The Zero-Aptitude Savior
Chapter 10.
Right after the third gateway, Sanctuary Purification, began.
Darakan, the seed of the dark elves, let out a cheer of triumph.
"This is my chance."
A sinister smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
In the second gateway, the aptitude test.
There, the strongest rival he'd pegged—Rag—had scored a big fat zero.
Black this, black that, but in the end, Manager GuGu's verdict was nothing.
It meant zero aptitude for handling disasters.
Lucky bastard.
Darakan was convinced.
Jackpotting a Calamity Dragon in the first trial? Pure dumb luck.
And it was just a newborn hatchling at that.
What could a lizard the size of his fist even do?
He was different, though.
"Go! Wipe 'em all out!"
Kuuaaaang!
With Darakan's roar, a massive shadow engulfed the forest.
His familiar, the Abyss Dragon.
Not fully grown, but the house-sized beast's breath was overwhelming.
Whoooosh!
Dark blue flames devoured the corrupted spirits.
The mist-shaped monsters vanished without even a scream.
"Hahaha! That's more like it!"
Darakan clenched his fist.
Overwhelming force.
This was the makings of a god.
Raw destructive power Rag could never mimic.
I'll claim first place in this gateway.
Then I can flip the overall scores.
And ascend as the rightful lord of the first floor.
Dreaming of that sweet future, Darakan charged through the forest.
But.
"...Damn, why are there so many?"
Less than ten minutes in, Darakan's face twisted.
No matter how many he cut down, they kept coming.
Clear one fog bank, and another surged in.
The spirits were weak individually.
A swipe of the Abyss Dragon's claws burst dozens at a time.
The problem was the numbers.
Kieeeek!
Krrruuuh...
Eerie cries echoed from every direction.
Crimson-black fog choked his vision.
It felt like sinking into quicksand.
The more he struggled, the deeper he got pulled.
"Hah... hah..."
Darakan's breaths grew ragged.
Even the Abyss Dragon showed signs of fatigue.
Its breath's power was visibly waning.
This can't be.
This wasn't a test.
It was a massacre.
Purify tens of thousands—no, hundreds of thousands—of spirits?
Impossible from the start.
"Urgh! Block them! Don't let them get close!"
Darakan screamed hysterically.
The spirits surged right up to his face.
A rotting stench stabbed his nose, like flesh decaying on his skin.
Terror washed over him.
If I'm struggling like this...
Suddenly, he wondered about the other seeds.
He had the top-tier Abyss Dragon, and he was in this mess.
What about the rest?
They're all dead.
No need to check.
Dogs' deaths.
Especially that guy.
Rag.
The zero-aptitude loser.
With nothing but his fist-sized hatchling.
Obviously torn apart by spirits at the forest entrance.
Not even bones left.
"Serves him right."
Darakan took solace in it.
His struggle was because the difficulty was insane.
At least he was holding on.
Surviving alone put him in the top ranks.
He was rationalizing it to himself when—
Flash!
The sanctuary's heart.
Far in the distance, a blinding light erupted.
"...?"
He doubted his eyes.
Like the sun rising.
The violet, diseased sky wiped white in an instant.
And then.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
The delayed thunderclap slammed his eardrums.
The earth quaked.
Trees uprooted around him.
Darakan flung himself flat, screaming.
"Aaaagh! What the hell?!"
A nuke?
The shockwave swept the entire forest.
The persistent spirits scattered like leaves in a gale, gone without a trace.
The fog lifted.
The world fell silent.
Darakan dazedly lifted his head.
Dust and smoke choked the sanctuary's core.
A colossal mushroom cloud bloomed there.
What... the hell was that?
Before he could process it—
The third gateway, Sanctuary Purification, has ended.
The sanctuary's pollution source has been completely removed.
All seeds, cease actions immediately.
Ended?
Already?
Darakan's jaw dropped.
Pollution source removed?
Who? How?
The manager intervene?
Difficulty glitch, test aborted?
As confusion swirled, another message appeared.
Calculating gateway clear contributions.
Announcing rankings.
Rankings.
Darakan swallowed hard.
Right, if someone cleared it, rankings make sense.
He'd taken out plenty early with the Abyss Dragon.
First place was in reach.
But.
As he scrolled, Darakan's eyes bulged.
1st: Rag(Contribution 99.7%)
2nd: Darakan(Contribution 0.15%)
3rd: Seria(Contribution 0.1%)
[...]
"...Ha?"
His breath caught.
Must've misread.
99.7%?
Did it all alone?
And his own second-place contribution? Decimal dust.
Worse than dirt.
"Th-this... what..."
Impossible.
Can't accept it.
Zero aptitude, they said.
Empty shell with no powers!
A dream.
Has to be.
Darakan rubbed his eyes.
Looked again. And again.
The floating numbers didn't budge.
99.7%.
Slap!
He smacked his own cheek hard.
Stinging pain, but the nightmare held.
"Does... that even make sense?"
That mushroom cloud that obliterated the core.
Power that reshaped the terrain.
One human did that?
The zero-aptitude guy?
"No way! He couldn't have that kind of power!"
Darakan bellowed in rage—
Whoooosh!
