Tower of Endless: Death Granted Entry

Ding!

Ding!

Moon stood where he was, unaware of the frustrated gamblers, the analysis they were making of his duel, or the majority who had failed to even understand what exactly had happened and were debating it incorrectly.

He heard a few notifications, which he decided to ignore as long as they weren’t a Fate Alert... Anything else could wait for later.

Only now did he realize that the Fate Alert hadn’t made a single sound, not even a warning of getting hit without damage. Moon started to feel that this system was rather reliable; he also agreed with its assessment, believing he had never been in danger to begin with.

He was just in a rather unusual situation that happened to be a little tricky, but that was all.

He had had his eyes on a few things since Dave stepped foot in the arena, and according to tradition, it was finally time to loot his defeated opponent.

First, his eyes fell on the helmet. It still had Dave’s head inside... He held it by the plume and jerked the head out. He looked rather disappointed; it needed some more cleaning before he could wear it.

With a sigh, he moved on to the next and last item he wanted: the sword. It looked nice—nowhere near as nice as Liquid Mountain, of course, but it would make a good spare weapon.

He first stabbed Liquid Mountain into the ground before unfastening the sheath from Dave’s body. He then proceeded to place it temporarily over his shoulder before finally picking up the sword.

”Let go!” a shaken voice screamed at Moon. He turned around to see it was Colten.

”What are you talking about?” Moon asked, raising an eyebrow.

”Let go of my sword!” Colten dashed at him, trying to reach the weapon.

Moon, on the other hand, was not going to let go of his loot. Add the fact that he was utterly fed up with Colten’s bullshit... he decided he wouldn’t talk anymore.

Moon’s leg swept out in a roundhouse kick motion, finding Colten’s face squarely. ”Call me boss, you bastard.”

Colten tried to get up, but Moon was already extending his hand toward the undershirt beneath Colten’s chest plate. Moon hauled him up before a streak of heavy punches landed on his face. In the process, Moon ripped a huge piece of fabric away with every punch.

”Did you bastards think I was a pushover? I’m strong, I don’t bully, but you weak shit—if you know you are weak, act like it! You are no better than a punching bag!”

The punches didn’t pause or stop, turning Colten’s face into a bloody mess before Abshi and his other two followers could even reach him to help.

But when they did, it didn’t make much of a difference. Moon shoved Colten into Abshi, then sprinted over his body, stepping aggressively onto Abshi’s face. Abshi, who was considerably taller than Moon, didn’t fall right away. Thus, Moon landed behind him, delivering a sweeping kick to the back of his ankle before violently yanking the hind piece of his shirt backward, breaking his balance and forcing him to fall flat on his back.

And then, only punches found their way to his face.

As for the last two, they were momentarily frozen by the horrifying sight before their eyes. It was fine for Dave to lose; no matter how ridiculously he was defeated, it was still acceptable to them. But seeing Colten and Abshi beaten to this degree without the slightest chance to fight back was unthinkable.

Moon’s eyes finally fell on them. They were actively weighing their chances and considering what should be done. They exchanged a tactical nod.

To Moon, it was meaningless. To the right stood a young-looking knight with small black eyes and black hair, and to his side stood another of a similar age with ash-brown hair and wide brown eyes.

They unsheathed their swords and released their echo.

Moon grinned back at them. ”That’s some noble sacrifice.” He had started to hate them for letting the older ones get beaten up alone, but now... he was starting to like the duo.

”Come.” With open arms, Moon taunted.

The two were hesitating but not backing down; they started moving apart from one another. Moon smiled in amusement but didn’t try to interrupt them, even when they perfectly positioned themselves around him—one to his very right and the other to his very left.

The two of them were now in bent-knee stances, ready to lunge at Moon at any second, but they were clearly unsure.

To give them a better chance, Moon decided he would close his eyes to give them the courage to attack, or perhaps just to toy with them.

”Stop.” A muffled scream that sounded entirely too moist came from Colten, who was barely lifting his head with the support of his arm. ”We lost. Enough.” He turned his swollen gaze to the two younger knights. ”Kase.” He looked at the black-haired knight. ”Liam.” He looked at the other.

He gritted his teeth. ”He’s your master now,” he ordered them. ”I was the one in the wrong.”

He let his body drop back to the ground, staying there unmoving.

Moon nodded at Colten. ”Wise words, beloved henchman.”

In his hands were some pieces of cloth ripped from Colten’s and Abshi’s attire; Moon was not picky. He went back to the helmet and started wiping the blood off it, before doing the same with Liquid Mountain.

He put on the helmet over his shirtless body, rested the new sword over his shoulder, and with Liquid Mountain still in his left hand, made his way back to his seat.

From the beginning, ever since Colten had tried to take his sword back, not a single soul had tried to save them or mediate the conflict. No one stood up for them in the slightest. Colten had already done the unthinkable, and he had still lost.

In everyone’s mind, it would have been the exact same outcome if it were Abshi or Colten himself in Dave’s place. Moon was someone strong enough to make everyone wary, even if he didn’t use echo... or wasn’t familiar with it. Some hated to imagine how terrifying he would be if he actually used echo. It was unthinkable.

With his helmet on, Moon arrived in front of his t-shirt and sheath, only to find Mishu still there. But unlike last time, it was peacefully asleep.

Moon pursed his lips, unable to come to terms with this excessively cute mass of murder.

’If not a friend, why friend-shaped?’ Moon lamented in his heart before carefully collecting his belongings without waking Mishu.

He smiled as he put on his shirt, recalling last night in the eatery. Back then, he had asked Ed if he smelled of Death Echo once he took off his shirt. They ran a test and realized that as long as at least one piece of clothing remained on him, the smell was hidden. That was why he had made the decision to fight in the way he felt most comfortable.

It was reassuring to know that there wouldn’t be too many restraints on him outside Hall 1 as well, especially since Samuel had assured him that inside the hall, he was perfectly fine.

Without further delay, it was time to get back to his room. Ignoring the arena and everyone in it, he set off. He had a lot on his mind, and right now, he was feeling liberated.

Once he was inside his room, he decided to check his status window for the previous notifications.

It should have been the quest completion, or so he thought...

But there seemed to be another one waiting for him.

Ascension Gift Awakening Notice!

[Your mind is rooted more into reality than imagination] - [What you imagine and perfectly perform within {Sample Space} has a lower chance of producing {Null Event}]

Current Success Rate: 0.02%