Inside a wide room filled with cubicles, a steady band of keyboard clatter echoed through the air. The walls, painted a lifeless white, created a sterile atmosphere. People moved about, their footsteps syncing with the rhythmic key taps.
Some clustered by the water cooler, chattering about, while some murmured quietly at their desk.
In one such cubicle, a humanoid chicken sat on an ergonomic chair, his tail popping out of the walled pods. Around his neck was a black tie, a ridiculous attempt to look professional.
As he murmured, humming his favorite song, a rabbit popped up to his side, ready to bother his leisure struggles at work life.
“Randy, I have a new title for you to make.”
The chicken turned around, his chair crackling a dry plastic purr.
“What is it again? How urgent is it?” He asked irritably.
“Not that urgent, probably a few days.”
“Thank Boss.”
“You know, you could just say God.”
“Have the humans rubbed off on you?”
“No, not really, anyway, it’s about making another person into your servant.”
“So a slaver title.” The chicken bawked uncontrollably. After a few seconds, he stopped and continued. “Okay, well yeah, I was about to make that. Some other classrooms had already gotten to something similar.”
“Oh, how many asked how to enslave another player?”
“Well, only a few, but what I was talking about is that some are trying to beat others into slavery.”
“Hmph. I heard that not a lot of immobile players exist in other classrooms.”
“The thing is, yours might be… evil… or… whatever he could be. But others… are incredibly insane. Some have even reduced from four to one, just cause that one person killed everyone else. They would drag them to the second floor and kill them there.”
“Hahaha! They just don’t realize how useful they could be.”
“Cawk! They could be sex slaves!”
“You maniac.” The rabbit turned, waving his hand. “Well, see you, gotta go sleep.”
“Wait. You seriously don’t have paperwork to do?”
“Really? The rumors have even reached here?”
“Yeah, duh, we are so busy here and you just don’t do anything but sleep. Are you God’s son or something.”
“Hahaha. Nope. Okay, okay, bye.”
The chicken turned back around to his desk and continued on his day.
***
Harley lay on his bed with the market screen to his right and his status screen to his left.
[Name: Harley]
[Title: Outside The Box Thinker, Liar’s Sacrifice]
[Level: 1]
[Unique Trait: Liar]
[Money: 120]
[Abilities: N/A]
[Privileges: N/A]
[Power: 15]
On top of the status screen was another one displaying Harley’s new title.
[Liar’s Sacrifice]
[Making a meaningful sacrifice just to gain someone's deep trust? As expected of a Liar. Well… maybe it won’t be soon. But everyone starts somewhere.]
Another vague description. This time, I do know how I got it. So worth it. As of now, I still don’t know the purpose of titles, though. I should have asked that in the three questions.
Immediately after Harley came back to the cabin, he sold ten magic cores and gained another ten points. Going to the third floor could have been a bad choice. We spent more than four days there, and that’s forty points that I could never get. Well… it was worth it just because of the achievement.
When Harley and Tas completed the third floor, a screen immediately appeared in front of them. Instead of the rabbit that Harley had constantly seen at the end of each floor, the rabbit was nowhere to be seen; what appeared was a much more welcoming gift.
[Your Classroom is the Seventh To Finish The Third Floor]
[Reward: 100 Store Points]
Well, still disappointing though. He caressed the market screen with the experience section open. There was only one item on the screen while the rest were covered with pictures of closed locks.
[Experience]
[One Level][50 SP]
[Locked]
“I don’t even know what one level does. It feels better to just buy an ability. Ughh… making a decision is so hard!” Harley groaned, twisting his body in a full circle on the bed.
“Can you stop! Fucking hell! Just pick an ability for fuck sake! What can you even buy?”
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“You should have bought a single-level, so we would have known!”
“Ughhh!” Tas jumped down from the top bunker and headed to the door.
“Where you headed?”
“To my death.” He opened the door and walked in, and the dark void of the door then turned into a bright light.
“Ughh… finally he left.” Harley bounced his body up, stretching his arms and legs far, yawning for a full ten seconds. He then jumped out of the bed and walked towards Elise.
“Now… for my first question.” He smiled, grabbing her jaw and pulling it up, her eyes rid of life, dry as a desert.
***
A few days ago, on the day of the three questions.
“Before I ask my questions.” Harley leaned his head forward just a little, touching the rabbit’s cheek with his, mouth placed at the ear. “Can you make it so no one can hear us?”
