2026-01-31 22:54:09[Time Elapsed: 47 Minutes]
[Participants Remaining in Battlefield #47: 31/50] [Overall Participants Remaining: 7,234/10,000] [Your Kills: 4] [Your Points: 387] [Current Rank: 1,892/10,000] Erwin's breathing was ragged, his body covered in cuts and bruises that screamed with every movement. The battle axe felt heavier now, sticky with blood from creatures he'd rather not remember. Four kills. Four beings who had fought for their own survival, their own stakes, their own desperate reasons to reach the top of this tower. And he'd ended them. The black fog had started moving fifteen minutes ago, consuming the outer platforms with terrifyingly. Anyone caught in it didn't even have time to scream, they just... stopped existing. The battlefield had shrunk by nearly thirty percent, forcing the remaining participants closer together. The fights were becoming more frequent, more desperate. "You're doing well," Einstein said, though his voice carried no enthusiasm. "Rank 1,892 is solid progress." "Not good enough," Erwin muttered. "I need top 500. That's still 1,392 places to climb." He pulled up his status, checking his progress. [STATUS UPDATE] [Level: 4] [HP: 67/100] [Essence Energy: 87/200] He'd leveled up twice more from the kills. Each level gave him slight increases to health and essence, but nothing game-changing. His real advantage was still Pattern Reading. Every fight, he relied on it more, pushing the ability to predict movements further and further. But he was getting tired. His body couldn't keep up with what his mind could see. A roar echoed across the battlefield. Erwin's head snapped toward the sound. On a platform two levels below, the ape-like creature from earlier—the one who had shoved him—was fighting three opponents at once. And winning. [Scan Complete] [Name: Gormar the Breaker] [Species: Stone Gorilla] [Power Level: Mortal Rank B] [Current Points: 892] [Current Rank: 523/10,000] Already in the top 600. Damn. Gormar grabbed one of his attackers that looked like a serpentine creature and literally tore it in half. The other two scattered, clearly recognizing they were outmatched. [Participant eliminated] Erwin felt a chill run down his spine. That could have been him if he'd tried to fight that gorilla earlier. "We should avoid him," Einstein said unnecessarily. "Agreed." Erwin turned away, scanning for weaker targets. It felt awful thinking in those terms, but this wasn't a place for morality. This was survival. His eyes landed on a lone figure on a distant platform. Small, humanoid, clearly injured. [Scan Complete] [Species: Lunar Elf] [Power Level: Mortal Rank E] [HP: 87/280] [Status: Severely wounded] An easy target. Someone he could kill without much risk. Erwin started moving toward the platform, then stopped. The elf was collapsed against a rock, clutching what looked like a broken arm. They hadn't even noticed him yet. 'So this is what I have to rely on,' Erwin thought, bitting his lips as his stomach churned. 'Killing the defenseless to climb a leaderboard.' "Erwin," Einstein said quietly. "Your parents." Right. His parents. That's what this was for. Not glory, neither power. Just keeping his family human. He crossed the energy bridge, approaching the wounded elf. The elf noticed quickly and looked up as Erwin got closer, it's silver eyes widening in fear. "Please," the elf said in a voice that was surprisingly clear despite the pain. "I... I have a sick... Father... Back home, if I fail this trial, the Celestials will..." She trailed off, but Erwin understood. Everyone here had a stake here too, everyone had something to lose. "I'm sorry," Erwin said, and he meant it. He raised his axe— —and brought it down beside the elf, embedding it in the stone. The elf flinched, clearly expecting death. When it didn't come, confusion replaced fear. "What... what are you doing?" the elf asked. Erwin didn't respond yet, he simply pulled out one of his health potions and handed it over. "Drink this. Then find somewhere to hide until the trial ends. If you're lucky, someone else will rack up enough kills that you'll squeak into the top 500. Besides, killing you won't be too beneficial to me because you are lower in rank than I am." "But still... why?" The elf's hands trembled as they accepted the potion. "You could... I'm defenseless." "It's almost as if you want me to change my mind," Erwin said, pulling his axe free. "I already told you why." He turned and started going back across the bridge where he'd come from. Einstein floated beside him in silence for a moment, then spoke. "That was stupid." "Probably." "You just gave up easy points. You're still 1,392 ranks away from safety." "I know." "Your parents could become infected because of this decision." "I KNOW!" Erwin snapped, then took a breath. "But if I kill everyone weaker than me just to climb a leaderboard, what does that make me? How am I any different from the infected?" "The infected don't have a choice," Einstein pointed out. "You do. And you're choosing to handicap yourself in a survival game." "Then I'll just have to work harder," Erwin said firmly. "Find stronger opponents and take bigger risks." [Hidden Quest Complete: Show Mercy] [Reward: +50 Bonus Points] [Total Points: 437] Erwin blinked at the notification. Hidden quests, of course there were hidden quests. This system would literally reward him for anything whenever it wants. Quite crazy. Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the battlefield, drawing everyone's attention. One of the larger platforms had completely shattered, sending debris and participants tumbling into the endless void below. [Participants eliminated: 4] [Participants remaining in Battlefield #47: 27/50] The battlefield was entering its final phase. The black fog was closing in faster now, forcing everyone toward the center platforms. Soon, there would be nowhere left to run. Soon, it would be a pure blood bath with everyone fighting everyone. Erwin checked his rank again. [Current Rank: 1,704/10,000] The bonus points had helped, but he still needed to climb 1,204 more places. Time to stop holding back, after all every single participant in this battle royale were mortal like him, maybe just a higher rank but that doesn't really changes much. Erwin's grip tightened on his axe as he surveyed the remaining participants. As for the weak ones, he'd leave them alone. Same for defenseless, maybe his system would award him with points for that. For the strong ones? The ones actively hunting others? They were the priority now. "Alright," Erwin said, his voice cold with determination. "Let's hunt some hunters." Einstein sighed but didn't argue. This is just the first floor of the arcane tower so if Erwin decides to be an active participant here instead on sneaking around and killing weak beings, it wouldn't be to bad. Maybe... Just maybe it might prepare him for the other 99 floor above.
