As Jay returned to his office, he began to unpack, placing all of his goods in a private office on the second floor. He introduced himself to all the neighbours, including the convenience store he had eaten from the previous day. Many of which were extremely interested in the affairs of the tower, however they were much too afraid - and too old - to even dream about attempting the first floor.
Jay enjoyed having these conversations, telling the stories of what he had experienced, yet leaving out the part about him having the strongest element, although the attention was nice, he preferred to be seen as a run of the mill, ordinary climber, doing whatever he could to make a living.
Once he had completed his rounds, meeting and greeting all the neighbours, he returned to his office and switched on his laptop. Going over the news something piqued his interest. It appeared that the Guilds were forming a united front with the government. The tower would be open to the general public without restriction, however they would have to complete an evaluation that proved they were capable and willing to enter.
Not only this, they would receive a tag that made them identifiable, alongside forcing them to join a guild as soon as they entered. Anyone seen loitering or entering the tower without proper identification would be arrested on the spot.
"Interesting, it seems like the three big guilds want to prevent new guilds from sprouting up, I bet they got paid a lot from the government for this, especially if they are stronger than the military squad at the moment. I wonder if they will cooperate and complete the floors together as a united front. That would sure be a sight to see" Jay spoke aloud to himself.
I better go have a word with them all, Jay thought to himself.
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Jay parked his car two blocks away from the assessment studio, and saw a long line of people waiting to apply for assessment. It was at this moment that Jay wished he had unlocked an ability that could make him invisible. It would make it incredibly easy to sneak through in front of everyone.
Jay wore a black cap and mask, alongside sunglasses to hide his face. Along with his freshly tailored suits, Jay appeared to be of incredible importance, he definitely seemed like a wealthy businessman who wanted to fight in the tower to make some money on the side. After waiting in line for thirty minutes and seeing a large number of unsuccessful candidates, it was finally Jay's turn.
The worker who was running the qualification programme gave Jay a form to fill out, the form required one to fill in their personal information, as well as what guild they would like to enter, or if they wished to do so, they could join one of the special army branches that specialised in tower clearing.
As soon as Jay read the contents of the form he returned it to the worker, stating that he wasn't here to join, he was here to introduce himself to the higher ups.
The worker was confused and quite frankly tired from running after people all day, repeating himself over and over just for candidates to fail different aspects of the assessment. "If you are here to cause trouble just leave. There are other people here who want this opportunity, so if you aren't going to take it let someone else."
The moment the worker finished his sentence, Jay picked him up by the collar with one hand, showcasing his inhuman strength. "Go get one of the guild masters for me. Please." Jay replied.
Yes sir, right away sir, the worker replied before sprinting upstairs to make a phone call.
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*Ten more minutes passed.*
Sirens blared as police and guild masters appeared outside the building.
Jay took a quick glimpse outside, sensing some slightly powerful auras while restraining his own. He spotted Victor, his once lanky body now filled out nicely, donning a black mask and a dark outfit designed for blending into the shadows.
Captain Lee and Anna were also present. Captain Lee looked as tough as ever, while Anna, resembling a dainty goddess adored by her many fans, had clearly grown. However, they were only level 10, Jay felt much stronger than all of them.
Finally, Jay spotted Derek, the leader of the army. Interestingly, he sensed a hint of danger from Derek, likely due to a powerful trump card - his bloodline.
Stepping outside, Jay faced the four leaders of Korea. He instantly imbued himself with mana and dashed towards the tower. The leaders, unaware of Jay's identity, assumed him to be a threat and pursued him hotly. Despite Jay being stronger, he slowed himself down. After a few minutes, they all arrived at the tower.
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Victor, being the fastest, realized that Jay was no weaker than the others, especially in terms of speed. Instead of using his ring to enter the tower, Jay placed his hand on it, opening a portal for the others to follow.
The leaders dashed after Jay, barely making it through the portal. As all five found themselves in the same room, Derek took the initiative to speak, demanding, "Who are you? If you don't identify yourself, we will use force."
As he spoke, the four leaders pulled out their weapons and began casting their mana. Anna tightly held her staff, mana surrounding the orb, ready to respond. Derek pointed his spear towards Jay. Victor disappeared into the shadows, but Jay could sense his overpowering killing intent, easily identifying his position.
Finally, Captain Lee removed his sword from his scabbard, pointing the blade directly towards Jay.
