Chapter 21

  Floor Five

  After the pleasant surprise that was Floor Four, I was very slightly optimistic that Floor Five might not be entirely miserable.

  Nope, the asshole designers were on top form once again.

  The moment we stepped out of the tunnel, the temperature soared and the air grew thick and hazy. Breathing became more difficult, and our vision blurred, distant objects reduced to little more than vague outlines.

  We were in a barren wasteland of dark red rock. The ground dipped and rose unevenly, punctuated by deformed rock formations and twisted, skeletal trees that looked long dead. Above us, the sky was the colour of fresh blood, with no hint of a sun or moon.

  What was it with this fucking place?

  I could imagine how the conversation between the designers had gone when they were brainstorming ideas for the Tower of Potential.

  ‘So, designer one. What’s our vision for this Floor?’

  ‘Well, designer two. I think we should make it as fucking miserable as possible.’

  Designer two gasps, as if it’s the most profound thing he has ever heard.

  ‘Genius! What about the other Floors?’

  Designer one ponders the question, tapping a pencil against his chin.

  ‘How about we… make them as fucking miserable as possible, too!’

  ‘You’ve done it again! But… we should give them a flicker of hope partway up - perhaps on Floor Four – by including a nice setting.’

  He grins mischievously.

  ‘And then guess what Floor Five will be like…? That’s right – fucking miserable!’

  ‘Extraordinary! Our bonuses will be enormous this year.”

  At that point, they probably broke into evil laughs and kicked a puppy.

  Well, Mr and Mrs Tower Designer, if you can read this, I hope you use your bonus to treat yourselves to a truly extravagant meal.

  And then choke on your food.

  “I can’t see shit,” I said. “Where do you think we should go?”

  “No idea,” said Rel. “Let’s just keep walking until we find something I can melt with a fireball.”

  It was as good a plan as any.

  Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait long for an opportunity to present itself. We were walking – okay, stumbling – down a steep decline, the ground shifting and crumbling beneath our feet, when one of the residents introduced herself.

  “Would you look at this?” she said, her voice smoother than silk. “Two new playthings for the king to enjoy.”

  I glanced up to see a figure staring down at us from one of the rock formations.

  I did a double take.

  Not at the figure. At the rock formation.

  It looked rather… phallic.

  “Rel,” I whispered through barely contained laughter. “Look at the rock she’s standing on.”

  Rel stared at it for a few moments, and then – not bothering to contain anything – burst into cackling laughter.

  Fury flickered briefly across the woman’s face, but almost as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. Her large wings snapped outwards, and she glided down to land before us.

  She was huge.

  Wait!

  I mean she was tall and had a rather impressive physique.

  Her body was largely humanoid, but there were a few major differences. Since I’ve already mentioned them, I’ll start with the enormous fucking wings on her back. Each one had to be at least eight feet long, supported by a bony framework that looked pretty damn sturdy. Stretched between the bones was a translucent membrane that filtered the red light of the sky, making the wings look as though they emitted a sinister glow.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Protruding from amongst the hair on either side of her head were two large, jagged black horns. They reminded me of obsidian – smooth as glass and with a polished shine.

  Oh, yeah. And her skin was red.

  She was a fucking demon.

  “What do you mean by ‘playthings’?” asked Rel, his eyes narrowed. “I’ll have you know that I don’t like people picking me up or trying to stroke my fur. I’m a noble creature, not a pet!”

  She laughed. It was a melodious and enchanting sound, and I felt my thoughts grow a little fuzzy. A little voice whispered from the edges of my mind, urging me to lower my defences and trust her.

  Wait.

  She was trying to mind control me?

  Hah! Lady, I don’t need anyone’s help to make bad decisions. I do just fine on my own.

  You have gained 1 intelligence.

  Current intelligence: 2

  What the shit! Intelligence?

  “Rel!” I roared excitedly, the sudden outburst causing the demon lady to flinch. “I’ve just discovered a new stat. Intelligence!”

  Rel shifted guiltily on the spot, suddenly fascinated by anything that wasn’t me.

  Wait…

  “You knew about this already, didn’t you?” I asked, my voice low and dangerous.

  He cleared his throat.

  “Listen, Pete,” he said. “I, uh… had your best interests at heart. I thought if I told you about the existence of other stats, you’d spread yourself too thin and it’d negatively impact your training.”

  I stared at him.

  “You little fucking liar!” I snapped. “You didn’t tell me because you wanted to overtake me on the leaderboard! How many points do you have in intelligence?”

  “Well,” said Rel, shrugging as if it were only a small matter. “I’m essentially an archmage at this point, so it would make sense that I have a high level of intelligence.”

  “How many?” I asked again flatly.

  He cleared his throat again.

  “Twenty-four.”

  Twenty.

  Fucking.

  Four.

  The demon lady, furious at being ignored, flapped her wings and buffeted us with a powerful gale.

