As Noah hurled his lunch all over the floor, a thought humbling yet infuriating thought came to his mind. He realized how weak and insignificant he was when compared to the local inhabitant's of the second floor- the rock man alone could blow him away even when he was in his Titan Form. Liam had come into his life out of literally nowhere, thrown him into a death game that included 2,500 people, of which more than half were dead- claiming to be from the future. From the beginning of his adventure, he had barely gotten any time to rest, think properly and evaluate his position- the threat of survival and the urgency to gain power kept pushing him forward, and though he didn't want to admit it, the euphoric taste of gaining levels, titles and more powerful equipment was plain addictive.

His web of lies had grown into larger lies to justify the previous ones, and now he found himself claiming to belong to a Sect who's leader he had assassinated in cold blood. What had Liam given him in return- Some godly artifact or cheat ability that would give him extra lives? Nope, just some vague, cryptic knowledge about the future and convoluted plots that brought him closer to death each time. It was time to use the one special ability, the one saving grace his otherwise complicated relationship with a man who'd spent so long fighting in the Tower that he'd lost all touch with the morality and common sense of a normal, earth-bound human being.

His savior, who had reverted to human form, offered him a handkerchief, whom Noah accepted with a thanks. There was an element of calculated risk to this plan, it's inception rooted in his first interaction with Hualui- the mind control ability he had used to control the Saemanis Sect lackey, sending him to deliver a message. He had asked Liam about the details of the ability, who had been surprisingly forthcoming about an explaination- It was less of mind control and more of a superior soul influencing a weaker one. He didn't go into the details, but apparently the intangible soul of a human being was something that could be trained, making him wonder if that was where the essence of Primordial Spirits lay- souls of animals that had been trained to a particular limit.

It was confusing, how a human could have a soul and yet fuse with a primordial spirit at the same time, but for now that wasn't his concern. He figured that if such a useful primordial spirit existed, it was practically common sense that any powerful organization worth their salt would hire or develop individuals with such capabilities to determine the veracity of statements made by suspects- a human lie detector with unnerving accuracy, in simple terms.

Noah had thought about his statement, perhaps earlier his [Wisdom] stat wouldn't be able to catch on to why Liam, who was usually silent on when it came to matters beyond the present floor he was on, decided to feed him this particular tidbit of information.

It was frustrating, how much he had to rely on Liam as a source of information, and how valuable the knowledge he had was. It was easy to hate the man, but hard to hate his reasoning- Noah couldn't think of any reason why he of all seven billion humans would be chosen by Liam, and he didn't mean that by means of self-depreciation. With higher wisdom, his capability to self- evaluate himself objectively increased by a definite margin- The previous him, even if Liam just wanted someone to manipulate, had little in value to offer in the fields of martial or athletic skill. Hell, there was no guarantee he'd even survive the first floor. Then, it struck him. His intelligence helped him recall the exact wording Liam had used back when he had first met him, 'You know kid, how you have zero luck and nearly got assassinated the moment you got spawned into the tower? Well, I think that has something to do with a God binding his soul to a mortal.'

That was it. That was the one aspect where no one could compete with him, at least not presently. Noah had confronted Liam with his findings, who had replied, "Not quite, lad. My soul is severely damaged. I cannot influence other's without expending origin, and I don't have any origin to expend in this form. But you are right, any soul attack or attempted influence that is below a certain threshold will crumble when faced with my consciousness, but beyond that I will be forced to expend a part of my soul to defend against such an attack. But for a long while, you don't have to be worried about soul attacks."

Noah stood up, feeling movement behind him. Two swords rested on his neck, preventing him from making any further movements. He found himself face to face with a man dressed in regal gold robes, exuding the authority of a high ranking official as he stared at Noah with a stern frown. Behind him were two guards, one of whom rather rudely pulled off the facewrap obscuring Noah's face.

They frowned as his features were revealed to the world, unable to recognize him for good reason: they had never seen him before, after all. The man's eyes started glowing in an eerie light red color, as a notification popped up in front of Noah.

A powerful force assails your soul!

Noah felt even more queasy as the mental equivalent of a sledgehammer rammed against his soul, he felt his stomach churning, his knees losing strength and an all-pervasive voice that demanded.... no deserved obedience.

"Bah! Piss off," Liam waved a chicken drumstick in the air, like a bad drunk and another notification popped up.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The soul attack is completely negated by a [******] entity!

"It's fine now lad, just play along with him," Liam said as he took a bite from the chicken drumstick.

"Who sent you?" The man leened uncomfortably close to his eyes, his question barely above a whisper.

"The Saemanis Sect Leader," Noah replied, his voice droopy, eyes lethargic and unfocused.

"Why?" he followed through.

"He was attacked by the four sect alliance, and had to flee after being gravely injured by an ambush. The San Sect has figured out that we are in possession of the Revostrium Ore, and lent them powerful artifacts. We must flee with urgency," Noah replied with dead eyes, and a monotonous tone.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" The golden-robed man yelled in disbelief, in a tone that was as aggrieved as it was shocked. Murmurs spread around the hall, from the whispers Noah could catch it seemed that some of the disciples weren't even aware of the so called 'Revostrium' item and were unable to understand its significance.

