My downburst continues to flow for a few seconds after I release it. I’m fatigued, mentally drained, my [Ether] is down to a mere fifteen hundred, and my whole body just wants to scream ‘screw all this’. But there’s no time to rest— the moment the burst ends, the fog is going to come back in full force. When it does, any attempt at winning this fight before the Warden inevitably shows up will be deader than disco.

I have to make this count, no matter what. I charge down in a full dive, tilting my wings back to descend even further. Wind tries to make my cheeks flap and force my eyes closed from the pressure, but I ignore both thanks to quirks of how the System’s stats reinforce our bodies. Lightning continues to bombard me, all thanks to the archer girl. But the ninja took a lot of damage thanks to [Featherstorm], and unlike their sickly onyx bolts, this girl’s white lightning can be absorbed with [Saintess’s Cloister].

I still have to dodge where I can. Each arrow deals nearly seven hundred damage to my shield, and the lightning that follows nearly twelve. My shield is strong— 8,600 points strong when freshly cast— able to withstand more punishment than even my own body. But it’s not infallible. And it’s already starting to run low. I grit my teeth and silently curse the trial before us, spinning at the last second and avoiding another arrow by the hair on a spider’s ass. I suffer a concussive blast of magic in doing so, but despite feeling like being punched in the gut, it only deals about four hundred damage to my shield.

I launch another [Ether Bullet Barrage], not expecting it to do all that much. But, to my shock, a few of the attacks actually connect. Well, connect with the incandescent barriers each of the five have, flickering and denting the two girls’ shields for a fraction of a second before the barriers and attacks both dissipate.

I get in range of the archer, only to be thwarted by a green shield that surrounds her and nearly bashes me right in the head. I avert my flying charge at the last second, pulling up just in time to avoid being grappled by the shield, which turns into a giant hand that attempts to crush me within its grasp.

It’s at this time that Chloe launches a devastating [Scouring Light], which hits home right on the annoying ninja’s chest. The black barrier around them cracks, then shatters, dealing a massive amount of damage that nearly annihilates their left leg.

This, in turn, infuriates the archer, for reasons I don’t understand. These are all constructs of the System, created to test us. And yet, these five seem… almost human. Everyone here on this floor does. I can’t help but wonder what this means, and whether this is proof that there are other Otherworlders out there, to use Yulia’s term.

Wait... If this is another team, sent here from our world, or maybe from another world. Oh... Oh shit. The horrible implications of such a possibility set in.

The two knights attack, their attacks somehow even more ferocious than before. It takes everything Alana and I have to beat back their twinned assault. The winds have finally stopped, but at least the cloud of dust hasn’t started congealing back around us just yet. My breath becomes difficult and ragged, but I can’t stop now. That’s a path to certain death, one I refuse to consider. Instead I charge forward, throwing out [Repulsion] barriers to counter the shields attacking me.

Again red lightning builds up at the shorter knight’s feet, but this time, I’m prepared. I form the array for [Lightning Reflect], holding it at the forefront of my mind. And I wait, wait, and continue to watch. They’re buying time for something… I’m not sure what.

I’m taken aback by the sudden speed at which the crimson warrior approaches. Their sword crackles and hisses as they launch a devastating sweeping blow that would probably bisect me wholesale were they to get a direct hit in. But their momentum is too great to avert, their body tensing as I reveal that I’m the one who’s lured them into a trap.

I catch the blade in my hand as I release [Lightning Reflect]. The blade digs a good quarter inch into my palm, staining its edge with my blood. But the lightning bounces back at its caster just as planned. I’m lightheaded now from the mental strain. But they are faring far worse; they let out a shriek, their crimson barrier breaking just as the ninja’s did a few seconds ago.

The green knight proves less mobile, and though their shields are impressive and far more durable, they fail to hold up to a combination attack from both Alana and Jasmine. At last, the tide has finally turned…

Except not. Because, to my great consternation, the ninja is back in the fight, their leg fully healed once again. I guess it was only a matter of time before we’d come into conflict with a group that had their own healer. And considering their formation, the archer in the back, with the superhero in pink and the ninja in front of her, I have to assume that it’s her.

None of them look exactly fresh, but I don’t see any sign that they are suffering from [Ether] strain. I turn to the group, now fully convinced that these aren't constructs like I'd originally thought.

"Why?" I ask. "Why are we doing this? All of this fighting? You're... You're not the bandits that are attacking the village, are you?"

