and added,

"I can help you forge the SSS-grade equipment, which will serve as the foundation or prototype of the tower.

Once you gather the necessary Heavenly Realm materials, the equipment will automatically absorb and refine them, gradually completing the tower and achieving your goal..."

Jokes aside, when it came to serious matters, no one was laughing anymore.

The apocalypse affected everyone!

It was tied to the fate of every person present!

Most of them had lived through the last apocalypse.

The apocalypse was something that even the Supreme Beings of various races couldn't survive on their own.

There were only two known ways to survive:

Hide in the Tower of Truth or ascend to the Heavenly Realm.

So,

With Thor having clearly refused to ascend to the Heavenly Realm,

For everyone present, building a tower was the only option if they wanted to survive.

There was also another important issue at stake: the continuation of their races.

For various reasons, Gabriel and Sylvanas weren't particularly concerned about their races.

Gabriel would only do what was required of him.

Sylvanas wished for the death of every other ghost, and if the Undead Lord died too, that would be even better.

Among those present, the only one with an overwhelming sense of racial pride and responsibility was Dracula!

When it came to the survival of the blood clan, Dracula was serious.

"Ahem, I have a friend..."

Hearing this familiar opening, everyone immediately understood.

No one bothered to call Dracula out.

This was the last shred of dignity he had left.

"My friend is naturally cautious and always prepares for the worst..."

Dracula was still laying the groundwork for his so-called "friend,"

But Mike cut him off.

"Alright, whatever your friend did, it's reasonable. We won't hold it against you."

Mike, clearly annoyed, said,

"Just get to the point!"

Dracula cleared his throat.

"My friend, when building the tower, stashed away some materials."

Such embezzlement wasn't uncommon.

Mike pressed for details.

"How much is 'some'?"

Dracula dodged the question.

"You all know that when the Tower of Truth was being built, the blood clan was quite powerful.

As a result, fifteen floors were allocated to the blood clan, and they completed the task within the allotted time."

Mike frowned. The blood clan had only built fifteen floors, so even if Dracula had stashed some materials, there probably wasn't much left.

"Give me a straight answer. How much did your friend stash away?"

All eyes were on Dracula.

Dracula, unfazed, confessed.

"Enough for fifteen floors."

Fifteen floors?

A question mark appeared above everyone's heads.

You were responsible for building fifteen floors, and you embezzled enough materials for fifteen floors.

Did you build the tower out of thin air?!

If the Supreme Demon God had appeared, Dracula would have been fully responsible!

Dracula knew he had to give a reasonable explanation today.

Otherwise,

He wouldn't even make it past Thor.

Dracula didn't want to be remembered as a common thief.

So he decided to clear his "friend's" name.

"My friend was sent to build the tower twice."

Dracula organized his thoughts and explained briefly.

"The first time, he went with a full budget. But then the Blood Ancestor died, and I—uh, my friend—had to return to compete for the Blood Ancestor's position.

Ahem... there was a bit of an accident.

The second time he went to build the tower, he submitted another budget. That silly girl—I mean, the Blood Ancestor—didn't care about a little extra money."

Everyone: ...

The previous Blood Ancestor had sent Dracula to build the tower, allowing him to escape death.

The last Blood Ancestor had also sent Dracula to build the tower, approving a second budget.

This led to a bizarre outcome:

The blood clan had double the budget for building the Tower of Truth.

Dracula considered himself an honest contractor. He had been tasked with building fifteen floors, and he built exactly fifteen floors.

Not one more, not one less!

He took one payment and did one job.

Even though he received two payments, he still only did one job!

After hearing Dracula's explanation, everyone's perception of him subtly shifted.

Vladimir was heartbroken.

"With people like you in charge of the blood clan, how could we not fall? How could we not be ruined?!"

Dracula: ???

Of all the vampires present, Vladimir, the traitor, was the least qualified to criticize Dracula!

Even if Dracula had pocketed a little extra, he still considered himself part of the blood clan.

If the situation changed, Dracula would be willing to donate everything he had to revive the blood clan.

