He sat in the stands with his arms fastened tight to the rests on either side of his seat. A few seats away from him, the white haired miscreant was restrained identically. They weren’t the only ones around, though. Seru and Rea were sitting beside Amon plus there were people sitting beside Nykal. After that, there was a noticeable vacancy of seats immediately around them.

People only started filling in spaces that were a certain distance away from everyone he found himself surrounded by, making it very obvious that they were intentionally avoiding them. Honestly, he couldn’t exactly blame there. They were the top two players, which spoke for their strength more than anything else possibly could in this environment, and they were also violent enough to disregard the rules and fight.

He’d stay away too if he were them.

He was aware of the excess of eyes currently fixed on him, so he sat up properly and stared ahead silently. He wanted to seem cold, calculating, and almost inhuman. If they saw him joking and laughing with the people he cared for, they would humanize him and that wasn’t what he wanted for the character of Amon. He wanted to be seen as an entity that was fundamentally different from others, one that operated at a level they couldn’t hope to ever match.

The third round was a tournament. There were only about a hundred or so people left, so the arena split into four so they could hold multiple matches at a time. It didn’t take long for the fights to get intense, thankfully. He was happy to see the entire event from the stands because it helped him solidify his understanding of the world he was being shoved into.

There was no limit to the variety of fighters. Sure, there were quite a few humans and standard humanoids. The usual lineup, from elves to beastmen and everything in between. But there were also alien races that couldn’t be compared to anything from an earthlike planet, with eyes that circled around their entire face and stomachs with their own mouths. What he found interesting was that all of them were still vaguely humanoid, even if it was grotesquely so.

He really felt like seven arms was excessive.

There was even a man that was, as far as Amon could understand, made of a sentient swarm of bees. He was able to control all of the bees in his body and create whatever he wished with them, enlarging and multiplying them at will to make himself some kind of yellow and black lantern.

Shit. I could’ve been reborn as a monster and created a monster kingdom.

It was probably just his ego talking, but he really felt like he could do the whole bee thing way better than this guy was doing.

That wasn’t to say that he wasn’t strong though. Mostly everyone seemed strong, so he was pretty confused as to why they were so scared of him until Rea finally had her match.

It was over in a heartbeat. She didn’t even need to draw her blade for the battle. She rose her hand in the air as it began and summoned a barrage of cherry blossoms out of nowhere, which then swarmed her enemy and surrounded him so that nobody could see. A few seconds later, the flowers fell softly to the ground to reveal a once proud warrior hunched over and quivering in fear as he grabbed his head and screamed.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

He definitely understood where the fear was coming from.

Did that mean he was actually super strong, or had he mistakenly found himself in this crowd? It was mostly Seru that was making him look good, honestly. She was a cut above the other summons and that gave him a stark advantage.

He took note of all the different fighting styles he saw deployed. None of them could hold up against Rea’s, but when she found herself faced against a cybernetic samurai, she suddenly forfeited the battle.

She spent the rest of the tournament sitting with Amon and Seru in silence until the winner of the finals was crowned.

It was an abomination. Half man, half bear, and half pig.

“Accept my friend request so we can get in contact on the first floor. We have some private matters to discuss.”

He didn’t argue, or probe for any further information. They were speaking in private and that was fine by him.

‘The final scores are in! Remember these faces, they will lead this new generation of players to great heights. Those that ranked within the top ten will receive bonus rewards!’

He was still in first place, but right below him was Rea, who had scored exactly one point lower than he did. She didn’t even try to hide that she let him have first place purposefully. Did that mean she also had a hand in inflating his score during the second round? What exactly did she hope to gain from this?

Seru beamed with joy and pride when she saw the final score, puffing her chest out ever so slightly. “Lord Amon, you have shown all of these weaklings that you reign above them.”

He hadn’t realized it until now, but Seru was actually rather egotistical on his behalf. Didn’t that make it his responsibility to steer her down the right path? He sought for Amon to be misunderstood by the world that he secretly sacrificed himself to protect, but he was supposed to be a hero to those that were close to him. This was a great opportunity to establish that foundation and control Rea’s perception of him as well.

“We wield our strength not to reign over those below us, but to protect them so that they are able to prosper, Seru.”

Seru’s purple cheeks darkened slightly, but she nodded in understanding as she spoke. “Thank you for correcting my arrogance, Sensei.”

He almost wanted to put his hand on his own chest empathetically. Bless that goblin’s soul, she played her role so well. He knew that Rea and Nykal both heard the exchange. Everything was developing perfectly.

That’s what he thought until he ended up in the middle of some futuristic town square. The tutorial had officially ended and he was allowed to freely enter the Tower. He had anticipated Floor One to be the average medieval affair, so when he was thrown into a world of flying cars and neon lightS he was taken aback.

His first goals were still unchanged. His rewards were still being calculated, so he was going to find somewhere to stay safe for the time being. He could gather information while he waited for everything from the tutorial, and he could complete his first quest.

Thanks to his linguistics skill, he could understand everything around him. Everything sounded like perfect English and read the same way as well. With the help of the mini map, it was easy for him to find a hotel and pay for a room with two beds. Meals were even included in the deal.

Once they were safely in the room, he finally allowed himself to relax a bit. Everything was moving so fast that he had to take a break on the edge of the bed. He needed to eat, bathe, and rest.

Stay in the room. If you need anything, call for me. I’ll be back.

He wanted Seru to relax too, she deserved it way more than he did, but there were things he had to check first before he let her walk away recklessly.