The board had been full at the start, every line alive with movement as students climbed through the early floors of the Tower. Names shifted upward in steady increments, each one competing in what seemed, at first glance, like a fair and predictable ascent. The lower floors had not been easy, but they had been manageable. Differences between climbers existed, but they were small enough that most observers did not pay attention.
That illusion did not last long.
The thinning began quietly.
By Floor fifty-two, the first names dimmed. By fifty-six, more followed. By sixty, entire sections of the board had gone dark. Some students withdrew voluntarily, sensing their limits. Others failed outright. A few simply slowed down until their progress stopped, their names fading as if the Tower itself had decided they no longer mattered.
No explanation was given.
The board did not justify its decisions. It only reflected them.
By the time the climb reached the high sixties, the change was impossible to ignore. More than half of the original participants were gone. What remained was no longer a broad field of competitors, but a narrow group of survivors.
When the numbers reached seventy, the transformation was complete.
Almost every name had disappeared.
The atmosphere in the hall shifted with it. Conversations faded into low murmurs, then into silence. The crowd, once energetic and scattered in its attention, became focused and still. This was no longer a spectacle for casual observation.
This was the real climb.
Only a few names remained.
Aiden Roland — Floor 71
Ailyn — Floor 70
Rudolph Aldric — Floor 72
Viridis Qalish — Floor 70
That last name held in place for a brief moment, long enough for several people to notice.
Then it moved.
Seventy-one.
A ripple passed through the crowd, quiet but undeniable.
"The F-rank…"
"He actually crossed seventy…"
No one laughed this time. No one dismissed it.
Even those who had ignored the name earlier were now watching it carefully.
In the VIP section, the reaction was even more restrained.
Han Drak did not shift in his seat, but his gaze sharpened slightly as he looked at the board.
"Seventy," he said quietly.
It was not surprise.
It was recognition.
Inside the Tower, Floor Seventy felt completely different.
The change did not come with any visual cue. There was no shift in lighting, no distortion in the walls, no warning from the System. It simply existed, the moment one stepped onto the floor.
Aiden felt it immediately.
The instant his foot touched the ground, his weight seemed to increase. Not dramatically, not enough to force him down, but enough that his body reacted instinctively. His balance adjusted before he consciously registered the change.
"…So this is where it starts," he muttered.
Battle Instinct triggered almost automatically. His stance lowered, his movements tightened, and his breathing slowed into a controlled rhythm. Rex mirrored him without needing a command, claws pressing more firmly into the stone beneath them.
The monsters formed shortly after.
They did not rush forward like the earlier floors. Instead, they moved with a steady, deliberate pace, conserving motion and energy as if they understood the environment far better than any human climber.
Aiden engaged them head-on.
The first clash confirmed what he had already suspected.
The attacks were not necessarily stronger, but they felt heavier. Each strike carried more weight, more resistance, as if the air itself was working against him.
By Floor seventy-three, Aiden had already adjusted his style. He minimized unnecessary movement, choosing efficiency over speed.
By seventy-five, the cost became clear.
Another step forward caused the pressure to increase again, just enough to disrupt his rhythm.
Aiden paused.
He looked ahead, measuring the distance, calculating the strain.
Then he exhaled slowly.
"Seventy-five is enough."
He turned back.
Ailyn experienced the change differently.
She felt it before she even moved.
The moment she entered Floor seventy, the storm around her shifted. It did not weaken, but it condensed, becoming tighter and more controlled. The flow of energy responded to the pressure, compressing itself into a more efficient form.
She took a single step.
The pressure pushed back, not just against her body, but against her control over the storm.
Aria dipped slightly in the air, wings adjusting to maintain balance. Mist slowed beside her, its movements less fluid than before.
Ailyn closed her eyes briefly.
Measured the pressure.
Then opened them again.
"It scales," she said quietly.
She adjusted her output, reducing unnecessary energy loss and tightening her control. The storm followed her changes, becoming more precise with each movement.
She continued climbing steadily.
But when she reached Floor eighty, the difference sharpened.
Another step forward caused a sudden increase in pressure. Not overwhelming, but enough to push her control to its limit.
Ailyn stopped.
"…That's where it changes."
She turned back.
Rudolph entered Floor seventy with confidence.
He moved forward without hesitation.
And immediately misjudged it.
His step faltered as the pressure dragged against his movement, disrupting his balance in a way he had not expected.
"—What is this?"
He forced himself steady and tried again.
The second step was heavier.
The third worse.
By Floor seventy-nine, the strain was visible in his movements. His breathing had grown heavier, and his steps were no longer as clean as before.
When he reached eighty, he finally understood.
Without hesitation, he activated his armor.
A faint, layered force spread across his body, forming a stabilizing field that reinforced his structure.
S-rank.
The difference was immediate.
The pressure did not disappear, but it became manageable.
Rudolph exhaled, tension easing slightly.
"…Now this is better."
And he continued climbing.
Qalish stopped after his first step.
The pressure affected him more than the others.
F-rank.
His base was lower, and the difference showed immediately.
He did not force himself forward.
Instead, he observed.
He took a second step.
Paused.
The pressure increased more than expected.
He adjusted his stance.
Still not enough.
Then he realized something.
The contract.
Null's evolution.
He had not taken the skill.
"…Right."
The System responded instantly.
[ Contract Skill Available
Source: Null — Aegis Wyrm ]
He selected it without hesitation.
[ Skill Acquired: Aegis Transfer ]
The change was subtle, but immediate.
The pressure did not lessen.
It shifted.
Instead of pressing down directly onto his body, it spread outward through his stance, flowing into the ground beneath him.
Qalish stepped again.
Stable.
Not perfect, but stable.
A slight misalignment caused the pressure to surge back briefly, forcing him to correct his footing.
He adjusted immediately.
Lower stance.
Shorter steps.
Controlled breathing.
The skill required precision.
Not passive.
He continued forward, each step measured and deliberate.
It was still heavy.
But now it was manageable.
Back in the hall, the board updated again.
Aiden Roland — Floor 80
Dim.
Aiden stepped out of the Tower, expression calm.
No frustration.
Only acceptance.
Ailyn — Floor 85
Dim.
She stepped out shortly after.
"The pressure shifts again past eighty," she said. "Different rule above. By eighty-five, it's another wall."
Han Drak spoke quietly.
"Seventy gets you noticed."
"Eighty is where most stop climbing."
A brief pause followed.
"And ninety?"
No one answered.
"No one reaches it anymore."
The silence deepened.
"The last one who did… was thirty years ago."
"…Central Region took him."
"No record."
"Just gone."
The board updated again.
Rudolph Aldric — Floor 81
Viridis Qalish — Floor 81
The hall fell silent.
Inside the Tower, Floor eighty-one felt oppressive.
The pressure no longer fluctuated.
It remained constant.
Heavy.
Unforgiving.
Rudolph moved first, his armor holding under the strain, though his movements were slower now.
Qalish followed.
Aegis Transfer activated as he stepped forward, redistributing the pressure with each movement.
It held.
But only just.
The monsters formed.
Level twenty.
They moved efficiently within the pressure, as if it did not affect them at all.
Qalish adjusted immediately, issuing short commands to Foxy and relying on Null's positioning to maintain control.
The fight was slower than before.
More deliberate.
Every action carried weight.
But it was controlled.
When the final monster fell, Qalish exhaled slowly.
The pressure remained.
The skill held.
But only as long as he maintained focus.
The System stirred again.
[ Signal strength increased ]
Qalish looked upward.
Then stepped forward.
The climb was no longer about reaching seventy.
It was no longer about academies.
It was about the top.
And the Tower—
Was beginning to resist him.