--POV: Shiva--
After God knows how long, Shiva slowly started to wake up.
"*Yawns* Man that was a good nap…"
As he slowly got accustomed to his surroundings and full consciousness, he lazily rubbed his eyes started to stretch.
"Just what the doctor ordered! It's been forever since I had such a good night's rest," Shiva lazily thought.
He got up while lazily scratching his ass.
"Now… back to business. It's about time I cleared this floo…" In front of him was an unbelievable sight. It was so shocking; he pinched his thigh to check if he was still dreaming. "Nope, definitely awake."
He rubbed his eyes again, double-checking the panels' contents actually existed and weren't a figment of his imagination. "What the hell is this?"
In front of him was the chaotic scene of multiple skeletons doing different kinds of chores: one was holding an ax trying to cut down a tree... well, if I'm being honest, it was probably just slashing the tree at random, another was holding a hammer, smashing at whatever caught his attention or maybe it was just swinging the hammer around, one was holding a tong doing... tong-things… yeah… tong-things, one was throwing plants and random crap into a caldron, it can be seen that many similar caldrons had a hole that was blasted through aside. While he was watching all this happen dumbfoundedly, a series of messages appeared before him.
[The challenger has not chosen any skills]
[Assigning random skill to the challenger to practice...]
['Wood cutter' has been chosen as a skill]
[Skeleton(1) is practicing wood cutting]
[Hit imperfect]
[Hit missed]
(A number of similar messages later…)
[Hit has been made]
[Skeleton(1) has obtained "Basic Wood Cutting Mastery"]
[The 9th floor has been cleared]
[Would you like to move to the next floor?]
[Y/N]
[.....]
[No response is made]
[Selecting a new random skill]
['Alchemy' has been chosen as a skill]
[Skeleton(2) is practicing alchemy]
[The caldron has been ruined]
[The ingredients are destroyed]
(A number of similar messages later…)
[A very imperfect and unstable pill has been created]
[Skeleton(2) has obtained basic alchemy mastery]
[Would you like to move to the next floor?]
[Y/N]
[...]
[No response is made]
[Selecting a new random skill]
.
[skeleton(30 is practicing farming...]
.
.
.
[Skeleton(38) has obtained basic mastery in cooking]
[You have obtained the title 'The One with AssHands' ]
['The One with AssHands' (epic):-
You who has yet to do a single thing right on the 9th floor,
You who has destroyed so much of the Tower's resources,
You who always mess everything up, have been given this title for your "accomplishment".
effect-
+20% chance to blow something up when crafting or making anything
-10 luck
Skill - AssHand]
[AssHand:- whatever it is that you are holding will become an explosive when this skill is activated, but you won't be able to keep or control the bomb. Your hand will throw the explosive somewhere randomly, it may be at your enemy or inside your own underwear]
"What the... I didn't even do anything?! And what's up with this crazy Title! My hands are super clean, you b*stards!" Shiva cried to the indifferent Tower. "And that skill! It's f*cking terrifying! Hmmm... Oh! I got an idea. Hey, old man! Heyyyyooo, old man!? Are you awake?"
{Don't disturb me, you brat!}
"Like you have something to be busy with! Shut the hell up and tell me how long I've been out for."
{Tch. Young people these days! It has been 2 days and about 6 hours since you've passed out, Lil sh*t, now f*ck off.}
"What! I've overslept! The Colosseum is waiting for me and here I am sleeping! Come out, Boys! Kapali, Virupa, Bhima, Ugram get out here, we got some floors to clear!"
His four loyal servants appeared in front of him as they each greeted him in their own way.
Virupa: "I am back to serve you, Master."
Kapali: "You are still alive, Master? Huh."
Bhima: "Where is the grass, Master?"
Ugram: "...gain muscles in thirty days...ugh...*silent sobs*"
"..."
Thus they started to gain some 'Actual' lifestyle skills,
******
*POV: Karna*
They say that a tongue can be sharper than a sword and leaves wounds twice as deep that will never heal over, but it is also true that there is no better punishment than remorse. Karna was filled with guilt and shame for what he said to Shiva, His Benefactor. The sudden attention he got from the random shmucks who saw his talent and the fact that he was doing better than Shiva at clearing the floors seemed to have gotten to his head.
"The one who helps you when you are in need is a thousand times better than the one hundred people who come to congratulate you for your success," A voice said in his head, "Even if you are Shadow Lord, no... even if you are a Shadow Monarch, a person should never harm the one who extended a helping hand while you were at your worst."
"..." Karna wilted further as the voice continued to berate him for his insecurities.
"Killing enemies is easier, but making a trustworthy companion is much harder. And what did you do?"
"... Insult and accuse him of baseless claims that he would never do, to his face after meeting for the first time after a long time apart…" Karna replied, self-esteem at an all-time low.
Karna, once he entered the Tower, initiated a class quest where he obtained one of the class-specific items for the Shadow Lord class, the 'Shadow Monarch's pendent'. It wasn't anything powerful, but inside it resided a part of the previous Shadow Lord's soul. By gaining the pendant, he gained the ability to talk to the soul. The soul educated him about many things, all of which he was not aware of.
"Senior, I am going to become his servant to make amends," Karna declared, eyes dead set on his plan to bridge the gap with his savior.
"What the hell! Are you a fool? I agree that you were in the wrong for what you did, but there is no need for you to become his servant. What he did was not enough for someone like you, who is destined to be the ruler to bow his head. Furthermore, you know you'll lose your qualification in becoming the Shadow Monarch. A monarch can never be under someone else," the Shadow Lord's soul fragment tried to persuade the young man from making a terrible mistake by crippling his future.
"I have made my choice. I don't care about all this anymore. I finally found what I was missing. It was not the luxury that I gained from my prowess, and neither was it the pleasure I got by being admired by my peers. It was just being myself, the me that would have never turned their back on my Savior. I will live the way I like and I won't bend for a mere Class."
"Are you really sure about this? Here, you can upgrade your class right now if you want, just don't be hasty and throw away this chance of a lifetime." The voice was borderline begging at this point, desperate to not lose the only person who has had this class over the past few centuries.
[Would you like to evolve your class to the next stage?]
"I decline! If being a Lord means I can't live how I want, then a Lord I shall not be."
[You have refused your class evolution and as per the rule set by the previous monarch, you are deemed ineligible to become a monarch]
[The class 'Shadow Lord' is lost]
[You have been returned to your normal class 'Shadow Assassin']
"You will regret making this choice!"
"I have no regrets this time."
A resolved and determined look formed on his face.
*****
(Edited by JokeDagger)