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Chapter 65: The Oncoming Trial
He found a quieter section of the lobby's lower tier to sleep.Not a room, the Ascendant Lobby didn't work like the individual rest chambers from the Mortal bracket. There were no sealed doorways with a bed and a table and a full-length mirror.What it had instead were areas, open sections with different functions.Training areas where the sound of practice strikes carried down from upper tiers.Eating areas where food appeared on platforms that lowered themselves on their own. Quieter sections, stone alcoves and half-shielded corners where the light was lower and the noise from above was dampened.Erwin found one of these quiet sections and used it.He slept for ten hours.When he woke up, Einstein was floating in front of his face, approximately three inches away, staring at him."Stop that, don't you ever get bored of doing that." Erwin muttered sleepily, pushing the sphere away."You were mumbling.""People mumble in their sleep.""You were saying numbers."Erwin sat up. Erwin s
Chapter 64: Advanced Pattern Reading
[System Notification][Location: Ascendant Bracket Lobby — Community 7][Active Participants: 312][Rest Period: 72 Hours][Floor 20: Initial Assessment — Accessible following rest period]"Three hundred and twelve," he muttered.Einstein turned to look at him in puzzlement. "That was precise... Your token is displaying exactly that number and the number of participants present here."Erwin turned slightly to the side and smirked. "We all have our secrets. I wouldn't be explaining anything to you, birdy."He found a low section of wall near the materialization point and sat next to it, resting his back against it.Now that there was nowhere to go and nothing immediately trying to kill him, the actual state of his body was making itself known.His palm itched where the Sanguine Noctis had detonated. The thin slashes had closed, but the skin still gave off a strange vibe when he flexed his fingers.He looked at it for a moment.'Seven thousand, four hundred and twelve.'That number had
Chapter 63: The Real Thing
Survive and resolve the scenario by any available meansTower rest period is 72 hours. Floor 20 will be accessible following rest period conclusionThe voice came again, this time giving more information to Erwin and Herria about the trial completed.Following it was Erwin's system interface notification.[Congratulations! You Have Completed Your Hidden Trial][+2 to all stats][STR: 33 → 35][AGI: 36 → 38][END: 32 → 34][INT: 40 → 42][WIS: 41 → 43][+5 Additional Stat Points][New Ability Unlocked: Space][Ability Description: Creates a stable, functional dimensional space in imaginary space that genuinely exists and can hold real objects and entities]'Space, huh.' Erwin bit his finger gently. 'It's just like creating pocket dimensions. It isn't some sort of offensive ability.'Dimensional Creation made matter out of compressed dimensional material. Instant Teleportation displaced his body instantly from one point to another. Gravity applied force to objects that existed.Space wa
Chapter 62: The Ascendant Bracket
The tower notification came mid-morning.Not in a form anyone else could hear—this came through his private system, not through Xyrros's formal tower announcement. It appeared quietly, the way it always did, with the particular cadence of a system that had been watching the entire time and was only now opening its mouth.Special Trial CompleteSurvive and resolve the scenario by any available meansTower rest period is 72 hours. Floor 20 will be accessible following rest period conclusionThe voice came again, this time giving more information to Erwin and Herria about the trial completed.Following it was Erwin's system interface notification.[Congratulations! You Have Completed Your Hidden Trial][+2 to all stats][STR: 33 → 35][AGI: 36 → 38][END: 32 → 34][INT: 40 → 42][WIS: 41 → 43][+5 Additional Stat Points][New Ability Unlocked: Space][Ability Description: Creates a stable, functional dimensional space in imaginary space that genuinely exists and can hold real objects and
Chapter 61: Completely Resolved
**Special Trial Complete** The words echoed with the usual Realm X voice. Erwin was on his knees on the chamber floor with the altar's residual light and strong presence fading away. His hand was bleeding from where the Sanguine Noctis had detonated. His palm was crossed with thin slashes that ran from the base of his fingers to his wrist, and the blood that came out was black. For fleeting moments of silence, he stared at it. They all stared quietly. [HP: 3/150] 'I survived... barely.' Erwin sat back on his heels and tried to breathe properly and found that it took more effort than it should have. His ribs had taken Haemagogi's four-arm impact through the gravity barrier. They had not broken, but the damage it had done was impossible to ignore. Turning his gaze from his hands to look at the center of the chamber, Haemagogi was on the floor. All four arms spread, grey-scaled skin crossed with the dark vein-like lines of the drain's completion. His eyes were open and empty a
Chapter 60: Trial Complete
Special Trial CompleteThe words echoed with the usual Realm X voice.Erwin was on his knees on the chamber floor with the altar's residual light and strong presence fading away.His hand was bleeding from where the Sanguine Noctis had detonated. His palm was crossed with thin slashes that ran from the base of his fingers to his wrist, and the blood that came out was black.For fleeting moments of silence, he stared at it.They all stared quietly.[HP: 3/150]'I survived... barely.' Erwin sat back on his heels and tried to breathe properly and found that it took more effort than it should have.His ribs had taken Haemagogi's four-arm impact through the gravity barrier. They had not broken, but the damage it had done was impossible to ignore.Turning his gaze from his hands to look at the center of the chamber, Haemagogi was on the floor.All four arms spread, grey-scaled skin crossed with the dark vein-like lines of the drain's completion.His eyes were open and empty and still. The d
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