《Endurance Mage (A Tower Climb Progression Fantasy)》 Arc 1 - Chapter 1
August had used the arcane since he learned how to walk. The first spell he created was a sphere of light. He hovered it over the table to save themselves from buying candles or oil and risk burning the hut down.
The second spell he learned was morphing that sphere into a flat plane. The hut was old, and it needed to be repaired. But Master Visentii refused to fix the hut. He ordered August to use arcane to seal it off.
August struggled in the first few weeks. When the rain started to seep through the cracks, he begrudgingly closed it up with arcane. He complained the beginning, but it had turned into a habit.
He was fourteen already, and having used arcane for a lot of different household things, he realized its true purpose: maintenance.
That was the very nature of arcane. A tool. Nothing more.
When rats and centipedes and insects populated this place, he thinned the flat sphere even further, turning it into a cloth. This was more difficult to execute. It bends, but it needed to possess enough arcane to keep it from breaking apart. And it had a special property: every insect that passes through it would be covered in these little films, like cobwebs, and he''d be able to manipulate the arcane to cripple or lop their little heads off.
It was very effective. At first, he only found one or two insects. But after several weeks, he realized that there were a lot of them. He just learned to sense them better.
Master Visentii had been surprised at his creative utilization of the arcane, and even more surprised that he did it every single day. August liked seeing his master happy, so whenever he was out in forest, he''d find himself learning to observe the insect wildlife.
As time passed, the strain of using the arcane lesened, and his proficiency increased. And when it turned into a habit, his arcane seemed to developed a mind of its own and dutifully carried out his desire even when he was asleep.
The cobweb spell, combined with the roof-fixing spell, drained him. But he adapted. He always had. Arcane was a muscle. It tears off but it heals itself overtime. And the more he did it, the more it bent to his will.
August started thinking artistically. He would create a box from these flat planes. Then, he''d construct the house. The trees would have a needle-like trunk with triangular shapes for leaves. Eventually, he started to construct them into smaller and finer details.
The smaller the better. It took several days to maintain the construction. Once, when his master banged open the door, he jolted from his seat and hours of his creation crumbled. He needed to control it better.
On his fifteenth birthday, he constructed a small patch of forestry around the hut. It was a 10x10 meter plot of land. It was very tiny, and it didn''t even cover a part of the forest. He was very disappointed he couldn''t cover the entire forest in a year.
There was a knock on the door.
August hesitated. He never had a visitor. It was only him and Master Visentii, and the master was not home at this very moment. He willed the art away, as he had done so over a thousand times. He could try again later tonight before he goes to sleep.
He didn''t answer the door. He created a thin film from his fingers and slipped it under the door while he slowly backed out.
August licked his lips. He would treat this stranger like an insect would suddenly barge into his home. He had never met another person aside from his master.
He coated the stranger''s boots with film, then, slowly and carefully, trickled it up and up until he reached the person''s neck.
He inspected the outline of his arcane. It was a man. About six foot tall. Covered mostly in winter wear. Lean, calm, probably dangerous.
Another knock on the door. "Visentii?" The voice said. The accent seemed... refined. "I came to visit. I acquired the invitation from the Tower of Lords. Your letter. About the boy, August."
At this point, August had wrapped a thin film around the stranger''s neck. He wondered what the man was talking about, and found that he was more curious than bloodthirsty. Quietly, he said, "Who are you?"
He heard a mutter. Then, the door slowly creaked open. The man was sharp. He wore a black fur over his leathers, and he carried with him no weapons to hunt at all. How was he supposed to survive out here?
The stranger looked around until he settled onto August. He seemed confused. He smiled. "I''m Orlan Arsheniama. Lord of the Flowers. Are you August?"
August gave a nod.
"Where''s your parents?"
He shook his head. "I don''t have parents," he said. "It''s only me and Master Visentii. Are you a good person?"
The man blinked. "That depends. A good man can be an enemy to others. But amorallygood person who acts in accordance to his soul--"Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
"Are you here to hurt me?"
"No!" The man seemed offended. "I''m here to deliver this." He pulled out a letter.
August stared at it. "What is it?"
"You can ask your dear master. Can you take me to him?"
August breathed in, and nodded. He lead the way to the back door until they reached the small garden. He had planted these all by himself. Sometimes, deers and foxes would visit, and he would coat them in arcane to follow them around the forest. It wasn''t difficult to hunt them. But he preferred their company alive than dead, so he fed some of them and kept them as visitors.
Eventually, he was able to teach them not to touch anything in this garden without his permission. A prick in the neck or their belly was enough to convince them after several tries.
A deer and a fawn brushed through the garden. The stranger stopped and stared curiously. August harvested berries by hand and stretched out his hand with the other. The mother ate first. And then, the fawn. When they finished, they licked his fingers and followed him.
"You have quite the company," the man Orlan commented. "A deer and its fawn. A garden surrounded by the forest. I can feel myself healing in this beauty."
"I don''t feel anything."
He arrived at a tree and pointed at the ground. The man shifted his attention to the large rock. Carved into that rock was an inscription: Master Visentii.
Orlan paled. "He''s dead?"
"Since last winter."
"That''simpossible. He was murdered. He has to be." Orlan shot him a glare. "How did he...."
"He left me a letter and told me he died. And then he disappeared. So I placed a gravestone and pretended he was dead."
Orlan sighed. "Enough of your jest. So, he''s abandoned you."
"He''ll come around," August said.
"Why would he--you''re just a child."
I frowned. "I don''t understand. Is him leaving a bad thing?"
"Alone in the forest for a year!"
"Then tell me what''s good and what''s bad."
It was only August and Master Visentii. Whenever he thought of his master, his heart ached. But he didn''t have anything else to base his life on.
Orlan kicked the grave and spouted a litany of curses, He stepped inside the hut, sat down, and explained the nature of the letter.
Visentii had requested Orlan to help August enter the Tower. That theboywas ready. That he could survive inside the Tower. That master Visentii had taught him enough to spit on the face of a pretentious mage.
August wasn''t convinced. Arcane was a tool to hunt animals to feed yourself. To maintain the quality of your home. It was the same as an axe or a pickaxe, with a lot more versatility. It could be used to assist a hunt, but never to hurt a person.
Orlan told him he could find everything he ever wanted in the Tower of Lords. Wealth, women, fame, power... all of it. Warriors and people from different worlds all converge within this tower for a chance to leave a lasting mark in history.
August wasn''t interested. "I have a wealth of fruits, vegetables, and meat. I am famous with female deers, foxes, bears, and wolves," I said. "I happen to be very popular with them as well. And I''m powerful enough to feed bears by hand. They all like me."
"Have you seen..." Orlan made a lot of gestures. "A woman before?" Before August answered, the man waved him away. "Forget I asked. You think like a peasant. I would have left you alone, but Visentii entrusted you to me. Tell me what you want but don''t have."
August thought about it. He had everything he ever wanted. Anything that he couldn''t obtain, it was because he lacked the skill necessary for it. But what does this stranger know about him?
"I have this problem with arcane," he said with a scoff. "But you can''t help me. I haven''t been able to solve this problem for a year."
There was a glint in that man''s eye. An unshakeable confidence. Orlan straightened up and gestured to the other side of the table. "Take a seat. Do you want to make a deal?" He smiled demonically.
August frowned. He asked what kind of deal it was.
"If I can solve your problem, successfully, you''ll enter the Tower. But should I fail to solve it, I''ll concede and leave this place and never return."
He crossed his arms. It wasn''t a difficult decision for August. He accepted the offer and told the stranger his problem.
It had been a year since August started experimenting with color. Sometimes, he would be able to create a red hue in his creations, but it was inconsistent and very random. When he wanted green, he''d get blue. When he wanted blue, he''d get white. Or some other color entirely.
He felt like he was molding the arcane blind. He could never create the color he wanted.
"And it''s been a year?"
August sighed. "I triedeverything."
Orlan raised an eyebrow. "Everything?"
"I''ll show you," August said. He bit his lip and stretched out his palm. Over it, he conjured a simple flat plane. Then, he voiced out the colors he wanted. But the colors within the flat plane shifted and morphed out of order.
Orlan stood up, strode outside, and returned with a fistful of soil. Without so much as a flourish, a flower sprouted. It was white, and bloomed beautifully, and that caught August off-guard.
"That''s not--"
"Tsk-tsk," Orlan stretched out his other palm and conjured a similar, flat plane. Then, the flower wilted and died, and its soil slipped through his fingers. But the arcane on his other hand shifted from white to green and the back to white again. "You can''t create colors from a vacuum. It''s within the field of arcane but under a different branch. It specializes on an entirely different set of skills."
He took August''s hand and placed the soil. "I''ve left some life from the wilted flower. Take the color from it and display it with the arcane."
August focused. He didn''t knew where to start. He tried expanding his arcane outward, but it only wrapped the flower instead of... whatever Orlan did. When he tried to feel the flower, he felt nothing.
He shut his eyes. He didn''t know how long it had been, but he felt a trickle of life from the flower. Feeling elated, he took its life and felt it pass through his arms, his chest, and onto his other hand. His place gave life. A single dot on a wide, flat plane.
Orlan peered closer into it. "Well. Um." He seemed at a loss for words. Then, he smiled, and that smile was painful." "t''s been fifteen minutes. You did it. I think?"
"I did," he said. He brought the plane closer to his face. "It was just a dot, though."
"Coincidentally, this is one of the methods we use to gauge the potential of a person to be a mage. Like your master Visentii."
August looked up at Orlan.
"And, well, I''m sorry. I''ll still take you to the Tower. I''ll honor my word. But to be a mage, you must be able to succeed this test in under a minute. This is only an elementary test to measure how well you can interact with living things. Plants, animals, insects, people. We call that anima. To be quite frank, August--you don''t have what it takes to be a mage." Chapter 2
Orlan paced around the room. "What is Visentii thinking? Is this a jest? Are you an actor?"
He had been pacing in the hut for the past ten minutes. August ignored him. He focused on the flat plane and the color at the center. He was studying it. He had asked Orlan questions about these colors, and, apparently, influencing living things was a primary requirement to be a mage.
To give life and to take life. The use of arcane itself, like a single flat plane, was too costly and unwieldy to maintain, so mages also utilized living weapons to give the arcane a more concrete form. It was easier to inscribe a shield and imbue it with arcane than it was to create a shield out from nothing.
"There must be something," Orlan said. "August. Give me a flat plane."
August did.
"Good. Rotate it."
He rotated the plane slowly. When that didn''t seem to satisfy Orlan, he spun it faster and faster until he saw the man change in expression. "Turn that into a box and rotate it. Maintain speed."
August did it effortlessly. "What are we doing?"
"Testing your fundamentals. Good, good. Make a pyramid. Spin it. Same speed. How do you feel?"
August sighed. He had been doing this since he was a child.
"Getting tired, are you?" Orlan said. August pursed his lips. He didn''t have the heart to correct the man. "Arcane is fickle, brittle, and difficult to maintain alone. The fundamentals increases the vitality and control over your own arcane, but in itself is useless if you can''t influence anything around you. You might conjure a sphere to protect yourself from offensive attacks, but you might as well just dodge them or use environment for cover. Taking an entire attack with sheer arcane would exhaust you to a coma. Two triangles now."
August listened to the man''s instructions. At the same time, he couldn''t find it in himself to believe Orlan. He had never influenced living things like he did with the flower, but he never needed to.
When hunting wildlife, or being hunted, he had used arcane like he would fill the gaps within the hut to stop the rain from seeping in. It was the same strategy. He utilized the arcane to block the eyes to confuse the predator. He conjured a film to tug at their feet and make them fall.
All his hunts turned to a dance. An art form of utilizing several dozen moving shapes at once to surround the predator.
When a mother bear charged at him, and he didn''t have the time to react, he did use a half-spherical arcane shield. It was a good thing he had a bow with him. He was able to shoot through the gaps, and he only shielded the parts where the bear attacked. It wasn''t a problem for him at all.
"Stop whenever you want to. Conjure two boxes, three triangles, four spheres. Increase your speed."
August nodded, conjured them, and spun it around at the same speed.
"Tell me if you''re feeling strained."
Orlan conjured small arcane pebbles. He made it look so casual that August would have missed it had he not learned how to sense arcane when killing insects. A ball shot forward, through a box of arcane, and hit his forehead. He felt a slight disorientation that would have made him slip out of focus before, but now it was just a minor distraction.
Another came, and another, and another, until he was being barraged by tiny needles that tickled more than it hurt. Then more instructions. Upward swings. Downwards. Small shapes, bigger shapes. Flickering light spheres at irregular beats. Random beats.
"Your focus is impeccable."
"Are we doing this all day?" August finally asked.
Orlan blinked. "Hm?" He looked around. It was raining outside. "How long--"
"Two hours. We began when the first raindrops fell," August said confidently. He had learned to time himself a lot more competently this time around. It was necessary since he had to measure his progress in getting better at creating arcane.
Orlan straightened. "Very well. Stop." He did. "How long can you maintain this?"
"Every day for the past eight or nine years," he said bluntly.
Orlan laughed. "Yes, and I''ve learned to speak three languages when I was five and never stopped until I learned several more."
August cleared his throat. "It''s not like I mastered it then. It took a couple of years to do it every day."
Orlan stared at him. "What''s your routine?"
August showed him. Arcane, he told the stranger, was the art of maintenance and survival. He hunted while maintaining his home and his surroundings. It wasn''t much of a strain on him to conjure arcane roofs and insect traps.
He pointed upward.
For the first time since entering the hut, Orlan looked up. His eyes widened. Hundreds of holes made up half of the rooftop. He walked around and stared at them all. August showed him the traps for the insects. They were so tiny and minuscule they could escape the human eye.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Orlan had to use arcane to very carefully inspect under the floorboards. He withdrew his hand and stared at August.
"I found successfully keeping insects away means using arcane underneath the floorboards to act as the floor."
"August," he said. "What is arcane to you?"
"A tool," August said. "Just a tool."
Orlan chuckled, then he laughed. "You and Visentii both. We''re leaving. Don''t pack your things. I will have clothes tailored for you if you fail the first floor. But should you succeed, they''ll have all the accomodations you''ll ever need."
Half an hour later, August stood before his hut. He had grown attached to it. He had fixed it, and since his master refused any physical modifications, he had used arcane to keep it alive even when he was asleep.
Perhaps this was what his master wanted for him. He hesitated. Next to him, the Lord of the Flowers stood drizzled by rain. "Earlier, you told me that a child would have a better chance than I am at being a mage."
"Phrasing. I didn''t exactly say--"
"I like magic," August said. He rubbed his cheeks thoughtfully. "I love learning it. Will I have that opportunity in this tower of yours?"
"You''ll be forced to," Orlan said grimly. "Every single day."
He fished something from his pocket and threw it down on the ground. The box began to unfold.
August smiled. He willed the arcane that held the hut away. In an instant, the house crumbled and crashed. They stared at the scene in silence.
"You''ve been keeping that house standing," Orlan realized. "How long has that house held?"
"For as long as I''ve lived," he said.
The box on the ground boomed, and a spherical, transparent sphere appeared. Orlan said it was the portal that led to the first floor. August stepped through. Orlan caught his hand.
"Good luck," he said. "There are different Lords managing the same floor. Once you enter the Tower, it will randomly place you under a random Lord to be tested. Be careful. As long as it''s not the Lord of the Trials, you might stand a chance. Should you end up with him, fail the test on purpose. Whatever it may be. Only one-tenth survives his tests, and it''s better to surrender alive. For you, at least."
August nodded and stepped through.
In an instant, August was surrounded by darkness. It was cold. Like the chill of a winter morning. While his eyes adjusted, he shut them and spread out his arcane instead. He heard voices. One, two, three--distant. Strangers, perhaps mages?
He felt his way through and counted the people here. Counting insects had its charm, and since these people didn''t move around, he was able to count up to thirty. Then forty, and sixty, until he felt something stomp on his thin strand of arcane and crush it.
August blinked. Who was that? No one had ever done that before. He followed the residue of his arcane. He extended his arcane all around him so that even if he couldn''t see them, he could still feel their presence.
He stopped at the last residue of the strand. It was a woman slightly shorter than him. Her skin seemed like they were made of silver. She wore a white dress and fashioned no hair. Her mask was black and devoid of a mouth. It was a little creepy seeing those eyes.
"Are you the one who noticed my arcane?"
"Yes." She stared at him. Her voice seemed to come from her throat. The way she spoke sounded strangely monotonous. The pupils of her eyes glowed white. "I eliminated a potential threat."
That was good enough of a reason for him. "Did you coat your skin with silver?" he asked curiously.
"No. I am an Arcane Automaton, Domestic Amelia Prototype 07, or P-07 for short. I am part of thte Domestic Amelia Prototype Series. This is a special material for automatons."
"I''m August. Domestic? Automatons?"
She explained herself rather punctually.
An automaton, she said, was an artificial mind given body to assist their masters.
Strangely, she tended to the housework of other people. She cleaned after them, cooked for them, and assisted them in whatever they needed. August could do all that himself. Why would these people need other people to do it for them?
He told her he cleaned his home too, and hunted and cooked for food. He asked her what kind of duties she did.
She took one step closer towards him. "My memories have been erased prior to my last mission," she explained. "Presently, I am to enter the Tower to finish the tests and climb up the floors until I am terminated by the environment."
August was taken aback. He created a small sphere, dim enough that it would be difficult to see. Then, he hovered over her, inspecting her head down to her feet more clearly. There were cracks on her skin, and some of her internals were showing.
She wasn''t taken care of like the state of his hut. He felt an urge to cover her exposed parts with arcane, but decided against it.
"Can I call you Amelia?" he asked.
"Request denied. There are thousands of the Domestic Amelia Series. You may call me P-07."
"Seven," he clarified.
She nodded. "That will suffice."
Light bloomed next to him. He shielded his eyes. As he slowly acclimated himself to the world, he saw people around him. They had been standing on a large, circular platform. At the center was a large hollow, and a person floated in the air.
"Welcome to the 1st Floor," the voice boomed. It was a man. "I am Meneesh, Lord of the Trials, and I will be governing this test."
August frowned. That was the person Orlan warned him about.
"A test culls the rabble. There are many lords who creates interesting and complex puzzles for you to solve. I can''t deny that intelligence is an important quality. But those worthy to climb the heights of this tower must be individuals who can think on their feet. Which is why I created this arena: the Blood Run Trial."
He floated higher. The light illuminated the entire sphere. Then, soundlessly, it started to spin slowly.
"There are a hundred tower climbers today. This sphere will endlessly turn, and its speed will increase again and again and again as you pick up the pace. It will stop once fifty of you are dead. So keep running and pray to your gods that your limbs do not give up on you. That is all. Good luck."
The light dimmed extremely low. It was difficult to see. August started walking in the opposite direction. If he fell, he might never get up to try again.
Some people chose to sit down and let themselves be spun by the platform. He watched them get further away, then closer. Other people avoided them like they would an obstacle.
It was an interesting sight to see. Everything was interesting. Despite the fact he might be running for several more hours, he couldn''t stop staring at other people. Then, out of the corner of his eye, a person pushed another person, and his screams echoed until it was gone.
"To remain loyal to the nature of this run, I''ve decided to give rewards," the Lord of Trials said. "You will be ranked. If you''re ever the lucky few to receive 1st to 10th place, I will give you something that will absolutely help you win my next trial. Good luck."
A translucent window appeared in front of him.
{ Remaining Tower Climbers: 99 } { Current Position: 74 }
The speed of the platform ever so slightly increased.
August cursed. This wasn''t just a test of endurance to see who would be the first fifty to give up. It was a survival test to cull the lower fifty dead. Chapter 3 Chapter 3
The moment the lord announced the rewards from 1st to 10th place, the pace of the run sped up. And as the pace sped up, so did the platform. August had to push himself incrementally faster, but he knew the price would take its toll the longer this goes.
He jogged next to Seven. "Can you keep up?"
"I do not slow down," she said. "My energy remains at full capacity."
{ Remaining Tower Climbers: 98 } { Current Position: 85 }
Instead of speeding up, he slowed down away from Seven and the rest of the group until he was in the lower nineties. Shortly after, Seven followed him and asked why. It was a very simple explanation.
He didn''t prioritize being in the top place, and he wanted to get out of the populated area. He could also maintain his pace and worry less about if other people might throw him off the platform.
He ran. And he ran. And he continued to run until he started to sweat. The tower climbers trickled down to the nineties, but the deaths also slowed. People either walked the spinning platform or sat down, but they also distanced themselves from each other. Many of them became obstacles, but as they thinned it, it became easier to maneuver around them too.
August had to weave through them and plan the next lap. Seven looked unfazed by everything. She jumped, dodged, and paced him without an inch faster or slower.
"Half an hour," he whispered.
Seven responded. "Thirty-three minutes and seventeen seconds."
{ Remaining Tower Climbers: 87 } { Current Position: 87 }
Time passed. August wiped the sweat off his face. "Two hours," he breathed.
"One-hour and fifty-seven minutes."
{ Remaining Tower Climbers: 85 } { Current Position: 85 }
"Don''t show me the numbers anymore," he said to this thing, and it winked out.
His feet ached. He never had to jog for this long. He had to weave through a lot more people and that in turn burned his legs. He wanted to sit down and breathe.
Then the dim lights blinked out, and he was left in the darkness. "Run blind, tower climbers," the Lord of Trials said. "This is what it takes to climb. Face the uncertainty and the competition."
August heard shouts. He felt it then--people bumped and jostled and cursed and screamed. Many of them panicked so the platform increased its pace. He couldn''t see. But he had to see. So he used his arcane earlier and extended his threads as far as he could. He shot it through their legs, their bodies, and especially the space where he had to run.
If the platform was spinning according to their overall speed, that meant that he was in one place the entire time. He breathed in. And out. In and out. Insects, insects everywhere.
August shut his eyes and listened. There it was again--his arcane. Moments like this made him wonder if this was a separate entity. After using arcane so much, he had learned to maintain a 24-hour consistent maintenance of the house.
He didn''t consciously try to interact with the world. Instead, he let his arcane think for itself. It spread far, and it didn''t stop until the last thread looped back to him. August gasped and smiled. He had covered the entire platform.
"You closed your eyes," Seven observed.
"My arcane helps me see." He glanced at her. Her eyes were glowing red, then white, then green, simultaneously. She moved with ease. Then one of her eye cracked and fizzled and was gone. August extended his arcane toward her. "What happened?"
She didn''t stomp his arcane this time. "My parts are failing," she said. "The restrictions placed upon me prevents me to repair to myself."
She took out her eye and was about to throw it away. August held up his hand. "If you don''t need it anymore, can I have it?"
She tilted her head. Then, she gave it to him.
The eye was both cold and hot. He tried to feel it with his arcane. It responded by putting up its small defenses, and that fascinated him. This small eye responded to his probe.
Seven tripped over a person. She got up quickly and paced next to him. "Stay behind me," he said.
"I remain functional," she said. "I do not require assistance."
"I can see better. You don''t need to watch an entire group of people. You only need to watch my back."
She slowed down until she ran a few steps behind him.
There was something strange about this eye. He distinctly remembered his interaction with Orlan. He must be able to interact with living things more proficiently. He had done that in fifteen minutes, but to a mage, he needed it finish that test in under a minute.
But something had been irking him for a while now. "Seven," he called. "Are you alive?"Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
There was a pause. "I am not a living thing. I am an automation powered by arcane."
He breathed in. So she was, but he her intelligence inspired him rather than frighten him. He ran. He probed through the defenses of the eye. It arranged itself like a puzzle. When he was figuring out how to make the hut stand, he had do it in a way that wouldn''t strain him too much. His arcane was thick in the foundation, and thinner at the rooftops. There was physical weight that supported him. Analyzing this eye was no different than walking around the house and looking for gaps.
"Two-hours and thirty-nine minutes," Seven said.
People slowed down. He felt more traction on his feet. But instead of the people around him, his arcane seemed more interested in the eye he was analyzing. It helped free himself from the world. A distraction. Something to focus on while he ran.
"Three hours and seventeen minutes," Seven said.
He observed people running. He followed them. He didn''t stop and take a breath, though his chest tightened so much and his legs ached with every step. August used his arcane to pull himself forward and easen the weight. But he didn''t know how to. He had never been in this position before. All he could think about was to run.
"Four hours," he whispered.
"Negative," Seven replied. "It''s only been three hours and thirty minutes."
August groaned.
"Running is pointless!" Someone in the distance said. "Stop running and push people off the edge!"
That person had a point. If August had stopped running, he would circle back to the people that ran and, with enough momentum and skill, perhaps push them off. He didn''t want to do that. But the moment those words reached him, other people started implementing the same strategy.
August treated them as predators to look out for. People began to preach morality and survival and helped others and pushed other people off. He heard them behind him. He didn''t listen. He focused on his arcane and the eye to keep him distracted.
He didn''t know when it happened, but he tripped on something and he stumbled. Someone picked him up.
"Five hours and two minutes," the monotonous voice said. "Keep running."
"Boots," he muttered. "My boots."
He hastily removed his boots, and his feet lightened and he gasped in delight. He removed his shirt and felt the air dance around his skin.
"Five hours and forty five minutes."
He listened to the people behind him. Then as he ran, he heard them in front of him. Arcane was a woozy, drunken sense of outwardness that muddied his perception. He felt less of himself and more of the arcane. He might have slowed down, and he said something to Seven, probably told her to keep running ahead of him.
She didn''t.
"Six hours," Seven said.
"I can''t run," he rasped. He had been licking his lips, but it was dry. "Tell me when it''s over."
