Proof of Qualification (3)
An administrator?
I had never seen or heard of anything like this.
KWAAAAAAAH!!
A monstrous torrent of mana was swirling together right in front of me.
Prickling, prickling.
It was such an overwhelming force of mana that goosebumps rose across my skin.
- Ha! To think the administrator himself would appear.
Even Aleon seemed to be experiencing a situation like this for the first time.
Who is the administrator?
I had heard the rumors in passing — that every floor of the tower had an administrator to govern it. Some claimed the being was an angel, others a demon. Every manner of imagination had been conjured up to describe it.
And today, I was about to see that administrator's true form with my own two eyes.
- The administrator is…….
Ellaon seemed to know exactly what kind of being the administrator was.
But the moment Aleon opened his mouth to explain, the administrator manifested before me first.
『Well, this is an unprecedented occurrence.』
A deep, resonant bass voice.
Its outward appearance was no different from a human's. The only difference, if you could call it that, was that a brilliant white radiance poured from its entire body.
I could understand why someone had described it as an angel.
Looking closely, however, there were several ways it differed from humankind.
First, there were scales jutting from patches of its skin — scales that resembled those of a dragon.
And then, ten wings unfurled from its back. Four were feathered like an angel's. Four were smooth and scaled like a demon's. And the remaining two were covered in dragon scales, shaped like the wings of the dragonkin.
Besides that, two horns rose from its forehead — the curling ram's horns commonly seen on the demonkin.
So that's why some described it as a demon.
At the sight of that form, one race I had long heard tales of flashed through my mind.
Could it be… a Heavenly Dragon?
- Indeed. Each floor's administrator is a Heavenly Dragon. And not just any common class — the nobility take turns assuming the post. Ten wings, you say? Then it must truly be one of the nobility.
Good heavens.
I had come face to face with a Heavenly Dragon — the race said to hold the noblest, most exalted power in all of the Sky Tower. Even the Seven Ascenders were no more than newborn infants before the Heavenly Dragons; their renown towered higher than the heavens themselves.
『Ascender, you have produced a result that exceeds the parameters set for the Proof of Qualification. I intend to determine a reward befitting you by my own judgment. Do you consent?』
Some Heavenly Dragons were savage and vicious, but many of them were rational beings. The administrator before me was no different — it was prepared to calculate my reward fairly and reasonably.
But before that.
There was something that needed settling first.
I turned my head with a faint smile. Behind me stood four trolls, staring blankly at the Heavenly Dragon as if their souls had left their bodies. Scum that didn't even deserve to be called human. Blinded by money, they'd deliberately thrown the match?
"Administrator, is intentional trolling permitted in the Proof of Qualification?"
『What is "trolling"?』
Ah, right — a Heavenly Dragon might not know human slang.
I restated the term more precisely.
"I mean those who deliberately engineer their own defeat in a match."
『That constitutes a violation of the Rules.』
"Just as I thought, then?"
Smirking at the administrator's words, I turned my head. The four Ascenders flinched, watching me with expressions of rising dread.
"The people behind me engaged in intentional trolling during this Proof of Qualification. Under such circumstances, they ought to be sanctioned — am I wrong?"
『If they "trolled" intentionally, then sanctions must be applied. That is correct.』
At those words, the faces of the four Ascenders drained white.
"W-wait just a moment!"
"W-we never trolled on purpose!"
"This is slander."
"That man is lying right now to monopolize the reward for himself!"
Wow.
These people were actually insane, weren't they? Blood rushed to my head at their shameless, brazen attitude. You rotten bastards. If I ever run into you outside, I swear I won't let it slide.
When I glared at them, seething, they flinched and looked away — and yet even then, they refused to retract a single word they'd just said. From watching my exchange with the administrator, they must have judged that it knew nothing of the match's contents.
But that was their fatal miscalculation.
『Whether or not they "trolled" can be determined simply by reviewing the match.』
"Huh?"
"W-wait a moment."
Only then did the four Ascenders scramble to open their mouths. But it was already too late.
TWANG!
The administrator flicked its wrist, and its eyes flooded with every color of light.
SHWAAAAAAAAH!
That wave of light began to rewind at astonishing speed. It was replaying the match.
『These wretches are foul indeed. Not content with violating the Rules, they utter falsehoods before my very eyes?』
Anger seeped into the administrator's voice.
"U-ughh!"
"W-we were wrong."
"It won't happen again, please, show mercy……"
They begged for leniency in voices shrill with terror, but the bus had already left the station.
『You four are unworthy of the rewards of the Proof of Qualification. Not only here, but on every other floor as well, your eligibility to take the trial is hereby stripped from you.』
"Nooo!"
"N-no, please!"
"W-we were wrong! Please!"
That meant their growth would be catastrophically stunted from this point forward. And the punishment did not stop there.
『Furthermore, for the crime of manipulating the sacred Rules, I bestow upon you the Administrator's Debuff. All of your stats shall be permanently reduced by fifty percent.』
It was a death sentence. It meant they could no longer act within the Sky Tower at all.
