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.

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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 }