The 40 or so remaining illusions dissipated a second later, leaving only an unscathed Liam looking at the crater the man's hammer attack had left behind with a mocking expression on his face.

"Lesson number fou- actually lad, you know what? This is taking too long. It's time to end it," Liam nonchalantly stated, as he dodged a sneak attack from the translucent man and casually redirected him away.

Liam stood there motionless, and stared down the forty six challengers and the remaining three primordial sprit users.

Finally, he spoke.

"Today, you all shall die. And there is absolutely nothing you can do to prevent your death. Do you know why?" Liam asked, sending the challengers into a frenzy.

The crowd seemed to freeze at that moment, and they felt an intangible force press down upon their hearts, causing them to feel immeasurable regret.

Liam started rapidly chanting along with performing hand signs at blazing fast speeds, causing everyone on the field to feel immensely intimidated.

There were no words left to be said, as everyone attacked madly in unison without caring for their own lives. For this man was an anomaly, and if they didn't act now, they feared they would not live to see tomorrow.

Fourty six crazed challengers, three primordial spirit users, attacked together, yet Liam just stood rooted in spot.

Finally, he spoke.

"Domain Expansion: Eternal Time."

The world itself stopped for a moment. A small orb of unfathomable energy erupted out with him as the epicenter, and instantly enveloped everyone in their vicinity.

The arrows that were launched at him seemed to slow down just before making contact with him. Seconds later, the wood turned aged, nigh rotten. The arrowhead transformed from a shiny piece of system metal to a rusted old, distorted piece of ancient metal.

The next instant, they collapsed into ash.

The mighty hammer that the volcanic ash man utilized was similarly, ground to dust before it could make contact with Liam.

But that was not all. His primordial spirit form could not handle the domain's pressure any longer, and collapsed. He was reverter to a tall, dark man with powerful muscles, on the huskier side.

The translucent, defence focused man returned to origin, a thin, spindly man who looked incredibly harmless in comparison to his original form. The weapon in his hand crumbled.

The praying mantis primordial spirit similarly collapsed, his sharp physical body now reduced to a mortal one.

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The challengers screamed in terror as alll the gear that they had worked for was now ash that decorated the floor, but the real source of their anguish was that they were now unarmed.

"Because I am eternal. I was here before you, and I will be here after you have long perished," he said, and another ripple of energy erupted from within him.

Kale Hemsworth had thought Noah would perish today. Instead, he was the one who would likely perish. He could not accept this! What was this nonsense. This power was not something a person should have. It was blatant cheating! He did not know how, but this was not the Noah he has seen earlier.

If Noah was an unpolished talent, then this was an experienced veteran, a professional.

He could not take it anymore. It was driving him insane.

So, he charged.

Liam did not move.

Kale Hemsworth did not have a weapon. He still charged with his fists. At the very least, he would not die without fighting back against this unfairness!

He made contact with Liam's abdomen.

Liam only said one sentence to Kale before the inevitable.

"Return to origin."

The next instant, Kale Hemsworth's body collapsed into ash.

The very instant after that, the rest of the challengers, along with the primordial spirits, scattered into dust.

The domain ended.

Liam wearily sat down on the ground with a tired expression.

"I only have a few minutes remaining, before I must return to slumber. These deaths are not on you. They are on me. I bear the fate of humanity on my shoulders. Think of me as a monster, if you must. But this secret, cannot be allowed to leak. Once guilds come into existence, the existence of an anomaly like yourself is not something they will simply ignore. I will just say one thing: do whatever it takes to survive. As for your sin, I shall bear it. The glory shall be yours, and the sin mine. Do not let him win," He stated, expression abnormally grave towards the end. The next moment, his soul disappeared.

Noah awoke, and looked blankly at his surroundings.

46 challengers.

46 humans.

46 human lives.

Were they only worth that much? Was this what it meant to be strong? If the wrong kind of people stumbled upon this power, what kind of havoc would they bring? Perhaps humanity would collapse even without the final floor of the primordial tower killing them all.

Was Liam correct in his actions?

No, he was not.

But then, was he simply to die for Liam's sins and be ultimately to responsible for the apocalypse?

He had future knowledge. He could borrow power from Liam. He could recruit powerful challengers under one banner, if nothing else worked.

Would he continue to lie down, whine and cry about the unfairness of it all?

Would he continue to squander the resources and the opportunity he was given?

Could he afford to do that?

He had people he cared for. All he knew was, those people had to live.

If they were all destined to die anyway, then it would not be too difficult to turn a blind eye to Liam's actions.

No.

Enough hesitation.

He would not be weak willed any longer. Either he would become strong enough to conquer the hundredth floor, or he would have a force strong enough to make it so that no one was able to scale it.

Whatever it took.

However, he would have Liam prove it to him without doubt. He had been too naive before.

Liam had to give him absolute, definitive proof. Otherwise he would not act.

Why had he believed him in the first place? Even now, Noah did not think he was lying. His actions were only done to protect or strengthen him. He had even returned his body after use, though he would not have done that if the tower did not guarantee 30 minutes was the limit.

For now, he would act.

One day, when he reached the 100th floor, if his actions were wrong, he would offer his own life as a reparation.

Act now. Think later.

"Let's go, Omni. We have big things to do," he said, as they wandered off into the distance.