《The Administrator of This Tower Wants to Kill Us》 Prologue ¡°I''m not a bad person, so it just seems unfair that I''m locked in this place. Bad people deserve bad things, that''s nature, but I''m...well I''m not a good person since those don''t actually exist, but I''m certainly not a bad person. I skew way more towards good if anything. I help those around me, I pay my taxes. People who pretend to be good are the ones you actually have to watch out for. My ex-boyfriend was like that, always prattling on about charity and useless bullshit like that. He thought that his donations granted him an automatic pass at life; that his supposed altruism meant he could look down at me and everyone else. He really was just an asshole playing at being good, and I was the only person who ever saw through that facade of his. Fat lot of good that did me.¡± ¡°Fascinating,¡± came the droll reply from the bespectacled man clacking away at his keyboard. ¡°Go to hell,¡± Isabelle said, unable to muster up as much passion for the vague threat as she wanted to. She''d currently draped herself over the spare desk to the man''s right and had been trying to get a worthwhile rise out of him for a good hour now. Her stamina was beginning to wane though, so she''d just devolved into letting her thoughts roam free. ¡°If you didn''t want me to ignore your incessant whining then it would you to keep quiet, yes? My work will proceed far slower if you are constantly buzzing in my ear like some sort of...¡± there was a brief pause as he searched for the right word to use, ¡°...insect.¡± ¡°Can''t you find me something to do then? I''m soooooo bored.¡± ¡°Be that as it may there''s simply nothing to do here other than design the floors. My creator left me little in the way of leisure. Rightly so I might add, creating The Tower should only take 5000 years or so, a bit of a stretch but nothing I am not capable of powering through.¡± She paused before answering, thinking to herself that maybe that sort of timescale wasn''t something she was ready or able to comprehend, ¡°5000 years is overtime to you?¡± The tiny man''s hands paused for the briefest of moments, an ebb in the tide of tapped keys as he processed what she''d said, resuming as he caught up to the conversation. ¡°I suppose that would be an appropriately colloquial way of phrasing it.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°If you''re going to create this grand Tower for humans shouldn''t the way you talk be a little more approachable?¡± ¡°You understand what colloquialisms are, don''t you human?¡± ¡°The way normal people talk?¡± Isabelle hadn''t seen the man''s face deviate from a look of indifference the entire time she''d been here, which granted wasn''t long, but two days was still far longer than you''d need to confirm the inflexibility of another person''s face. Still, she wasn''t sure if she was imagining it when a look of complete and utter derision flickered across his eyes for the briefest of moments before he began. ¡°Colloquialisms create pathways in human speech that are implicitly understood by those who have observed them. That being the case, does it not then seem rational that if we were to sample twenty random humans, even if those humans were from the same country, that there would not be significant overlap in their understanding of culture? Take the population of South Korea, currently sitting at a comfortable 51,765,301. The likelihood of a complete overlap in understanding between twenty people randomly selected from a group of that size is-¡± his head twitched a little as he performed the calculation, ¡°less than 0.0000004%.¡± ¡°As impressive as whatever you just said was, I zonked out when you started talking big numbers.¡± An exacerbated sigh escaped his lips. ¡°My point being, that using colloquial language can only serve to assist some people, while using longer, broader sentences that fully encompass an idea will make sure all players have an equal understanding.¡± ¡°You got a definition of bias in that database head of yours?¡± Again, Isabelle spotted an almost inflection of curiosity pass through those vacant eyes. ¡°I have several, most commonly it refers to inclinations or prejudices for or against people or groups particularly relating to unfair treatment.¡± ¡°I''m more talking about preconceived notions, you picking up what I''m putting down?¡± ¡°You mean to imply that my supposition that fully encompassing an idea through text will lead to an equal understanding is itself a biased position?¡± ¡°Exactly my friend. You think that everyone can just read a long paragraph of dense text filled with words they probably haven''t had to read since high school and completely understand what every part of it means instantly? Or worse yet, hear it once and fully comprehend it? You don''t understand anything about humanity if you actually think that.¡± ¡°And your proposed solution is for me to couch my words in colloquial language so as to better communicate with the ¡®common man¡¯ so to speak?¡± ¡°That sounds like a terrible idea.¡± ¡°So you have no proposed solution human?¡± ¡°Nope, but now you have a problem. That''s why I was voted most likely to cause trouble in my senior year.