I was condemned for the part I had to play in this battle. The world remembered me not as a hero but as someone in the way. History is written by the victor, and I can say for certain I wasn’t the big winner here. Users without the charisma parameter have it rough when it comes to their public image.

Who is more believable, Miss Ito, a trained sorceress from the Acura Isles, or some slave sold by his own brothers? The name Ito Rin is known across the world as the name of the avenger of Flank Town.

While I fought, Ito used her connections to the Acura Isles and fully functional social media to spread her own narrative. She received donations in the form of coins and dice. By the time my battle with King ended, she had become the richest user on the planet.

…

The stairs led ever onward up the tower, and I stared down at the remnants of charisma King’s room. Broken flashing mage lights lined the building’s interior as it continued to rise. Wisps of QI filled the air and fanned the flames I left behind on lower floors. Bodies burned, and creatures of flame toddled out of burning flesh mounds.

Class: Cultivator lvl1/10

Realm: QI Condensation lvl1/9

+10QI

10% of QI added to all physical Parameters.

Years Of Cultivation to the next stage: 1.8

If only I had time to cultivate, I could gain two years’ worth of cultivation here in no time. QI poured into this place thicker than anywhere else in the world. This tower acted as a spirit energy superconductor. But why?

Why did King use highly specialized versions of himself to stall me? Each of them had its weaknesses. King said his Parameters were built to act together. Why separate them if that’s the case? His actions didn’t make sense, and when something doesn’t make sense, it's either because of emotions, or I’m missing something.

Ding!

Investigate lvl2

“Thank you, system I really needed the level up. Why does King get to do what he wants, and I have to fight with my hands tied behind my back?” I asked.

Ding!

System processing inquiry…

Answer: User King no longer participates in his questline.

For some reason, the system sounded a little touchy to me. Ok, King ignored his questline. That doesn’t answer any of my more critical questions. What is his game?

I stepped into a room so covered in blood that the blood smothered furniture was almost perfectly camouflaged. Three fireballs blasted into the room, and I ducked behind the doorway. Flames shot through the doorway from the sudden explosion.

When the fires died down, I stepped into the room. A creature of chitinous white bone with long curled black horns and three shining crimson eyes greeted me. “Red,” the creature screamed and charged, striking with a powerful haymaker.

I blocked the clumsy blow with my left and delivered rapid blows with my spectral arms. My spectral hands formed four Heavy Fireballs and slammed them into the creature’s chest. It screamed as my fireballs exploded.

The creature struggled to its knees and crawled towards me.

“You don’t get it, you fuck. I’m playing you. You’re every victory has either been a distraction or directly benefit me. Don’t you get it? You’ve fallen so far in my hands I could use you as lotion.” The creature said.

A Heavy Fireball materialized in my hand, altered its shape until it resembled a bullet, and fired. Once its legs stopped twitching, it was time to ensure it was truly dead. Half measures were for pussies.

I grabbed either side of its horns and placed my feet on its shoulders. With a single twist, the neck snapped, and I pulled. The creature’s spine bulged for a second before giving way to my strength. Then, with the creature's head off the body, I tossed it in the corner.

I pulled a bottle of wine from my inventory and took a drink. Knowing when to rest was just as important as knowing when to attack. I looked over to the skull resting on the other side of the room.

“Don’t take it personally; I’m strapped for time, and I already have a good idea of what King has planned. Unless he’s buying time to be taken up in an alien ship, I’m certain he’s getting rid of his Parameters. Combine that and refusing to participate in the system questline gives me a good idea of what King planned. The screaming souls trapped within this place clued me in on what he’s making. It's too late for me to back down, and he probably can’t activate the final stage of his plan without all of his Parameter clones dying.” I said to the inanimate skull.

The tower settled just as I climbed the stairs to the open air. There was only one clone left, and that was vitality and wrath. I stared across from a living embodiment of hate and vitality. The sheer size of the monster was daunting. It raised its blade, a massive two-handed buster sword gripped like a kitchen knife in the creature’s big meaty hand.

It dashed forward and slashed down. The entire tower shook as it twisted using its colossal tower shield as a counterweight to slice horizontally with its low sweeping blade. Even without activating sprint, I was much faster. However, my Perception made its swing seem sluggish.

While it was powerful, this creature was simple. The monster had all the drive it could ever need but little in the way of intelligence or the imagination to make use of its vitality. Despite seeing the face of King reflected in the creature’s helmet, this wasn’t my old friend. King might not even be in the tower.

I had to ask while I could, why give up all of his Parameters? Was he reclaiming them with the death of each clone, or were they gone for good? If they are gone for good, why take the risk? I stared over the side and could no longer see any of the red beach below. Only the black sea covered the base of the tower.

My spectral fist extended and smashed into the creature’s lightly armored elbow. The beast dropped its tower shield and clutched its skull.

“So King gave you the least amount of intelligence, or at this stage, he’s fully pulled himself back. You’re just a dog on a chain left here to guard.” My spectral arms slipped between the gaps in the creature’s armored knees and inflicted curse. They did the same with its elbows.

