Chapter 65: Chapter Sixty Five
"We’re standing together, but none of us are whole."
.———
"Are you okay?"
Jude’s voice was quiet as he approached Zeke.
"Of course not." Zeke’s response ca flat, chanical. "None of us are. Judging from the looks on your faces, we all faced sothing ntally draining." He paused, gaze sweeping over the group. "Right now, you need rest."
"What about you?"
Kai’s tone carried more concern than question.
"?" Zeke patted Kai’s shoulder with false levity. "I’m immortal. I don’t need rest."
His eyes were distant when he spoke again, louder now—addressing the air as much as anyone.
"Where are we?"
"On the second floor of the Tower." Anton’s answer was imdiate, practiced. "We should be getting our rewards for completing the first trial any mont now."
"I always forget you have insider knowledge." Zeke’s voice carried a thread of sothing almost like envy.
"You have questions to answer." Zeke’s tone shifted—pointed, deliberate.
"I have answers to give."
They locked eyes. The weight between them was palpable—secrets, unspoken understanding.
"But before anything," Anton continued, breaking the stare first, "we should register ourselves as a group."
"A group?" Aaron’s brow furrowed.
"A team, if the idea of a group eludes you." Anton’s reply ca dry, asured.
"This bastard—"
"This older bastard, boy."
"Can we get to the point?" Jude’s interjection sliced through their back-and-forth with surgical precision.
Anton’s posture straightened slightly. "The second floor is filler. Basic. Worse than the first floor, even—it’s a rest point after the whole rodeo. Useless for any of us." He gestured vaguely. "So using the loophole of teams—which I’ll explain later—we can get the Tower to rge our rewards together as a ticket to the third floor, forfeiting the second floor clear reward."
"Quick question." Michael raised one hand, expression unreadable.
"How does he know this, and it’s not a surprise to you?" He directed the question at the group.
"It’s a trade secret," Jude replied without hesitation.
"Oh."
Michael’s smile was razor-thin. "You expect
to be in a team with you and your ’trade secrets’ remain secrets?"
"If you’re curious, say it." Jude’s tone was blunt, almost bored. "This drama isn’t going to work. The only logical progression is working together and getting to the third floor."
"What he said." Zeke nodded, arms crossed.
"Mm-hm." The rest of the group murmured agreent, heads bobbing.
[ Your Team has been registered with the Tower. ]
[ The Tower accepts the proposal. Rewards have been rged to provide imdiate progression to the third floor, forfeiting the rewards of the second floor. ]
[ mbers of the team will receive individual trials and will have the option of rging rewards to obtain a proposed team reward, if accepted by the Tower. ]
[ When the collective trial completion rank of the team reaches A-Rank, the team will receive a reward from the Tower. ]
[ Welco to the third floor. ]
[ Status windows have been updated to now display titles, descriptions, and effects. Review via status windows. ]
[ You may begin your trials at any ti. ]
Silence settled like dust after an explosion.
"So," Zeke broke it first, voice too casual, "who’s the team leader?"
"You created the team while we were talking about it." Kai patted Zeke’s shoulder with mock solemnity. "You should bear the responsibility of leader as punishnt."
Heads bobbed in perfect, synchronized rhythm.
"Mm!"
"You all accepted the idea," Zeke groaned, shoulders sagging.
"I support the punishnt." Michael walked past him without breaking stride. "Why would you choose that as the na of the team?"
"It’s a good na—"
"That’s why you’re a good leader." Anton’s tone was infuriatingly cheerful as he followed Michael.
The trio patted his shoulder in succession, snickering as they passed.
"Where are you guys going?" Zeke called after them.
"To find an inn or sothing of the sort," one of them tossed back.
"And where would you find that?"
Anton stopped, turned, and deadpanned: "We are in a city, fool."
"Oh." Zeke scratched his cheek, expression sheepish.
---
The Third Floor of the Tower.
A floor in a set—first to tenth—each following a certain world archetype.
The first floor tests Tower aspirants’ minds and will. If found acceptable, they are sent to the second floor.
The second floor takes the common trope and gives aspirants-turned-climbers trials to kill a certain number of monsters depending on their rank. Once passed, the Tower grants them access to the third floor.
The third floor is where Tower climbers officially step into the world of the first ten trials, spawning in the center of the capital city of the Aureth Empire: Aurelia Pri.
