"What…? Where is this?" The old woman blinked in confusion, observing that she was on a vast grassland where the sun shone brightly and a warm breeze blew past. It seemed to be morning time as there was still dew on the grass.
The vitality of the place was addicting, especially since she hadn't seen the sky for three months now, not to mention the horribly cold weather that was gradually getting more and more polluted with radiation poisoning.
Originally, despite her being located far off from the bombarded areas, some of the radiation still reached her, affecting her. So, even though it wasn't obvious yet, she had begun to display symptoms of radiation poisoning.
But now, she felt perfectly fine.
Arf!
"Ohh, shaggy! You're fine!" The woman stared next to her, seeing her dog uninjured now, hugging it in relief, "How did you recover? Oh, thank goodness!"
"Where…am I?"
"I'm alive? I thought I died from the radiation…is this heaven?"
Gradually, voices of the people filled the plains as the old woman looked around, seeing people appear magically one after another.
Eventually, a sizeable crowd gathered. It wasn't just humans. There were also pets, cattle, etc. Anything on Earth that had survived was brought to this place, excluding fish for some reason.
[Greetings! People of Earth! I'm Gaia!]
Suddenly, a screen flashed into existence before everyone and displayed a set of words. Of course, before the people could react to it, the contents changed.
[The climate of Earth currently isn't suitable for the sustainment of life. The key to returning Earth to its state before war is available here, in the Tower of Acknowledgement!]
"Tower of Acknowledgement?" The old woman muttered, "Is that the name of the structure I saw before I was brought here?"
[As some of you might have guessed already, it's the tower you saw. You're currently within it. All 6,339,428 of the surviving humans have been brought to this tower, fully healed of all your past ailments, injuries, etc.]
'Is that why I feel healthy and Shaggy's injury vanished mysteriously?' Despite feeling the absurdity of the situation, the old woman accepted it. After all, World War Three had already happened and nukes had been launched. What was more absurd than that?
Not even a single person among the survivors complained. After all, out there, in the nuclear winter of Earth, they were just breathing to die. But here, they were alive, feeling warmth for the first time in three months.
At least, in this place, they had hope for the future. Moreover, upon seeing the number of humans alive, strength surged in them for some reason.
Despite their flaws, humans were social animals. And seeing more than six million of them still alive gave them courage. And judging by their attire, none of them seemed to be part of the brass or the elite that had orchestrated the war.
Whether it was by coincidence or a larger power at play, only the victims of war that had survived the whole ordeal made it to the tower.
[You're currently on Floor 0. It would disappear in 24 hours. Once you pass the tutorial, you'll gain qualifications to challenge the tower and gain all sorts of power, among which also lies the solution to save your planet. Clearing the trials set by the tower will net you Acknowledgement Coins which you can use to purchase food and other necessities]
[Moreover, if you gain the acknowledgement of a Constellation, you'll receive bonus power that'll help you clear trials easier. The status tab will constantly keep you notified about them. That's all. Good luck~]
The screen changed after that, displaying the status as the old woman stared at it, feeling nostalgia for the gaming terminology used.
[Name: Minhua]
[Affiliation: None]
[Title: None]
[Class: None]
[Combat Power: 21]
[Recovery: 17]
[Magic Power: 0]
[Unique Skill: None]
[Skills: None]
Her status wasn't anything worth noting. All stats of importance just showed 'None' in them. And by asking around the nearby people, she came to understand that a combat power of 21 was next to nothing.
A young, fit man among the crowd had a combat power close to 80. There were a few that almost touched the three digits, which seemed to be the highest. Among recovery, the maximum seemed to be around 30, in which case she was faring pretty well.
"Say, Shaggy, what should I do?" The old woman, Minhua said as she slung her hand around her dog, watching it lick her in response.
Arf!
"Alright, guess I'll challenge whatever it is that needs to be." Saying so, Minhua muttered slowly, "I'll enter the tutorial now."
Her figure vanished as Minhua found herself on the shores of a lake, at the centre of which was an island. A small tower had been constructed on the island, the board on which said 'Destination.'
It was pretty straightforward as while Minhua was thinking about it, a screen flashed before her, informing her of the contents of the trial.
[Goal: Reach the tower at the centre of the lake infested with crocodiles.]
[Note: Your actions would influence the rewards]
Woof! Woof!
The barks of a dog resounded as Minhua shouted in surprise, "Shaggy! My boy! You're here for me!"
Woof!
The dog stopped barking at the lake where something resembling a log of wood kept staring. Shaggy rushed at Minhua and cuddled her.
Taking a look around, Minhua observed a forest stretching past, "Hmm, how will I reach the centre? There's no boat here. And I don't have the strength to make one."
[Constellation Live-Grenade is watching with anticipation]
'Watching with anticipation?' Minhua couldn't understand this aspect clearly as she wasn't much into streaming stuff found on the internet. Shaking her head, she muttered, "Maybe I'll find something of use in the forest."
Accompanying Shaggy, Minhua entered the forest, looking around in habit for she had been living in one for ages. Within a couple of minutes, she spotted a rabbit and patted Shaggy. The dog leaped through the bushes and within ten minutes, hunted one.
"There's everything in this forest!" Minhua exclaimed in surprise as she collected mushrooms, herbs, wood, and other things while Shaggy hunted game.
[Constellation Live-Grenade brings in their friend]
[Constellation Vroom-Vroom munches popcorn]
[Constellation Broken-Phone gazes in fear]
