***Authors Note***

Woo, thanks everyone for getting me up to the top 10 in weekly views.

...Normally I would promise another chapter today, but... I don't even know if I will have time to do a second one xD. I haven't left the house in a week, and I think I need some sunlight.

I'll likely do a 3 chapter day this weekend tho. Happy Reading~

Day 26

***POV Change***

“Where are we?” Ketlia asked wonderingly, looking around at the vast white space where they were standing. There were literally no distinguishing features, just space. Kent and Diver were wandering around, carefully testing the floor for any details.

Gillette rubbed his chin. “Technically we are outside the tower, within an administrator’s personal space. Mine. But the only time that challengers may come here without alerting the Solicitors is between floors. So consider this a bit of training before you rise up to the 6th floor.”

“Why is it empty?” Diver asked.

After a long moment of silence, Gillette said. “Because I had occasion to destroy everything that I had amassed here. Now, you three.”

They all turned towards him.

“If I am to be an effective administrator, I must know your strengths. There will be moments in the future where we shall fight shoulder to shoulder; hold nothing back.” His eyes began to glow ominously. “Here I come.”

***POV Change***

That morning, I once more expended all of my essence without any effect, in order to increase my maximum essence to 18. Currently it was simple, if slow, to improve the maximum amount. A week from now it would grow increasingly annoying to do so. Following that, I looked towards the town in the distance.

After making the decision to head there and get my kill early, I summoned two skeleton bears. Although the belt read 4 hours of green light, I had come to the conclusion that those numbers were meaningless-

Right in front of my eyes, the skeleton bears collapsed into nothing.

“Certainly an interesting skill, air boy, but didn’t you know? All creatures without belts will immediately die on my floor~ so tragic.”

-...so no minions here, huh.

-Why didn’t you summon 1 at a time? You should have suspected he wouldn’t just let us build up an army.

-Then speak up earlier, other me.

“You know, this red light green light thing is getting a little boring… and since we are down to a much smaller amount of people… let’s switch games!”

The green light on my belts switched off. The belt flickered, then a new timer emerged with 3 hours on it, slowly counting down. After a minute, a pictured emerged, projected to be a hologram in the air in front of me. It displayed a middle aged man with short brown hair, greying at the edges. Underneath the photo was an arrow, pointing towards the edge of the town.

“The new game is called assassin! This was my favorite human game, although I could never figure out why humans didn’t actually kill anyone while playing. Kill your target within the time limit. But be careful~ someone is after you too.”

Sighing, I began walking towards the edge of town. Better do this quickly, before a dumb rule that I wasn’t expecting comes into play. The buildings in town had an old-timey western feel, made of timber and with swinging doors. There were a few people in the streets, but most everyone I found only peered out from windows on the upper floors.

After a bit of walking, I determined the building that my target was within, and walked in the front doors.

“Stop! Everybody, look at his face. Is he anybody’s target?”

I stopped, but mostly to let my eyes to adjust to the switch from the bright desert to this dimly lit room. Apparently the building had been a bar of some sort. There was glass bottles along the back wall, and the main area was taken up with tables and chairs that had since been stacked to form a barricade. I could see at least 7 people here, and a set of stairs off in the right corner of the room. The arrow from the hologram pointed distinctly forward. Towards the group of them.

I scratched my chin.

-Humans look so similar. I wish some of them had fur so I could tell them apart.

The voices spoke various negatives, and a hefty man holding a crossbow turned back towards me. “Alright, alright. You’re in luck, bud. None of us has to kill you.”

-Can they not see the hologram?

-You can’t see theirs. And honestly, this power of the floor controllers is the first one that would be useful to see.

“I don’t know what your business is, but it can’t be good. I don’t like shedding blood, so scram before I change-”

-Might as well just kill them all.

“-my mind-”

I summoned 10 wind blades, putting 50 mana into each to make sure that there wouldn’t be any stragglers. It leveled up my skill, which pleased me.

Congratulations! Due to your actions, your skill has changed to “Wind Blade Lvl 4”. Sharpness of blade improved. The constitution of the blade will now take slightly longer to degrade. Effective range increased.

The blades rushed forward, cutting the barricade to pieces. Then the screams started, as most of the wind blades continued rushing forward, slicing into the bodies of the people hiding behind. The blades continued even farther, ripping holes in the floor and blasting open the back wall. But the ones that went in the most direction the arrow was pointing hit a strange distortion in the air, dissipating.