From here on, the paths of every Tower climber diverge.
And their completion ranks grant different rewards.
---
"Family eting, people."
Zeke stood at the center of the living room—or rather, floated above it, arms spread theatrically.
After the group had decided to find an inn, they realized they lacked the currency of the Tower—or the place they’d found themselves.
Through quick thinking from Zeke (thanks to Zero), he’d suggested pawning off the "useless" things in his inventory.
Thanks to Anton, they’d found a place to do exactly that.
After which, Zeke unloaded thirty percent of his stash.
The bureaucratic procedures that ensued after the vast array of materials Zeke dropped off...
Well. It made Zeke regret bringing thirty percent of his stash.
Zeke and his friends left as millionaires—the second ti Zeke had made millions on his first day in a place.
After discussions, the group decided it would be better to buy a house than find an inn.
And after indulging the spending nature of the trio—Aaron, Jude, and Kai—the group ended up with new outfits.
Zeke wore an ornate, regal purple-and-gold military-style jacket over a white collared shirt with floral gold embroidery, accented by layered gold chains, epaulettes, and a decorative belt.
Aaron was dressed in an elegant white military-style coat featuring gold floral embroidery, a ruffled lace cravat pinned with a blue gemstone brooch, and gold-trimd epaulettes.
Jude wore a dark, patterned mantle with a black fur collar and silver-fringed epaulettes over a white military-style uniform featuring a red sash, decorative silver chains, and a dark tie pinned with a cross-shaped silver brooch.
Anton dressed in a structured black tunic with intricate gold floral embroidery along the lapels and cuffs, fastened at the high collar with a ruby-centered silver brooch.
Kai wore a dark, aristocratic ensemble featuring a deep green overcoat draped over a fitted black shirt and tailored trousers, richly adorned with layered gold chains, ornate brooches, and intricate accessories that give him a refined, regal, almost gothic elegance.
Michael was dressed in a formal black tailcoat with gold filigree detailing on the lapels and cuffs, worn over a double-breasted vest with decorative gold chains, a dark blue necktie, and matching black trousers.
---
"Family?" Michael’s voice was flat, unimpressed. "That’s quite a heavy word."
"The family spoken of does not include you, Michael." Anton’s jab ca quick, sharp.
"Heh. Very funny. And with whom do you share relation here?"
"He’s my brother," Jude answered, jerking a thumb toward Anton. "At least until I can get rid of him."
"Oh, I suspected." Michael’s smile was thin, mocking. "Your parents’ genes must be strong—you share the sa brain cells."
"Jokes on you. We only share a dad," Anton shot back.
"Then your dad must have had a type. Dumb and dumb."
Michael snickered as he took a seat.
"Burn." Zeke cooed from the air.
"What’s the eting for?" Anton interjected, voice cutting through the banter.
"Pipe down. I’m not the one who talked about your father’s type." Zeke held back a laugh, poorly.
Jude shot him a glare that could lt steel.
"Ahem." Zeke coughed.
After the group had taken seats, Zeke turned to Anton. The air in the room shifted—heavier, colder. Serious.
"We’ve all gone through a lot these past few days," Zeke began, voice stripped of its usual levity. "But unfortunately, this is not a therapy session. We will not be talking about our feelings. Instead, we will be talking about the Tower—the thing that put us through it."
He gestured toward Anton.
"Among us is soone who has the most experience and knowledge of the Tower—at least among the people we know and can et at the mont."
Zeke’s gaze swept the group.
"But that’s not why I’m here. And although I just said we won’t be talking about our trials on the first floor..." His smile turned brittle, teasing. "I will."
The group groaned collectively.
"I won’t be going into detail," Zeke continued, raising a hand to forestall complaints. "But right now, I’m like a shonen MC. I’m searching for the aning of life." He paused, grin widening. "Then I rembered—the literal child of destiny is my friend. And a regressor who just so happens to be his brother is my friend as well."
His tone dropped, quieter now, almost reverent.
"The action I seek could not be far from ."
"He’s a regressor?" Michael’s voice cut through, sharp with interest.
"Yeah. We’ll handle that later." Zeke waved dismissively.
"Why are you always telling everyone my ’secret’?" Anton’s voice was tight with frustration.
"He’s family."
"He’s a teammate at best."
"To help us, we need him."
"Tch."
"I need info." Michael’s smile widened, wolfish.