He felt something sticky underneath him. And then he slipped. He tasted a pang of iron and the bitter, familiar scent of blood. Seven picked him up again. And then he stumbled forward, and he ran, and he kept going.
Until he heard a deep alarm that resounded across the platform.
"The test has ended," Seven said.
August stopped. The eye felt comforting on his hand. He leaned against Seven, who stood unfazed, and found himself falling down. She supported him. "You must not fall or you my never get up again."
He gave a nod and steadied himself. He looked up.
Light boomed across the platform. The shadowy figure was there again.
"Congratulations, Tower Climbers," the Lord of Trials said. "To those of you who survived, I am impressed. Your audience are impressed."
Audience? August thought.
The man continued. "Many of you may have thought you''ll never make it this far. But you did. If you continue to survive in the last two trials, oh believe me, you will be a true climber. Not like these other lords who''ve gone soft," his voice harshened. "Their little puzzles and games and niceties. Their chubby cheeks and optimistic climbers. They are not climbers. I prefer the ways of the old. Once a fraction of you reaches the next floor, I will be certain in preventing you from becoming embarassments under my governance."
He pointed upwards. "Many Lords stopped climbing the tower. I am one of them. But I am on a more important mission. To find those who has the desire to climb. Again and again and again. Those who ran. Again and again and again. Even in the darkness."
For a moment, August felt a pair of eyes on him, and he shuddered.
"I will now be announcing the top ten climbers who have undoubtedly caught my attention. From the 10th place, ahead by 12 laps from the 11th place...."
August listened numbly.
"...seventh place... sixth...."
"We passed," he told Seven. "That''s what''s important."
She agreed.
He heard unfamiliar names. Cheers. People seemed happy that they survived. He would be too. He must be in the last place then. At some point, he had slowed down as well.
"3rd place," Lord Meneesh announced. "Ahead by 125 laps from the 11th--Domestic Amelia Model P-07. I expected as much from an automaton. You''re not welcome here. But you are a climber. I look forward to seeing you be scrapped to pieces."
"That is part of my mission," Seven agreed.
There were boohs and shouts about how unfair she was for taking the spot of the 11th place. August patted her back. "Don''t mind them."
"I don''t mind anything," she said. "I don''t feel anything at all. I am incapable of emotion."
He smiled. "Never met someone like you." Or them. Or anyone here. He had only ever known the forest, so the world outside never interested him. But this thing--competition--he felt it when he challenged the bears. When he fought them and ran away from them. Everything enthralled him. He felt like a child discovering new spells.
Did Seven circle repeatedly while he ran? But no. She was behind him all the way from the very beginning. But that meant....
"2nd place," Lord Meneesh continued. "Ahead by 125 laps from the 11th--August. Human. You would have made this competition a lot easier if some climbers didn''t see you run and jump and dodge with your eyes closed. You lit a competitive fire under them. But now they have their eyes on you. Congratulations."
August didn''t believe it at first. But it was real. He looked high up in the black sky and breathed it all in. 2nd place. He''d take it.
"1st place. Ahead by 420 laps--the monster of this trials and the one you all have to watch for--Amaraak. His results speak for itself."
August looked around, but he couldn''t see this Amaraak. Everyone was wondering who he was and where he was.
A spotlight appeared at the far end. There was a door there. A platform rose to create a bridge, and arrows appeared on the floor pointing in that direction.
"Now, before the next trial--you must all be hungry, parched, tired, and wounded. There will be food, water, and all manner of liquid and amenities beyond that door. You will be attended by the medical staff to ensure that you''re prepared for the next round, which is happening in... oh! In 24 hours. There are 50 of you, I''m sure you''re aware. That''s still too much." He paused.
"Which is why I''m cutting you down to 25. A 1-versus-1 deathmatch. My favorite! Oh, and for the top 10... your rewards will be processed and given on the other side. Wait for it. And don''t die until then."
August practically hugged Seven by her neck as she effortlessly dragged him toward the door. He might not make it through tomorrow if his legs hurt this bad.
{ Time before 1v1 Deathmatch: 23hrs, 59min } Chapter 4 Chapter 4
Fifty people limped down the greyish, dimly lit hallway. It looked like a cave but human-made. He''d seen animals make caves before but the walls were not made to this precision.
That hallway led to a giant room with high ceilings, bright lights, and dozens of tables and chairs neatly placed around. At the wall, giant letters announced: DINING HALL. Underneath it was the timer that counted down until the next trial.
And in that same wall were people cooking and serving food in uniform. They wore yellow overalls that covered their entire body. They wore gloves, boots, and a black mask that masked their entire face.
They placed the pots and pans, and of them gestured the climbers over. People filtered in and headed straight for the food.
A female voice announced: To those who require medical attention, please proceed to your right. To those who wishes to rest, your individual rooms will be on your left.
Another voice crackled. This time, it was the Lord of Trials. "Welcome to the Dining Hall, Tower Climbers. Unlike those soft Lords, I stayed true to the path of climbing this tower. This is a buffet. Eat as much as you like, as many as you like. I may be a harsh test-giver, but the food I provide emphasizes a small part of what you can have the more you climb. Everything, anytime, anywhere, as much as want, as much as you need, immediately. Fill your bellies. This may be your last supper."
A door to the right said: MEDICAL CENTER. August nudged Seven there. She nodded and together, they entered through the hall. Others followed after them. The medical staff wore white jackets and pants and the same black masks. They sounded monotonous and he couldn''t tell if they were human or an automaton like Seven.
He was guided by a staff to a room, while Seven was stopped by a staff. "Automatons are unauthorized. We must inform you to return to the dining hall." Before he could say something, he was ushered inside.
Two nurses operated arcane-powered automatons to scan his legs. They told him he would have to prevent himself from running before the next trial to accelerate the healing process. They sprayed the bottom of his feet, gave him pills to drink, all while an automaton massaged his legs and applied injections.
This healing process was novelty. He asked a bunch of questions, like what the injections were, how the sprays worked, and if these little pills were actually effective at treating him. He told them he would have preferred steak. He swore he heard a nurse giggle.
"There is steak," a female nurse said. "There''s pretty much every type of food you can think of. But the great ones are hidden from the public view. You have to ask for them. August, is it? The 2nd rank. Let me give you some advice because you''ve been one of the good ones so far. Hide your strengths. Emphasize your weaknesses."
His foot was dressed in what they called a medical plaster. He wasn''t given shoes. August went to the dining hall, and when he couldn''t find Seven, he walked toward the left side of the room, outlined: CLIMBER ROOMS.
Upon passing through the door, the translucent window appeared again.
{ You are now inside the Climber Rooms. Your assigned room is designated by your rank, which is marked at the door. }
He saw the number 50 first. As he walked further, he saw more people going in and out. When he approached the end of the hall, he entered the door marked No. 2.
{ Analyzing Tower Climber Rank 2 August. Approved. }
There was a click.
August went inside. He only briefly admired the view. He jumped straight to the bed and forgot about everything else around him. It was the softest bed he ever experienced, and it frightened him how comforting it had been. He''d fallen asleep right after.
When he woke up, the translucent window announced: { Time before 1v1 Deathmatch: 13hrs, 02min }
He''d fallen asleep for ten hours. And as he got back up on his feet, he entertained himself by asking this translucent window about where water came from, or where the tub was so he could wash himself.
He was instructed to turn knobs, and he did, and it amazed him how much water burst out. He turned the knob in the shower, and water sprayed out. He made it hot and then cold and then freezing cold and boiling hot.
As instructed, he removed his plaster before stepping into the shower.
Clothes were given to him. A simple, black-tight fitting shirt and pants that felt familiar to Seven. They were powered by arcane, and they stuck to his body and stretched until he was comfortable. He wore their shoes, and that did the same trick.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Half an hour later, he found himself in the dining hall craving for deer and rabbit meat. But when he was given a plate, he was distracted by all the different kinds of food and he took a little piece of each of them and filled his entire plate to a mountain.
August looked for a place to sit down. People were starting to populate the hall. They seemed to have formed groups while Seven wasn''t here yet. He found a corner spot and sat there instead.
The meat were all tender and the juices spilled out of his lips. He bit onto the fat, drank the soup, crunched on the deep-fried shrimps coated in bread. Then he ate some more. He thought back to Lord Meneesh''s emphasis on climbers and the luxury they could afford. August didn''t mind eating a different kind of food every meal.
His contemplation led to master Visentii. What did he want for August? Why bring him here to the Tower at all? Was it to experience this? All he had ever wanted was to train himself in the arcane. To push past his own limits and strive to be better the week before. But now that he experienced this luxury, he found himself in a field of wants and was paralyzed from everything he could have.
A single thought came to mind: Seven''s eye. He wanted to study it. He had been analyzing it in his mind, so he conjured the eye in the form of arcane. But he hadn''t memorized it yet and he would have to ask Seven questions about how it worked and what made the arcane flow from one place to another.
Several people arrived at his table. "Can we sit here?"
August looked up. The tables were all filled. The person asking him that question was fat. "Sure," he said. The person looked slightly older than him. "You''re fat."
The people around that person spun to him. They looked confused, offended, and some of them snickered and made comments.
"Oh yeah?" the person replied.
"It''s just--" he breathed in. "I''ve never seen a fat person before."
"Never?"
He shook his head.
"Where are you from?"
That rolled the conversation. August told him about himself while hiding many other things that coudl give him a disadvantage in combat. He remembered the nurse''s advice yesterday: Hide your strengths. Emphasize your weaknesses. So he told them stories about how he ran from bears and hunted deer.
They asked many things about combat. Did he hurt a person before? Did he meet anyone besides his master? They seemed to ask them in a way that would identify him as a threat or not. At the same time, he learned more about them too. But most notably, the fat person in front of him was Einrich. He came from a well-off family and he seemed most interested in what he called August''s Hermit Life.
It was a stark contrast to how they both lived and they ended up talking to each other the most. He told August that everything he''d experienced up until now was nothing compared to the luxury he''d lived with his parents, and they weren''t that well off unlike the true climbers at the higher floors.
"Once all this is over," Einrich gestured around with a fork. "I''ll take you to my estate. You''ll love it."
August already considered the man his friend. Eventually, their conversation shifted to more serious topics, like who the top 10 were. It had been so dark then, and they didn''t have any indications in their body unless someone had seen them leaving out from their door.
So far, no one had seen August leave or enter Room 2.
They talked about this Judah, the Rank 1 climber. And when they talked about Seven, many of them dismissed her as a competitor.
"She''s not real," one of them said.
Einrich argued against that. "But she made it to the tower What matters is that we climb up to the upper floors. Using automatons or being one doesn''t matter."
"What do you all think of Rank 2 August?" A voice said.
August listened rapt with attention.
"He ran past everyone blind." Another person said, "How did he use his arcane?" Another person pointed out, "The automaton''s helping him. She might''ve been his helper. But it''s weird how she''s registered as a tower climber."
"Have you seen him run past obstacles?" Another person argued. "No one could get a good look because he was so fast!"
"He''s not fast," Einrich said. "We''re just tired and exhausted. And it''s not just him we have to watch out for. It''s the people in the top ten who noticed he was running blind. I''m 11th but I can''t even see in the dark. I had to feel my way around me." He turned to August. "You be careful in the deathmatch too. Your lack of offensive spells means you''ll be whittled down to pieces."
August nodded. And it wasn''t like hunting wildlife was anything to brag about, so he left that entire part of his life out.
He saw the timer on the wall hit the 12-hour mark. Then it buzzed, alerting everyone. The female announcer spoke.
{ Tower climbers, please return back to your respective rooms. Once your name is announced, a staff will guide you to the Ranking Hall where your ranks will be revealed in public. }
August licked his lips. That could get a little dangerous. He didn''t expect that at all. Part of a wall next to the Climbers Room sunk in, revealing a hallway that stretched all the way to another door.
Einrich invited them to go inside. August said he''d stay behind to grab more food to take to his room. They laughed, and they themselves grabbed a plate full of food too. He pretended to inspect what he wanted. When the last of them left, he returned to his room, placed the tray of food, and waited.
When his name was announced, a staff took him to a different door that led to a small, enclosed room. It confused him. The staff also told him to "look sharp." He didn''t what that meant. But the "don''t smile" was good enough of a hint. And "Make yourself intimidating," made him imagine going down on all fours and snarling like a wolf. He was tempted.
He put his hands behind his back. Smoke gushed into the room, but it didn''t suffocate him. Eventually, the floor he had stood on slowly raised, and the roof opened, revealing a cacophany of voices.
When the platform stopped, he found himself staring at a group of people. The female announcer''s voice echoed throughout the room: { Rank 2--August. The boy who ran blind. }
He saw Einrich''s eyes widen. He saw the people he observed at the Dining Hall. He was standing on elevated platform now. Next to him was Seven and the rest of the top 10.
Seven turned to him and nodded. He smiled painfully. Now everyone knew he was Rank 2. That wasn''t good. The platform next to him opened. He thought of the name first: Amaraak. Suddenly, everyone''s attention shifted from him to the Rank 1.
When the platform revealed the person behind 420 laps, August lost his breath. Chapter 5 Chapter 5
Everyone had their own theories as to who the 1st Ranker was. Einrich thought it would be a Lord''s child or sponsored by them. After all, one of the privileges enjoyed by the Lords were their weapons and equipment which could raise a peasant up to the upper echelons alone.
The person next to August was over seven foot tall. It looked like a man, draped in black shadow. His entire body was hidden by armor. He carried two, silver blades. I could hear him breathe.
"Rank 1--Amaraak. The monster who ran underneath the platform."
Underneath? Right. The rules didn''t state they had to run over the platform. So that was why August never detected him.
Lord Meneesh''s voice resounded across the room. "Any words from the Rank 1? No? How boring. Very well. Before I announce the rules of the 1-versus-1 Deathmatch Trial, the top 10 will be given gifts first."
The staffs entered the room carrying different-sized trays. They pushed the trays up the stairs until the top 10 stared face to face with a staff. August couldn''t look away from the tray before him. It was covered by a sheet of iron, so he couldn''t see what was inside.
"Starting with the first place. Amaraak. Your swords are chipped, brittle, and old. Here''s a gift from yours truly. It mends by itself, which I believe you''ll appreciate given your lack of care for the weapons that saves your life."
The staff opened the large iron box. It contained two similar, black swords that didn''t reflect light. It seemed to absorb everything around it. Amaraak dropped his swords and picked these two up. He held it, and swung it against the tray. It split in half.
August sighed. A brute, then. A dangerous brute.
"August," Lord Meneesh said. "Your control of arcane is outstanding. Any mage worth their salt knows how difficult it is to achieve such a feat. But you don''t seem to carry anything with you. Not even a weapon. Here''s something every mage needs, and no, it''s not a staff and shield as many of you might expect of a trainee."
The staff opened the tray. Inside was a small, white bracelet. August took it and wore it on his right arm. It slimmed down until it became so thin that it seemed almost part of him. He touched it. The bracelet responded with a translucent window, with words displayed on it. August was entranced.
"Well?" Lord Meneesh said. "Is it good? This is called an Info Bracelet. But it''s custom made to be very durable. It also has additional features you might unlock in the future given the opportunity. Don''t worry. It''s all private--just don''t lose the bracelet."
"It''s better than what I hoped for," he muttered.
The translucent window displayed:
{ Personal Information } { Status } { Notes } { Contacts }
He didn''t have the time to study it all so he had clicked on Status when he first saw this. It displayed as { Empty } and then a notification appeared: { Analyzing data from user. Please standby. }
When he clicked Notes, he found that he could write in it. And that was what amazed him the most. There were a set of keys he could manipulate with his arcane. He could write here with his mind. He could even draw and expand the window and push it far back! He could create three-dimensional diagrams like the creations he''d made back home and save it for later. And all of these depended on his ability to manipulate arcane. He was the only who could see it too, though he had an option to make it public.
This would be really useful when studying something. He didn''t have a great memory, so something like a portable notes was extremely valuable. He could offload everything he had been thinking of down here. It would help him better track his progress!
"Rank 3--the Prototype."
August looked at Seven''s gift. It was a small, white box. When she opened it, Lord Meneesh explained that it was a set of portable arcane tools she could attach to her body and repair herself. He thought it was a great gift, but he had also been distracted by the bracelet. He could lose his chance at climbing the tower now and still be perfectly satisfied.
"I am unable to repair myself," Seven said. "I cannot accept this."
"Exactly!" Lord Meneesh said. "You''re here to be scrapped, aren''t you? My greatest gift I can give you is something you will never, ever need."
Seven nodded as if that made sense. It didn''t feel right with August. Before the staff could close the tray, he snatched the tool box and slammed it against her chest. "You can''t repair yourself," August whispered. "But someone else can. Seven--what''s your mission?"
Seven repeated what she had said before. "I am to enter the Tower to finish the tests and climb up the floors until I am terminated by the environment."
"This will help you climb the floors. You can rely on someone else to fix you. If you reject this, won''t that go against your mission?"
He was slowly starting to understand her. To Seven, if a logic was sound, she would follow it. Everything was either black or white.
She turned to him. Her eyes were unreadable. She neither blinked nor used her eyes expressively. "That is an acceptible reason. I accept this gift." She took it and placed it around her lower back, which revealed arcane circuitry. She slotted the toolbox, leaving a small, nearly unnoticeable indentation.
August didn''t exactly know how automatons worked. Everyone seemed to consider her a piece of equipment. A thing. He didn''t like that. He might have been ignorant of the world outside the forest, but she looked smart enough to him.
Once the rewards for the top 10 have been announced, Lord Meneesh moved onto the real topic for why everyone was here.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
"The rules for the 1v1 Deathmatch isn''t simply a gladitorial arena," Lord Meneesh said. "That''s boring. So I devised a little rule." The wall next to them lowered down slowly. "You will all each be given a helmet.
"The goal of this trial is to remove the helmet from the other person. Should you fail to remove the other person''s helmet within five minutes, a rematch will occur until one of you has either lost or died. Killing the other person is fine. It''s much easier than removing the helmet. But if you do successfully do it, the climber will be eleminated, but they''ll live. That''s their ticket out of this Tower should they choose to surrender. If they can. Hopefully, this satisfies those other prickly Lords. Better thank them when you see them."
As the wall was lowered, the arena revealed itself. It was an elevated, enormous, black cage. The cage was half-spherical, and it extended all the way to the top. Before it, a stair led to an upper floor, overlooking the entire arena.
"Welcome to the Combat Dome," Lord Meneesh said. "This is where many of you will meet your end." He paused. Then, "This is the Selection Rules: to those of you who wishes to face Amaraak, step forward. If many of you wished to fight him, Amaraak may choose which person to fight against with. And if none of you step forward, he is free to choose from everyone. Including the Top 10. The selection will continue until the last person is chosen, starting from Rank 1. Does he have any brave volunteers? You have five minutes to decide."
Silence descended. People didn''t want to face Amaraak. August certainly didn''t want to. As he listened more to other climbers, he found that none of them wanted to face the Rank 1 either. None of them wanted to face the Top 10. It was a boon for August. Einrich''s group seemed decent too, so he didn''t have to worry about them. He might even get to choose anyone he could fight against.
Five minutes had passed.
Amaraak, who had been still as ice until now, jumped down the elevated platform and looked around.
Lord Meneesh giggled. He seemed to be the only person who was enjoying this entire affair. Amaraak crossed the line of nervous climbers until he pointed at a person on the far corner: Number 50.
August expected him to choose one of the monsters here. People bigger and meaner than him. But he didn''t expect the Rank 1 to choose Rank 50, who was only a boy.
That boy wore nothing but an oversized white shirt. His hair drooped down and spread across the ground. He was staring at the ground and didn''t notice the announcement.
{ Rank 1 Amaraak challenges Rank 50 Judah. You may return to the dining hall and rest. }
Amaraak left unceremoniously. When he disappeared behind that door, people began talking as if the poison in the air had been lifted. People cursed at him. A coward, going up against a child? And the Top 50 Rank too?
August reserved his judgement. He stared at the child who dragged his long hair out to the door. If anyone had been eerie, it would have been that boy. He survived the 1st Trial. That itself warranted suspicion.
When they announced August''s turn, he expected no one to come forward. But the moment the timer ticked, one person immediately walked away from the group and onto the spotlight.
Einrich.
August jumped down from the platform and walked over to him. There was a tightness in his chest. Was this was what betrayal felt like?
"Why?" August asked. The timer ticked down.
Einrich smiled sadly. "I''m climbing up the tower."
"What''s up there?" He had always wanted to ask people what their reason for going up were. He came here because he lost a deal. But learning arcane was what he wanted, so maybe he actually wanted to come here. He just needed Orlan to prove that the Tower was a better environment to learn about arcane. He rubbed the Info Bracelet around his wrist.
"Everything you can ever want," Einrich said, as though that was enough of a reason. He stretched his hand. "I''m sorry. You look easy to fight against, and it''s just pitiful if I go up against a domestic automaton."
August shook it.
{ Rank 11 Einrich challenges Rank 2 August. }
Einrich left while August stayed. He waited for Seven. Over half of the climbers challenged her. He didn''t understand why.
Domestic people should be strong. They maintained the household and hunted wildlife. He imagined Seven hunting bears and preparing it to those fragile people that couldn''t hunt. He pitied them more. And they had the gall to throw her out.
She chose a person. Some Rank 49. It was just like her to choose someone from the lower ranks to increase her chances of winning.
When he walked to the dining hall with her, she explained that she wasn''t taught to fight. She didn''t use arcane to block the rain from those big huts, or kill bugs, or grow vegetables.
Apparently, each of those could be classified into a specific role. Hers was purely to cook for and clean the house.
"Then how are you supposed to climb the tower?"
"My chances are extremely low," she said. "Because I am to be scrapped."
"What are your chances of winning against the Rank 49?"
"Low," she said simply. "I may be terminated today. But I also chose a person who I may be able to win against. That is acceptable."
August thought about it. "You should come to my room. Maybe we can figure something out."
She stopped and turned to him. They could still hear the conversation from the other climbers.
"Why assist me?" she asked.
August frowned. "Isn''t it because we''re friends?"
"What classifies as a friend?"
He thought about it. "I don''t know. You and I helped each other survive the first test. We''re beneficial to each other. But that''s not where it ends, is it?"
She didn''t answer. It was more than that. When he learned what she was, and her circumstances were, the more he felt a certain kind of kinship. She was here because her masters wanted her srapped. He was here because master Visentii abandoned him. And they were both unaware of the cruelty they suffered. It had felt normal to be left alone for a year, but now that someone pointed it out to him, he started to stoke at his fury against his master.
They were both people who ended up here not because they truly wanted to, but because of the circumstances thrown against them.
As August walked past the dining hall, he saw Einrich eating alone. They ignored each other. It was hard to breathe here, so he returned to his room. In the end, he wouldn''t be able to help Seven. She didn''t seem enthusiastic at surviving. But then again, she had been emotionless so far.
He rolled around the bed until he heard a knock.
When he opened the door, he saw Seven. She was holding a strange, white food thing with a candle on top of it.
"I asked what ''friendship'' meant," she said. "It is based on trust, respect, and understanding. I do not know what it means to trust, respect, or understand someone. They have also told me an automaton and a human can''t be friends so I should give up--"
"Why not?" I said. "They don''t get to decide that. Let''s be friends."
"Very well," she said. She stretched out the food. "I asked the servers what the appropriate occasion is to celebrate friendship, so they have given me this food called chocolate cake. We are supposed to put out the fire with air. But seeing as I do not have air nor do I need to breathe--"
"I''ll do it." I smiled. "You expected us to be friends already. Otherwise, you''d have asked me first before taking the cake."
She seemed to find staring at the hall more interesting now. "I merely calculated the chances of you being stubborn. And I don''t wish to waste energy returning to the Dining Hall when the food itself is free."
He gestured inside. "Bring it inside," he said. "You''re not being terminated today, Seven. I have an idea that might help you."
"That is a shame," she said as she entered.
5 Minutes Later
August peered at the cake. "Are we just going to blow the candle?"
"There is a song we must sing first."
"I don''t sing."
"It''s simple. They have shown me how. Listen and follow. Happy friendship to you... happy friendship to you...." Chapter 6 Chapter 6
August was still dazed after eating the chocolate cake. He had only finished a slice, but afterwards his stomach ached. When he went to the dining hall, he guiltily asked for something less cake and more of a snack. They gave him what they called brownies. He fell in love and ordered a full plate before gleefully running back to his room.
Hanging out with Seven for the remaining twelve hours had been fun. They did all they could to fix her eye and give her the best chances she could have. In the end, it would be up to her to win.
After the announcement to start the trial, they were guided to the upper floor overlooking the entire dome. August leaned against the railing. From here, all the spotlight focused on the center.
He looked over that. Close to the ceiling. The third floor. There seemed to be people there too. They gathered around and drank and sat on tables. Who were they?
"Welcome, tower climbers," Lord Meneesh said. This time, he''d spoken from the 3rd floor among people cloaked by the shadows.
"Once again, I msut congratulate you for making it this far. But before the first match begins, let me introduce you to my dear friends. They are the audience. They''ll be watching you with keen interest, so put on a good show. If they find you interesting, they might give you a ticket to the tower life."
August heard them clap. The climbers around him talked about how this was some form of entertainment for them. People gambled on who to win, who was the most interesting, and that was how Lord Meneesh earned credits for this luxurious arenas and buffets.
Einrich approached him.
"August," he said. "I''ll go easy on you. If you feel like you''re starting exhaust yourself, unclasp the helmet. That makes it easier for both of us."
August sighed. "Okay. I will."
