Laevateinn (legendary F-Rank): It never fails to amuse me how wrong universal religions are about the artifacts of myth that appear in their texts. And yet, somehow, they are also eerily accurate. Laevateinn is a weapon crafted by a god that wanted it to grow and conquer worlds. Now, it's your paperweight. But maybe, just maybe, it can once again grow as powerful its creator intended. All that’s needed is a little blood, sweat, and tears. Quite literally.

Bonded: No.

Ability: Growth (S+).

Growth (S+): This weapon will grow when it is fed. What does it eat? Everything. But be careful because Laevateinn will take on the properties of that which it consumes, and subpar products might give it stomach cramps. Current rank: F.

Stats: +1 General Strength. +1 Balance.

I blinked.

Then, I retched.

[Oh, what the human hell. I am not cleaning that up.] The System’s voice contained undisguised disgust. [What is wrong with you?]

“I just killed someone!” I shouted back at it, using my shirt to wipe at the edges of my lips.

[So sensitive. Buckle up, kid. You have got a lot more of that coming if you want to inherit this world.] The System’s reply was as emotionless as it was brutal.

Seeking a distraction, I read through the new notifications that appeared as I examined the dagger in my hands. Unblemished and shining bright, I realized it must have absorbed Tuttle’s blood and viscera as it stabbed him.

“This is crazy,” I muttered. The dagger itself was…I don't know what it was. It probably wasn't too strong, not at F-rank, but I knew a thing or two, and being able to grow with time was an ability that surpassed others by far.

Without hesitation, I stabbed the concrete underneath me.

[Would you like to consume material: Concrete (D+)? That's right. Concrete is only as strong as a D-ranked unit in material rankings. I bet that puts a damper on mankind's greatest invention, doesn't it?

[Warning!: Materials consumable at F-Rank: 2. If more than half of the materials do not exceed the current rank of the weapon, Laevateinn’s evolution to the next rank may fail.]

[Currently consumed materials: None.]

That was strange. I could have sworn the dagger had absorbed Tuttle’s blood. I turned around, stabbing random things in the area and allowing myself a distraction from the horrors of my situation.

I stabbed the tree. I stabbed the side of the giant bridge-buildings. I even gave the air a stab, just in case. I didn't touch the human corpses. But Tuttle’s bulbous body and Leonis’s metal parts and crimson whips were fair game. Several had been ripped off permanently during the Inheritor’s fight.

Only two materials stood out to me.

Tuttle’s remains were C-rank.

Leonis’s remains were A-rank.

I broke out of my stabbing frenzy, and looked back. Apparently, I'd stabbed more than I'd realized, and entire sections of concrete and the sides of the bridges were cut up behind me. And yet, the dagger remained unharmed.

The System whistled in my ear. [Holy heck. That was disturbing the watch. Listen, your dagger will gain the properties of the strongest material it stabs before evolving. So, it'll change when reaching D-rank, and when going from D to C, it'll get another chance to change again. This continues as you go up each rank. Choose your materials wisely. Or do not. I really do not care.]

“Thanks,” I raised the dagger up and pursed my lips. “What are stats?”

My stabbing frenzy hadn't just been a matter of going crazy for a moment. I was also testing something else. Stats.

Laevateinn gave me two stats: +1 General Strength. +1 Balance.

As far as I could tell, the first was what let me stab into concrete without issues. The second, I still had no idea about, but I hadn't fallen despite stabbing at awkward angles, and I think that Balance had something to do with it.

A smile broke out in my lips. Despite everything, the idea of growing stronger like some kind of superhero was kind of cool.

[I can tell you. But first, you have to enter the tutorial, otherwise known as the first floor.] The System’s reply washed away my cheer. [Oh, do not give me that look. It is a wonderful place. Very cheerful. You may see the entrance to your right.]

I shifted right, and found myself looking following the two bridge buildings on either side of me to their end. They both cut off abruptly before hitting the wall of the massive cavern I was in, and at the edge of the platform where they ended was a massive wooden structure.

It was a door. Its exterior was at least one story high, as though built for a giant, and its ornate design was patterned like leaves.

[Just an ordinary door. Make sure to close it on your way out.]

Ordinary? Like hell it was.

“Floor one,” I repeated the System’s words. “Out of one hundred. What's on that floor?”

