As Ashley sprinted towards the creature, I wondered if she’d heard the others make that bet against her. Or maybe being the lowest ranked among us made her feel like she had something to prove. In any case, her monster came to life before she could reach it.

  The blob of liquid metal formed itself into a smooth humanoid shape with blades for arms and then waited. Once she was within range, it punched out with an arm blade. Ashley saw it coming and ducked. Her feet slid across the floor, taking her past the creature.

  Instead of turning around, the creature reformed its arms to face the other way. Meanwhile, the rest of us received a helpful message about what she was fighting.

  *Beast Identified* [Quicksilver Mimic (Uncommon)] Level 195 - A straightforward, but deadly creature. It can emulate a variety of shapes and the longer it fights an opponent, the more it learns. The good news is that it has several weaknesses, but where would be the fun in explaining what any of them were?

  The mimic attacked again with its arm blade, but as Ashley side-stepped it, a metal spike extended out of the creature’s leg. She backed away, but the attacks were her pushing her closer to the wall where the mimic intended to trap her. Ashley realized this herself as they got closer to it. Instead of repeating her last move of sliding past the creature, she ran towards the wall, jumped up, and kicked herself off the wall. As her body arced over the mimic, she extended a hand. Her fingertips grazed the thing’s head, and the mimic shuddered.

  Ashley landed behind it gracefully and took two purposeful steps away from it. The mimic tried to pursue, but its legs were stuck. I looked closer and noted that the tile it was standing on had partially melted and then resolidified to trap its legs.

  When had she done that? I asked myself.

  Despite being trapped, the mimic wouldn’t give up. Its arms loosened, going from rigid metal to snakes that stretched out towards Ashley.

  She had plenty of room to retreat, but she didn’t take it. Instead, she pulled the hood up on the hoodie that was under her jacket to cover her head, and waited.

  Wait, had that hoodie always been there?

  The mimic’s arms came at her and coiled themselves around her upper body. Ashley did not resist, other than to hide her face with her arms. The mimic lifted her up into the air and carried her back towards its main body. It looked like the mimic had won, but something was happening that I couldn’t quite discern. Every few seconds, the mimic’s arms would stop and shudder before continuing on. This happened several more times until the arms lowered her to the ground. The mimic was growing weaker. Its movements became sluggish and jerky as it tried to drag her along the ground.

  It stopped again, shuddered again, and then collapsed back into a puddle.

  *DING!* You have slain [Quicksilver Mimic (Uncommon)] Level 195 – Experience Points and Currency Acquired.

  Obviously, none of us outside the cage received anything for spectating. We were just being shown a copy of the message that she was receiving. Still, it made me wonder if every other Climber in the Tower was seeing these messages, or if they were just for our benefit.

  Ashley walked out of the cage and back onto her tile with her head held high. She looked up at Vhar and simply asked, “how long?”

  “One minute and thirty-seven seconds,” he replied, sounding annoyed.

  Vhar had clearly viewed her as the weakest for some reason and likely expected her to have more difficulty with the monster.

  Ashley made a point of ignoring the two Climbers that had doubted her as she floated back over to us.

  “Impressive work,” I told her. She had managed to defeat the creature swiftly, but more important than that, she had withheld or concealed most of her abilities while doing so.

  “Yeah, not bad for last place,” she muttered.

  Hugo: What do you think her power is?

  Lucas: I’m not sure. It appears to be powerful, yet requires direct physical contact. That hoodie appeared on her body after she entered the cage. Plus, she was only concerned with protecting her uncovered face. Her clothes might be magically enchanted, which would also explain how they’ve lasted this long.

  “Vhar seemed to think you were handicapping yourself,” I told her. “I guess he was wrong.”

  She folded her arms and looked away. “The Tower wanted me to use my Class abilities in a direction that I wasn’t comfortable with, okay? Let’s just leave it at that.”

  Tanver Vhar spoke to the audience about Ashley’s incredible display with a hollow enthusiasm that could only be meant for the hidden cameras. This time there were no backhanded compliments. When he was finished, he swept his hand out theatrically, and said, “now for the eleventh ranked Climber, Billy!”