¡± From her inverted position on the table she rose a nonchalant peace sign towards the man who said nothing back, simply continuing to type away at his computer, eyes unnaturally focused on his many monitors. Unfortunately, despite doing what she did best Isabelle was still bored. Nothing for it I guess she thought, I''m sure I can come up with something while I''m here, or else I might end up killing this nerd just to feel something. I can only imagine what 5000 years is going to do to my sanity... Co-exist or Challenge It¡¯s impossible to describe what seeing a structure like The Tower appear from literal nothingness is like. I¡¯ve been surprised by things suddenly appearing before, I¡¯m human after all, but this was different. The sudden imposing presence made me stumble backwards onto my ass before I¡¯d truly registered what I was seeing. It was only after that that the paralysing fear hit and I couldn¡¯t be sure if it was emanating from this tower or from within myself. It was made of the kind of black that suggested the endlessness of a cold eternity. It didn¡¯t feel like a coincidence that it blocked out the sun; the shadow it was casting spreading an eerie chill across the now motionless city. Both teens and adults that had their phones in their hands were seemingly unable to use them, too transfixed by this monolith. One beat, two beats, three, then four. After four seconds it happened, everyone¡¯s eyes were suddenly drawn to something appearing before them, a blue screen hanging in the air just in front of each of their chests. Inside each of them were the words ¡®Co-exist or Challenge?¡¯ and underneath two separate boxes each with one of those two words. Seemed like a yes or no type deal, but which was yes and which was no? At first glance it seemed simple enough, co-exist was yes and challenge was no. So the right answer was to choose co-exist. I reached for it but something stopped me, the stupid idiot part of me that was never satisfied with just getting it right had to butt in and ask, what if no is the right answer? What if you had to choose challenge or you died? The idiot part of my idiot brain didn¡¯t have a point, it didn¡¯t comprehend anything about what was going on so how could it make a rational and reasonable argument? Unfortunately the emotional weight behind possibly dying for reasons unknown and the feeling of impending immediacy forced my hand that extra bit forward and to the right, pressing lightly on the challenge button. Even before reaching it regret was already coursing through my idiot brain and down my idiot body. From my humble perch down on the concrete footpath I was whisked away immediately, knowing that I¡¯d made the biggest mistake in my life. Worse still, it was only eleven in the morning, so I had plenty more time to top it.
I¡¯m not a smart person. I know that, smart people know they¡¯re smart, that¡¯s what makes them smart. Dumb people don¡¯t know they¡¯re dumb and that¡¯s what makes them dumb. I know I¡¯m not dumb but I know I¡¯m not smart. So I¡¯m average. Being average is good I think. Looking at the extreme ends, the blissful ignorant and the burdened intellent, I¡¯d rather be average. People don¡¯t expect great things from an average person, and they especially don¡¯t expect things from an average girl. I like the things average girls like and to some people that¡¯s a sin; to enjoy Starbucks coffee and posting selfies I took with my friends. They don¡¯t expect me to be anything other than what I am. There¡¯s constraint to that, but also freedom. That¡¯s why I¡¯ll never give up being average, because we¡¯re all shackled by something, this way I feel like I¡¯m at least choosing what colour my cuffs are. I don¡¯t know what this white space is or why I just thought of all that. I don¡¯t think like that so those can¡¯t be my thoughts and yet...they are. I¡¯ve never said any of that but I¡¯ve felt it, deep down in my bones I¡¯ve felt all of it at some point or another. I think that¡¯s part of what makes me, me. Kinda sad honestly, but I can¡¯t deny it. ¡°Denying it would only cause more trouble for you, that¡¯s true,¡± boomed a resonant voice inside my head. ¡°OWWW TOO LOUD!¡± ¡°Sorry about that, haven¡¯t actually used the telepathy function before,¡± the voice whispered. ¡°Little too low now.¡± ¡°Better?¡± said the voice at a reasonable volume. ¡°Much.¡± ¡°Looking over your internality I¡¯m thinking of giving you a more socially oriented skill. What do you think?¡± ¡°Look lady, I get that you¡¯re this God or whatever but you have to start explaining at some point.¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m not a God, I¡¯m [REDACTED] but I see your point, sorry. Just give me a moment, I¡¯m getting used to all this too.¡± ¡°Why did you make that garbled noise?¡± ¡°When I said [REDACTED]?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Just a function of The Tower I guess, Nerd probably put it in so I would be less casual.¡± ¡°okay.¡± ¡°Indeed, can I get your name? I¡¯ve got it listed but I want to make sure, you know how it is with red tape.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t but it¡¯s Kayla. Kayla Thompson.¡± ¡°Sounds good, now obviously you¡¯re confused about what¡¯s going on-¡± ¡°Very.¡± ¡°But I have put together some introductory information. We have about 30 relative minutes before I need to orient the next person so if you could just skim the document and then ask me any questions we¡¯ll get this done in no time.¡± There was a weird nervous vibrancy to the voice as it spoke, I wasn¡¯t quite sure why it was nervous. What did not-Gods have to be nervous about? Suddenly a pamphlet appeared in my hands. On the front the words, ¡®The Tower and You¡¯ were printed in a large tacky font. Underneath it read, ¡®Helping you understand how to conquer your limits ¨C what you need to know about skills, spells and swords(manship) as well as a short intro to The Tower¡¯. ¡°You want me to read this?¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°I can read it for you if you like, but that takes a little longer and you passed English so you should be fine. The Q&A session is the more important part so I¡¯d rather jump to that as quickly as possible.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the boss I guess, can I at least get a chair though?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± As I unfolded the accordion paper in my hand a sitting chair appeared behind me. I sat down and began to read. The Tower is constructed of 100 floors. Its purpose is to push humanity to its limit so they might evolve and be ready to face the greater challenges coming their way. In this way The Tower is a mercy. All of humanity will be offered a choice, face The Tower, or be content to live in its imposing presence. As you are reading this pamphlet you have chosen to challenge The Tower. You likely made this choice not knowing the full ramifications of your actions, but do not despair. All of humanity has the power within themselves to conquer The Tower. Not only that, but you will be granted special powers so as to better facilitate your ascent. These will take the form of special skills granted to you by The Administrator. It is each Administrators discretion as to the extent of the granted powers, but any powers granted by the Administrator and not earned through conquering The Tower will be rescinded upon clearing the final floor. Compatibility with general skills is hard to determine so it is advisable to grant each Ascendant a custom skill based on their disposition. Skills granted by the Administrator may carry with them other perks, such as the ability to cast magic, or an increased affinity for a particular weapon. These are common, but not given To cast a spell you must first bring up your user interface, which you access by simply thinking of your user interface, and set a trigger word or phrase. Failure to do so beforehand will result in the spell not casting. Also take note of your mana capacity, current mana and the spell cost. A spell will not cast if your current mana is lower than the spell cost, but will drain your mana if a trigger word or phrase is used. It is important to note that mana deficiency may cause the user to black out. Also take note of your health and status. Health denotes how much more damage you can withstand before blacking out and possibly dying, and your status denotes any buffs or debuffs you are current affected by. As an Ascendant you have a responsibility to yourself and the others you find yourself in contact with. For any given floor you may be matched with other Ascendants due to a variety of factors including but not limited to: Difficulty, Disposition, Skills, and Rewards. It is important to note that you are not competing with other Ascendants to conquer The Tower. You are all on this journey together. Cooperation is of paramount importance if you want to survive in The Tower. If you have any questions your Administrator will answer them to the best of their ability, but they both cannot and will not answer some questions. Good luck Ascendant. ¡°What¡¯s with this video game ass terminology?¡± I rubbed my temple as I tried to grasp any of what this piece of paper was trying to tell me. ¡°It conveys the meaning most effectively.¡± ¡°The meaning being?¡± ¡°You are made up of your body and your mind, both very complex things. Finding a way to condense down that complexity and display it as simply as possible is difficult. Luckily video games have done a lot of the hard work already on that front.¡± ¡°So this is how you see me, as a red bar and a blue bar?¡± ¡°I see you as Kayla. The system sees you as skills, a red bar and a blue one.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not all that reassuring,¡± I sighed. ¡°It says you¡¯re supposed to give me a special skill suited for me.¡± ¡°I am, I¡¯m thinking about making it a socially oriented skill, but what do you think?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really get it but what about magic and shit?¡± ¡°If you really want a magic skill we can work one out for you, but I¡¯m not sure you can handle the strain.¡± ¡°Strain?¡± ¡°Mana is a part of you, like your blood. You expend it and the spell casts but you lose that mana in the process. You replenish it naturally like blood, quicker too, but just like anaemia there¡¯s consequences to being low on mana.¡± ¡°So because of my anaemia you think I¡¯m not going to be able to cast spells? How do you even know about that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s unlikely, but not improbable. Bit of an oversight but you can¡¯t actually test the ability before I give you the skill so the decision is yours. As to how I know, well I know pretty much everything there is to know about you because I¡¯m an Administrator, that answer is going to have to suffice for now.¡± ¡°Fine fine, but what happened to the compatibility talk in here?¡± I gestured with the pamphlet. ¡°Yeah well that¡¯s just how it is. The compatibility part is my discretion, including you in the process isn¡¯t usually part of the deal but I¡¯m trying to be a little more hands-on, I think it¡¯ll have better outcomes.¡± ¡°Like me not dying?¡± ¡°Exactly, that¡¯s the goal after all.¡± ¡°So what do you mean by social skill?