Chapter 7

 

In the Memphis Temple, 4 hours before the gathering begins…

 

Click clack click clack

 

The sounds of footsteps echoed through the unfamiliarly empty temple, the unknown figure confidently strode toward their the end of the empty corridor before stopping at the big white door—

 

Creak Boom!

 

“O’ how long haven’t I seen my dear family!To think we were reunited on our land—truly it is fated!" the man exclaimed, raising both arms in the air, his long, shiny, blood-like hair swaying left and right. 

 

“Still uncivilized as ever, brother”, said the green skinned man with short black curly hair, with all-white suits sitting on one of the many throne-like chairs that surround the long stone meeting table. 

 

“Civilised enough to not sleep with my own brother’s wife” Seth sarcastically replied and grinned in mischief as his eyes darted from Osiris who chose to keep quiet and to other occupants of the room.

 

“Wow, I thought you would never come back here again, Thoth?" 

"Is your emo phase over now, or are you done living as a cat?”

 

A tall man with white hair, wearing a dark grey shirt that was left unbuttoned on the collar, grey slacks, snakeskin boots, and a blue coat over it sighed in frustration as he became a new target for Seth. The man wore a dark grey shirt that was left unbuttoned on the collar.

 

Thoth ignored the obvious provocation while he was cleaning the dust from his monocle. He mused to himself, "Why am I even here?"

 

Seth took a seat beside Thoth and looked at the many empty seats around him. His demeanour changed from mischievous to serious, unlike his usual facade. 

 

"A new plane has just opened, and a new batch of prey has just arrived; I heard there was a player who broke multiple records, ranking first from tutorial to here." Osiris finally breaks his silence, finally opening up the reason they were all gathered earlier than promised.

“Let’s cut to the chase—you want them." Thoth returns his monocle, displeased with the idea.

 

“You still haven’t changed at all, before or after the tower,” Seth snickered as he shook his head.

 

“I’m doing this for us, to stabilise—

 

“No! You did it for you, and you alone. There was never us!” Seth cuts Osiris off; his tone rises with each word, becoming loud and deafening.

 

“I’m your king!”

 

“You are no king of mine! Where were you when the tower first appeared?! Gone!” Seth stood up from his seat before continuing—

 

“With these eyes, I witnessed our sun, our king, crumble before the tower's power. The ennead era has passed; mortals gained godlike power from the tower; what more could we offer them when we were all equals? We are all just players playing the game the upper being trapped us in”

 

 The room was left in silence, only the loud heaving breath from Seth could be heard, eyes red as his fist clenched on his side. “It will do you good to accept it sooner or later, you can create a guild or whatever you like...but remember the only king that I served is Ra, and all of you are here breathing because of his sacrifice.”

 

Thoth stood up from his seat and said, “I’m leaving, it wasn’t compulsory anyways.”

 

He understood Seth's anger and frustration, as he was the closest to Ra, and he alone witnessed and fought for their realm amidst all the chaos while all of them were running, injured, and killed. There was never peace when the siblings gathered, staying is not an option.

 

‘I wonder how the new ranker candidate will face the tension in the room’

 

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Izz left his inn an hour early and headed to the temple. The usually crowded temple was unusually empty and quiet as opposed to how it usually is in his memories. He remembered how he and Sung Hyun used to seek shelter at the temple before heading to the next challenge.

 

‘Will I meet him here?’ 

Even after his regression, he is still a coward and selfish. He was scared to face the person who sacrificed themselves for him and was his best friend before and during their life in the tower. He doesn’t want to see the unfamiliarity, and he was content to fight for a future where all of them could live a normal life, without remembering him and their memories together. If an administrator could send him back in time, then whoever is on the top of the floor could grant him what he wants, then it will all be worth it.

 

Not long after, he arrived at the steps of the temple. He felt uneasy the deeper he walked into the temple perhaps because it was empty unlike how he was used to or perhaps because there was suddenly a man walking from the opposite direction to his direction. As the man got closer, Izz mana sense could feel his aura more clearly, and his body became more stiff as the tension and intimidation from the man’s aura overwhelmed his senses.