[Clear it to find out. If you survive, you can tell others what is inside.]

“So, there's something inside that'll likely kill me,” I muttered.

[Good monkey, good.] The System’s voice and the accompanying blue box carried a hint of a smile. [Clearing a floor will cause you to rise. And if you clear all one hundred, you will find yourself on the surface of your world again. But do not think it is an easy task. You are more likely to die.]

“Am I invincible?” I asked, somewhat hopefully. “I think you said something about Inheritor’s being invincible.”

[This hub’s Inheritor’s invincibility only works within the hub. Also, it was taken by Leonis as part of his debt repayment. You do not get another.]

Stolen novel; please report.

I glanced at the spot where Leonis had been stopped by the System. “So, if he comes back he'll be invincible?”

[Exactly,] the System confirmed. [But it will not matter for too long. At your level, your death will come swiftly.]

The longer I wait, the stronger he gets. This is my school loans all over again. Damn it.

The door loomed over me as I walked up to it. There was a faint glow around its edges, giving the light brown wood a peach-like quality to it.

I could guess what the tutorial would be like and none of my guesses were filled with hugs and cuddles.

[There is a way to survive. It is not an Inheritor’s duty to lead the army to battle. Objects may be summoned to aid you, and take your place on the floors of the Tower.]

I snapped my fingers at the box, dispelling it. “People aren't objects.”

[That statement is correct. You are not an object because objects do not have life. Do you want me to help you with that?]

I paused and the sole of my foot smacked into the loose dirt. “But I'm an inheritor. You can't hurt me.”

[Can’t I? We should ask the last one.]

A chill ran over my spine. I wasn't sure why, but then it hit me.

Had the System ever used contractions before?

“What did you just say?” I asked.

[Hmph. Humans. Such dull minds. I said, ‘can I not? We should ask the last one’.] There was no hint of trickery in its voice, only exasperation. [In case you are missing the subtext, this means I can kill you. Or, at least, I can manufacture paths that will lead to your death. I am the administrator of the inheritance cycle, not a slave to the Inheritors. You are under my purview, as both an Inheritor and as a unit, and so you will follow my laws.]

Its tone gave no leeway, and I ignored the shiver running down my spine. Instead, I looked up, and considered the System’s words. My eyes met with a gentle blue and white light, and my gaze was lost in infinity as the portal above me churned and twisted reality with casual ease.

“That big thing in the sky, what did you call it again? The summoning portal?” I asked.

[That is the summoning station. All your problems begin when it summons you as a unit. And unless you want to die, you will be forced to use it to summon others. All of them might blame you for ripping them apart from their safety and bringing them to hell. Do you hate it?]

“It's so beautiful,” I said. “To think I would never have known…” if the world hadn't ended. “I should use the summoning station,” I ended.

[Good idea!]

“You don't have to be a condescending ass about it,” I replied.

[But you make it so easy.]

Ignoring the System’s words, I looked over the hub area with a keen eye. Every time we cleared a floor, it would rise a level. But that didn't mean anything if I didn't have any way to clear it.

I had to have allies.

“Wait,” I paused. “Are the people I summon just going to be ordinary like me?”

[You stabbed an inheritor. As a unit you are extraordinary. And yes, there are eight billion of you, most are guaranteed to be F rank. A few may reach D. Fewer still will have gained enough power to reach above that, though some units may have the potential to outshine even the strongest of Inheritors.]

There it is again. Unit. That word just keeps popping up.

The System called us units.

Tuttle had called us summons.

Leonis had called us soldiers.

Between the shock and fear that had accompanied the end of the world, I'd started to follow in their footsteps and think of the people I was summoning as objects to help me reach my goal. But the System’s words shook me out of my downward spiral.

“To me, these aren’t units. They're humans,” I whispered. I was sure that the System had heard me, but I didn't care because the words weren't for its ears. They were for me.

I couldn't let myself be swept up in their pace. If this world was going to go mad, then I was willing to stick to the insanity of common sense a little longer.

“I'm going in there alone.”

There was a pause and I felt the System’s shock reverberating through my mind and into my wider body. A minute passed. Then another. Five minutes passed before a blue box appeared in front of me.

[I have computational abilities your human mind cannot fathom.] The System finally broke its silence. [And yet I cannot find the answer to a question I have. Perhaps your strange mind can elaborate.]