As the dust settled, I frowned. The air shimmered, and the dust began to swirl, as if it was summoned into a vacuum.

Also…

-Why did the number 9 appear below the timer?

-Maybe… that’s the amount of people I killed?

Within a minute, the dust had parted, revealing the man with slightly greying hair. He was breathing heavily, but otherwise seemed fine. The shimmering in the air stopped.

“I can see you’ve already bought into this fucking tower’s rules. That’s fine, that’s fine. It just makes this easier.” He wiped the sweat from his brow. Then he slapped his hands together in a loud clap. He pointed at me.

“Crush! X2.”

I settled into a crouch, ready to dodge, but… nothing came. I stood up slowly. Then I blinked. I raised and lowered my arms. I felt… heavy. Jumping up and down, my landings made the floor groan dangerously.

-So it doesn’t just affect perception. It actually increases our weight.

-Interesting.

He raised an axe with a slightly crazed grin on his face. “And now that your are slowed-”

I adjusted my sleeve and then flicked my arm sideways. Two knives flew towards him.

To his credit, he reacted quickly; he jumped backwards and the shimmering in the air emerged. When the knives reached it, they dived towards the ground, slamming into the wooden floor and quivering.

-A curtain of gravity. A good defense, all in all.

“Fine then! I hate this because of the mess it makes, but… “ He clapped and pointed at me again. “Crush! X5.”

-Ohhhhh. Dammit, why did we get stuck with Air Affinity? This skill seems incredibly useful.

-Against weaklings.

I stepped forward. My foot slammed into the floor, cracking it slightly. I took another step. The noise echoed in the wide room.

“What..?!?! Impossible. Why haven’t you been crushed by your own weight! Crush x10.”

The sudden increase made me lean forward slightly, but then I slowly straightened. Stepped forward, the whole floor shuddered under my weight.

-Why doesn’t he flee?

-Idiocy.

Another step brought me within 5 m of him, but unfortunately, that step caused the floor to collapse. I toppled forward, my balance overwhelmed by the increased weight. Even with my increased stats, I couldn’t overcome the pull of gravity. I fell flat on my face, destroying a larger portion of the floor. Some of the dust from the ground beneath got into my math. My rage started to simmer up.

“Hahaha… whew, that was close, I thought… eh?”

Still, it just took some getting used to. I stood back up, settling into a crouch. My legs burned, and I was breathing heavily, but I felt my heart pumping dutifully, warmth washing through my muscles.

Congratulations! Due to your actions, you have earned the passive skill “My Heart is the Bellows, My Body the Metal Lvl 1”. Remnants of the Heart Murmur poison have been assimilated into your body. Each beat of your heart spreads heat throughout your body. Increased heart rate increases the efficiency of this, decreasing the effect of debuffs and giving small increases to stats.

I felt the heat lifting me up, grinning madly.

“No...No....! Crush x25!”

A huge weight crashed against me, slamming me downward. Gritting my teeth, I bore it, slowly raising my gaze until I met his eyes. I took a sliding half step forward, moving closer to him. My thighs and hips were screaming. All of the bones were tense with the strain, and my joints were trembling. Even with my stats, I was close to my limit.

Honestly though, this was a great workout. If I could master this skill and use it on myself-

Congratulations! Due to your actions, your skill has changed to “Physicality Lvl 7”. Increased effectiveness of muscle exertion. Small amount of density for muscle and bones gained. Wounds recover slightly faster.

-ohoho, perhaps we should let this man live for the next 2 and a half hours, and train under his weight-

All at once, it stopped. The man collapsed, breathing heavily and staring at me with wide eyes. I used a long step to cross the distance to him. “Why did you stop?”

There were tears forming in his eyes. “I ran out of mana. Please, don’t kill me. I have a family-”

Punching him in the face, I crushed his skull. I idly rubbed my knuckles. Now, for the next two hours, I could…

But as I watched, another face replaced this first. This was a grinning teen with blonde hair, probably only 12 years old.

The time reset to 3 hours. The number beneath that ticked up to 10.

“Ohoho! I think there were a few rules I forgot to mention! Now’s a good time to bring them up~”

-So typical.

-Whose idea was it to start killing people to AVOID hidden rules?

“First, your timer resets whenever you kill. I don’t want you to just sit in a cave all day~ Oh, and I should say that unlike a typical human game of assassins, the targets don’t work out to a perfect circle. Many people may be targeting a specific individual, and perhaps no one is currently targeting you! That’s because you are randomly,” The voice stopped for an extended giggle.

