Crazy Necromancer in the Ruined Tower

"Seriously Kapali, couldn't you have chosen any other skill besides the cleaning skill? I can't see any practical application of having that skill in a battle."

"Master, with all due respect, Noobs wouldn't understand the way veterans do things," Kapali shamelessly replied.

"This guy... I gotta wonder if you're calling me Master more to mock me now rather than any other reason," The veins on his forehead were bulging, hearing his 'Loyal Servants' words.

"Anyways, what the hell is this! Was my luck always this… sh*tty?" Shiva pondered.

[The testing sites nearby:-

1. Church of Light(109km)

2. Temple of Urd(210km)

3. Church of Moon Goddess(453km)

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.

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76. Graveyard of Apollyon(too far)]

[Time left until the participation challenge ends: 03:24:36s]

"Not to mention the Graveyard, reaching the Church of Light is still up for debate, given the time limit. "

{You can probably reach the Church of Light if you run nonstop for the next 2 and half hours}

"Old man, is that you?" Shiva questioned the timely guidance of the old Sage.

Humans no longer had the weak physique of their old self prior to moving to the Tower, it can be said that, with the use of mana strengthening their bodies, people have already surpassed the limits of Earth.

"Hmm...isn't there any other methods?"

{You could hire a transportation mount nearby}

"A transportation mount? Tf is that?"

{You...! Don't tell me you just went around clearing floors from the start and didn't go exploring the rest of the floors?!}

"…0_0…"

{You idiot, what urgent business had you clearing floors like mad without even exploring the rest of the floors like some kind of manic! ...*sigh* why am I even asking, of course, you are a manic, that much should have been obvious.} The Old Sage is quite done with Shiva's sh*t, but even so, what can he do about it?

"Are you going to tell me what it is or are you just going to leave me here, hanging in suspense? For the record, I don't have time to be fooling around with you right now, so can we skip the semantics and get to the part where you tell me what I need to know." If no one could tell, Shiva is also quite done with the Old Sages sh*t as well.

{Tch! Don't act all cocky, I'm telling you this because I have nothing better to do! It has nothing to do with the fact that I want to cooperate with you or anything, Brat! }

"Yea...yea....whatever," Inside, Shiva was smirking at how much of a total tsundere the Old Sage is turning out to be.

{Transportation mounts are tamed monsters or pets which are used to go from place to place faster than if they were to walk. Of course, for a price.}

"Then, if I were to use one of these mounts, could I reach the Graveyard in 3 hours??" Now, this is what Shiva wanted to know, as it could make or break their dreams of competing in the Colosseum.

{Yeah right, even if your father tamed a dragon for you to use, getting to that Graveyard would still be a pipe dream. God damn, it'd still be a blessing if you could get to the Church of Life within the next hour and a half, and you're thinking about trying to get to the Graveyard? Ha!}

"Speaking of dragons, I have one too " He grinned while motioning to summon Ugram.

{Don't even think about it! If the people from the Church of Life see any undead, let alone a Bone Dragon, you'd be lucky if they let you stay alive not, to mention participate in the challenge!}

"Tch! Holy b*stards and their stupid prejudice against my skellies, it's not right!" Shiva ranted righteously to the heavens against this injustice towards his minions.

Then he promptly walked toward the nearby transportation mounts stable and hired amount to use, a crimson flaming flamingo which Shiva had doubts of its speed but was guaranteed to get him to the Church at record speeds.

Feeling satisfied, he mounted the Flamingo, whose name is Doffy, and rocketed off towards the Church of Light.

-------

In front of him was a radiant, majestic building with a massive depiction of a sapling bathing in the holy rays, on top, signifying the Church of Light.

As he entered the building, a notification rang out in front of him.

[You have entered a holy ground]

[All your stats are temporarily reduced by 50%]

"..."

That was the last nail in the coffin. He was already wondering if he would be okay challenging without his summons, but now that even his stats are halved, he knew he got f*cked over somewhere down the line.