"Of course not," the woman in the pink suit says. "We would never stoop so low as to engage in acts of petty theft."

I leap backward, avoiding another attack.

"So, then, why are we fighting? We came here looking for the bandits as well. If you're not them, then we're not enemies!"

"Everyone!" the ranger in pink says, her voice full of command. "Parley!"

"Stand down!" I add. "Truce!"

A few lingering attacks continue, guided by momentum both physical and mental. Within two seconds, however, both sides are frozen. I worry for a brief moment that their side is going to use this as an opportunity to strike us while we've got our guards down. But then I realize just how worn down both of our groups are. Though their side doesn't look injured, their armor looks rough, their breathing is heavy, and mental fatigue is plain to see on all of them, even with their faces obscured.

"To answer your question," the pink ranger says, her voice full of authority and confidence despite not sounding any older than I. "We already dealt with the bandits. Just ordinary monsters of middling intelligence. We’ve been training against them here, and attacked you, thinking you were one of them. It seemed too easy so far, after what we've been through, and we thought you were their reinforcements. I see now that I was mistaken, although I'm not sure why or even how another team made it in here. Especially one that has powers which are so... different from ours."

"I wish I knew as well," I say.

"But even if we didn’t meet our original objective, fighting you four was a good trial for us as well. Some sort of trial or final test to be overcome. This space seemed far too low ranked for us as it was. For giving us a chance to hone our power, I thank you."

"I think... I think something was here to set us up. It wanted us to fight. But I don't think it needs to be to the death. That doesn't sound like it serves either of our interest."

The ballerina— I suppose she isn't one, but that skirt she wears over her pink armor makes her look the part— turns to the others. She looks at the two fallen on her side, then to the archer and ninja standing behind her, then back to me. “I suppose that’s enough of a trial for us as well. Bringing ourselves to the brink of death doesn't serve either of us well, I don't think.”

She shakes her head. “On behalf of my team, I want to thank you for the clash. Perhaps we shall meet again someday, somewhere. Until then.”

With that, she nods. The archer and the ninja are holding hands, their faces still obscured by thick, unnatural haze. When they see Chloe and me standing side by side, they give an approving nod. And then, all five of them vanish.

[You have overcome The Trial of the Five. You have gained a boosted 190,000 Experience.]

[You have gained enough Experience to reach Level 48 (From 46). [Strength] +2, [Speed] +2, [Vitality] +2, [Mind] +2. Please assign free stat points (Remaining: 8).]

I assign two points to [Vitality] and [Mind] with the first level, then two each to [Strength] and [Speed] with the second, keeping to the minor optimizations I’ve been employing. As I experienced during the final battle against the Order of the Wilds, even a couple dozen points can mean the difference between life and death.

[Maximum Health increases by [Vitality] x 2 + Current Level + Rand[1,3] = (245, 248)]

[Maximum Ether increases by [Mind] + Current Level + Rand[0,2] = (191, 192)]

[Level: 48; Experience: 1,784,100; To Next: 156,675]

[Current Stats: [Health]: 4,795 / 6,970; [Ether]: 831 / 5,102]

[Current Stats: [Strength]: 123 (Base: 66); [Speed]: 110 (Base: 59); [Vitality]: 184 (Base: 99); [Mind]: 268 (Base: 144)]

I still have so many questions. Just what is this place? What purpose does it serve? And why do the generally established principles of the outside world seem not to apply here? Multiple times I’ve been deprived of Experience in the outside world because I chose not to finish off a foe at my mercy, that one woman during the Order of the Wilds fight most prominent in my mind. But now, for the second time in this Tower— the first being against the Thunderbird— that rule has been rebuffed. Is there something related to the Towers themselves?

No, wait. There is another possibility. Every class wants something. Anyone can get Experience and gain levels by fighting and killing monsters. But non-combatant classes can still gain levels and Skills by acting in accordance with what their classes want. And if mine wants me to climb Towers and conquer dungeons, overcoming challenges and getting stronger in the process, then the System will reward me accordingly.

And that’s a sobering thought. I am trying to get stronger with the long-term goal of excising the System from the universe. And it is… assisting me in this goal. I can’t help but feel that I’m being guided down a set of invisible tracks, one that appears to lead to salvation, but whose actual destination is ruin. That, in trying to save people, I am only hastening their downfall. Just like what might have happened by coming to this world in the first place.

If only I knew more about the exact circumstances of my arrival, and later that of the System.

“Are you okay?” Chloe asks Anna, breaking me out of my musing. “Do you need me to heal you?”

