The air within the Floor 13 Grand Stadium was thick with the scent of ozone and anticipation. High above the seating tiers, a massive, shimmering dome of translucent mana pulsed with a soft blue light, sealing the combatants within a simulated reality that spanned several kilometers. For the spectators, the dome was a window into a slaughterhouse, but for the hundreds of thousands watching from the digital plazas, the real action was on the Great Holographic Array. Floating in the center of the stadium, dozens of massive screens flickered with high-definition feeds, tracking the vitals and movements of the aspiring players below.

The arena had just finished its first shift. The previous desert biome had dissolved into light particles, replaced by the Emerald Labyrinth—a dense, suffocating forest of ancient, mana-soaked trees with bark as hard as iron and leaves that dripped with caustic dew. This was the Battle Royale: a meat grinder designed to filter the "chaff" from the "grain" for the high-ranking guilds watching from the VIP spires.

In the North Spire, representatives from the White Stars Guild sat in plush velvet chairs, their eyes scanning the data feeds. They weren’t looking for the strongest; they were looking for the most efficient. To their left, the Blue Dragon Guild scouts whispered into communication crystals, focusing on players with high destructive output. In the South Spire, the Iron Aegis Guild known for their defensive formations watched the durability metrics of the vanguards struggling through the brush.

The stakes were higher than usual. The prize for the last survivor was a rare artifact retrieved from the deepest reaches of the Tower. Rumors suggested it granted a "Growth-type Absolute Power" that scaled with the user’s desperation.

The holographic screens weren’t just showing the fight; they were broadcasting the live chat of millions of viewers.

-YO, that guy in the leather armor is definitely getting ganked in the next five minutes.

-Look at the mana density in sector 4! The trees are literally eating that mage’s fireballs lol.

-Iron Aegis scout just took a note... bet they’re looking at the shield-bearer by the river.

-500 coins on the girl with the silver spear. Her footwork is insane.

-Imagine fighting for your life while we’re eating popcorn. The Tower is wild.

Deep within the forest, the first major skirmish broke out near a cluster of bioluminescent ferns.

A player known as Kang Dae-hyun, a heavy-set warrior wielding a blackened warhammer, stood his ground against three smaller attackers. Kang Dae-hyun’s class was a [Geomantic Vanguard]. As a rogue lunged from the shadows with twin daggers coated in paralyzing venom, he slammed the butt of his hammer into the gnarled root of a tree.

[Skill: Tremor Root Resonance]

The ground didn’t just shake; the trees themselves reacted. The massive roots beneath the rogue’s feet surged upward like wooden tentacles, wrapping around his ankles and jerking him upside down. Kang Dae-hyun didn’t waste a second. He pivoted his heavy frame, the hammer whistling through the humid air with a low, vibrating hum. The rogue had just enough time to cross his daggers before the hammer connected. The sound was like a falling boulder crushing a dry branch. The rogue was sent flying, his daggers shattered, his body disappearing into a burst of light as his "Life-Safety" charm triggered, teleporting him out of the arena in a state of elimination.

"One down," Kang Dae-hyun grunted, but he hadn’t noticed the shimmering air behind him.

A female player, Han Seo-rin, an [Aerial Saboteur], had been hovering above the canopy using a passive wind-walking skill. She dropped like a stone, her feet braced against the trunk of a tree to kick off with explosive force. She didn’t use a blade; she used mana-compressed needles.

-She’s fast.

-Look at that trajectory! She’s using the wind resistance to stabilize her aim.

-He’s too slow to turn that hammer around. He’s done.

Han Seo-rin flicked her wrists, and twenty silver needles streaked through the air, humming with high-frequency vibrations. Kang Dae-hyun tried to raise his hammer, but the needles were designed to bypass physical armor. They pierced his joints, locking his muscles in place with localized mana-disruption. He stood frozen, a statue of iron and frustration. Han Seo-rin landed lightly on his shoulders, placed a palm against the back of his helmet, and whispered a command. A small explosion of wind mana detonated, tossing him out of the combat zone.

Further west, near a stream that ran red with iron-rich sediment, a massive brawl had turned the forest floor into a graveyard of broken equipment.

A spearman clad in sapphire-blue scales was holding off a duo of elementalists. His movements were fluid, following the [Flowing Tide Technique]. Every time the first elementalist launched a shard of ice, the spearman didn’t block it; he parried it with a circular motion of his spear, redirecting the momentum into the ground.

