It had been a month since Rain has acquired his ki blood techniques and he has been making a name for himself throughout the dungeons. Players talk about him differently now but if Rain wanted to make any progress in the TCL He must have his player rank reassessed.
Rain stepped off the mag-line and onto the slick pavement of Manhattan, where the Tower Combat League headquarters loomed across the street from the Arena. Even from here, he could hear the distant roar of the crowd inside. The city pulsed with energy, buzzing with the anticipation of bombastic bloodsport. This was where warriors were made and where legends died screaming.
The headquarters itself was a fortress of steel and glass, imposing and sleek, just outside Central Park. It had once been the primary tower of the Age of Waves, now repurposed into a monument of competition and survival. A beacon for those seeking power.
As Rain walked toward the entrance, he noticed the other hopefuls arriving. Some strutted with their heads held high, wearing their sponsors like badges of honor, shoving past the weaker candidates without a second glance. The Tower Combat League was the real deal—those who entered weren’t guaranteed to leave.
“First-timers! Let’s go!” a worker yelled. “If you need your rank assessed, or reassessed, get your asses over here!”
Inside, the lobby was a massive hall with a few players waiting for their assessments. Receptionists in hoop skirts bustled around, guiding the new blood. It was a tradition from Tenkai City, an oddity carried over when they first arrived on Earth. Rain’s reputation preceded him—he caught some glances, a few muttered whispers, but he ignored them. He was here to be assessed, not to make friends.
A sudden, cheerful voice cut through the tension.
“Welcome, players! Welcome to TCL headquarters! If you want to be a Player, this is where it begins!”
Rain moved through the crowd, his attention pulled to the woman whose voice was louder than all the rest.
A plump, energetic woman with a beaming smile commanded the room. Her voice carried over the murmurs, amplified by sheer enthusiasm. Tall. BBW. Cheerful. She stood above the others with her arms raised, drawing attention like a spotlight. Her name badge read Riri.
Not far from her, keeping the wall up, was someone much easier to miss. Short—maybe 4 foot 7 at most. A Dark-skinned beauty concealed behind the phone in hand. She tapped her screen lazily as she waved other players towards Riri.
Rain’s attention returned to Riri as she piqued his curiosity.
“If you didn’t know,” the voice continued, “the TCL headquarters stands on the site of the primary tower from the Age of Waves. Today, it’s filled with thousands of spectators, all eager to witness the spectacle of Tower Combat.”
Rain hesitated. He wasn’t used to this kind of reception. Nice. “I should just get the assessment. But lets say that I’m not from around here. I need to know. What even happened here? Why all of this? And what is the age of waves” He gestured vaguely to the grand tower, the Arena across the street, the influx of fighters.
Riri straightened up, her eyes glinting. This was her moment.
Her eyes widened. “WHAT?!, how’d you miss the last fifty years of history?! We lost forty percent of humanity’s population!!”
He blinked. “…wait what?”
Riri practically bounced with energy. “I studied all this in college. But here in the actual job? I don’t get to talk about none of this because Most Players are assh— hard headed. All they want is rewards, quick ranks, and ‘blah blah gimme my loot.’ So, LET’S GET IT!”
She spun her clipboard in her hand like a mic and launched into her crash course.
“Fifty years ago, Demonlord Sai came to Earth with the Ki Bloods. Wiped out armys and countries left and right. They Wanted our Ki Stones. Wanted our planet. Humanity was cooked. But then—boom—Tower Gates opened. First warriors came out of those gates different. They had Ki. Real Ki. And not just that, they had something called Constellations.”
Rain tilted his head. “Constellations?”
“Heroes and legends told in the stars,” Riri said dramatically. “They channeled knowledge directly from the cosmos, unlocking Skills and Techniques using skill trees. That’s how the first Players survived.”
Across the hall, heads were turning. Other Players slowed down, ears tilting toward her. Even a few sponsors paused to listen.
Riri smirked. “And then… the miracle. Tenkai City. Giant flying island just shows up in a flash. From another world—Geno. Monsters? Gone. Wiped out. The people of Geno taught us everything. Ki technology. Tower Gate activation. They created the first structured Player system. Earth’s protectors.”
Rain’s arms folded slowly across his chest. He hadn’t heard it laid out like this before. Not like this.
“And now?” Riri finished, standing taller, chest puffed. “We carry it forward. Other worlds are invaded by monsters and they summon players ”
Her co-worker, moved beside her, pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to suppress a laugh.
“Reel it in, Riri,” she muttered, barely holding back a smile.
“Oh, they ain’t ready?” Riri shot back, grinning as she leaned on the counter. The players chuckled, the tension in the room breaking slightly.
“We’re all here for a reason,” Riri said, her voice ringing with conviction. “If not for Players, Earth would’ve been dust. The tower gates, once symbols of despair, became our salvation. The warriors who ventured into them became the backbone of this world.”
