They came slowly. Most of the early arrivals were those who had heard the rumor and wanted to come see for themselves. They were more than David had expected. Hundreds. They stayed in clusters—by race or new relationships. From where they sat and watched, Zeno pointed them out to David. Most of them belonged to groups of the city’s underworld. He was scared the real player wouldn’t come until he felt the familiar sensation of Ignis’ power. It was like staring at a twin energy. He saw the sheathed blade and knew that it was crafted from Ignis’s bones. The man it was strapped to was tall, lean, and almost beautiful. He strode through the parting crowd as though he couldn’t see the others in the field.

“That is Hale,” Zeno said. “He is the eighteenth ranker. That might be an easy beat, actually.” He shrugged, not sure.

David stared at the man who had the same weapon as him. He wasn’t sure if everyone who acquired Ignis’ bone was named Master of All, but he couldn’t feel the man’s aura from where he was. Zeno had suggested they get mixed up with the rest of the crowd. But Hale’s eyes found him. David nodded when he saw he’d been caught. Hale smiled and found a place to perch.

“That is Larg,” Zeno said, pointing to a thick squat man. He shoved through the crowd, his cloak dragging behind him. A group of pale men walked behind him. They looked sickly, even with the day’s light. Their hoods were pulled back so David could see the scars on their faces. Larg barked a command and the others rushed after him. He dragged a staff taller than himself. His face was severe, but David could tell he was in his thirties. He seemed arrogant, but there was a caution to the way he watched everyone else. Zeno snorted.

“He is nineteenth,” Zeno said. “Actually good with some shadow magic, you can have him teach you a thing or two, Elisha.”

Zoey grinned at Zeno, but Elisha only scowled. He’d been sparring with Frank since he woke up. There was an unnerving edge to him now. His shadow could split into several images of him, all with dark detail attributes. David turned to look at his brother before pulling Chloe closer. She still hadn’t said anything since they were freed, but David wasn’t pushing her to say anything. Frank had warned that she might want to be left alone. She’d break out of it in time, with little encouragement from them. David stared at her, feeling even more guilt. If he’d stayed with them, she would be alright. The thought had plagued him in the days leading to this event.

“That is Vaishar,” Frank said. “Summoner. He is pretty hard to beat. He is sixteen. The kid behind him is Collin, his friend. An Elemental. Trust me, you don’t want to fight that boy. His last known fight was against Heron. The fight was hard. And Heron is tenth. The kid is superb. You will definitely lose. And I know your strength,” he said the last part with a weird wink that made Zoey laugh. David watched the others coming in.

“Jo’eb came,” Zeno said, hissing the name. David turned to him, silently questioning. Zeno sighed, sadly. “One of the ruling nobles. He is trouble but I doubt he’d do anything in a place like this. With all these rankers gathered. He’d be too afraid to do anything stupid. Still, I will send off my people to keep an eye on him.”

David nodded, his eyes moving from the noble to a woman in half-armor. She came with a group of six others, all covered in armor. But she stood out. Her shoulder guard was pure silver, as was her hair. She stood a few heads above the others, her movement slow and purposeful. She glanced around, her eyes scanning the gathering as if searching. They passed over David and his cluster and quickly came back to settle on them. But she was staring at Zeno. She nodded and Zeno waved.

“Who is that?” Elisha asked, the coldness freezing his voice. Frank snorted and Zeno laughed a mocking laugh. The woman pushed through the crowd, a path opening as she approached. Her boots were polished and clean. There was nothing smeared in her person, which piqued David’s curiosity. Zur-Del was a large and lively city, but it wasn’t spotless. Yet, she walked as if only just made, pristine and perfect. She reached where they sat, standing over Zeno. He grinned, standing up to pull her in a long embrace. Frank scoffed.

“Shut up, Frank,” the woman said. She looked from the masked man to David who had moved his interest to the newcomers. And then to Zoey and Elisha who were staring wide-eyed at her.

“You know you are sparkling, right?” Zoey asked and she grinned. Zeno sighed with a measure of disappointment. He waved to the siblings.

“These are my friends,” Zeno said, then nodding to Frank. “I don’t know the blind, masked man.”

“I doubt she knows you either,” Frank said. “Helena, you should mind the company you keep. Some bring rats. You know, those are the worst kind of vermin to have around.”

Elisha grinned and Zoey chuckled as they turned back to the crowd. Zeno made room for Helena while the people she came with mixed with others in the crowd.

“Who is that?” David pointed at someone who had swiftly joined the massing crowd. He wasn’t cloaked, but he moved as though he was hiding from scrutiny. He blended well, wearing the armor set of most of the lower-class outworlders. His boots were beaten, the leather armor long worn. There was an old scar just under his left eye. He seemed to favor his left leg, but he emphasized too much on the movement. It was too much to not be suspicious.

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“Jared,” Zeno and Frank said at the same time. David frowned, but Helena’s chuckle pulled everyone’s attention. The disguised man sat with a large cluster.

