Much like before, as I walk through the portal, a wave of warmth passes over me, only for it to be replaced with a humid air.

Looking around, it seems as if I'm in a forest or a swamp, as all around me is trees and foliage.

Ding!

I hear the noise from the panel at the same time that I see it appear suddenly in front of me, and I start to read what is on it.

Eliminate your opponent.
[0/1]

Opponent? It isn't telling me to kill one of the people that was just in that space is it? Or is it telling me to find something in this forest and kill it?

As I stand there thinking, my attention is drawn to a strange noise in a bush to my left.

It was almost like a gurgle, but much scratchier. It pierced my ears in a way that made me wish I could cover them.

I slowly back away from the bush and put my sword up between us. I slow down my breathing and attempt to keep calm as the tension threatens to overwhelm me.

A few seconds pass when I start to see the bush shake slightly, before a small, green thing jumps out of it, holding a stick.

Its head was quite big when compared to its body, and its legs and arms were surprisingly thin, as if it had been starved for days.

It look around before locking eyes with me, and it let out a snarl that startled me a little.

Its eyes and teeth were a disgusting yellow and it moved as if it was a rabid animal. It shook the stick it was holding like it was a hammer or a sword, before pointing it at me.

I stood my ground even as it did that, to which it responded with a quick dash towards me.

Barely reacting in time, I stumble to my right as it brushes past me, seemingly annoyed that it missed.

Once again, it points the stick at me and starts to dash, but this time I knew what it was doing.

As it started to dash, I swung my sword downwards, catching it on its head and cutting deep into it, before stopping halfway through.

The stick still catches me in the stomach, though with much less force than was intended, so I barely felt it.

The thing's body falls limp, only staying upright because of my sword still being stuck in its head.

I quickly look away from the grotesque scene in front of me as I try to pry the sword out, to which I manage after a few pulls.

Ding!

Eliminate your opponent.
[1/1]

The panel appeared quickly, but was just as quickly replaced by another.

You have completed the quest.

You have been rewarded with:
[Status]
[Coldhead]
[50 coins]

What? A quest? Is that what that was? And what are these rewards?

I attempt to select the [Status] rewards, and when I do, another panel overlaps the one currently open, but doesn't close it.

[Status]
Shares information about the user on a display.
Activated though keyword "Status".

What is this? This whole thing is starting to sound like a game of sorts.

[Coldhead]
No matter the situation you are in, your rationality and calmness will never escape you.

Now it really is like a game. I really just got a skill from a quest, but I am curious as to how it's going to manage my emotions. It's a little eerie knowing it has control over me like that, but I suppose I've already left myself in the hands of the Tower.

I have one more thing to check now.

"Status..."

The moment the word leaves my mouth, another panel shows up, full with information about me.

[Name: Itsuki Affen]

[Sex: M]

[Age: 17]

[Level: 1]

[STR: 12 DEX: 11 VIT: 10 MAG: 0]

[Stat Points: 0]

[Coins: 50]

[Class: None]

[Ability: None]

[Skills: Coldhead]

Hah! It actually showed up! Half of me didn't actually believe that it was going to work, but there it is! But wow, they really went all out on this game thing. Levels, stats, classes, quests, skills. It's the whole set.

Ding!

Another panel showed up just after I finished looking at my status, and I quickly read it so as to not waste time.

Eliminate your opponents.
[0/2]

It's two this time? Is it going to continually throw more and more enemies at me? If so, how am I supposed to get out?

Well, I don't think I'm in a good position to worry about that right now. Fighting two opponents is significantly more difficult than fighting one, even if they are only wielding sticks.

Luckily for me, they don't seem to possess much intelligence whatsoever, so they attacked whenever they felt like it, not coordinating their movements at all, so it was simple to get one while the other was recovering from its attack.

And sure enough, I heard the Ding! after killing both of them.

Eliminate your opponents.
[2/2]

You have completed the quest.

You have been rewarded with:
[50 coins]

Well, I suppose you wouldn't be given a skill for each of these quests you complete, but it's still a little disheartening to see it like that.

And, after spending a few minutes sitting down, another panel appears with a quest much similar to the last two, except I had to kill three of those things now.

This continued on until I beat the fifth quest to kill five of them. Nothing on my status had changed up until this point aside from my coins, which was sitting at 250.

I was expecting the next quest to be six of those green things, but instead, the number returned to one.

Replacing the group of enemies was a single, slightly larger green creature. It held the same facial structure, and it's eyes and teeth were still a stained yellow, but it wore more traditional clothing rather than simple cloth.

Its head was adorned with a necklace of sorts, made from what looked to be several teeth of varying animals.

