Formless Ascension: My Affinity Is Limitless

Without waiting for a response, she beat her large wings again, soaring higher into the air.

Uhtred let out a soft chuckle, watching her rise. ”Touché...”

He resumed his upward momentum, stepping across his compressed air platforms with more ease compared to before.

By now, millions of aliens among the vast population were doing the exact same thing, using flight spells, tech thrusters, or biological wings to flee the ground.

The rest of the human squad had successfully secured their own methods of ascent, either through specialized movement techniques or by forcefully hijacking flight-capable aliens.

Looking at Diya’s ascending form, Uhtred realized she was right. His initial impulse to help her had been a lapse in judgment.

A full year had passed since the System integrated Earth, and while Uhtred had spent much of that time in intense isolation and training, Diya had not been idle either. Her mastery over her biological attunement had evolved dramatically.

He focused on her, using his Inspect skill:

[Level 35]

Sheesh... She’s really leveled up.

Uhtred continued his ascent. As he climbed, his attention shifted from Diya to the true objective of the floor. He began to analyze the actual motive behind this trial.

The main Tower trials had not even begun yet. This was just a filter — A blunt, violent filter designed to separate ascenders with true mastery over their powers from those who merely had high talent grades and flashy abilities without the skill to use them creatively.

Every single alien brought here was theoretically the elite of their respective integrated worlds. Yet this test instantly forced them to adapt under extreme pressure.

They had only been given an objective without any clear way to achieve it. It was entirely up to them to figure out a path forward on their own.

Of course, for the lucky few who naturally possessed wings or flying abilities, this trial was way too easy. In fact, it was totally unfair to those who didn’t. But then again, the Tower had never promised to be fair.

It wasn’t stopping anyone from doing whatever it took. People were hitching free rides on others, stepping on heads, and using whatever advantage they could find. Anything went in this trial.

Far below, the thirty percent of ascenders who had suffered the double ten-second penalties were finally breaking free from their red spatial bindings. However, it was likely too late for them.

Panic filled their eyes as they looked up, watching hundreds of millions, and eventually billions, of ascenders already filling the sky ahead of them.

From the perspective of the audience watching, the entire floor of ascenders had separated into clear levels. At the very top were the natural flyers, followed closely by mobile powerhouses like Uhtred, his squad, and the millions of sharp-minded aliens who had acted within the first few seconds.

Though these higher-altitude climbers numbered in the tens of millions, the sheer, mind-boggling size of the floor meant they were relatively spread out.

The lower layer, by contrast, was a chaotic, suffocating nightmare.

Billions were packed together down there, making the air so dense with bodies that ascending was nearly impossible.

Pure carnage dominated the ground as creatures of all shapes and sizes fought over flying hosts or lashed out in blind panic.

Severed heads, limbs, and blood of every color rained down continuously as the lower atmosphere turned into a full-on meat grinder.

Hahaha!! Look at them falling like flies!

The host’s voice reverberated through the sky again, dripping with sadistic delight.

Just how many are actually going to survive this?! Sixty percent? Fifty percent? Or maybe far, far less?! Viewers, place your bets right now!!

He locked on to several individual battles that were particularly interesting compared to the rest, commentating on those with gusto, and creating an exciting spectacle for the audience.

Uhtred noticed that fact immediately. The host was only focusing on the wild fights.

With so much going on, he didn’t care about the climbers smoothly making their way higher into the sky. His focus was on the bloody clashes down below. This was a show, and the host couldn’t be bothered with anything boring.

Uhtred watched closely, trying to figure out what counted as ”good content.” Down below, millions were dying every second, yet even among them, the host only highlighted a select few to show the audience.

Even up here in the sky far above the chaos, things were still getting wild. A few murder-hobos who were already safe and guaranteed to keep climbing, went out of their way to look for trouble anyway.

One of them was currently locked in a heated battle with Hassan Al-Malik.

The Arabian ranker had managed to latch firmly onto the back of the same massive, four-legged cyborg alien he had been arguing with on the ground.

The creature’s mechanical exoskeleton was equipped with powerful thrusters built into its lower legs, allowing it to ascend rapidly. However, it was currently thrashing and spinning wildly mid-air, attempting to shake Hassan off.

Hassan clung to its armored neck like a maniac, firing short-range blasts into its joint plating as they spun through the sky, leaving a trail of black smoke behind them.

That was one of the many interesting fights happening up here, yet the camera bypassed it entirely.

Oh! Is he actually going to make it?!

The host’s voice suddenly boomed across the sky, highlighting a completely different clash far below.

Oh no, he doesn’t!

Wait, what do we have here—?!! It looks like his teammate is diving back down into the meat grinder to save him!!

He’s cutting through one! Another! Another, and—ah! He’s dead!

Uhtred’s eyes had locked onto the particular alien the host had been excitedly commentating about. He saw the whole thing happen.

Storyline...? Is that it? he thought. The fight in question has to have some sort of stakes? Something more than just two people fighting?

For a brief moment, Uhtred considered his theory. He looked toward the upper reaches of the sky, where several aggressive aliens were picking fights with other ascending climbers.

He could easily divert his path, step in, and play the role of an imposing powerhouse crushing troublemakers to draw the camera and build his marketability grade.