Only I Am A Reader

[ Challenge 999: Destroy The Encroachment Tower before it reaches Full Charge! ]

'Sure enough, a lot has changed, but this is still the same.'

As the spherical barrier started dissipating, a towering pillar was quickly revealed before Leo's eyes. The structure's design and decorations looked masterfully crafted, but the Aura exuding from it was anything but elegant!

An invasive will to conquer! Just by looking at the tower, Leo felt as if something pierced his heart, trying to take over his entire body.

'The reason everything started.'

The sensation that Leo was experiencing at the moment might be unreal, but it wasn't that different from Earth's fate if the Encroachment Tower wasn't stopped.

Without any exaggeration, it was the very first footstep left by the invaders.

'Let's see how much we have managed to save by arriving this early.'

The challenge presented was pretty obvious, but Leo didn't ignorantly charge at the tower without any thought. At least not until he checked the result of his interference.

"2…6…7…"

Focusing his eyesight onto the center of the tower, Leo carefully recounted the number before sighing in relief. Perfect prevention was impossible, but this hateful plotline could indeed be changed!

'Only 2.67%!'

The Encroachment Tower wasn't simply a malicious structure. Just as the Final Challenge entailed, it was a charged object that did the most horrible thing for humans.

'If it's only this much, then it's doable.'

Explaining it in detail would be lengthy, but in simple words, the tower's name sufficed as an explanation. It was a conquering tool, made to encroach worlds with despair!

Typically, when one side decided to invade the other and lit the flames of war, the invaded was given the chance to defend themselves as long as they possessed similar, equal, or greater strength. However, the entity that was invading Earth had thrown away that concept.

They only had one obsession in mind. Total dominance! 

No matter how great the Encroachment Tower looked, it was hard to imagine that it could change much. However, as part of the test presented to humanity, its effect was undeniably real.

The Encroachment Tower, also known as the Red Buff Tower, was an instrument that gave an unfair edge to the hostiles that were soon to invade Earth. Making it so they had the home-ground advantage instead of the Earthlings themselves!

'We have a chance.'

Thankfully, the invaders' dominance wasn't actually as strong as they hoped, or else, they wouldn't have required the help of this kind of tool.

Instead, whoever or whatever was behind the existence of Gate administered the Encroachment Tower on the condition that their target wasn't worth a fighting chance. 

If the natives couldn't prove themselves capable of standing up to the encroachment attempt, then they didn't mind letting the invaders have a quicker victory.

Just as this Gate had identified itself right from the beginning, this Encroachment Center was no different from a testing center. By passing the initial challenges, Leo and Aurora earned the qualification to participate in the first test.

Most importantly, how much they could really change was all dependent on their performance in the initial challenges. A full charge was equal to a perfect Invader Buff, but any percentage was still a threat.

'At the very least, this challenge won't end in the same way.'

Although the Final Challenge was about interrupting the Tower's charging, if one lagged long enough, it could automatically be regarded as a failure.

In the novel, after Aurora spent close to two weeks being dragged around the initial challenges, the percentage that she started with was over 20!

Thankfully, after Aurora sped through with the addition of the variable represented in Leo, the initial value was reduced by ten times. Earth's destruction was no longer a confirmed matter.

'It still depends on how I perform here.'

Having a good start was something worth celebrating, but it wouldn't lead to anything unless the Final Challenge was handled just as swiftly as the ones before it.

With that in mind, Leo's shadow sped forward once again. However, unlike the initial challenges that could be easily beaten by most Ability Users if they tried, the Final Challenge was no simple task!

Surrounding the Encroachment Tower, a few warehouse-like buildings could be seen at its foot. The place where their doors should have been had nothing to show but darkness, and soon enough, that darkness started to move.

Grrrr!

Angry howls rose as the dark structures spat monster after monster. At first glance, they only looked a little bit stronger compared to the animal-faced monsters that populated the initial challenges, but there was another aspect that made this task challenging.

'This is a lot indeed.'

Their numbers were crazy. Within one minute, over a thousand monsters were already rushing out in Leo's direction. Following that, their source seemed to take a short pause.

'Sorry.'

However, to the monsters' disappointment, Leo didn't bravely meet them and engage in a heated battle of life and death. Instead, his shadow faded slightly, dissipating his presence even more as he took a detour.

'but I'm not your opponent.'

The first monster wave wasn't for him, it was meant to keep Aurora busy so things could go as smoothly as possible!

"You-"

It was hard for Aurora to expect help from a Villain who posed as her enemy a minute ago, but the irregular part of her mind was a bit disappointed by Leo's actions.

Nonetheless, she quickly understood what she needed to do. First of all, Aurora gathered her collapsed teammates in one place, giving them a quick round of preliminary healing before placing a circle of warding light around them.

Just that was unlikely to keep them safe from a great wave like this, but these were just extra precautions, Aurora was planning to take down every single monster before they could even get close to the warding circle.

'Good, now it's my turn.'

Observing both locations, Leo stopped less than fifty meters away from the Encroachment Tower. The second monster wave was for him to handle!