ANNOUNCEMENT:Volume 16 is divided in two Arcs, having 50 and 13 Chapters respectively. The entire volume will be available on Patre0n (Glithched Tier) by today. So, if you want to read ahead, in one go, you can consider becoming a Patron and support the fanfic and author, too.VERY IMPORTANT NOTE:Volume 16 is a heavily pics and gifs-centric Volume, containing an enormous amount of them (as the nature of the Volume demands it). I have generated many AI-assisted images to give the Characters of the volume a reality, including background settings.Then, in the beginning of the Volume, there are Maps, which are also embedded within chapters.All in all, if you ever decide to become a Patron, make sure (and I am saying to this all readers, new and old), Make Sure to read the volume again. It will be a different experience altogether.To old readers, this volume is over 50% different than the original fanfic's having more interactions, developments, and a New Blood Essence, which will remain with Kai for many many volumes to come given its combat prowess.Good luck and Enjoy the 3rd Stage...*****************Chapter Begins:
It was a hall, as grand as the Inheritance Land's black dome-like structure, but magnificently beautiful.
Its walls were covered with lavish tapestries, and many-colored gems and diamonds decorated the hangings in it like pearls in an ocean.
Thousands upon thousands of torches and candelabras, embedded with strange items and engraved with runes, lit the entire hall like a celestial palace.
In the middle of all this, seated on a high-back chair, was Kai Stormborn.
Bright lights welcomed Kai's eyes as they struggled out of a blur.
Before Kai could marvel at the sight of this grand hall, his gaze landed on the 5 persons… No.
Better was to say five Existences, for no person could come close to defining the feeling they were giving Kai.
There was a long, arching table in front of Kai, with several dozens of feet of marbled floor between them.
Behind that table, there were five chairs grander than Kai's in appearance and status, colored Pink, Gold, Red, Purple, and Black from left to right.
The Existences were seated on five grand chairs as if they were Kings on their thrones.
Moreover, their appearance was nothing but a blur for Kai even now.
The reason?
…
[
Contestant Kai Stormborn, you have the option to keep your appearance hidden from the Sponsors. In that case, you cannot observe the sponsors' appearances as well.
If, however, you choose to divulge your original appearance to the Sponsors, you will have a chance to obtain an extra reward from the Systems suited to your Glitch.
The Mission Credits for the reward will be deducted from the Sponsor you choose in the end.
Would you like to keep your appearance hidden?
]
…
These were 18th-floor monsters!
Not for a moment Kai had thought to let them see his face. That's why he had transformed into Golduck-Kai before.
However, the moment Kai saw that he could obtain an extra reward suited to his Glitch, something primal snapped off within him.
Not to mention, almost a year had passed since the beginning of the Tournament of Worth.
It would be a miracle if they hadn't already found out what he looked like, Kai knew.
No. Such an opportunity would not present itself again easily.
With excitement bubbling in his heart, Kai nodded.
Suddenly, the Golduck-Kai vanished and his true appearance came out.
Short, white hair over hazel, reptilian eyes. There was a sharpness to Kai's youthful face that just didn't seem to disappear, no matter which appearance he assumed.
A chuckle escaped from the Contestant seated on the Red Grand Chair, the one in the middle.
It was a chuckle that almost made Kai's member shoot out of his pants.
Kai knew seduction, but this feeling he was having surpassed everything. He just wanted to take it out and stroke it, listening to the chuckle meanwhile.
Kai's eyes went bloodshot instantly.
Other than that, he showed no reaction.
"Ara-Ara!" Viceroy Aphrodite giggled, twirling her hot-pink hair, seated on the Red Chair. "That's quite astonishing Willpower, no?"
"Enough, Aphrodite!" another feminine voice snapped at the Viceroy of the Red King.
She was seated on the Black Grand Chair, her hair shimmering with a jade-like color. "He's just a kid."