In its hand, it held what was closer to a staff than a stick and it wielded it quite dexterously when comparing it to the skills of those that came before it.

It was clear from the moment I set my eyes upon it that it wasn't going to be as easy of a fight as the others were.

Once again, I held the sword between us, wary of its movements.

In response, it planted its staff into the dirt below and watched me. It seemed to hold at least a little bit more intelligence than its predecessors.

We both stared at each other for around a minute before I began to get impatient and started stepping towards it slowly.

The moment I was in range of its staff, it swung it towards my left side. I couldn't react in time and the staff slammed into my left arm that was still in its sling.

I tensed up, waiting for a large wave of pain to cross over me, but instead, I only felt the impact of the staff and nothing more.

The lack of pain confused me for enough time that the creature took another swing at me, but I barely managed to block it as it aimed for me left side again.

Right after blocking, I dash forwards and lunge with my sword, piercing its chest, before pulling it out and slashing its neck.

Blood stains the bushes around us, and some splattered onto the clothes I was wearing.

But I pay no attention to that and instead focus on my arm that now has a surprising lack of pain.

It's only been around three weeks since I broke it, so it shouldn't have healed, and I should have been in much more pain when the staff hit, so why wasn't I...?

Curious, I slowly begin to move my arm in its sling, and after sometime, I begin to move it faster and faster until I was practically swinging it.

And I felt no pain. As if the break never happened. What seemed to be relief washed over me as I started dismantling the sling and freeing my arm.

My attention was quickly taken away, however, by the panel that appeared from me completing the quest.

Eliminate your opponent.
[1/1]

You have completed the quest.

You have been rewarded with:
[150 coins]

What? Just from killing that one thing I get coins equal to killing three of the others? I should try and kill as many as possible then--

"Test complete. The Tower has seen the depths of your potential. Congratulations to those who have stayed in the confines of the test."

Like always, the voice comes from nowhere and as it speaks, another portal appears in the centre of the area I was fighting in.

It's a shame I can't kill a few more of those creatures to get more coins but, I walk through quickly, returning to the infinitely white space. Everyone that was here before also seemed to be here, though there are quite a few of us.

Quite few of them seemed to have blood over their clothes, much like I do, though it seems that unlike me, some of the blood on theirs seems to be their own.

Many of the ones who used a spear didn't seem to have much blood on them, likely owing to the fact that they had a longer reach than those of us with swords.

As I look around, there also seemed to be a few people that were trembling, no stain of blood on them nor their weapon at all. They all seemed to be stricken with fear, and I could take a guess as to what happened to them.

They likely couldn't kill those things in the test and when they were supposed to die, they were probably sent back here. Of course, I could be wrong and you might have actually been able to die in the test, but I think it's reasonable to assume otherwise.

Finally, after waiting for several minutes, Administrator returns.

"Congratulations on making it through the test. 99828 participants, 72758 of which scored low, and 42 of which scored high."

Its tone didn't change, but I could feel a hint of disappointment when it spoke about those that scored badly.

"Soon, the Tower shall reward you for your efforts in the test equal to your potential. Some rewards will be more... Satisfactory than the others, but they can all achieve the same goal."

As it speaks, I hear the resounding noise of the panel appearing in front of everyone.

You have been awarded the class of:
[A Swordsman]

Eh? What? I thought I did well on the test? Why did I get a simple class like this? A swordsman is the most basic class you can get?

Ah... Well, I don't think arguing is going to get anywhere, especially with an entity like Administrator.

"For the 42 participants who scored highly, you shall be awarded with a bonus. Please be aware that these are tailored to you. Everyone will get these in due time, but no two shall be the same."

Congratulations, you have impressed the Tower with the depth of your potential! You have been awarded:
[One with the Sword]
[1 Authority]

I got awarded something? So even though I got a subpar class, I was one of the best performers? Something seems wrong, but I'm not going to complain about extra rewards! Plus, I gained, what looks like, an authority point.

Since Administrator seemed to describe them in a grand way, I think it's safe to say that these will be hard to come by, so I'm welcoming it with open arms.

But anyway, what's with this [One with the Sword] skill?

[One with the Sword]
Your talent with the Sword can carry you far, training and honing that talent can take you further, while using that talent to fight can take you to the peak of the sword.

Your understanding of the sword is much greater than the average swordsman. Your growth with the sword grows exponentially with your ■■■■■■■■■ stat.

Thankfully, I think this right here might be able to save me from being an average swordsman. But what is up with those boxes? What stat makes my sword understanding grow?

"Hey! What's up with these boxes on this screen here?"

One of the 42 successful participants shouted up to Administrator about the very same thing I was wondering, so it seems to have popped up for everyone.