  At first, I’d thought that Billy was a small person in a black suit, but when he turned around, I realized that he was actually a pale twelve-year-old boy. He held a purple children’s backpack plastered with dinosaur stickers by one strap, leaving the rest of the bag dangling against his lower leg like a bothersome afterthought. He made me think of some fancy prep boarding school kid who’d just gotten back from a funeral. The thing that most struck me about Billy wasn’t his appearance or age. It was that out of all of the Climbers here, Billy was clearly the most bored.

  As soon as his tile started moving, a portal inside the glass cage appeared. Two heavy knights in full plate armor casually dropped down. One held a hammer and the other an axe. Both were hulking masses of muscle standing over six and a half feet tall. They looked like they’d been crammed into their armor, but they moved around the cage in it with fluid ease. Their arrival was followed up by a third, shorter, skinnier knight who stumbled when he landed and fell to one knee. One of the other knights caught his shoulder before he could fall further.

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  The smaller knight held a short sword and got into position as the center of the trio as they fanned out. The knights knew why they were here and they were ready for it.

  As Billy’s tile continued to float towards the cage, Vhar explained a little more about him. “Billy here has been a favorite of mine for quite some time. Do not be put off by his lower ranking or size, as he is still one of the fiercest Climbers that I’ve ever witnessed.”

  The rest of us glanced at each other. We were all thinking the same thing. This child is one of the fiercest you’ve ever seen?

  The praise did however sound more genuine this time.

  Billy was unimpressed with the knights or the flattery Vhar was heaping on him. He simply stared ahead with bland detachment.

  *Enemy Identified!* [The Alonzo Brothers (Unique)] Level: 198 – These three were criminal enforcers for a local crime syndicate on their world until they were caught committing a massacre against a rival gang. The brothers have agreed to waive their rights and fight just this once. If they win, they will be given a full pardon and safe passage back to their world.

  The larger brother holding the axe turned to the small brother. “Ignore it, Luis. They’re just trying to get in your head. Pedro and I will lead like we talked about.”

  Luis nodded and adjusted his sword stance.

  Pedro swung his hammer a few times to feel the weight of it. “Yeah, listen to Pablo. It’s not like he was the one who got us into this mess in the first place.”

  “It was meant to be a simple delivery job,” said Pablo. “I didn’t know what we’d be walking into.”

  Hugo: Wait, were those guys framed?

  Lucas: It doesn’t matter. Nobody in that cage has a choice. Not even Billy.

  I tried to tell myself that it didn’t matter, but that wouldn’t make it any easier for the child that was about to murder them.

  Billy checked the time on his wristwatch as his tile docked with the cage. He must’ve been concerned about the five-minute time limit, or like Ashley, he wanted to show off by finishing the challenge as fast as possible. The latter would be good. I was hoping that the Alonzo brothers would die quickly. Either way, it was a very human moment that made me reconsider the boy. Perhaps his flat affect and detachment were a coping strategy. God knows, the Tower throws enough at someone to traumatize the average adult, let alone a child.

  Billy opened his backpack and pulled out a wicked-looking dagger with a small skull on the hilt before stepping inside. He dropped the backpack, and it hit with a rattle that suggested he had more items inside or weapons inside.

  At the sound of the bag, the brothers snapped to attention. They held a defensive formation with their weapons out in front of them. Each one of them looked like they could kill Billy with their bare hands. The armor they wore looked serious too, and I wondered how the boy would approach the situation.

  To anyone unfamiliar with the Tower, it would’ve looked absurd to think the boy could stand a chance. But he was a Climber. Nobody makes it this far without gaining some form of otherworldly strength. None of us outside of the cage were worried about the child’s safety. In fact, all of us outside observing had adopted a detached curiosity. We all wanted to know how he fought in case we were forced to fight him in the future.

  While the Alonzo brothers were tense, Billy was relaxed as he walked towards them. To the brother’s credit, they were not fooled by Billy’s appearance and didn’t let their guards down. Instead, they waited for the boy to come to them.

  “They must’ve been told that they were fighting a Climber,” I muttered.

