Formless Ascension: My Affinity Is Limitless

”Well then, I guess an explanation is in order?” He began excitedly. He whizzed over the heads of all ten selected ’champions,’ unbothered by the minor loss of the invisible cameras after Uhtred’s move.

Everyone around the world had lost access to the feed of what was going on at Capitol of the Elite — something that should have displeased Handler Roy, since he was making a global announcement — but the cat man didn’t seem annoyed at all. If anything, he looked thrilled.

He waved his hand with another huzzah, and all ten champions disappeared along with him into a different space.

After reappearing, Uhtred quickly took in their new surroundings and frowned slightly.

”How do you know this is my favorite meeting room?”

They had all materialized inside a mid-sized meeting hall in one of the central buildings of the Capitol. And just as Uhtred said, this was a room he used strictly when discussing formal, high-priority matters with his core crew.

For other meetings with newer members of his force, heads of crafting teams, or specialized personnel, there were several other halls he preferred. But somehow, Handler Roy, a complete alien, knew this exact detail.

”Have you been watching me?”

Uhtred’s question instantly put the other ascenders on high alert. They had all noticed something similar during the Handler’s flamboyant introductions. He knew far too much about every single one of them.

However, it seemed his inside knowledge went way beyond surface-level details.

They all tracked his feline form as he whizzed through the air.

”Hahaha! But Uhtred, you already knew this, didn’t you?” Roy smiled knowingly, licking his white paw with a playful air.

Uhtred’s expression didn’t change on the outside, but internally, his mind darkened.

This guy... He knows I got inside information from the Andronian Inheritance Shard...

”No matter, though!” the cat man laughed. ”Like I said, this is not a System-created trial. So it’s only natural that information leaks out!”

Several ascenders’ eyes snapped toward Uhtred, narrowing sharply.

Handler Roy continued without missing a beat.

”Yes, I have been watching all of you for several months now. I know you all better than anyone else on this planet does,” he revealed, his tone dripping with self-satisfaction. ”And that is why I can say with full confidence that I hit the jackpot of all jackpots—!”

”Can someone just explain why the fuck we’re here?” Hassan Al-Malik hissed in exasperation, glaring directly at Handler Roy. ”You’ve done everything except tell us what this Tower trial actually is and what’s in it for us!”

”Patience, Hassan...” Handler Roy tutted, then cleared his throat dramatically. ”Alright. The Tower. Like I said earlier, the Tower is—”

”Skip the recap. Tell. Us. Why. We’re. Here.” Hassan said, enunciating every word as his patience finally snapped under the cat man’s eccentric behavior.

Handler Roy paused mid-air, his tail twitching as he stared down at Hassan. For a brief second, the playful cat-like demeanor vanished, replaced by an intense, overwhelming pressure that made the breathing of all ten champions catch in their throats.

Even Uhtred’s heart spiked at the terrifying weight of it.

This pressure...! It’s even more overbearing than the Jotuniel Leader!!

Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the heavy aura evaporated, and the whimsical grin snapped right back onto the cat man’s face.

”My, my, the youth of this world are so incredibly hasty,” Roy sighed, floating down to land gracefully on the edge of the large meeting table. He crossed his legs and smoothed down his red tuxedo. ”Fine, fine. If you want the short version, I won’t bore you with the grand history of the cosmos.”

His eyes glinted, and he cracked a smile, leaning forward:

”You have the opportunity to compete against every single newly integrated world of your universe in a grand trial within the Illustrious Tower of Wonders where many rewards lay in wait for your picking — is what I’d like to say... But in truth? You’re going to be competing against every race of your universe in a fucked-up, sadistic multiversal reality show where bored, god-like entities across the entire multiverse watch your every move for their own sick entertainment, casting votes to manipulate your trials, engineer lethal disasters, and deliberately screw you over just to see how violently you suffer or how messily you die, making every single floor a personalized, agonizing hell for you to climb.”

He said it all in a single breath, then cracked a bright smile.