"I see... That is a question that I am not required to answer. You shall find the answer as you journey through the Tower."

Another different response. This time it's about our journey in the Tower. Does that mean the Tower won't give us an explicit answer to that question, or does it mean that we'll naturally figure it out as we progress?

"... Y'know what? I've had enough with your damn cryptic ass answers! Give us some normal fucking answers for once! What the hell are we going to do after this? And y'know what? Where the fuck are we?!"

Irritated now, the blonde haired man from before started shouting at Administrator, projecting most of our thoughts out of his mouth. Following this, others begin to shout up, voicing their own concerns.

"Then, I shall explain what will happen in the coming moments."

This single sentence from Administrator sent everyone silent.

"Soon, a portal shall appear in front of all of you. When you step through this portal, you will find yourself in the first floor of the Tower. Each floor of the Tower is a world inhabited by beings sometimes not present in your world."

It pauses for a moment, as if anticipating questions, before continuing on.

"Your goal, as those chosen by the Tower, is to climb each floor, until you clear the final one."

"Um, so... How many floors are there?"

"There are 150 floors in the Tower. There is no set time to clear each floor, but I would advise you make it to floor 5 as soon as possible. It may help your world."

"So, how do we clear these floors?"

"There is, what we call, a Guardian on each of the floors. Find and defeat this Guardian to ascend to the next floor. You are free to travel to any floor you have previously cleared, and you are also free to return to your world if you so wish."

Murmurs began to increase as it spoke, especially after its final proclamation.

"Do remember, however, that you are tied to the Tower, thus you cannot leave for too long."

"If we do?"

"It is not a matter of if. You cannot leave the Tower for too long. You will understand why if you do not hold any intent to enter the Tower when you leave once."

The murmurs began to grow louder as what seemed like a threat came from Administrator, but they were quickly hushed when it began speaking again.

"Your time is up in this space. As I said, when I leave, a portal shall appear. Good luck, Explorers, I shall wish the best upon you and your fate. Now go, climb the Tower."

When the voice disappeared, another large portal appeared, much like the one from the start of this entire experience where people decided to leave.

Not many people moved when the portal appeared at first, but soon enough, people began to rise and walk into the portal, as did I.

When I reached the otherside, I was met with a breeze, and a sight of green.

---*---

From above, much higher than is conceivable to normal humans, two figures were watching down onto the events occurring in the white space.

There wasn't much to see in the place they were, other than small lights dotted around, almost imitating the night sky.

"Ooh, that looks like a promising bunch!"

The first one to speak was a girl who barely looked 12, fashioned with gothic-esque clothing, but colored in stripes of red and black. Her eyes shone two different shades, one of a brilliant sapphire, while the other jet black. Her hair matched the latter of her eyes.

"Well, so did the last and, well, they were disappointed to say the least."

The other figure was much taller than the other, seemingly in his 20s, and he wore a black suit, with a bright purple tie. His hair was also black, but strangely shone, as if it had a light hidden inside, while his eyes were a deep red.

They spoke casually, obviously having known each other for a long time.

"Well, the last ones didn't have anyone like that one, or that one..."

She pointed down at a few of the Explorers in the white space, before landing on a lone figure.

"Or anyone like him..."

It was hard to see any distinct features on the one she was focused on, aside from the black hair.

"Him? What's so special about him? He just looks like another one of those that you keep your eye on for no reason."

"No no. Look at him, properly look at him! His class, that's a Legend."

"... Hoh, you're right... And it's that one of them all..."

"Exactly! And since it's that one, couldn't it also be a Myth?"

"Don't be ridiculous. A Myth? There hasn't been one in history, why would one appear now?"

A third figure appears behind both of them, cutting into their conversation.

He was another man who looked to be in his mid 30s, wearing an oversized trench coat, with blinding white hair and mesmerizing golden eyes.

"Look look, I'm not kidding!"

"I see it, but it's just a Legend, even if it is that one, the chance of it evolving into a Myth... Well, it's less than the chance of you winning a bet against me."

"Hey! You cheated on the last one and you know it!"

"Cheated? Me? No, how could I. You just didn't read the terms of the bet."

"Grrr... Then! Make a bet with me right now!"

"Alright, what are the terms?"

"I'll bet that the Legend class will evolve into the Myth class!"

"... Hahaha! This is why you don't win! Because you make the dumbest bets!"

"Are you in or not?!"

"Of course I'm in. But what are we betting?"

"What do you think? We're betting Authority of course."

"Then I wager 5000."

"I'll double you! 10000 Authority points!"

"... You really are an idiot."

"Hey!"