CHAPTER 750: SPIRE ASCENSION (XX)

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"I can’t believe it. He’s actually fighting humans on the 90th floor and above."

"Well, they’re technically not humans, you know..."

"Great, Mr. Smartass just arrived to ruin the fun."

"Damn it! Fine. Humans it is, then."

"I don’t really know what to feel about us being simulated by that spire. How about you guys?"

"Same. It feels creepy, especially since their faces aren’t rendered properly."

"You know, I think the spire did that on purpose. We humans are way too concerned about our identities and secrets. The spire probably, at the very small chance that it might accidentally create a human avatar who looks just like one of us, didn’t want that kind of complication; that’s why their faces weren’t rendered."

"If that’s true, then should we be thanking the spire for being so considerate?"

"I don’t know. Should we? I mean, the way I see it, I think it’s putting us on a pedestal."

"How so?"

"I mean, us, humans, appearing at what potentially could be the last ten floors of the spire? Way above the Fierce Beasts, Demons, Mechanoids, True Dragons, and The Horde? And that’s after about 30 floors of sending all of them combined, in both numbers and form, just to stop Dawnbringer from reaching the current floor he’s in."

"Yeah, it’s like the spire was keen on telling everybody that humans are the most dangerous creatures in the Primitive Universe by putting it this way."

"Well, aren’t we?"

"Dude, that’s not really the point here. This event might be a human tradition, but by no means is it only us who are watching it happen. The counterparts of the races we’ve seen in the spire so far in reality are also watching this event. What do you think this tells them? How does this message sound to them?"

"Like a provocation? Ah! Oh, no!"

"Yeah, oh no! (Sneer)"

"This...isn’t this trouble, then? What if they decide to attack us again? What if they team up this time?"

"Nothing changes."

"How can you tell?"

"I’m a Space Marine. I deal with bullshit daily. Those creatures teaming up has been happening for a long time now, and we, the human army, are doing just fine. Pushovers are unfit to rule an entire chaos realm, and we humans are no pushovers. Let them come, even more fiercely, I say; we’d strike them down all the same."

"I’m actually more concerned about Dawnbringer’s well-being. I can’t imagine his life being peaceful after this tournament."

"Yeah, all eyes are on him right now. The other finalists can’t even compare. His brilliance outshone them all."

"His life will be at a constant threat from now on. He’d face assassinations left and right; that much is certain."

"The council shouldn’t be that indifferent toward him, right? I mean, I understand bias most of the time, and I can’t imagine them not doing Dawnbringer a favor."

"That’s true. The council wouldn’t dare to slight Dawnbringer, especially since he just proved to everybody that he’s a strong candidate to become an heir to the position one day."

**

"Damn. It turns out to be humans."

In the private place where the councillors were gathered to watch the live broadcast of the tournament, Councillor Welsh sank into his seat, his face looking a bit empty and lost.

"If only I knew, damn it," he whispered just loud enough for the rest of his fellow councillors to hear.

The one next to him patted his shoulders and said, "There, there, it’s okay. You couldn’t have known; that spire is cold to everybody, after all."

What his fellow councilman said was true: that damned spire was cold and indifferent to everybody. It never bothered to explain itself, much less give anybody preferential treatment.

Still, Councillor Nicholas Welsh still felt a little bit regretful. Had he known that the 90th floor contained humans back then, he wouldn’t have forfeited after the 89th floor and stopped there.

This feeling became stronger after he witnessed how easily Dawnbringer subdued and eliminated the enemies at the 90th floor. His old self could’ve cruised along just fine, too.

That said, it’s not his fault for being scared of the spire. The previous 30 floors had been absolutely brutal. If it weren’t for him and Dawnbringer being too special, nobody could’ve made it past them.

The abominations the spire vomited on the 89th floor were especially horrendous. It left a long-lasting impression on Councillor Welsh and made him admit defeat after clearing it. He thought that whatever’s on the 90th floor and beyond wasn’t worth losing his life over, so he forfeited.