The female announcer''s voice echoed. { First match--Rank 1 Amaraak vs. Rank 50 Judah. Please step into the combat dome. Once the bell rings, that marks the start of the match. I''ll reiterate the rules.... }
August saw the two climbers enter the dome. The boy seemed wholly unconcerned. He strode forward to the center and looked straight at the Rank 1. They both wore helmets, and it looked silly seeing it on Amaraak.
Everyone waited in silence. Other people cheered for the boy, but there was a general consensus around their discussion that it wouldn''t even be a match. Some people looked away.
August peered deeper. He could sense the arcane of others, though it wasn''t a skill he''d been able to practice. If master Visentii''s arcane felt like an ocean, the Rank 1 would be a pond. But the boy.... looking at him felt like seeing a water being poured to a mug. It wasn''t something special.
But it felt intentional.
"Do you think the boy has a chance?" Einrich asked.
"He does," August said with certainty.
"Want to bet on it?"
{ Einrich offered to gamble 20,000 credits in favor of Rank 1 Amaraak. }
August frowned. He didn''t have any idea on what this form of currency was, not to mention the possibility of being able to gamble.
"Why do you think they''re up there?" Einrich pointed at the audience. "They''re gambling. For us, this is a test of survival. Our friends today might turn into a corpse tomorrow, but for them, this is just another form of entertainment. But we can take advantage of the situation anyways."
"I don''t have any credits," he said.
"Bet this," he pointed at the Info Bracelet. "Well?"
The information about the gamble updated. He observed their arcane, but aside from that he had no way of sizing up their true capabilities unless there was a clear reason why the boy would win.
"Hey," the boy Judah said. Everyone fell silent. He was talking to Amaraak. "Why did you pick me?"
Amaarak didn''t hesitate. "You look weak."
The boy smiled so faintly August would have missed it. But, just for a moment, his observation revealed a tinge of irregularities with the boy''s arcane. The mug overflowed and cracked into pieces.
"I accept your offer," he said.
{ Rank 11 Einrich placed: 20,000 Credits in favor of Rank 1 Amaraak. Rank 2 August placed: Custom Info Bracelet in favor of Rank 50 Judah. }
{ All bets are administered and regulated by the Lord of Trials. Cheating or placing bets you cannot uphold will result in dire consequences equal to the value of the bet placed. }
"By the way," Einrich said. "That info bracelet''s estimated to cost around 100,000 credits. You should''ve asked for more."
August regretted that. He would regret a lot of common things in the future because he lacked experience. He''d have to ask Seven about these credits later.
A bell rang. August watched intently. Amaarak swung his first sword. It may have looked lazy, but August could see that he was infusing arcane into his other sword. So this must be a bluff. The boy was staring at that sword as well.
Amaraak missed. He swung his other sword. He missed again. The boy ducked away and stuck out his tongue. It looked very childlike of him.
"How?" Einrich clenched on the rails.
August thought in his head--this boy could see arcane. Other people seemed to miss it, but Amaraak had been unconsciously telegraphing his attacks. Was that intentional? Or was he really that stupid?Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Judah glanced at him and cocked his head over to Amaraak as if to signal something. August shook his head. A thread of arcane shot out from Judah, meeting August''s thread.
Their arcane made contact, and for a moment August felt a tinge of familiarity. The boy knew arcane. And most likely better than August had been when he was at that boy''s age.
Judah looked bored. He didn''t seem bothered at everything. Instead, he looked around the audience, and then the arena, as if he were observing them with more interest than the opponent before him.
Judah ran across Amaarak''s armor and wrapped his leg around the Rank 1''s neck. He stuck out his tongue playfully. "You shouldn''t leave yourself wide open."
The boy spun, and August heard a snap as Amaarak''s head twisted to the other side. Everyone gasped. The black knight loosened his hands and his swords dropped to the ground. He collapsed on his knees. Everyone waited for him to stand up, but he didn''t get up again.
{ Rank 50 Judah defeated Rank 1 Amaraak and passed the 2nd Trial. }
"You''re not as tough as you look," Judah said. He left the dome humming, seemingly in a better mood than before.
{ Bets are being processed. Please stand by. }
{ Bets processed. Rank 2 August won 20,000 Credits. }
"Shit! How?" Einrich walked away in a huff. He went over to his friends and they frantically talked over each other.
Three matches occured after that. They weren''t using much arcane, but they did use their bodies a lot when trying to strangle or take each other down. People loved them.
Those matches made August appreciate his body more. So there were different ways to train himself, and it might be useful seeing as he was unarmed most of the time.
{ Seven: August. }
He smiled and focused on the message. Those twelve hours helped him figure out what the info bracelet was. He could contact other people with the same bracelet or automatons like Seven.
{ Seven: They are calling me to the arena. I''m next. }
{ August: We''ll do it just as we planned. }
He mentally opened the window.
{ Personal Information } { Status } { Notes } { Contacts } { Credits (new) }
Credits was a new one. It showed 20,000 credits, as well as pending transactions or debts, or other custom options he could add.
He saved a lot of notes from yesterday. As for Personal Information, it didn''t register anything unless he put his own info there. His name, age, race... and when he asked the Info Bracelet, it actually answered.
It said that they were public information for other people to access. Storing personal data like private IDs for different organizations could also be placed here.
The Status only displayed the same update.
{ Analyzing data from user. Please standby. }
He guessed it didn''t have enough information yet to show for it.
The announcement for the fourth match began. August watched as the two climbers entered the dome. Seven wore the ripped white bedsheet he''d used, and wrapped it around her body. One of her eye was missing.
The other climber was a man over six foot tall. He was one of the first to exhaust himself running, though August wondered why Seven would even choose him.
It made sense to choose the lower rankers, but it had been just a test of stamina, not overall capabilities. The boy Judah proved that. The man he was about to face didn''t look weak at all.
"August," Einrich approached him. "Let''s have another bet."
August smiled more confidently this time. "Again?"
"I''ll win. I can feel it in my bones. I''m placing 40,000--with your bracelet and 20,000 on the line!"
"I''m placing my chances on Seven."
He smiled. "Good."
{ Rank 11 Einrich placed: 40,000 Credits in favor of Rank 49 Erus. Rank 2 August placed: Custom Info Bracelet and 20,000 Credits in favor of Domestic Amelia Model P-07. }
Seven had confidently said she would never win a direct confrontation with everyone here. She wasn''t made for combat. She didn''t have anything to defend herself with or any techniques that could effectively harm climbers.
They had spent their time fixing her broken eye. The tools had proven more useful than they thought. She might not be able to fix herself, but she could certainly know how to repair herself. She just needed another pair of hands.
She told him he needed to infuse those tools with arcane and it might be exhaustive and counterproductive since he''d be facing someone later. He told her not to worry and focus on learning to fix her eye as soon as possible.
They needed every chance they could get.
The bell rang. No one moved.
Seven, with a single eye, carefully walked around the Rank 49, waiting for the opportunity to attack. The first phase of the plan was to tire him out around the ring. Her versatility would be her weapon.
He chased after her. She slipped past him and gave him a light touch on his back. That would piss him off. And it worked. He charged while she climbed the dome and dropped on the other side. He changed directions and then distracted her by attacking but that was a feint. He aimed for a grapple, but Seven could process information faster than a regular human, and her feet moved to her will.
That was until the man grabbed her by her foot and she slammed on the ground. She was a split second too slow. Her other eye slipped out.
"Yes, she''s blind!" Einrich screamed. "Break her," he was shaking August''s shoulder. "Your bracelet''s mine!"
They cheered. The Rank 49 seemed to enjoy basking in the glory. He raised his fist in the air and pulled Seven closer so she wouldn''t get away. His hand was on her chest. His immense weight and strength overpowered her.
August put a hand over his mouth. To keep Einrich from finding out that he was grinning. Now the Rank 49 completely let down his guard. But the plan hadn''t ended yet.
August held the broken eye on his other hand. Except it wasn''t broken anymore. He repaired it. Apparently, the problem was the overflow of arcane in the circuits. It died because it needed to be regularly maintained.
It was simple enough once he used the tools create a precise re-connection between the arcane. Though the jargon still escaped him. Once he fixed it, he found that she could see from that eye even without being connected to her.
He also found that loosening the attachments of the other eye to the Seven''s skull was possible. It was every bit their intention for her skull to pop out. That would make the climber careless.
Seven stretched out her hand. It had been hidden by the sheet so it wouldn''t stand out. She might not be able to attack, but her immense flexibility and strength allowed her to create swift actions that an ordinary human couldn''t.
And within that split second, she jolted up. Her face had gotten so close to the man. She grasped onto the straps and the helmet, and pulled as hard as she could.
An ordinary man would have trouble pulling the helmet away, but that was because of the limitations of their bodies. Pain would register and weaken the pull. But she was an automaton. When her arms pulled, it did so at 100% force.
The helmet was supposed to be unstrapped. It was an act of rebellion by the Lord of Trials against the other lords. If people could easily remove the helmet, no one would want to kill each other. And everyone wanted to go up, which meant they were more likely to risk their lives and struggle.
The opponent either had to willingly surrender or unconscious because it took a long time to remove it.
What would happen if a climber forcibly removed the helmet? The jaw and the skull would compress and the teeth would crack under the pressure.
He heard that crack today. They all did. People averted their eyes as blood and broken teeth pooled on the floor. Seven picked up her bloodied eye. August pocketed the other.
{ Rank 3 Amelia-P07 defeated Rank 49 Erus and passed the 2nd Trial. }
{ Bets processed. Rank 2 August won 40,000 Credits. }
August sighed. He''d need to eat his leftover brownies after this match. All the cake and the sweets they could offer. He idly wondered if Seven could taste food. Ah, but she didn''t have a mouth. Could she smell it?
Einrich grabbed his hand and took her eye from him.
"Cheater!" He shouted and raised her eye. "Lord Meneesh, they cheated!"
Lord Meneesh turned to August. Now everyone was looking at him. Chapter 7 Chapter 7
It was the worst case scenario. Lord Meneesh had snatched the eye, examining it. August was on everyone''s gossip, and many of them decided he''d be the villian for the day. They wanted retribution.
Lord Meneesh wore an all-black suit. He wore a mask full of colors and a smile permanently plastered onto it.
"Intervening in a match is a serious offense," Lord Meneesh said calmly. August had never seen the Lord speak without some flair, that it spooked him. "This is a test, after all."
"He stole 40,000 credits from me too," Einrich said.
August stayed silent. He didn''t really want to say anything wrong, but it felt like evidence was stacked against him. He didn''t think he was cheating, but looking back at it now, he might have been.
"But this isn''t grounds for cheating, Rank 11," Lord Meneesh said. "This eye belonged to the automaton. Rank 2 merely happens to be holding it."
"She can see with that eye!"
"And that is within her abilities to do so." Lord Meneesh gave back the eye to August. "What a cute little, modified eye."
August did his best to smile. Lord Meneesh knew that he fixed the eye. He''d been examining it. He must''ve known that Seven''s eye had been broken in the first trial.
Einrich glared at him.
August looked away.
"Now!" Lord Meneesh clapped his hands. "This is perfect. I''ll move the match so it''ll be you two." To everyone, he said, "Place your bets. Rank 2 August--who you call the Cheater--is facing off against Rank 11 Einrich. The boy who''ve been tricked into losing 60,000 credits, and have had his precious 10th Spot stolen by an automaton. A real underdog boldly facing off the Boy Who Ran Blind!"
August hated this man. He was riling things up.
While he stepped away from the crowd and the staff made him wear the helmet, Seven kept him updated. She chose to watch him, but she also caught a lot of negative attention.
She was unfazed, as usual. She looked really cool watching him surrounded by enemies. Apparently, they were all rooting for his loss. They thought the bets were unreasonable and that he should''ve given it back out of principle. He decided to ignore them.
{ August: do you know anything about how Einrich fights? }
{ Seven: all I learned is that he''s a close-combat mage with a normal staff and shield arms. Mages are notoriously difficult to deal with. People do not like fighting a mage for the first time. There are many variables and abilities that goes onto a single mage, so they are very unpredictable especially within the first minute of a fight. }
As August put on the helmet, the strap initiated several locks by itself. He inspected it with his arcane. It was an interesting contraption. It required specific and precise points of arcane to unlock.
August climbed the dome. The spotlights blinded his eyes. And on the other side, Einrich stepped in with fury.
Everything had been created with arcane. The spotlights, the helmet, Seven, the machines used by the medical staff. It fascinated him how arcane could be used to power everything.
Next to Einrich was a floating shield and a staff. The shield seemed to come apart to smaller pieces and re-attach again. The staff spun, producing a vibration he could hear.
"You''ve never seen a real mage, have you?" Einrich said. "Not when you''ve been living in that forest all alone."
The bell rang. None of them moved.
"This a staff and shield," Einrich explained. "It''s a staple for a lot of mages. We infuse it with our arcane and control it however we wish. Surrender, August. You don''t have any offensive capabilites. I''ll just whittle you down.
That was his weakness. He didn''t have a bow or a sword he brought with him, which might have been a mistake looking back at it now. He could clearly bring weapons. He made them believe that he had ran and defended himself from everything he''d been up against.
Einrich split the shield into four pieces and had it surround him like a barrier. "Close your eyes," he said. "Or you''ll miss it."
The staff shot forward. August put up a half-spherical arcane barrier around him. And when the attack hit, he felt something strange happen. In a split second, the entire barrier vibrated. It felt like the bowl he''d been holding with his hand was suddenly coated in oil. He couldn''t control it, and his control slipped.
The barrier shattered. August retreated a step back. The staff hit the floor with a bang. Suddenly, it spun, aiming to hit his knee. August put up a small barrier. His arcane vibrated and his control loosened, but it was a thicker, small shield and it held for a second until it shattered.
So that was the trick. The staff disrupts the flow of arcane, making it lose its cohesiveness. Another attack came. And then another. Every time, Einrich had been so close to hitting him. He needed a solution quick.
And then the staff split in two. He defended the other half. But the other bent and hit him against his face. He reeled back. A second later, he tasted blood. His eyes saw two Einrichs, and he stumbled against the wall, feeling dizzy. When he tried to control his arcane and put up more shields, he couldn''t control them as effectively as before. He realized the limits of his foundation.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
"This is how mages fight!" Einrich said. He seemed to relish this moment. "You can handle a single staff. What about four?"
The staff split a second time.
August changed his defensive approach. Instead of a thick, flat plane, he created small defensive points around his body. They were as small as pebbles. But since they were close to him, he could expand and wrap them around parts of his body like armor.
He didn''t need to defend against every attack''s force. He just had to disperse it. But he didn''t know how, so he was left with relying on his reflexes and arcane threads to figure out where the staff would be in.
He was hit once in the leg, then another in his arm. Every time he had gotten hit, he had to put more effort into controlling his arcane. Attacks barraged him from different directions. August wiped his nose.
"Do you know why we use shields instead of arcane to defend ourselves?" Einrich asked. He was enjoying this. But August wouldn''t reject information if it could help him now.
"Why?"
"Because arcane alone isn''t sufficient. It''s not flexible. It''s brittle and it exhausts the user''s arcane, which is why weapons were created with circuits. Once arcane flows into the circuits, you use the weapon''s physical force as the weight of your attacks."
The staff''s barrage didn''t stop. And Einrich seemed content with this. He wouldn''t lose arcane, and he predicted that August''s exhaustive use of it would drain him eventually. It was a battle of attrition. More likely, he''d be beaten to death before he exhaust himself.
August thought of a way to block more attacks effectively. But was that the right way? He extended his hand and, as he looked for the right opportunity, grabbed a part of the staff and held onto it.
Invade the weapon. Control it. Make it his own. Fry the arcane and overpower it. But nothing happened. It seemed to pulse with life. It was as if he had peeked into a hole and found a spring of plants and fresh river water.
The staff was pulled back. Einrich seemed confused. "I expected you to try to steal it," he said. "But you''re this weak that you can''t even control an anima?"
Anima?
August remembered Orlan''s words: This is only an elementary test to measure how well you can interact with living things. Plants, animals, insects, people. We call that anima. To be quite frank, August--you don''t have what it takes to be a mage.
Seven had been different. They treated her differently too. Like an equipment--something to be used and thrown away. "What''s an anima?" he asked.
"It''s a living weapon," he said. "These are items created to be exclusively used by mages. They eat, sleep, fight, and have a mind of their own. Though they can be pretty stupid. But they''re alive unlike your friend over there who merely mimicked a life."
He attacked again. August leaned against the cage to prevent his back from being struck. But would that accomplish anything? He glanced up at the upper floors. The climbers and these audiences were watching the match intently.
Regardless of the their intentions, he wanted to defeat Einrich. He''d steal the helmet.
"Sorry," August said. He decided to attack. He charged forward. "But I''m going up."
The staffs tried to pester him with the attacks, but they didn''t carry that much force with them while he ran. Einrich shot his floating shields and struck August on his knee and arms. Whenever he tried to move, they would counteract his balance so he couldn''t exert much force to run forward.
"You can''t touch me," Einrich said.
August took off his shirt. That seemed to surprise Einrich, but he didn''t give the mage the time to think. This shirt was able to shrink on its own, but that was because it had been infused by arcane.
It wasn''t a living weapon. He could control it.
He willed the shirt to split into several pieces. Then he used it to wrap the all the shields around and kept them there. Einrich figured out what he intended to do--take out the defenses.
The mage tried to move the shields but, August had possessed more force in pulling it away from him, creating space. The staff diverted its attacks to the cloths, then back to him. August simply created more barriers to protect it. He allowed some attacks to hit him, but it wouldn''t break his focus, not when adrenaline surged him to attack.
And then he passed through. Einrich panicked. He turned and ran and spouted curses. The staffs attacked him again, focusing on his feet and tripping him as if it didn''t know what to do.
The predator became the prey.
It reminded August of when he would catch animals. He would always use arcane to make them trip. The first several hundred times were difficult. Anything longer than five meters were too imprecise for it to be effective. But that was then. And Einrich was well within five meters from him.
August precisely controlled his arcane to create thin flat plane underneath where Einrich planned to step on. Then, when the mage set his foot on the ground, he willed the flat plane to pull back. Einrich slipped. He tried to use his hands to balance himself but that failed too when he touched arcane and he just looked clumsy collapsing on the floor.
August walked over and grabbed the strap. Einrich grasped his arm. "You can''t!" he said. "You''ll have to kill me. I''ve inspected this strap before. It''s difficult to remove. It''s like an arcane lock. You have to--"
The strap clicked. August took off Einrich''s helmet and sighed. He threw it to the ground and heard it bang against the arena
He looked up around him. People didn''t cheer like they did with the previous competitors. They just stared. Lord Meneesh seemed study him even more.
"Um," the female announcer said. "Well. Um. Rank 2 August defeated Rank 11 Einrich and passed the 2nd Trial."
He heard a collection of quiet, polite claps from the 3rd floor. They had never clapped in the previous matches. What made this one different?
He found Seven away from the crowd and messaged her.
{ August: can you do me a favor? }
{ Seven: it depends. If it goes against my mission, I''m afraid I don''t have the authority to disobey a command. }
{ August: That''s for the future for us to figure out. Can you find out what they''re saying about me? }
{ Seven: yes. Why? }
He told her the truth. He wanted to know what opinions they have of him, whether or not he did well. He didn''t have a proper gauge of his own strengths and weaknesses. He didn''t want to get ahead of himself. Was Einrich weak for an 11th Ranker? Or was he strong? He wanted to know the truth early on.
He returned to the other climbers but kept his distance with Seven. He couldn''t hear them, but she informed him that she could. She said some of them begrudgingly acknowledged his skill with the arcane. But that didn''t change the fact that they weren''t impressed with the match.
They cheered for Einrich. And when he lost, he didn''t lose with scars or wounds or even a sweat. To them, he slipped awkwardly. They thought August humiliated him. That he wouldn''t attack and only steal the helmet out of pity.
One of them glanced venomously at him. August stuck out his tongue. It didn''t help his reputation.
"Don''t mind them," he told her. But he must''ve been telling that himself, because he did mind what other people thought of him.
"I do not," Seven said. "I have no feelings."
"Hm." He sat down against the wall. A staff approached him and gave him a new shirt. When they left, another man approached.
He didn''t look much older than August. But he was smiling, and the moment August saw him, he recognized the person right away. He had stood right next to Seven. The Rank 4--Nilvar.
"Wonderful control of the fundamentals. You rarely see that at your age. But keep this up and you''ll lose the third trial," Nilvar said. "In fact, you might have lost already." Chapter 8 Chapter 8
"Me? Lose?" August asked. He was talking about the third trial. What did he know about it?
Nilvar put a finger on his lips. "It''ll cost you. We all heard it. You have 60,000 credits you got from the rich kid, didn''t you? I can tell you what the next trial will be and how to win it. You''ll be able to strategize before anyone else here."
August frowned. "You''re selling information?"
He shrugged. "I''m what they call an Information Broker. Ask the right questions, you''ll get the right answers. Well? Interested?"
"How do I know you''ll honor the agreement? That you''re not lying? How can I trust you?"
"You don''t," he said. "You''ll just have to risk it."
{ Nilvar requests a trade, offering: 10,000 Credits for "Information about Lord Mesheen''s 3rd Trial. }
"I''ll think about it."
He waved a hand and left.
August pulled himself up and scooched closer to Seven. "Can we trust him?"
"I lack sufficient data on Rank 4 Nilvar to form an accurate assessment. However, if he truly is an Information Broker and provides an precise data regarding the next trial, it will benefit you to use his services for the future."
The future, he thought. "Is 10,000 Credits a lot?"
"I don''t know. My data doesn''t include any information about currency."
August felt uncomfortable asking people, but he needed to. But when he approached them, they pushed him away or ignored him. He asked about three people before giving up.
If the Information Broker was telling the truth, he would be invaluable. Neither he nor Seven knew anything about this world. His services would be worth gold, but if he knew about the two of them and knew they were ignorant, then wouldn''t he charge a higher price?
August decided to take another approach. He returned back to the dining hall and asked the staff. They told him 10,000 credits was nothing. It didn''t even amount to some of the foods they could serve. He also asked them about the third trial but they were tight-lipped about it.
Then, he asked the medical staff. "That''s a lot!" one of them said. Apparently, 10,000 credits would be able to buy her a decent, low-grade Info Bracelet. It was a staple in the medical field.
One side said it was nothing, while the other said it was a lot. August returned back to Seven. Below, another of these martial artists fought. Einrich was the only mage he met so far.
"Did you find anything?" she asked.
"Some," he said. He told her about the conflicting viewpoints. He guessed he would have to gamble on this one.
"How''d you know what''s going to be in the next trial?" he asked.
Nilvar put a finger on his lips. "Trade secret."
August scoffed. "I want another condition added," he said. "You''ll not only tell us info about the 3rd Trial, but what strategy we need to take to complete the test."
"Deal," he said quickly. August started to worry if he should have bargained some more. But the offer had been made, and when the translucent window appeared, he accepted it.
"The next trial will be a Standard Match."
A Standard Match, he explained, was a 3-versus-3 match where the goal was to eliminate 2 Towers of the other team. At the same time, they also had to protect their own towers from being attacked. Lord Meneesh would have them form a team of 3 and have them fight each other in a 2nd arena that was yet to be revealed.
The problem was--there was only two of them. They needed one more to complete the team, and no one wanted to be with a broken automaton who cheated her way into winning and a boy who didn''t know how to attack. They were referred to as the "cheaters" who tricked their way to the top spots.
"A lot of people bet against you two," he added. "And a lot of people lost."
"Is there anyone out there who''s willing to team up with us?"
Nilvar cracked his knuckles. "That''s where I come in. And no, it''s not me." He pointed at the ring. "Since you have the info of the next trial now, we can scout a potential teammate who''s willing to tolerate your notoriety. But right now, there''s only one climber I can think of. Hope you don''t end up with him."
"Judah?"
He scratched his chin. "The boy might be better. But this will be a team match. It won''t be something as simple as taking down the opponent before you, and I''m afraid the boy might not even be qualified, no matter how strong he is. What you need right now, what you two lack, is a weapon capable of striking through your opponents. Someone who can be the center of your team. A Core."Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
"What''s a core?"
"They''ll be your center. Usually, they have some sort of offensive abilities, but they control the battlefield by taking out other climbers and carrying the team to victory. They lead the crucial fights."
It shouldn''t be difficult finding one person for the team. There were 25 of them, and if they form teams of three, that will be a total of 8 teams. But what would happen to the last one?
"They''ll be eliminated," Nilvar said.
Damn it. Since August and Seven were so unpopular now, the other players would have to choose from the two of them. Seven was most likely weaker than him, but he didn''t want her to be eliminated now. He didn''t want to lose here either.
He watched the matches with a different goal. He wasn''t here to be entertained anymore. He needed to evaluate the personalities and skills of other people in fighting in the arena and see if they could be offered to join him. Right now, he had 50,000 Credits. Perhaps he might even be able to buy them.
The announcer declared: { Sixth match--Rank 10 Quann Alhamir Gladis vs. Rank 6 Selerius. Please step into the combat dome. }
"It''s him," Nilvar said. "Quann. If you don''t want an insane climber that you can''t properly communicate with, avoid him at all cost."
August observed him. He''s all white, he thought. His hair, his eyes, even his uniform was different from all the other climbers. Just a pure, unstained white. And the more August stared at him, the more womanly his face looked.
"That''s a Lord''s blood in his veins. Quann Alhamir Gladis from the House Gladis," Nilvar said. "Looks like a woman, isn''t he? That''s a Gladis for you. All white and all beautiful. He''s a double-edged sword, you''ll see."