¡± ¡°Well you¡¯re pretty well-liked already, sizeable friend circle, meaningful relationships. I¡¯m thinking of a skill that augments that aspect and helps you fight without fighting. The ability to summon minions to fight for you or the ability to tag along with other Ascendants and buff them would both work I think, any thoughts?¡± ¡°What kind of things would I be summoning?¡± ¡°That¡¯s more a personality thing, Nerd will take care of the finer details and adjust it to suit you if you¡¯re comfortable with that, got a favourite animal?¡± ¡°Penguins.¡± ¡°Not exactly a fighting type but we can work with that, maybe some sort of penguin military.¡± ¡°Wait there¡¯s fighting right? I don¡¯t want them getting hurt. I don''t want any animals getting hurt. Give me the other one.¡± ¡°Mmm, yeah that one will probably be better for your mental health. Nerd will grind out a V1 for you in no time, but due to the likely effects you¡¯ll probably have to spend a bit more time in this waiting room. I¡¯ll keep your situation in mind and get you a partner you can Ascend with, possibly even a team if you¡¯re okay waiting for longer.¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯m okay with that.¡± ¡°Cool, I¡¯ll give you basic access to my library while you wait so you shouldn¡¯t be too bored. Just think of a book, genre or author and you should be able to summon the right shelf. I¡¯ll talk to you in a bit Kayla.¡± ¡°Uh yeah I guess I¡¯ll see you then,¡± I said a bit awkwardly, ¡°wait actually I have one last question for you.¡± ¡°Shoot.¡± ¡°Why am I so calm right now, like I should be freaking out right?¡± ¡°The room you¡¯re in sort of suppresses negative emotions, you can still feel them if you really try, but to help you come to terms with your decision its best to filter out all that.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re like brainwashing me into thinking this whole thing is cool?¡± ¡°Well you¡¯re welcome to think that, but it is in your best interest to accept your situation for what it is, if you don¡¯t you¡¯ll never be able to ascend The Tower. See you soon Kayla.¡± I guess I¡¯m alone in this white expanse with only this pamphlet and this chair. Which is what the situation had been for the past 30 minutes but now it was different because the voice of the Administrator wasn¡¯t in my head. I don¡¯t think. I felt like she¡¯d probably moved on already. The space in front of me warped and where once was nothing now stood a bookcase. It was modest in size but the books themselves seemed to ripple, not quite willing to display what they were. Beside the bookcase was a comfy reading chair. I did as was told and tried to think of a book, but apparently I¡¯ve never read a book before in my life since I couldn¡¯t remember the name of a single one. I couldn¡¯t even think of an author. Maybe I was more stressed than this weird filter could handle. For obvious reasons my thoughts drifted towards penguins and the rippling books solidified, displaying the spines of various childrens books about penguins. It was better than nothing so I picked out one with photos in it, losing myself as hard as I could in how utterly adorable they were. Future Kayla could worry about all that stupid shit, present Kayla had a feeling she wasn¡¯t going to be able to see a penguin for a very long time.¡± Management It was hard to imagine Nerd could actually make a mistake like this, frankly it was so stupid it was quicker to assume she¡¯d made it despite having nothing to do with the waiting rooms. The man continued to scream and cry, still unable to form a coherent sentence. Speaking directly into his mind seemed only to further agitate his fear. It had been a whole minute since this should¡¯ve been fixed though, so she opened up a line to Nerd again. ¡°He¡¯s not getting any less terrified, how far away is the hotfix?¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t going to like what I have to say.¡± ¡°Say it anyway.¡± ¡°I applied the necessary hotfix 8 seconds after you asked.¡± ¡°Why is he still screaming then?¡± ¡°Likely his trauma levels exceed the suppression field¡¯s output.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you amp the field?¡± ¡°Doing so risks damaging his brain.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take the heat for any issues, just get him docile and I¡¯ll take care of the rest.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± A few moments later the screaming started to lose its volume, eventually petering out and giving way to silence. He still hadn¡¯t said anything yet. Isabelle decided this one would probably need a more delicate hand, speaking the word ¡®transpose¡¯ aloud and immediately finding herself beside a tattered old man. His clothes were more dirt than fabric, his teeth missing and stained, a melancholic aura surrounding him as he simply sat fused to the ground. He was an immovable statue, now a fixture of the endlessly white room. She circled around into his field of vision and approached him. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind if I sit down,¡± she asked, waiting for a beat before smoothing her white dress beneath her and plopping herself down. ¡°I¡¯m sorry things ended up this way.¡± She began before abandoning what she was going to say. It was a long moment before she began again. ¡°I¡¯m Isabelle, it says here your name is Robert, so I¡¯ll call you Bob if that¡¯s alright.