But what about Vladimir?

Every day, Vladimir woke up and made a conscious decision to betray the Blood Ancestor.

And he had the nerve to criticize Dracula?

Vladimir clutched his chest, his face full of bitterness.

"You deserve to be in the mess you're in!"

Dracula frowned, feeling like he had just been insulted.

Ignoring the internal squabbles of the two vampires,

Mike confirmed with Dracula.

"Where did you stash the materials?"

This wasn't a small amount.

The materials needed to build fifteen floors of the Tower of Truth—how much would that be worth in Lord Merits?

Dracula's money was basically Mike's money!

Dracula privately messaged Mike a few locations, all within the Tower of Truth.

However, the floors were quite high.

But that wasn't a problem for Mike.

He'd just have Maxen run a few errands and figure out how to retrieve the materials.

Now that he knew where the treasure was hidden, getting his people to dig it up was the right move.

As for how to split the loot... that could be discussed later!

After all, when it came to dividing spoils, Mike had never been shortchanged.

Just as Mike was feeling pleased, Fool Master poured cold water on his excitement.

"Don't get too excited."

When it came to Forging, Fool Master was the most professional, and her judgment was sharp.

She pointed out bluntly,

"If you want to build a tower that can withstand the apocalypse, it needs to be on par with the Tower of Truth in terms of quality.

That means your expenses will be higher, not lower!"

The Tower of Truth was essentially a defensive refuge.

It only needed to withstand the apocalypse.

But Mike's plan was even more ambitious—he wanted to suppress the apocalypse itself, once and for all!

If he could actually pull it off...

Even Fool Master was tempted by the idea.

Mike frowned and humbly asked,

"In your opinion, even with the materials for fifteen floors... what else would I need to build this tower?"

Mike could coordinate the manpower, resources, and time needed to build the tower.

But,

Before starting, he needed to know how much it would cost.

The biggest challenge was that all the materials for the tower had to come from the Heavenly Realm!

Where was Mike supposed to get Heavenly Realm materials?

"I'll need to calculate that."

Fool Master's professionalism was unquestionable.

She had helped the human race many times before.

Hearing that Thor wanted to build a tower, she was more eager than anyone.

With the professional handling the calculations, Mike turned to the others for more input.

With Dracula's example fresh in their minds, the atmosphere had lightened considerably.

"Me! Me! Me!"

Lilith eagerly raised her hoof.

She waved it around and asked,

"When the tower is built, can I hang from it? I think I'd feel safer that way!"

Dracula, Vladimir: ...

This pig was a disgrace to the vampire race!

Mike thought for a moment and agreed to Lilith's request.

"Any other ideas?"

Mike asked again.

This time, Sylvanas spoke up.

"There's a mountain in the Supreme Abyssal—the entire mountain fell from the Heavenly Realm."

"A mountain?"

Mike immediately thought of something and asked,

"The mountain where Nathan is?"

Sylvanas's expression turned cautious, and she replied carefully,

"We... usually call him the Human King."

Mike shook his head but didn't say anything more.

Human King Nathan—that was what the non-human powerhouses called Nathan.

Mike made a mental note of Sylvanas's information. If he had the chance, he'd go dig up that mountain.

Gabriel also spoke up at the right moment.

"The angel race within the Tower of Truth has some materials from the Heavenly Realm as well. I don't know the exact source."

Mike's eyes lit up.

"Do you still have any of those materials?"

"No."

Gabriel shook his head.

"Ares borrowed them."

Well, that was that.

Thanks to everyone's input, Mike had gathered a lot of useful information.

By this time, Fool Master had finished her calculations.

"You might want to sit down for this."

Fool Master looked at the results and couldn't help but laugh.

She was worried Thor wouldn't be able to handle the truth.

Mike obediently sat down, waiting for Fool Master to reveal the answer.

"Based on your plan, the preliminary estimate for building such a tower would be..."

Fool Master dragged out the suspense, speaking slowly.

"Two Mystic Markets."