  “How dare you?” she snarled. “I am Evalria, First Knight of King Azzarath. No one disrespects me like this and lives.”

  “No one?” I asked, temporarily distracted from being pissed at Rel. “Hmm, what would you do if your King Azzarath disrespected you like this? Would you kill him too?”

  “I-” she spluttered. “I- shut up!”

  She took a deep breath, visibly forcing herself to master her anger, and then raised a hand threateningly. Her nails lengthened into claws - at least six inches long - that looked sharp enough to pop a steel balloon.

  “The king will be disappointed that he doesn’t get to meet you,” she said coldly, “but I’m sure he’ll understand when I explain just how insufferable you worms were.”

  She laughed.

  This time there was nothing melodious about it. It was the slightly psychotic laughter of someone who wanted nothing more than to fuck your whole life up.

  She pushed off the floor hard, her wings snapping out to propel her forward.

  Damn, she was fast.

  She closed the distance between us in a fraction of a second, her claws driving for the flesh over my heart.

  She wanted to rip my heart out… literally.

  I winced in pain as they pierced skin, sinking very slightly into my flesh.

  Our eyes met.

  Hers were wide with fear and confusion.

  Mine were wide with unhinged joy.

  I backhanded her.

  And when she wasn’t instantly vaporized, a savage smile spread across my face.

  You have gained 1 strength.

  Current strength: 36

  I approached her body cautiously, but there was no need.

  She was dead.

  Her face was unrecognisable, the force of my blow rearranging it entirely. However, she was mostly still in one piece.

  “I’m not quite finished with our conversation,” I said to Rel, before turning back to Evalria’s body, the savage smile creeping back onto my face. “However, I’m very curious to learn how strong this king of hers is.”

  * * *

  It took several hours of mindless wandering to find King Azzarath’s palace, the haze in the air making it difficult to see anything more than fifty metres away.

  It sat atop a hill, an imposing structure of dark grey stone. A colossal wall – at least thirty metres tall - ran around its perimeter, punctuated occasionally by towering turrets.

  Rel and I approached the enormous gate. It looked incredibly… robust, constructed from a thick, polished metal that gleamed menacingly in the red light.

  A guard stood on either side, both demons. These were male, however, and wore full plate mail, the metal a deep crimson. Unlike Evalria, they carried weapons - enormous two-handed swords taller than I was.

  “Even Sul’Kan would be jealous of these guys’ swords,” chuckled Rel, a fireball igniting at the tip of his tail.

  He spun on the spot, launching it at the guard on the left.

  The demon roared in pain, the flesh on one side of his face bubbling and melting under the intense heat, but he didn’t fall. Instead, he fixed his one remaining eye on Rel and let loose a furious battle cry, raising his sword as he charged.

  Rel squeaked and scurried behind me.

  I blurred forward, striking the demon’s chest plate with a devastating right hook. His armour caved in, obliterating his internal organs. His broken body hurtled through the air, crashing against the wall in an explosion of stone and dust.

  “I don’t like this place,” huffed Rel. “Everything’s too damn durable.”

  I disagreed entirely.

  The other guard stood rooted in place, shocked into motionless by the sudden and explosive death of his friend. I launched myself forward, aiming slightly to his left. As I passed him, I reached out, grabbed hold of his face, and brought him along for the remainder of the journey. When we reached the wall, I used all of our momentum to drive his head into the stone.

  It popped like a grapefruit, blood, bone and brain raining down all around – and unfortunately over – me. I grimaced as I wiped something out of my eyes. I didn’t look at what it was – I really didn’t want to know.

  I started to walk towards the gate.

  “Hang on a moment,” said Rel.

  I turned to see a rapidly expanding, jagged tear in reality, the inside a seemingly endless abyss. The rift stabilised into a portal, from which Rel’s small army of skeletal knights marched forth.

  Commander Osian glanced around briefly, taking in his surroundings, before turning to face Rel. He dropped to one knee and bowed his head.

  “My lord,” he said, his ancient voice deep and dignified. “It is very good to see you again. What do you require?”

  “Commander Osian,” replied Rel, nodding respectfully. “Our adventures have brought us to this vile place - a kingdom ruled by a despicable leader called King Azzarath. This is his palace, and Pete and I are intending to bring an end to his tyrannical reign.”

  He paused, gesturing to the two dead guards.

  “They have proven to be rather formidable foes thus far. I need you to protect me as we battle our way through his defences.”

  The skeletal knights rose to their feet with disturbingly impressive coordination.

  “Yes, my lord.”

  This was going to be epic.

  Everysekai

  by Bluesycobalt

  > Female Lead with cast of developed side-characters

  > A lot of poking at Isekai tropes

  > Rational and Underpowered Protagonist fighting for her life

  > 1500-2500 Word Chapters

  Updates MWF at 7:10pm EST