Deal

The admin stood there, waiting for Vell to answer, but remained silent. His cold, indifferent expression didn't change, and the tension in the air grew thicker. The admin's patience was thinning rapidly.

"You seem confident, whatever you are," the admin began, his voice laced with frustration. "However—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Vell was lifted off the ground by an unseen force. His body was flung across the room like a ragdoll, slamming into walls, floors, and ceilings with sickening thuds. The admin didn't even lift a finger; it was all done with pure telekinetic power.

"Just because I can't snap you out of existence doesn't mean I can't cause you excruciating pain," he said, his tone calm but menacing. "Now, let's start over. Who are you? Or, more accurately, what are you?"

With a flick of his hand, he released Vell from his invisible grasp, and he dropped from a considerable height, hitting the ground with a heavy thud. He lay there for a moment, as if considering his next move.

'Was I wrong?' the admin thought, eying Vell cautiously. 'He doesn't even look that strong. Maybe I should try another approach.'

The admin's eyes glowed as he attempted to delve into Vell's mind. He expected to sift through his memories, to understand what made him tick, but something blocked him. It was like running into a wall, and the mental backlash knocked the admin back a step.

Vell noticed. In a flash, he appeared directly in front of the admin, his cold expression unchanged.

"Y-yo—"

He grabbed the admin by the throat, cutting off his words, and slammed him against the walls and floors just as he had been moments ago. The admin gasped for air, struggling against hisiron grip. He tried to summon his power, to retaliate, but nothing worked. His abilities, so formidable against everyone else, were suddenly useless.

'I'm going to die… I need to report this to the higher-ups.'

Desperation flooded his mind as he began chanting under his breath, trying to activate a teleportation spell or send a distress signal, anything to get out of this situation. But Vell saw what he was doing. He clamped a hand over the admin's mouth.

"Shhhhh," he said quietly. "Don't ruin the fun."

He tightened his grip around the admin's throat, his blank expression unwavering as he watched the admin's face turn red.

 The admin's eyes bulged as his airway was slowly but surely cut off. His struggles became weaker, more frantic.

"I can't let you do that," Vell continued, his tone disturbingly casual. 

"So, here's what we're going to do. I don't want my presence here being leaked as an anomaly, and you don't want to die, right?"

The admin's frantic gaze met Vell's icy stare, and he nodded weakly, his movements sluggish as the oxygen drained from his brain.

"Good," he said, loosening his grip slightly to let the admin take in a breath. 

"You're stronger, sure, but what's power if you can't use it? After all I've been through, I've picked up some neat tricks. Let me show you"

The admin's eyes widened in fear as he felt something unnatural happening. He could feel his power being drained, like water being syphoned from a well. It wasn't just his abilities; it was something deeper, more primal. For the first time in his life, the admin felt real, unfiltered terror.

'This... this is what true horror feels like,' he thought, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"Ahh, you're vastly stronger than Jaq," Vell muttered to himself, his voice almost conversational. "I guess it's true what he told me."

'Jaq?' The admin's mind raced, trying to piece together what was happening. 'Wait, could he be the human Jaq mentioned? He's the one Jaq tried to convince us to let into the tower. We thought it was a joke, impossible for a mere human to use a summoning ticket outside the tower…he was real? Jaq actually told the truth?'

The admin's fear intensified with every realization.

'He's going to kill me,' he thought, shaking uncontrollably. 'I can't believe I'm going to die. I haven't even been doing this job for ten years...'

He noticed the pathetic, desperate look in the admin's eyes and stopped draining his power.

"Don't be such a baby," he said flatly. "I'm not going to kill you."

The admin blinked in confusion, barely processing Vell's words.

"you clearly have the look of someone who wants to survive." 

He continued

"So how about we make a deal? Your life, in exchange for your silence about me. fair, right?"

The admin stared at him for a long moment, weighing his options. Slowly, he nodded, realizing he had no other choice. With a wave of his hand, a parchment appeared in the air. He pressed his thumb to it, leaving a fingerprint, and a chain shot out from the parchment, wrapping around his neck before disappearing.

Vell observed his calculation eyes, it was now his turn, there was no telling if this contract was true since he could not read the writing but didn't hesitate. He pressed his thumb to the parchment as well, feeling the invisible chain bind around his own neck. The deal was sealed. The parchment vanished, and the invisible chains solidified their contract.

He released the admin, who collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. He rubbed his throat, still feeling the pain of Vell's grip. His fear had been replaced by a cold acceptance.

"So…" the admin said, his voice hoarse, "who are you, really?"