¡± For another beat she waited for a reply she knew wouldn''t come, then continued. ¡°I¡¯m the current Administrator for this place and I¡¯ve been tasked with introducing everyone to the basics and helping them start their Ascent as fast as possible. Pretty thankless job honestly, nobody really cares about me since they¡¯re all too preoccupied thinking about all the ways in which their freedom has been taken away. Which I totally get, but I¡¯m stuck in here too yknow and you don¡¯t hear me complaining. Well I just did but you get my point. Everyone has a reason they push the button, even if they don¡¯t realise it themselves. That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been told anyway, seems like corporate propaganda honestly.¡± Realising she¡¯d been rambling Isabelle cleared her throat. ¡°Sorry about that, I¡¯ve been having a lot of trouble with tangents since I got here, what I¡¯m trying to say is that with my help I think you can start a new life ¨C a better life. I know I¡¯m assuming a lot but you can¡¯t have been very happy where you were. I¡¯m going to look inside your mind now to see if I can help you, okay?¡± After another empty moment, she began. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. I am alone and I always will be. I¡¯m broken. I deserve to rot. I¡¯m a coward who can¡¯t even die properly. I loved my wife. I loved my son. I loved them all so why am I alone. Wasn¡¯t that love supposed to be enough? It¡¯s so unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair. Having spotted the spiral she began again. ¡°I agree, it is truly and deeply unfair.¡± At that word finally the man stirred, seemingly haven broken free from his stupor. He blinked a few times before asking. ¡°Where am I?¡± ¡°You¡¯re currently inside the 54th Earthbound Tower: Designation Australia. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll come up with a suitable nickname soon enough.¡± ¡°What are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m [REDACTED], you¡¯re not able to hear that but rest assured I did answer the question, my assistant is quite the stickler for rules unfortunately. The other thing I am is in charge of this place.¡± ¡°I-I can think clearly here.¡± ¡°I should think so, we¡¯ve got a suppression field dulling your negative emotions running at above the recommended level, it should help with the depression induced psychosis I¡¯m assuming you were feeling. I¡¯ll order some medicine as well if you like.¡± ¡°I...don¡¯t know about that." ¡°If you don¡¯t know then trust me.¡± She sent a telepathic message over to Nerd, holding out her hand as a second later two small pills appeared there, stretching out her other hand a cup of water appeared as well. ¡°Please, I promise they¡¯ll help.¡± The man gingerly took the proffered items, toying with the pills in his hands for a little bit before deciding to take them, greedily gulping down the accompanying water and realising that every time he broke away from the small cup that it would refill. ¡°You Jesus or something?¡± ¡°Not even a little bit. I¡¯m far too cruel to even be compared to him.¡± ¡°You¡¯re helping me aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Not out of the goodness of my heart, you¡¯ve got a job to do and I need to make sure you can do it. Honestly we¡¯ve got way less Ascendants than projected so we¡¯ve got to run a much tighter ship to keep our numbers up. No child left behind and all that. Wait no that¡¯s bad, uh, well you get what I mean.¡± ¡°You¡¯re giving me a job?¡± ¡°No employment history or place of residence required if you can believe it.¡± ¡°Only places hiring like that are looking to take advantage of people like me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid this place is no different. The path ahead of you is a dangerous one, but you¡¯ve already chosen to go down it. I¡¯m just here to give you the best shot at surviving.¡± ¡°Cruel indeed.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you the full rundown in a second, but I¡¯m going to give you the beta version of your skill first. It¡¯s called ¡®Evermore¡¯. With it you¡¯ll be able to protect your party members, are you okay with that?¡± ¡°How did you-¡± ¡°I know everything Bob, I¡¯m so sorry.¡± For a long and heavy moment he regarded her, with sad eyes full of every emotion imaginable. ¡°What could you possible know about it.¡± ¡°Only what happened. I don¡¯t pretend to know how you feel.¡± ¡°Then why ¡®Evermore¡¯?¡± ¡°It seemed fitting to me, there¡¯s no other reason. I can change the name if you like.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know what this skill shit is, why bother changing the name.¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯ll start the explanation then, I can give you a pamphlet to read, or if you¡¯re feeling a bit too overwhelmed by all this I can read it out to you. Afterwards I can answer any questions you have.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask you to read it out to me.