"Ah!" Viceroy Aphrodite exclaimed, her enormous breasts jiggling up and down. "Kid, is he? Don't tell me you didn't see his…"
"Cough!" an old man with a long beard, seated on the Pink Grand Chair, coughed.
He was over 8 feet tall, had a gentle expression, and his eyes were closed. "Perhaps not the best time to argue about such things, my ladies."
"I'd put it in around 7 inches," the man seated on the Golden Grand Chair suggested.
He was lean but short in height. His voice was thick, and his spiky, short hair was black.
"It could be shorter, as the angle was never right enough to have a good look. Shinobu is small in stature, after all."
Kai was gobsmacked.
"Sigh!" the man dressed in a formal black suit and pants, with black pearl-like eyes, and seated on the Purple Grand Chair sighed.
"Anyway —" he said, smiling at Kai. " — Welcome to the 18th floor… Red."
…
Kai could feel himself surrounded by a boundary.
Even though he was only a little distance from the 18th-floor Contestants, this spherical boundary prevented him from going out. And others from barging in.
Despite the Systems' protection, Contestant Aphrodite brought out such changes to him, making his blood boil.
The sheer thought of what could have happened in the boundary's absence sent shivers running down Kai's spine.
"We will keep it short," Shadow Origin began. "Are you aware of the procedure?"
Kai shook his head.
This hadn't happened in ages, a Candidate getting sponsored by 18th-floor Contestants.
Even Meg had no suggestions or counsel for him regarding this.
"Well," the old man said, smiling, his eyes closed, "we will state our offers one by one on behalf of our Kings…"
"Wait!" Kai blurted, his eyes widening. "I have a question."
The five Contestants looked at him, astonished.
Anyone else other than Kai would have been shuddering in fear by now, they knew.
Then again, anyone else wouldn't have been worthy enough to sit in their presence, to begin with.
Upon getting no response, Kai continued, "Why do the Kings want me? What is it they can't get from anyone else but me, a mere 2nd Set Contestant?"
"Mere?"
The five 18th-floor Contestants laughed.
Shadow Origin leaned over the table.
"Have you heard of the Graveyard of Kings?" he asked, his tone gaining a graveness.
What does that have to do with anything? Kai thought, frowning. He nodded.
"Then, do you know why the Systems don't assign the Contestants of the 18th floor any mission based on Anime, Movies, and Web Series' Random Worlds?" asked Shadow Origin, his back straight like a spear and his eyes as black as shadows.
Kai shook his head.
"Ara! They can't handle us, no?" Aphrodite answered coquettishly. "Even with an S+ mission, these worlds would not hold a candle to us. What choice do the Systems have, but assign a Random World based on Cartoons, hehe!"
This?! S+?!! Kai was stunned. What about the Timelines and the Deep Ones?! Not even a moment…
Kai couldn't fathom the depth of power they were discussing.
This was just too absurd.
"The only way to survive the Graveyard of Kings is by working together, Red," Shadow Origin told Kai, leaning back in the chair. "Party. Now, at their levels, the Kings… well, don't go along with each other."
"But…" the old man picked up, his closed eyes smiling, "… if the Kings were to recruit a Contestant, a promised King, then —"
" — then the chances of that King ascending to the 19th floor will skyrocket," Kai finished.
The 18th-floor Contestants nodded.
"I still don't get it," Kai said, persistent about knowing everything this time. "Do I have greater chances of becoming a King than even you all? Why are the Kings so sure that I will become a King?"
Shadow Origin's eyes stirred.
Aphrodite and Jade Beauty looked at each other.
The eyes of the old man parted with the faintest amount.
And the Contestant seated on the Golden Grand Chair gaped at Kai.
"It isn't about greater or lesser chances," Shadow Origin said, his eyes narrowing. "The presence of Observation Haki under the 1st Threshold is one of the greatest signs of a rising King for millions of years."
What kept him from not standing now, Kai would never know.
But Kai would recall the emotions he underwent after hearing Shadow Origin's words for years to come.
***************
AN: Images of the five Viceroys and Kai are availabel on Patre0n
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