A loud beeping roused Zark'thul from slumber. He awoke in the medical pod, blinking bleary eyes at the AetherLink screen that had popped up on the inner wall. Its display showed an estimated time of 24 hours since he'd fallen unconscious, along with several icons indicating messages and alerts.
He pushed the pod's lid open and stepped out. His body felt light and whole again, no longer aching from battle. The wounds had been painful, but ultimately superficial—more an inconvenience than anything else.
Elspeth stood outside the pod, watching him. "You seem to have recovered well, Mr. Zark'thul." She held out a new suit, neatly pressed and folded. "I took the liberty of having a new set of clothes made for you. Your other outfit is...incapable of being salvaged."
Zark'thul flexed his body experimentally, satisfied with the results. He reached for the clothes and began to change into them, paying little heed to the green-haired woman in the room.
"Did I miss anything while I was...healing?" he asked.
"You have several messages waiting on your AetherLink," Elspeth replied. "Feel free to take a look at them when you have time."
He pulled out his AetherLink, swiping through the screens to find the various notifications. Three new directives appeared there:
> [Available directives]
>
> [1-1: Slay the Murk Beast (Repeatable) . Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆]
>
> [1-2: (New) Harvest Aetherroot from the Darksheen Fens (Repeatable). Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆]
>
> [1-3: (New) Extract Siltstone Cores from the Gloomsink Hollows (Repeatable). Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆]
>
> [1-4: (New) Retrieve Mirecrystal Eggs from the Virex Pits (Repeatable). Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆]
>
> [1-5: (New) Defeat the Pack of Skarns (Repeatable). Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆]
Interesting. Plenty of simple tasks, it seemed. Though, as Zark'thul reviewed the list, his curiosity kept straying back to the very first entry—the original mission he'd undertaken in the swamp. One difference stood out immediately: "Repeatable."
"So," he murmured aloud, tapping the mission's icon to open a broader screen, "this means I can do it over again?"
Elspeth gave a short nod. "Indeed, that is the case." Then, as if anticipating Zark'thul's follow-up question, she continued. "Repeatable missions remain active at all times, and can be undertaken as often as you desire. However, repeatable missions do not count toward your overall progression. Only unique, sequential missions, labeled 1-2, 1-3, et cetera, affect that."
He hummed in thought. He couldn't complain too much. After all, experience and currency were still offered as rewards for completing repeatable missions.
"Lastly," she continued, "there is a threshold to the quantity of rewards provided by repeatable missions. You will not receive experience, items, or Quintessence Shards when you exceed that cap."
"How high is the cap?" he asked, glancing down at his AetherLink as he checked for any additional messages.
"When the directive no longer provides an adequate challenge to you or your highest level Agents, you will no longer receive rewards aside from materials and components."
He considered her words. Adequate challenge... Level... At least now, he had some rudimentary concept of what that might mean.
A quick search through his menus led to another interface on the AetherLink screen.
It seemed to him that 'Levels' in this system were rather crude indicators of power. He assumed these were a reflection of some form of experience earned from challenges. Simple enough.
"These missions seem trivial. Are there any others?"
"You can do only six unique directives on each floor, before moving to the next one," Elspeth explained.
"I only see five."
"The sixth will unlock only after you complete all of the others. Then, you will face the Floor Guardian and unlock the next floor."
Floor Guardian?
Zark'thul peered at Elspeth. She had explained only what was necessary, as per usual, leaving his mind swimming with more questions than before. That, along with the mere mention of a guardian, suggested there was something more to these floors she had yet to explain.
"In addition," she continued, "upon unlocking the next floor, a brief time will pass before that floor's missions will be available. That buffer period is designed to let you prepare and recover."
"I see."
He tapped on one of the directives that caught his eye—the 'Slay the Pack of Skarns' one, to be exact.
> [Directive 1-5] Defeat the Pack of Skarns
> [Objective] Kill all the Skarns
> [Difficulty] ★☆☆☆☆
> [Reward] 150 Experience (EXP), 10 Quintessence Shards (QSP), 1-2 Experience Cores (Basic), 1-2 Skill Tomes
> [Time Limit] 4 hours
> [Repeatable] Yes
> [Bonus Objective] Slay all Skarns with no Agent casualties
> [Bonus Rewards (can only be claimed once)] 300 EXP, 30 QSP, 2-3 Experience Cores (Basic), 3 Consumables
He had seen a wide variety of monsters and aberrations in his long existence, but never heard of these things before. Probably some common low-level monstrosity. It didn't matter—they would fall all the same.
As Zark'thul glanced up from his screen, he noticed Elspeth was watching him, a small smile gracing her lips.
"Feel free to use my services whenever you wish," she said. "If you need assistance, simply ask, and I will help you."
This... automaton unnerved him slightly, in a way that nothing else did. Different from the robots and androids those humans he subsumed had made. She lacked any visible armaments, but there was something dangerous in her presence.
She seemed far too perceptive. Far too aware of his presence. Her lack of reaction to his obvious inspection unsettled him even further.
