Formless Ascension: My Affinity Is Limitless

"Well... You look like Master Splinter, so I figured it’d be you..."

"Is that so...?" Handler Roy asked with a playful grin. But Uhtred was no longer willing to continue that conversation. Perfection was standing right there, so bringing up details from the Andronian Inheritance Shard was completely off the table.

Or was it?

Perfection was the one who told everyone the third trial would be useless back in Australia, wasn’t he?

Uhtred looked at the silent man clad in pure white standing by the wall.

I’ve always been curious about how he knew. Was it his Esoteric magic...? Some sort of foresight ability?

He forgot about Handler Roy altogether and strode toward Perfection with slow, deliberate steps. His eyes were on the man the whole time.

Perfection didn’t react. He remained unmoving, his posture regal and calm. He didn’t even bother turning his head toward Uhtred.

"I’m assuming you got here first?" Uhtred started, stopping right in front of the mysterious man.

Finally, he turned his head and looked straight at Uhtred.

With a slight tilt of his head, he nodded in assent.

Uhtred frowned.

"You don’t speak?"

Perfection remained silent, just staring at Uhtred from behind his mask.

What kind of mask is that? I can’t even sense anything behind it...

Uhtred spread his senses outward, which normally would have been enough to pick up something beneath the surface of Perfection’s mask, but it was as though the mask had some kind of absolute barrier effect that prevented any probing.

Even the light passing through the eye, nose, and mouth slits, reflected nothing but pure blackness.

"Aren’t you going to ask why you’re here, or why I’m here?" Handler Roy quipped from behind, breaking the silence that reigned as Uhtred stared down Perfection.

Uhtred gave the masked man one last look, then turned away with a grunt, walking back toward Diya and Roy.

"You wouldn’t tell me anyway. You’re waiting for everyone else to show up first."

"Hahaha! You’ve really figured me out, haven’t you, Uhtred?" Handler Roy laughed, stroking his long whiskers with a pleased grin. "That aside, though. What’s this I hear about you pulling off a Unified Elemental spell?"

Uhtred snorted.

"Stop acting like you don’t already know. You said it yourself that you’ve been watching us for months. You’ve surely seen me use the spell more than once, so there’s no need for pretenses."

Roy was about to respond when suddenly, two figures materialized in the room, one of them tumbling to the ground with a gasp.

Hassan rolled to a stop, his eyes scanning the room vigilantly before he relaxed.

King Alexei, on the other hand, landed on his two feet, his posture firm and steady.

"Uhtred. Diya. Perfection..." King Alexei scanned the room. "...And a rat?"

"That’s Roy," Diya clarified simply.

"Haha! You see, Uhtred. That’s how a normal person should react."

While they spoke, Zara appeared next, landing gracefully on her feet. She took in the situation in the room and showed no reaction on her face.

"Another one who’s not normal," Roy chortled.

Black Sun, Isolde Castiglione, Antoine Blanc, and White Raven, all arrived next.

Once the whole human squad had arrived, Roy clapped his hands excitedly.

"Alright, my Champions! Congratulations on successfully clearing the First Floor! I told you it was going to be a walk in the park, didn’t I?"

"Turns out I was worried for nothing,"Hassan snorted.

"Roy, I thought you said this trial was going to be interesting," King Alexei grunted, crossing his massive arms. "There was nothing interesting about that floor at all. This King could barely keep his eyes open from how boring it was."

Roy chuckled, then casually flicked his wrist.

The wall on the right side of the room immediately lit up with a holographic projection displaying the first floor they had just come from.

The timer had reached the last minute, and it was full-on carnage. Bodies were dropping in millions. Aliens were fighting for their lives, trying to bypass the horde above.

Those who had made their way close to the top but were being blocked by others were also trying to stop those below them from moving upward through any potential gap.

It was an "if I die, you die" situation, and the host was going crazy commentating for the audience to enjoy.

"Hmph! You lot had better thank me for insisting on keeping the floor details from you," Roy harrumphed.

"Huh? Thank you for what? You’re our Handler, aren’t you?" Hassan replied with a smirk. "Besides, we were the ones who chose not to hear the details. Remember, you would have spilled it if we pushed."

"Thanks, Roy," Uhtred spoke up, cutting off the Handler before he could launch into a long-winded tirade about who deserved credit.

The rat man huffed, though he looked secretly pleased by the gesture.

On the screen, the timer finally reached the last second, ticking down to zero, and immediately, the host began to cheer like he was excited for what came next.

The shimmering distortion above Floor 1 disappeared entirely, trapping everyone who had not crossed.

Hahaha!!! Would you look at that, viewers! A whopping 48% of ascenders failed to cross in this cycle! How many of you predicted this? I know plenty of you just made a fortune, while a whole lot of others just lost an insane amount of money!!

The host burst into laughter.

But don’t worry, there are plenty more ways to win it back! The true trials of the Illustrious Tower of Wonders are officially beginning! I know you’ve all found your favorites already! We have two Divine Grade talents this cycle! Seven hundred thousand Mythic Grade talents! And even someone who has mastered a Unified Elemental Spell! This cycle is off to an extremely promising start! So buckle your seatbelts and enjoy!!

So, without further ado, let us review the audience votes for how we shall execute the 48% who failed to ascend!

A dramatic drumroll echoed through the screen, followed by a large text in red:

And the general consensus is...

Death by Total Bifurcation!!!