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Chapter Begins:
For a moment, Kai couldn't believe what he was hearing.
How can this be? He thought, gaping. Didn't Marine Roland tell me she… no, She reached the top some 100-years-ago and toppled the empire by herself?
"The Empress was never a noble or a Set-lord," Meg told Kai. "So, it isn't a surprise that none knows much about her.
"As I have told you, master, the 1st Set is called Baron Set, and the 2nd Set is called Viscount. Then comes Count, Marquess, Duke, King, and Emperor. Brienne Stormborn was already a King-level Contestant on the 18th-floor when, some 100 years ago, madness possessed her. I don't know how… Nobody knows how… but She just ascended to the 21st floor, and brought about such slaughter and destruction that for the next 10 years blood dripped to the 1st floor of the Order's Peak."
Kai's bones shuddered.
In the back of his mind, he could see a towering monster holding a spear and brandishing it like a death whip. Blood running down like gurgling rivers, and flowing off the very world's boundaries.
This was the Absolute Power that Kai so dearly desired.
What kind of level would he need to just go up and claim the throne for himself?
He wanted it. He wanted it more than he had ever admitted it to himself. This blood… this power… this pure invincibility… Even if he had to wash the entire Tower with blood on this path, so what of it?
Kai licked his lips… and someone gasped.
The sudden noise snapped him out of his severe murderous state. Kai looked up and saw the appalling horror on Meg's face.
-/Pardon me./- he said, finishing his salad.
Meg's face had gone blue, her wild brown widening in pure terror. What thick bloodlust... she thought, looking at her fingers. The spoon she was holding in her hand was shaking beyond measure. It took her all her experiences and status to return to her normal state.
"I… I…" Meg stuttered, catching her breath. "They say… She even wiped out the name of the last empire from the memories of every single Contestant. Such was her hatred. That's why no one can recall the name of the last empire."
This made Kai raise his eyebrows. -/Oh! You can do that? Wiping out a part of the memories of all the Contestants in the Primordial Tower, I mean. Isn't she an Order's Contestant?/- Now Kai could understand why there was such awe on Meg's lips when she talked about the Empress.
Meg shook her head, placing her cutlery on the plate. "Logic doesn't apply to the Contestants above the 5th-Set," she said, smiling wryly. "And if anyone could do such an impossible thing, then it would be none other than the Empress.
"She has a Glitch and is known to have the highest Worth in the Primordial Tower. Some even say…"
Meg trailed off as if steeling herself to say the next words.
"Some even say that her starting Worth after the resurrection was well over 1000."
What?!
Kai forgot to breathe, an ugly expression replacing the tranquility on his face.
He sat there in stunned silence for some time, imagining the consequences of having such a Worth. Involuntarily, his hand lifted and rubbed his chest as if trying to get some deepest hidden answers from the thing churning inside him. Alas, he was bound to be disappointed.
1000, Kai's chanted in his mind. Over 1000 Worth… What kind of abominable Glitch does she have? Curiosity took over his thoughts with such a depth that even he had never thought it could have.
…
[
Primordial Tower Worth-Stat Ranking
3rd - Red
]
…
Kai remembered the notification he had received from Chaos.
With him being in the 3rd position, he could now guess who occupied the 1st. There could be someone else at the top, he knew. But his Instincts were screaming it was her. The way he had heard her name, and then now hearing about her again… It all just made sense to him somehow.
"So, you can now tell, master," Meg whispered. "When I heard you have a Glitch, it wasn't just a matter of shock. Only that couldn't have made me discard everything and come under your service.
"It was the destiny that is attached to those who have Glitch that made me lose all my bearings. And though all must serve you irresistibly, I won't recommend you reveal that you have a Glitch to anyone else. For so many years, no Chaos' Contestant had possessed a Glitch. And many, more than many, would like to let things remain so."
Kai wasn't stupid enough to think otherwise.
Meg was the only special case. He had such a grip on her fate, that if she hadn't become his servant, he would have killed her. Now that he had her, there was no point in risking the knowledge of Glitch at least before reaching the 13th-floor.
None spoke much after this topic.
Cersei cleaned the salad plates and finally came to the main course. The entrees served on the cruise, Wavebreaker, were decadent and delicious. Pasta, Ducklett a l'orange, grilled Corphish tail, beef wellington, roast Pidgeotto, Pidove with berry sauce, and classic veal piccata soon decorated the dinner table.