“He is not interested in your sword,” Frank said. “He is eight, but he is not interested in your sword, trust me. If he was, he’d have stolen it. He does that with everything he wants. He steals or challenges you for it. He fights fairly, but that does not mean he doesn’t have enemies.”

“And he’s outside?” Zoey asked. Zeno shrugged.

“He’s a high ranker, Zoey. What can anyone do?”

“Then why the disguise?”

“To avoid the foolish ones who try to challenge him anyway,” David said and the others nodded. David stood up, dusting his pants. “Frank, I think it is about time. Zeno, please get that other thing ready?”

“It is ready,” Frank said, grimacing. “But I think our first problem just appeared.”

David turned to find what Frank had seen. A large man joined the crowd, accompanied by two others. A woman with a crown of vines and a completely dark green dress that held tightly to her. The other was like the man, her skin South Asian brown, with soft angles and sharp eyes.

“That is Ganesh,” Frank said. “Conjurer. Twelfth. He works with conjured monsters.”

“Yes,” Helena said. “But he conjures fast.”

“Good,” David said Frank stood up with a grin. “I think he will do nicely.” They started to walk down, Frank walking behind David. As they approached the center of the gathering, David summoned his sword and let the pressure from the weapon stretch out, covering everyone in the field. Some were strong enough to shove against it, but most were oppressed by it. Once he reached the middle, he lifted the sword up.

“Welcome,” Frank said, his voice muffled by his weeping demon’s mask. He turned to David, gesturing for the sword. “I don’t think I have to describe the weapon, but for those who don’t know, this is the bone of the father of all dragons. It was bestowed on David here by the creator of this tower. It is a magnificent artifact, but what makes it special is that it establishes a link between you and Ignis, giving you the powers and skill the dragon had when he lived.”

He let that sink into them, his voice carried through a weaving of wind essence. After the moment was ripe, Frank continued.

“Only rankers in the top twenty can make a challenge for the sword. You can challenge him or his siblings. Any of them. If they deem you worthy, you fight for this artifact or lose your life. The world we have marched in is stained thick with blood. Those who have survived to reach Zur-Del know the darkness of the tower. This is only an extension of that blood trail. Make your challenges!”

There was silence for a moment, but Frank’s suspicion proved right. Hale was the first to move, but he stopped when Ganesh stepped out of the group into the open space. He had a small smile on his face that seemed to mock Frank and David. Frank gave him a shallow bow, but the top ranker moved past him like he didn’t exist. He stood before David, tiny eyes peering down. David frowned, not sure what to do or say.

“I’ll take your beautiful sword and gift it to my bride,” Ganesh said. He grinned, showing brown teeth and a forked tongue. David nodded.

“Challenge accepted,” Frank said. “But first, you will have to swear on the tower’s oath that your death should not be avenged. We believe this to be a fair duel. No one wants chaos in our peaceful city.”

Ganesh snorted but agreed. He made the oath, as did David. Frank made a weaving, assisted by a small artifact Zeno had given to him. A dome covered Ganesh and David, protecting those who drew close to watch.

Frank came out of the dome while the sword hung from a strand of dull, green essence. Ganesh looked at the sword and grinned. David rolled his eyes. He contemplated if he should play around with the fight and then decided against it. He had to be gone before the ceremony was over. He needed everything fixed before the day was over. He bowed.

“I am so sorry,” David said. Ganesh laughed, but he ignored the large man. “I have nothing against you and I never wished to be part of the ranking list, but as this life was foisted on us, so was this quest placed on me.”

“Shut up and die!” Ganesh said, his hands suddenly flared with dark amethyst light. It grew like a glob of semi-liquid mass. David rushed forward, his gauntlet manifesting faster than ever. He stabbed his hand into the mass and it hardened into purple glass. Then cracks appeared on the surface and it shattered. Ganesh made a quick move with his left fist still covered in essence, but David’s gauntlet had formed into a fist. Both fists met and Ganesh’s wrist snapped with a loud crunch. The large man howled, but David was not listening.

He summoned an ordinary dagger he’d gotten from Zeno earlier and with it imbued with his own essence, he dug the blade into Ganesh’s chest.

He met the man’s wide eyes and twisted.

You have slain Ganesh Azad

You have become the twelfth-ranker

New title: Ranker of the Wild

You have uncovered a secret of your mantle: Master of All

David ignored the messages, instead listening to the uproar from the watchers. Most were still shocked, but many were chanting something. Ganesh’s body had dropped to the floor when the messages blocked his vision, and now he stared at the dead man. All pride was gone, only the husk of the giant that was filled with arrogance a moment ago. He shook his head, walking out through the dome. His sword vanished from where it hung.

“Frank, watch out for them,” David said as he walked back to join the others. He passed Zoey on the way and stopped before her. “You have to make it quick. I will be back as soon as I can.”

“Don’t leave again,” she begged, there was fear in her eyes. David grinned.

“I always come back,” he said.

“Late, sometimes,” Zoey said, not sharing the smile. She walked past him, going to join Frank in the dome as she pulled out her bow, another bait added to pull out one more ranker.

“Zeno,” Frank said and the bandit nodded. Together, they slipped away from the gathering.