King’s Knight

HP 10,000,000,000/10,000,000,000

So, this creature had more HP than any other creature. Its potential was unmistakable, but King didn’t value it anymore.

That’s why it was chained here along with the other clones. None of them were meant to survive after this ritual. King threw away his Parameters for a reason.

King didn’t want to be a part of the system. “No wonder you were so pissed about being found out. I’m sure with a bit more time, you’d have much more spiritual energy than this.

Class: Cultivator lvl1/10

Realm: QI Condensation lvl1/9

+10QI

10% of QI added to all physical Parameters.

Years Of Cultivation to the next stage: 1.2

As the creature attacked, I tagged it with more curses through its armor-targeting joints. It quickly slowed down and threw its shield off the tower side before gripping its blade with both hands.

“King might be a shit person, but he’s a great engineer. This tower was a great change of scenery from the flesh sewers.” I ducked down the stairs as the big clone swung its blade. “Of course, now there’s no reason to fight you, and you are a bit too large to fit down the stairs.”

The monster was too dumb to eject my curses or even helpfully shift its flesh. I’m sure King thought I’d enjoy dodging and cutting away at his clone’s massive health pool. But, truthfully, there wasn’t a reason to after my curses were fully involved. Killing it when I could let my curses handle it would be a waste.

Ding!

QI +1

QI 84

It's simple; really, every couple of minutes, I could gain free QI, and this tower would be perfect for meditation. Looking for King before the last clone died would be a waste of time. There was so much QI in this place it would be like finding a slightly more yellow piece of straw in a haystack with normal senses. King planned to use this tower for his final play. More than likely, there was a secret door somewhere lower on the tower.

Down below the stairs, an ocean of destructive spiritual energy blocked my path. It swirled and crackled, melting the bodies below. Over at the window, the problem was even worse. The whole world crackled with unrestrained spiritual energy. Only this room and the top of the tower were safe.

There wasn’t a chance in hell of taking King on until his ritual ended. So, I sat my ass down and fell into meditation.

Ten minutes later.

Ding!

QI +2

QI 86

Ding!

Spiritual Manipulation lvl5

Abilities

Containment – The user can keep their spiritual energy from damaging other entities. It is considered rude to inflict spiritual damage onto another without just cause. Aura – The user can project their spirit as a separating barrier to maintain their will and ease cultivation in spirit energy-dense area.

Ding!

Spiritual Manipulation has reached lvl5

QI +1

QI 87

Thirty minutes passed, and thick waves of spiritual energy erupted all around me, held back only by my own aura. I was a soap bubble in an ocean of screaming spiritual energy.

Ding!

Class: Cultivator lvl1/10

Realm: QI Condensation lvl2/9

+25QI

25% of QI added to all physical Parameters.

Years Of Cultivation to the next stage: 10 years

QI 102

My aura bubble didn’t grow from my massive increase in QI; instead, I felt my resolve harden. It was as if I was becoming more myself with every point in QI. This strange feeling of being myself made me question why I wanted to continue with this at all.

I doubted the surface was in too great a shape. Evacuating and bombing the city would have been the best decision. However, hindsight was 20/20; the vampires could have already barred the city’s exits locking everyone inside.

King could have promised them an infinitely renewable blood supply. Stem cell blood production or something was possible for King.

Well, then why was I still here except for the free points. To be blunt, I wanted to see my friend again and judge him. I might have even wanted to see if there was still good in him buried deep down. Instead, all this time, I’ve been dealing with clones or a King gaming me.

Ding!

QI +7

QI 109

Ding!

White/Black Hawk Assassination lvl6

Grudge – Shadow creatures stalk victims of Curse and cause misfortune.

Ding!

White/Black Hawk Assassination has reached lvl6

DEX/QI +4

DEX 50(129.1)

QI 113

A boom reverberated through the tower like the pounding of a great hammer. The screaming mass of spiritual energy quivered and shrieked as another boom sounded. Even my system display crackled into static as the booms resounded.

I pulled at the spiritual energy and cultivated it as quickly as I could. Fighting King would take a lot of power, and I needed to go up another class stage if I wanted to have a chance. This place had so much spiritual energy it would be a shame if King took it all.

To the Next Stage: 3.9 years

More spiritual energy than ever flooded the tower, but the voices in the walls quieted down. Something was happening to them; with every boom, the voices became fewer. Instead of weakening the spiritual energy, it grew stronger. With its increase, my cultivation hastened again.

Ding!

Class: Cultivator lvl1/10

Realm: QI Condensation lvl3/9

+45QI

45% of QI added to all physical Parameters.

Years Of Cultivation to the next stage: 25 years

QI 133

My muscles bulged, and my skin struggled to contain them even as tendons popped and lengthened. Every cell in my body quaked with new energy coursing through my veins. Cultivation had increased my power far more than skills alone could have, at least in their lower levels.

What would the Tower Realm or the Core realm feel like if this was just the QI condensation realm? The sheer increase in power was mind-boggling. Of course, an average human would only be around twice as strong at this point. But, that was still very powerful. Adding Parameters and Skills in the mix ridiculously increased my power.