Quann was going to fight against a mage. Selerius had a shield and a staff too, but something seemed different about them. The staff looked like a spear. It had long blades at both ends. Then both the shield and the blades spun erratically.
The bell rang.
Selerius didn''t talk like the other competitors. He attacked. Quann didn''t have a weapon so he looked defenseless, but he exuded confidence enough to give a hint of a smile. "Let''s play a little game," he said. His voice sounded like a woman too.
Quann bent and jumped. High in the air, he twisted his body that, mid-air, he stared back at Selerius. He stretched his handsAugust heard a loud echoing crack sharp bones sprouted from his palm and struck the man through his shoulders. The man didn''t have the time to react. He screamed and fell on the ground.
"I will give you thirty seconds," Quann said. "If you can undo the clasp on your helmet, you''ll live. But if you go past thirty seconds, I''ll break one bone in your body starting from your toes every ten seconds. One..."
The mage tried to undo the clasp, but the damage on his shoulders slowed him down. August waited with bated breath, but as the seconds ticked up, he began to lose hope for the Rank 6. Then, at the 29th second, he heard a click.
"I did it!" Selerius said. He tried to remove the helmet but it didn''t work. It wouldn''t work to begin with. The helmet had several locks but he only managed to solve one. Each piece was a puzzle in itself. Thankfully, when August touched the helmet, he reconstructed a diagram in the Info Bracelet. Since he''d been creating reconstructing 3-Dimensional Shapes to begin with, it wasn''t difficult to solve. The Notes he''d been using felt petrifyingly useful.
"Thirty-one," Quann said. His smile was vicious.
The mage tried to attack with a spear but pieces of Quann''s rib sprouted from his body and used it to create a barrier around himself, weaving and flexible. The attacks sliced through bone and managed to slipped past his defenses, but he didn''t seem to mind the wounds he''d been taking.
"They specialize in body modifications," Nilvar said. "Blood, muscles, skin, and bone among other parts of the body. He''s only fifteen, but that boy already has a terrifying control over his own power. Among you new climbers, he''s the one you have to watch out for."
The match ended much later, when Selerius couldn''t walk anymore and every part of his leg were bent the wrong way after Quann decided to fracture his joints with his bone needle. Then, after what felt like an eternity, the removed his helmet.
"Wonderful!" Quann clapped. "As a reward..."
August heard several snaps as the Rank 6''s legs re-attached and seemed to fix by itself. He screamed and then he passed out. When they were told to leave the combat dome, Quann was still performing the operation as he stepped out and the man was dragged by a stretcher.
"I think I just lost my appetite," August said.
August learned a lot from Nilvar for the next several matches. At the end of last match, he got a good grasp of how he placed among the other mages and found out more about himself. Since he''d never been able to control living beings, his master Visentii taught him only the fundamentals.
These fundamentals didn''t require interaction outside. Nilvar informed him that mages normally found these boring, tedious, and unproductive since it didn''t produce visible results. But August had been honing his fundamentals since he was a child. It felt like a muscle. It rises, then falls, and then the baseline of what he was capable of increases.
He was better than them at the fundamentals, but when it comes to function and practicality in combat, he lacked the offense to fully utilize everything he''d learned. If this was a true deathmatch where only one person leaves alive at the end of a match, he would have to strangle Einrich or beat him to death.
He could have tried to imprison Einrich inside an arcane box too. But those living weapons could break it and he would have to recreate it every time which was expensive.
He might have survived now, but his strength produced a weakness that would be extremely difficult to accomplish alone. And, upon watching every match after him, he realized Quann''s offensive capabilities more than makes up for his and Seven''s weakness.
After the match, August returned to his room. Another timer appeared. Twenty-four hours from now, the 3rd Trial would begin. He spent half of that time with Seven studying the notes he''d taken from Nilvar.
The information ended up being very useful too. Nilvar taught him how to use the Info Bracelet''s capabilities for free and they were able to take each other''s contact information.
{ Time before the 3rd Trial: 11hrs, 59min }
The announcer had them gather in the dining hall. August quickly got up and met up with Seven. They were expecting this. Now they get to see if the Information Broker was accurate.
They found a seat at the back corner. All the seats near the serving station were already taken. They were a full 50 participants before, but now there were only 25 of them left. It had been so crowded and noisy then, but the silence and feeling of dread that had been gathering now felt more oppressing.
"Congratulations!" The voice of Lord Meneesh announced. "Are you all well-rested? Because it''s time for the 3rd Trial Team Selection! Before I announce what the trial will be, you must be in a team of 3. But there''s 25 of you, so 1 climber will be left out. You have exactly 15 minutes, so if you''re the unlucky one who couldn''t get a team, well... you''ll be eliminated."
August stood up. He had a couple of people he wanted to talk to first. And as much as possible, he''d like to avoid the sadistic climber Quann. Chapter 9
Chapter 9 Since Seven and August would be together, they decided to split up and find someone to team up with. Having made a list, August would talk to the first two. One of those was Rank 9 Yura Faleria--the one-eyed mage. The woman who overwhelmed the enemy using only half of the shield as her weapon.
It was easy to spot her. She preferred being alone and no one seemed to talk to her. Her reddish hair also stood out, and he found himself staring for too long. He''d never seen anyone with that hair before.
He approached her at a table. "Yura Faleria?" August asked.
She looked up. A red eye stared back. She didn''t seem bothered at all.
"We want you on our team. Myself and Seven--I mean, the automaton Amelia P-07."
She nodded. "Sure--"
"Wait, wait, wait!" A girl suddenly hugged Yura. "She''s already on our team. Shoo-shoo, you cheater!"
Another girl appeared, and that turned to a tipping point for Yura, who raised a hand and told she''d have to think about it. But the girl was inecessant and Yura seemed weak to her pressure.
August backed down. That was a shame. He looked around for Rank 22 Mischell Kun, a swordsman. He was a close-combat mage with a living weapon called a rapier. He was very flexible, and he''d been the only Rank 22 to openly challenge a Rank 7 and win without so much as a scratch.
"Your reputation stains me," he told August. "We may form a good team, but I can''t see myself being dirtied by the notoriety you currently hold."
August offered him 50,000 credits, but he refused that too. I guess I really have to invite Quann.
He found Quann sitting on a man''s lap, which, to an observer, looked disgusting. When he proposed a team-up, Quann told him, "I''m already taken, Rank 2. Unless you have something better to offer, I might consider it."
That sadistic freak.
August looked around for other people, but he was rebuked every time. When he sat back down at a corner, kicked the other table. If these were the kind of people living in the Tower, then was it even worth it to come here? All he could see where people desperate to go up and a person being scrapped. This might as well have been a graveyard for living corpses searching for heaven.
{ 5 Minutes Remaining. }
August buried his head in his hands. Had it been ten minutes already?
"August," Seven said. He found her, accompanied by two other people. "I found someone."
"Great!" he brightened up. Lucky. "Who''s joining us?"
"You got it wrong," a woman said. "She''s coming with us."
She looked older than him. A lot older. "What do you mean?"
A man answered for her. "We''re both mages, so we''re not lacking in offense. But we don''t have someone as versatile as an automaton. She''ll balance our team well."
"They have also agreed not to tell you another thing," Seven said. The girl tried to stop her but she continued unimpeded. "They have found you a threat. Since the Lord of Trials is known to cull climbers down to single digits, the likeliest scenario in the final battle would be to make former teammates face each other in a match. I don''t have any combat capabilities, but unlike you, I don''t have a compelling defensive and high control over arcane as well. So if a fourth trial ever occurs, I will be easier to deal with."
"And you agreed to that," he said, flabbergasted.
"It is the most logical choice. My mission is to climb the tower and they radically increased my probabilities of climbing by 100%. They have also stated that if I don''t join them, they''ll invite you instead."
August glared at the woman. "That''s dirty."
The woman shrugged. "Oh, you know all about that don''t you? Besides, the girl''s an automaton. See how she easily kicked you out?" She tapped Seven''s helmet like she would a bucket. "Don''t project your feelings over a slightly modified rock. She''s a slave to her programming."
He bit his lip. "I have 50,000 credits I can give you," August told them. "But only if one of you joins me and Seven."
"No," they both said at the same time. The man continued. "50,000 might be a lot right now, but once we move up the tower, it''ll be chump change."
August didn''t answer. Then, turning to Seven, "I want to know what you think."
"I found this the best opportunity to move forward and climb the tower. My mission will continue unimpeded."
August blinked. "If that''s what you wish, I''ll respect that."
He stood up, glanced at the timer, and walked back to his room. He felt it again. That pang of pain in his chest. He opened the door, hesitating, and took a deep breath. He didn''t like what he was feeling. He never felt it before, but he had been alone then.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
August blinked, then rubbed his eyes. After taking another deep breath, he stepped inside the room only for a hand to grab his arm. That hand was cold. And when he looked back, he saw Seven.
He waited for her to say something, but she didn''t utter a word. "What is it?" he asked.
"I do not know," she said. Her eyes stared without life. "Perhaps there''s an error in my programming." She withdrew her hand. "I shall not disturb you any further."
"Good."
He shut the door. When the timer reached zero, he listened to the announcement. And then a translucent window appeared before him.
{ Rank 2 August: eliminated. }
{ A staff will guide you to leave the tower shortly. }
He slumped back against the bed. He should''ve convinced her better. He could''ve tried to influence the two climbers and make them fight against each other. Or sell himself better.
But his emotions got the better of him. A lot of people were climbing the tower for their own reasons. And even more of them were so different from him that he found them unreadable and strange.
But this might be for the better. He''d leave the tower alive and have a story to tell for Orlan.
A staff guided him to a small, unfamiliar hallway. Before long, he spotted a familiar figure standing at the junction of two corridors, each branching off in a different direction.
"Orlan?" August asked. He created a light sphere. It really was him.
"I''ve been watching you from the upper floor. How did you like the taste of the Tower?"
August thought about the past two days. "I don''t know," he said. He had been too confused, but not in a bad way.
"People died," The Lord of the Flowers said.
"I know."
"You''ve been betrayed. Twice."
"You saw that too?"
"I did." He gestured to the corridor to his right. "It must be painful. But now I''ve honored my word to your master. There''s no reason for you to stay here any longer."
August shook his head. "I liked it," he admitted, shamefully. "I liked the food. The people. I loved what I saw, what I heard, and what I tasted. It''s different from living in the forest. I don''t think I''ll ever forget this feeling in my life. And if I were to abandon it..."
"Do you want more of it?"
August tilted his head. "I''ve been eliminated."
"The path to your left leads outside the tower. But the moment you take this path, you''ll never enter the Tower again. If you take the right path, your life will change. You won''t be safe there anymore. People around you will take advantage of you, betray you, deceive you. It won''t be the life in the forest you''ve always had. This will be your one last chance to climb up the tower."
"I''m taking that chance," August said.
"Why?" Orlan said.
August shrugged. "It''s fun. I''m compelled to have fun competing in these games. And I want to meet more interesting people." He paused, mulling it over. Was it really that simple?
Orlan stepped aside and gestured to the right path. "Who am I to stop you? Go and and have your fun for now, August. But one day, you''ll cross paths with your master and you won''t be able to escape that. I''m afraid it won''t be as fun as you think it is now."
August knew that already. Master Visentii was somewhere in this tower. But for now, he wanted to have fun, so he would do precisely that.
He took the right path. And that path led him up a flight of stairs, leading to a door. When he opened that door, he saw Lord Meneesh wearing that mask with the smile. "I knew you''d return," he said.
"What happens to me now?" August said. "I''ve been eliminated."
"Good question, Rank 2. You''ll be the underdog of the 3rd Trial."
Twelve hours later, the announcement came and everyone gathered on a second arena next to the combat dome. It was enormous. He''d been given the opportunity to see it before them since he was the wild card this trial. It had looked like a miniature patch of land. There were mud ponds scattered around the sandy ground. At the center of the arena was a short, wooden tower. A single ladder lead to the top.
An announcer named Aeladine explained the rules of the 3rd trial to August. So he had a lot of time to think about what to expect going into the trial, and he absolutely had no intention of losing the second time. Whether if it was with Seven or not, he''d find a way so he could hold onto this novel feeling in his heart and keep it that way.
Nilvar was half-right about the 3rd trial. It was a 3v3, but not in the way he expected. August heard Lord Meneesh announce the start of the game.
"The 3rd Trial will be the Mudpit Thief!" he said.
August studied his notes while he listened. He had been sitting in this dark place for half an hour now. He wanted to go back out there and play already.
2 teams of 3 will enter the arena and compete to be the who holds the ball the longest. The team who successfully holds the ball the longest pass the 3rd Trial. Having the ball stolen from a team doesn''t reduce the time accumulated by holding the ball.
Once a new round starts, a team will enter the arena. Each round will cycle every 5 minutes.
The platform underneath him started to rise. There was another rule that Lord Meneesh only started to mention. There were a total of 24 players here. Being the 25th player, he started with a special role: a thief.
August shielded himself from the light. People just beyond the arena stared at him in surprise. He was right underneath the center of the arena. He climbed up while Lord Meneesh explained the rules, and once he finally got up there, he went over his plan of stealing other people''s team members for his own. Next to him was the ball. It was large enough that he would have to hug it underneath him to protect it from being stolen.
The Thief holds the ball in the 1st Round. If the Thief holds the ball the longest, they can steal a member from any team. If the Thief successfully forms a team of 3, they will turn into a Regular Team.
But teams who have had their teammates stolen or died will turn to a Thief Team. They must hold the ball the longest to acquire another member before passing the game.
August only had one objective to focus now: hold the ball the longest and recruit a Core into the team. The objective wasn''t to kill other people anyways, so this shouldn''t be combat-based.
Seven could be the most dangerous participant in this trial. Her agility would be frightening, but if he had her, they would form a team that couldn''t easily be caught.
He took off his shirt and let it drop on the ground. All eight climbers would try to steal the ball from him but it would be better if they decided to kill each other first.
"Two teams that have been randomly selected, enter the arena!"
August watched the teams. They would all start at each of their corner. He tried to spot Seven, Yura, Miscell, Judah, and Quann. Judah was here. His team consisted of a girl and a boy. He spotted Yura and the other girls with her. He worried about Yura''s shield. That would be a problem with her level of control.
"Are all the teams ready?" Lord Meneesh asked. "Then let''s begin the Mudpit Thief, 3rd and final trial of the 1st Floor!"
The 5-minute timer on the wall ticked down. August held onto the ball first. Then, he dropped it from the tower. He didn''t have the luxury to look at the other teams. He slid down from the ladder, grabbed the ball, and grimaced at how the small the arena actually was when 7 people were all playing the same game.
All eyes were on him. It would be a bloodbath.
{ Holding Time: 4 Seconds } Chapter 10
The ball was reinforced by arcane, but he couldn''t control it as effectively as he wanted to. Something seemed to resist, and that resistance prevented August from manipulating it.
August spotted Judah in the corner. The boy hadn''t moved an inch from his spot. He decided to ran toward them. It confused the five players, but he prepared a plan for this one. Before the match, he got to meet the female announcer who was surprisingly pretty--Aeladine, the orange-haired woman. Since he would be the wild card at the start of the trial, she briefed him about the arena.
He dove straight into the shallow pond and splashed himself with mudwater. It was knee height, and it made it difficult for him to move too. It was water mixed with some substance that made it oily and slippery. He used his arcane to tighten his hold on the ball, though that was less effective than what he wanted to do.
The boy and the girl on Judah''s team stood outside the pond. Yura''s team waited there as well.
{ Holding Time: 15 Seconds }
August wiped back his hair. "No one wants to get in for a splash?"
"Ew!" Yura''s friend said.
Yura''s entire team raised their weapons: three shields and two staffs. The boy and the girl retreated back and surrounded him from behind. August was confident he''d tire out and exhaust his arcane before the game ends. He needed to pace himself properly.
They barraged him with attacks while he tried to get out of the pond. He created one shield after the other, keeping the impact of their weapons to the minimum. The climbers hesitated attacking him or they might get caught in the crossfire. Once he climbed out, he dashed over to Judah''s team.
"Why won''t you go down?" Yura''s friend said. "Stop moving around too much!"
Judah''s teammates charged at him. The girl jumped and tried to grab at his neck. The boy aimed for the ball. August ducked down and twisted his feet, then he kicked the boy, successfully dropping him in the water.
A shield slipped past his defenses tripped him. He hit his face hit the mud. Those mages were going to be a problem. The shields and the staffs pressed on his back and prevented him from getting back up. August curled, shielding the ball.
"Now''s the chance!" they said.
Instead of attacking him, they used the staff to pry it from him. They weren''t very successful, but over time, he would lose the strength to defend himself. He limited the amount of arcane he was using; it wasn''t necessary to completely shield himself from attacks that would only leave his body bruised.
{ Holding Time: 50 Seconds }
Just ten seconds left. August shut his eyes and counted the numbers in his head. The two climbers tried pulling at his arm. Suddenly they were all surrounded him. August was about to let go, and when the ball finally slipped away from him, he grinned.
The boy grabbed it. The staffs and the shields loosened their hold on him. August used this opportunity to cast small shields around himself and forced himself up. He blinded the boy with arcane, tripped him with an uneven flat plane underneath his feet, and stole the ball.
{ Holding Time: 62 Seconds }
"You want the ball?" he said. "You can have it!"
He burst into a run around the mages. Then, once he got a clear shot, he dropped the ball and kicked it--directly to Judah. His aim was true.
Judah met his expectations. The boy immediately sensed the ball and grabbed it with one hand. He didn''t even flinch. Now Yura''s team had to deal with Judah, and August, with a 70-Second lead, used this opportunity to breathe and think over his plan.
Yura had to get the ball so August could take it away from them, making them fight for each other and wasting the 5-minute round time.
Yura turned their attention to Judah. But when they tried to attack him, Judah used his hair to curl himself into a cocoon. August had never seen that before. His original plan was to have Yura''s team attack Judah and steal the ball from him, but they seemed to prefer exhausting the other teams first before going for the ball.
The boy told the girl to stay out and let Judah handle it. 15 seconds had passed. August was starting to worry. "Yura!" he said. "At this rate, Judah won''t let go of the ball!"
"Shut up!" Her friend said. "It''s like hitting a brick wall and he''s tougher than you. Why''d you give him the ball in the first place, you dolt? Just help us take the ball from him."
"Sure," he said and ran for Judah. "But if you attack me, I''m going straight for you."
"A man after my own heart," she laughed.
When August reached Judah, the first thing he did was kick the boy''s hair. That was probably the stupidest thing he''d done today, and he regretted it. He hurt his toe and the pain made him hop on one foot.
He saw the climbers watching from outside the arena. That was embarassing. "Hey!" He called out to them. "Any advice?"This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
"Roll him over!" One of them.
August got an idea. "To the pond!" He pushed the cocooned Judah to the pond. Eventually, Yura''s team jumped to the idea and used their shields to push him. The boy and the girl ran to save Judah, but Yura''s team pushed them back with a barrage of attacks with their staffs.
It was this unexpected cooperation that August found himself quietly relishing the moment.
He wondered how Judah''s team were going to defend themselves. He shouldn''t have asked that question. His two teammates had black shields sprout from their arm. And when the staff hit the shield, it bounced off, creating fractures to the staff.
"No!" Yura''s other friend said. "They''re Vanguards!"
They tried to attack spots where the pair wouldn''t easily be able to defend, but their staffs were also taking damage. They seemed more hesitant now to attack. They charged for August.
He retreated several steps back. Judah was almost there at the pond, but now they were at a standstill.
"You''re not getting past us," the boy said. "Sorry, but we''ll have this round."
The 5-minute timer ticked. August tried to think of a way to get through them, but those small, round shields were going to be a problem.
Yura''s friend tried to hit August with a staff. He shielded himself. "What was that for?" he demanded.
"You shouldn''t have given it to Judah, you cheater! Cheater, cheater, cheater!"
"You''re the only mages with offensive capabilities in the first round," he said. "Why don''t you pry him off that cocoon instead of blaming someone?"
She flushed.
Time ticked. August and Yura''s team circled around the cocoon, testing the defenses of the pair, but they couldn''t pierce through the defenses. Eventually, they passed him in time to hold the ball, and four minutes had passed.
"Round 1 ended," Aeladine announced. "Winner of this round: Team Judah the Great. Round 2 will begin in 1 minute. Teams, please find a corner to wait. Selecting a team for round 2--Team Skele-Stick, please enter the arena."
August found a corner he could wait in while the ball returned by itself up to the center of the tower. He banked it all on that plan, but it didn''t survive at first contact. He needed to find another opportunity.
Skele-Stick sounded like a joke team, but he was surprised to find Quann and the lackeys already. They would be a difficult match.
Thankfully, he''d been able to rest for a couple of minutes. He began to think up a plan. Quann shouldn''t get the ball at any cost. "Yura''s friend!" he called. "I want to propose a temporary alliance!"
"It better be good," she said.
"If Quann gets the ball, we''re postponing our feud and work together to pry the ball off of him."
"Well. Good idea. Done!" she said. "You really are a cheater, aren''t you?"
He grumbled. "We''re playing within the rules."
"That''s what good cheaters do," she gave him a thumbs up. "But as long as you''re on our side, I don''t care."
August settled for the insult mixed with a compliment. That was an improvement.
"That''s not fair," Quann''s teammate said.
"Oh it is," Quann said. "Once I get the ball, none of them stands a chance."
Aeladine announced the beginning of Round 2.
August sprinted toward the tower without hesitation. Yura''s team opted to circle around it, while Quann casually strolled, unbothered by the other players. Two of Quann''s teammates outpaced August, reaching the ladder ahead of him.
August didn''t want to compete while being underneath them. He jumped over the wooden frames and climbed. He was significantly faster than the two of them when it comes to climbing. And when they saw him, they hurried too.
He had been climbing trees for fun and survival. Bears were notorious for being swift when climbing, and when he encountered other predators while a climb, he would often jump to another tree. His hands and feet had grown calloused from the years of playing in the forest alone.
August reached the top first and grabbed the ball. He considered throwing it, but the mages down there were waiting. But that was fine--he could guard the ball here and now. He used arcane to block the ladder.
But they were stronger than he anticipated. Quann''s teammate willed arcane around his own fingertips, overwhelming August''s defenses.
August kicked him in the face. It didn''t work. The man seized his leg and squeezed.
"I''ll break your bone if you don''t let go of the ball."
August pulled himself away, dropping the ball behind him. In a single second, the man used all his force to jump up at the tower.
"Come here then, Quann''s slave," August said. "This isn''t going to be pretty."
"Agreed," the man said.
After that, chaos happened. August brawled with the man, while his teammate climbed the tower and tried to get the ball. Because of the wall and the height, August couldn''t ask for help from Yura''s team. He might have to throw the ball down since he''d already bought himself half a minute.
If he kept fighting, the other person might change his approach and trap August. He tried to shove them off the wall. Amid the chaos, he managed to grab the man¡¯s foot and lift it. It was all about precision as he willed his arcane to unbalance the other foot.
August was shoved to the side by the other man. But the moment August hit the wall, the man who had pushed him accidentally struck his teammate, causing him to slip and fall off the tower.
August heard a brief scream, followed by the sickening crack and snap of bones. The two still atop the tower momentarily forgot the game. They both looked down, horrified by what had just happened.
The man''s head was twisted at an unnatural angle, and his arm was folded in on itself. Next to him stood Quann. "Tsk-tsk-tsk," he sighed. "Don''t blame me. You three were the ones fooling around."
August heard the announcement: Rank 29 Jamantii (Deceased) member of Skele-Stick Eliminated. Team Skele-Stick changes from Regular Team to Thief Team. You must now win a round and steal a member from the present teams to become a regular team.
So now there were two thief teams around. August didn''t let go of this momentary pause. He took the ball, dropped it down the ladder, and followed after it. "Yura''s teammate, the ball!" He called.
Quann ran for the ball. But Yura''s team used their shields to redirect its landing until Yura successfully grabbed it.
"Thanks," Yura said.
August retreated away from Quann. Now he had to make a choice: to steal the ball from Yura''s team or let them have this round.
"Hey you!" Quann shouted to the man in the tower. "Get down from there."
The man stuttered. "I can''t," he said. "I don''t want to."
Did he give up when his friend died? August wouldn''t blame him. The body was still there. No staff attempted to remove it yet. And blood slowly pooled around his body. It was a sickening sight that August had to look away from it.
Quann spun to him. "Rank 2," he said. "It seems I am forced to make a decision between this stupid idiot or you. If you wish to serve me, a Gladis, this is a wonderful opportunity to make your offer."
Or August could just punch him in the face. Chapter 11 Chapter 11
Yura''s teammate shouted. "Don''t listen to him!"
August considered the offer. He and Quann locked eyes. "I''m not serving you," he said. "If you want to pass this trial, you have to help me steal the ball and join my team."
Quann looked like he''d been stabbed. "But--" he stopped himself. "I''m from a House."
"Don''t know what that is. "
He was horrified.
"Well? Time''s ticking!"
"Fine," Quann said.
August and Quann chased after Yura''s team. "Not fair!" her friend said. She passed the ball to Yura, who ran away from August and Quann.
August suggested they trap Yura, but her legs kicked the ground like a horse and she maneuvered around him like a snake. And just when Quann reached out with a needle-like bone sprouting out from his palm, Yura flung the ball in the air.
She then blocked the needle with a piece of her shield effortlessly.
Her friend caught it. At this point, they were going to pass the ball around each other and it would be difficult to touch it. They needed to take out someone and settle this on even ground. That was what he said to Quann, who replied, "I shall promise to not leave the arena unless I hear one of them scream."