Rain glanced around. Even the cocky ones, the ones bragging about their sponsors, had stopped to listen.
“That’s why you’re all here today,” she said. “Each and every one of you has a chance to be part of history.”
Then a voice from the back broke the spell. Deep, unamused.
“That’s a real nice story, lady,” the Bronx player said, stepping forward. “But let’s not sugarcoat it.”
He was built like a battering ram, arms crossed as he surveyed the room. “The towers didn’t just make warriors. They made nuclear warheads out of street kids, convicts, and people who had nothing left. They gave us power, but they sure as hell made us pay for it.”
The energy in the room shifted. Riri didn’t flinch. Instead, she smiled, hands on her hips.
“I ain’t sugarcoatin’ nothing,” she said. Then she looked directly at Rain. “The age of waves had broken almost everything the earth had and we were left with the shambles. We needed a system, a way to balance authority. They used the shambles that were left to thrive with towers, gates, and ki bloods. Players battle for Resources. This league? These assessments? It’s equal opportunity hands. You fight, you earn your place.”
The Bronx player chuckled. “Guess we’ll see.”
Rain exhaled slowly. This place was no joke. But as Riri grinned at him, eyes filled with an infectious fire, he felt something settle in his chest.
Riri was interrupted. One of the players from Queens stepped forward, cutting through the air like he owned it.
“I want my shot,” he said, eyes locked on Rain.
The tension in the hall turned razor-sharp. Rain barely moved, his presence swallowing the space around him. The Queens player didn’t wait for a response. He lunged.
Rain’s body shifted, slipping through every attack like he saw them before they happened. No wasted movement, no unnecessary steps—just pure, ruthless efficiency. The other players barely had time to process what was happening before the Queens player stumbled back, breathless, untouched.
The look on Rain’s face made a lasting impact. Not rage, but something primal.
“Monster,” someone muttered under their breath.
A slow, amused chuckle came from the New York player. He stood up, rolling his shoulders. “Nah, man. He ain’t the monster,” he said, stepping forward with an easy grin. “He’s the one-man wave.” His boots rattle as he walks towards Rain. “They’ve been talking about you quite a lot, saying that you fight like a ki-blood.”
The Bronx player scoffed. “Stop glazing the mufucka man.”
Rain smirked, voice low and gritty. “Let him glaze me. Least he could do after his boy’s bullshit stealth takedown.”
The players watching howled with laughter, but the challenge was clear. They wanted Rain to throw his assessment, to get baited into a fight that didn’t mean anything. Riri caught on fast.
“Don’t,” she said firmly, stepping between them. “They really tried to get you DQ’d just now. And honestly?” She wrinkled her nose. “That gives me the ick. Just. Please. chill.”
Rain leaned against the counter, unfazed. But then he noticed the Bronx player, his gaze fixed on something past the crowd. A forge on the horizon.
“My city needs me,” the Bronx player muttered. “More than ever.”
Rain’s eyes followed his line of sight. The Forge Industrial Complex loomed in the distance, a power plant-like facility crackling with energy.
“We are here to go up. Under you we’re supposed to fix this city!” the Bronx player continued. “We rep different parts but together We fight for NYC. We can’t just let you just.”
But before the players could keep pushing Rain, Kiki stepped in. And she didn’t step in with words.
She punched the New York player so hard he hit the ground with a crack.
Everyone froze. Rain’s brow lifted slightly.
Nobody expected Kiki, in her hoop skirt and receptionist uniform, to be the one to shut down a city level player. She didn’t look like much. Lean build, quiet nature. But stats? Stats could be deceiving.
“Nobody disrespects my work bestie.” Kiki said, shaking out her hand like she barely felt the impact.
Rain started to sneak off, but before he could, Kiki stopped him. Playfully, but with way more strength than she should’ve had.
“Don’t act like you don’t know where this is from!?”
Rain exhaled slowly. “Confusion.”
Kiki tilted her head, unimpressed. Shuffling her arms just to see if he would struggle. “You made static with the Avenge Guild, and now you wanna hide your hand?”
Riri leaned in, grinning. “He is the one that did thaaat? Who and what do you even represent?”
Rain fell silent. Because the truth was, he wasn’t from here. He wasn’t even from Earth.
Despite gates just opening here, Other worlds actually summon for heroes. Think of it like a phone call. You call. A player answers. Rain was the opposite. He had been summoned to earth. Called by Arcadia, the Legendary Queen of the lost City of Okenkai. A city that, to Earth, was a myth—like Atlantis or Roanoke. A city that vanished two hundred years ago on Geno.
The history that he just heard about the last 50 years was honestly mind numbing to Rain. He’d thought that his parents were dead.
He shoved the thought down and focused back on Kiki, who was staring at him in a way he couldn’t quite place.