"This... cannot be..." the man muttered under his breath, the disbelief slowly growing into shocked acceptance. "What do you mean, 'we'? You are not a member of this sect, I have never seen your face," he snapped with growing frustration, and Noah felt slight concern for his safety but continued to play his role.

The murmurs grew louder, as a ripple of panic could be felt in the undertones of the sect disciples conversation.

"I...." he said, and trailed off, as if he were fighting against the mind control's influence.

"Interesting, he is actually resisting my influence," The man said with a harrumph, and followed, "This secret must be of grave importance to him. Hmph, you dare resist!" The man grunted, and his eyes took on the shade of an even deeper crimson.

A powerful force attempts to coerce your soul.

The soul attack is completely negated by a [******] entity!

Noah feigned complete obedience, and slowly intoned the words for everyone to hear, "I am the Sect Leader's bastard son."

Silence. Complete and utter silence.

Hell, even Noah was rendered speechless at his own freaking audacity.

After a few seconds of inaction, the Vice-Sect leader finally replied with a befuddled, "Oh..."

The soul attack has receded.

"Haha, why didn't you just start off with that," The Vice Sect Leader patted him on the arm in a friendly manner, laughing awkwardly and in breaks. The crowd also let out small, awkward laughs as if they couldn't understand what the hell was up today. Noah almost felt offended, as no one had even bothered to ask him why the existence of a bastard son was hidden up until this point and why no one had ever heard of him.

"Did the Sect Leader give you any instructions?" asked one voice from the many among the crowd, laced with impatience. The urgency of the atmosphere didn't spare much time to leave for urgencies.

"For the past three years, I have been operating undercover under the Wailun Sect. My natural ability allowed me to progress quickly through the ranks, but as an outsider they didn't trust me enough to let me into their inner circle. However, the continued absence of Azmahak, the strongest warrior in their sect, made me suspect something, and I let the Sect Leader in on my suspicions. He was able to survive due to my forewarning, but the San Sect had lent the assassin a Fragmented-Rare Artifact!" Noah explained, his tone aggrieved and hateful at the cruel conspiracy.

"A Fragmented- Rare Artifact!" The Vice-Sect Leader replied incredulously, sucking in a breath of cold air.

"The San Sect doesn't dare to lash out openly, as they fear the other powers of the Western Prefecture must make a move. I was raised outside the sect, trained in assassination and espionage, so I do not know much about the inner workings of the Saemanis Sect. But if you have any evacuation protocols, I suggest you activate them!" Noah explained with urgency, as if an imminent threat was pressing down on him.

"What about the Sect Leader? Is he fine?" An old man next to the Vice-Sect Leader asked, with concern in his voice.

"Heavily injured, but recuperating. I was at Wai Lu's Grand Emporium purchasing weapons for the Revostrium's growth, as he tasked me with this duty," Noah replied stoically, trying to maintain a brave face when someone close to him had been injured.

"Does that mean you know where he is?" The Vice Sect Leader asked, with some hope re-kindling.

"I... forgiveness, Vice Sect Leader. The Sect Leader has instructed me with a specific time and place to deliver the weapons to, but I fear that if I do not show up alone he will not show. Once he has recovered, he will find you and seek revenge for this day, that much he promises," Noah recanted with a stubborn edge to his voice, as if he would rather break rather than bend on this matter.

"Is there no other way?" The Vice Sect Leader lamented, his voice betraying a grave sorrow. With a bright burst of crimson light, he transformed into a creature eerily reminscent of a devil, peering at Noah with those hypnotic blood colored pupils- with a long thin tale, long claws, two horns jutting out of its skull and completely red skin.

A Greater Devil attempts to cast racial skill [Devil's Snare] on you!

"This wanker sure is cautious," Liam sighed, and snapped his fingers together.

[******] entity has rebuffed [Devil's Snare].

"Have you, in any manner, lied to us regarding the account of events you have narrated to us?" The Greater Devil asked in a raspy voice, Noah catching a glimpse of his pronged tongue and trying his utmost to maintain his composure.

"No," Noah replied plainly, and the devil transformation receded.

"I apologise, but it had to be done," The Vice- Sect Leader apologetically explained, and started yelling out commands, "Activate the sect protecting array. Break all the warning seals and tell our travelling disciples to not return. We have always been prepared for such an eventuality, activate our countermeasures. Saileri, lead the Sect Leader's son through the tunnels, mastering the Revostrium Blade is our last hope. Once he is clear, do not follow him."

"Yes, Vice- Sect Leader!" voices echoing in unison, and Noah could finally breath freely again. Knowing something could work was completely different from actually seeing it work, when the Vice- Sect Leader transformed, Noah thought he was a goner for sure. Oh well, on the bright side at least now he could see what this familar so many parties were so desperate to acquire could actually do.