"Go easy on them for our sanity''s sake," August sighed.
They targeted Yura, who was closest to them, had a blind spot on her eye, and was nearest to the pond. The plan was to tackle her to the water and restrict her movements and take her out of the fight by filling her lungs with water. Drowning her. Temporarily.
She didn''t expect to be targeted. That was a lucky opportunity, since everyone had always aimed for the ball. She dodged Quann''s needle first, but she was slow enough to get away from August.
He tackled her to the pond. He felt her struggle against him. She pushed against him, tried to pry him off, kicked his legs that were trying to wrap around her.
Then, suddenly, with skills he''d never experienced in his life, she found an opportunity and wrapped legs wrapped against his, and her arm twisted against his, and he found himself spinning until he smashed against the water. She was locked onto him.
And it all happened in just a few seconds.
He was blind, drowning, and his joints felt like they would snap. He felt a sharp bang on his forehead. It had taken a couple of seconds for him to realize she hit him with her staff. His arcane defenses all dispelled, and he was now defenseless. He tried to focus re-casting them but his efforts were fruitless. Casting arcane required focus, but his mind and body panicked for air.
A boon arrived when he heard Quann''s charge. She disengaged, and August emerged from the pond coughing out mudwater from his mouth.
Before he knew it, Yura had already left them and was gaining distance. "This is not what I expected to happen," Quann said.
"What happened to me?" August asked. "I tackled her but everything flipped."
"That was a Cultivation Art," Quann said. "You''re in quite a dire state there, Rank 2. We ought to give them this victory and save our strength for the next round. They appear invincible. That girl is swift."
August breathed in and calmed himself first. Quann told him that Cultivation Arts were popular with some cultures, though they had always been secretive of their methods and traditions.
"Damn it."
Round 2 ended. Winner of this round: Team One-Eyed Ravens.
The women cheered and hugged Yura. August returned back to his spot. Quann''s teammate, who didn''t move from the tower, was helped by the staff which delayed the match by roughly ten minutes. When he was removed, Aeladine announced:
Rank 32 Matto, member of Skele-Stick was eliminated due to mental sickness. Team Skele-Stick now consists of one remaining member left: Quann Alhamir Gladis.
August stretched himself. This was fine. They had a lot of rounds left, and they were gaining experience. They just needed to be quick about coming up with a plan.
Round 3 will begin in one minute. Team Alfonso, please enter the arena.
Alfonso? August tried to find his opponent. Rank 8 Alfonso--he remembered the man. Nilvar had praised him. When he fought, the climbers roared in cheers. They called out to him as if he was a celebrity, and in a way, he had been. He had ran around his enemy and used his dexterity to his advantage.
They proclaimed him the fastest climber in all of the climbers present. Apparently, he''d never broken a sweat when running the platform on the 1st Trial. It had been a breeze.
He had long, wavy hair, and a cheery personality. He waved at them. His teammates were nothing to scoff at either--the Bando Brothers, Bashente and Elvado. They weren''t mages, but they prided themselves on their muscular strength. They were almost seven foot tall, and August couldn''t help but strain his neck to look at them.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
When they all entered the arena, they had already taken off their top.
"Ugh," Quann said. "This is a terrible match-up."
August studied them with his arcane. They weren''t mages, thankfully, but he wouldn''t go down that easily. "We''re taking them down," he said. "This round."
"Do you have a plan?"
He didn''t have one. Targeting one of the Bando Brothers might just enrage the other, and taking out Alfonso might prove more difficult. The three were physically more powerful, which meant August had to come up with something smart.
The match would be over the moment one of them gets the ball.
When he asked Quann if his bones could be considered a living weapon, he received a positive yes. But that was more of a curse for August. There goes the chance to control the damn thing and manipulate it.
If he were a mage just like Yura, he might''ve been able to take these three down, but now he had to rely on his physical strength.
The Alfonso team seemed to be in a positive mood. "You''ll have to give up this round," Alfonso said. "You''re a flimsy team borne out of desperation. The three of us, on the other hand, are brothers. We''ve known each other all our lives. This floor is only the beginning."
August wiped the mudwater off his face and thought about what Nilvar said. The information brokerdescribed Alfonso as the leader of the two muscle-heads. The only brain in their little group. The three of them were cuthroat killers who owned a gang and decided to climb the tower to challenge themsleves.
Round 3 begins now, Aeladine announced.
August dashed. Alfonso did the same and was faster. The Bando brothers and Quann jogged to the tower.
Alfonso reached the ladder first, but his overwhelming speed caused him to overshoot and forced him to strain his effort into holding onto the ladder.
August didn''t waste this opportunity. Alfonso might have had the speed, but August controlled his momentum better. Running in the forest was several degrees more difficult since he had to maneuver around trees and constantly be aware of his surorundings.
He jumped and actually got ahead of the man. He used his momentum to raise a foot--and aimed it directly at Alfonso''s face. Then he dragged himself up the tower, using the climber''s head as support.
The man was thrown back, rightfully pissed. Alfonso reached for his legs, but August was still wet and mud-stained from the last round and he was able to slip free.
Once he reached the top, he immediately grabbed the ball and threw it at Quann. The Bando Brothers didn''t give chase, and Alfonso gave up climbing the ladder and guarded it instead.
Now it was 2 vs 1 and August wouldn''t be able to get down unless he figured something out.
"Give us this round," Alfonso said. "Face it, Rank 2. You won''t win. You''re slower than me, weaker than me, and people don''t like you. They''re cheering for your demise."
August scoffed. But he didn''t fire back against the provocation.
The brothers started walking toward Quann. The man didn''t move, and that worried August. "What are you doing? Run!"
Quann snorted. "Today," he proclaimed. "You shall witness true talent."
He planted his foot on the ground and spun the ball with the tip of his finger. Then, the brothers charged. August didn''t know what to expect. But Quann seemed confident, so August used this opportunity to start climbing down the frame while Alfonso was distracted.
Then, suddenly, he heard a scream. It pierced his ears. He saw Alfonso''s horrified expression first before his eyes settled on Quann.
Over a dozen, sharp bones jutted from the underground in a straight line. One of the Bando Brothers was struck through his knees and arm, effectively taking him out of the match. But the other was unharmed, saw his impaled brother, and charged mindlessly.
Quann dropped the ball and tried to get away, but he seemed to find it difficult in pulling his feet from the ground. Finally, his soles separated from a thick bone underneath. August suspected that the spikes originated from Quann''s feet, and he was right. But Quann wasn''t fast enough. He dropped the ball and two, dagger-like blades stretched out of his palms.
The Bando Brother anticipated it. With sheer overhelming rage, he stormed past the bone spikes and suddenly his hands reached for Quann, who was easily overwhelmed.
When it came to pure strength and speed, the Bando Brother was faster which surprised August. Quann licked his lips nervously.
The Bando Brother grabbed Quann''s arm and squeezed. "Let''s see how you fare with your bones being snapped, torturer."
August heard a crack. Quann yelped, but his expression told a different story. He was in utter calm. "How crude," he said, almost lazily, then he laughed. "My sisters would have sang insults in your ears lamenting over your botched job of snapping my arm."
He opened his mouth wide. August didn''t see what he did, but he saw what happened. The Bando Brother screamed, both hands now holding his eye. Blood slipped from his fingers. Quann slowly closed his mouth, and a flash of bloody bone retreated back from his lips.
"Don''t move too much," Quann said, licking his lips. "Else I''ll pierce your vitals and accidentally kill you."
His arms hung limp. But this didn''t bother him. They snapped back together, and he flexed his arms as if he wasn''t injured to begin with.
Then, he stretched out his palm.
He pierced the man with precision. The Bando Brother tried to dodge. Quann cut through his hands with ease until he fell down on the ground. Then, to make sure he wouldn''t get up again, Quann sliced his calves.
He didn''t take the ball. Instead, he knelt down before the man and put a needle bone against his neck. "Take the ball," Quann told Alfonso with a grin. "And both your brothers will die. I''d suggest you surrender, Rank 8. The medical staff can still heal these men. But your impaled brother might not make it."
August had successfully climbed down to the middle of the tower already. Alfonso stared at the bloody horror before him. Two of his teammates were led into a trap, effortlessly executed by a single mage.
August studied Quann. Were houses truly this strong?
The Bando Brother underneath Quann''s needle spoke up. "Alfonso!" he cried out. "We''ve lost. We''ve lost, brother. Let''s return home. Fuck this."
Alfonso didn''t answer. August continued his slow descent, but he saw a flash of speed, and Alfonso was gone. So he planned to save his friend. August looked down, and jumped, having calculated that he''d survive the fall. He rolled as he landed, and soon he was chasing after Alfonso.
Quann didn''t move. He had every advantage. But his eyes widened in surprise when Alfonso snatched the ball up and distanced himself from Quann. August watched in confusion while the other team''s leader retreated, and the Bando Brother held a haunted look in his face.
"I''m sorry," Alfonso said softly. "I''m sorry."
"Now that," Quann licked his lips. "Leaves a bitter taste in my mouth."
Both the Bando Brothers looked at him. The impaled brother seemed to be in a daze, but he closed his eyes in resignment. The other whimpered quietly.
August walked closer to Alfonso. He cracked his neck. "Rank 8," he said. "You''ve betrayed your brothers. You''re outnumbered two to one. But you can still save them."
"No," he said with a tremble.
Boos resounded across the arena as shouts of curses and insults were hurled at him from the other climbers. In a single decision, his popularity plummeted. August could see him wavering.
August sprinted after him.
"I''m climbing the tower," Alfonso said, and ran.
August sighed. He had seen many different people since he entered the tower, yet the only one he felt comfortable with was someone they didn¡¯t treat as a person, but as a thing. Chapter 12 Chapter 12
Alfonso sprinted across the arena, but August didn''t have to match his speed. The arena was too small for both of them. August simply cornered him again and again. When he turned, August matched him. When he tried to slip past, August was there to stand and confront him.
Quann joined the fray very quickly.
Alfonso tried to hold onto the ball, but August sensed weakness. Alfonso was haunted. Either by his decision to abandon his teammates or his inability to come up with a solution. August stole the ball and ran past Quann, who defended him. The rest of the match proceeded without much flair.
Alfonso made his decision and he paid the price for it. He tried to slip past August, but at that moment August and Quann anticipated his desperation. They tackled him, and while Alfonso struggled to break free, he wasn''t enough.
Round 3 ended. Rank 2 August won the 3rd Round. You may now select a teammate.
It was a grim sight, having to watch the staff haul Alfonso''s teammates out, leaving blood and bone scattered across the arena floor.
The conclusion was set in stone. It had given August enough time to analyze Quann during the match, and he certainly lived up to August''s expectations. The man was brutal in maiming his enemies. He was an axe sharpened to a degree that wood would part in half if he stared enough.
This performance proved it. Nilvar''s advice about having a core still dwelled in his mind. And while this wasn''t the match August expected, the future might have one, given that Lord Mesheen had all divided them into groups of three instead of five. He announced his selection.
Teammate selected: Rank 10 Quann Alhamir Gladis. Team name set to: Team August.
Two more wins to go.
"You have a plan?" August asked Quann as the man approached him in the corner.
"I was hoping you have one," he said. "We can test our mettle in the fourth round similarly to what we did in the first. Climb the tower, steal the ball, while you defend it. I''ll guard the stairs and make sure no one contests you."
August thought about it. "You''ll be facing three climbers at once," he said. "You''re immobile while you try to defend the spot, and they''ve seen the needles jut out from your mouth. They won''t be fooled twice."
August learned new novel ways of using the arcane, none of which he could effectively use. And now that he''d been exposed to other mages and their living weapons--the anima--he felt like he needed a new hand.
His experiments with Seven''s eye brought forth new seeds to spread across the fields, but they would take time to grow. He realized he needed to learn a lot more than fundamentals, but how was he supposed to do that? No. Not now, not when the match was going. He could think about this once he climbed the first floor.
But he had been fighting with his cards open for the past 3 rounds. That was enough time for other climbers to strategize against him and Quann before they even step foot onto the arena.
He needed to be creative. Something new to each round. Some pepper and salt to keep the other climbers from acting with confidence.
Round 4 will begin in one minute. Team Shatter, please enter the arena.
And then, a new notification appeared.
{ Status successfully analyzed. }
August bit his lip. He immediately checked his status.
{ STATUS }
  1. Name: August
  2. Title: None
  3. House: None
  4. Level: 1
  5. Combat Role: None
{ ABILITIES }
{ Ability #1: Arcane Proficiency 8}
  • Description: Enhances the user''s ability to manipulate arcane and increase its efficiency, leading to better effectiveness in solving all tasks related to arcane including the creation and re-creation of new abilities.
  • Type: Passive
  • Category: Buff
  • Level: Expert (8)
  • Arcane Cost: None
The description of the ability matched what he''d been trained with. But as much as he would like to experiment with this novelty, it didn''t give him anything to latch onto. At least, not until he read the description of arcane proficiency.
Mainly about his ability to manipulate arcane in regards to the creation and re-creation of new abilities.
For his entire life, August had only used a single arcane ability to kill insects and defend himself from rain droplets. But the ability didn''t stop there. It updated a second time.
{ Ability #2: Sonar Weave 5}
  • Description: Spreads arcane around the user, allowing for greater awareness of arcane across their surroundings. Continuously drain arcane over time.
  • Type: Active
  • Category: Vision
  • Level: Competent (5)
  • Arcane Cost: Minimal
Sonar Weave.... he didn''t name this ability at all. Where was the Info Bracelet getting these names? But that was a question for another time. He''d used this ability in the 1st trial as well. August waited for another ability to drop, but no results further showed itself. Damn it. Was that all?
August noticed the alarm late. Round 4 began already, and he only returned to his senses when everyone ran to the tower.
He briefly ran through Team Shatter members. They were a team of tattooed mages. Shatter was the name of their leader. A woman who seemed to be in her thirties. Two men flanked behind her, equally tattooed. They all carried sharp spears instead of the usual staff and shield.
None of the younger mages carried weapons that drew blood, but these people did. And August would have to be more careful against them.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Alfonso reached the tower first, with a lot more control this time. And then August found himself chasing after the man again.
August shook his head. He needed to focus. But at the back of his mind, he knew he wouldn''t survive the next several rounds with his current tactics. The ability to create new arcane abilities would be difficult.
Alfonso ascended swiftly. August willed his arcane to pull the man down using arcane threads, distract his eyes and muscle coordination by trying to get him to slip free using arcane.
It didn''t work. But something else bore fruit. A new ability was born.
{ Ability #3: Threadlock 1}
  • Description: Temporarily disables physical movements of the target using arcane and locks them in invisible threads.
  • Type: Active
  • Category: Disable
  • Level: Novice (1)
  • Arcane Cost: Moderate
August skimmed this and immediately understood what he needed to do. This ability was born out of Sonar Weave. Detect the enemies--or in his case, insects, and then wrap their little necks with arcane threads. It was a useful ability that he used all the time.
What if he could expand on Threadlock from decapitating insects to an ability that was specially designed to hold down humans?
Sweat trickled down his face. It touched his lips, and he felt a taste of saltiness. He licked it. Then, as his head tried to conceptualize Threadlock, he extended his hand and willed arcane from his fingertips to latch onto Alfonso''s neck.
Then, he wrapped that thread around the frame, tying him in place. A notification appeared:
{ Threadlock 1 -> Threadlock 2 }
It worked! But he also felt a significant drain in his arcane. He could do this around four to six times, and he needed enough rest before he collapse on the ground.
Alfonso tried to climb up, but when Threadlock proved difficult, he tried to yank it away. August supplied it with arcane until he climbed past Alfonso. The man had snapped the threads, but at the same time he did, August already reached the top and grabbed onto the ball.
He tossed it to Quann.
Already, the two spears floated in the air and flew at Quann, who rolled out of the way. He couldn''t hold the ball in time.
He was forced to dodge and weave through the attacks, and he managed to block them competently. But when the third spear from Shatter joined in, Quann was forced to weave across the arena, sustaining shallow cuts. He wouldn''t last the future rounds with this. They needed to break the status quo.
As August tried to descend the tower, Alfonso had already dropped on the ground and raced a mage to the ball. The mage was closer, but Alfonso''s speed allowed him to sprint and slide to steal the ball. He''d learned.
August now had to deal with Shatter and her teammate. They didn''t even bother attacking him even though he was climbing down. He guessed they already knew they''d find it difficult to pierce his defenses, which was why they decided to eliminate Quann instead.
It was a valid strategy and it irked August to figure that out now. They didn''t need to win this round specifically. They could whittle their opponents down, preserve their energy, until a clear chance of winning opens up for them to snatch.
Alfonso wasn''t a threat. Neither was August. And now, Quann''s weakness seemed to be the ranged mages, who preferred keeping their distance while they barraged him with fast-weaving spears.
August clicked his tongue. He had an idea, but it was risky. "Quann!" he shouted. "Attack them!"
Quann glanced at him with bewilderment. "They''ll kite me to death!" he asked as he circled the arena.
"Trust me!" August shouted back. What is kite? Some kind of ability?
Quann heaved a sigh, and then, within a fraction of a second, changed directions and ran straight for the two mages. They distanced themselves from each other.
Shatter, who had been eyeing August all this time, sprinted after him. Whatever plan he''d been trying, it seemed Shatter wouldn''t give him the chance to try it out.
August grinned. He was several meters away from the mage that had been attacking Quann, but his arcane proficiency levels were high, and he was confident he could control the man''s mobility from here. Even for a fraction of a second.
August tried to run away from Shatter, but she was a Rank 5, and her stamina and speed gave her the boost she needed to catch August as he was trying to turn around and run.
She leapt onto him and they both crashed on the ground. Her spear tried to pierce him on his belly, but even while he was being choked out, his defenses held.
"Gods," the woman rasped. "Lose your focus for a second and let me skewer you."
She rolled him around again and again until they splashed in the mudpool. She must''ve been expecting him to lose his focus like the fight with Yura, but August was a lot more conscious of his own defenses when there was that pointy thing threatening to disembowel him.
Blinded, drowning, and deaf, August used Sonar Weave. He quickly felt Quann charging at Shatter''s teammate. The two of them were close by.
August held his breath. He waited, and waited, until the man ran around the arena to gain some distance from Quann while whittling him down with spears. Because if that man did get caught into close range, he wouldn''t survive Quann''s relentless attack.
August activated Threadlock. Thick, arcane strands jutted from the floor and wrapped the man as if he was an insect intruding in the hut. It didn''t work. The man struggled for a second but slipped free. And a second wasn''t enough.
And then he felt it. A spark of clarity. He weaved Threadlock differently. Instead of thick strands, he created thin strands and then wrapped themselves around each other like a knot of ropes. He shot Threadlock around the man''s foot, one strand after another, almost cloaking his knee like webs.
{ Threadlock 2-> Threadlock 3 }
August could feel his arcane slipping. He held the man for one second, two, then at the third second, Quann relentlessly attacked the man''s legs, rendering him immobile. He felt Shatter roll away from him, trying to get out of Quann''s range.
No. Not you.
Then, August did something unexpected. That spark of clarity returned, but this time, he felt a fire of connection between him and Quann. The world came into focus. Nothing else remained but a singular objective of taking Shatter down before she reveals more of her cards.
As the world heightened in intensity, he found that he couldn''t blink. If he did, he would lose that focus. Instead, he used Threadlock for the third time. But unlike the conservative use before, he did what he never did his entire life.
He pooled as much arcane as he could without regards for himself and activated Threadlock 5 meters away from Shatter. She saw the tendrils of arcane and laughed. "You missed by a wide margin!"
August willed those threads to directly latch onto her. Threadlock wrapped her arms, legs, neck and body all in under a second. Then he pulled as hard as he could. Shatter gasped in surprise.
She didn''t had the time to react and use her spear. She had been running--and now, she was dragged like a doll across the ground directly at the top of Threadlock. Quann already had his needles raised to strike where Threadlock was even before Shatter got there.
It was as if that unspoken connection between the two of them allowed this plan to form. Shatter tried to raise her spear but Quann was faster. He struck through her palm, then her stomach and her legs.
She cursed.
He didn''t kill her. August would have to ask him about that. But there was also something else. As he picked himself up from the mudpool and walked over Quann, he found himself in a daze of questions.
That unexpected teamwork between the two of them needed to be resolved. How did Quann anticipate his ability to pull Shatter on top of Threadlock? After all, Quann could''ve chased Shatter but he didn''t. He had charged onto the Threadlock itself and when he raised his palm to strike, Shatter had been pulled already.
"Quann," he called. His teammate didn''t answer. "Quann!"
Quann jolted as if he''d been woken up. He looked around frantically until his eyes settled on August. "What did you do?"
"I was about to ask you that same question. How did you know I was going to use my ability to pull her?" He pointed at Shatter, who spat at him and spouted a string of insults.
He smiled sheepily. "I don''t know."
They stared at each other, confused. But the match was still on. August looked at the timer: 3 minutes, and Alfonso still got the ball.
"Let''s talk once the match is over," August said. "Want to try that one more time?"
