"Your skill then. You never told me.. I suppose its one of your B rank skills? The dark rock thing.."

  "If you want me to actually answer you gotta not ask multiple questions at once then"

  "my bad"

  "Its.. an A rank skill"

  "..."

  The two men who were sat together drinking up the sooth skill like old men with sake at the end off the world sat in silence for a second.

  "A rank? Truly? Didn't you already say you had 2 B rank skills? There are only 2 known people left alive in the tower that even have A rank skills... Your not lying to me for no reason are you?"

  "Im not"

  "... do you mind reading it out for me?"

  "Ok, but please do elaborate on everything you have as well."

  "Oh of course, right, right, you cant recall anything after all. Naturally ill explain everything. We are now partners here"

  "The skill is called Ever Noir[A].

  A small fragment of light whistled through Shillings eyes. "10 hours...wow, so your activation is still on right now? And you toggle it back and forth then during the 10 hours?"

  "yes, that's right"

  "A true A rank skill. I suppose that makes you now my superior haha. Maybe there is a touch of hope after all. How exactly.. how exactly do you properly use this.. It doesn't sound that potent at first glance for an A rank skill.."

  'Don't go dismissing ever noir now.. He sounds weak even to be an A rank skill when he's in fact an SS rank skill huh... I wonder how much higher above SS this system goes anyway? Minimum of triple S seems likely. Considering he said there was only 2 other people with A rank skills, It was probably the best call to hide this for now... This much is a manageable lie .. Are there really no S ranks? My skill is higher ranked by 2 tiers huh....

  "I think its power lies in the line of 'resistant to all damage'. That bell of yours and the orb spirit both couldn't do anything"

  "But your ears were bleeding.."

  "No no, that was after i undid the effect.. The earlier rings you did, i assume that was you.. Those didn't effect me at all"

  "Oh right.. my apologies, you were in range weren't you. That bell was my lifeline against the velvet you see. Unless your really close, my piercing bell isn't that potent other than in the long range of its sound. But if you truly felt nothing as you say then you may have an immunity then. Those who hear it are always stunned slightly. I also have such immunity."

  "Why? And where did you get such a thing?"

  "Oh, this is my own skill which manifests in the form of an item. You see it sometimes, like with your weapon belt even though you no longer have it.."

  Shilling swung his bell around like a town crier but it made no sound.

  "My power only really works now that im alone... Its how i survived till now... Its called Shrieking Bell[B]

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  "How long have you been using it?"

  "My remaining time left is just over an hour and 3 minutes"

  'I suppose skills give you the ability to see how long a duration they have left. Maybe like a phone timer. I cant really ask about such a thing without revealing a lie. Perhaps lying is more hassle than its worth after all if i keep having to make such checks'

  "The fight started a couple hours ago then?"

  "Yes, thats right. Though not exactly, as it persisted a while longer beforehand. I've only been using the shrieking bell since i got separated"

  "And the sooth skill?"

  Sail and Shilling watched as the last white essence left his body like the last drop of water in the dessert.

  "This skill is Sooth[C] :

  As he read it from his minds text Shilling gave a sort of mocking tone as if this is how he supposed the system would say such lines.

  "So those things.. they're no skill?"

  "These are called teru teru bōzu. They are talismans to actually allow for fighting ghouls. I have 5 left. Moly Denim made them. Hes an awakener with the B rank embuing skill." Shilling dangled the monk dolls of the edge of his fingers as he talked "Back in the relish forests on the 7th floor lay ancient remains ran by forest druids. Such corpses were taken for there properties of warding away evil forest spirits and imbued into these. In turn, it somehow actually worked out and we've been using them to actually make progress here in the Sucker Punch. Lately the ordeal has envolved literally corpse snatching and grave digging and tensions are getting high with the druids even if its for the purpose of climbing the tower..."

  "You visit back to the previous floors?"

  "Yes, any scenario that gets beaten is then slotted in as a new world to explore in the Tower at any time. You can toggle through in your system menu and travel anywhere once you are back in the tower. Everyone on the floor that the system chooses are new residents and can birth skills of their own and have the right to climb themselves. Like the druids. It seems to just be a sentience thing.. Many floors have no such residents, i figure this floor is the same. But we may end up with some ghosts to come along on future climbs after this... Look at me thinking of the future... Ahhh, we're dead arent we..."

  Shilling had held out long enough versus his intrusive despair and trauma by running along with the passion of a sudden A rank skill falling upon him. Even if it was in the form of another, such a boost of moral was at least something in the absence of the ever lovely sooth skill. But even with the A rank skills or Mr Match and Ms Lanturn they were defeated by the velvet scissor. One such defensive skill cant salvage this scenario..

  "You said that we've been abandoned? Why? Wont they come save us if we wait long enough?"

  Shilling shook his head and then tucked it on top of his knees once more.

  "Illi is too valuable. The Bail skill is the only lifeline to get us out. They wont risk her to save us. They would have to send everyone back in to defend her and we suffered the most casualties today of any day in the last 10 years... They would never proceed with another climb after this. Not for me and you at least.."

  "So we have to beat the floor then? That's the only path? Or just hold hope your wrong and that this Illi person will come?"

  "Beating the floor requires exorcising the host spirit at the base of the manor... We suspect that it is housed in room 20. There are 21 portraits in the opening lobby after all... To clear it we need to.. to.. face the velvet scissor.. It cant be done... Then their exist 2 other likely even stronger ghouls that remain after the fact. The boss or final challenge of the floor is always the hardest difficulty jump as well..."

  "Your certainly not much for keeping spirits high.. Well... Why cant we just make a run to room 20 and throw all our bozo's at the core?"

  "The orb ghoul would arrive.. Unless you spend at least an hour in the previous room you cant make it to the next without encountering it in the corridor. Such is how the steps must be taken and how the ghoul operates"

  "So if you ran around from that scissor for an hour in its room you could get a ticket to the next?"

  Shilling looked up at Sail with a flat expression and then pointed to the array of floating bodies hanging across the ballroom.

  'Sail gulped and tried to quench all his fear and anxiety. Lets hope this works...'

  "right... well, have you factored in that im invincible! Especially against Ghosts or Ghouls" Sail, now stood up, placed his arms forward and his palms out to the world and turned into obsidian. In the process of using ever noir was a crisp noise akin to a pickaxe smashing into stone. Sail rapidly flashed ever noir on and off in a variety of slightly different poses.

  "I have two B rank skills as well right? You dont even know the extent of my power and your already moping. Does anyone else have 2 B rank skills along with an A?"

  "...no, i dont think so"

  "So that makes me the strongest in the tower then, right? On skills at least. Whos to say we cant beat this."

  Shilling looked up and cracked a smile watching the man turn back and forth in bursts of obsidian.

  "i.. i suppose so"

  As false as his words were, he was still a true sovereign.