"I…I've killed them all," Cassius said, his voice verging on insanity. "My wife, my children, my subordinates, my citizens. Every. Single. Person in the world… They're all dead now—because of …"
In the mont his wife—Queen Yara—attempted to take his life, a switch flipped inside him. He returned to viewing the inhabitants of the Challenge Dinsions the way he always had—as NPCs, entities whose lives served no other purpose than to make him better.
But if that were truly the case, then why… Why did he feel so empty inside…?
"…Make forget," Cassius said to thin air, his bloodied arm lying over his face. Two streams of tears made their paths down his cheeks, yet the expression he wore could not be seen. "I wish to forget it all… Everything about this place, about what I experienced, about what… I did… Make forget; I know you're able to do it…"
For a few seconds, only ear-deafening silence accompanied him. However, with the sound of a digital bell, Cassius saw sothing he never thought he'd see again.
*Ding~!*
[Now, now, Dear Host, why on earth would I do sothing like that? Your last Evolutionary-Tier Challenge was designed to develop your character in a way that conventional System 101 character developnt thods could not do!]
[But seeing as letting you retain these scarring mories of yours could lead to so negative character developnt in the future, why don't we move on with what I originally intended~?]
[Tell , Dear Host, do you know what 'Will' is? I know the answer you'll give, and I'm not referring to what you consider it to be, so I'll skip all the blah blah for us both and tell you exactly what 'Will' is. I'll also inform you why this Challenge will contribute far more to you than any of the others combined!]
Cassius didn't respond; he let the Idle Evolution System do and say whatever it wanted. It wasn't like he had the capacity for caring, not anymore… not after what happened…
[Jeez~, you gloomy mopfest (˶˃⤙˂˶). Fine, I'll get on with it and explain what 'Will' is!]
Will—it had many interpretations. But in the pursuit of immortality, there was only one version of Will that reigned as the undisputed most important. The Will that had a mysterious, impossible-to-discern effect on everyone capable enough to progress one.
Will could do many things—such as improving the rate at which one adjusted to difficult techniques. However, the most notable aspect of Will had to be how the higher quality one's Will was, the greater their resistance to hardships would be. Simply put, it gave you an indomitable spirit.
The ranks for a person's Will were as follows:
1. Mortal Will
2. Iron Will
3. Diamond Will
4. Spirit Will
5. Earth Will
6. Heavenly Will
7. Ungodly Will
The highest-ranked Will the Ascension Tower had ever seen was rely of the Iron rank, and even that was considered legendary.
Coincidentally, one of the very few people with an Iron-rank Will was the Sword God himself—a feat he had achieved after his ascension to the highest floors of Humanity's Ascension Tower.
Wills manifested differently for various people. One could obtain a Will by so stroke of luck, or they could obtain one the old-fashioned way—a way the Idle Evolution System would term as 'character developnt.'
One could be born with a Mortal Will, like so sort of Son of Providence, or they could receive a Mortal Will by working their a*ses off their entire lives. In the end, it all boiled down to the cards one drew in life.
Cassius… He was not even born with the lowliest of Mortal-rank Wills, but he undoubtedly possessed a Will. One that he acquired through pure hard work, suffering, and the encouragent of the System.
But unlike the Wills most commonly seen in the Ascension Tower—ones that typically forever remained at the sa rank—Cassius's Will was different.
His could… evolve.
Similar to how he beca the only human on Humanity's 0th Floor with the ability to beco infinitely stronger, his Will inherited the sa traits. And although at first, his Will was barely even a Will, with ti and his most recent period in the Class Change Quest, his Will transford into sothing magically overpowering.
Yet here was another kicker—Cassius's Will was a latent one. This ant that it had not yet fully manifested.
*Ding~!*
[So, what do you think about the proposal? Do you wish to convert all your mories, experiences, and attachnt to this place into 'Will Improvent Liquid'?]
Cassius gazed up into the bluish-black sky with a dead look in his dimd eyes. Lingering in the back of his mind was the System's question, one he already had the answer to the very mont it first told him of Will and the true purpose behind this Challenge.
However, even if the answer was as clear as day for him, that didn't make it any easier for him to directly say it.
His mories of this place… He wanted to forget them… But at the sa ti, he didn't…
People were complicated, humans even more so. A mixture of humans and half a dozen other races was obviously the most complicated.
In the end, the most Cassius could do was give a half-hearted nod, his complexion bluer than the flas that engulfed the world.
[Good enough for !]
[Comncing Conversion Process…]
[In exactly 10 seconds, you will forget everything about this world. You'll forget who you t, who hated you, who… loved you. All of it will be gone forever.]
[As soone who considers itself to be your friend, are you sure this is what you want? You still have the opportunity to back out now.]
Silence.
[Bahaha! Yeah, you're right, I don't actually care about your feelings! So, let's hurry up and get this show on the road!]
[10, 9, 8, blah, blah, 3, 2, 1, GO!]
[See you 13 years earlier! And don't worry, I kept the information related to Will inside your cerebral cortex, so I don't have to bother myself with explaining it all to you again!]
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