“The first Opportunity is the Ascension Test,” says Organa. “Ascension Tests occur every 12 weeks, and you must have stayed on the floor for at least 9 weeks to qualify to participate. The next Test is in 3 weeks. The Ascension test is generally somewhat similar to the Labyrinth trial that you just took but many times more dangerous.
“The second Opportunity is Lessons. There are thousands of Administrators such as Ganyu or myself living on this floor for the sole purpose of giving lessons. I strongly recommend that you attend as many Lessons as possible. The knowledge you bring from your world will not help you much here. You can find a full list of all available Lessons in the Hall of Learning, whose location you will learn later.
“The third Opportunity is Quests. You will travel to the Outlands to hunt beasts and Strays, or to seek out rare materials for medicine and crafting. The Quests can help you gain combat and survival experience, and if you’re lucky, you may find rare items. Details on specific Quests can be found in the Quest Hall, which we will pass by momentarily. You will also be taken on a Starter Quest in four weeks’ time, so be prepared.
“The final Opportunity is the Tournament. Every twelve weeks, offset by 6 weeks from the Ascension Test, the Tournament is held. You must have stayed on the Floor of Fate for at least 9 weeks to qualify for entry. The Tournament is an opportunity to prove your strength and combat ability directly in front of all. If you win, you will be granted a treasure of your choice, and immediate admittance to the second floor.
“Do not take the Tournament lightly though. It is open to the entire Floor of Fate, except the Administrators. This includes you outsiders, the nativeborn of the tower, and even Strays, if they can survive long enough to reach the entrance.
“Now, follow me, and I will guide you to your Batch’s dormitory.”
It’s nighttime now, I think. The sky or roof or whatever is dark and covered in stars now, at least. I’m not sure how that works, since we’re supposed to be in a tower, but whatever. It looks like night and it feels like night, so it’s night.
We seem to be in an area full of lecture halls rather than dorms, but I can still feel hundreds of eyes watching us. Watching me, specifically, since the others are all giving me such a wide berth. They probably think it’s because the rest are scared of me. That’s probably at least partially true, but more realistically, it’s because right now, I smell.
Our destination seems to be the complete opposite side of the campus. We walk between dozens of large, but mostly empty buildings until we reach another more residential section, and finally arrive at an empty residence hall. It looks less castle-like than many of the other buildings, but it still has round towers on each corner, and it’s made of thick stone blocks. Giant golden birds with wings spread sit on either end of the tall, pointed roof. Ganyu and Organa lead us through a pair of tall wooden doors wide and tall enough to fit a semi truck through and into a large common area.
There is a round table with a bucket on it in the center of the hall, and the two Administrators stop on either side of it before turning around to face us. Once we’re all inside, the doors shut almost silently behind us, and the entire group goes quiet.
“Welcome to Phoenix Hall,” says Organa. “This is where you will be staying for your allotted four years. Everything you need to live can be found here. Each dorm room contains a kitchen, each floor has a pantry, and the ground floor has a dining hall which will be fully stocked with food three times per day.” She gestures to her right, where the entire wall is taken up by a map. “This map should help you find your way around the city, but if you are confused, you can ask any Administrator, and they will guide you.
“Now, I’m sure you’re all tired, but before I let you into your rooms, there is one final thing to take care of.”
She waves her hand, and over a hundred thin threads of ki extend from her fingers and into the bucket. Each one picks up a small metal ring from inside and carries it over to each of us. I hold out my hand to take it, and am surprised by its weight. It’s so light that it’s almost like it’s not even there. If it didn’t feel cold against my skin, I might not even realize I’m holding anything.
I can’t sense anything odd about it, which is odd on its own. There’s clearly something strange about it, based on its weight, but it seems to interact completely ordinarily with the ki in the air. I notice a few of the people around me put it on almost immediately. They are fools, but fools are easy to learn from. I watch carefully as a young man slips it onto its ring finger, and a moment later, it vanishes. I blink, and the man flinches back, and a moment later, Organa begins speaking again.