"What brings you here?", a man in a white robe with a holy aura asked him.

"Ah! I am here to take on the challenge so that I can participate in the Colosseum."

"Oh! Well then, you'd better hurry, it's going to end soon. Please go straight in this direction, there will be a person who is taking in the last batch of participants." The man seemed nice enough as he showed him the direction to the venue and even went the extra mile by guiding him there. "Good luck on the challenge, may the Light always shine upon you and bring you luck in your ventures."

"Ah..! Thank you" Shiva said while he inwardly sighed and thought 'I hope the light doesn't shine too bright on me'. He walked up to the person the holy man led him to and enquired about becoming a participant. Shortly after he was led to a waiting room.

[You have accepted the challenge to enter the Colosseum]

The room was completely barren with no one else inside. Every wall was a blinding white color, to the point it was hard for him to even look at them. For some reason, he was getting a weird hospital vibe from every corner of the room.

[Endure the pressure of Holy Pope for as long as you can]

What felt like a massive weight fell on his back, what could only be described as a mountain was laid onto his shoulders for him to carry, at least that was how he felt. The sudden pressure forced him to kneel on the ground. Shiva ended up gritting his teeth and groaning out, "ghhh...!"

With half of his stats gone it was already hard enough for him to stay awake, let alone bear with the pressure. He didn't have time to see the new notification, he was barely even aware of his surroundings, not even knowing what was happening around him. He was slowly closing his eyes when a notification rang out as though a Messiah had come to lend him support in his time of need.

[The hidden effect of Dominance stat has been triggered]

[A minor percent of the pressure has been offset due to the stat]

He grunted, feeling as though a small degree of pressure had been mitigated, allowing him time to breathe and get some air back into his lungs as. He was now completely on the ground, just trying to endure the pressure for as long as possible. He doesn't even know how long he lasted until eventually, he blacked out.

****

*POV: Unknown*

"Hmm... quite magnificent, for one of the masses to be able to hold their own under my divine aura, is quite commendable I'd say," A man in a beautiful white silk robe said looking down (both literally and metaphorically) on Shiva.

"Did someone catch your attention, oh Shined One?", the nun beside him asked.

"The one I was just watching was pretty decent with how long he lasted! But that's it, just decent. There is no need to bother us with these average people, but for his grit let's give him the rank#524288."

"How benevolent of you. I'm sure he will be quite grateful for your kindness, your Grace." The nun exulted praise for the Pope, locking her hands together as though for another prayer.

*****

*POV: Shiva*

Shiva got up finding himself in the same sickeningly white room.

"Looks like no one even bothered to wake me up," he mumbled. As he got up, he asked his personal time recorder, i.e., the old sage, for how long had it been since he was unconscious.

"Hey, Old Man! How long was I out for this time?"

{Seriously! You brat, what the hell do you think I am, your personal clock or something!?}

"Now, now… let's not act as though your only hobbies are cursing me and counting the seconds as they pass you, or are you trying to say you have something else that's keeping you busy all this time?" Shiva taunted, knowing for a fact the old Sage didn't have anything else to do.

{First off, that was a low blow, brat! It's not like I can do anything while you have me trapped here. The only reason I have nothing to do is because of the fact that you're a b*stard and won't let me. Secondly, it has been roughly an hour since you passed out under a bit of holy pressure. Honestly, it was pretty pathetic, haha!}

"Oh! I'll give you sh*t to do once you prove to me you deserve any better treatment. Anyways, the challenge time has ended I think, I wonder if I made it?" he saw pondered before some new messages appeared before him.

[The Colosseum challenge has ended]

[A total of 524288 individuals have been selected to participate in the Colosseum]

[Congratulations you have been selected to participate in the Colosseum]

[You are ranked #524288]

Shiva was shocked speechless by this f*ckery. "...What kind of a sh*t luck is this?"

********

(edited by JokeDagger)