¡± ¡°As you wish,¡± and Isabelle began to read aloud. Systems I love video games. I love the rush of a well executed play, of hard-reading another player and getting the perfect punish. I love the thrill of understanding a game¡¯s mechanics, when I get to fuck over some idiot who didn¡¯t read the patch notes I feel invincible. Nobody cares about what I care about. Nobody has spent the kind of time I¡¯ve spent playing games. I get games, because I¡¯m a gamer and that¡¯s important now because of this screen in front of me. It isn¡¯t about what could go wrong, I know what could go wrong. It¡¯s about a choice I have to make because of who I am and what I know. Whatever this tower thing is, I¡¯m going to challenge it and I¡¯m going to win. I¡¯m finally going to become the person I was meant to be. I hate video games. I hate the way I spend every moment of every day thinking about them. I hate that they¡¯ve ruined my life. I know I should blame how weak and pathetic I am on myself but I can¡¯t. The fault lies with these stupid games. What use is all the knowledge I have anyway? It won¡¯t bring Cara back, it won¡¯t change anything. I¡¯m scared I¡¯ll never change. I¡¯m scared that tomorrow the world will finally realise how useless I am and I¡¯ll disappear forever. The endless white expanse I¡¯ve arrived at stings my eyes a little and my head is spinning from the random thoughts that popped into my head. I can¡¯t stand up straight. I fall to my knees. I try to rub the bleariness out of my eyes. I hear a resonant voice in my head. ¡°Welcome to The Tower. I am the Administrator. I need to check your name, please state it.¡± ¡°It''s Justin, what the fuck did you just do to me?¡± ¡°Thank you Justin, I¡¯ve prepared a pamphlet for you to help explain the basics, I¡¯ll be happy to answer any questions you have for me afterwards. Please be patient.¡± A flimsy piece of accordion paper appears in my hands and I force my eyes to focus. I need to focus. Nothing else matters but reading this and understanding it perfectly. I have to understand this. I begin to read. There¡¯s not much here but I do see some video game terminology that sets me at ease. I was right to choose this option. I can win. I just need to ask the righ-. What is this bullshit? Working together? That¡¯s not a real fucking video game. That¡¯s pussy shit. I didn¡¯t give up my life just to play nice with some fucking losers. This is fucked. ¡°What the fuck lady?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s different than you thought it would be.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t play co-op games.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware.¡± ¡°Then the why the fuck am I being forced to work with loser cunts who probably haven¡¯t played a game in their fucking lives?¡± ¡°Why is a difficult question to answer to your satisfaction.¡± As the voice says this there¡¯s a bit of a shift in her demeanour as she prepares whatever she is about to say, the next thing I hear is like a bucket of ice water poured over my head. ¡°Why implies that I give a shit what some entitled gamer bro thinks of my Tower. Why implies that I think you¡¯re worth shit. You¡¯re not.¡± ¡°The fuck are you talking about you psycho bitch, you don¡¯t know shit about me.¡± ¡°Justin Yoon, 21. Currently attending X University with an incredible 2.3 GPA. Failed out of every course he¡¯s attempted, failed out of every relationship he¡¯s been in. Currently estranged from his parents after telling them to quote, ¡°Fuck off and die.¡± Irregularly performs in a band called ¡®Nails of Death¡¯ with his only ¡®friends¡¯ who all, very un-secretly, hate him. Do you think the person I¡¯ve described is worthy of my respect? Do you think I really care about all the problems in your shitty life? Yknow, the ones you made for yourself? Cowering in fear from your lack of potential has gotten you nowhere and it¡¯s time to face up to the truth. You need to care about something other than the person you think you should¡¯ve been. If you can¡¯t do that I can¡¯t help you.¡± The more she kept talking the less real all of it felt and the harder it was to listen. The way she was poking me over and over with how pathetic I am was so fucking bullshit. Of course I know I¡¯m a piece of shit. Of course I know I¡¯m a burnout loser. That¡¯s all I¡¯ll ever be, so why try be anything else. ¡°Wrong.¡± ¡°What do you mean wrong? The fuck are you in my head for you don¡¯t get to decide shit.¡± ¡°This Tower is mine so actually I do. You signed your soul over to me so guess what you fucking loser, it¡¯s finally time for you do something worthwhile with your life. You¡¯re going up my Tower whether you like the way it happens or not, so just shut up and accept it. Here¡¯s your skills, maybe you¡¯ll stop being such a baby once you start fighting.¡± At that the screen appeared in front of me again, glitching for a second, followed up by a massive splitting headache. I could feel a rush of information I never should¡¯ve known surge into my mind, settling in like it had always been there. The pain subsided as quickly as it arrived and now I could see displayed on my status screen two entries under the previously empty skills section.
STATUS (EXPAND) Name: Justin Yoon Health: 7/7 Mana: 13/13 Strength: 7 Agility: 11 You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Intelligence: 13 Fortitude: 7 Charisma: 4 Luck: 3
SPELLS (EXPAND)
SKILLS (EXPAND) SKILL: Shark in the Water [S Rank] ¨C Increases melee weapon damage by [400%] while in combat. If the user of this skill stops moving they will incur a minor penalty after combat based on how many seconds they stopped for. Generates SKILL, ¡®Melee Weapon Proficiency [C Rank]¡¯. SKILL: Melee Weapon Proficiency [C Rank] ¨C User gains an amount of knowledge in regards to the use of [Melee Weapons] according to the skill rank. This knowledge cannot be forgotten.
