The silence in the plaza was deafening. Twelve thousand pairs of eyes darted around, looking for the mysterious 'Anomaly' who had managed to solo a World Boss.
Marcus Thorne's face shifted from shock to deep, ugly fury. He had just claimed leadership, only for the System to immediately name someone else the Sovereign.
"Who is it?!" Marcus roared, his voice echoing off the marble pillars. "Show yourself! What kind of coward hides their name behind question marks?!"
Elara took a nervous step back, looking at Kael. "Kael... what are you going to do?"
Kael rolled his shoulders, feeling the phantom energy of his Mythic wings pulsing against his back. He didn't want to rule a bunch of weaklings, but if he allowed an idiot like Marcus to control the First Floor, humanity's progress in the Tower would stall just like it did in his past life.
"I'm going to set some ground rules," Kael said.
He didn't walk through the crowd. He activated Shadow Step, sinking into the pavement.
Instantly, Kael materialized directly on top of the stone fountain, standing right behind Marcus Thorne. The sudden appearance of the dark, terrifying figure made the surrounding Iron Claw thugs flinch backward.
Marcus spun around, raising his heavy warhammer. "Who the hell are—"
Kael didn't even draw a weapon. He simply unleashed the full, unfiltered pressure of his Level 25 stats, combined with his Omniscient Shadow title.
A shockwave of freezing, pitch-black aura exploded outward from Kael's body. The marble stones of the fountain instantly cracked under the pressure. Marcus, a Level 12 heavy warrior, was forced to his knees as if gravity had suddenly increased tenfold.
"I am the Anomaly," Kael said, his voice quiet, yet carrying to the very edges of the plaza.
He looked down at Marcus, who was struggling to lift his head, sweat pouring down his face. Kael's glowing gold eyes were entirely devoid of empathy.
"You want to charge a 50% tax?" Kael asked. "Fine by me. But you work for me now. So, 100% of your earnings belong to my faction."
"Screw... you..." Marcus grunted, trying to swing his warhammer upward.
Kael simply pressed a single finger against the head of the heavy iron hammer. With a casual exertion of his +35 Strength, he drove the hammer back down, shattering the stone beneath Marcus and pinning the man's hands to the floor.
"Wrong answer," Kael whispered.
He didn't kill Marcus. He didn't need to. He simply snapped his fingers.
The shadow stretching behind Marcus suddenly twisted and ripped open. The colossal, ten-foot-tall Shadow Warlord and the Elite Shadow Vanguard, Arthur, stepped out of the darkness, towering over the terrified Guildmaster.
The twelve thousand survivors screamed and scrambled backward at the sight of the terrifying undead monsters.
"This is Shadowfall," Kael announced to the massive crowd, his voice ringing with absolute authority. "My faction. My city. My rules. If you want to survive the Tower, you clear the floors. You don't prey on each other inside the walls."
He looked back down at Marcus, who was staring in absolute horror at the Shadow Warlord's guillotine blade resting an inch from his neck.
"If anyone disagrees," Kael smiled coldly, "feel free to file a complaint with my Vanguard."
Nobody moved. Nobody breathed. In less than five minutes, Kael had completely subjugated the First Floor without killing a single human. He was a tyrant, yes, but a tyrant who aimed his blade at the gods, not the sheep.
Suddenly, a massive golden obelisk rose from the center of Genesis City, shooting a beam of light into the sky.
[Main Quest: The First Floor has commenced.][Objective: Slay the 'Lich King of the Ash Wastes' to unlock the stairs to Floor 2.][Time Limit: 30 Days]
Kael looked at the obelisk. A Lich King? A boss that controlled armies of the undead?
Kael burst into laughter. A deep, echoing laugh that terrified everyone in the plaza even more. As the Sovereign of Glitches with a 300% boost to Necromancy, the System hadn't given him a boss to fight.
It had given him an all-you-can-eat buffet.
"Let's go hunting," Kael smiled.