Chapter 167 - Taped together (Patreon)

“What is it? Are you going to fix my class? Get me out of scribe-only mode? Punish me for doing something wrong?”

“No to the first and the last; meddling with your class isn’t in my interest or authority, and there is nothing to punish you for. You do push the boundaries of what is acceptable; however, as far as I am concerned, you are making a perfectly valid usage of the system in place.”

Really? Surprising. But I guess it is the system that made the rules all this time so…

“Then the issue is with the ‘scribe only’?”

“Mostly. Much of the issue lies on our end, but not much can be done due to its nature and the safeguards in place. The main thing is: you cannot level up to two hundred if you stay disconnected.”

“Then can you reconnect me?”

“No. As I said, not much can be done. You are not stuck, however. I called you here because there are two ways to go about this. Well, three, but the third way is completing your current quest right now, which is impossible. So two ways. Here is the choice you have to make. Either I forcefully upgrade your Scribe to a tier three, which has the authority necessary to solve this. But due to the loopholes used to do this, you will never be connected to the main system again until you complete your quest. This will lock you out of essential features.

Or I reconnect you by sneaking you into the Draconic section of the system. The issue being that you will have to learn to read Draconic if you want to do anything outside of your Scribe’s field of action. And that it was designed for Dragons.”

“Can’t the system teach me Draconic like the heroes are taught the common language?”

“That is not an option, no. At best, I can give you a book on the subject that will teach you enough to manage.”

“Then, what are the important features the tier three scribe option would lock me out of?”

“Sub-systems like the saint VIP privileges, the specializa-”

“I’ll take the draconic option.”

“...” Sen blinked thrice, and took another sip of his drink, “Very well, then. My task is accomplished; I will prepare the necessary. You will be connected whenever you exit the trial.”

“Sounds good.”

Alith also sipped on her drink, “Are you sure? A Tier three scribe sounds interesting considering what a Tier two unlocks.”

“Yeah. I cannot lose the opportunity to obtain another specialization.”

“Speaking of which, Sir Sen, what about Pareth? He can take the trial with Sofia, right?”

“It is a special case, as is most else concerning your group. But that is indeed how it will go. Both of Miss Sofia’s other Heroes are intricately melded into her soul. As such, it is the only way. But from now on, the Hero Pareth will also have to undergo the filter’s level-up. His presence in trials will sometimes be a boon and curse at others. I can only say: good luck.”

Then he continued, “This is as much as I can help without triggering something unfortunate; we have to go. Now. Never speak of this to anyone.”

Sen sent a wave of mana to each of their heads, that Sofia could barely see before it hit her.

‘New thought safeguard successfully installed’

‘Safeguard Description : Conversations with high-operator ‘SEN’ can not be remembered while subject to thought scrutiny’

Interesting. So now I have a way to detect if someone is trying to read my mind by trying to recall that. I’ll take it.

Sen frowned, “That’s really the first thing that comes to your mind? No wonder everything is so broken around you… Ah, whatever, back to the lobby we go, I will launch the trial in a minute.”

Sofia and Alith reappeared where they had been standing previously. It’s not just teleportation, he clearly changed us from standing to sitting to standing again…

“What did you think to make him go like that?”

Sofia explained her thoughts which made Alith laugh out loud, “The guy’s not wrong, I have to say.”

“Yeah… Yeah. Oh, by the way, isn’t it about time you gave me the explosives?”

“Oh! Right, I almost forgot. How much do you want? I only had time to make ten more,” Alith said, taking out a handful of large and sticky ‘candy’.

“I’ll take ten, then. You can keep the rest. It’s your hard work, you should be the one to profit most.”

“There you go, don’t blow yourself up!” Alith added mockingly.

“I’ll try not to this time…”

Sofia stored the ‘candy’, and she looked around, searching for Astelia. She was surprised to find the Vampire arm wrestling with the tall Elf on a bench. They were locked in place, and both looked very focused but not actually moving much. Wait, their hands aren’t even touching… Space mages…

Alith was looking too, but she saw Sen appearing at the center of the hall, “Looks like it’s about to start.”

“Oh, you’re right. Everything ready?”

“Yep, you?”

“Same.”

“Then good luck, Sof.”

“Good luck, Alith!”

Sen clapped, and the six participants in the room were now seated in a semicircle of chairs facing him. He cleared his throat before speaking.

“Welcome again, all six of you. As you already know, I am Sen, and I will be your guide and judge for this trial. I congratulate all of you for even daring to show up to this filter, everyone’s experience in getting here is different, and you should know that we value all of you being here. Now let me explain how this trial will go.”

As if he was nervous, or bored, the man started walking around.

“First of all, the main thing you need to know is that at any point, you may leave the trial. Strongly will to leave, and you will be teleported out. This is the one and only safeguard in place to avoid an untimely death during the main events, so use it wisely. But as you should already know, once you are out, there is no coming back.

“Leaving does not mean you fail the trial. In fact, there are only two ways out of this trial. Leave or die. So how does one pass? Very simple. This trial is in three phases. First, a series of rooms you need to clear, then duels where you will fight each other, then more rooms to clear. As I said, very simple. Clear the first phase. You do not even have to duel, you can leave and be on your merry way to the next filter.”

The old warrior spoke when Sen stopped, “Are the duels ‘till death?”

“No. The duels are, in fact, the only event in this trial during which death is prevented. So you can go all out, no matter your opponent, and not have to worry about a thing!”

Mornn asked a question next, “Are the duels the thing determining our ranking? There is a ranking, right?”

“There is a ranking, and the duels will only help me evaluate your starting rank, nothing more. Then the further you make it in the third phase, the higher your final rank. You can absolutely end up at a higher rank than someone you lost a duel against.

“Finally, to explain the ranking system, it is, again, very simple. You are ranked compared to everyone to have ever set foot into this spire. The higher you climb, the higher your rank. The ranking itself is nothing but a glory piece, that you can only share with other rankers, and not lie about. It will allow you to compare yourself and your potential to your elders. The reason to climb, however, is not the rank in itself. The higher you climb the spire, the better your rewards.”

So in a sense, the ranking still determines your rewards. I wonder, though… “You said we are ranked compared to everyone to have ever set foot in here. Does that mean you are ranked too?”

“I am, I was once a challenger like you all, in the early days of the system. But if you are curious, you will have to find out how I placed for yourself. Before each level of the spire, you will be able to browse a list of people you know of who have stopped there or during the next level itself.”

Alright then, challenge accepted, Mr. High-Operator.

“Is everyone ready?”

The six participants looked at each other. Mornn was the first to say yes, and everyone followed.

“Good. I will remind you again, the only ways out are to leave or to die. There is no shame in leaving, so do not waste your life.”

The man stopped, and he held out both hands, one holding a black orb, and one holding a white orb.

“You may no longer communicate until the trial starts. Now come. If you wish to automatically leave when falling unconscious, touch the white orb. If not, touch the black orb. This will send you to the first phase. Good luck, and don't forget to have fun; you'll only live this once.”