"I want to repeat the previous directive as soon as possible," he said, breaking the silence. "Get the others prepped for the next attempt."
"Understood." Elspeth bowed slightly, still wearing that vague smile before exiting the room with smooth strides.
Zark'thul waited for the sound of her footsteps to disappear completely before opening his AetherLink to check his status:
> image [https://i.imgur.com/AEB8z9S.png]
>
> Name: Zark'thul
> Role: CEO
> Level: 1
> Experience: 350/1000
> Accolades: None
> Health: 500/500
> Essence: 100/100
> Attack (ATK): 25
> Magic (MAG): 70
> Defense (DEF): 35
> Magic Resistance (MRES): 60
> Speed (SPD): 20
> Crit Rate (CRIT): 6%
> Dodge Rate (DODGE): 8%
> Block Rate (BLOCK): 8%
>
> Agent Pool Size: 5/5
> Deployment Slots: 1
> Abilities: None
Curious... this notion of quantifying power. He was—no, is still—an ancient being. One of cosmic power, consuming other realms.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Zark'thul had never needed to "level up." His progression had been a matter of experience, yes, but in the truest sense—experiences that were too vast, too nuanced to be reduced to mere numbers.
The concept of growth, of gaining power, had been an abstract notion to him, a matter of absorbing the essence of fallen foes or devouring entire worlds. Power had been a constant, an unquantifiable force that ebbed and flowed with his whims.
But now? He was tethered to this human form, bound by the Tower's rules. And those rules insisted that power must be measured, quantified, and attained through laborious means.
He could understand the logic of it, to a degree. But to have this conveyed to him in such simple terms felt almost insulting. A number of EXP to gain. Levels to advance. These made his power seem like nothing more than a game—but he'll play along if it means regaining his cosmic glory.
For now, there were still a few things he wanted to figure out.
He tapped the "Storage" tab of the application's menu and scanned through its various subfolders. The consumables he acquired from the mission sat in their own section. What he really wanted to know was what those Experience Cores did.
[Experience Core (Basic)] Provides 250 EXP to an Agent when allocated.
So, just like him, these Agents were expected to grow and gain power through experience? Zark'thul suppressed a laugh. He could hardly believe how blatant the allusion to humanity's weakness was. They were literally designed to lack strength on their own, and only through a purposely enforced process could they improve.
But it didn't matter. Not for the present. Right now, all he needed was the power of numbers to complete the tasks set before him. They would be his pawns, expendable tools to serve his needs.
He tapped away from the storage screen and back to the mission directives, reading through the descriptions again. They weren't particularly complicated, but he had to familiarize himself with what this Tower expected from him.
The first and fifth directives were combat missions, while the second and fourth involved gathering specific items. The third, on the other hand, instructed him to extract certain crystals from mineral deposits—also known as "mining."
These, too, were straightforward enough. And if these tasks were to be repeatable, did that mean the realm the Tower sent them to functioned according to some sort of cyclical logic? A simulation, perhaps? Or did the Tower have the power to actually manipulate reality to this degree?
He discarded the idea of it being a simulation almost immediately. There was nothing that suggested that it wasn't real. Even his wounds carried over here, though the pod healed him fully. But the idea of it being a manipulated reality... now that was far more probable.
It wouldn't be a stretch to imagine that the Tower had the power to shift reality on such a grand scale. He had been revived from an utter loss, after all. His essence was returned to him from a state of utter destruction, and his memory served him well enough to know that none of the eldritch entities he knew had that kind of power.
Of course, he didn't have the answer now. Perhaps it would become apparent with time, or he could find out the truth in one of the higher floors. There were many questions, but he could answer some of those by simply playing the game for now.
Zark'thul swiped away his AetherLink's display, pocketing the device. He stood up and moved to leave his room.
In the hallway, Elspeth waited.
"The agents are ready," she said.
He nodded curtly before heading down the corridor.
----------------------------------------
[Directive 1-1: Slay the Murk Beast complete!] Repeat Reward: 100 Experience (EXP), 10 Quintessence Shards (QSP), 2 Experience Cores (Basic), 1 Alloy Combat Knife
Zark'thul kicked the corpse of the newly slain murk beast with the toe of his boot. He gritted his teeth and grasped the wound in his side, trying to staunch the bleeding.
Eight times.
Eight times he had to repeat this damnable task of killing this stupid, lumbering creature, and it never got easier. He checked his health on the AetherLink screen to see how close he'd come to dying—again:
[Health] 115/500
Of course, each battle went faster than the last, but despite his experience and the fact that they outnumbered the creature, the situation still took a toll on him. Not physically, no—it wasn't as though he'd grow tired or break down from overuse.
What exhausted him, what aggravated him beyond words, was the randomness of it all.
Despite the mission still being the same murky marsh, their point of entry would always change. The murk beast's location changed, too, forcing them to waste time trudging around in the swamp searching for it. Then, when they finally did locate the thing, they'd have to fight a completely different pattern of attacks—random behaviors that threw them off guard.