For a long time, Councillor Welsh had been plagued with thoughts of wonder. He watched the previous tournaments before this one, hoping for a contender to appear who could reach as far as he did, one that was braver than him to go on the level he didn’t dare to step into, just so that he could finally solve the mystery.

Now, that candidate was here. And the reveal, as surprising as it was, also made him feel regretful.

Had he dared to take one more step forward, he could’ve gone farther than he had. Alas, it’s too late now.

"I’m a bit concerned," one of the councillors voiced out. "The other races might interpret this the wrong way and might cause trouble again."

"Tch, let them try." Nicholas clicked his tongue as he continued staring at the ceiling. "Actually, I want them to come. It’s been a while since I stretched my legs. I’ll remind them why we humans are the absolute rulers of this chaos realm."

"Yeah, what he said." One of the other councilmen expressed their agreement.

Fierce Beast, Demons, Mechanoids, True Dragons, and The Horde? So what? Haven’t humans defeated them all the same to claim hegemony over the Heavenly Star Chaos Realm?

Did the other races give up on taking over the Heavenly Star Chaos Realm? No. Absolutely not. Even to this day, most of them are still plotting and scheming to usurp humanity’s rule over this chaos realm, and they will never stop until they succeed.

Have they ever succeeded, though? No. They haven’t succeeded, not even once from the moment humanity ruled over this chaos realm, and if it could be helped, never.

Humanity’s position, especially in this realm, must remain absolute, and no councillor will allow humanity’s decline to happen during their reign.

"They’d try to assassinate to assassinate him, though. They won’t stop until they succeed. What should we do?"

"Give him some bodyguards," Nicholas suggested. "Dawnbringer is already a Scarlet VIP of the Golden Bangle Bank, an important figure within their ranks. He’s already got bodyguards, but I’m sure the bank will send him new and stronger ones as soon as this tournament is over. Hell, they’re probably already out there."

It’s not so difficult to come to this conclusion. After all, this information was readily available everywhere at this point.

With the bank’s reputation, they certainly wouldn’t allow such a client to be in a vulnerable or passive position. They will do their best to protect and cater to their client’s requests and safety. That’s how they do things.

But of course, the same could be said for the council. Dawnbringer was an extremely talented and once-in-a-lifetime prodigy. The council will have no face left if they wouldn’t even dare to show some care and attention to Dawnbringer.

Yet at the same time, the council can’t show too much bias. At least not yet. So, sending an additional bodyguard for Cedric should be enough for now.

"So? Let’s say he’s interested; who would make him their heir?" one councilman asked.

"Stop instigating!"

Gasp! "Instigating? That’s slander. I’m merely curious; how dare you?"

The other councillors scoffed at this blatant lie.

"Well, I’ll start off by saying that it can’t be me. Our personalities don’t match. Besides, I don’t think he’d be interested in my domain, so there’s that. How about you guys? Who do you think was more suited to make Dawnbeinger their heir?"

"Do you even need to ask? It’s Nick, of course."

"Yeah, it’s Nick."

"Dawnbringer has the same style as him. Furthermore, they’re both pervertedly talented. He might even be his illegitimate child."

"Ooh, how scandalous."

"Quit it, you guys. But yeah, I agree, Dawnbringer could only be an heir to Nick."

"Could only be him."

"Agreed."

"Alright, stop that." Nicholas held out a hand to stop them from teasing him. "Let’s forget about this for now. We don’t even know if Dawnbringer is even remotely interested in this position."

"Besides, we can’t force him. It doesn’t matter how talented he is or how powerful he becomes in the future; being a councillor of the Divine Council is a lifetime of commitment. It can’t be rushed."

"But if he was interested, you’d take him, right?"

Nicholas didn’t even bother to reply. The answer was obviously yes. Nick wouldn’t find any more suited to his standards.

But like he said, becoming an heir of a councilman and inheriting a seat at this table was a lifetime’s worth of commitment; it’s not an easy decision to make.

"Ah, look! He’s on the 92nd floor now!"