One issue the system has shown in the early days; according to the first 5 adventurers at least, was how it constantly changed the balance of the world. Before the System, there were supposedly checks and balances in how people wielded mana.

  How much mana the average person could wield, had a limit. This, the System removed. The previous pinnacle of magic, a White Mana Core, was reachable at only Level 250 if you placed only a quarter of the stats you were given were planted into the Magic stat.

  As such, monsters like Dragons were considered unbeatable, with even the children having such a level of magic… Leaves the System raising their level as well. It’s a constant battle now, a constant strife.

  -Strife, To Keep Fighting By Frienu Linesu, the Headmaster of the Adventuring Academy.

  74 - Rebalance

  [Solution: Raise Level for oncoming floors.]

  That was all the king needed to read to understand what was happening. Sparks of blue electricity coursed around himself and all the soldiers who were training. It was actually quite painful, but he saw a wonderful message with it.

  [Level -> 3500]

  He knew that was only his level on floor 74, but that was where he was going to fight the Tower Heroes. At least that’s what the system liked calling them. They were no heroes. They were here to become gods, the King knew that much.

  They were greedy, just like he was. And he would claim his godhood with this surge of pain. With this surge of pain, he could give everyone what they needed. What they deserved. The surge of energy quit, but the pain remained.

  Coughs and groans arose from his people. The King didn’t fully understand, but he walked over to where the supporting cast were training. He approached them, and gave them a simple command. “Heal.”

  “Act as though we are in combat at all times.” The King felt his words fill with an unnatural power, one he never had before now. His men immediately straightened up, their inattentiveness fixed through some minor words.

  His men healed those injured as though lives other than their own depended on it. The King felt himself calling upon the magic behind the System. At such a high level, it was noticeable how the System seemed just a tad bit more faint after using a spell.

  The King looked at his men rise back up, to continue training. No breaks. Just as he ordered. He let out a chuckle as he turned to train himself. It was necessary. Those five would likely be the hardest fight he dealt with in ages…

  ******

  The System finally finished doing whatever it was plotting when Bariton looked up. The stone wall was splitting apart to the next floor, with the sky clearly visible. It had no clouds, and that was likely because of the ground itself being them.

  Bariton stood up, allowing the few hour rest to truly prove good enough. “Being a high level was nice sometimes,” Bariton allowed himself to muse as he pulled Shammus up. The next few floors were likely going to be actually hell in the combat portion.

  “Aye, and it seems our enemies are about to get the same feeling,” Judine walks past Bariton and Shammus without batting an eye, Bariton not quite ready to let go of his lover’s hand just yet as the two join her.

  Clara and Pallad are the final ones out of the stone labyrinth of Floor 53, and the System is also more notable of the floor they were on. It doesn’t seem it want’s them to forget the floor number either as they got closer and closer.

  [Floor 54; The Sky Kingdom]

  Bariton also notes that they are now being given names too. “Remember when Sornid used to name them?” Clara’s quiet voice carrying the loud message to Bariton’s heart. The ringing in his ears compounded by the solemn nod.

  A weight formed in his stomach as he remembered the mage. This floor was likely to be much easier too; the most obvious point of interest in the world just across the sky to them. There held a massive tower similar to a wizard’s, and all the clouds collected towards it.

  Bariton began walking first, allowing his Cloudtrotter’s Boots to create little platforms whenever he switched. He was certain his friends were struggling a bit more. As such, he didn’t just help Shammus across some of the more dangerous gaps.

  One gap Bariton himself stopped for just a split second. Before Bariton could offer a way across for his friends, Clara raised up her book and cast a spell unknown to Bariton beforehand. “Wait, my friends, I have a solution.”

  A bridge of light formed, with railing similar to the small stone passageways of the forest designed over a hundred years ago and maintained by the masons of the nearby village. It was beautiful, but it was clearly not designed to last.

  Bariton’s eye told him otherwise, the skill whispering the true value of the path; with it having a short term value of 50 gold, and even less for long term. Renovations were impossible, and Bariton walked across, it feeling like glass.

  “Thanks!” Bariton told Clara as the rest of the party crossed over. It was a genuine act of gratefulness, but Clara simply nodded, not even muttering a response. The tower was ever closer, the party moving towards it.

  “Isn’t this the third tower we’ve gone into inside the tower?” Judine asked, allowing the irony of the situation to not hide behind the thin veil. The rest of the party agreed with Judine’s count, and Bariton couldn’t help but wonder.

  This one felt slightly different, the music behind it… “It’s a different vibe than the first two, especially the one on Floor 40.” Bariton pointed at the design of the wizard tower. It also sounded more mystical, going against the usual nature of the tower’s background bass.

  There was also a secondary tune, that Bariton couldn’t clear from his mind no matter which direction he looked. The usual guitar of the environment was expected, it felt more like a beach than a cloud island… But then there was a faint piano that Bariton couldn’t shake.

  Shammus stepped forward, drawing his blade, pointing it slightly to the left of the tower. “There’s a spot of void there.” Bariton followed his partner’s blade, allowing his eyes to readjust. But he was the first to hear the piano take over the guitar.