’Ice shard trajectory: 15 degrees left. Wind speed: 4 knots. Mana consumption: 12%. I can hold this for three more minutes.’

Suddenly, the second elementalist, a fire user clapped his hands together. The humid forest air ignited.

[Skill: Forest Fire Trap]

The oxygen was sucked out of the immediate area, replaced by a roaring wall of flame that climbed the mana-soaked trees. The spearman’s sapphire scales began to glow with heat. He realized the trap was a distraction to keep his feet planted in the dry brush. He leaped toward the creek, but halfway through his jump, an assassin erupted from the water.

The assassin’s blade was a jagged piece of obsidian. He lunged for the spearman’s exposed throat. The spearman twisted mid-air, using the weight of his spear to spin his body like a drill.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sounds of metal hitting obsidian echoed through the sector. The assassin was relentless, his movements erratic and jerky, powered by a [Berserk Haste] buff. The spectators roared as the screen zoomed in on the exchange.

-That parry was frame-perfect.

-The spearman is sweating. Look at his mana bar flickering.

-Fire mage is charging a Tier 3 spell... this area is about to be a crater.

-The terrain just makes everything harder. Those vines are trying to trip them mid-fight.

The fire mage finished his incantation. A pillar of white-hot flame descended from the canopy, incinerating the trees and the creek alike. The spearman and the assassin vanished into the blinding light. When the smoke cleared, only a charred patch of earth remained. Both players had been forcibly ejected by their safety charms.

As the sun of the simulation began to set, the forest turned into a landscape of terrifying silhouettes. The remaining thirty players grew cautious. No one wanted to be the first to move. They hid in the hollows of trees, masked their mana signatures, and waited.

Among the shadows, a young man crouched in the hollow of a massive, rotting log. This was Sung Su-been.

Unlike the other players who moved with the swagger of future heroes, Su-been’s eyes were bloodshot and wide with a desperate, singular focus. He wasn’t looking at the other players as rivals; he was looking at them as obstacles between him and his mother’s life.

He checked the holographic watch on his wrist. The White Stars logo flickered on the side a reminder of the contract he’d signed as a Streamer. They wanted him to provide high-tension content. They wanted him to be the underdog who defied the odds for the sake of the viewers.

Su-been gripped his weapon a simple, battered shortsword. His palms were slick with sweat. He thought about the small, cramped room back in the lower districts. He thought about the rhythmic beep of the life-support machine and the cold, predatory smiles of the loan sharks.

"If I get that item..." he whispered, his voice trembling.

"I’ll have Absolute power and I can make sure those assholes never see another ounce of daylight ever again!"

The loan sharks didn’t just want money; they wanted his future.

They had provided the initial funds to keep his bed-ridden mother alive, but the interest was a black hole. If he failed today, they would strip her of her mana-stabilizers, and she would fade within hours.

A rustle in the leaves nearby made him freeze.

’One survivor. That’s all that matters. I don’t need to be the strongest.’

A player approached his hiding spot.

A scout from a minor guild who was trying to play it safe. The scout was checking around, his back turned to Su-been’s log.

Su-been moved, his heart hammering against his ribs. He lunged from the log, his shortsword aimed low. The scout turned, but Su-been’s desperation had sharpened his reflexes to a suicidal edge. He drove the blade into the scout’s side, ignoring the shield bash that cracked his own shoulder. He gripped the scout’s collar, his eyes burning with a light that made the scout flinch.

"Give it to me," Su-been hissed.

With a final shove, Su-been triggered the scout’s safety charm. The burst of light illuminated Su-been’s face for the holographic cameras above.

Up in the VIP spires, a White Stars scout leaned forward.

"That one. The streamer. His synchronization rate with the ’Desperation’ metric just spiked to 98%. Keep the camera on him."

-Wait, is that?

-He looks like he’s actually going to kill someone. Look at his eyes.

-1000 coins on the streamer. He’s got that ’nothing to lose’ edge.

-The Tower really preys on the desperate.

-Go Su-been! Win this!

The holographic screen flickered, displaying a leaderboard.

[Sung Su-been: Rank 14]

The forest biome began to groan as the floor prepared for its next shift.

The trees began to sink into the ground, and the air grew freezing cold. The final phase was beginning.

Su-been stood amidst the disappearing trees, his shortsword held tight, his gaze fixed on the center of the arena.