Chapter 196: Climb
Uhtred quickly looked around, his sharp gaze cutting through the wall of alien bodies pressing against him from all sides. The crowd was packed so tightly that moving a single inch required shoving against dense muscle, armored hides, or slimy membranes.
Damn! Were we all scattered?
"Uhtred!" A familiar voice called out over the noise.
About twenty feet to his left, a hand waved frantically above the sea of heads. It was Diya. She was trying to push her way through the dense cluster of alien bodies separating them, but the number of tightly-pressed bodies made it practically impossible.
"Everyone hold your positions!"
A deep, booming roar echoed above the commotion. King Alexei’s massive frame stood head and shoulders above the average crowd height roughly fifteen feet to Uhtred’s right. The giant man was using his vantage point to survey their immediate surroundings.
"We were all separated, but we’re all still within the same area! Maintain your ground!" Alexei shouted, pointing out positions.
Uhtred followed Alexei’s line of sight and quickly spotted the rest of their team. Zara was standing calmly a short distance away, her cold eyes scanning the crowd. Isolde, White Raven, Black Sun, Antoine Blanc, and Perfection were all visible, raising hands or signaling their locations through the crowd.
However, near the edge of their cluster, trouble was already brewing.
Hassan Al-Malik was currently locked in a heated verbal altercation with a massive, quadrupedal alien pressed up against his side.
The creature looked like a grotesque mix between a heavy mechanical exoskeleton and a gooey biological interior. It snarled down at Hassan, and Hassan, true to his fiery nature, was snarling right back, his posture ready for a fight at a moment’s notice .
Uhtred opened his mouth, about to bark an order at Hassan Al-Malik to shut his mouth and save his energy, when a voice suddenly boomed across the entire floor.
Oho! This universe really birthed a lot of sapient life! It seems we’re in for a treat this cycle, viewers!!
The voice didn’t come from a loudspeaker or a specific direction. It resonated directly from the sky above — a featureless, glowing expanse that offered no clue as to the speaker’s physical location.
The deafening roar of billions died down slightly as countless eyes turned toward the sky.
Was it the System? A Tower master? Or the host of the broadcast?
All right then! As is tradition, the First Floor trial will begin immediately! Viewers, ready yourselves! This is where you get to see who has actual potential and who is absolute trash! A surprising 70% of the races present actually have zero clue what this floor is going to be about!
This is going to be exquisite!
But first of all...
A loud intermission beep was heard, followed very quickly by a monotonous announcement voice:
(A 10-second penalty has been imposed on all climbers who are aware of the test of the first floor)
Immediately, wild, furious roars rang out across the sea of ascenders. The 30% of alien races who had forced their Handlers to reveal the floor’s contents prior to entry immediately realized they were in serious trouble.
They were currently locked in place, their bodies enveloped in translucent red spatial bindings that completely paralyzed their movements.
Shouting, cursing, and violent altercations broke out instantaneously. The remaining 70% of uninformed ascenders — particularly those who were simply chaotic or aggressive — began eyeing the paralyzed rankers like helpless prey.
The invisible host said nothing to stop it, clearly delighted by the Multiversal viewers enjoying the show..
Right next to Uhtred’s position, a short, stout alien with pink, rubbery skin began to panic. Furious at its own Handler or perhaps simply overwhelmed by the chaotic atmosphere, its head split open at the crown, spewing a thick, violet cloud of noxious, acidic gas directly into the surrounding crowd.
Several lower-level aliens caught in the plume immediately began coughing blood, their flesh blistering upon contact.
Uhtred didn’t hesitate. With a subtle flick of his intent, he cycled his air essence.
A localized barrier of compressed, swirling wind materialized around his body, instantly repelling the toxic vapor and preventing a single drop of the acid from touching his skin.
Suddenly, the same beep of intermission came again, followed immediately by the monotonous announcement voice:
(As decided by a majority vote from the multiversal audience, the 30% of climbers with prior knowledge shall suffer an additional 10-second penalty)
(Total Penalty Remaining: 17 Seconds)
"You sadistic bastards!!" an armored alien nearby screamed, thrashing futilely against its red spatial binding.
The crowd’s hostility reached a boiling point. The stout pink alien near Uhtred began to vibrate violently, its head spewing even denser volumes of toxic gas in a full-blown panic attack. Nearby ascenders began staggering backward, screaming in agony as the acid ate through their armor.
Uhtred reinforced his wind barrier, injecting more essence into the spell to form three different layers of pressurized air. He began shifting his feet, pushing against the dense crowd to put distance between himself and the frantic pink alien.
Suddenly, a sleek, insectoid ascender standing a few paces away suddenly snapped. Its elongated, scythe-like arm whipped through the air with a speed so blinding it was nearly imperceptible to the naked eye.
A clean line of pink fluid sprayed across the crowd.
The stout alien’s head slid cleanly off its shoulders, its expression still frozen in a frantic scowl as its headless body collapsed onto the ground, gushing bright pink blood.
Uhtred watched the execution with cold, impassive eyes. He braced himself, half-expecting the host or the Tower mechanics to intervene and penalize the insectoid for killing before the trial officially commenced.
Instead, the host’s cheerful voice returned, completely unbothered.
Alright! The objective of this floor is pretty simple...
Climb to the next floor.
It doesn’t matter how, or through what means, but in ten minutes, everyone still on this floor will die.
Right in the featureless sky, a massive, crimson countdown timer materialized, large enough for everyone to see from every corner of the impossibly large floor, counting down steadily.
[09 : 59]
[09 : 58]
[09 : 57]
Uhtred’s eyes narrowed as he stared up at the ticking clock.
Well, damn... Shit just got real.