He stomped his foot on the corpse again, letting out a roar of frustration.
But before his anger could fully boil over, a sudden calm settled over him like a shroud. It was as if his anger had been snuffed out, replaced by the chilling detachment from his old self.
His breathing slowed. His heartbeat steadied. The pain in his body numbed until it was almost nonexistent. He straightened his back and squared his shoulders. As the Agents around him watched, he became the picture of composure once again.
This body may have made him feel things more keenly than ever before, but he was still Zark'thul at the core. And his true nature would never allow him to be overcome by something as pitifully human as emotions. No, he needed to keep a cold, logical mind to reach his goal of regaining power.
Around him, his Agents paused, looking at one another. They knew better than to speak without prompting, and Zark'thul liked to bask in their silence for a moment or two after each attempt. It gave him time to collect his thoughts, pick through what went wrong and how they could do better next time.
Their repeated attempts at this task had also confirmed his theory to some degree—each iteration of the mission placed them within the same realm, but different regions of a vast marshland. The murk beasts were also different from the previous ones, with their own unique characteristics and behaviors. They weren't simply fighting the same foe again and again; they were killing new ones every time.
At the very least, that meant that this was reality he was dealing with, not a mere simulation. The possibility of a realm being cyclical or manipulatable remained, but neither of those seemed likely, given what he'd seen so far.
If he were to believe everything that Elspeth had said about the Tower so far, then it would be possible that these realms were real worlds from other planes of existence connected to this Tower, and each floor's mission led to the same realm.
But even without any evidence to prove that, Zark'thul had a feeling he was on to something. He knew the signs, he knew the way reality bent and twisted, because he had done so many times himself.
Finally, he let out a long breath. "Come on, let's go."
"Are you okay, sir?" Two asked, concern evident in her voice.
"I'm fine," Zark'thul snapped. "Let's just get back to the Tower. Rest and we'll go again once I've fully recovered."
His AetherLink buzzed. Zark'thul swiped at the screen with his bloodied fingers, not caring if he'd stain the device. Elspeth's face appeared before him.
"Sir, you have an important message waiting for you upon your return." Her lips quirked up in a slight smile. "It seems you've received a promotion. You are now Level 2."
"I don't feel any stronger."
"This system measures growth by increments," she explained. "For now, however, you've received access to a new ability, as well as improved Agent Slots and Deployment Slots. Also, once you return, we will need to place you in your medical pod so that you may heal."
Zark'thul grinned.
Finally. Access to powers should help him expedite the process of conquering this floor. He tapped the AetherLink's menu screen and navigated through the interface until he reached his "Abilities" tab.
> [Voracious Maw of the Abyss] You conjure an otherworldly maw from your body, capable of devouring the corpses of slain enemies. Consuming a corpse grants additional EXP and resources, based on the target's level and rarity. You can only acquire experience from a unique creature once. Cost: 5 Essence; Cooldown: 30 seconds
That... He certainly couldn't say no to this ability—a fitting power for a being such as himself. Consuming was always his way, and it seemed only natural that he now gained such a power once more.
His gaze drifted over the corpse of the murk beast lying before him.
There was no harm in trying it out now. He might as well learn about its effects while still on this mission.
Zark'thul held his palm toward the beast's body, summoning his ability. His fingers twitched, and his arm ached as a void opened up around his hand.
A large, tentacle-like protrusion emerged from his palm, unfurling itself in a wave of darkness. It grew longer and wider until it wrapped itself around the creature's corpse, pulling it into a writhing mass of shadow. With a wet, sucking sound, it pulled the remains of the beast into an all-encompassing pit that stretched on infinitely behind it.
Once it was done, there was nothing left except an empty space where the murk beast's corpse had once lain and a small mound of displaced dirt.
A pleasant warmth surged through Zark'thul's body, bringing with it a feeling of fullness and power.
He glanced at the AetherLink screen:
[You have devoured a Murk Beast! +150 EXP]
[100 Health has been restored]
It was quite literally like devouring quintessence—pure energy with little form or structure. Certainly different from how he fed previously, but something was better than nothing.
He checked his status screen again:
> image [https://i.imgur.com/AEB8z9S.png]
>
> Zark'thul
> Role: CEO
> Level: 2
> Experience: 200/2500
> Accolades: None
> Health: 215/550
> Essence: 120/120
> Attack (ATK): 27.5
> Magic (MAG): 77
> Defense (DEF): 38.5
> Magic Resistance (MRES): 66
> Speed (SPD): 21
> Crit Rate (CRIT): 6.5%
> Dodge Rate (DODGE): 8.5%
> Block Rate (BLOCK): 8.5%
>
> Agent Pool Size: 5/10
> Deployment Slots: 2
> Abilities: *new* Voracious Maw of the Abyss (Rank 1)
Zark'thul smirked. Though he'd need to try it out on more creatures to get a better understanding of how it worked, this would certainly prove useful in the long run.
He pocketed the AetherLink and gestured to his Agents.
"Let's go," he said. "Back to the Tower."