“Tell me the question,” I said.

[Are you an idiot?] The System’s tone held genuine curiosity in it. [You had a good idea. I, the System, said it was a good idea. And now you want to change your mind and go in alone. That is not a question. It is a statement.]

“I’m going to go stab these corpses now,” I ignored the System.

Turning back from the door, I walked over to Tuttle and stabbed him right in his dead heart. There was a squelch as the dagger entered, and then a sickening slurping sound filled the air. Then, the dagger jolted in my hand, as though it were trying to kick me off it.

“What the—” I let the dagger go in surprise.

The dagger paused, then, on its own volition, it dove straight into Tuttle’s heart. The sucking sound intensified, and in moments the entire heart was gone, eaten from the inside out. I closed my eyes at the ongoing horror, and kept them shut as the feast continued.

Seconds later, I opened my eyes to see the weapon clattering to the ground. The heart was eaten, and so was the body. Not even a drop of blood remained.

Tuttle's corpse was gone.

A burp escaped the dagger.

“What the hell kind of dagger is this?” I gazed at the weapon in horror.

[The good kind.] The System replied. [I would bond with it sooner, not later. But that is me. The System. The being that makes good decisions.]

Approaching the dagger carefully, I picked it up and jolted, half-expecting it to eat me like it had the corpse. When it didn't burrow into my skin, I sighed with relief and moved onto the remains of Leonis that the cyborg had left behind.

Gathering them into a pile, I dropped the dagger into them and watched in fascination as it consumed the metal and crimson while just as easily as it had Tuttle’s flesh.

A burp filled the air, and a flood of blue boxes smacked into my eyes.

[Your weapon has consumed Tuttle’s corpse: C-rank.]

[Your weapon has consumed Proto-Celestial Body leftovers: A-rank.]

[You have chosen to feed your dagger with the corpses and torn chunks of your enemies. You asshole. Reward: Claim it after the first floor because I want you to do the tutorial.]

[What? Laevateinn (F-rank is evolving!]

Familiar music filled the air, clearly breaching copyright, but I only had eyes for the weapon in my hand. A deep crimson glow hit my eyes, and the dagger’s steel surface warped and twisted upward. The dagger flew out of my hand and hovered in front of me. The light surrounding it blinked bright and then low in a rhythmic sequence.

Then, as quickly as it began, it was over.

[Laevateinn (F-rank) has evolved into Laevateinn (D-rank)!]

[Laevateinn has taken on some of the properties of a Proto-Celestial Body. +1 Magic Defense, +1 Physical Defense.]

[Laevateinn has gained the skill: Whip. Boy, I wonder what this does.]

The dagger that fell back into my hands wasn't the same one that had left them. The hilt was at least two inches longer, and the steel had darkened and grown even lighter. Starting from its hilt, several crimson veins rose upward until they reached halfway up the blade, and they remained there, pulsating as though alive.

There was also a crimson glow that surrounded the blade, and I wasn't sure if it was coming from the veins or the dagger itself.

The description of the dagger remained the same, except for the rank change and the new stats it provided.

“I'll have to figure out what all these mean, soon,” I said.

[It sounds like a tutorial could help!] The System replied cheerfully.

This time, I agreed with it.

“Fine, fine,” I waved my free hand dismissively.

Despite my relaxed attitude, a pang of fear was making its way through my heart. It had been less than two hours and I'd nearly died several times. I didn't want to do it again. Death was real. I could see its consequences in the lifeless corpses surrounding me. I'd counted them as I'd walked around them. Tuttle had killed fifteen humans before I'd arrived.

Turning toward the door, I scolded myself. Even if this was the only way forward, that wasn't the reason I was entering the first floor.

I just didn't want to see their corpses anymore.

It took me a couple of minutes to walk to the door, and I placed my hand against the warm wood. It felt like my old living room table, which was strangely reassuring.

[Do you want to enter the first floor?]

“Yes,” I said.

I pushed the door open and I was bathed in a gentle glow. I couldn't see what lay beyond the open entrance, but the smell of morning dew tickled my nose.

Before I could walk through, another message blocked my vision.

[Do you really want to enter the first floor? Like, seriously?]

“I do.”

[You could summon someone. Really.]

“No,” I replied.

Before another message could come and shake my resolve, I took a deep breath and stepped into the light.