Years ago, when the top two guilds at the time made it to the fortieth floor they were given the ability to use the twentieth floor as a method of scouting climbers. They would take over the facilitation of the floor; Manage where each player went for the training halls, and even change the structure of the tournament. The top guilds wanted to appear egalitarian and share the power. Any guild that managed to reach the fortieth floor would have an equal say in the events of the twentieth once they got there.

The rush to climb was great, but then Winged Mercy started forcing guilds to join them. In the end, a lot of smaller guilds ended up joining bigger ones to save themselves. The twentieth floor became a battlefield for controlling the climbers. They knew who was coming up and were able to swipe who they wanted.

They slotted them into training halls run by a member of their guild and then train them up. Winged Mercy and the Plain Striders had the most power, and with it they got some of the better trainers. Older adventurers in their guild would disguise themselves and go to the twentieth floor and station themselves at their training hall.

In the control center during the group stages, representatives from each stage would argue over getting who they want placed in their guild’s training hall. Occasionally those fights would get to the point where the big heads were distracted enough that some of the smaller guilds could snag a few people here and there.

And that was the case with the half-elf. If his first opponent hadn’t been so strong, there was no way Winged Mercy would just let the third unaffiliated elf to have arrived at the twentieth floor and they not take them. His opponent was already secretly affiliated with Winged Mercy but since anyone could snag them on this floor, the other guilds weren’t having it. Once you were in the tower you were supposed to be free game.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Winged Mercy wouldn’t give up their positive public image, so they couldn’t let it get out that they already controlled so many of the climbers coming up. And this one was a strong one, so they couldn’t lose him to get influenced by another guild.

If it wasn’t for that, Winged Mercy would never have let a half-elf get through unimpeded.

A friend of a friend in another guild snagged him quickly putting him in one of the less used training halls. Cyrus then couldn’t stop bragging about this kid and how he learned aura so quickly. That he hadn’t had such an eager student in a long time.

After the group stages, the training hall would change but it was a training hall with the same guild since the choices were made at the group stage only. Winged Mercy probably regrets their past decisions.

I didn’t often get involved in the lower floors, I wasn’t much of a teacher and we had plenty of good ones, but I didn’t want to miss one of the few half-elves that climbed, especially one that used aura. So I asked for a favor and Thran let me join him when he found out he was in his training hall.

And….

I never thought I’d feel like this watching someone I taught learn things so eagerly and then implement them in such creative ways. Complex thoughts weren’t his thing but as long as he practiced it he’d understand it. I really wanted to talk about theory more with him but I could just see his eyes slowly glaze over as he stopped following what I was saying.

As long as I talked about it and then we applied it, it’d stick with him. And that grin that’d get on his face when we were sparring was just…

Anyway, it was probably his last time in the training hall the other day. And he who I thought didn’t think complexly tested whether or not he could talk to me about the fact that we were in the tower. The mechanics themselves, whoever is really in charge of this tower, cut off the conversation. Talking about the tower and the floors as if they weren’t each their own world was against the rules, especially on floor twenty where we were in charge.

I wanted to tell him he was doing well, that it didn’t matter that he wasn’t climbing as fast as he wanted to. But I’ll have to tell him that when I see him…

If we even have time for that.