We all approached the town center while I checked my stats and equipment.

  Subject: Zach Walker

  Race: Human (Earth)

  Class: Available for Unlocking.

  Merged Class: [Stormripper]

  General Rank: F1

  Constitution: E5

  Magic: F0

  Mana: F0

  Speed: F0

  Strength: F0

  After the fight to reach the city stone, plus Max and all the bosses and monsters we’d fought over the last three days, my stats had been bumped quite high. I wasn’t F0 or E9 yet, but I felt very close to it.

  The new armor alone had pushed my Constitution to mid E’s, while the rest was on the verge of reaching E rank.

  That made me believe I wouldn’t get an F0 general rank, but instead jump straight to E9. It needed to be that, since my calculations were clear.

  Every time I got five points in any direction, I’d be bumped up a general rank—and there was no way I’d hit E5 in Constitution and E9 in other stats without reaching E9 general rank. I could feel I was on the verge of it, and maybe I’d actually get there before entering the tower.

  Still, there was something about the message that didn’t sit right with me.

  “Enter to have a chance to climb the tower and earn the first major challenge of the Ascension Games.”

  A chance to climb it—so not everyone who wanted to would.

  “Prepare to fight as soon as we cross the portal,” I told my friends, who walked very close to me.

  They all nodded as we summoned our weapons and armor.

  “Damn, this armor looks pretty neat, Zach,” John, the freckled teenager, said from my side. He was walking nearby, not two strides away from Mary and beside Adriano. The other remnants of Max’s party had scattered around, sticking closer to one group or another, but Adriano seemed to need someone to guide him, while John stayed near the older man—maybe seeking his approval.

  “Thanks, yours looks pretty good too,” I said as I stared at his armor. He was wearing a very particular set—it looked like a robe with plates here and there. It had silky blue fabric but radiated power. He looked like a lost warrior from an old Arabic empire, except he had the face of a teen, not that of a seasoned killer.

  “It looks like the one Margaret had,” Adriano chimed in, eyeing the silky robes.

  “Yeah, we won them together.” John smiled wide, and Adriano nodded, though he didn’t return the smile.

  “I see,” he said, his face going cold for a second before shifting again. “Very nice!” he added, changing his tone completely.

  You smelled something off, Adriano? I asked myself, but there was no time to dwell on it. Adriano’s smile widened, and he grabbed the kid by the neck amicably, asking if he was ready to fight.

  “Yeah. This time, I hope no one dies.” The boy looked down, and Adriano gave him a light shove.

  “Nah, don’t be like that. It wasn’t your fault.” Adriano shook him gently until the boy looked up. “Let’s go? I’ll be on your back the whole time.”

  “That’s nice.” John smiled, and I watched as the other city members appeared.

  Mila came with two Myriads. These had dark tattoos on their faces and looked very solemn. The water mage walked a few feet behind.

  We nodded at each other and shared a few smiles, but I couldn’t stop noticing how the Myriads stared at Tress. I wasn’t sure if it was admiration, fear, or worry. She didn’t seem to care, though. She stood in her light armor and never looked in their direction.

  She only turned her head when the elder from her village came to us and kneeled in front of her, his son at his side.

  “Rethink this, Tress. Please,” the older man said after kneeling for two seconds, which clearly bothered Tress.

  “Did you forget I’m fulfilling the sacred bond? I’m doing the Faceless’s will and desire by crossing the threshold. You may feel free to come along,” she replied somewhat coldly, and I raised my eyebrows, impressed.

  “We’ll be at the front, making sure to keep you two safe.” The elder stood and looked at me and Tress, ignoring Elk and Mary at our side. “When we finish the tower, the bond will be complete, and then Tress will be able to return to her sacred duties.”

  Tress swallowed hard but didn’t reply. She had no intention of going back to being just an oracle under the elder’s rule, but it was best if he remained ignorant of that.

  With all groups lining up behind me and mine, we finally prepared to enter the tower.

  I was the first to be enveloped by the blue portal’s magic. My body was sucked into it and then spat out on the other side.

  We were back in the forest, at the center of it where it all had begun.

  Before us, the giant monolith stood tall, blocking the sun. There was no telling whether it was an actual tower or just a massive monument made of obsidian.

  It was hard not to be impressed and keep staring, but as my eyes lingered on it, my companions arrived at my side.

  After that, more portals started popping up all around us, spaced out with a good measure of distance between them.

  The viewer count in the corner of my screen had, for the first time, surpassed two billion—and the numbers kept rising.

  From the nearby portals, people jumped out. Arahaktar, Myriads, and Humans, but everyone was too focused on the monolith ahead to pay attention to each other.

  I did, however. Everyone seemed stronger, most of them wearing armor, most with one or two weapons at hand. The competition had grown, and the power of the enemies was clearly increasing.