Vell glanced at him, then walked over to one of the plush chairs in the admin's lavish office. He sat down, making himself comfortable, and looked around the room.

"What a nice place you've got here," he said, ignoring the question.

The admin wasn't in the mood for small talk, but he didn't push it. He was too weakened right now.

"I'm just a normal human," he finally answered after a long silence. "Some things happened, and now I'm here. Nothing special."

The admin frowned. "You're really human? Not some forgotten being or ancient entity? Just human?"

"Yep."

"I find that hard to believe," the admin said, shaking his head. "Maybe a mutation at a molecular level? That's also not possible for a human… so strange."

"Enough.Tell me about this tutorial."

The admin blinked, caught off guard by the abrupt question.

"The tutorial? It's exactly what the name says—a tutorial. You go through a series of missions, each one harder than the last. Only those who survive make it to the main tower. There are ten missions in total, at the end of each mission the one with the highest contribution gets the best reward and like i said earlier, at the end of the tutorial, the highest ranking group and contestant will receive exclusive rewards. some choose to stay in the tutorial to get stronger before moving on, it's something that we never thought of but well, he can't deny anyone's attempt to get stronger."

Vell nodded slowly, absorbing the information. "I see. One more question. What are the 'Chosen'?"

The admin hesitated, then spoke. "When the towers fell, the gods chose individuals they believed had potential. These 'Chosen' received a message, guiding them to the towers. Not everyone made it, of course. Many died along the way, not a big deal though, many still made it. Once in the tower, I personally awakened their dormant abilities. Once they get strong enough, the specific gods who chose them will examine them and if they meet their requirement, they become a god's avatar."

"You talk about death with a blank expression," Vell noted, staring at him. "You've seen a lot of it, haven't you?"

"I've had my share of death…" he said quietly, his voice trailing off.

Vell stood up, brushing himself off. "Alright, I've heard enough. Let's go. I'm sure people are confused."

The admin stared at him. "That's it? We're not going to talk more about the Chosen or the tutorial further?"

"No, I don't feel like talking anymore. I'll figure the rest out on my own."

The admin watched him for a moment, still unable to fully understand the strange, unassuming human standing before him.

'What a strange human,' the admin thought as he stood up to follow.

The admin teleported them back to the forest, and as if nothing had happened, he resumed his neutral expression. But the air was thick with tension. Everyone's eyes darted toward Vell. Some looked at him with jealousy, others with curiosity, and more than a few with clear hostility.

"Alright," the admin said, brushing off the charged atmosphere, "we'll begin the tutorial shortly. I'll just finish up where I left off."

His voice was calm, and his presence commanded attention. People tried to ignore their curiosity about Vell, but it was hard not to glance his way. The admin repeated the instructions, giving more details about survival, resource gathering, and combat training, all of which would be crucial for the trials ahead.

Once he was done, he divided everyone into groups of about 100 people. The moment he snapped his fingers, they disappeared again and reappeared in a large room with five colored doors. It was a strange, almost sterile room with smooth black walls and a ceiling that seemed unnaturally high.

"Alright, before we move on," a man with striking blue hair spoke up, his voice clear and authoritative, "we need to talk strategy. We need leaders, strategists, close-range fighters, ranged fighters, and so on. Remember, we've all just awakened, so none of us are strong enough to do things alone. If we want to survive whatever this is, we need to work together."

He was tall, handsome, and carried himself with a quiet confidence. There was something about his presence that made people listen. It wasn't just his looks, but the way he talked, the way he made everything seem organized and in control. His words seemed to resonate with most of the group, who nodded in agreement.

But not Vell. He was already standing near the doors, studying them intently. His face was unreadable, almost indifferent to everything that was happening around him.

The blue-haired man turned toward him, frowning.

 "Hey! What are you doing? We need to work as a team here!" His voice was firm but not overly aggressive.

The group's attention shifted fully to Vell, and that's when murmurs started spreading like wildfire.

"Isn't that the guy who disappeared with the admin?" one person whispered.

"Yeah, that's him," another confirmed, his tone dark. "The one who got special treatment."

The whispers grew louder, spreading throughout the crowd.

"I don't trust him."

"Why did he get to go alone? What makes him so special?"

"He probably knows something we don't. Maybe he doesn't even need us."

The blue-haired man crossed his arms, staring at Vell more intensely now. "Look, we all need to stick together. Whatever advantage you've got, it won't help you on your own. We need to work as a group."

But Vell didn't respond. His eyes remained on the doors. Then, without a word or even a glance back, he stepped toward one and disappeared behind it.

"Idiot, he is going to die."