The two men had been talking for the past fifteen minutes, one trying to get his guinea pig back, the other trying to learn more of the world.

“Why did you decide to work as an Administrator?” Stanley asked the man in a black suit.

“Why ask that? Why not what the rewards are or how much I’m payed for my job?” he asked before saying conspiratorially “It’s a lot by the way. Way more than my last job. Whoever said that retirement could be entertaining wasn’t thinking clearly,”

“That’s not really an answer Mr. Takahashi,”

“Not going to let this go are you?” he asked, to which Stanley shook his head. “Fine,” Takahashi gathered himself before answering. “Medical bills. I was running out of money,”

“You’re sick?”

“No. Not me. Healthy as a horse, see,” he said before jokingly flexing his bicep. “It’s my wife. I’d rather not go into the details, but it’s been hard for both of us,”

“I understand. Thanks for telling me. Sorry if it’s like I’m interrogating you, I just really feel that it’s important for me to understand what my world is becoming involved with,” Stanley said

“Information gathering eh? Good call. How long has your world been connected to others?” Takahashi asked.

“I’m honestly not sure. I only became aware of the phenomenon within the last few months,”

“That’s a tough one. My guess is about five to ten years. Usually how long it takes before things like this get into the public sphere,”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure most of the people where I’m from don’t know about it yet. It’s been a little isolating, like there’s so much happening but I’ve been told not to talk about it yet. They’ve assured me that an announcement will be made within the next week though,”

“And you said the Titanite Empire was probing your town’s defences?”

“Yes. They targeted me for some reason, probably as a test case to observe the reaction of the local authorities,”

“Hmm. It’s good the Halite Republic was there to back you up then. You said a man named Albert was their representative?”

“Indeed. It’s as you say. And yes, that’s his name,” Stanley considered the previously destroyed pillar that had already begun repairing itself. “What do you think of those two? The Empire and the Republic I mean,”

“They’ve been at war for as long as I’ve been around, which I suppose isn’t that long. I’m turning sixty-five this year in case you’re wondering,” he paused at Stanley’s reaction. “Don’t give me that look, age suppression is a heavily regulated industry,” he said before letting out a short laugh. “Did you think I was thousands of years old or something?” Takahashi asked, giving him an amused look.

“No Mr. Takahashi. I was just surprised,” he paused, forming a smile of his own. “You look so young after all,” he said seriously.

“Now I know you’re messing with me,” Takahashi responded merrily before sobering himself up. “But in all seriousness, try to avoid the topic of age when dealing with people like me. There are quite a few people that are unhappy about being unable to access the more advanced anti-aging processes,”

“Noted,”

“Will you stop calling me Mr. Takahashi, you don’t work for me or anything, so it’s a little weird,”

“Respectfully, no sir. I’m practicing how to speak to my commanding officer. I’ve entered into the Halite military you see. On terms of my choosing, but still. Pays to be prepared,”

“Military man eh?” Takahashi said, considering him in a different light. “Didn’t you say something about being a pacifist? Never mind, back to your question, I think both governments have their strengths, I’ve had to deal with both Titanite and Halite people before. They’d probably flip if I let them know, but they seemed pretty similar to me,”

“I see. Strange universe we live in,”

“Indeed. Now then, will you help me get my pet guinea pig back? Fiona has been worried about him,”

“Your wife?”

“Yeah,” replied Takahashi.

After considering it for a moment he responded “Sure. I just have to clear these tower things right? And they stop any serious injury from occurring?”

“Correct on both accounts. Can you think of how many lawsuits I’d have to deal with if we didn’t protect people on the premises?”

Stanley gave him a blank look before mumbling to himself “Yeah. That’s exactly what I thought last time,”

Is it just Halite’s legal system that’s weird?

Freeing Stanley from his introspection, Takahashi said “I’ve scanned the Sea Shell device that you use, and it’s permitted within this Challenge Tower. I’d advise you to find something more,” he paused, searching for the right word. “More suited to this kind of situation. The rewards you receive for your performance should have something useful for you in that regard,”

“Sounds good. So I just register at the pillar over there?”

“Yes. Best of luck to you. I have other matters to attend to, but feel free to contact me through the central pillar should there be any problems. I should warn you though, Administrators are strictly forbidden from interfering in the Challenge taking process,”

“Understood. Thanks for all the information, I’ll do my best,”

Takahashi took in the surrounding structure once again before turning to leave the area, flickering as he walked before disappearing similarly to how he appeared.