The sky split open.
Storm clouds parted, a blinding holy pillar poured down.
Someone rose slowly within the light.
"...An angel?"
All seeds' gazes locked skyward.
Archangel Avriel.
The sanctuary's guardian, ascending.
In her arms, someone cradled.
Limp limbs.
Golden-haired man with head lolling.
Rag.
"D-dead?"
"No way he survived that blast."
The seeds murmured.
Looked like he'd perished in the explosion's aftermath.
Hope flickered in Darakan's eyes.
Yeah, he had to be dead.
Monsters like that shouldn't exist.
But.
Hearken.
Avriel's voice echoed across the sanctuary.
A solemn tone that inspired awe and reverence.
This one honored my children and judged the Mad God none could bear.
Avriel cradled Rag's body tenderly.
Like handling a sacred relic.
Most merciful, most destructive one.
I, Avriel, from this day swear to serve you as my new god and sole master.
"...!"
No time for shock to burst out.
Whoooosh!
Blinding radiance poured from Avriel's body.
Her form seemed to scatter into light particles.
Then coalesced into a new shape.
Ching!
A clear, resonant snap.
Where the light faded, no angel remained.
Instead.
A holy sword with dazzling white wing-shaped crossguard floated beside Rag.
"...Huh."
Darakan couldn't close his mouth.
Not enough with the Calamity Dragon.
...Even the sanctuary's archangel became a weapon to follow Rag.
Manager GuGu pressed a flipper to his forehead.
...Screwed.
His head throbbed.
This wasn't in the plan.
No, the whole scenario was upended.
The third gateway's true design was clear.
Surface level: Sanctuary Purification.
Real intent: Assassination contract.
Target: Archangel Avriel.
Goal: Break the seal she guarded with her life.
In other words, free Toolkacha, the Mad God.
Toolkacha's authority is too valuable.
GuGu clicked his tongue.
Erupting Volcano.
Not just spewing hot lava.
Power to command all volcanic veins.
Even force lower fire- and earth-aspect gods to submit—a ruler's dominion.
The tower's gods would drool.
But issues.
Toolkacha went mad, sealed by noble Avriel.
No justification.
Gods prized face.
Kill a sane archangel to free a lunatic god?
Asgard's public opinion wouldn't stand it.
So, the ploy.
Throw in clueless 'seeds'.
Spirits attack, seeds fight back to survive.
Naturally turn hostile to Avriel.
If seeds kill her, gods swoop in, snag Toolkacha, done.
Perfect scheme.
Until that lunatic Rag showed up.
How the hell did he do it?
GuGu narrowed his eyes at Rag.
Playing passed out, limp—but vitality intact.
No, stronger than before.
Teaming with Avriel? Fine.
Borrow her power as a holy sword? Whatever.
But erasure? Impossible.
Gods near-immortal.
Destroy the body, sure—but wipe the divine essence? Whole other league.
Yet Toolkacha? Vanished without trace.
Like someone chewed him up.
The higher-ups will be pissed.
GuGu sighed.
But what could he do?
Spilled milk.
Just hope their wrath aimed at Rag, not him.
Especially since.
Results calculated.
The system spat out results.
Managers were system's slaves.
No personal feelings or politics—results announced fairly.
Weeeeng!
Light flashed, summoning surviving seeds.
"Ugh..."
"S-survived."
Darakan and the rest.
Caked in dirt, crawling on the floor.
Chased to death's door by spirits, barely saved by Rag's blast.
GuGu forced a grin.
Beam.
Pro smile.
"Everyone, great job! Third gateway complete!"
Clap clap clap.
Wings smacked for applause.
Seeds stared blankly up at GuGu.
Couldn't read the room.
"As promised, sanctuary pollution cleared. Though the process was... quite dynamic."
GuGu's gaze lingered on Rag, then away.
"Now, results."
Gulp.
Seeds swallowed.
Faint hope.
Survived, so points?
But GuGu was ice-cold.
He pointed to the floating hologram chart.
"This gateway scored on contribution."
GuGu's voice echoed dryly.
"First: Rag. 300 points."
"...!"
Seeds' jaws dropped.
300 points.
200 was shocking; now 300.
Couldn't even guess the max.
"And..."
GuGu scanned the rest.
Swallowed a sigh.
"Darakan, 2 points."
"...Pardon?"
"Seria, 1 point."
"..."
"Rest, regrettably, 0."
Silence.
Like ice water dumped.
Darakan stammered, trembling.
"T-two points? I took out thousands with the Abyss Dragon...!"
"Yes, you did."
GuGu cut in.
"But zero help clearing the source. Actually stimulated the spirits, raised difficulty."
"St-still, 1 point is too...!"
"System's call. If unfair, blow up the sanctuary like Rag."
"..."
Darakan shut up.
No rebuttal.
That overwhelming blast.
The sword-angel.
Gap was heaven and earth.
GuGu spread his wings, declaring.
"First floor promotion exam complete."
His eyes sparkled.
"Overall first unchanged: Rag. Congratulations. You're the new lord of God's Tower floor 1."
Fireworks burst.
But no cheers rang out.