Quann chuckled nervously. "Sure. Yes. Of course. We''ll flay that Alfonso alive and steal all three of his balls." Chapter 13 Chapter 13 MENEESH Meneesh watched the match with great interest. He expected much from the whelp the Lord of Flowers brought, but the boy wasn''t anything special except, perhaps when they took down two of Team Shatter. The moment August used his ability, Quann was already rushing towards where the boy would pull Shatter. That shouldn''t be possible under normal circumstances. They didn''t each other''s abilities that well, and it was the first time the August whelp used his in a creative manner. Instead, it was as if they made up that strategy on the spot without having to communicate with each other. Which was more strange given that they didn''t know each other before this. Their coordination was flawless, which didn''t happen on the first god''s damned floor between two strangers. They acted as if they''d been friends their whole lives. He looked around. No one seemed to have noticed it. They were content talking to each other and only sparing a glance at the climbers below. This rabble on the upper floors had grown content and fat--but, well, they do have quite the purse, and Meneesh wanted to wring them dry. "What happened?" Aeladine asked next to him. The girl was young, but she had the competence and ease of a veteran which was why he hired her here. A resident from the 3rd floor before its God died and infected everything with its corpse. "Whatever do you mean?" "Those two did something," she said. "The Gladis boy and August." He had hired this girl out of pity, but it seemed she was worth more than she appeared. He smiled. "Whatever do you mean?" "It was arcane, wasn''t it?" she bit her fingernails. "I saw a strand of arcane form a connection between the two of them." "Very observant, miss Aeladine," he said, brimming with pride. "You''re correct. It''s unheard of for lower floor climbers to coordinate that well, much less form a Resonance." "Resonance?" she asked. "In the upper floors, especially with close-combat mages, coordination between teammates is more emphasized rather than individual skill. The more in sync the climbers are with each other, the better their odds of surviving. It takes years of training for two climbers to achieve resonance. But it does happen in highly specialized combat scenarios." He studied Aeladine. Her eyes flashed a glint, her lips whispering to herself as she analyzed what he said. Then, in a flash of revelation, she spoke up. "The trials of the first floor. Specifically, the 3rd trial. Are you trying to replicate it, my lord?" Meneesh clapped daintily. "Perfect answer," he said. "Part of the reason why I''m here is to study the effects of resonance about arcane. In many ways, it felt less like an arcane connection and more like souls reaching for each other. Souls, Aeladine. I felt it many times with my comrades. Whenever a resonance occurs, I start to feel less of myself and more... like an arm part of a larger whole. It''s a delicate dance." He turned to the match while she chewed on her discovery. August and Quann were discussing something. He leaned in to listen and was impressed by what he''d discovered an found that they were going to attempt that mysterious connection again. August informed his teammate that they had two more tries before his arcane pool was depleted, but if the staff were to take their time in removing the bodies at the end of the match, he''d be able to replenish his arcane pool. "Aeladine, do you know the most important quality a climber must possess?" The girl thought for a bit. "Perseverance?" "You''re half correct. But perserverance alone is the first half." He crossed his legs. "As you ascend the floors, you''ll start to encounter more of them, but they all share a singular quality that most climbers lack--Monstrosity." They targeted Alfonso who was a bigger threat. Shatter''s teammate wasn''t a priority any longer, having seen his teammates incapacitated and bleeding out. He wouldn''t be a problem in the next round. Shatter tried to rile him up and continue the fight, but when he stopped running to catch his breath, she cursed him. If he gave up this quickly, he wouldn''t have gotten past the lower floors. What a pity. Meneesh caught something else at the corner of his eye. It was a minute expression from the automaton Amelia P-07, and she had gripped the rails with stronger force. Ever since she saw August, she never took her eyes off of him for even a second. That was an interesting anomaly from an automaton. Was she evaluating his skills? But why him personally? They had befriended each other during the first trial, so perhaps it was something more personal. He leaned back on his chair and pondered. She could add an interesting spice to the next round. August and Quann tried to lock Alfonso in from the back and front. August paused, then used his ability around five meters away from Alfonso, but closer to Quann. He shot the tendrils--no, arcane ropes, out and successfully pulled the man. This would be over quickly. The ropes immediately pulled Alfonso, and Quann struck. Except he missed by a meter and the strike was too slow. At this point, Alfonso managed to escape the ropes since the pull significantly weakened. Meneesh sighed. Perhaps he''d been expecting too much. It would be extremely difficult to perform two resonance executions in a single match. They were just whelps, after all. It was good that they decided to experiment already, but he shouldn''t expect something for the foreseeable future. The only lesson he got out of this was to create more trials that involve team-based combat in the future trials.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. AUGUST August couldn''t understand what happened. They replicated what they had done before, but something felt off. When he had pulled Alfonso by Threadlock, he had a distinct feeling that Quann was going to miss, and he was right. Quann did miss. The pull from Threadlock was swift and it happened in a fraction of a second. It would be difficult even for him to get an accurate strike. But they had done it before. What made the 2nd attempt different? He only had a single attempt this round. Threadlock had taken too much of his arcane. "One last time," he told Quann. Quann gave a nod. They both ran after Alfonso. Quann took up the rear, while August attempted to intercept Alfonso directly. No words were spoken. August knew he only had one single chance of making this right, and he had to make the most of it. Alfonso didn''t look like a mage. He didn''t have any special abilities that made him stand out other than his relentless stamina and top speed. August focused all his efforts on Threadlock. He felt a large percentage of his arcane be depleted until he hit the strain that usually comes with arcane deprivation. He had often given up at this point, but his master stressed the importance of pushing through. These were the safety systems in his body, his master said. He could still drain his arcane though it would mean that the backlash would be major and his body would suffer for it. August regularly found himself pushing past the strain, past that invisible wall, and he felt that now. Arcane ropes twisted and slithered around each other in an instant, and in that same second, they shot forward like a spring, wrapping around Alfonso in a second success. August tasted blood on his lips. His head ached and his mind split his consciousness apart. Master''s training was brutal, but it was because of him that August had been able to do this now. He dragged Alfonso back to the Threadlock hell. Quann lunged forward, but his needle weapon missed by a meter. He was still too far. Quann surged to attack again, but August''s ability dissipated, giving Alfonso the time to roll away, pick himself up, and avoid Quan. August coughed and fell to his knee, wiping the blood off his nose. Alfonso kept getting away from him, which was frustrating, to say the least. He sniffed. Time trickled down to two and a half minutes. "Quann!" He called out. "We lost. Get some rest." Now that Alfonso took up the majority of the time, even if they''d stolen the ball, it wouldn''t matter. How many rounds does he have left? August didn''t know. He needed two more wins, the rest was irrelevant. Alfonso moved like a snake, desperate and more than willing to betray his teammates. Alfonso looked at the clock, stopped, and sat down on the ball. They all waited for the timer to end. It didn''t. It seemed content with counting down to zero. Shatter''s teammate and Quann approached him. They were all catching their breaths, making each second count. A staff approached them and gave them water flasks. "Take this time to rest, climbers," he said. "In courtesy of Lord Meneesh." Shatter''s teammate begged them to carry his teammates away but was harshly refused. The match wasn''t over yet, the staff said. August ignored that. This wasn''t home, and people here play by different rules. He eagerly drank all the water and passed it back to the staff. "How did you two do it?" Alfonso said. August looked around to find who Alfonso was referring to, only to find himself being stared at. "What?" "Don''t play dumb," he hissed. "You and the torturer''s coordinated attack. It was too fast. Were you soldiers?" Quann and August looked at each other. August answered for him. "I don''t know what happened," he said. Quann shared the same sentiment. Whatever they did, it worked once and slipped away. "We''re still trying to figure that out." "I hope you don''t," Alfonso said. "I''m going to take either you or Quann." That couldn''t be good. If August wasn''t picked, he''d have to force himself to win again. There had to be something he could do here to prevent that from happening. Quann answered. "No," he said. "If you take me as a team member, I''ll impale you." August caught onto that. They didn''t necessarily have to work together as a team. And this part was probably dangerous. In the next several rounds, treacheries from team members could happen. "Not me either," he said. "You''ll have to take Shatter''s teammate." The man stayed silent this entire time, but he gave a nod. Alfonso sighed. Round 4 ended. Rank 8 Alfonso won the 4th Round. You may now select a teammate. Teammate selected: Rank 33 Prinsipes. Round 5 will begin in one minute. Team Steelhearts, please enter the arena. August stared at the new competitors. He ignored the two mages and settled for the automaton who was staring at him: Seven. Since the beginning of the first match, he had caught her looking in his direction. He thought it was his imagination at first, but even now, she didn''t look away. Should they even bring that up? They didn''t even know each other for more than a week. She was practically a stranger. "Do you have any arcane left for the spells?" Quann asked next to him. August nodded. "Around two uses." Quann spun to him. "What? Your ears were bleeding." August smiled. "Said by the man who tortured his opponents to bleed out. I thought you''d kill them." Quann scoffed. "It takes skill to wound someone without killing them. And I''m showing mercy to these climbers, but they don''t seem to see it that way. Yes, I might enjoy a bit of it, but that''s why we have medical staff on standby." They talked about what they planned to do in the next several rounds. But August didn''t have the patience nor the stamina for that. He could stretch himself that far but he was already paying the price for straining his arcane. He told Quann they would have to finish this in 2 rounds. Quann scratched his neck. "And what of our strategy?" "We have four enemies, with Alfonso and Seven being agile runners, two mages on Seven''s team, and a normal guy on Alfonso''s. I can take on the mages by myself, but no one can get close to you or they''ll get the pointy end of your needle treatment. We steal the ball, you hold onto it, and I''ll be your shield." "Wonderful." The timer started. This time, August jogged to the tower, but this time, he was going to steal the ball from the team rather than take it. Then his eyes caught Seven who dashed toward the tower and climbed the entirety of it in just a few seconds, leaving Alfonso in the dust. In a few blinks, she was already on the top, looking down at him. He licked his lips. She was going to be more dangerous than he thought. "Alfonso, temporary truce!" He called out. "Take the ball, I''ll handle her teammates." "I''m not falling for your crap, rank 2." "Right. Feel free to take on two mages then." That silenced Alfonso, who turned to Team Steelheart, then to Seven at the top of the tower. "Just this once." Before August could run to Team Steelheart, he saw a ball arching up in the air. It swooped down, and dropped on his hands, leaving him utterly stunned. Seven had just passed him the ball. Chapter 14 Chapter 14 The first thing August did when the ball was handed over to him was not ask any questions. He retreated to Quann, who planted his feet on the ground. The second thing he did was examine the ball to see if it had been tampered with. He should''ve done that first, but he panicked at the last second. The two mages on Team Steelheart were equally surprised when Seven dropped the ball to August. So did Alfonso, who stopped climbing mid-way to stare at him. Seven dropped from the tower, landing on the ground with a boom. She got up effortlessly and walked over to August, stopping several feet away from Quann. "I didn''t expect this," Quann whispered. "But you brought her to our side. How?" "Didn''t expect this either," August said. Time was ticking. Having a conversation here and now would be dangerous, and they would all clump up to steal the ball. August contemplated continuing the game or settling this first. "Why?" he asked her. Seven tilted her head. She looked as emotionless as ever. August couldn''t read what she was trying to do. She seemed to contemplate what she was about to say. But whatever was on her mind, August didn''t hear it. Two spears charged at Seven. August passed the ball to Quann and then found himself pulling Seven to him, using his shield to defend himself from the barrage of spears. Pain wrangled his head and twisted it. He held on, creating smaller shields to deflect it and conserve his arcane. "This isn''t very logical of you," he said, dragging Seven back to Quann''s side. She followed him. He expected Quann to use a shield made out of his ribcage, but the man did some sensible thing for once. A wall of bones sprouted from the ground, angled slightly. Then a few seconds later, an outer wall sprouted a second time, creating a crisscrossing pattern that would make it difficult for the spears to break through. Quann wiped his nose away, wet with blood. "Two rounds, right?" he said. "I''m at my limits. You two better resolve whatever it is you''re doing." August nodded. Outside, the two teams tried to rip the bones apart, while Quann used his needle to pierce through the holes and keep Team Alfonso at bay. "My primary directive is to ascend the tower," Seven said as if slowly regaining comprehension. "I have rectified my error. I was not programmed to prioritize long-term gains over immediate progress. I should have negotiated over our position as a team rather than compulsively accepting someone''s offer to be their teammate. If you take me as your friend now, the probability of our success as we climb the floors will significantly increase." "Friend?" He said, and a thought dawned on him. "Ally. I meant ally." "No, I''m pretty sure I heard you say friend." She didn''t answer. Then, "You are imagining things. Your human brain must have produced an error. Rectify it." "Lying now?" "I am an automaton. I am incapable of lying." She paused. "I believe I''ve betrayed you. I am no longer what you would consider a friend." "You did what''s logical." "I have learned. No, what I did was compulsive." August nodded. He was pissed at the time. He wasn''t thinking logically. But he could amend this bridge before it burns completely. "Want to get some cakes and brownies after this?" She leaned closer. "Are we--" "Agh," Quann said. "Stop it. You two. Am I on a children''s puppet show? What''s the moral of the story? Lords of the tower, you two are insufferable. You''re like children." "I''ve never really had a friend," August said, blushing. "I have no record of engaging in friendship either," Seven said. "This is foreign to me." "Well, neither have I!" Quann said. "Why am I even telling you this? Survive the trial first. We have a tower to climb. The sooner I rid of you two, the better. I''ll not suffer through tiptoeing in a field of daisies singing heavenly hymns and babysitting you." "Engaging in recreational activities is important among humans, is it not?" Seven said. "I fail to see the issue." "Exactly!" Alfonso managed to pry a bone open. When they realized it was possible, they helped him pry off the defense, while Quann desperately tried to stab through the holes. They wouldn''t last. "We''ll kill you, automaton," the woman from Seven''s team said calmly. "You''ll be scraps to be burned and sold. I''ll have your parts sold in the market. Every single one."Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Her teammate laughed. He didn''t seem bothered by all of this. "No harm in a friendly deathmatch competition, eh? Tower''s brutal, I''ll give ''em that. Not worth it." "Then why the fuck are you here?" Alfonso said. "I wanted to see what it''s like. Don''t like it. It''s not for good folks." He pointed at Quann. "It''s for the deceivers, the liars, and the downtrodden." He pried off another bone and raised his spear. It was enough to pierce through. August needed to do something drastic. When he asked Seven if she could defend herself, she shook her head and told him that arcane was beyond her. If they get through, the three of them will be killed. Think. There was only one path through this, and he didn''t want to do it. He only had two uses of Threadlock left, and he''d be left collapsed and eliminated if he used it all this round. But he had to do it anyway. He was supposed to distract from the outside. "Quann," he said. "I need to get outside. Can you open the back of your shield?" Quann cast a suspicious glance at August. "Are you insane? We only need to wait for the timer." "It won''t be enough," he said. "And if we manage to defend ourselves, they''ll kill her." "Aye," the woman said. "Think fast, Rank 2. " A spear shot through the hole. It bounced off, then was pulled back outside again with ease. "Missed," the man said. "Thank the gods. Didn''t want to kill someone. Automaton girl, can you step closer to the right for a moment? I can''t get a clean shot on you." "Quann!" August shouted. "Give me a way out of here." He picked up the ball. A plan formed in his head. He stared at the clock. Three minutes remaining. They''d won already. But it wouldn''t be enough. Quann cursed, and then, behind him, part of the bone wall cracked. August didn''t wait. He charged through it with ease, finding himself outside. Alfonso attempted to tackle him. August climbed up the bone wall, holding the ball with both hands, while Quann used that opportunity to stab Alfonso through his knees. "This better be worth it, August!" Another bone wall erupted inside the dome, locking them tighter in place. August gave a nod. Four people craned their necks to stare up at him. "This is a much, better view, don''t you think?" he said. And passed the ball to the man. "There. It''s yours." The man smiled, then shook his head. He let the ball drop to the side. "We ain''t here for the ball no more. Your automaton''s a treasure, sure, but nothing hurts more than a broken heart." Alfonso''s teammate stole the ball, but the two ignored it. August jumped at them. He expected them to spear him mid-air, which they did, but they wouldn''t get through. He landed between them and threw a punch at the woman. She dodged, and grabbed his arm, attempting to lock him in place. "Skewer the boy!" August slammed the woman against the bonewall. She punched him back and slipped free. He needed to distract them. The woman kept trying to pin him down, but August was faster and more agile than she was. The man tried to encircle him, grabbing the spear and using quick thrusts while she targeted his legs. It didn''t work as well as they thought it would. August spun around the woman, using her as a shield, pushing her, effectively mitigating the chances for them to get a clean stab. He created diamond-like shields. It was more expensive than simple flat planes, but these were designed to redirect the force, not take it. A simple solution, but it helped him conserve arcane better. He was learning a lot. He managed to get some distance between them to catch his breath. Alfonso was limping to the corner with his teammate, who wisely ignored the fight. Two and a half minutes left. "The fuck are you smiling for?" The woman spat. "Me? Smile?" August frowned. He was smiling, come to think of it. This feeling of exhilaration... he couldn''t get enough of it. He began to walk toward them. The woman stepped back. The man wasn''t smiling anymore. August raised an eyebrow and charged at them. The intensity of their attacks rapidly increased. Spears were shot, diverted, and feinted, while the two mages kept their distance. August sustained a cut on his chest, then two, then another on his arms and shoulder. He felt his blood boil, his ears began to drown out the world around him. The pain in his head ceased as if the barred doors suddenly opened. He breathed in, and let the air dance around him as he closed the distance between them. When they ran, their focus weakened, and he was able to notice that the man ran slower than the woman could, so August shifted his focus on him. The splitting headache was gone. He lost that feeling of pain, but he was tasting more of his blood, so that couldn''t be good. Then, his vision blurred as if red paint were splashed at the corner of his eye. They only managed to get a couple of surface scratches on him. There wasn''t blood on his forehead. Then, he felt it in his cheeks. His eyes were tearing up with blood. August stopped. They paused their attack on him. He shut his eyes and used Sonar Weave to tell their location. He could feel them and their spears, and this gave him a better lay of the land. He breathed in and felt the world condense into a single arena. The voices died down to nothing, and pure focus remained. August pulled his foot back, bent down, and felt the world warp around his feet. He shot like an arrow. Behind him, the spear followed. The man turned to get away, and he was fast enough that he could since August''s stamina was already taking a hit. August willed a weak Threadlock around his foot, causing him to stumble forward. Two spears tried to pierce him from behind. He created two diamond shields to redirect both--directly onto the man on the ground. He heard a gasp as the man struck twice, then felt his arcane begin to seep away until August couldn''t hear him anymore. He didn''t need to open his eyes, but he did anyway. The man was struck clean through his chest by his spear. The woman''s spear was embedded in his leg. August felt a pang of regret for his death. The man seemed like a good guy. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, grabbed the spear from him, and faced the woman. He couldn''t control this with Arcane, but he could still use it as a regular weapon. She willed the spear back to her hand and looked utterly horrified as she stared at August. "Why won''t you die already?" she whimpered. Her spear shot with unnatural speed. She''d tried to pierce past his defenses. August felt his attention slip at times, and she was able to scratch him. Unlike Quann, he didn''t have any regenerative abilities. He focused all his attention on his defenses while he walked toward her. Her nose was bleeding now, and as he got closer, her control over her spear weakened. She tried to distance herself from him. "Monster," she said. "Why can''t you just stay down? I''m done with this stupid tower." The woman stepped out of the arena, not taking her eyes off of him, and didn''t stop until she disappeared through the hallway. Shortly after, her elimination was announced, with a one-minute timer left. August turned his attention toward Alfonso and his teammate, while Quann undid his defenses. August cracked his neck. He tried to walk, only to find himself kneeling on the ground. When he looked around, the world was spinning. He felt like he was being stared at by everyone, so he closed his eyes and tried to ignore it all. He''d done his part. Now it was time for them to do theirs. Chapter 15 August was in a daze. He didn''t know when he was dragged to the corner, but he was. Water was splashed on his face, and he heard voices echoing in his ears. He was still alive. He felt his mouth move, but his brain wouldn''t listen. It was as if motivation was sucked out of him, and every time he made an effort to do something, a looming wall would block him in his path. Words were suddenly incomprehensible. A puzzle his brain wasn''t willing to solve. But they were in the corner now, and Seven was with them. He grabbed her shoulders for support, then found himself leaning against her again. "Second time now," he said. But the words that came out of his mouth was sennimow. Quann supported him too. "...don''t fall asleep," he heard the man say. "...you''ll be eliminated....skipping the next round." That was a great decision. He''d be able to gather his wits and recover, at least for now. He shut his eyes and let his mind spin in a vortex of confusion. His arcane swirled within him, rebelling and lashing out. Again, he felt closer to it now more than ever. Ever since he entered the tower, it was as if his power gained some sort of personality. He tried calming it down, but it was futile. It wouldn''t let him use it. He tried taking a tendril of arcane, but it lashed out and snapped at him to go away. Pain flashed across his head, and a bead of blood trickled down to his lips. He tasted iron and dirt. Perhaps in the future, once he''d calm down, he''d be able to appreciate this novel discovery. But at the moment, he needed to tap into arcane so he could run back to the field. Quann set him down. Seven left, only to return bringing bandages and plaster to clean his wound. He thought it would get them disqualified, but apparently, asking the medical staff was a viable option as long as the next round hadn''t started yet. August pondered over what else could they legally do, and if Lord Meneesh deliberately kept these details hidden for the climbers to discover. But his thoughts ended there, as if the act of thinking ahead was incomprehensible. August still had one single ability left in him. He tried to convince his arcane to add one more, one last chance, but it slammed the door on him and told him to sleep outside in the cold without its assistance. His arcane was furious. It made him giggle. He would try to apologize later, maybe coax it into some rejuvenation activities? Reluctantly, he felt it peek behind the metaphorical door. Swimming, it said, but he knew he was just talking to himself. He agreed, and the arcane shut the door again, but gentler this time. Round 6 happened and ended without much fanfare. They decided to sit this one out to recover. Team Nilvar arrived and since Alfonso was wounded and his teammate didn''t have any special abilities, the two of them lost the match by elimination. It seemed that Nilvar had teamed up with the swordsman August tried to recruit before. As the timer ticked down, August started to regain more of himself. He could stand alone now. He could even walk. When he asked his teammates for their status, Quann answered bitterly. "Not good," he said. "I''ve exhausted my arcane already." Seven told him she could perform optimally. He analyzed their strengths and weaknesses. Quann possessed high offense, moderate defense, but poor arcane pool and recovery. He could still attack using his needles, but setting up stationary traps where he had to stand on top of them wouldn''t work any longer. He wouldn''t be able to create a dome either, not with the arcane he was left with. Seven, on the other hand, had high levels of agility and stamina, but very little in offense and recovery. She couldn''t heal. She could only be repaired, and she told him it would be expensive. August was low on mana, stamina, covered in wounds and he couldn''t even run properly anymore. If he makes a mistake in the last round against the last enemy, he''d cripple his teammates. He didn''t want that. But what else could he do now? He might even help them by standing in the corner and staying out of the fight. But no--he wanted to climb the tower. He didn''t need to, but he wanted to explore what it looked like in the upper floors. He was already making significant progress in discovering more of his arcane than the entire several years living in that hut. He needed a plan. And then, he received a notification. It was from Lord Meneesh, politely requesting his Identification and Status information for review. His heart lurched. What did he do wrong now? MENEESH Meneesh had watched the entire Round 5 without much interest. His mind was occupied on other matters, like Team Lightbearer, who would be entering the last round: a fledgeling knight from the Order of Steel. But as the match progressed, Meneesh was left leaning forward, watching the match with such intensity that he was left speechless. The boy August pushed his arcane to its absolute limits which baffled Meneesh. It was as if he was looking at a child raised and trained to be a soldier ever since he learned how to walk. The boy defended himself from two mages and stood his ground, gave his teammates the necessary space they needed, and survived after all that. And while he would critic their strategy, they had already been in the arena for five entire rounds. Their potential could be harnessed. They would need a trial by fire, a constant daily struggle for survival to build their teamwork and character. After that, perhaps a regular periodic ambushes by monsters until they develop that mindset.