¡°What kind of bullshit skill is this bitch? The fuck am I getting penalised for? This is so fucked up.¡± ¡°Not that I should have to explain myself to you, but your special skill is much stronger than those of its type such as ¡®Berserker¡¯ which trades damage for defence. The benefits of this skill far outweigh the drawback. The fact of the matter is that stupid ingrates like you need to be told to keep fighting till the end or you¡¯ll never actually try. If you stop even for a moment, people will die, and I won¡¯t let that happen. So you¡¯re going to be a good little boy and be grateful for my generous gift if you know what¡¯s good for you.¡± This wasn¡¯t how it was supposed to go. I was supposed to arrive an- ¡°-be the hero of a generation or whatever. I know. You¡¯re like the fourth gamer bro in a row I¡¯ve had to see to. Same stupid problems as them as well. You guys should¡¯ve been friends honestly, would¡¯ve helped you all to get out of the fucking house once in a while.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± ¡°I can spell it out for you if you like. You¡¯re not special just because you play video games. Everyone plays fucking video games. I played video games before¡­,¡± she sighed. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t hate you, but those other three helped me understand how best to help you, because where we started is where I ended up with all of them. You need start running towards something. The Tower is meant to be Ascended and I¡¯m here to make sure you can do that. If the moment you run into something that seems a little too hard you break down and start running people are going to die. I mean that and I need you to hear me. People. Will. Die. So I¡¯m not here to coddle you and tell you that you¡¯re special and you¡¯re the only one who can do this. You¡¯re not, that¡¯s the point. You can all do it, you just have to try.¡± I slumped down further on my knees, arms unwilling by my side. She was right and I couldn¡¯t say shit about it. I know I¡¯m not special. Of course I know that, if I was special I¡¯d be speical. I¡¯d be something. ¡°What am I supposed to do now?¡± ¡°Do you really have to ask Justin? I¡¯ve put together a team and I want you to be on it. I want you to help them. The other two, they haven¡¯t played the kinds of video games you have before so you¡¯ll be able to help them through the things they didn¡¯t think to ask. We¡¯ve got 15 minutes until I have to move on so I need you to pick my mind about everything you can. Unfortunately I can¡¯t just give you the information. I tried so hard to...nevermind. Are you going to work with me?¡± ¡°I thought you said everyone has played video games?¡± I say weakly. ¡°I was talking about Candy Crush and Solitare you idiot. You knew that when I said it. I¡¯m not saying you don¡¯t have any skills or any knowledge. I just need you to know that¡¯s not all you are; that you can be more than that. So work with me?¡± ¡°I can work with you, can I get your name though, hard to work with you without knowing that I think.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Isabelle.¡± I could feel the release of tension in her voice as she said her name. For some reason her relief set my heart at eas- ¡°I can¡¯t tell you how glad I am that I didn¡¯t have to kill you Justin. Those other three just wouldn¡¯t listen, I could tell they were going to get other people killed with their shitty attitudes. I¡¯m so relieved you¡¯re different.¡± I swallowed hard at her words, I felt myself panic, then I felt the panic lessen. The voice at the other end of whatever telepathy shit was going on wasn¡¯t human, of course it wasn¡¯t human why would it be human. Human life is meaningless to things that aren¡¯t human. My throat was drying up and I was starting to hyperventilate, then suddenly I stopped and the panic subsided. It was there and I could still feel it, but I was suddenly just...fine. ¡°Sorry about that Justin, I just turned up the negative emotion suppression field. Honestly, I shouldn¡¯t have told you about killing those guys, but I do think it''s for the best. I need you to know that you are going to clear this Tower, because people will die if you don¡¯t. And Justin, I want to be very clear, you are most certainly people. So focus up, and start asking questions. The clock is ticking.¡± Architecture ¡°I do understand what you are trying to do here Isabelle, but you must know it will never work. Better minds than yours have laboured for far longer on these problems and have come to the conclusion that there is no better way,¡± said Nerd as clacked away at his work. One might¡¯ve expected that after constructing the Tower floors in their entirety his work would be finished, but the grand opening was merely the beginning of the end. ¡°You can¡¯t know for certain, knowing what you¡¯re like I bet these ¡®better minds¡¯ didn¡¯t give even half the effort I have into making this work.¡± ¡°The party system has never worked. 2,301 towers have tried it and every time it has ended in abject failure.¡± ¡°Yeah because you¡¯ve never even consulted any of the worlds you were trying to help before. You know as well as I do that this system sucks. I¡¯ve read every file. The only reason this whole thing hasn¡¯t collapsed is because every time you¡¯ve had one person step up and save the day.¡± ¡°That may be so, but creating the conditions for that one person to manifest has proven effective so why change things now when the end is so close?¡± ¡°Humanity isn¡¯t like the other races, we¡¯re not built for combat. We¡¯re built for adaptation, survival. We prefer to think over fight.¡± ¡°On that you can speak for all humans?¡± ¡°Enough of them.¡± ¡°My point exactly. You are not the only race in the universe that have developed sharper minds over sharper claws.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get what your problem is Nerd, you were the one that let me push through this change, you have to be seeing what I¡¯m seeing.