---
"Wow. I’m intrigued." Michael cooed after Anton finished summarizing his first life.
"Are you?" Anton’s tone was dry, skeptical.
"I thought we were not dwelling on that," Micheal muttered.
"Yeah. Like we weren’t telling anyone about my status as a regressor," Anton shot back.
"Can you guys shut up?" Jude’s voice cracked like a whip.
"It’s like they’re written by a guy with ADHD," Aaron said under his breath.
"Ooh, what’s got your pants in a twist?" Zeke addressed Jude with exaggerated concern.
"My trial was about my status as the ’son of destiny.’" Jude’s jaw tightened.
"Wow. We are breaking my rule." Zeke’s grin was lopsided.
"My trial was about my failure in my past life," Anton said, voice quieter now, weighted. "I was going to talk about it when we had the chance. We have to be prepared to change the events of my past life."
"And they’ve ignored ," Zeke muttered.
The group turned to him.
"..."
"Okay. Joke’s over." Zeke waved a hand, relenting. "Talk to us, Anton."
Anton exhaled slowly, stood, and moved to the center of the room.
Zeke floated to a chair, settling in to listen.
"I don’t even know where to start."
"Start from sowhere," Zeke howled from his seat.
"That’s what I plan to do, you fool."
Anton’s voice steadied.
"Anyway. Like you all know, in my past life I was a loser. The typical archetype. I lived as your regular Tower climber—quite lucky as well as unlucky. But I was able to live for about a thousand-odd years as an average climber, hearing tales of the great geniuses. From our world, from others, and from the Tower itself."
He paused.
"I’ll explain about that later."
"As I said, I was a normal person—well, in contrast to geniuses—until I took a giant risk. I joined a major secret realm exploration group. There, I should have t my end. But as I said, I was lucky." His expression darkened slightly. "There, I had altercations with Yeon. I had my ass handed to , of course. And also, she and I were the only survivors. We were saved by her."
"Who again?" Kai asked, leaning forward.
"The Vaughan. The one I suspect to be a relative of Zeke."
"Sothing led to sothing, and she told
of how I had providence—which she then attributed to being related to the son of destiny."
"Wow. It’s like those Chinese novels," Zeke said, eyes gleaming.
"According to her," Anton continued, "a genius or a chosen one radiates providence that their relatives get boosted providence—not exactly matching up to the genius, but you get the case."
"Then, for Yeon, she said she had boosted soone’s providence. Which I would translate to being you, Kai—which would be why you reached pseudo-S-Rank instead of being stuck at A-Rank."
"Hehe." Kai’s laugh was hollow, sarcastic.
"Which put Yeon in the chosen one category," Anton went on. "She offered to find out whose providence affected mine. She traced it to Jude."
"At that ti, Jude was known as the Forerunner. The genius of geniuses."
"I was quite surprised at first, but I simply ca back to my reality. Because we were related—and that, by the words of a mysterious woman—would not make us family."
"So I kept the information to myself. I simply continued my life, though I did understand where my lucky streaks ca from."
"So sad." Michael wiped a fake tear from his eye.
"That’s obviously so fake. You’re not even trying to hide it," Zeke said, exasperated.
"h." Michael shrugged.
"After five hundred-odd years, I had the fortune of eting Jude in an expedition he and so other geniuses from our world led. There, I t Yeon as well. She was not one of the commanders, but a grunt like . She’d infiltrated the expedition and taken a low-key role."
Anton’s voice grew quieter, grimr.
"The expedition did not go well. We were attacked by an organization—one I would co to know of later."
"Wow. Suspense. Interesting." Zeke cooed.
"Mm." The group nodded.
"Yeon saved
and indirectly exposed herself. She caught the attention of everyone, including Jude. Naturally, Jude approached his big sister. The eting was awkward. Yeon was not as jovial as she is now—the disaster that struck her family, Jude also experienced. But he’s the child of prophecy, so, you know."
"Anyway, to escape the conversation, Yeon had to expose the nature of our relationship to Jude. And she left us in an even more awkward situation than she had left."
"Typical Yeon." Kai laughed, shaking his head.
"Mm." The group nodded.
"Why are you nodding? You barely even know Yeon," Zeke said to Michael, deadpan.
"What?" Michael shrugged, grinning. "It’s a ritual at this point. I had to join in."
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