-...Randomly, huh.

The voice continued. “Randomly assigned a target from the remaining living humans around you. That target is weighted by proximity, popularity, and the amount of kills since the start of the assassin game! So, good luck, overachieving air boy~”

***POV Change***

Diver slumped backwards. He was only held up by Gillette’s grip on his tattered shirt. Gillette released him, and he crumpled to the ground. Gillette’s cool gaze turned to a panting Ketlia. Kent lay prone in a crater a short distance away.

‘Strong,’ Ketlia thought, her pupils constricting as she watched his calculating gaze. ‘Stronger even than Predator.’ But that made sense, Gillette had made it to ascension. He had climbed the tower as an administrator before.

“Don’t you think it is time you stopped hiding your powers? Your companions are unconscious, they will not see. And if you manage to harm me, I will tell you a secret, the dark secret of the lower tower.”

Ketlia frowned, and then slammed all of her will against his mind, pressing for the secret. But Gillette didn’t even appear to feel it, walking towards her with a small smile on his face.

‘He’s having fun,’ Ketlia realized, her eyes narrowing. Gillette had only been relying on his physical body, no noticeable skills to speak of, and still they were completely dominated. ‘Well then, let’s stop playing fair.’

“There is a secret to the tower? And What do you mean, the lower tower?” Ketlia opened her astral vision, becoming aware of the infinitely layered planes of existence that were constantly wrapping around them. She reached, grabbing a nearby plane, one where she was 10 m farther away, and Willed it to be so, and it was.

Gillette blinked, and then chuckled. “A cool trick. The lower tower is the first 50 floors. And yes, a secret, the reason why we administrators climb the tower. You are a smart girl, haven’t you ever wondered why?”

Ketlia frowned. Gillette was swiftly moving closer to her, and her head was already starting to throb, the plane she had chosen was several away from their original one. But she once more gathered her will, pushing downward against all the nearby layers, forming a indent in the fabric of the world in the spot Gillette was about to step into.

He paused, considering it, then stepped through it, heedless. His clothes were slightly ruffled, and he moved on.

‘That’s all? The space should have been so warped his body couldn’t even exist… Dammit, fine.’

“Isn’t it just greed? Lust for money, glory, power? I’ve read the minds of dozens of administrators, and they all seem to be filled with petty reasons,” Ketlia said lightly, shifting her vision. She then started crafting an illusion of herself, retreating slowly, focusing on something big. The real Ketlia stepped to the side, controlling long, thin threads of poisonous will to descend towards Gillette, seeking purchase in his soul.

“You won’t find anyone who knows at this level of the tower. They have all forgotten. Only when you pass the 50th floor do you remember.”

It was maddening, how immaculate his mental defenses were, as her threads failed time and time again to find purchase, but he appeared to be following the illusion well enough.

“Interesting. You can certainly go far with my help. But this,” Gillette stopped right next to her real body, gaze never leaving the illusion. His hand blurred, slamming into the side of her head. “Is your loss.”

Ketlia lost consciousness.

***POV Change***

The leader of their group pointed at the ground at my feet, and immediately vines sprung up, wrapping around my legs.

I had simply left the building out the back, after resting an hour, and found myself ambushed. The group was of 4, the plant guy distracting me, a woman in the back somehow dispersing my wind blades, a huge man using an iron door from a shield blocking the ones she missed, and a grade schooler channeling mana and chanting some sort of spell.

Snorting, I ripped my legs free, walking forward, but the leader just pointed again, more and more vines emerging.

After 30 seconds of slow going, the grade schooler was finally ready and he shouted for the others to move to the side. He raised his hand, summoning a huge sword of flame, probably 30 m long, which he threw at me.

I shook my head.

-They are too unlucky.

It hit me, exploding in a manner than likely looked very impressive. The congratulated each other; my greater fire resistance made it so I didn’t even feel it. I used a long step to get behind them, and snapped the counter mage's neck. Then I turned to the group, relishing their fear.

-It’s so much more satisfying than killing scorpions.

****

The number of kills underneath my name now read 29. A slow building headache thudded behind my eyes. I couldn’t walk anywhere without someone attacking me. It took me 30 minutes to chase the blonde teen down, then 20 more to finally kill her, because I kept getting ambushed right as I caught up.

Finally, I bisected her with a wind blade, taking my kill total up to 30. A dark skinned man’s face appeared as my next target. 3 hours once more appeared. The arrow was pointing behind me, so I turned around and watched as a dark skinned man, my target, punched a screaming individual several times in the face not 30 m down the main road.