¡± ¡°I let you add the clause because I did not foresee this outcome. It was too ludicrous to even consider.¡± ¡°Well it¡¯s too late now, I¡¯m going to make these parties and you can¡¯t stop me. I¡¯m the one in charge here, not you.¡± ¡°A fact you have been lauding over me since your appointment.¡± Letting his digits rest as he figured out how to best phrase what he was about to say, he took in a deep breath in, and exhaled. ¡°Isabelle, I cannot stop you from attempting this and as the first outsider to be appointed as an Administrator you do have a unique perspective. That I cannot refute. However I am unable to trust you fully on this issue due to the size of the data backing up my position. Do as you must, but I cannot support you in this decision in any other capacity than as your Architect.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°That¡¯s all I needed to hear Nerd, you¡¯ve got no eye for this sort of work anyway.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t understand your approach with that last Ascendant, it seemed to be going well until you said that thing about killing people.¡± ¡°Oh Justin? Yeah nah, that¡¯s pretty simple actually. He wouldn¡¯t have gotten what I was telling him if I was subtle about it, so I went all-in. He¡¯ll adjust fine once he¡¯s in there but I need him to come out swinging so that the others don¡¯t get hurt. What¡¯s a little white lie if it¡¯ll help them out?¡± ¡°It did not seem so little to him.¡± ¡°He can curse my name all he wants as long as he does what he¡¯s there to do. I¡¯m not here to play nice and making friends isn¡¯t always the way forward.¡± ¡°You have contradicted yourself again. This time it was only 11 months ago.¡± ¡°Okay fine you win. Crunch time makes me crabby okay? He was getting on my nerves and I wanted to spook him. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine and he got pretty much everything out of me that I wanted him to anyway.¡± ¡°You should be glad for that at least. I will say, these ¡®gamers¡¯ are an interesting bunch.¡± ¡°They¡¯re certainly something, have you got the next name ready?¡± ¡°Yes, her name is Penelope Kantor, you are looking for a 35 year old from Victoria.¡± ¡°Appreciate you Nerd,¡± Isabelle said as she turned to her bookshelf and retrieved the volume that had just rippled into existence. As she sped through the book faster than humanly possible Nerd once again found himself thinking about how insane this woman was; how absurd her methods were and how little he understood her even after 5000 years. Her goal was ridiculous and her plan would never work. How could it? As an Architect he was renown for the difficulty of his Towers and the results borne from that difficulty. 98 Towers, 98 clears. The only thing she had to say when he told her of his monumental achievement was to ask how many died. Having never done the calculation before it took a moment to add them all up. It was substantial, definitely above the average, but the results proved it was worth it. Remembering her face it seemed she disagreed. In fact reflecting on it now he felt that if there were no consequences to the action she might have killed him. That was the kind of face she made. It was peculiar being faced with such a temperamental individual. Someone whose emotions constantly rampaged if unchecked. She had talent, that was undeniable, but still. Administrators who get too involved always meet bad ends, that is why they need the steady hand of an Architect to keep them focused on the goal. Not that she was not focused. Quite the contrary really, she was always planning out the path forward and making adjustments to the system. No, hers was a problem of priorities. That and her meddling nature. He was glad she had no say in the design of the floors themselves, though barring some calamity he would not capitulate to what would surely be unreasonable demands even if she had that kind of authority. Even though there were many things she did not have authority over, she did do far more than anyone he had worked with before, and that was worth something. She did even more than ^(%$#m@. It was worth noting that ^(%$#m@ had met a grizzly end on their very next management job after working with him. Their death was the reason that he felt so strongly about his position on parties. If one of the most talented Administrators he had ever worked with had failed, what hope was there for anyone else? He supposed time would tell. Given his stellar track record and these unusual circumstances, even if this Tower failed he would not be held responsible. This was her burden to bear and bear the weight of the consequences she would. It was liberating to not have to worry about his future, and having such a unique opportunity to spread his wings had made this project quite fun. He had been feeling like his artistry was being dulled somewhat by the repetitious nature of his job, so overall he considered this whole situation to be a boon. He was not sure as to her feelings on the matter, though he felt there was nothing to be gained either way from her perspective. It was always best for an Administrator to be neutral, lest the Tower turn against them. As far as he was aware that was the golden rule of Adminstrating. As he was sure it would simply go over her head he kept his mouth shut as to that particular nugget of wisdom. Instead he fulfilled her inane requests for medicine and the like. The golden rule of Architecting was to keep the Administrator happy after all, and that he could do.