  Damian grunted in agreement. “It won’t matter though.”

  I turned to him. “What do you mean?”

  “Just watch.”

  Billy maintained his casual pace the closer he got until he strolled past them. The brothers didn’t move or react, which could only mean one thing.

  “They can’t see him,” I said.

  It was some kind of power that affected perception and messed with their heads.

  “How do you fight someone like that?” Hugo asked.

  I went into Companion chat to avoid others overhearing.

  Lucas: They reacted to the sound of him dropping the bag, so it's possible his ability only affects sight. Still, he wouldn’t be my first choice to go up against.

  Billy viciously slashed the back of Pedro’s ankles. The man cried out as he fell, now no longer able to walk. Pablo stepped forward, swinging his axe in broad arcs, hoping to catch him, but the boy silently danced away.

  Pablo gave up attacking and moved with Luis to protect Pedro, who was wailing. Neither of them noticed when Billy had slipped in behind them until they heard a choking sound. They turned to see Pedro feebly holding his throat as blood gushed through his fingers.

  “No!” Pablo roared, whirling his axe around and hitting only air.

  Luis had dropped his sword and was trying in vain to stop the bleeding, while Billy watched from afar. Occasionally, he would glance down at his watch.

  Pedro stopped moving after a couple of minutes. Luis ripped his helmet off and vomited. If the strategy was to kill each brother one at a time, then Billy could’ve taken Pablo then. But he didn’t. He waited until Luis had finished throwing up and had composed himself.

  Hugo: Why is he waiting so much?

  Lucas: Because he wants the other one to watch.

  Luis picked his sword up and then looked for his helmet. Fear and shame passed over his face as he realized that he’d thrown it too far away from his alive brother to risk going after it. Instead, he stood next to his brother. Pablo held the axe in one hand while the other was open and ready. He knew that he couldn’t see or hear Billy, but he was hoping to grab him once Billy had made his first attack. It was a fairly decent strategy. It wouldn’t work, but I respected it anyway.

  “Which do you think he’ll go for next?” the Indian woman asked the rest of us.

  Nobody replied. My gut told me that he was saving Luis for last though.

  Billy walked slowly over to them, his expression as flat as ever. Each footstep felt agonizingly long. He could’ve gone for the same strategy as before by cutting the Achilles tendons, but Pablo would be expecting that. No instead, Billy sliced his dagger across Pablo’s chest plate. The knife penetrated the armor like it was paper and left a shallow cut on the knight’s chest.

  Pablo reached out for him and when that failed, he charged forward, hoping to blindly hit him. The larger brother heard a cry behind him. He stopped and turned.

  Luis was covered in a dozen shallow cuts. His hands and knees shook while the rest of him was frozen in shock. He didn’t even try to use the sword. He just held onto it tightly like a security blanket.

  Billy glanced again at his watch and pursed his lips. It was the first change in demeanor he’d shown since arriving here.

  He flipped his dagger from reverse grip to standard and leapt at Luis. Before the man even knew what was happening, a weight fell on him, followed by the knife plunging into his heart.

  “No!” Pablo raged before letting out a choked gasp.

  Billy had pulled the dagger out and thrown it at Pablo where it had landed perfectly in his heart too.

  *DING!* You have slain [The Alonzo Brothers (Unique)] Level 198 – Experience Points and Currency Acquired.

  I’d known that the sadism had been a choice on the boy’s part, but watching him dispatch the two so efficiently left me with a sense of dread. How much was he still holding back? I asked myself.

  Damian gave me a look and I nodded. The silent communication was clear. Do not ever turn your back on that one. Do not trust him. Do not hesitate to kill him the moment it looks like he’s making a move against us.

  Inside the cage, Billy retrieved his backpack and jogged back outside to the tile.

  “How long?” the boy coldly asked.

  “Four minutes and fifty-three seconds,” Vhar replied tonelessly.

  No, I was wrong before. I can see it clearly now. The alien’s earlier remarks about the boy had been sarcastic. As the pair stared at each other, it became clear. Tanver Vhar utterly despised Billy.