“Gladly.”
Harley immediately pulled out to face a rabbit with his mouth touching his eyes. His body shivered uncontrollably for three seconds, his fear totally visible.
In front of him, a thin wall of dark mist sliced through the rabbit’s back and Tas’s. Once the wall had been covered with darkness, it then instantly vanished. “We’re good. Now, what’s your first question?”
“What are the specific things, to the dot, that a player needs to give full access to their status screen, market screen, and everything else that is associated with the tower’s gift that has been given to them to another person?”
“Kind of unnecessarily long. I told you I’m not a genie. Oh well, here it is, listen carefully.”
***
Harley plucked the cloth out of Elise’s mouth. “You are a pathetic human. However, that doesn’t mean you’re useless. I mean… You can be used as an ona hole. Well, that’s for future consideration. Right now, you don’t really have the energy to live, right? So… you might as well follow whatever I say. Do you agree?”
Harley dropped to the ground, crouching down, looking at a blank face lacking any emotions. Her eyes looked to the side, fear overwhelmed her body, and she couldn’t even look at the person in front of her. “You’re a monster, Harley… who the fuck are you…?”
“It’s me, Harley! Well, is that a yes or not? Cause I don’t really take no for an answer.” He said with a gentle smile, life brimming in his eye, tone radiating joy similar to a child.
“...”
“Silence… I think that’s a yes. Well, anyway. Repeat after me, then.”
He stopped for a few seconds, forcibly twisting Elise’s head to face him. “I, player Elise.”
“I… player Elise.”
Harley’s smile grew. “Solemnly renounce full control of the gifts given by the tower.”
“...solemnly renounce... full control to the gifts given by… the tower.” She faced Harley, however, her eyes were focused on her left, staring at the wall, with a glimpse of red carpet at Harley’s side.
“Control over my gifts would be offered to the Player Harley standing right before me.”
“Control over my gifts… would be offered… to… player Harley… standing right before me.”
Harley released his grip and placed the cloth back into her mouth. He then stood up, turning his body so she faced his back. “I gladly accept!” Screens popped up in front of him.
[Name: Elise]
[Title: N/A]
[Level: 1]
[Unique Trait: Love]
[Money: 170]
[Abilities: N/A]
[Privileges: N/A]
[Power: 10]
“Wow, so you still get the achievement rewards? Thank god you didn’t get the floor reward at least. Also, you even sell our magic cores? What a leach.” He said to her face, while dragging his hand to her unique trait.
[Love]
[Powered by your love, anything is possible for your love. Just love, love, love!]
“Okay, so I’m not the only one who gets useless descriptions. That’s good to know. I wonder how Tas’s immortality is hahaha.” Harley sighed, falling down on the bed and hitting his head on the wall. “Ow.”
Just a second later, he bought the level at the store with no hesitation. Once he clicked it, the status screen was radiated with a golden glow beaming from the corners. Then, as he looked back on the market, the price was still the same. “Well, this confirms it, levels are stationary. So that means they are extremely important.”
[Name: Elise]
[Title: N/A]
[Level: 2]
[Unique Trait: Love]
[Money: 120]
[Abilities: N/A]
[Privileges: N/A]
[Power: 15]
“Five powers for a single level… I mean… so 100 store points could make a person twice as strong as they used to. Is it worth it more than abilities, though?” He changed the section of the market to the abilities. It showed an array of almost an infinite number of mixed useless and useful abilities, ranging from “walking” to “flash step”; from “100” to “1000” store points.
“If the cheapest abilities are a hundred points, that should mean that they are worth it despite these stupid ass names. I mean who the fuck needs walking, walking for fuck sake! Ten power is equivalent to walking?” He turned left and right, then stared at Elise, yelling, “Walking!”
Whenever Harley presses an ability, only a single screen pops up.
[Buy][No]
There was nothing else, not even a description of the ability. “Good thing I have you, Elise. I’m not mad about you selling our magic cores at all. I expected… good job.” Her body shivered from his smile.
[Name: Elise]
[Title: N/A]
[Level: 2]
[Unique Trait: Love]
[Money: 20]
[Abilities: Walking]
[Privileges: N/A]
[Power: 15]
[Walking]
[-150% Stamina consumption when walking.]
[Stamina is recovered twice as fast when walking.]
[Power is increased by 1 every one hundred thousandth step.]
[You walk 50% faster.]
“Oh gawd damn! It’s worth it.”