  “Get down!” Bariton’s voice shouted out to his party as he launched out a throwing knife, the original legendary weapon he was gifted still impossible to defeat. While not eyeglasses, the System couldn’t give him hints to the tower, but those mattered too little for the bard.

  Bariton threw two at once, a thin string connecting the two. There was a small gap in reality itself, where light bent unnaturally. There was a small chromatic sheen right in between the two blades, the true goal being obvious.

  When the string snapped, Bariton knew this person was a genuine threat, Bariton barely avoiding a slash from a scythe by following his own advice. Pallad stood back up and slashed outward, clashing with the Scythe user.

  Shammus joined Pallad on the front lines, with the small gap of reality. His blade cut forward, but it connected with a dagger, whatever cloak they were wearing deactivating it’s effect.

  The two foes both wore white hair, and the System seemed open to say who exactly they were fighting. Pallad’s blade seemed to be shaking against the scythe user, and they let loose a laugh.

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  [Kithter; Scythe of the Sun -- Level 2000]

  [Pirene; Dagger of the Moon -- Level 2000]

  The duo both donned a pair of angelic wings, and their energy was divine, similar to all five of the demigods. The one wielding the dagger had her name applied clearly, her silver-white hair matching her title as dagger of the moon.

  The one wielding the Scythe had markings that only matched the fables of Longinus of glowing gold the eyes and markings along the arms. The torn sleeves of Kithter showing the marks that seemed to show the seasons about.

  It would appear the two had godly forms, matching their titles as well. Bariton descended immediately, noting the threat these two clearly possessed for the entire party. His wings sprouted out, but the music went unchanging.

  Shammus’s own blade wasn’t completely stable, and Pirene let out a simple laugh. There was a bright shine behind Kithter that seemed to cover Pirene in a shadow that she shone brighter in.

  “Let’s make this a funeral for the poor heroes!” Pirene looked to phase clean through Shammus, and stabbed into Bariton’s arms that were raised by pure instinct. Shammus himself turned in surprise when Pirene did such a thing.

  Bariton’s attention locked in on Pirene, with Pallad left fighting on his own. Shammus was similarly drawn into the fight, as Bariton struggled to reach for his weapon gifted from the system in the ball room.

  Pirene’s dagger seemed to cut through what made Bariton himself, as his wings flinched back with her motion through his arms. Shammus thankfully stepped in, and cut at Pirene’s own body, causing her to phase into the shadow.

  She stepped back out, with Bariton finally able to draw upon the blade of Sanity. The thin white veil that shimmered across the blade while Shammus stood tall with the fractal-like edges of all three weapons all shimmering a different color.

  Bariton slashed out first, swapping to a basic spear relying on his power stat to attempt a large chunk of health if he could. The spear was cut clean off, Pirene was focused on the bard still though.

  [Health: 88.33%]

  The system told the Bard how much of his ‘healthpool’ he had left while he ignored the pain as Shammus cast a skill that let a flare of red to fire through the air that Pirene occupied. Bariton took the opportunity to throw a kick, slashing at the now slightly stunned opponent.

  What Bariton cut through wasn’t flesh, but rather a veil pulled forth by Pirene. “Sorry, you’re not the only one capable of random ass bullshit!” It was the shadow made solid by herself, but Shammus finally descended himself.

  Bariton poured his music into Shammus as the Demigod of the Void called upon the power Shadowing Voices once held total dominion over, and the strong shadow that once was Pirene’s active show, was now Shammus’s strength.

  And although it’s still a detriment to Bariton, the darker dark was something he’d have to get used to anyways. He swapped to a not too strong sword just to apply pressure on Pirene. She looked more stressed, her eyes swapping between Bariton and Shammus quickly.

  Pirene looked stressed as Shammus appeared from the void out of nowhere, landing a cut at her back whenever Bariton attempted attacks towards the front. Bariton left the proper dagger in his left hand, cutting out when an opening offered itself.

  Bariton and Shammus were using the void that both she cast, and the power of the bright light only caused something darker than dark to form in Pallad’s, Clara’s, and Judine’s shadows.

  Bariton was attacking the side now, and Shammus the other. Pirene looked somewhat overwhelmed at the dual attack, before she began to laugh at Bariton. She noticed Bariton’s more laser-focus on herself, Bariton felt a stinging pain in his back.

  Pirene faded into the shadow in the lapse of the attack; the many strikes and punches having only a momentary gap. Bariton lost access to his lower body at the same moment, and he collapsed into Shammus’s void.

  He was grateful it wasn’t an opponents, but he still forced his upper body up. A shining scythe cut through the darkness, and Pirene was now the one battling against the other trio. “Oh, we attacked the wrong group first!”

  Pirene was making a good effort at tearing through Pallad’s defense, and Bariton couldn’t stay focused on that battle. Clara turned around, and saw Bariton. A quick lapse in judgement let Bariton stand once more, but the evermoving shield was shattered quickly by whatever the hell Pirene was using.