Kai let himself get drunk on the smell before diving into them.
Cersei didn't leave Kai's side the entire time, always ready to refill his plates with just the slightest look. Meg ate a bite of everything and then sat back comfortably, watching Kai clean the food off the plates like some gluttonous beast.
When the plates almost shone like there was never any food on them, Kai used Telekinesis to dump them in a corner.
He rubbed the grease off from the corner of his mouth and tapped his heart. A mass of silver mist left him and solidified into Selene's figure. She slithered around him, eying the clean plates, Meg, and Cersei.
-Dinner?- she hissed in Kai's ears, yawning.
To the eyes of others, it looked like she was about to plunge those fangs into his neck. Kai chuckled, seeing Meg almost getting up, her face as hard as iron.
-Look at her. She is nervous.- Kai hissed, patting Selene's head.
The Ghost Serpent hissed menacingly at Meg and then looked away.
-She is weak,- Selene declared.
"Ha… Ha-Ha." Kai guffawed.
Baffled at the exchange of these hisses, Cersei served the last item of the dinner.
Desserts.
Chocolate mousse, raspberry cheesecake, and classic apple pie were among the many sweet dishes. Before going in, Kai took out the corpse of a fish-type Pokemon he had bought from the cruise's kitchen and let Selene dine over it.
As the cake melted in Kai's mouth, he suddenly recalled an important matter.
-/I know that the Life Expectancy rises on the higher floors/- Kai addressed Meg. -/But I don't know the exact details./-
Unlike the previous dishes, Meg was eating dessert happily.
"Master has asked you a question, servant!" Cersei chided icily. "You dare keep him waiting for the answer?"
Kai didn't interfere.
Sometimes it was best to let the spark of rivalry remain among the servants. It helped in the long run, he had learned.
Meg's face flushed. She put down the spoon and looked at Kai. "Forgive me, master," she apologized. "The more popular term is Life-Halt. It first happens when you ascend to the 3rd-Set. The System will bless you with 30 years of Life-Halt. So, if you were 25-years-old, then you won't age for the next 30 years. After 30 years, though, if you haven't ascended to the next Set, your original life-cycle will continue until you die."
Life-Halt, Kai repeated the word. Interesting!
"The Life-Halt stacks upon ascending Sets," Meg continued. "For example, if you have 10 years left from your 30-years Life-Halt on the 3rd Set, and you ascend to the 4th Set, then not only you will get a fresh Life-Halt of 100 years, but the leftover span of 10 years will also be added to it, making it 110 years."
-/Haha!/- Kai couldn't help himself, realizing the obvious bait. -/So this stacking is just the System's way to sway the Contestants from sitting idly and reaching the next Set as soon as possible?/-
Meg nodded.
Kai examined her smooth skin, her curves, and the obvious beauty she possessed.
Cersei's face went from Kai to Meg and then back to Kai. A primal fury flashed across her face, and the wineglass in her hand burst apart in hundreds of tiny shards.
Kai ignored all the sounds.
He looked Meg up and down, taking her in her entirety. He felt attracted, but somehow, he felt nothing more than that. Desire, yes. Kai put it into words. He lacked desire for Meg.
Weird, Kai thought, now picking up on this obvious lack of emotion.
-/So, how old were you when you ascended to the 3rd-Set?/- he asked, curiously.
"27," Meg answered. "I was 27-years-old when I ascended to the 3rd-Set. I reached the 5th-Set within my Life-Halt. I still have some 530 years of Life-Halt remaining, I guess."
Wow… Kai shook his head, amusingly. She really is over 100 years old.
-/Good./- he said, finally noticing the look on Cersei's blazing face. -/After this, don't disturb me before reaching the New Bark Town./-
Now that he was done chatting with Meg, it was time to become a Pokemon Trainer!
*********
AN:
1st Set (1 to 3 floors) - Baron (Set Lord will have the title of Baron)
2nd Set (4 to 6 floors) - Viscount
3rd Set (7 to 9 floors) - Count (Life-Halt: +30 years)
4th Set (10 to 12 floors) - Marquess (Life-Halt: +100 years)
5th Set (13 to 15 floors) - Duke (Life-Halt: +500 years)
6th Set (16 to 18 floors) - King (Life-Halt: ?)
7th Set (19 to 21 floors) - Emperor (Life-Halt: ?)