Her body language wasn’t aggressive. It wasn’t pro-player energy. It was something else.
He kept his voice low. “Well, thanks to you, I’m down a glazer.”
Kiki let him go, and Riri lost it, laughing so hard she had to lean on the counter.
Kiki went to shove Rain back in frustration, but her hand ‘accidentally’ ran across his chest. She immediately recoiled, turning red.
Riri howled. “Oh, this is too funny.”
Kiki cleared her throat. “Boi, Try not to beef with the biggest guild in the world, okay?”
Rain raised an eyebrow. “America’s Guild?”
Kiki nodded. “Yeah. You know, the guild that runs half of everything?”
Rain didn’t really care. But he watched her closely. She had a quick, whispered exchange with Riri. Something about the way she moved told him she wasn’t supposed to like him. And yet… she did.
Riri yelled, “She’s got a boyfriend!”
“Shut uuup!” Kiki snapped, face burning.
The situation de-escalated from there. New York’s team admitted they had nothing to gain, but the Bronx player didn’t back down.
“If I get the rank I need, I can take on the New York player for the spot he’s not man enough to hold.” he said. “You don’t know what my hood has had to put up with! Everyday we have new tower gates appear because of that forge.”
Then a prism seemingly forged of air appeared as if it were invisible. A gem-like surface gilded with metals. This was his Tower. It rang and vibrated with a notification.
A woman’s voice, smooth and clear, carried through the room.
“Stand down. Not a single member of the Avenge Guild is to attack Rain. The one man wave is not to be harmed by Avenge Guild members under any circumstances.”
Silence. The players stiffened. That voice…
“That was Cumulus Dragonlily” someone whispered.
“Former Guildmaster of The Avenge Guild Cumulus?”.
The Bronx player exhaled, shaking his head. But he still looked at Rain. “Look man. Whatever your reason for this assessment, just be a real player for a real reason.”
Rain didn’t answer. He just watched as the tension bled from the room.
Kiki read the room. The energy had shifted since the Cumulus call. She had hit her last damn nerve.
Cumulus was a Nation-level player, and she had just called Rain by name to every Avenge Guild player. That meant one thing—everybody would be watching.
“These mfs work like cops,” Kiki muttered under her breath as she stepped outside. “They think they’re superheroes, and yet your weird ass pops up, and they’re giving passes.”
She reached into her pocket, pulled out a thin, dark roll, and lit up. Rain smelled it immediately. Not a cigarette. Something sharper, something that burned slow.
Her curls framed her face, bouncing slightly as she tilted her head, lost in thought. Rain stepped out behind her, his voice low, gritty. “Wouldn’t matter… if you were level.”
Kiki sighed, turning slightly. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re a lot more street-smart than you let on.” Rain leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “Your buddy isn’t. But she can see it too.”
Kiki studied him through the smoke. “What’s it got to do with you?”
Rain smelled her perfume now—warm, spiced, addictive. But beneath it, something else. Something slick, something real.
Her scent was changing.
The moment stretched. She could see movement out of the corner of her eyes. Then she noticed something strange. More people? They were alone only seconds ago
There were multiple versions of Rain around her.
She stiffened, her pulse jumping. His duplication skill, taken from a slime. Silent. Ghostly. Moving as he moved.
“You knew the streets were talking about a one-man wave,” Rain said, his voice like gravel rolling slow. “You knew some of these players were fighting for more than a name and a dollar. And you knew that city-level player just ate a punch and went down. A bomb wouldn’t take him down.”
Kiki exhaled sharply. Her grip on the blunt tightened. “This isn’t some kind of setup. And I grew up out here. I know these streets like the back of my hand and he went down because he couldn’t stop this left if he wanted to. I don’t care if there’s fifty of you. None of you can handle what I’ve got.”
Rain tilted his head slightly, watching her. He noticed the way her eyes flickered—not at his face, but at his lips.
“Bet you want me to. Why do you look at me like that?” he asked, voice sinking lower.
Kiki’s jaw tightened. Then, before she could stop herself, she bit her lip.
Frustrated, she turned away. “You’re so unserious,” she muttered. “You’ve only asked me questions you already know the answer to.”
Rain let a smirk ghost over his face. “Players gonna play.” He let the silence sit.
Her tone left no room for misinterpretation. “Play to win.”
She exhaled again, slower this time. Then she said it. The same thing the Bronx players had told him.
“We all became players for whatever reason we did,” she murmured. “But Players have to represent something. Cities. States. Nations. Sponsors.Guilds.”
She glanced at him, her face unreadable. “I’m a city girl at heart.I fight for it the best way I can. Making sure players can assess their rank. But Players Everywhere in the world build wealth by how they’re distributing resources.