“So much… so much fighting. So much screaming.”

Chloe runs her hand on the girl’s shoulder, casting a weak healing spell. She lowers her head slightly. “She’s just in shock. She has no physical injuries.”

“So, what do we do about… that?” Alana asks. “And why did the fight end so abruptly?”

“Who knows?” I say. “I wasn’t expecting it to actually work. By all accounts, it shouldn’t have, especially if this is all a construct or fabrication created by the System and the Tower. It has been quite consistent in its rules, but… I guess you weren’t here when we fought the Thunderbird.”

I explain my earlier musings, about how it, too, spoke to me during the battle. And how it, too, vanished without us having defeated it, and how we still gained Experience as a result of that fight.

“This is just a thought,” Alana says. “But what if there’s something else

out there?”

“Something else?”

“Another entity, if you will. Not the System, but some other force that can affect the universe, or at least the Earth, on some level. It might not be as pervasive, all-encompassing, or powerful as the System. But it is influencing things to the extent it can, trying to nudge them toward an outcome more favorable to its own design.”

I can’t help but wonder if this is some hidden, latent effect of 「The Anomaly」. It would make sense, I suppose. But I didn’t feel anything of the sort. I think it’s more likely that there’s some third being at play. One that might be using my power as 「The Anomaly」 to focus its own influence around me. But it’s all speculation.

My musing is again interrupted, this time by the dust around us reforming once more. Only, instead of taking the shape of an amorphous cloud, it forms a staircase leading up and on. Proof that, despite everything, we are still in the Tower, and all this is but an illusion, one designed for the System’s benefit.

Alana and Jasmine start up the stairs, but before Chloe and I can follow suit, Anna stops us. She looks sullen, disappointed, but I have to assume it’s mostly with herself. I… I can relate. Feeling powerless, reliant on others, subject to others’ whims. It’s how I was before the System arrived. It’s how a lot of people are now. It’s how all of us will feel when the System finally takes the final steps to end everything we’ve ever known.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I wanted so badly to help, but–”

“It’s okay,” Chloe says. “It’s good that you wanted to take action. But it’s also good to make sure you’re not getting in over your head. Do you have any friends or family you can go to?”

Anna shakes her head. “No, my parents both died of illness a couple of years ago, then my brother was killed by monsters. I guess all I could think about was devoting the rest of my life to getting revenge. But then when I saw all of you fighting so fearsomely, I… I…”

“It’s okay,” I say. “Fighting isn’t for everyone. Some of us are drawn to the path of the warrior for one reason or another. But not everyone will go down that path, and that’s okay too. If you do decide to head down that path, you’ll know what to expect, and if today convinced you to consider other options, then be glad it didn’t come at the cost of more lives.”

“I– Thank you… Um, I never got your name.”

“Seraphina,” I say. “And this is Chloe.”

Chloe smiles.

“Thank you, Seraphina and Chloe. Here, I want you to have this.” She hands us the phial of liquid from before. “Please. Use it well; I know it’ll help you, wherever you go.”

Before I can protest, the scenery of Auretun and the approaching dawn begin to fade. The town itself shimmers, turning translucent. And even Anna, standing before us, begins to dematerialize as the surroundings change from those of a typical Western to those of a futuristic Tower. A reminder that all of this has been orchestrated and designed by forces greater than I can hope to comprehend. In the end, only the liquid container and the fluid, gently fluorescing blue, remain.

“It’s sad,” I say to Chloe as we trail Alana and Jasmine up to the nineteenth floor. “We saved the town, maybe, but then it all just disappeared before our eyes. What do you think it all means in the end?”

“I’d like to think it was worth it, what we did, fighting to try to protect these people, even if they were just Ether constructs given rudimentary personalities by the System. And I want to believe that we really did save some lives by not going on a slaughter fest, either with the beings here, or those five warriors from another time and place. At the very least, we chose the best path we could given what we knew.”

I nod. “Alana thinks there’s some entity guiding us. Something other than the System. Maybe something opposed to the System, latching onto me and my power. But I just don’t know.”

“It’s okay if we don’t know right now,” Chloe says, taking my hand as we head up the staircase. “We’ll just keep doing the best we can with the abilities and knowledge we have, and take every challenge as it comes.”

“Thanks, Chloe. I love you.”

“And I, you.”

Our quiet statement of our love for one another is the last sound that fills the once-town of Auretun, before it all fades away and the nineteenth floor appears.