Shattered by that brutal reality, the four of them finally made the worst possible choice.
"S-screw that! Like there's any such thing!"
"Goddammit! I knew it, you—"
"Just kill me instead, you bastard!"
"It's do or die anyway. Dammit! Kill me!"
What kind of desperate bravado was this? Had they grown numb to death from dying and reviving again and again in this space conjured by the power of Illusion? Or did they believe that even if they died here, they would simply revive once more?
They each drew their weapons and charged at the administrator.
『Tch.』
The administrator clicked its tongue briefly as it watched them come.
『You are now subject to summary judgment.』
TWANG.
The administrator snapped its right thumb and index finger together. And then—
Commencing the incineration of the grave offenders.
KWAAAAAAAAAH!!
Four pillars of light came crashing down from the heavens. The beams engulfed the four Ascenders where they stood.
"Kgh……!"
"GAAAAAH—!"
"Ughaaaak!"
With nothing left behind but the brief, final screams, they vanished from that spot without so much as a speck of dust remaining.
- Fools, the lot of them. This is a domain of dominion woven from that Heavenly Dragon's power itself. And yet they made a choice more pitiful than a moth hurling itself into the flames.
And so they were annihilated.
Should I call it one less headache — I no longer needed to deal with them personally later? Though I'll admit, it was a little disappointing that I couldn't be the one to grind them into dust with my own hands.
Anyway, in this space, the administrator might as well be invincible.
Could I survive an attack like that? The question crossed my mind.
- If you use Time Protection, you could block it once.
A 9-Star skill. With that one second of complete invulnerability, it seemed he could withstand a single strike. But what about after that?
I'm not sure my attacks would even land.
Hard to say. It didn't feel like he had literally zero chance — but either way, the conclusion was clear: under no circumstances could he afford to make an enemy of the administrator here. …Maybe later, once he'd grown far stronger.
『This conversation has run long, thanks to those vermin. Now, let us return to the matter of your reward. You have achieved a result surpassing the maximum score set for this trial. Accordingly, I wish to grant you a card that guarantees the acquisition of a Mythic Skill. Will you accept?』
Uh, hold on. That's it?
Of course, a guaranteed Mythic skill was an enormous prize. Normally, the best reward this trial could offer only raised the probability of pulling a Mythic skill — actually drawing one was extraordinarily rare. Anyone else would have snatched the offer up with both hands.
But I can just pick whatever I want with the Sage's Sight.
Well then — time to negotiate.
What the administrator had offered was a guaranteed improvement in quality. So instead, I demanded a reward that expanded quantity.
"Instead of the guaranteed Mythic skill card, could I receive two cards that have a chance of yielding Mythic grade?"
『Hmm? You mean to stake it on your luck. Under ordinary circumstances, even a single Mythic skill is beyond reach. Even if fortune smiled and two Legendary skills came up, they would still fall short of one Mythic. Are you certain?』
Oh, absolutely. No need to worry about me.
"I'm certain. As it happens, I have a feeling my luck is good today."
『…If that is your will, I shall respect it.』
Done! The negotiation was a success.
The administrator snapped its fingers once more.
『May fortune walk with you on the road ahead.』
What a class act, that administrator. With those parting words, he vanished from the spot.
Using the Sage's Sight while the administrator was watching would have been rather uncomfortable — but he'd delivered exactly the reward and departed. Heh. Now that's what I call manners.
I grinned as I watched the twin streams of starlight pour down. And then, Sage's Sight activated. The pure white starlights began to bleed into every color.
There it is.
Amid all those multicolored lights, an emerald radiance gleamed brilliantly. I felt the corners of my mouth curl upward into a smirk.
A rule violation has occurred during the Floor 3 Qualification Trial.
Reason: Intentional Trolling
Parties: 4 Ascenders
Penalty: Permanent Annihilation
Please exercise utmost care to ensure that such incidents do not recur in the future.
The announcement appeared out of nowhere. Those who had been waiting for the results of Unknown's Proof of Qualification were left utterly bewildered.
It was a message unlike anything in the history of the Sky Tower — and it took only moments for people to connect it to Unknown.
People had assumed that because of the trolls, Unknown had kissed his shot at the rankings goodbye. But that notion lasted only a moment. Unknown had proven, beyond any doubt, exactly why he deserved to be called God-Known.
Unknown, again. Again-Unknown! He'd wiped the previous number one record clean off the board.
The Community roiled once more before Unknown's record.
In the midst of all that, Hajun quietly slipped out of the Floor 3 Battlefield Trial — and smiled to himself in secret.
Ha. Incredible.
His heart was pounding so hard it felt like his chest was being beaten with a bat. And why wouldn't it be?
Because he had obtained two brilliantly gleaming 3-Star (★★★) Mythic skills!
Skill check!
Feeling more giddy than he had on his very first date with a girlfriend, Hajun pulled up the information on the Mythic skills he had just acquired.