Tower of Endless: Death Granted Entry

Ed laughed by himself under the questioning gaze of the orange cat. He laughed uninterrupted for a long time until he realized Mishu was no longer watching.

Sigh~

He let a deep sigh out into the world. ”You know, once I leave this facility... I’ll probably miss you the most. No one else but you, and now,” he pointed at Moon below, ”that kid listened to me so well.”

The cat looked back at him; Ed looked back and smiled. ”You know, being old doesn’t mean you have to stop being cool, right?... Didn’t you hear the kid call me a cool bastard... I know I shouldn’t eavesdrop, but...”

He rested his back and took a sip of one of his drinks. ”Ugggh, I was really happy.” He shook his head. ”Maybe I’ve gotten pitiful too, who knows.”

His shoulders rose and fell unknowingly... ”I’m not leaving immediately, don’t worry too much, and don’t look at me like this.”

He cleared his throat from the stickiness of what he’d been eating. ”I don’t know what you’re waiting for, or what you’re looking for... But, I think it’s not here...”

”I’ve also been waiting for a long time. Turns out all I needed was someone to speak to after so long.”

”You’ve been here even before we came, before the concept of the Normalization Facility came to be.” He paused for a moment, before laughingly adding, ”Maybe even before we became ascenders entirely...”

He grabbed a handful of crispy snacks, producing loud crunches into the night within his released Echo. ”Even Samuel doesn’t know about that yet, the fact that I’m planning on leaving...”

”Oh, I’ve been ranting for a long time... They’re about to begin the beating at last.”

He patted his large belly. ”Gotta get in shape; can’t let Samuel keep beating the kid by himself.” He looked at Mishu, who was looking down below.

Below, Samuel and Moon were still standing opposite one another.

”How are you going to do it then?” Moon asked, not feeling threatened in the slightest.

Moon knew too well that no normal person would give so much to someone he was planning to kill, and also... he trusted Ed wouldn’t let him die anyway.

Even slaves were worth something, worth the kills they brought, the victories they contributed to... Knowing little about the world didn’t necessarily mean he was inherently stupid.

Also, regarding victories... he believed he’d been performing better than they expected... Better even than he himself expected.

Though things didn’t exactly go as smoothly as they should have, or as expected, thanks to Dorbish, he still won and secured the first round.

As for the duel with Dave, he didn’t expect they would come that prepared... It could have been much less impressive if they hadn’t used that sudden power-up pill or come in full knightly armor.

Moon even considered letting him live until that last moment; he contemplated a lot of things and finally felt his heart lean toward killing.

Thankfully, Dave didn’t allow him to feel conflicted for a single second beyond the duel; the guy came at him, leaving Moon no way out but to kill him.

He might have bashed the helmet along with his skull too, which would also have resulted in death... But at the time, Moon had already locked himself in the duel; if he didn’t win in the first attack, he lost.

So, what more did Samuel expect from someone to deem him worthy?

Yet Samuel didn’t disappoint, for the answer he gave left Moon startled for a moment longer than he should have been.

”You’ll fight me,” Samuel said flatly.

Moon opened his mouth, but no words came... He wanted to retort, but he couldn’t.

After a long moment of silence, ”Are you c—” He paused again. ”Do you think I’m crazy?”

”How so?”

”This isn’t the first floor anymore. All men are not equal, and even an idiot can tell how huge the gap is between us,” Moon retorted, trying to avert whatever madness Samuel was attempting to pull.

Moon questioned his entire train of thought all over again. Maybe he really is insane, he thought... He also couldn’t see Ed anywhere.

”Strength at the value of 6, Agility at 7, Stamina used to be 8 but is now 9...” Samuel spoke slowly.

Moon took a quick glance at his own status window.

Status Window

Personal Data

Name: Moon

Age: 16

Origin: First Floor

Ascension Track: Second Floor

Vital Data

Strength: 6

Agility: 7

Stamina: 9

Echo: 16

Ascension Gift

Hypothetical Prospective: 0.02%

Skills and Arts

Blade Mastery (Intermediate 3%)

Spear Mastery (Beginner 30%)

Axe Mastery (Beginner 72%)

Sword Mastery (Beginner 52%)

Acquired Traits

Pain Tolerance (Intermediate 84%)

Berserk (Beginner 98%)

Status Abnormality

Death Echo: 9

Unrecorded Entry

Disabled Rewards System

At first glance, there were some changes here and there. Pain tolerance had jumped, thanks again to the torture of the seals he went through. Blade mastery also increased, maybe after the duel with Dave, and for some unknown reason, axe mastery also increased.

Yet, he knew too well the values Samuel spoke of; they were his own stats. ”How do you know?” he asked Samuel.

Samuel didn’t answer; maybe he didn’t want to explain, or just found the question outright stupid, one not worthy of an answer.

Instead, he pointed at his forehead, then with his other hand at his heart.

The seals shone rapidly and brightly, before dimming back to normal... then below normal.

”I’ll seal my own stats to match the exact numbers of yours. I also will not be using Echo; you can use yours if you want. You can also use your weapon.”

Moon raised an eyebrow. ”What are you talking about?” His mind failed to grasp what Samuel was saying.

Can someone forcefully make himself weaker? Was such a thing even possible?

”It’s exactly as you heard. I still hold an advantage when it comes to height. Your body can sustain higher stats, but your physical fitness and condition are severely lacking.”

”You mean you made yourself weaker?” Moon asked again.

”You need to learn to operate your body and the seals I’ve given you. Otherwise, the results may become gruesome.”

Samuel was speaking in one direction, but Moon’s mind was sprinting in another one...

A completely opposite direction to what Samuel intended, or thought Moon would think... He wasn’t bothered in the slightest about the seals now.

Or the fact that Samuel made himself weaker, sealing his own body to fight him.

Moon was lost in a different realm, his own realm... The pride of a fighter he had lived with his whole life, he remembered.

His face fell toward the ground, eyes full of disbelief.

He was being offered a handicap: to fight with a weapon and even his hard-earned, yet seemingly unusable, Echo.

The words settled badly in his heart, like a rock stuck in his throat.

The hooligan in him was starting to emerge again, facing Samuel now in his weakened state.

”I, the greatest fighter to ever walk down the first floor.” He was still looking downward. ”To fight me at the same stats.”

”Saying I could even use my weapon.” His voice low.

Moon raised his face, contorted to a frightening degree, and asked, ”Are you looking down on me now?”