The individual was begging for mercy, but my target’s face was remorseless, accomplishing a task. Without much ado, the man died. My target straightened. He studied the air in front of him, then turned. He looked directly at me.

My target was probably only 1.75 m tall, but he was built wide and low, his arms thick and powerful. His shoulders rose and fell lightly, his knuckles still bloody from his last kill. Then he smiled at me.

“So our targets are each other eh? How many kills do you have, friend.”

“30.” I answered coolly. His smile widened, his eyes twinkling mischievously..

“Indeed? I have 31. But it’s not a competition”

-Really? We aren't the kill leader?

My disappointment must have shown on my face, for he snickered. My expression turned into a glower.

-....that fucking bluffing piece of human filth.

Without warning, my target began running towards me, arms pumping.

I twisted, planting my foot and settling into a squat, preparing for anything and adopting the earth cadence.

My target’s move was so direct it was surprising; he simply continued running and then dove at me in a straightforward fashion. I raised my left arm, aligning it with my hips and plant leg, letting his momentum and the weight of the earth do all the work for me.

“Oof.” My blow knocked the wind out of him, my arm catching him in the chest and stopping him dead. His legs continued forward from momentum in a comical fashion. I grimaced, sliding back a half inch. He was… surprisingly heavy.

But now that he was stopped...

Thunder stance, first form, Surge of Thunder.

All of my annoyance with a day full of hassles surged forward, and my fist slammed into his face. His body flew back 20 m, rolling on the ground. I looked at my fist frowning. That had hurt.

I looked towards my target, who had sat up. A glossy silver metal had bubbled up, covering his face. As I watched, the metal spread, covering his entire body, even his hair. The steel man stood back up, brushing the dirt off of his clothes.

“Ohoho.”

Even I couldn’t help but allow a small grin to escape. It had been a while since I had gotten to go all out in a physical confrontation. Hopefully he didn’t disappoint me.

“Your name?” He asked, cracking his knuckles.

“Predator.” He nodded, as if this was the most natural name in the world.

“And I am Jinka. Let us dance, friend.”

We leapt at each other.

***POV Change***

Kettle considered the note in front of her.

Do not allow Jen to be Predator’s administrator.

-Gillette

“I was planning to act as his administrator myself, but…” Kettle murmured, but now her mind was whirring at full speed. Why was it important enough for Gillette to leave instructions?

***POV Change***

Jinka’s low kick caught the side of my knee, driving me to the ground. His fist flashed down, striking my chin. My eyes burned. I used Air Stance to deflect his next punch, stepping up and slamming my elbow against his nose. Then I grabbed his arm and twisted, throwing him into a nearby building.

Unfortunately, there was a random passerby, likely waiting for a chance to ambush one of us, who was hit by the obscenely heavy body and mashed to paste as Jinka slammed through the wooden wall and made wreckage out of the interior.

Breathing heavily, I tried to catch my breath, but my heart was pounding too hard, driving me forward. My palms were tingly and wet. I felt alive-

A metal barrel flew out the door, slamming into my chest, sending me staggering. Another followed, but I ducked. I heard screams from behind me as it crashed into some of our watchers. A third and fourth followed.

Growling, I channeled all the mana I could and HEAVED with air affinity, lifting the entire wooden building off the ground and into the sky. Jinka fell through the floor and smashed into the ground, slightly stunned, but unharmed. He scratched his chin. I could hear shouts of confusion from the suspended building.

“Why? Such a feat will not kill me-”

I slammed the building down, smashing him beneath it.

As the smoke cleared, I saw his silhouette striding through the wood, paying it no mind. I was smiling like crazy now, my battle lust driving me forward.

Challenge me, stranger. Pressure me. Give me pain, give me adversity. I’ll devour it all and grow. I’ll-

“Congratulations! There are only 20 of you humans remaining~ That’s it for the first round. I’ll see you all tomorrow.” The voice boomed out gleefully. I frowned.

-Not yet-

I winked out of existence. A second later, I reappeared in a small room with a bed and nothing else. No doors, no windows. Light came from a square stone set into the ceiling.

I punched the wall for almost an hour, my fury and adrenaline refusing to leave. Although it was a small comfort, I found solace in the fact that I heard the same poundings from a distant cell. Sighing, I stopped.

-Fine then. Tomorrow, I shall fight him again.

I settled into water cadence and began to practice.