A seraph; a mystical creature that belonged to another world. It was one of the most powerful races of the tower. Just like for the fairies, the human conception of the Seraph was different from how they actually looked like. Aside from their wings, they looked nothing like angels. Instead, they were terrifying predators with serrated teeth, razor-sharp arms and legs. Even their wings could turn into deadly weapons.

I felt a shiver running down my spine. My back was covered with cold sweat. Facing the Seraph, I was unable to hide my fears. In the eyes of the Seraph, I was nothing but a piece of food. I saw it countless times in the past; humans were no longer at the top of the food chain and many races would look at the influx of humans as a great source of food. Furthermore, what truly threw me off was that I had no recollection of ever meeting a Seraph right after ascending to the first floor. There was no way I could forget meeting such a creature.

I did not know how to react. I glanced at Levi on my side who also looked intimidated by the Seraph.

“Congratulations on reaching the first floor. You can call me Judge Asynth. I am here to reward you for your accomplishment as well as to clear out all the doubts you may have.” The Seraph smiled, revealing a horrifying set of teeth. He completely brushed off the fact that I knew his race.

I was frozen in place, too scared to move or answer. My thoughts were running wild. ‘What is happening? Why is this seraph here? Is he here to eat me already? What rewards is he talking about? I never heard of any of this.’

The Seraph blinked his large vertical eyes and spoke with his low muffled tone. “Human. You should calm down. You are giving me a headache. I am not here to eat you and won’t harm you at least for now.”

Our eyes met as the feeling of discomfort only intensified. I was unable to maintain my calm in front of this creature. Right now, I was completely defenceless against him. I instinctively took a step back.

‘He is not here to hurt me? Is it because humans have just arrived and they have not yet tasted them.’

“Where… Where are we?” I asked hesitantly.

The Seraph cocked his head and opened his arms, showing the room. “On the first floor. In an isolated space created by me. Once we are done with our conversation, I will release the space and you will be free to explore the first floor.”

“Can I ask what exactly you want to talk about?”

The Seraph paused for a moment before revealing his teeth again. “What an interesting creature… You are making me wonder whether you are really as tasty as you claimed…”

“What?” I blurted out confused and anxious. It took me a moment to process what just happened. ‘Mind Reading? The Psychic Element?’

The Seraph’s eyes brightly shone before he hid his expression and chuckled. He swiftly distracted me as he started speaking. “I am a judge, sent here to evaluate your performance on the zeroth floor. Your karma is barely positive… Although you killed someone, your actions were justified… You did however hurt three innocent people but you have already paid back by being hit by arrows on the same spot you stabbed them with your spear… You did give a few advices to your friends that will help them build a stronger foundation but at the same time, you selfishly monopolised the tombs for a long time… You could have come out with much better karma if you helped your friends out before leaving…” The Seraph mumbled, stating the different occurrences that took place on the zeroth floor.

“In any case, all of that does not really matter for you as a newcomer to the tower. All you need to know is that you are the 99th human to have escaped from the zeroth floor. As per the tower’s customs, you shall receive a few rewards; three rights to be exact.”

“For being one of the first 100 humans to have reached the first floor, you shall receive the Right to Kill. It can be used once and only once. Simply designate a target and wish for that target to be killed. The tower shall dispatch a special entity to personally kill the target. The target can be a person, an organisation or even an entire race. However, bear in mind that the target is not guaranteed to be killed; if he or she is able to fight back against the special entity for 24 hours, then your Right to Kill will lose its effect and the target will survive and may seek revenge.”

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“For being one of the first 1000 humans to have reached the first floor, you shall receive the Right to be Protected. It works like the Right to Kill but this time, the target will be protected. Note that the protection of the target is not guaranteed and usually, a Right to Kill can negate a Right to be Protected.”

“And finally, for being one of the first 10000 humans to have reached the first floor, you shall receive the Right to be Judged. The tower allows the different races to come up with their own governing system. It has a hands-off approach but in case the races do not even respect their own rules, then you can use the Right to be Judged. An independent tribunal made of divinities will intervene and if people are found to have abused the rules, death shall be their sentence.”

As the Seraph spoke, my eyes gradually widened. ‘The three rights? No… The psychic element.’ I forcefully stopped myself from recalling the scenes of my previous life.

The Seraph’s inquisitve stare still lingered on me. I could see his interest has been piqued. “Very interesting. You are trying to hide something from me. Well… It’s not like I can act against you, especially since you have a Right to Kill. Let’s keep this encounter short then, do you need any clarification on the tower?”

I shook my head hurriedly. “No. Thanks. I would just like to call it a day.”

“Very well… In that case, you may leave.” The Seraph raised his hand as a door mysteriously appeared behind him. “This is the exit of my isolated space. You’ll step on the first floor as soon as you leave. Be careful out there; the tower is a dangerous place.”

“…” I stared blankly at the exit giving directly on a large open field. “Do I need to leave immediately?”

“Oh? You want to stay here?” The Seraph asked with surprise and curiosity.

I still felt uncomfortable in the presence of the Seraph but at the very least, he did not seem hostile toward me, only curious. “As you said, the tower is not safe and I need a closed space for a short while. Can I use this isolated space?”

“…”

“You are trying very hard to hide your thoughts… But sure, go ahead. I am curious about what you are going to do. I have to deal with this fairy anyway.” The seraph replied as he turn his attention to Levi.

I heaved a sigh of relief and quickly moved to a corner of the room. I watched as the Seraph pulled a livid Levi to the other corner of the room.

‘Don’t think. Stay calm. Take a deep breath and relax.’ I said to myself. Not thinking about anything relevant was harder than it seemed. I did not want to spend too long here.

The small jar containing the ‘aphrodisiac’ appeared in my hands accompanied by an old looking dice. ‘I have two items that I can use to guarantee the success of this process. But I’ll decide whether to use the second one based on the number the dice lands on.’

The situation was not ideal to upgrade my affinity to the Healing element but at the same time, the rest of the tower was full of dangers and the cities were full of eyes and ears. It was better to go through the process here in front of the Seraph who knew I had a Right to Kill and the Right to be Protected. Upgrading one’s affinity was not that uncommon here either. It was just extremely expensive to do.

I dropped the dice on the floor. It rolled and rolled. I fixedly stared at it until it finally landed on a 5.

“Crack!” A large crack appeared on the dice; it was an indication that one more toss and the dice would definitely break. The sound resonated across the empty silent room. I felt the Seraph’s eyes moving from me to the dice. My arm became tense.

‘A high number. But is it enough? Luck is relative and I may fail the upgrade process. I only have one chance at upgrading my affinity. Should I use the star stone too?’

‘D*mn. I am starting to think a lot again. In that case, since the star stone has already been revealed, I may as well use it. Might be a waste but it would hurt a lot more if I fail.’ I said to myself as I glanced at the Seraph.

‘Better to get this done quickly.’ I took out the star stone and immediately crushed it with my hand. The star stone was soft and crumbled very quickly into dust and pieces. All the small bits and pieces fell into the brown paste’s jar and were quickly incorporated into the paste. The star stone was a commonly used catalyst for advanced potions and elixirs. It greatly increased the potency of what it was mixed in.

‘With this, the success rate should be extremely high. Now the question is where do I apply this paste?’

I blankly stared at the jar of paste before decisively pouring it into my left hand. I then pulled up my sleeves and started rubbing the paste. There was more than enough to cover over half of my body. I coated my arms and legs as they were the most accessible parts of my body before hesitantly staring at my pants. The paste was an aphrodisiac in the first place and so, did that mean that I needed to put some at the place too?