”It’s not all doom and gloom, though,” he explained further, noticing everyone’s flat expressions. ”The more difficult they make it for you, the more rewards there are... and that is aside from the already crazy tower rewards. If you choose to compete and end up climbing decently high... at the bare minimum, when you return, your gains will put you several tens of years ahead of every other ascender on your planet. Hell, your gains might even make you modern humans end up being one of the few races across the multiverse to defeat your Ancient Variants. The possibilities of what you can gain are so mind-boggling, you can’t even begin to fathom it.”

”Ahh. That’s why you’re called a Handler... So you’re what? Like our manager for this... reality show?” Hassan Al-Malik asked.

”Ding Ding Ding! Exactly right!” Handler Roy pushed himself off the table and took off into the air again, whizzing about. ”I’m here to make you as marketable and interesting to the audience as possible. Which in turn will help you ’not die’ on the first few floors.”

”—Which in turn also helps you earn something really good, right?” Hassan snorted. ”What’s in it for you? Multiversal Tokens? Some sort of better Handler evaluation?”

”That’s for me to know and for you not to bother about,” Roy smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes this time. ”Your success benefits us both ways. What’s so bad about that?”

”How many floors does this tower have?” King Alexei asked, redirecting the conversation from the needlessly confrontational direction it was headed.

Handler Roy was eager to answer.

”Ten floors... But at this point, I guess you could just say nine? No one has climbed past that since...” he paused, frowning, ”...well, since long before even I can remember.”

”And how long is that?”

”That...” Roy frowned — deeply frowned — for the first time since he’d appeared. He went silent for several seconds, his feline face scrunched up tightly as he struggled to remember just how long he had actually lived.

”Haha! Who knows?” He chuckled dismissively after the uncomfortable silence, though it was very evident something had shifted in his demeanor. ”This old Klurrgan cannot even remember. Just know that it is an absurdly long amount of time. Be realistic and aim for five floors. Reaching that would be a very, very good result.”

”Huh? Five floors? You just said nine!” King Alexei grunted. ”Nine was already trying to define my limits for me, but now you want this King to aim for just five floors?”

”Ah?” Handler Roy stared blank-faced for a second, then suddenly, he burst into a loud, messy fit of laughter.

”Hahaha! You lot must really think so little of the tower if you’re talking like this!” He wiped a tear from the corner of his eyes.

”Five floors is already giving you guys a lot of credit, and that’s just because of the three Pathfinders you have on your team,” his gaze skimmed over Uhtred, Zara, and King Alexei. ”But nine floors...?! That might only be possible if your entire team is made up of Pathfinders... all ten of you! And not even just Unique Grade Pathfinders! There’d have to be a Legendary Grade among you... maybe even two!”

King Alexei frowned immediately.

”So you’re telling me it’s impossible for anyone in this trial to climb that high?”

”Oh, I never said that at all,” Handler Roy grinned, his eccentric air returning. He began to rise higher in the air with every word, his voice becoming louder and grander. ”In fact, there’s definitely going to be a team to reach Floor 9. There will be a handful of teams to reach Floor 8. Several more will reach Floor 7. And even more, Floor 6...”

”...But how many teams do you think will not?” he asked. ”A billion? Ten? A hundred...?”

He paused, then he roared, his voice reaching a vibrating peak filled with grandness.

”Boy! Do you understand how many races populate your entire universe?! You think you have talent?! You are yet to see talent that makes you despair!” he cackled. ”The Tower brings the very best of every integration world and pits them against one another. That is what the Tower is!”

His words seemed intended to make the ten champions present feel despair; however, he knew they wouldn’t be deterred by this. And he was right.

He grinned, seeing the fire of competition and anticipation light up behind each of their eyes.

Despite all of their vastly different personalities, this one thing united them all...

Defying the odds.

King Alexei laughed, punching his palm in anticipation. Hassan Al-Malik sneered, his eyes looking undettered. Uhtred smirked where he stood.

”...So, when do we begin?”