  I had around twenty of my people beside me when the portal behind us closed.

  We and the other competitors formed a massive circle around the monolith.

  I was staring directly at it when a door opened on the face of the building in front of me. I also noticed similar doors appear on the other two sides of the monolith and assumed another had opened in the back as well.

  From the door, the hostess emerged. She wore a hat, sunglasses, and a robe that covered her whole body—a look that didn’t seem like her style. But before I could ask any questions, she began to speak.

  “Welcome, welcome!” She raised both hands to the sky. Some responded, but most remained quiet. “The bulk of the game is about to start. The rules will be explained as soon as you enter the tower, but before you can do that, you’ll have to prove yourselves one last time.

  This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

  “In this version of the town, we have twelve hundred competitors, but only six hundred will enter the tower. There are four doors allowing entrance. This is happening simultaneously in the other quadrants.”

  The hostess spoke through her four bodies, which I now clearly identified as some version of her clones. I couldn’t see the last one on the other side of the monolith, but I could hear it.

  “So, don’t waste your time. Run!” she commanded, and we followed her instructions—no time to waste.

  We had about one mile separating us from the monolith door, which now covered nearly the entire face turned toward us.

  After I took five steps forward, I saw a figure already at the door. It was Kira’s group. The Arahaktar speed skill had let them reach the place faster than anyone else. However, I also saw someone flying toward it, another making an enormous jump and landing close to the door, and someone literally sliding on ice to reach it.

  “Go ahead!” I called to Kira, who was clearly asking if she should come back for more people. We had no idea what would happen if they entered separately, so I advised her to enter the tower.

  “Let’s do it!” I looked around, extended my hands, and kept running. Elk took my left hand, Tress the right one, and Mary placed both hands on my waist as I activated [Lightning Momentum].

  I had way better control over it now, but carrying three people with me was freaking hard. We only made it a few feet before we were rolling on the ground.

  It wasn’t feasible. We’d need to just outrun everyone who didn’t have a mobility skill—and by the looks of it, they were pretty rare.

  After twenty or so people entered the tower in the first minute, the rest got into a real fight, and thankfully, we seemed to be among the faster ones.

  We strode fast as the monolith grew closer and closer, and with it, the competitors on our side got extremely close to us as well.

  I traded glances with a woman on my left and an Arahaktar on my right, the threat of violence present in both of their eyes. Damn, it was in mine too, but maybe we could get there first—without bloodshed.

  That was the naive part of my brain talking. The rational one dodged a fireball flying in my direction and summoned a lightning bolt that sliced through the air a few strides toward the origin of the fireball.

  Someone screamed in pain, but we didn’t stop. Mary, however, was falling behind.

  “Come on, Mary!” I called, looking over my shoulder as she gritted her teeth and ran. I offered her my hand, and she took it. As I looked ahead, preparing to use [Lightning Momentum] and propel her forward, I stumbled into a rock.

  I almost lost my balance. If I fell, I’d be trampled by the other competitors, but before that happened, two hands stopped me from falling. It was John, the teen.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, already running again, smiling.

  “Yeah!” I told him as I activated [Lightning Momentum] and flew above the crowd with Mary in my arms.

  With only two people, I could go much farther. “Go, run ahead and wait for us,” I told her, and she did, gaining the upper hand over most of the others racing for the same entrance.

  The sight of the crowd rushing in our direction let me spot an Arahaktar throwing a dagger straight at Elk’s face. It was a long shot, but I summoned a lightning bolt where I thought it would pass, and it struck the blade.

  Elk jolted at the sound, but quickly realized what had happened. He created illusions of himself—and two of me. One ran to the tower, another charged at the attackers, while I stayed in the middle.

  I took that small window of time to notice the only ones attacking us were coming from the left side. It didn’t take long to realize that, near the woman I’d traded glances with, a group of Arahaktar were staring at us with murderous intent.

  Two of them held staffs, while the others wielded warrior or rogue weapons. As soon as we got close to the door, they’d be our foes.

  I wouldn’t let that happen. Going against common sense, I rushed toward them, already forming a scythe in the air and slashing two of them. One was hit in the ribs, while the other wasn’t so lucky.

  Congratulations - You killed Arahaktar Male - F2

  I ignored the message and struck again, killing another one. They were in shock, staring at their fallen allies but being bumped forward, forced to keep going.

  I took that as my cue and started running toward the door. Mary was already very close to it, and the others didn’t take long to catch up to me.

  The distance between me and the other competitors grew thinner and thinner. Another dagger flew toward Elk, and he ducked just in time. The blade hit one of the Myriads with black tattoos right in the temple, and he dropped dead on the spot.

  “Shit,” I muttered as I pushed my pace.