 

Thud

 

His knees buckled, and he kneeled to the floor due to sheer pressure from the man, sweat dripped from his forehead to the ground, and his stomach churned. A black snakeskin boot enters his vision, all the pressure instantly disappears, and he is lifted to his feet by a pair of brown arms belonging to the silverheaded man that he saw from afar earlier.

 

“Sorry, didn’t expect you to be this early,” the man asked him after suppressing his aura, the ocean blue orbs bore through Izz’s light brown eyes.

 

He averted his eyes as he caught his breath and said, “I’m good, ,thank you.".

 

“Hmm… you are quite impressive to still be able to breathe however I can’t say the same for the other two and others” The man said, looking a bit disappointed, that, as opposed to what he was saying, it somehow felt like an insult rather than a compliment to Izz’s ears.

 

Even with the power or skills given by the system, undoubtedly Earth01 plane’s players are at a disadvantage compared to other planes, but they will also be more capable and powerful in the future since they are like a blank canvas untainted by different powers or teachings outside of the tower. With the right technique and medium, it will  create a masterpiece. 

 

His changes did not go undetected by the man, “It would be rude to leave you be, take this."

 

The man took off his bangle and handed it over to Izz, motioning for him to take it. He was never the type to simply accept people's gifts or goodwill willingly, there was no unpaid kindness.

 

“No thanks” he kept his rejection short but concise, looking at the silverhead warily.

“Smart. Take no candy from strangers.” 

 

“Are all of them nosy like you?” he replied, getting tired and distraught from the unwanted interaction. He abandoned the wariness and frankly said his thought: it doesn't seem like the man had any bad intentions. 

 

“You will be surprised to know I’m the quiet one,” there was an obvious laughter in his tone, 

 

He finally accepted the bangle; it was made of gold and inlaid with four slabs of lapis lazuli in various shapes and sizes.

 

『 Bangle (??) (Passive) 』 

『 Bangle was blessed by Thoth, the Egyptian God of Knowledge, Wisdom, Writing, Music, Magic, and the Moon. Immunity from other beings' intimidation and aura.

 

 

Special Effect: ???

Special Condition: Only in effect until 50th floor 』 

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“You can give it back to me later”

 

“Later? When?”

 

“When you no longer need it, it will lead you back to me,” the man said, before parting ways with Izz after saying those ominous words.

 

‘I might have lost ‘Thoth’s Scribe Favour (S)’, but I gained another blessing directly from the deity himself. I’m sure he is Thoth’

 

Izz wore the bangle on his left arm before heading to the meeting room with the help of the system. 

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Creaaaak

 

The sound of the door hinges notified the rest of the room’s occupants of his presence. Remembering Thoth’s word earlier, he is sure that most of the rankers inside are deity level, like Thoth. From the obvious green-skinned figure, Osiris, to a tall man with shoulder-length burgundy hair, a braid on the right side of his green eyes, a long-sleeved wide-neck top over a leopard print shirt, a black leather jacket around his waist, and black leather pants

 

The three rankers turned their heads toward him, acknowledging his presence. He is now sure he wouldn’t be able to withstand the sheer pressure of being in the presence of one of them in the same room, let alone three without the bangle.

 

‘There is Osiris.’

‘I think the long red haired guy is Seth.’

‘And the man with leopard print, based on the wine scent coming from his way, must be Dionysus.’

 

He sat on one of the many empty seats with a clear view of the rest of them.

 

“I don't think anyone else will come. "The star of the party already showed up, so let’s cut to the chase,” Osiris said, starting the meeting. 

 

“First we are here to welcome you of becoming a ranker  candidate, and there will be some formalities—

 

" —What he’s saying is you need to show your abilities, and we will judge whether you can officially enter the rank and use ranker benefits or not.” Seth cuts Osiris off while he is yawning as he stretches his body in his seat.

 

“How?” 

 

This time Dionysus speaks up, “Thankfully for you, there are only three of us. Each of us will name a test for you”

 

“Make sure you get it done before the sunsets.” Seth chimed in again.

