Author here, just wanted to ask a quick question, how do you guys feel about the pacing of the story right now? Fast, slow, perfect? Let me know…
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On his way to the nineteenth floor, Ali caught the faint sound of men talking.
Silently, he approached the entrance to the floor, pressing his ear close to the doorframe to listen carefully. 'They're at the far end of the floor...', he deduced, pinpointing their location by following the direction of their voices.
He stepped into the floor's dimly lit hallway, which he quickly identified as a makeshift workshop. The entire area seemed dedicated to crafting and assembling armour out of any scrap, metal, or materials the soldiers had scavenged during their time outside. The air smelled of burnt metal and oil, and discarded, rusted tools were scattered around workbenches.
Ali moved stealthily toward the room from which the voices were coming. The door was partially ajar, and he could see faint figures huddled inside. Based on their conversation, he estimated there were three people within, all of whom seemed completely unaware of his presence.
Without a moment's hesitation, Ali entered the room, where three malnourished workers were sitting, their arms and faces smudged with soot—a clear sign of their gruelling labor. They looked up, startled by his sudden entrance, confusion and fear dawning on their faces as they realised this man was a stranger.
"Who are-"
SPLASH
Ali swung his longsword with precision at the nearest worker who had tried to rise. The blade sliced cleanly through the man's neck, severing his head from his body. The head dropped and rolled across the floor, coming to a rest as blood pooled around it.
With a calm and ice cold gaze, Ali turned to the second worker, who was scrambling to stand, a look of horror plastered on his face. Ali delivered a brutal punch to his skull.
BANG
The impact was sickening. The man's skull fractured under the force, the sharp crack echoing through the room as he crumpled to the ground, lifeless. Ali barely paused as he turned to the third worker, who was trembling, attempting to crawl away while still on the floor.
The worker's eyes were wide with terror as Ali approached him, and he raised his hands above his head, begging for mercy.
"No... п, по-!"
Ali raised his boot and stomped down on the man's head before he could say anything further.
BANG
Blood, bone, and brain matter splattered outward as Ali's foot crushed the man's skull completely. For a moment, he held his foot there, ensuring the job was done, then lifted it and wiped his boot on the worker's torn clothing. Casually, he turned to leave the room.
On his way out, Ali glanced at the animated, severed head of the first worker he'd killed, now gnashing its teeth at the empty air. With a casual swing of his leg, Ali kicked the head across the room, sending it flying into the far wall where it shattered against the concrete.
With a sense of grim satisfaction, he closed the door behind him as though nothing had happened, making his way down the hallway to survey the rest of the floor before heading to the stairs again.
Upon reaching the twentieth floor, Ali found yet another workshop, this one exclusively outfitted with tools for crafting melee weapons. A variety of knives, spears, and other sharp tools lined the walls, while worktables held everything needed to maintain them. Only one worker was present, diligently sharpening a blade on a whetstone. He was so focused that he didn't notice Ali approaching from behind.
In one swift movement, Ali reached around, grabbing the man's hand and the knife he was holding, trapping them both. The worker flinched and tried to turn, but Ali's other hand gripped his head firmly, holding him in place. With unyielding strength, Ali forced the sharpened edge of the knife forward until it pierced the worker's forehead, embedding deep into his skull and killing him instantly.
The worker's body slumped, his grip loosening on the knife, which remained stuck in his head. Ali released his hold, letting the corpse fall to the ground. 'The knife he just made killed him... would that be considered irony?' Ali wondered, a dark smirk tugging at his lips as he knelt, removed the bloodied blade, and wiped it on the worker's clothes before sheathing it at his side.
As usual, he took a quick survey of the floor, ensuring there were no other threats, before ascending the stairs again. Only ten more floors to go.
The twenty-first floor turned out to be empty. It appeared to be a communal area, with a large, scarred wooden table at its centre, littered with leftover dishes and cups. This must have been their dining area, Ali guessed, noting the traces of an earlier meal, though the place was eerily quiet.
CLACK. CLACK. CLACK.
A loud, mechanical sound suddenly echoed from the floors above, snapping Ali out of his thoughts.
'What the fuck?' Ali raised his head, listening carefully to the heavy noise scraping against the ceiling, like a massive object sliding across a metal surface. He quickly surveyed the empty floor before moving up the stairs to the twenty-second floor, where the noise grew even louder.
This floor was also vacant, but it appeared to be some sort of soldier rest area, the walls knocked down to create a large, open space.
The remains of simple bedding and scattered personal belongings were scattered around the room, yet Ali was more focused on the noise coming from outside.
Moving to the window facing the back side of the skyscraper, Ali peered out, narrowing his eyes as he searched for the source of the commotion. A smirk slowly crept onto his face as he spotted it.
'So that's how they're getting in and out', he thought with a trace of amusement as he looked up. Stretched across the air were thick, metal cables connected to the rooftop of a building over a hundred meters away. Attached to these cables was a makeshift platform, inching its way along the line as it carried a group of soldiers returning from a mission outside.
'Now l've got a dilemma on my hands, don't I?' Ali mused, crossing his arms as he considered the platform with a keen, calculating gaze.
Please donate some of your power stones, it would help my ff massively.
Five chapters ahead of webnovel on patreon.com/Rondo312