  Mary waved with one hand, her sword in the other, preparing for the fight that was clearly coming.

  The woman on my left looked at me again, and I knew she was about to attack.

  She summoned a staff that glowed purple—the color I’d seen gravity magic use. Someone else saw it too, because in the next second, the woman’s face had a hole in its side. An arrow flew through it and struck two more Arahaktar in sequence.

  She’d been with them—and Tress had just used her new passive skill to kill three competitors in one go.

  I received the message for participating in the kills, but I didn’t care. I just resumed running until I was within arm’s reach of Mary.

  “Come on!” she yelled as an Arahaktar struck at her, and she shoved him violently with her shield, knocking down at least ten competitors like bowling pins.

  We pressed onward, Adriano close behind with John at the rail, and Mila not far. She tossed one enemy away with her ability and dropped another row of foes.

  “Hands!” I called for Elk and Tress as we neared the entrance. “Dismiss the shield!” I told Mary, and she complied immediately.

  In the next moment, we were flying with [Lightning Momentum]. Mary grabbed my side as we flew, and we crossed the door—only to be welcomed by nothingness.

  The place was utterly dark, and there was no ground waiting for us.

  I’d been expecting the floor of a tower, but what we encountered was a fall into emptiness.

  Messages flared through my mind.

  Ding! Congratulations! Your soul core has been upgraded.

  Calculating…

  General Stats upgraded.

  Speed Upgraded.

  New Stats:

  Subject: Zach Walker

  Race: Human (Earth)

  Class: Available for Unlocking.

  Merged Class: [Stormripper]

  General Rank: E9

  Constitution: E5

  Magic: F0

  Mana: F0

  Speed: E9

  Strength: F0

  You achieved Rank E9. Your bracelet was upgraded. You’ll receive a shard box soon.

  Those were all great messages, but they didn’t change the fact that we were falling—and that I had no voice to scream.

  After a while, though, a faint sound started to reach my ears. The sound grew louder and louder, and just as I recognized it as Elk’s screaming voice, light burst into our eyes and we kept falling and falling toward what seemed like sudden death.

  When we hit the ground, my eyes hadn’t yet adjusted to the new light.

  My mouth, though, was full of sand—hot, grainy sand. I spat it out, getting up and blinking rapidly.

  I finally managed to see as I poured water into my mouth and spat to clean it.

  Tress, Mary, and Elk had just landed nearby, but there was no sign of anyone else.

  The sun was high in the sky, hot and unforgiving, and all around us, all I could see was sand. We were in a fucking desert.

  The hostess’s voice boomed across the landscape.

  “Welcome to the First Tower of this edition of The Ascension Games! Good luck finding your way to the second floor!

  This and every other tower has no time limit, and everyone can complete it. But only the first individual or party to reach the end will be able to help their planets as one of their boons. All others will be rewarded for completing the tower, but the rewards will decrease in quality with each new completant. And yes, you can live inside here forever... but you wouldn’t like it.”

  “Get to the second floor?” I muttered, looking around. “How do you find a second floor in a fucking desert?”

  I asked out loud, and everyone seemed as lost as I was, but they couldn’t be. Not if I was supposed to be their leader.

  I took a deep breath, looked at all of them, and forced a smile.

  “There’s only one way to find out.” Then I walked ahead. I’d find an exit to this place, no matter what.

  END OF BOOK 1

  Ok, folks. Just wanted to let you all know I hired a highly qualified dev editor to take a look at the book, and I made some changes to the version that’ll be published on Amazon. Some of them are pretty significant, so I’ll summarize them here so you’re not lost when book 2 drops.

  1 - Other people have two classes now, too. I realized Zach being the only one felt a little weak and kinda unrealistic with millions of people competing. His edge has always been more about how he uses his powers and the gods who sponsor him than the dual classes.

  2 - I made Zach more reluctant to join Max, and they spend more time together before their fallout.

  3 - I added the number of views our MC gets during the game. He starts off low, but by the end of book 1, he has 10 million people watching him live.

  4 - There’s a leaderboard now that mixes general rank and popularity. Our MC breaks into the top 20 when he gets a god and ends book 1 in the top 6.

  5 - Max is more of a gray character to the audience now, even though the MC still sees him as the same evil piece of shit. That helps explain why people follow him.

  6 - I added two scenes on Earth with some familiar and new characters to help deepen the worldbuilding.

  7 - Zach and Tress go on a talk show and have to dodge some tricky questions about their friendship, which people often misinterpret.

  8 - Gods use a currency to give out sponsorships. It’s not fully explained yet, but it’ll be important in book 2 when some of them finally show up.

  9 - These changes are based on your feedback, my own observations, and the dev editing. So thanks a lot. When the book drops, I’d really appreciate it if you gave it a read. It’ll be on KU and all that.