 

“If I didn’t?” Izz questioned back, baffled by the time limit, it’s already half an hour before 12 p.m.

 

“Then you failed,” Osiris voice suddenly boomed out in a serious and desolate tone before continuing, “I’m going, it seems like my presence was never needed in the first place.”

 

Creaaaak Thud

 

“Lucky you, now there are only two tests, I will make this simple for both of us; you just have to duel with one of my sons. He’s been bothering me about someone breaking his records.”

 

“Is it one of your bastards?” Seth chimes in.

 

“A demigod, if you will,” Dionysus replied back, insulted by the uncouth term used by the redhead. 

 

“Ugh, this room reeks of cheaters.” 

 

“Said the one that killed his own brother,” the wine god replied sarcastically.

 

“He deserved it”

 

“I agree,” The argument unexpectedly ended shortly after Dionysus agreed with Seth.

 

Izz released a breath of relief. He wondered what Ranker’s benefits were and whether is it wise to take the test to become one, or whether it would just attract unwanted attention and become an obstacle to him in the future. For the first time since he returned, he was unsure of it all.

 

“Can we start with the first test now?”

 

‘Let’s not waste anymore time’

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They are now in a large courtyard in the middle of the temple, it was empty and large enough space to have a duel, a translucent blue walls surround the courtyard as a barrier courtesy of Seth.

 

In front of him stood a boy around his age, although Izz has convinced himself that he is mentally 28 years old, not including the 20 years he has gone back, The boy is a carbon copy of his father, except for the hair that was tied in a ponytail and his fair complexion compared to Dionysus’s tanned skin. Thankfully, he didn’t wear a leopard print either, or else it would be the first thing he would aim to get rid of during the duel. 

 

Pak!

 

A hand slap him on his back, he staggered a little bit, he turned his back awith eyes glared back at the perpetrator, “What?” he grumbled.

“Ease up a little bit, I’m sure you can defeat him, I put my money on you,” the redhead replied, raising both arms in mock surrender.

 

“Are you here to give me some motivational bullsh*t?”

 

“I noticed your mouth have gold in them”

 

“What the f*ck?” Izz exclaimed in confusion, pretty sure the skill ‘Polyglot’ is still in effect, so why the hell is this man still speaking nonsense?

 

"Hahaha, I’m just saying you have been silent, you’re guarding your mouth as if there were gold in there. Like someone will steal it if you opened your mouth”

 

He rolled his eyes at the explanation and took out his sword from the bag. He walked to the centre of the courtyard while ignoring the stares from both deities. He shook the boy’s hand before introducing himself, “Izz, may the best man win.”

 

“Likewise, I’m Caius”

 

Izz recalls a ranker with the same name as the child who just introduced himself. It was unknown at the time, but both Olympians and Asgardians were unaware of the corruption behind their respective rulers' guilds. The Olympic guild's players were commanded to enrol their children into the guild, becoming tools for the guild. Looking at the brilliant young lad in front of him who was slain because he was attempting to reform Olympus, he realizes that he hasn't been recruited yet and that it might not be too late to change his mind, and his gaze is drawn to Dionysus' form. 

 

‘ I just need one man’s help’

‘ I need them to take me seriously first’

 

With shots from a gun somewhere signalling the start of the duel, Caius promptly threw an overhand cut. Izz parried the strike fast, almost losing his stand from the explosive strength of the swing; he admits he underestimated his opponent and forgot that the little lad in front of him is a demigod born with a superhuman physique.

 

Izz instantly counterattacked with a swipe to the side, and Caius similarly parried the strike. They moved back and forth, attacking each other, until he realised he needed to end this fight sooner.

 

Caius had more stamina than him, therefore, he needed to end the duel with a decisive strike, and Izz began to recall his training. He began to think rather than react. Izz made a fake slash towards Caius's feet, causing him to take a few steps backward and lose his position.

 

At the same time, Izz slashed towards Caius' chest with , who reflexively sought to stop it with his sword —

 

Clang!