Is it really wise to trust that man? I should get a second opinion.

Stanley proceeded to check in with Albert and update him on the current circumstances through a text report. After sending it, he only had to wait in the forest for a half hour before receiving a reply. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with a strong suggestion that building ties with an organisation like the Administrators which was both neutral in the war and respectable in their conduct would be very beneficial to the Halite Republic.

Great. Didn’t I say once that I didn’t want to be a politician?

A cool wind blew through the forest, falling leaves accompanying the air movement. The main light source under the now dark sky was the Challenge Tower behind him.

I suppose diplomacy isn’t so bad. Maybe I can bring about world peace. Universal peace? How would that work?

Amused by his own thoughts, he returned to the tower, this time with a quest.

Takahashi seems like a nice guy. If I can help him out, why not?

* * * * *

Ridiculous

Stanley kept putting one foot in front of the other on the narrow walkway. He was 50 metres above the floor of the Challenge Tower. Apparently this was the fifth out of a hundred challenges that this particular location offered.

At least I’m slowly letting go of my fear of heights.

Fireballs shot out from multiple directions. He paused to examine the position and order that they were shot in.

Right, left, back.

He summoned a shield on the first side in need of protection, careful to only move it to the next direction after he’d heard an impact. So far, they wouldn’t launch more than one at the same time. Letting himself get hit would lead to having to restart the floor, while also being forced to listen to some of the worst advice he’d ever had the pleasure of enduring.

Normally, projectiles like this would be something he’d leave to a background function that placed a shield whenever an object flew within a certain distance of him. This particular challenge, however, seemed to really dislike it when he relied on automated functions, with the usual reaction to purposely change the parameters of the challenge to negate any benefit that the function would otherwise provide. For similar reasons, he couldn’t just walk around like a turtle surrounded by armour all the time. The placement of barriers had to be timed manually and removed as soon as they were no longer necessary.

After successfully blocking the incoming projectiles, two small floating cubes appeared at the beginning of the floor, twenty metres behind him. They were on opposite sides of the narrow stone walkway. Between them a red laser activated. It was at waist level. Stanley watched as it started heading towards him, likely to cut down anyone standing along the path.

Can’t I just duck below it?

In response to his lack of reaction, a second laser appeared below the last, limiting his manoeuvring options. He started running, hoping to reach the exit before they could cut him. Realising that he was still too far from the end of the walkway, he turned and faced the lasers and began running towards them. Heatwaves radiated off them, distorting the air. They only travelled at walking speed. Once he was close enough, he tried to jump over them. The bottom of his shoes sizzled as he passed over them. Seeming to ignore his action, the cubes continued their journey towards the exit.

Seems that only one of the cubes on each side is actually projecting the laser, the other only being a receptacle.

Hoping that the lasers would deactivate once they reached the exit for this floor, he followed at a safe distance. Unfortunately, once the cubes reached the doorway, they began heading back in Stanley’s direction. Seeing no other way forward, he prepared to jump once again. Just as his feet were about to leave the ground to start another running jump, another set of cubes appeared at shoulder level, accompanied by another laser. Unable to change course with his current velocity, he raced to think of a solution. The heat from the new beam reached his outstretched leg as he sailed towards it. Before he made contact with it, he activated a barrier to cover the source of the offending beam. Even as he flew past the now clear path, the concrete barrier began to melt from the heat. He still hadn’t hit the ground when the structural integrity of his hastily placed obstacle was compromised, letting the red beam through unhindered. The heat could be felt along his back, but he soon made contact with the ground.

Upon realising that he still hadn’t failed his task, he raced towards the exit.

“Congratulations. You’ve cleared the fifth floor and have earned your first reward,” came the voice of the tower system.

Taking an elevator which consisted of a small floating platform back to ground level, Stanley considered what this might mean.

Perhaps asking what the rewards were would have been a good idea. It was a little hard to keep myself focused though. It’s not every day you get to meet a guy administrating an interdimensional Challenge Tower system. I believe he said there were at least ten thousand towers. Hard to believe there’s only one hundred people administrating over a system so large. Maybe they have assistants?

Arriving at the central pillar, he manipulated the screen to show his rewards.

‘Fifth floor completed. First reward ready for collection. Flexible Energy Shield, rarity uncommon. Click to claim,’

Claiming his prize, a baseball appeared in his outstretched hand. Apparently the control device for his new shield.

Neat.