Chapter 531

The next Tower was a weird one. Technically, the island had been owned by the Indonesians in the south east of their island archipelago chain since it was smack dab in the center of their country island chain right above Australia. However, no one had lived on the island itself and being in the Timor Sea; could have been contested if anyone truly felt like it.

That had changed when the Towers appeared and one was found on the island. The legal challenges and disputes over ownership had begun not long after, the overflow of support from all neighboring governments. The fight – both physical and diplomatic – that had erupted had been vicious, such that the United Nations had finally been brought in to mediate the matter.

Thankfully, they had managed to work out a solution, though it was more of a cold war, a ceasefire till someone stepped out of line. It was why travel to the island and the Tower was highly restricted, requiring significant amounts of paperwork and – often – governmental contacts, before they were allowed to do so.

All of that seemed like overkill, would have been for sure, for any average Tower. You could not even fly right into the island, since it was so small that you had to travel to Babar Island on a small float plane then be taken over either via boat or helicopter. Anyone trying to get to the Tower and island otherwise would be shot down.

“How did we get approved to come here again?” Arthur muttered, as he read through the reams of paperwork that he had to sign and the attached warnings. While he had a lot more to complete, none of the Climbers present were without their own stack.

“Your friend, Manager Kong,” Jan answered, waving a hand down at the papers. “Though my hands are beginning to cramp signing all this.”

“Are you even reading it?” Arthur groused.

“Nope!” she kept signing, grinning widely and pointed to the other addition to the group who was sat much further ahead. A newcomer, in many ways, though no less important, even if he was no Climber. “Ada lawyer already, lah. Let him read.”

“I am… I’m not happy with the documents either, but the summaries are at least comprehensive.” Alvin Lok, the associate assigned to them for this particular trip sighed. “And it’s not like we can negotiate these.”

“Maybe you should summarise the rules, the important bits, just in case.” Arthur looked at the rest of his team which included his usual bodyguards in Jan and Yao Jing, Uswah and, to his surprise; Casey. Rick had been forced to stay behind this time, mostly because his presence had been objected to by the other governments. His ties to the Americans being a major detraction at this time, since they had used up their allocated spaces.

“No fighting with other Climbers. We stay in our designated spots, enter when we are told and can only stay for a maximum of six months. Any longer and we will be penalized – financially and maybe even with jail time – upon exit.” Alvin grimaced. “Once you all go in, I’ll have to leave the island and await your return. Do not sell anything or make any bargains with the exit council till I arrive.”

“And we have to sell some of what we get, right?” Yao Jing said, grumpily.

“At least one in four enchanted objects, rounded up.” Alvin raised a finger. “You have an advantage though, which is why Manager Kong managed to get you in. As a Clan, you can set aside your equipment till all of you have exited – or another six month period has passed – and count the equipment you acquire together.”

“And for this ‘privilege’, we get to give away a quarter of whatever the Clan acquires to the government,” Casey said, grumpily.

“Sell, not give,” Alvin corrected.

“At prices they set!”

“Official government prices, which are based off a spread. And we have the first right to purchase said sold items at the government official prices too,” Alvin pointed out, reasonably. “A concession that took a lot of negotiation.”

“Which we are grateful for,” Arthur cut Casey off before she could continue her grumbling. “We’re grateful you and your law firm have taken over a portion of the work.”

“My family’s lawyers…”

“Are very busy with their own work,” Arthur said. “And have started to let things slip through the cracks. We needed extra help, and Mel’s contacts – Alvin’s firm – has stepped up to the plate.” He leaned over the seat so that he could eye her over the edge of the prop plane, squeezed in as the group was and talking over the thrum of the rotor. Even though battery technology had advanced sufficiently that they were in one of the newer electric prop planes which were significantly  more quiet than the older versions, the basic necessity of spinning a propeller around really fast to generate speed still created quite a lot of noise. “You lost this argument with Mel months ago. Let’s not restart it here.”

“Fine…”

Arthur sighed, rubbed his face. As he was getting ready to dive back into reading and signing, he noticed the way the plane started edging downwards. He looked outside for the first time, enjoying the sight of the clear blue waters, mostly clear of pollution.

Funny, how some things had improved because of the Tower. Climbers who exited often came out with abilities meant to kill, but some dedicated their new lives to utilizing it for the betterment of society. The addition of spirit stones had cleaned up some major technological pollutants, with discussion about transferring some nuclear or coal reactors into beast stone reactors.

Then, there were the skills some had created. There was a whole Beginner Tower in the Middle East dedicated to alchemy, where crafters who exited could transmute base materials to another. Wannabe climbers literally walked into the Tower with giant backpacks of plastic, where beginner alchemists worked to transform them back into oil for reuse or, in some cases, precious metals. Those on the outside could do the same, but at a higher cost.

At the same time, another Tower in Ireland had individuals with the ability to craft green walls, giant compost pits of hungry weeds that churned through dirt, garbage and plastic with alacrity. They grew at an impressive rate, forcing other Climbers to cut the climbing ivy down; some of the stalks being the size of Arthur’s wrist from what he understood.

Entire wood industries formed nearby, taking the newly chopped down wood and mashing it to make paper and more plywood. Turning garbage into actual useful materials.

All of which meant that things like climate change and pollution was slow reversing, with big technological and industrial movement happening in the last few years. It still hadn’t reached your average person, but places like this island – far enough away from major population centers – had seen the fastest improvement.

Add on Towers like this one, that offered enchanted objects rather than stones for majority of the quests, and the changes the Towers were beginning to make were growing every day. It still made Arthur wonder about the real point of their existence, but if anyone knew, it was those who had climbed highest.

And he, as a mere Beginner Tower climber, was far from involving himself in those conversations.