 

Caius’s sword rattled against the stone pavement of the temple, the tip of his sword an inch away from his fair neck.

 

"I concede," Caius admitted his defeat with a grin.

 

"That was a good fight," Izz said as he removed his swords and extended his hand to help the boy to his feet.

 

“Thank you, I learned from the best,” Caius replied before looking towards his father, and to Izz's surprise, Dionysus looked back at them with a proud smile, definitely for his son.

 

‘I didn’t expect for him to personally train his son’ he thought to himself, Perhaps there is more to it than he first thought. He doesn’t think the wine god would let the kid he personally raised become Olympus pawns. Even from Greek's myth that existed from his plane, Dionysus has always been a free-spirited and a rebel. 

 

Clap Clap Clap

 

The two redhead audience claps their hands, “ It’s my test now.”

 

Seth announced obviously eager to start the test he has been planning ever since his conversation with the quiet male. A bottle of gold potion appears in his hand, the gold liquid shines brightly under the sun, and it looks like someone poured a sh*t ton of liquid glitter into the mix as it swirled around the potion bottle as Seth shook it around in his hand.

 

 ‘At this point, he should be named god of mischief instead of chaos’

 

“Hey, hey, getting someone drunk is my job,” the winehead said as he put his shoulder around Seth’s neck.

 

“Shut up, take your son, and go." Seth replied seriously, ignoring Dionysus's attempt to find out the content of the mysterious potion.

 

“Fine, Caius let’s go” He took his hands off Seth’s before walking away with Caius but not before saying goodbye.

 

“We’re going, Don’t forget to visit us on 70th floor”

 

“That is still a long way for me to reach there”

 

“Hmm, I don’t think so though” he replied “I think you will reach there soon… if you pass his test” he ended his words with his eyes motioning to Seth.

 

“Yes, me too! I will be waiting for you” Caius chimed in eagerly. 

 

Izz contemplates whether to warn them about their own guild or not, but he is still wary of Seth’s presence. Ultimately he chose to keep quiet about it for now, it is still too early and there is a few years before Caius' death. He just hopes his existence will not affect the timeline too much.

 

He is now alone with the redhead in the quiet courtyard, he is wary of unknown liquid which was obviously his test to consume to become a ranker but the unknown ranker’s reward that was promised seems too good to be passed. The greater the risk, the bigger the reward.

 

He received the potion in his hand before taking the cap off. He was hit by a sickening sweet smell that overwhelmed his senses, he looked at the redhead questioningly.

 

“If you drink this potion and managed to wake up, you pass” it sounded easy but it wasn’t.

 

“So it depends on my body constitution? It's poison?”

 

“On your mental strength and maybe… a tons of luck in the process,” Seth replied “You see, I believe to survive in the tower you need more than just sheer power but also luck, willpower, and knowledge…everyone can be strong but there is a reason why a select few survive especially as a ranker”

 

He decided to use ‘The gambler’ skill before consuming the liquid, then everything was black.

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He woke up in his childhood room in Kuala Lumpur.

『 Due to the use of ‘The Gambler’ skill, the’ user is unaffected by illusion. 』  

‘So it is just an illusion. How do I get out of here?’ He thought to himself, he can use the skill one more time, then he need to wait another 8 hours until the skill is available again. The problem is he doesn’t know how time works in this illusion. It might take days here, for eight hours to pass by in real life.

 

He left the room and wandered around the familiar house; it was empty, with no maids or butlers running around. He looked at the grandfather clock in the foyer, it wasn’t moving. He has checked all the rooms except for the dining room, if there is something waiting for him, it would be there.

 

He opened the door of the dining room, awaiting him was the familiar figure of his mother. 

 

“Izz you’re here”

 

His mom always call him Putera instead of Izz

 

“You’re not mother”

 

“What do you mean?” the imposter said, smiling sweetly with the same voice as his mother, walking step by step closer to him.

 

He took out his sword from his backpack before attacking her, it was painful for him to attack the familiar figure of his own mother, and if it wasn’t for ‘the gambler’ skill, he would have still caught up with the illusion, he knows it himself that he still misses her.