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Ever since the 3rd floor turned into a hellscape, training these climbers in preparation of what was to come would give them the chance to soar further than the whelps the other lords had been spitting out of their mouth. Meneesh caught himself creating scenarios to train these fledgelings, but they haven''t passed the trial yet. It would be a shame if they lost here. And, regrettably, they would. Team Lightbearer''s Knight Mage whelp would enter the last round. A shadow approached him. When he looked up, he found Lady Essa, veteran Knight Mage from the Order of Steel. "Impressive," she commented. She swirled a glass of wine. Several days ago, they had given him a fat, generous gift to give their whelp a small nudge to victory. And Meneesh had done that. He put Lightbearer at the very last team in the arena, which would give them every opportunity to study their opponents. Now, he was regretting it. "Your knight is coming up next," he said. Lady Essa favored a long, trailing black hair that extended down to her tailbone. It was a mark of pride in having never been touched in combat. "How do you judge this team?" She took a sip of wine. "Quann will be shunned by the knights," she said. "And this August will no doubt catch their attention. Which House raised him?" "The boy is houseless," he said. "A hunter." She turned to him. "Impossible. I''ve trained countless knights under my retinue, but none of them have that boy''s control." "And yet here he is." She sighed. "What a waste of talent. This is why you''re criticized heavily, Meneesh. Once he''s eliminated, all his potential to be a mage will be lost. How many geniuses and talented children have died or eliminated under your rule already? Such a waste. I would''ve taken him under my wing." "Oh? Has he lost in your eyes already?" "He''s drained," she said. "Exhausted. Tears of blood are escaping out of his eyes. His companion Quann is out of arcane as well. And that automaton won''t stand a chance against a knight I personally trained. "Hm." Meneesh willed his info bracelet''s menu into view. The Knight Mage Tulet Argav placed Rank 5 in the first trial. He brought his two squires with him for assistance. The knight himself had an impeccable profile, being from a House. But his squires, as attached he was to them, were unremarkably boring. He decided to check Quann''s profile. Then the automaton. And then August. But the boy''s profile was missing--ah. Yes, of course. He didn''t have an info bracelet before nor was he from a House. But he was wearing it now, so its analysis should''ve been completed already. He sent a quick message to the boy asking for his identification and status. The boy looked up and stared at him. Then, wordlessly, Meneesh received his full profile. And the abilities caught his eye. { Arcane Proficiency 8 } { Sonar Weave 5 } { Threadlock 3 } Was this a jest? He gaped at the abilities displayed here. Very rarely there would be a child that had an ability in the Level 5 to 8, but he had two skills here was very proficient at. Lady Essa was right. The boy was trained. His arcane proficiency was a tremendous advantage. He noticed something else as well. All these abilities were based on the fundamental building blocks of arcane. He didn''t even have an ability to manipulate anima which every mage had. He didn''t have anything originating beyond the base fundamentals itself. "Lord Meneesh," Essa said. "Can you personally extend a hand of congratulations to my knight once he''s finished sweeping the rabble?" "If the boy wins, yes," he said absentmindedly. Her smile froze. "Anyone with a clear eye can see that the match has already been decided." Meneesh leaned against his chair. "Quite so. But life can be full of surprises. I, for one, am looking forward to how the other team will perform. Would you like to place a bet, Lady Essa? Your knight against the other team." She frowned. "And the terms?" "If your boy wins, I''ll give him a gift. Him and his squires." She softened and bowed respectfully. "Why, how gracious of you." No doubt she arrived to the conclusion that this was his way of stating that he''d give her another gift, and a bet was just a pretense for that. Though, he admit he was looking forward to how the other team would perform. "Your boy is alone, isn''t he?" Essa smiled. "He didn''t need any teammates. He''s a knight." So the two are fodders, he thought, and let out a rueful smile. If the other team could maintain their confidence and remain alert to potential weaknesses of the enemy, they might have a chance against the knight. AUGUST This match was going to end horribly and there was nothing August could do about it. At the corner of his mind, he began to wish that the other team would just disappear. That didn''t happen. On the other side of the arena, Team Lightbearer sauntered with an air of complete confidence. One of them led at the center, and August quickly recognized him: the rank 5 mage Tulet Argav. The man looked at him and his teammates and gave a short bow. August returned his bow with respect. For a mage, he expected the man to carry a staff or a shield. But only his teammates were equipped with tools tied to the belts around their waist. He saw various glass flasks in an array of colors and sizes, and he worried over what they might contain. August waited for the timer to start counting down. And when it did, Seven ran for the tower. It was such a mechanically precise reaction that she immediately ran at top spot from the beginning. She was a marvel to watch. The Lightbearer Team calmly walked over to the tower. Maybe they already expected this to happen and saw no further reason to challenge Seven in her domain. Wise move. By the time all teams surrpounded the tower, Seven was already halfway to the top. The Rank 5 spoke. "I am Tulet Argav," he said. "Knight Mage from the Order of Steel. Quann Gladis, am I correct to assume that you''re the leader that represents your comrades?" August crossed his arms. They didn''t have a leader. If any of them had an idea, they would voice it. Though, glancing at Quann, the man found himself delighted at being elevated into the leadership position. He stood taller. "That''s right," Quann said. The Knight Mage seemed satisfied. "Will you consider an honorable surrender? You are tired. Your comrades are tired. And there are people watching two Houses. This is more than both of us, and our families are watching." Quann lost his smile. "Family," he spat. "Spiting my family is in the core of my being, I''m afraid. I refuse." Tulet sighed. "I shall be forced to kill your comrades and end this trial posthaste." "Fuck you." August grinned. But that was as far as his excitement for the match had gone. Tulet walked over to the tower, touched one of the wooden beams, and a wave crashed onto it. That wave splintered the entire structural support of the tower and August realized he had been lifted up into the air, tumbling backwards near the edge, far from the arena. The tower collapsed. And Seven crashed underneath the wooden rubble. Chapter 16 August forced himself to recover. That wave was pure arcane. In theory, he''d be able to defend against it, so he raised his shields at the last moment. But the attack shattered his shields and blasted him sky high. What was that? It was unlike anything he''d experienced. He tried to collect himself, and saw that Seven was trying to free herself under the rubble. The Knight Mage lowered his hand. Another wave blasted the construction, causing a massive burst of dust, sand, and wood. Seven flew up in the air, away from the ball which spun and fell into the hands of the Knight Mage. He looked at the ball, then at Seven, and scoffed. He passed the it to his teammates. Dust built up, and August had to cover his nose. He sniffed. He couldn''t see far ahead, and his eyes were stinging. He didn''t want to find a splinter of wood getting stuck in his eye. But the wave depleted Tulet''s arcane pool close to zero. He was a dead man walking. Then something happened that August wasn''t prepared for. Tulet''s arcane surged back to near its full capacity. It was as if he never used his ability. "What?" August shook his head. There was another person that needed his attention. He ran to the tower to see if Seven was alright, and saw the deception through the dust. Tulet Argav tossed back a glass flask to one of his teammates. Whatever liquid that was contained in that flask allows him to replenish his arcane. He messaged Seven. { His teammates have potions that replenish arcane. We need to steal them or deny him that. Can you target the teammate that doesn''t have the ball? Once Quann and I distract him, use that chance to slip past the mage. } { Affirmative. } August glanced at Quann, who was hesitating to take a step forward. Then, without a word, August distanced himself right near the edge of the arena. Quann moved to the opposite side. If Tulet was determined to use the Wave again, either he or Quann would get that chance to strike. "Smart," Tulet said. "Quann!" August said. "No more tricks. We rush him together." "Ha!" Quann grinned ferociously. "Now You''re speaking my language." August sprinted across the arena. Quann quickly followed suit. Tulet, who was watching both of them, seemed unfazed. August reached him first, and as he expected, Tulet raised his hands and blasted him back to the edge. Quann got too close for the Knight Mage''s comfort. He stretched his arm and a needle immediately lunged onto Tulet''s stomach. August expected the mage to run. But he didn''t. The needle pierced the shirt, and August watched, with grim satisfaction, that the mage would bleed. But the needle stopped at his abdomen, and the tip of the bone snapped. Quann grimaced. "He has armor!" "I''ve seen your tricks, Torturer," the mage said. Tulet grabbed his arm, tackled him, and lifted him high up in the air. Then, in one motion, slammed him back on the ground before lifting him up again. Quann gasped for breath. August tried to recover and scamper back to distract Tulet, but he was too late. The mage threw Quann sky high. And, when he was about to fall, Tulet used a wave, blasting him directly onto the climbers, striking the rails. Quann collapsed on the ground. He tried to get up, but he coughed blood, and he found it difficult to move. August tried to read Tulet''s arcane. He was dangerously low, and before one of his teammates could toss him a flask, August shouted. "Now!" Seven bolted from the rubble. Achieving top speed in under a second, she was even faster than August who was going to distract Tulet. Tulet quickly noticed and moved to block Seven from reaching his teammates, but at that moment, August lunged for Tulet however he can. The mage wouldn''t be able to pry him off. And while he could only slam himself onto the man, it gave enough room for Seven to slip past him. August wrapped his arms around Tulet''s neck. But this beast seemed unfazed as he ran back to catch Seven. Then, Tulet did something unexpected. He lowered his body, and charged in long strides. August clung tightly onto his neck but the man was unfazed. Seven was meters away when Tulet reached her, grabbed her arms, and pulled. Just like what he did with Quann, he raised her up in the air and slammed her down on the ground. August heard the groan of metal coming apart. Then, almost in eerie casualness, Tulet flung Seven against the far wall of the outside the arena. A flask was flung up in the air. August tried to reach it, but it only took one of Tulet''s hand to keep him away. Tulet drank the flask, and, with a satisfied grin, a wave thundered against August''s chest and he was flying high and rolling on the ground. He couldn''t breathe. His ribs seemed to have weathered most of the impact, but every time he moved, his chest protested. He gasped, trying to breathe.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Out from the corner of his eye, he saw Quann shaking his head and standing up. Seven was able to stand again, but the damages to her body made it look like her metal skin were about to fall off. Small parts of herself clattered on the ground. August tried to pick himself up. In just a single minute, the Knight Mage was able to control the battlefield. Not only did the man have an overpowered ability, he had some sort of arcane armor underneath his shirt, and his body was as hard as iron. August needed more information. He wouldn''t go down here, not at the first floor. He forced himself to use sonar wave, but this time, instead of analyzing everything around him, he pinpointed one specific location: Tulet. This allowed him to see Tulet''s armor underneath. The smaller details that made up for it was... well, crude. Additionally, it looked like Tulet was conjuring the arcane armor, similar to how August did it. But the arcane flowed to a small device at his nape. Maybe he could use that against the mage. But he had one chance. If Tulet realized that August knew what his potential weakness is, the man might end up being more cautious. August cracked his knuckles. "Giving up?" He asked Quann. Quann spat on the ground. "He humiliated me," he rasped. "Me. I''ll be certain to spill that worm''s intestines and see if his blood is just as steel as his order." He messaged Seven. { One last time. Wait on my signal. } { Affirmative. } "Can you charge one more time?" Quann looked at him. Then he gave a nod. He didn''t question August, not when someone could hear them, and August didn''t want to give out any clue to his intentions. Quann was smarter than he initially looked. "Surrender," Tulet said. Quann sneered, taking deep breaths. Time was closely approaching the 2-minute mark. "With your attitude, I doubt you''ve bedded a woman." August started walking toward Tulet. "What do you mean by bedding a woman?" Does that mean they would sleep together? Based on Quann''s description, bedding a woman seemed important. He''d slept with his master on the floor. But his master wasn''t a woman. Perhaps he should ask a woman about bedding with a man. Quann was speechless. It was Tulet who spoke up. "Well. Um. When a man and a woman love each other very much--" As much as August would love to hear what he was about to say, this was the perfect chance for a distraction. Behind him, past two of his teammates, August willed Threadlock into existence. { Now, Seven! } he messaged her. It snapped one of his teammates back, and at the moment, Seven quickly ran for the person that was pulled back. Tulet heard the yelp from the man, but it was too late. Seven kicked the man''s head as soon as threadlock closed in on him, knocking him out unconscious. "Quann!" "On it." August let Quann run first. That way, Tulet would aim at him. And he was right. He blasted Quann with a wave, and at the same time, August was sprinting for him again. He was getting tired of that ability. Tulet turned around, as if contemplating to use the wave against Seven. August didn''t let him. { Flask, } he told her. Time slowed. He could feel it again. The world seemed to slow down as Tulet raised his hand. Invisible threads of connection formed between him and Seven. It was as if they were communicating unconsciously. He instinctively knew where Seven would toss the arcane flask, and he knew where he needed to be to catch the flask. His head churned at the puzzles forming into one cohesive piece. One step leads to another, and another steps leads closer to the perfect spot, where he leapt high above in the air, with all his strength, without thinking about it first. He stretched his legs, wrapped it around the Knight Mage''s neck, and when he raised his hand, he caught the arcane flask without even taking a look at it. He knew that was the ideal place where Seven would toss it. The connection pulsed. And much like before, the world disappeared. There was only him, and the goal of taking down this monster so one of them could steal the ball. August popped the cork and drank the arcane. Tulet pointed his palms upward, and August bent his back just before the wave hit the empty air. He felt it then. His arcane was suspicious of this foreign liquid at first, but when the two energy met, they assimilated. Life flowed through him, burning his stomach, his lungs, and as he breathed, it was as if his throat was on fire. August could feel the arcane and he grinned. "All I ever needed," he coughed. "Quann!" He used this foreign arcane to create the most complex and riveting Threadlock he''d ever done. In the span of a single second, he threaded the strands into thick ropes, wrapped it around Tulet''s feet, ankles, around his stomach, his arms, and then his neck. August wasn''t done there. He wouldn''t give Tulet a second chance. He tightened his hold used himself as the base origin of Threadlock. Then, he spun these threads around Tulet''s entire upper body, locking his arms into place, covering him in strands so thick his mouth was forced open as the arcane stretched his cheeks. Lastly, he tied the Threadlock around the core of Tulet''s defense, wrapping it and tugging it as if it was an insect. He heard a snap, and Tulet''s armor started flickering on and off. Being this close, August didn''t have to use so much sonar weave to study his weaknesses. Tulet have gaps in his armor. His armpit, his groin, just above his calves. He shouted them all to Quann, who eagerly ran to Tulet while August bought them time. Behind him, Seven chased Tulet''s teammate, who was losing speed because of the ball he was carrying. "Tulet, Knight Mage from the Order of Steel," Quann said, grinning, as he closed the distance that they were only a few feet from each other. "Let''s see if your armor is as good as you thought it was." Tulet looked horrified. He shot August a pleading glare, and tried to speak, but August wouldn''t take chances. Quann struck the spot just above the calves, making Tulet scream. He would''ve fallen down on both his knees, but the Threadlock was wrapped so tightly around him that he couldn''t be spared that luxury. Quann wasn''t done there. He targeted that spot, piercing both his legs again and again and again. Then, when he found out the armor wasn''t strong enough, he started wounding Tulet on other parts of his body. "Don''t move too much!" Quann laughed. "You don''t want me to sever your artery." Tulet tried to say something. "...ield. I yield!" In the distance, Seven already got the ball, and the man was unconscious. Holding time: 5 seconds. Time remaining: 2 minutes and 40 seconds. But the match wasn''t over yet. As the time ticked down, he saw tears coming out of Tulet''s eyes. Because there was no resistance any longer, August could still maintain Threadlock. Quann relished this moment. He licked his lips, and he let his needle slowly pierce into Tulet''s mouth. "Here''s your blood, little Knight Mage," he said. "How does it taste?" "You really like to torture people?" August asked. Quann seemed confused. "They call it torture. But my sister always told me it''s an educational experience. People ought to feel the blood and bones in their body more. They''ll be thankful to acquiant themselves to the limit of their constitution. And if they die, well, they shouldn''t die." "Is that why you don''t kill people?" Quann didn''t answer that. But he lost his smile, and for a moment he seemed to stare somewhere far away. When the timer reached zero, August waited for the announcement. He felt the stillness of moment as even the climbers didn''t utter a word. Until Aeladine announced: Round 4 ended. Team August won the 3rd Trial. Team Lightbearers have now been eliminated. August raised a fist in the air. And silently, quietly, he let himself be basked in victory. He was going up. Chapter 17 MENEESH They won? It was just a passing thought. A distraction, a small gamble. He didn''t expect anything amazing in particular to happen. But they did it. And not only did they do it, this August successfully accomplished a second resonance with a different teammate. It baffled him. Meneesh preened at the results. Next to him, Lady Essa had clutched on the rails the entire match. She bore a focused glare at the climbers below, and a bead of sweat ran down her cheek. "That shouldn''t be possible," she seethed. "There could be foul play." If any manipulation of the matches is involved, it would be us, dear. And we lost. "I would have known," Meneesh said instead. "Now, will you honor your word?" He quietly cheered at the other team. For the entire match, the Knight Mage relied entirely on his ability and the potions he carried. He never adapted or seeked a better position. Not to mention he stood there like a damn statue that it irritated Meneesh. The boy had potentional! But he was too cautious, too sheltered, and he was afraid of these people who wanted to draw blood. The boy looked utterly horrified, though no one noticed it. It hardly matters anymore. Putting the matter of Tulet aside, he could now continue with his project. Up on the second floor, he''d be sponsor his fledgeling survivors in the future standard matches. They needed info bracelets, durable clothes, and a captain to man the ship they were about to undertake. And, he supposed, it was time for Aeladine to take a trip to the upper floors and guide these young wolves.
AUGUST The next several hours passed by rather quickly. August was taken to the medical room to be administered drugs, blood, and other enhancements and painkillers. They noted, with a touch of frustration, that he shouldn''t ever use his arcane for the next week. His arcane was fried. Then, they told him to sleep it off. Which he did, gladly. He didn''t really had the time to celebrate when he was so exhausted, and he was glad that Lord Meneesh let all the climbers be taken to the medical room and be given proper rest first. Seven was not granted the same privileges. She was left battered, injured, with a few screws loosed and gears spinning in her stomach. But he was too tired to think, so he collapsed on his bed, and he fell asleep. The August of tomorrow would deal with everything. Around ten to eleven hours later, he blinked his eyes awake. "An unfamiliar ceiling," he whispered. He was no longer at home. He wouldn''t return to his hut anymore. He would live here in the tower for several years to come. He made a mental list of what he wanted to do. After a few minutes, he changed his mind and brought up the info bracelet instead. He had 50,000 credits, which should cover his survival necessities if he needed to. He wanted to investigate the connection he felt between Seven and Quann. And then inquire about the nature of his status, personal identification, the details regarding arcane and why so many people used staffs, spears, and shields branching off to many variations. He turned around, finding comfort on the bed, only to find Seven sitting by a chair, staring at him with unblinking eyes. August yelped, shut his mouth, and stared back. "Hello," he said. "Greetings," she replied. He looked around. No one was here except the two of them. Seven was still battered and damaged. She needed to repair herself, otherwise future engagements would leave her crippled and dead. He wondered why she was here though, so he asked her. She gave a tilt of her head. "I addressed my behaviors these past eight hours since I sat here and decided that I am functioning sub-optimally. I have no recollection nor history of logical reasoning of why I am here, simply that I am." She stood up. "But I do not wish to disturb you. I congratulate you for sleeping and giving your body time to recover. I shall take my leave." August reached out for her hand. She stopped. "Do you have other things you have to do?" She glanced at the timer. Thirty minutes was counting down. That might be the announcement. "I am not pre-occupied with oher activities." "Stay here for a bit," he said. "Keep me company. How''s the eye we fixed?" In response, Seven sat back down and took out her eye. She passed it to him. "It''s not functioning at full efficiency, and the degradation of the arcane mesh is progressing at a rapid rate. It will most likely require a full maintenance once per week. August studied the eye. He asked for her tools, and while he would love to follow the medical team''s advice on not using his arcane, a little bit going into the tools should be fine. For the next fifteen minutes, she gave him instructions on how to re-open the eye. He''d forgotten already, so he took more 3-dimensional notes and kept track of the construction of the eye using the info bracelet. Seven pointed out the problem and advised him to take out the arcane mesh. After a few twists and plucking out the smaller, intricate parts of the eye, he took out the mesh. This was pure arcane glued together by a small device, similar to Tulet''s arcane armor. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Seven called the device an ice-core, and it was used to store arcane as an energy source for all sorts of general appliances and military uses. The ice-core didn''t have any problems, but the mesh was torn and some of the threads were missing. So, he did what he did best. With her instructions, he re-constructed the mesh using the info bracelet''s 3-dimensional notes, and then started to apply small threads there first. Then, once he felt like the threads mimicked the original mesh, he started to work on the original mesh. After ten more minutes of quiet work, he was re-assembling the eye. He gave it back to Seven, who tested it, and stared at him. "How was it?" he asked. "Mm," she said. He expected her to say something like affirmative or functioning at 100% efficiency. Instead, Seven stood up, looked around, touching her eye, studying it. She turned to him. "You have performed repairs that I would not be able to do myself. I believe that, to achieve my goal of climbing the tower, I have to consider what it truly means to drastically increase my chances of success. I will offer my services however I can as long as you aid me in repairing my parts, and I will continue to do so until the day we part or your goals differ from mine. Is this agreement acceptable to you?" August snorted. "Seven, we''re friends. You make it sound like we''re writing up a contract." She nodded. "Is that not optimal?" "I don''t know the culture," he said honestly. "All that talk is making my head spin. I don''t want to help you because I''m expecting something in return. I do it because I want to. We''ll be climbing the tower together anyway. And if our goals don''t align, well, we''ll cross that bridge when that time comes." She sat down at the bed. "Very well. Okay. Understood. These terms are acceptable." A pause. Then, "Being with me increases your chances of survival by a significant margin." "Of course." "As such, it is important that you don''t make the same mistake as I did, and remain near me at all times." "Hm?" He frowned. Apparently, remaining near her at all times meant taking his hand and being pulled where she wanted to go. And right now, she wanted to be in the cafeteria to meet up with Quann and team up with him. Her hold over his hand was firm. "Seven, I''m not going anywhere. Your hand..." "I am confident you shall not run off to do human activities that may decrease your chances of cooperation," she said, and ended the conversation there. It seemed like she wasn''t going to let him pull his hand away as an answer. They saw Quann lounging at a table alone, along with the four other teams scattered around the dining hall. Once August and Seven sat down on the other side, Quann glanced at his hand. Seven was still holding it. He raised an eyebrow. "Are you two a thing?" he asked. August sighed. "Can you be more specific?" Seven added, "I don''t understand the question." Quann seemed slightly irritated and explained how couples worked. Apparently, holding hands was a sign of affection, though August could only feel the coldness between their touch, and the sensation felt more like holding a piece of metal than skin. And they were friends, so affection seemed appropriate. Seven eventually let go of him and placed her hands on her lap, listening intently to Quann while he diverted his conversation to talk about the other groups. The survivors here, thankfully, weren''t as judgemental as the climbers before. Yura, for one, had given him a nod when they locked eyes. Nilvar waved cheerfully. The two children with Judah weren''t staring daggers at him. Quann, however, maintained a level of notoriety that prevented other climbers from approaching him. The swordsman from Nilvar''s team started calling him the Torturer. After several minutes, the counter pinged, and Lord Meneesh strode to the dining hall. "Congratulations, climbers," he said. He then spewed the same praises he did in the first trial, much of which August guessed were formalities rather than true, genuine praise. But when it came to gifts, he had staffs give the climbers what he thought might help them in the future, stressing the importance of surviving under Lord Meneesh''s trials, and he wouldn''t let any of them embarass him. Each of the climbers were given an info bracelet, and while they weren''t as good as August received, they performed the basic, necessary tasks like a profile, status, contacts, and notes. August still haven''t explored all the other features of his info bracelet which was worth an exploration later on. Then, Lord Meneesh excitedly added that one of his staffs would be taking their measurements. They would be given a set of clothes, packs, belts, and 10,000 credits each, giving August a total of 60,000 credits." "The clothes are specialized," he said. "They''re more durable than what you have now and easily repairable. But they do have a theme to them.... black and red. I''ll also be giving each of you a list of upcoming amateur standard competitions, hotspots for matches, and locations pointing to potions, equipment, restaurants, anything else I would recommend. Treat it as a guide to survive the second floor. I expect you''ll be staying there for quite some time given the ruckus that is happening in the 3rd floor. Some of the lords and knights I know have even chosen to stay away from there. But what else can we do when the god of a floor dies?" August leaned closer to Quann. "What happened?" He grimaced. "Something nasty. I don''t know." Lord Meneesh continued. "Now, before I allow you depart, you''re free to switch teams, go solo, and select a leader. Being together gives you more chances of success. There''s rarely a solo that can stand on its own, and those who have, would have surely fed the soil six feet under. So feel free to eat as much as you want. Tomorrow, you''ll ascend to the 2nd floor." When he left, August, Quann, and Seven looked at each other. Other groups were already discussing who their leaders would be, and while he wouldn''t relish on taking over the role, he felt as if he''d done enough in the trials to plan their future encounters against other people. He said so to Quann, who scoffed. "We won''t be in combat situatons a hundred percent of the time. Have you considered where we would live? How we''ll survive in the upcoming months? We don''t have any source of income at the moment. How will you manage that? I''ve been taken to some of the upper floors, and I have contacts in the 2nd floor. I''ll be the leader." He made good points. But what he mentioned were basic necessities August could learn on his own in due time, and Seven could too. Given the nature of the trials before this, he''d expect future engagements to mostly revolve around combat. Seven chimed in. "I disagree. I wish to be the leader of the group. I am, after all, logical, and I do not fall to traps as easily as any human being that existed." Quann pointed out, "You left your friend alone, didn''t you?" "That was the logical course of action at the time," she defended. "I may also add that I have since learned from my mistake, unlike humans who must correct themselves several times without an accurate degree of success in changing their behavior." Seven wouldn''t budge. Neither did August and Quann. And so the three of them talked over each other back and forth for several minutes. People began to glance at them. "We''re not going anywhere with this," Quann said. August nodded. "We need to settle this in a way that will leave all of us satisfied." They thought over it a bit more, until Seven responded. "What if we play a game?" That could work. "That''s a good idea," he said. "But hold that thought. I''m hungry." He stood up to grab a food, and then it occured to him: "What if we have cook off?" he said. "Best food wins. Simple, right?" Seven perked up at the idea. "I am a domestic automaton. Cooking is one of my specialities." Quann pursed his lips. August continued. "And I''ve cooked my food my entire life." They looked at each other. A silent agreement dawned between them, until Quann stood up, and quietly walked over to the dining staff. Well, at least he was enthusiastic. "This is pointless," Seven said, and even if her voice was emotionless, he could feel a sense of pride bloom with her words. "I have already won." "We''ll see," August said. Quann turned to face them. "Don''t back out now," he said. After being given a thumbs up, they all strode to the kitchen. Chapter 18 As soon as the other climbers heard there was going to be a cooking match, they decided to walk over to the tables or lean against the counter and watch with the staff, who all stood aside and even talked amongst themselves. The children and Judah were especially interested, and while the boy himself didn''t show any expression, he was leaning his chin against the counter, staring. The staff were more than delighted to lend them their equipment, and they seemed to take bets among themselves to who would win. August was quick to dismiss them. He needed to focus, He thought of cooking something different, but he soon realized he would be probably have the best chance of winning if he were to cook what he loved the most. As soon as he asked the staff for the ingredients and where in the storage could they be found, Lord Meneesh walked over to the kitchen asking what the commotion was about. And when August told him it was a cooking match to determine who was going to be the leader, he clapped delightedly and told them he would oversee the match as a judge, if they have no problems with that. Who would? After a minute of contemplation later, Lord Meneesh gathered them to a spot and laid down the rules for everyone. August wasn''t very comfortable with this. It was supposed to be an internal match, not something that a Lord would oversee accompanied by over two dozen audiences. "I''ll be judging your food from three main criteria," he held up three fingers. "Intention, execution, and taste. You each have a 40 minutes to complete the meal." He then told them that this was such a great idea that he would love to do this in the future, most likely after every trial to give the climbers time to breathe. Once the timer ticked down, August, Quann, and Seven all hurried to the storage. August decided to cook his favorite soup. He used the info bracelet to list all the ingredients he''d need. Typing mentally using arcane was difficult at first, but not as difficult as creating a sculpture of a forest made out of arcane. He quickly took potates, beef, flour, Ash leaves, carrots, oil, mushroom, garlic, and a number of spices. He didn''t expect they would have all his ingredients and more, but they were well stocked, and he spotted a lot of ingredients he didn''t recognize. From then on was a routine he''d done thousands of times. He tenderized the beef repeatedly and coated it in ash leaves, salt, and pepper. He cooked the oil using their mysterious stove that, after a click of a few buttons, fire sprouted underneath the pan. He marveled over the technology. How did this thing sustain itself? Where did they get all the firewood? He compartmentalized that for now and refocused. He''d never used wine before, but one of the staff suggested adding it to the soup for the extra flavour. He took a separate batch and tasted it. And oh boy, it was better than what his usual ingredients! He''d never had wine, after all, so he eagerly took a wine glass and poured himself some. 7 minutes before the 40th mark, August finished and looked around. Quann had just covered his food with a metal plate cover. Seven finished right up at the last minute. When she saw August and Quann had finished, she decided to go first and placed the plate before the lord. She strode as if the world belonged to her. Lord Meneesh was excited, and everyone peered at the food around him. "This," she began. "Is chicken breast flavored with honey and garlic." She went on to describe it in detail. About how she used flour to give the chicken a slight crust so the sauce clung to it, and used butter as oil, while cooking the chicken with garlic, honey, soy sauce, and vinegar. There was even something she called "parsely" whatever that was, that she added in the end which made the chicken look delicious at first glance. Her presentation made him lick his lips. Lord Meneesh slowly spun the plate, studying the food. he then used a knife and fork and sliced a small part of the chicken, taking a bite. He closed his eyes, tasting it. "You cook well," he said. "As I should expect from an automaton. The chicken itself is done well, and you used just the right ingredients to capture the optimal taste you were going for." She tilted her head slightly upwards. "It is." He set the plate aside then tapped his info bracelet. Several seconds later, Aeladine arrived and sat down next to him. She waved at August. He waved back. Lord Meneesh explained what was happening and made her eat his leftovers. She nodded and started taking small bites. "I haven''t eaten yet!" she said. She caught a few interested glances, mainly from the swordsman that rejected August earlier. Aeladine was pretty. Short, orange hair, freckles, and an easygoing smile. She started talking to Yura''s group when one of them asked if they could take a bite. August was called over. He presented his dish: a simple soup. He wasn''t frightened that he''d lose. Seven might have cooked the chicken well, but he saw a hint of distaste from Lord Meneesh. "It doesn''t have a name," he said as he presented it to the lord. "My lord, do you not like sweets?" He raised an eyebrow. "So, you''ve noticed." August nodded. "You''ll like this better. It''s the beef soup I''ve cooked for myself since I was a child. I''ve made a number of improvements on it, mainly adding ash leaves and coating the beef with it." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. "Ash leaves?" he asked. "They''re commonly bitter. Bitter enough that only a select few developed a peculiar taste to them." August expected that. He smiled. "The beef soup, mixed with a few other ingredients, can neutralize the bitterness and turn it into a tinge of spiciness. That juiciness seeps into the potatoes too, so I highly suggest eating that with the beef together." Quann took one bite, and then another, and continued on. August hit the mark this time. It was a good thing he''d been keeping an eye on Seven and waiting for her to make the first move. Her food, being too sweet, would contrast his meal well enough. After few more bites, he passed it o Aeladine, who''d finished the chicken. She started eating the soup from the ladle, and while she was delicate looking for a lady, she definitely didn''t hold back when it comes to food and possessed a large appetite. "I have to say," Lord Meneesh said. "This is anything but simple. I can see a lot of care was put into it." He glanced at his staff. "And I see that my staff are taking notes." Some of the staff approached him, holding the info bracelet up as they asked him what his process was in experimenting ash leaves. Apparently, there wasn''t a lot of information in it because it was a difficult ingredient to work with, and their options were very limited that any additional information would be something they could add to their arsenal. It was great that Lord Meneesh ate a lot of his food. He was patting his stomach, and was given a toothpick, and seemed relaxed almost. August nudged Quann, who gave him a slight smile. "You''ve been oddly quiet for a while now," August said. Quann shrugged and presented his to dish, opening the cover with a flourish. And what August saw made him almost fall over. The staff stopped taking their notes, and behind their mask, August could imagine them gaping at the dish. It was what these people called a dessert, but it was very intricately designed, and it reminded him of how much attention to detail he paid on his arcane scenery sculptures. The dessert looked like a tall tower of cream, cherries and a sphere of black chocolate on top. There were small designs around its walls, like mini windows and even small people that seemed to have been sculpted from ice cream. Quann couldn''t avoid being watched while he was making this dessert, but he had created each layer separately from another, making the finished piece a surprise even if everyone had seen it already. Lord Meneesh was nonplussed. "A dessert?" he said, frowning. "And chocolate." He shook his head. He wasn''t impressed, and his remarks on sweets would undoubtedly backfire on Quann, who took it all in stride and raised a knife. "Allow me, my lord." Quann then cut a small incision on the top of the black chocolate, letting its contents drip onto the tower. The climbers were awed. The staff themselves laughed happily and some of them even whistled. "I call this the Towerfall," Quann said. "I based it on how a climber would try to climb the tower, only to be consumed by the tower''s personality into molding the climber to fit what it needs." He gestured at the chocolate. That made August think--if every layer provides a test, and a test was structured in a way that would force individual climbers into killing their own comrades, then certain types of people, unpleasant people, would have a likelier chance of climbing the tower. It was impressively simple, evocative, and it made him think about the implications of climbing too. He also served last, which meant he expected Lord Meneesh to find something sweet to palate his tongue, but this was where his intentions fell flat even if it was a good strategy on paper. Lord Meneesh wasn''t impressed with sweets. He reluctantly spoon a piece of the tower, and upper half of it fell, revealing cut-up fruits inside. August would love to eat that. As soon as Lord Meneesh tasted the chocolate and ice cream onto his mouth, his eyes popped open, and he scowled at the cake. Aeladine was staring at him. "Was it that bad?" She whispered. August looked away and made a fist. Yes! He did it. "No," Lord Meneesh said. "I''ve never tasted anything like this before. Wait, let me give it another try." He took a large piece and ate it, and this time he closed his eyes and let it swirl in his mouth. He looked at Quann. "Would you be interested in offering me the recipe to this dessert?" August deflated. Quann apologized and told him it wasn''t up for sale, but he would love to cook it for Lord Meneesh sometimes. That seemed to satisfy the lord, who greedily ate the rest of the dessert and, with a painful expression on his face, left a small portion for Aeladine. "Wow!" she covered her mouth and chewed. She shut her eyes and let out a small moan. "Oh gods above." That made some of the climbers clear their throat, or look away, and made Yura''s friends blush. To August, it was an entirely new experience, and he felt himself looking away, feeling a small flush reach his cheeks. What was he feeling? His body seemed to react on its own. After finishing his dessert, Lord Meneesh reviewed each dish. Seven came first, and the lord demolished her, saying it was good, even well-executed, but he expected a touch of personality like the two dishes that came after. He felt like he''d eaten a factory-made slop by bored workers who wanted nothing more than to spit their dish in spite. August wasn''t sure if Lord Meneesh was insulting her because she was an automaton or that he was truly insulted by the dish. His comments irritated August, but Seven didn''t seem bothered. When she retreated, he put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I do not possess emotions. There are room for improvements, and his criticisms were valuable," she said. "Those are insults, not criticism." She looked at him and nodded. "Indeed it was. But I am an automaton. It doesn''t bother me." She started to walk toward the storage. August asked what she was about to do. "I will make improvements to my dish," she said. "He said it doesn''t have a personality. How does one add a personality? Should I intentionally create small, innacurate mistakes to my measurements?" August was called by the lord, so he didn''t get the chance to continue the conversation. He was praised for having created something that he put a lot of love, effort, and care, but he fell off on the technical side. His beef was too hard, but when August tasted it, he had no problem. And the potatoes, Lord Meneesh said, were to mushy, and would break down at the slightest touch. But he liked that! Potatoes should be delicate enough that they''d spread over a person''s mouth. He was miffed, but he couldn''t do anything about it now. Quann was praised more heavily, and all August could do now was accompany Seven while she tried to take out one ingredient after another. Despite claiming to be emotionless, she seemed to take extra steps into brainstorming ways of improving her food. When he asked her about that, she looked at him as if he was daft. "I am a domestic automaton." Well, whatever. His pride was shot too, so he offered his help, stating that a human input could potentially increase her chances of creating more variety. Luckily, they weren''t done yet, as Lord Meneesh especially prepared a high-class buffet, ordering all the tables removed, replaced by a long table, where a variety of food would populate. Hopefully, the staff wouldn''t mind the two of them taking a small space to cook an experimental food. Just as he stepped out of the storage, he saw Yura wave him over from counter. When he walked over, she leaned in to ask a question. "Can we talk for a minute?" That was probably the longest sentence he''d ever heard from her. "Uh. Now?" He was about to cook and he didn''t want other distractions. Yura pursed her lips. One red eye stared back. "Nevermind. Later then." With that, she left and joined her friends who watched other climbers and staff take out the tables and place the chairs next to the wall. Chapter 19 + Announcement The staff served lavish, seemingly creative dishes plate after plate, and August found himself one among the twelve who waited excitedly around the long table. It never dawned to him that he would dine this fashion, and August wanted to relish every minute of it. Next to him was Seven, followed by Quann, and Judas, and some other climbers. To his other side, the swordsman Mischell sat down. The man was about to talk to him when a finger tapped his shoulder. They both turned around to find the red-haired girl. It was Yura. "Do you mind if I sit here?" Mischell was befuddled at first, then he grinned, put a hand on August''s shoulder, and stood up. "You''ve done an excellent performance in the 3rd trial," he said. "You may have dirtied yourself, but that is an effort I can respect now that you''ve survived. We are part of Meneesh''s troupe now, I hope. The other climbers from the other lords will take notice since from now on, we''ll be teammates." With that, Mischell Khun tried to find another seat. Yura sat down next to August, and stared at him. He cleared his throat and started filling his plate with food like this thing called rice, roasted pork, and half of Seven''s honey garlic chicken, which he loved. He also dipped his chicken into more honey, and when the staff noticed that, they didn''t hesitate giving him a cup full of it. He could''ve died right there. Seven didn''t eat. Instead, she stared at the people who were eating her food, ending at him. "Ish tashty," he commented, taking a bite. She nodded. "That is expected. I have perfected the taste. And yet Lord Meneesh...." August nodded. "Can''t satisfy everyone. I loved it. There. At least one person did." She didn''t answer. Next to him, Yura cleared her throat. "How do you do it?" she asked him. He wiped the honey off his mouth with his free hand and took a swig from this thing they call a honeymead. It popped like bubbles in his throat. "Do what?" Yura stared at his hand, then took a napkin and placed it at his plate. "Use this napkin to wipe your food. Manners, please." She sighed. "I''ve seen you control your arcane. I haven''t seen anyone have that degree of control before." He gave a nod. "My master taught me," he said, taking a sip from of wine this time. The staff cleared away the honeymead and gave him another beverage. He was about to use his hand to eat a chicken leg when he caught a glare from Yura, and decided that the napkin was the better choice. That was apparently not enough, so he moved his fingers, gauging her reaction, until he settled on a fork and knife. It annoyed him. Quann chimed in. "There are unspoken etiquette when it comes to dining, but August here has been living in the forest, Yura. Take it easy on him." Etiquette? August had never heard of that. If there was food in the table, he''d eat it. Why should rules exist for this anyway? He wouldn''t be able to enjoy his meal! But his curiosity to learn other people''s culture overriden that, and he decided to just go along with it despite his silent grumblings. Yura ignored Quann. "Can you tell me more about how your master taught you?" August thought about it. It wasn''t a secret. He told her it wasn''t like he was taught, but ordered to maintain the stability of the household. There were times when his master would tell him to use an arcane shield to block rain water from seeping through, or use a thread to hang clothes to dry out in the sun. "Master Visentii always told me to manipulate the spoon and fork using arcane. When I got better at it, we switched to chopsticks. But until then, I was forced to tie my hands behind my back, metaphorically and literally. he said it builds discipline and flexibility." August realized other people were staring at him now, and it had gotten a little quiet. Quann was leaning on the table, and on the other side, Nilvar was tapping his notes while looking at August. Mischell Khun whistled. "That''s hardcore." August frowned. "How?" Mischell illustrated using a spoon and knife to cut a steak. "Holding the knife down doesn''t take a lot of arcane, but generally speaking, arcane doesn''t have fingers. It''s like learning to grow another pair of hands to control the tools with precision." He fumbled when he started cutting the steak with the knife, and clicked his tongue. "That''s why mages uses a staff and a shield and dozens of different variations that accompany it. They''re the medium, the crutch. One, because an anima is easier to control than a static, non-living object, and two, because it increases a mage''s proficiency. Why punch the enemy when you can use a sword? Our fingers will never be as sharp." August tried to reach inside his arcane and ask its permission to use it. No, it said, though it was less of the word no, but the concept of pain, paired along with an image of a dying, blue flame. Instead of pushing himself to use it, he instead stated what he wanted to show, mainly, to use a fork and knife, and not anything serious. After a moment, it gave him a reluctant yes, but only if he would stop his inecessant requests. August lifted the fork and knife using arcane, and started cutting the chicken into smaller pieces. "It was difficult in the beginning," he said. "I think it took me a couple of months to get the hang of it." This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Well, shit," Mischell said. "How old were you? Ten?" August shrugged. "Five." The swordsman''s eyes widened. August looked around to find them quiet all of a sudden. He felt embarassed. He''d never been the center of attention before, and he didn''t know if he liked the idea of staying in one for long. "Whose House tortured you?" Mischell asked. "Torture?" Quann scoffed. "I was taught when I was four." "You''re a Gladis." Quann opened his mouth, closed it, and then gave a nod. "Point taken." "Why?" August asked. "We''re quite--" he made several gestures. "Famous. For our special interests. Among ourselves and others." "You''ve mispelled brutality," Mischell said. Yura spoke. "It''s not that uncommon," she said. "When I first learned how to walk, my father gave me a staff." To August, "You said you live in the forest trained by your master. That''s a rather eccentric way of teaching someone. You never told us whose House you belonged to." "I never belonged to a House," August said, which surprised them. He scratched his head. "I''m not, well. I don''t have any parents. It was just me and my master. I''ve never gone outside the forest either." Mischell Khun gaped at him. "I''ve been talking to a plebian this entire time?" "Never heard of your House, swordsman," Quann shot back. "You pick a fight with my underlings, you pick a fight with me." The swordsman put a hand on the hilt of his sword. August was about to say he wasn''t anyone''s underling, but Yura pulled her chair closer, catching his attention. "Can you teach me what your master taught you?" She looked around. "Not here. In the 2nd floor, preferrably away from the noise." Quann whistled. "That implies you wish to have him all to yourself in private." Yura''s friend wrapped her arms around Yura, and with a mouth full of food, she spoke. "Don''t tease her!" Though the words that came out was dhonneaser. Yura blushed. "I don''t mean it like that," she whispered. August was confused. "Like what?" The conversation here started slipping out of his reach. He had never taught anyone, and he didn''t even know if he could. Quann hollered to Mischell, "Like what, he says!" The two laughed and suddenly they were friendly with each other again. August decided to ignore them and turn to Yura, who was flushed. "I''ve never really taught anyone." She schooled a serious expression. "''ll help you. You''ll be properly compensated. So think about it. This won''t be the last time we see each other." After that, she stood up, taking her plate and moving away from him to the farthest table. Her friends followed after her. August only noticed it now, but Seven wasn''t here. She must''ve left earlier. They would still have to address the damages she sustained since she doesn''t heal at all. After taking a few more bites of the food, he decided to leave the group to look for her. He expected to find her in her room, but no one responded from the other side of the door. So he messaged her and received a reply stating that she was on the 1st Trial Room. As he walked over to the enormous disk, the first thing that caught his eye was the light. Everything was illuminated, making the entire trial room more bearable. Underneath him, he saw the horror, painted on the floor. Red and blood and silver mixed the bottom, and when he peered closer, he realized those were the dead bodies of the climbers. They weren''t removed. He might have seen a skull there too. It rattled him to realize that they didn''t bury the bodies, and it irked him how wrong it felt, and how comfortable Lord Meneesh was with it. He spotted Seven in the distance, talking to someone. That figure flew back, disappearing in one of the doors. It was Lord Meneesh. When he approached Seven, she was looking down at the mass graveyard below. "Seven," he called. She looked back, gave a nod, and stared back down. "You were talking to Lord Meneesh," he pointed out. "He told me there are automaton parts that will drastically increase my chances of survival," she pointed at the bottom. "Down there." "Are you planning to jump?" he asked. He didn''t want to hear her answer. "I cannot repair myself," she said. "However, he said there have been many automatons that were able to repair themselves and jumped down in an attempt to acquire better parts. So far, none of them have survived. He said I was lucky this time. My directive, an attempt to expire me, has unironically saved me, he said." August shrugged. "It might be a trap to make automatons jump to their death." He sat down, then, realizing he was still very tired and very full, and he laid down against the platform, feeling the cold spread across his back. Seven approached him. "It is an acceptable reason," she said. "I have a minimal chance of surviving the fall, but should I survive, I will be able to acquire parts that will help me survive signficantly." "Sounds like suicide to me," he said, absentmindedly. "It''s like Lord Meneesh was giving the automatons a chance to kill themselves without disobeying their orders at the same time. Jump, he says, because it''s a risk, but it''s worth the risk. Do you--" he hesitated. "Do you want to jump?" "I cannot repair myself," she said. "You didn''t answer my question." She paused. "I have a primary directive but no master. My goal is to climb the tower but I don''t possess the intelligence nor creativity of the human mind to survive. I am a domestic model, and my existence centers around following the orders given to me by the letter." August shut his eyes. "When my master left," he said, slowly. "I didn''t know what to do. He''s been teaching me arcane my entire life. I listened to him. I relied on him for his guidance. And when he abruptly left, it felt like half of me died." He didn''t want his master to leave, he realized now. He didn''t want his father to abandon him. He didn''t want to be alone in that forest, no matter how beautiful it may be, when there was no one to share it with. August sniffed. "I miss him. I want him to tell me what to do." He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "I think I was scared of thinking for myself. I didn''t want to grow up." He looked at her. "I don''t like this kind of freedom either, Seven. Not then in the forest, and not now, being all alone without anyone to tell me to do this or do that." "I don''t understand the concept of freedom," she said. August stood up and laughed. "Neither do I. But we''re here for each other and we can figure it out together. Isn''t that what friends are for?" She tilted her head. "Friendship is still a foreign concept to me." He clapped her back. "Me too. Want to go pester Quann? He''s been referring to us as his underlings." She nodded, and together, they started walking back to the dining hall. "We are not his underlings." "Exactly." August snatched her hand started leading her forward. "Don''t jump," he said. " I have yet to improve my dish that is sufficient enough to defeat Quann and reclaim my spot as the domestic automaton. For now, I shall give him the title of the domestic servant, since he is so deserving of it." August laughed, and his echoes resounded across the entire room.
The next day, all climbers were gathered before a portal. One by one, August watched them step through that spherical bundle of energy. And when it was his turn to step through, he expected to be transported directly to the second floor. But something went... awry. It was as if time slowed to a crawl, and he split off from the clusters of stars around him. One more star diverted from the group. And then another. Two of them gathered around him, and they spun across the void and they heard the god scream as it lay dead, bleeding to death, turning its blood into a sea floor. And then the world winked out. Chapter 20 August struggled to his feet. The teleportation was botched for some reason, and he might even be lucky to be alive. But now he needed to get his bearing. Where am I? He looked around. The first thing that caught his eye was that he was in a dilapitated, half-collapsed home. He wasn''t alone. Two climbers lay unconscious before him. He quickly identified them to be Quann and Seven as luck would have it. It would be easier to cooperate with them since they fought together before. Instinctively, he used his sonar to map out his surroundings, only to wince as his arcane lashed out. He was able to study where he was, but it didn''t extend past this house. August checked Seven and Quann, slapping them for good measure, and when they didn''t answer, he pulled them to a corner. He was sweating now, and he hadn''t moved that much. His lips were chapped. He decided to step out of the door. Metal railings creaked beneath him, and he realized he was standing several floors high above the ground. Directly underneath him, an endless red sea stretched across the horizon, threatening to drown the tall buildings connected to each other like trees and vines. The sky burned red and black and reeked of blood and iron. The catwalk led to other, similarly dilapitated buildings. It snaked haphazardly, as if it was a built by a person who gave no regard to road design and simply built these tall buildings and despised having a person navigate it. He had designed the patch of forest that surrounded him using arcane, but that was controlled chaos, with each tree meticulously designed to be aesthetically pleasing. Not this one. In the distance, far up, lights crowded a small area. He didn''t see any peopl. He returned back inside, sat down, and let his mind wander while he waited for one of them to wake up. August focused on his arcane. There are times when he was defenseless, but not quite as defenseless as he was now. For his entire life, he''d learned to use arcane even in his sleep, but now he felt blind, weak, and fragile. The surroundings threatened him at each bated breath. At first, he demanded his arcane listen to him. His pool was nearly full, but the nerves that controlled the arcane itself was pulled taut, snapped, and then ripped to micro fractures. In theory, he could still control his arcane and will it to existence, but he was facing a mental block of some sort. Usually, these mental blocks only last for no longer than a day, but this seemed to be the type that could extend his recovery by several days. He didn''t have the time. He needed to delay his recovery and force his body to listen to him. Or condense a week''s worth of rest to several minutes. He reached inward. It was time to addres the issue of the personality within his arcane. Ever since he arrived here in this tower, his power pulsed strangely, and then it began to rebel and nudge him to certain actions, like when he achieved a connection between Quann and Seven. He probed his arcane. He wanted to communicate with that strange feeling, but he''d have to learn how to talk to it first. He began by simply sensing it, feeling it there. It wasn''t dormant. It felt more like a wave of emotions, a rapidly expanding and contracting of emotions. He felt it notice him too, signalling where it hurt by poking different parts of his body. He tried to communicate his thoughts through language, but as he meditated on the arcane, he realized it spoke through images, taste, and touch. And there was a being inside him, he was certain of that now. This thing, whoever it was, was part of him. After about half an hour or so, he was able to communicate through simple images. Emotions were easy to convey, but more complex forms of ommunications rankled him. He used his info bracelet to take notes about certain translations for words like yes, no, maybe, and how he could convey that with a positive emotion. Nevertheless, his arcane still seemed to understand what he was trying to say for the most part, with it being part of him since he was born, like a sibling. And it needed a name. He couldn''t refer to it simply as a thing anymore, even if it didn''t need one. Since it was so rebellious and ridiculuously stubborn in healing itself before it was allowed to help him, he called it Rebel. Strangely enough, Rebel felt feminine, not because he wanted her to be, but it felt right, and that was good enough of a reason to refer to it as one. No use arcane, it said with conviction using three forms of communication: a dull pain in his head, an image of a hand, and a blueish, translucent color. Oh, he loved it. Please? he asked. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. No. August imagined himself puffing his chest out, trying different ways to use this new language, forgetting where he was and his passed out friends. This was new, interesting, and entirely novel. But good moments like these are bound to end. Seven was the first to wake up, immediately opening her eyes and looking around. "Good morning," he smiled ruefully. "Or evening. Wherever we are." Seven tilted her head. "What happened?" He explained the brief distortion he felt when he walked through the portal, though he left out the part where he learned to communicate with his arcane. That wasn''t urgent. What was urgent was to assess their position, and now that she was awake, he could look around while she guarded their so-called ''leader.'' "Seven, can you guard Quann? I want to look around the area and see what''s out there." She nodded. He decided to put communicating with Rebel on hold. The air was still as he stepped out into the open and felt his way across the iron path. He climbed a few stairs, turned a right and a left, and it was easy since the lights acted like giant fireflies guiding him where he needed to go. Convenient landmark, that one. The place was problably the tallest out of all the buildings here. When he climbed the last set of stairs, he saw the village. It was a small, dimly lit, empty shacks of houses. If it was summer and the sun bloomed in the sky, it wouldn''t have made a difference. Every road looked like someone had murdered a man and never bothered mopping out the blood. August was, nonetheless, fascinated at this new sight. He took it all in, the smell of iron and the filth, but also the familiar stink of fish. Right across the street, a bright store was stationed. A blue-skinned, fat creature stood behind a counter. He wore an apron. He was surrounded by pots and pans and an assortment of fish whose faces looked very much like him. He cut them up neatly, set them aside, garbled a few words, and began cleaning the counter again. August approached him and sat on the stool. He had an idea of what this was. "This must be what they call a restaurant," he said. The creature spoke in a tone resembling popping bubbles and a drowning man. August couldn''t understand a single thing. "Can I have some? Food? How much?" It was like communicating with his arcane, and it didn''t take long before the giant fish man pointed at his info bracelet and gestured withh his fingers. "Two?" August guessed. "Twenty? No. Two-hundred credits?" Two-hundred credits it was. The soup tasted like as if someone imagined what cooking a soup would taste like and dumped the fish, intestines and all, into a pot and called it a day. No seasoning, not even a pinch of salt. It tasted like home, and he loved it. Once he''d eaten his fair share, he asked the fish cook for directions, to just point a place where he thought someone could help him speak his languge. He understood that. August was shown a piece of wood with a carving of a spider. After crossing several bridges, August found the building. It looked old. It was about four stories tall, and its windows were boarded with thick cobwebs. A spider sigil similar to what he saw before was carved onto the walls here. Nervous, he carefully walked inside. He saw the giant spider first. It was hanging from a cobweb that covered nearly the entire wall. The spider itself look liked half his size, but was clearly longer, and its limbs were threateningly sharp. He''d never seen a spider that was as large as this one, and he immediately tried to think of running away. "You gonna stand there and stare, boy?" It spoke! No. He didn''t see it move, but he heard it anyway. It spoke like what an older woman would sound like. "Well? Come in here, I won''t bite. Heh." August nodded, looking around for other spiders. "The cook pointed me here," he said. "My lady." "Fuller did? That''s very nice of him. It''s not often we catch a few strays. Welcome to the second floor, young man. I''m afraid I don''t have any refreshments to offer you. Water is precious, and relief is scarce." "This is what the second floor looks like?" "Gods, no. You see, ever since the god on the third floor died, his blood has been spilling down here in the second floor. Strange things have been happening since then. The portals are acting erratically, so thoe who come here in the second floor, whether you''re climbing or descending, sometimes end up in places they shouldn''t be. Like here. You''ve been dealt a bad card. A stroke of misfortune." August nodded. "Is there, um, a way to leave this place?" She started weaving silk from her mouth, almost like a habit. "There is, but that''ll be difficult. Only the Ravagers own an airship, and they guard it obsessively. Once the weather clears and the monsters thin out, they''ll abandon this forsaken city. You''ll want to live here for quite some time and either hope for a rescue from one of the other cities or steal the airship itself." She leaned forward, her front limbs resting on the counter. "You''ll need food and board and water, all of which the Arvanna Sisterhood can provide, if you have the means to earn your keep. I''m Asell. I''m an arachne, as you can no doubt tell." "August," he said. "So, what''ll be, August? Tell me what you want, and I''ll see if I can help you. For a price, of course. Heh." August thought about it. At the moment, securing a safe place to settle in for his teammates was his priority. So, he told Asell he wanted lodgings and all the amenities required for survival, like access to food and water enough for him and Quann. The Sisterhood can provide you protection in one of the homes. Three rooms, close to us, and it''ll cost you 10,000 credits a month. That doesn''t include food and water. If you don''t have any credits on hand, you''ll have to work for it." August took note of that. he''d have to ask Quann later about this. "If you want food, you''ll have to go to Fisherman. That''s what they call him. I''ll put a marker on your bracelet. He lives in the docks and he''s been supplying the only food stall here." August exstended his hand. In turn, Asell reached behind her and looped a bracelet, tenderly tapping it against his. "Water is more difficult to acquire. The sea of blood underneath us is poison, even for my kind. We''ll have to wait for rainfall to stock up on water." She paused. *"The Ravagers owned dozens of wooden barrels across several areas of the city. If you''re up to it, I can offer you a mercenary work. You and your friends will need the Sisterhood''s cooperation anyhow." August raised an eyebrow. "What kind of work?" She tapped the counter, thinking about it. "Raiding their encampments. Intimidated?" Well, he paused. This was, after all, some kind of test, wasn''t it? Another floor, another test, and, another set of rewards.