  Kithter laughed as he slashed outward with his scythe, revealing the wonderful sky from Shammus’s darkness. It was Kithter’s shadow blocking the sun summoned from reaching his ally now, and he was standing between the two and Pallad’s struggle.

  The Sun kept Shammus’s void in check, and the Scythe seemed to sap at the light around it growing brighter by the second. Bariton didn’t rush in immediately, instead relying on one of Sornid’s old arrows.

  His old friend’s arrow nocked easily into the common bow, and the bow itself couldn’t handle Bariton’s strength. The bow string snapped as the arrow let loose, carrying a small bout of darkness towards the sun that seemed just a bit too close.

  Bariton noted Kithtir’s eyes following it, and cut into Kithtir’s arm. As he saw it draw blood, he laughed. “Go forth Shammus, get Judine to switch to buffing me while you help Pallad take her out!”

  Kithtir’s eyes snapped to Bariton, but the knife did much more than just draw blood. It felt like it cut through something designed out of tens of thousands of tendrils, and whatever he cut clearly confused Kithtir just a bit.

  He was also a bit more sloppy with his scythe, with Bariton now actually able to evade the strikes that left scorch marks on the air they passed through. It raised the ambient temperature, and Bariton knew if he was still in the dress Shammus picked for him, he would’ve been lit ablaze.

  He tossed his hat over towards the battle that he had no right to pay attention to, the scythework may’ve been sloppy but it was still only barely dodgable. The hair on his arms were singed with every swing, and he was close to getting a free cauterized wound with every time Kithtir swiped wildly.

  Bariton couldn’t even get close, with the sheer speed Kithter was capable of outpacing Bariton by minimum a step every time. And the strikes were getting closer and closer despite the issues his blade caused in Kithter’s mind.

  Clearly, the scythe wielder was relearning how to use the scythe that Bariton carved out of the man. And now, a cleave that passed through Bariton’s arm landed, and the bard bit down as hard as he could.

  The wound burned a special way that went beyond being even branded. He felt his skin regress from the injury, and curl in on itself. The bard didn’t let his other arm rush forth to grip the injury, mainly because he knew that scythe already removed his arm.

  With his balance now off kilter, Kithter kept up the attack, Bariton barely evading the strikes once more, singing the hair on his head as it singed the air passed through ever so slightly.

  The damage was definitely done, the pain of where Bariton last had his left arm still feeling fresh with the blade of the scythe getting closer once more. Bariton closed his eyes as he felt something wash over him like cold water.

  His eyes snapped back open with the feeling of pain receding, and he leapt out of the range of the scythe. “Took ya long enough Judine!” Bariton landed alongside her, now gripping the missing arm.

  “Not in your own best shape, apologies for arriving so late.” Judine let loose a weak apology, but Kithter seemed done playing games with Bariton. He rushed forward to try and clash with Judine, but Bariton was quick to deflect the scythe’s blade with his knife.

  “No problem!” Bariton called out without much risk. Yeah, my arm’s gone for sure… “But I could use some of those buffs you were giving out!” Bariton rushed forward, allowing the clash to continue on. The difficulty of increased by the lessened balance the bard was afforded by the lack of an arm.

  Never really thought about my whole body like this before… Bariton let his mind wander, but Judine was right there with him to block the strike. “Letting your mind wander, hm?” Judine’s response was short, it was a quip and a half, but Bariton allowed it to affect him in a positive light.

  Judine’s paint brush shook against the scythe, and Bariton used the opening to cut into Kithter’s mind with his dagger, the psychomantic blade digging into both flesh and something deeper. Not quite the soul, but it was certainly something beyond reach of normalcy.

  Kithter bit back his tongue as he dropped his scythe for a moment, gripping the wound Bariton left. The Bard jumped back, sticking his tongue out towards the Raid Boss level threat. “Shammus joined the fight well?” Bariton spun the knife in his hand, careful not to cut himself.

  “Indeed, the fights definitely back in Pallad’s and Clara’s favor with us switching sides.” Judine was quick to report when Bariton asked. It was a risky play, with Kithter’s scream definitely being the primary part.

  The heat sweltered to a new high, the sun taking more mana from Kithter. It was unbearably hot, and it only made the burn feel worse. Judine cast a quick buff for heat damage resistance seeing Bariton’s scowl.

  The scream was soon completely bleated out by the simmering of the cloud they stood atop of, Bariton quick to move out his still there arm to prevent Judine from approaching the terrible star drawn into reality by Kithter.

  Bariton looked over at the battle, and that’s when he noticed the shadow there slowly expanding to capture a slightly injured Kithter. The smile the scythe wielder adopted as the scream stopped went bone deep, and Bariton glowered.

  “Come back here you--” Bariton’s attempts to rush forward were interrupted by Judine’s arm, and a collapse in pain. The adrenaline he wasn’t even aware of running out as the pain practically quintupled.

  Bariton doubled over just as quickly, now gripping what was once his arm. The heat felt like it caused the burns along the numb to blister over and over but nothing happened. Judine cast a shield as Kithter vanished into the shadow, letting loose an ugly, cruel laugh similar to a hyena.