“The ring I have just given you will be one of your most important tools in the Tower. It is used for identification, can translate all known languages in the Tower, can receive information from each Floor’s Lord, and most importantly, it also functions as a wallet. These rings will be used to bind you to your rooms, so you should all put them on right now. You may choose not to, but you will lose access to many things if you do.”
I wait a few seconds to watch everyone else put them on to make sure it’s nothing sinister before I do it as well. It’s way too big for my fingers, so it slides on easily, but as soon as it settles, it contracts, then disappears. I can sense a small spike of ki enter my hand, which hurts about as much as a vaccine shot, and before I can react, the ki travels all the way around my body then back to my finger.
I feel my finger where the ring vanished, but there doesn’t seem to be anything there anymore. It’s like it became a part of my body.
“You should all now be bound to your rings,” says Organa. “The rings respond to your own thoughts, and all you need to do to trigger them is to think about triggering them. There are five basic commands: Visible, Invisible, Information, Rank, and Leaderboard. Floor Lords will often add additional ones as needed for their respective Floors. Visible and Invisible turn the ring visible and invisible. Information will show you official information on the current floor, all of which I have already told you. Rank will display your current ranking, both within your Batch, and across the Floor. Administrators and Strays are not included in the rankings. You can also use Full Ranking to view the full ranking list for your Batch and Floor.
“No one knows the exact criteria for ranking, but we do know that it is largely based on performance. Those who perform better will rise in the rankings. Those who do not will fall. Attending Lessons, participating in Hunts, and doing well in the Tournament will raise your ranking. Improving your strength will also improve your rank.
“If you wish to be anonymous on the rankings, you may choose to do so, but you need to go to the Floor’s Hall of Records if you want to change how it appears. You can choose any name, though I would recommend against anything offensive. It’s not against the rules, but you will be targeted for it.”Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
I’m definitely changing my name. I’ve already given up on laying low, but that doesn’t mean I want my name out there. I’ll be creating a public persona that I can use for official business, and I’ll keep my real name private. It will let me move around more comfortably.
“As I mentioned, these rings are also your wallets. Since you came from outside the Tower, you have been provided with a starting balance of 10000 Tower Credits, which is the standard currency. This is not a small amount, but it is not large either. It should allow you to purchase a few useful items. To purchase something, simply think the amount you want to transfer, think the command ‘Transfer’, and touch the recipient of the funds. Usually, this is done with a simple handshake. You can also check your balance with the Balance command.
“I’ll give you a few minutes to explore the ring’s functions.”
I test each command as she explains them, finding them fairly simple. The Information is exactly what she explained earlier, almost verbatim. My own ranking is pretty much what I expected. I’m first in our batch, and I have no idea what my overall ranking means. It’s around 40,000, which is probably pretty good, since Ganyu said there were 10 million on the Floor. I doubt anyone is watching the 40,000 ranks for interesting newcomers, so I should be safe. Unless everyone can see the Batch rankings, that is. Regardless, I should go change my name on the leaderboard as soon as possible.
I turn my attention to the rest of the Batch rankings and find a few interesting surprises. After me at the top, there are two names I don’t recognize, then Katherine. I figured she would be ranked high, but I didn’t realize how heavily the labyrinth section would be weighted. Vanessa is ranked high as well, and neither of them did much in the first trial. It also explains why Thomas is ranked in the bottom half, since he didn’t seem to be doing much navigating himself, instead letting his partner handle it for him.
“You’re ranked 1st!” whispers Vanessa excitedly from a few feet away.
“I know.”
“Kat’s ranked 4th!”
“I know.”
“I’m ranked 17th!”
“I know.”
“That’s so cool!”
“...”
The rest of the group chatters a bit amongst themselves, comparing ranks, but it cuts off when Organa clears her throat again.
“Your rooms are determined by your current Batch rank. There is no difference between each room, but they are numbered, and will only open for the ones to whom they belong.