Jay stood still before removing the articles of clothing from his face. "I will not tell you my name, but I am here to tell you that I will not be joining any guild, I will not conform to the government rules. I was the first one to enter this tower, and it will be mine. I will not get in your way, and you will not get in mine, deal?" Jay asserted.
"You're just a kid; you'll do what you're told," both Captain Lee and Derek responded.
"I guess there's no choice but to force you to listen," Jay said, pulling out his spear.
Wasting no time, Jay charged towards Anna, who was in the midst of casting an ice spell to lock Jay in place. Both Derek and Captain Lee wouldn't let him get through.
Derek called out his first ability, *True form stage one.* Interestingly, Derek grew an extra twenty centimetres and let out a roar; his impure bloodline now granted him limited abilities. The bloodline, inherited from a grizzly bear, increased his health and strength.
Derek aimed his spear at Jay with the intent to kill. Meanwhile, Captain Lee infused mana into his longsword, extending the length of the blade, making it sharper and more durable. He charged towards Jay with incredible speed.
Jay stepped back, barely out of their attack range, then shifted to the left, putting all his weight on one side, and threw a left hook directly towards Captain Lee's liver while he was off balance.
The Captain took the blow head-on and instantly fell to his knees, his nervous system shutting down after the powerful strike.
Jay returned to his battle stance, feeling intense killing intent from behind. Quickly casting his mana shield, he blocked the powerful blows from the assassin.
While the assassin was preoccupied with the shield, Jay approached Derek, who was still in his bear form. Stepping into range, Jay pierced with his spear towards Derek's chest. Although Derek was stronger and more durable than before, he was nowhere near as fast as Jay. The weapon stabbed into his chest, not deep enough to kill him but enough to convey that Jay could do whatever he wanted.
By this time, Anna had finished casting her spell *Frost Chains.* She sent icy chains directly towards Jay in an attempt to bind him. Unfortunately, her control over her mana was nowhere near the level that Jay had achieved after tireless practice and challenging opponents tougher than her.
Jay repositioned his mana shield to block the chains before leaping into the air. Dipping the tip of his blade in mana, he sliced the chains that Anna had sent towards him, dissipating her attack into the air and taking a toll on her body.
Jay had no intentions of killing any of them; he simply wanted to let them know that he existed and was here to stay. He continued his dash towards Anna, and upon approaching her, he roundhouse kicked her in the leg, instantly knocking her onto the ground. She whimpered and abandoned any thoughts of continuing the fight, holding her leg in pain.
"Finally, time to deal with you," Jay said out loud before casting *Raijin's Echo.* His voice, imbued with mana and killing intent, made his four opponents shiver in fear. The effect even undid Victor's invisibility, allowing Jay to dash at such a quick speed that he appeared right in front of Victor's face.
Victor responded by slashing his daggers at Jay, coated with his shadow flame. The blades quickly cut through Jay's face, but Victor felt no resistance as it merely cut through his afterimage. Jay rolled under the blades and used his knee to strike Victor in the thigh, leaving him unable to move until he healed.
Derek, still unconvinced at their loss, cast another attack *Rampage,* increasing his strength and agility to even higher levels. However, he lost his rationality, becoming like a wild bear. He charged towards Jay, swinging his spear wildly. Jay stepped back, dodging the obvious attack, before stepping back in like a counter puncher, cracking Derek square in the jaw. His body slumped to the ground as he was knocked out.
At this point, the fight was completely over. No one could oppose Jay in the slightest; he had put himself through hellish training, and these were the fruits of his labour.
Derek was the first to speak up, asking if Jay was the boy from that night, the night when they all met. Jay confirmed, explaining that even though he just beat them up and wasn't going to join them, it didn't mean he wanted to be enemies. He simply wanted to do his own thing and didn't want the newly joined powers to get in his way.
Victor understood where he was coming from thankfully, hobbling over to Jay and handing him a spare identification token. This allowed Jay access to the tower without anyone restricting him. Jay thanked him, even giving Victor a phoenix feather as a gesture of appreciation for understanding the situation and in hopes of smoothing things over one day.
Now that the battle was over Jay exited the tower and returned to his office, in need of a place to shower he went to the local bathhouse to have a moment of relaxation before submitting himself back towards the hellish training the tower had in store for him.
It appeared that everything had sorted themselves out, but little did Jay know, he had just placed a large target on his head.