QI +10

QI 143

I closed my eyes and sighed to get over the massive amounts of power flowing into me. Killing King’s Knight with curse alone would guarantee 100QI; it was truly a staggering number.

QI +30

QI 173

Death was coming more quickly to the monster than predicted. So too did the hammer blows from below. No voices screamed from the walls any longer. The force ripping through the tower had seen to that.

Ding!

White/Black Hawk Assassination lvl7

Ding!

Spiritual Manipulation lvl10

Abilities

Containment – The user can keep their spiritual energy from damaging other entities. It is considered rude to inflict spiritual damage onto another without just cause. Aura – The user can project their spirit as a separating barrier to maintain their will and ease cultivation in spirit energy-dense area. Gravitational Law – Loose spiritual energy is attracted to you, allowing for easier absorption of spiritual energy.

Ding!

Spiritual Manipulation has reached lvl10

QI +2

QI 175

With that single skill, I felt more spiritual energy rush into me than ever before. My sheer number was more than vast enough to attract a great deal of the loose spiritual energy. It also helped me understand the principles behind the tower and what some of the runes may mean.

Class: Cultivator lvl1/10

Realm: QI Condensation lvl4/9

+70QI

70% of QI added to all physical Parameters.

Years Of Cultivation to the next stage: 50 years

QI 200

QI +30

QI 230

Nickname: Red

Title: Traveler

Parameters

STR 37 (262.4) (524.8) (534.8)

CON 23 (207) (414)

DEX 50(315.5)

AGL 31 (295.5)

QI 230

PER 31 (192)

MAG 53 (62.54)

World Waifu Relationships

Kale 24/100

Silent 53/100

Fang Mei 14/100

I felt powerful. That was what I was most certain of when I gained the 3rd stage of Qi Condensation, and the final Parameter clone died. Of course, that was when the tower ruptured, and waves of spiritual power poured out through the seams.

King’s plan was a success, and the ocean of spiritual energy gripped my bubble and forced me out. However, even as I was forced out by the spiritual energy within the world, it continued to grow and condense around King, who was floating in the tower's remnants. It was King, but he no longer had a user tag.

My eyes turned to a small red ring on his glowing blue ring finger.

Artifact detected!

King’s Ring – Contains all skills and Parameters of the former system user King.

When my eyes returned to King himself, the system only gave me error messages. That wasn’t good.

All the while, the spiritual energy continued to coalesce into King’s spiritual body. Hundreds of thousands of souls had been imprisoned in that tower, and King had purged them of their identities and absorbed them. At the same time, he had a ring that granted him all of his other powers as an Alucard-like build. Except for this time, he could take the ring off and be what I figured was a bleach character. It was all starting to make a mad kind of sense.

He didn’t trust the system, so he removed himself from it and used a ring as a back door to maintain his powers through the system. Then he performed a grand ritual that caged the minds of hundreds of thousands in a Fullmetal alchemist style philosopher stone tower before taking care of the screaming soul problem and absorbing their pure spiritual essence into his own. Then he got rid of his body and merged his parameters in a ring. Basically, he multiclassed a spiritualist with a flesh mage.

That’s why he couldn’t just make cancerous growths to satisfy his vitae needs. I didn’t try to invade his sanctum and stop him because I knew it wouldn’t work. The wards protecting the lower levels of the tower were much stronger than on the upper floors. My fireballs would have proven ineffective. Even If I managed to claw my way down to him, I was certain there was a massive gap in power between us. Fighting him in his sanctum would have been impossible. I needed a lot more power.

The power I had now wasn’t impotent.

King’s ejection blasted me up through the stone of the sewers.

A building managed to stop me just in time. I stepped out of my crater and stared down at the wreckage of Flank town. The fighting in the street hadn’t stopped.

Now that King was no longer preoccupied, the clones began to fight smarter. A challenging but winnable fight for the remaining citizens of Flank town below became impossible. That couldn’t be allowed. I raised my hand, and Heavy Fireballs formed, condensed, and warped until they resembled bullets. With a command, they all fired, maintaining their shape until they impacted their targets. The clones exploded and burned too quickly to regenerate. I sucked in a breath.

Just a taste of the air, the sights left behind from the battle, and the sounds of thousands still fighting told me the story of the massacre. There were still safe havens within the cities. Some buildings had managed to cast out the clones and fortify in record time. Kale and Fang Mei had fared well despite the difficult situation. Miss Ito and her green beams were nowhere to be found. Silent fought with the other Hyenoids to keep them from their compound. King’s Berserkers charged through a barricade and killed several defenders before ice magic finally brought the monster down.

I stepped off the building and plummeted to the ground below. A Berserker was nice enough to be my cushion, and my fall squished it into paste. The ground shook as the flesh walls ripped open the town like an overripe watermelon.

King burst out from the depths of the city human in appearance and dressed in flowing black robes. The ring on his hand glowed with crimson red light as tentacles rapidly snatched the city's defenders from the air before dragging them into fleshy maws.

King’s Game was over now; the fight between us would begin.