“Ganyu will be your dorm’s advisor, and your homeroom teacher. I am the chief advisor overseeing this sector of the dorms. If you have any questions, you may ask either of us. Tomorrow morning, Ganyu’s first lesson will take place right here, two hours after sunrise. Until then, you are free. Wash yourselves, sleep, eat, explore, or do whatever else you’d like. Do keep in mind though that murder, theft, rape, assault, and any other crimes you can think of are prohibited… If you get caught, that is.
“And I must remind you that while your next four weeks will be quite peaceful, that is not how the Tower will be. You will need to fight and risk your life, or you will have no hope of ever reaching beyond this Floor. Remember that your Starter Quest will take place at the end of these four weeks, and if you are lazy with your training, you will be in for a rude awakening. You will be competing against other Batches. Casualties are expected. Performing well will earn you rewards. Poor performance will have consequences.”
With that ominous ending, she turns and walks away.
From the common area, there are hallways branching off to either side, each full of rooms. A few of them are labeled as things like “dining hall” and “kitchen,” but unfortunately for me, all the residential rooms are numbered in the high 100s, meaning that my room is probably on the top floor. Why is the reward for good performance stairs? I don’t hate them that much, but I feel like a better reward would be less work to do, not more.
I sigh and start my journey up the stairs at the end of one of the hallways, climbing four flights before they end and I reach the single-digit rooms. It looks like all the floors are roughly the same, with a common area in the center and rooms lining the halls on either side. I’m not particularly looking forward to living here. The rooms are solo, at least, but they’re so close together, I can’t imagine the noise levels will be pleasant. It reminds me a bit of the freshman dorms, and those were bad enough, even without ki involved. My room is right on the end of the hallway by the stairs at least, so whatever commotion happens will disturb me less than it will disturb those in the closer rooms.
When I stop at my door, Vanessa stops with me, still holding the three-eyed cat. It’s sitting calmly in her arms right now, but it has its eyes glued to me, and I doubt it will let Vanessa take it too far away from me. Still, it can’t hurt to try.
“Why don’t you take care of it for now,” I say to her.
“But it’s yours,” she says, frowning, and holding it out.
“You said you’d train it though, so take it with you.”
“I don’t think it will let me. Ms. Organa said it was bound to you.”
“Try anyway.”
Unfortunately, as soon as she takes a single step away, it starts squirming, and after two steps, it starts squealing and scratching. She quickly rushes back to me, but it doesn’t stop struggling until she lets it go and it lands on the ground. It doesn’t get close enough to touch me, but it stands on the other side of me from Vanessa, watching the other girl warily.
“See?” she says.
“Dammit.”
“What are you going to name it?”
“Cat,” I say after thinking about it for a second.
“No!” she exclaims. “You can’t name it Cat!”
“Why not? It’s a cat. Its name will be Cat.”
“You can’t name a cat Cat! Besides, we already know Kat. It will get confusing.”
She raises a good point.
“Feline it is.”
“No!” she says, louder this time.
“Is it a boy or a girl?” says another voice.
We turn to see that the dark-eyed boy has arrived.
“I don’t know,” I say.
“It’s a girl,” says Vanessa.
“Well, what about Trinity?” he suggests.
“Oh, that’s a good idea!” says Vanessa.
“...Fine,” I say.
I don’t actually care that much, and the longer we spend arguing about it, the longer it will be before I get to wash up. If it satisfies them, that’s good enough for me. Also, I have to admit it is a pretty fitting name.
“Yay!” says Vanessa.
The dark-eyed boy looks a bit proud of himself.
“My name is Jacob, by the way,” he says. “It looks like we’ll be neighbors now.” He gestures to room 2, which is right across from mine. “I hope we’ll get along.”
“Sure,” I reply. “I’m going to take a bath.”
Without waiting for a response, I turn back to my door and grab the handle. It seems to react to the ki of my ring, and turns, letting me push the door open. It moves just as smoothly and noiselessly as the dorm’s main doors did.
“Bye, Bella,” says Vanessa behind me. “Bye, Trinity!”
“See you la-!” says Jacob, his voice cutting off as my door closes.