 

He slashed the imposter body, turning it into a puddle of black liquid. It was a monster that regularly appeared on the 50th floor, doppelganger. It wasn’t to show up anywhere other than that floor, it must be Seth’s doing. 

 

He needs to find the rest of the imposter who is hiding and then get out of this nightmare.

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Seth crouched down to the ground and looked at the unconscious figure in front of him, impressed. Most of the players who had taken the potion before would have been screaming in their sleep or dead, but the figure in front of him is sleeping soundly, unaffected by the potion's illusion. 

Just as he was about to stand on his feet, he felt something was missing and rolled over to the side. He looked back at the perpetrator and laughed, “ You almost caught me off guard.”

 

“You know you deserved that”

 

“I know, but you should thank me for preparing you for what lies ahead on this tower," he cheekily replied back to Izz.

 

“Rewards”

 

“Fine, fine,” Seth sighed.

 

『 Congratulations! 』 

『 You have passed the ranker test, Players are now able to access ranker’s benefits as stated below:

 

• Test to jump to tower’s floor checkpoint
• Information pub
•  new armour

 

“Nice, right? The pub also allows you to contact other players” 

 

“I won't be contacting you,” he replied back.

 

“That’s fine, let me explain to you how the benefits work. If you have enough merits judged by the system, you will be able to go to tower’s checkpoint; which is the 50th,70th,80th, and 90th floor”

 

“If I didn’t?”

 

“Let me finish, if you didn’t— you have to go through a test and when you pass, you will be able to skip floors and reach the desired checkpoint. It's kind of like cutting a queue pass.” Seth explained before leaving him alone in the empty temple.

 

『 Would you like to check the new armour? 』 

 

“Yes”

 

『 Enchanted Armour (SSS) 』 

 『 Armour created by one of The Great Witch, nullified all elementals attacks 』 

The armour was black, it was very light and comfortable to wear, it reminds him of the armour he used to wear in his final battle, it wasn’t as good as this but it did its job.

 

“How many floors will I be able to skip with my current state?”

 

『 Calculating player’s merits 』 

『 …player will be able to access till 40th floor (^_<)〜☆ 』 

 

“Transfer to 40th floor” 

 

‘Let’s get to the peak quickly’

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Meanwhile, Sung Hyun is fighting for his life since he had to take the challenge like normal players.

 

Most of his teammates are lying on the floor dead, while the ones who are still alive are heavily injured. He should have known better than to team up with his schoolmate when they first reunited with him on the 20th floor. He didn’t know how they had survived up until now with their meagre skills. 

 

They were all deadweight who kept depending on him without trying to learn how to defend themselves, it wasn’t really surprising what their fate was when their group was ambushed by mummies who he is still fighting right now.

 

It wasn’t hard defeating the mummies, it's just that they are a monster who came in group of large numbers and Sung Hyun also had to unwillingly protect his group as much as he can.

 

‘ I’m leaving them after this,’ he thought while slashing another one of the mummies who tried to jump on his back.

 

‘ I need to find Izz, I want an explanation’ he thought again, finally killing the last of the mummies, passing the challenge. When he first started to realise that the dream is real, he thought he was blessed or lucky because that is what kept him alive during the tutorial, the knowledge. Then, he started questioning if it’s real then what is the source of the dream. 

 

It all come to a halt when he saw the ranking list, 

 

『 1- Izz Putera 』 

His mind was rushed with memories and vision he hadn't dreamt of before, finally in those memories he could finally hear the name of the unknown stranger— it was the same name as the player who had been ranked first all throughout the tutorial until now.

 

He realised that this is his second life, everything is the same as his first life but his best friend is missing or hiding like he usually does.

 

“Hahhh… that m*therf*cker,” he muttered, just the thought of the quiet male makes him pissed off, “I’m sure he is on this floor too.”

 

He is dead set on finding the brownhead male and teaching him a lesson and he won’t find out until later that Izz already on floors above him.