Tower of Endless: Death Granted Entry

In the middle of the arena, Colten stood facing both the crowd and Samuel. He was plotting something, though Moon had no idea what it was.

But Colten wasn’t bothered with what was on Moon’s mind; he went on with his explanation. ”Warrior Moon is an exceptional talent. I found my knights, and even myself, lacking when facing him. Thus, I am seeking both your blessing and permission to allow my proxy to ingest this Ambient Pill out of respect for Warrior Moon’s prowess.”

Little did he know that Moon, who had caught sight of Dave’s playful smile, was smiling back—though much more viciously. A silent war had already started before the duel officially began.

Samuel, on the other hand, nodded. ”Moon,” he called, snapping Moon back from his staring contest.

”Do you object to having your opponent ingest an Ambient Pill before the duel?” Samuel asked Moon, the one who should have been most concerned.

”Oh, they want to do drugs thinking it’ll help them win,” Moon laughed. ”Even an entire field of herbs won’t change a thing.” He directly addressed his words to Colten, who stood there unfazed.

The moment Colten came to the stage, he came prepared. He was willing to humiliate himself in exchange for this duel. He had to win, regardless of anything; the narrative could change later, but winning was a must. History is always written by the victors.

He was willing to bear the price alone, and he even delivered this embarrassing speech to ensure his proxy gained permission to take the pill, but in front of Moon, it was nothing more than a jest.

”Do you even know what an Ambient Pill is?” Uon asked Moon, knowing very well he didn’t, but exercising the patience that Samuel lacked.

”No idea,” Moon answered confidently.

Under the questioning gazes of the crowd, who were unable to believe someone had actually never heard of such a product, Uon started explaining. ”You already know that ambient echo flows freely inside the tower, except for the first floor, of course. This pill is a breakthrough in ambient echo that can only be used to operate basic arcane arts... It allows the user to increase their echo value by four to six points for at most an hour, directly bolstering it with ambient echo that will soon return to nature.”

Moon remained unimpressed. ”Oh, such a thing exists.”

Colten nodded. ”Now you understand.”

”Yes,” Moon answered, looking him in the eye. ”I understand that if you had another for yourself, and three more for those bitches of yours in the back... all five of you could attack me together and I’d still win.”

Colten stood flabbergasted, his face matching his hair color.

Moon walked to the middle, getting his face close to Colten’s. ”Get it over with, you slow asshole! Stop wasting my time, dammit!” Moon shouted at the top of his lungs.

Lucen, sitting next to Ed and Samuel, found Ed suddenly laughing out loud, along with a considerable number of the ascenders watching the show. He shook his head. ”The branch is so much different this wave. I didn’t expect to see such a guy in here, from the first floor at that.”

Samuel, sitting in the middle between them, chimed in. ”Ashspawns have been the most active and highest in number on the first floor for thousands of years.” He clarified some history that wasn’t widely known inside the tower. ”I’m not sure how long it’s been since anyone who isn’t an Ashspawn has made it to the trials of the tower and even passed.”

Ed leaned forward, bypassing Samuel’s head, and looked sharply at Lucen. ”What are you speaking for? This kid we discovered... if you want him, you have to exchange him for something of equal or higher value. Maybe you can exchange him for three hundred of your kids.”

Lucen, without shifting his posture, looked at Ed and laughed dryly. ”You don’t have to worry, unless he’s very strong.”

”What if he is?” Ed inquired.

”I might get greedy.” Lucen’s smile widened, raising his eyebrows.

”Oh.” Looking somewhat triggered, Ed tilted his head. ”Who knows. You can of course try to get your hands on him, but make sure you don’t mind spending the next few thousand years of your life with a single arm.”

Lucen’s smile held a hint of confusion. Ed had always been an outspoken, rough guy, but never to such a degree.

Samuel, on the other hand, had a weird look in his eyes while watching Ed. His eyes were practically screaming, ’Are you trying to copy the kid’s speech from that time?’

Ed looked back at the arena, ignoring both of them. He was seriously enjoying the kid’s confidence, though deep inside, he was worried.

The terms of the duel were that if Moon failed to win with his first attack, he would become Colten’s subordinate... and now they had done everything they could and used everything they had to make sure victory was theirs.

Even the sword Dave had on his waist was not his own, but Colten’s personal sword. The helmet was also Colten’s. Only the armor set was his. As for the pill... it was worth so much money that an opportunity like this might not come by again for him, as someone from the lower clans of the tower.

Watching Moon’s confidence made Ed worry less than he originally had.

Moon, on the other hand, was not worried in the slightest. If anything, he was frustrated. Everyone was an expert at wasting his time and delaying fights. He felt like these guys should never hold a sword again in their lives; they would only dirty such weapons with cowardice.

Colten somehow managed to hold it together and walked in Dave’s direction with the box in his hands—the Ambient Pill.

”Eat it,” Colten ordered.

Dave, following his orders, extended his hand toward the pill, held it between his index finger and thumb, and brought it close to his helmet. He slid its long triangular peak from below his chin higher toward his nose, exposing his mouth in the process.

His other hand placed it inside his mouth, and he was ready to swallow it under Moon’s attentive gaze.

Moon’s eyes kept scanning for every new input, calculating the changes of what could occur to find the best and most suitable way to achieve his victory without fail. He had been shaken for a moment after seeing the armor in the beginning, but he was calmly finding the path to victory without showing any weakness to his enemies.

He imagined the pill’s effect—how much it would improve Dave’s ability. Considering the sword’s reach increasing and its cutting range extending, countless forms of echo started to gather on the sword’s form. Some were threatening, some were powerful, and others were just ridiculously meaningless. He imagined the sword becoming gigantic, and also imagined it becoming slippery and unblockable.

But soon he shifted his perception to something else... Dave himself.

How much faster could he get compared to yesterday? And what if the armor was taken into consideration—was it lighter than expected? What about his field of vision inside the helmet, or his arms’ mobility with the sword?

It was not his first time doing these calculations, but it was probably the first time since he left the trial... for since then, there had only been insignificant bystanders or absolute menaces he couldn’t hope to even scratch.

All of that took place in a couple of minutes, the time Dave needed for the pill to take full effect.

With that, Uon signaled to both sides. ”Take your positions.”

Moon walked back all the way to the marked spot in the arena, and so did Dave. As for Colten, he had returned to his seat the moment Dave swallowed the pill.

Moon stood leisurely without any stance. On the other side, Dave unsheathed his sword, one that looked exceedingly well-made to anyone watching.

”Begin,” Uon signaled to them as he stepped down from the ring.

Both sides stood still, Moon in his park-walk stance, and Dave with his formal sword stance, aimed directly at Moon.

Moon raised his left hand, signaling for him to come. ”Don’t tell me, after all of this, you’re still afraid,” he taunted, though he wasn’t smiling or anything; he was just watching closely.

A bluish, flame-like aura exploded on the sword, covering it from all directions.

Dave bent his knees slightly, exploding forward at a blinding speed and earning the awe of everyone watching.

The sword came down without the slightest resistance, falling toward Moon. ”I’ll cut you in half!” he roared.

In that moment, no one could speak. For a very long moment, the arena went completely silent.

”What... just happened?”