Rain couldn’t help but to Recall the Bronx player. Something in his voice cracked. The others might not have noticed, but Rain did. The Forge was the city’s lifeline and its curse. It kept people alive by pushing out weapons and tech, but the side effects of ki were undeniable. Gates appearing at random. Whole neighborhoods swallowed. People just trying to live getting run out of their own homes.
Rain stayed quiet, listening.
“Freedom Lucas is from Harlem,” Kiki continued. “And even they don’t get the same treatment as Queens. They’re all under Avenge Guild but Losing battles in Tower Combat means major losses.”
Rain nodded. “They’re kinda lame anyways. How are they the biggest guild in the world and not have their affairs in order?”
Kiki shows him “They’re the largest guild in the world not the champion. The forge is avenge guild’s bread and butter and biggest sponsor”
She turned fully toward him now. “Who’s gonna stand up to the Forge Industrial Complex and tell them that?” Her voice was low, firm. “Who’s gonna tell these sponsors that run the world to have several seats?”
Rain let the question sit in the cold air. He followed her gaze across the skyline. In the distance, the Forge loomed, a hulking factory spewing faint waves of ki radiation. It wasn’t just a building. It was a system. A machine turning out stronger weapons, stronger armor, stronger fighters—at the cost of the people who had to live next to it.
“It’s a big world. I’ll fall for anything if I don’t stand for something right?”
Kiki sighed, pulled out her phone, and handed it to Rain.
“Give me your number,” she said.
Rain raised a brow but did as she asked.
She glanced at the screen, then smirked slightly. “I’ll call you when I’m free.”
Rain chuckled under his breath. “Side guy protocol.”
Kiki pocketed her phone and shrugged. “What’s it to you?”
She turned to leave, but not before stealing one last glance at him.
Rain stayed in the alley a little longer, watching the distant glow of the Forge, thinking.
“What the hell am I getting into?” he muttered to himself.
Eventually, he stepped back inside, weaving through the crowd. The commotion had finally died down. Time to get back to business.
Riri was already on it, waiting at the assessment desk. “Oh, good. You’re back. Let’s get this over with. We need to talk.”
A large screen flickered to life, displaying Rain’s player profile. He tensed, expecting to see A-Rank now that he had real skills, real power.
Instead, his stats were… laughable.
Kiki blinked. Then laughed. “Oh nah, you are NOT serious.”
“T-Reaver?” She squinted at the skill list. “Wait—you can steal techniques from anyone you kill? Creepin like a creeper here.”
He couldn’t believe his ears. T-Reaver had to be at least an A class skill.
Rain ignored that. His techniques—Impact Fist, Blaze Knuckle, Stone Forge, Slime Surf—had no rank. Worse, his actual stats were embarrassingly low. His stats don’t lie. If he was honest with himself. The monsters he’s faced since gaining power could still overpower him.
Kiki wiped a tear from her eye. “Boy, I hope you don’t mind the Chitlin’ Circuit!” She tapped her screen, printing something out. “Looks like you’re getting D-Rank. Better than that rare F-Rank That means you get the undercard matches and good luck getting any gates, too!”
Rain’s eye twitched. “Excuse me?”
Riri forced herself to smile “What did you expect? Players are intrinsically tied to constellations for skill trees. Towers not only allow players to learn skills and techniques of said constellations it also allows players to allocate their points to their stats”
Riri let out a slow breath. “Not having a Tower is not entirely rare for a new player. Sponsors typically contract for towers. But… sometimes tower gates just take someone from earth.” Her fingers tapped the screen sharply. “No sponsor. No tower. Done deal.”
Rain exhaled. “I’m a noob. Even I know that.”
Riri shook her head. “That’s not the problem. If we keep going forward, the only thing I can give you is a D-rank.” She hesitated, her gaze flicking up to his. “Unfortunately D rank is usually stuck with Jobber duty to get by. Because of their limited access to gates sponsors often barter them to shady deals like pawns. it might be another year before you can be assessed again. Without special conditions.”
The words sat heavy between them. Rain kept his expression still, but something cold settled in his gut. Jobbers didn’t fight in big matches. They didn’t get real rotations. They were stepping stones. Cannon fodder.
“I need a sponsor, because of access to gates? Paywall.” he muttered.
“Yeah, Get a sponsor fast or find Truck kun” Riri said softly. “Whats a paywall?”
“Whats a Truck Kun??” they stare at one another confused before sharing a laugh.
Kiki leaned in slightly, voice lower. “Forget that. You’ve been leveling Rain you’ve got to have a ton of points piled up that you’ve never been able to access. You’re not the only one trying to climb the League. You stand out, Rain. That’s a good way to get eyes on you—but also a good way to get stepped on.”
Her eyes relayed the gravity of the situation if nothing else could. “You already turned in your application for re-assessment so you have to get a ranking by tonight when we close or… you’ll be stuck at rank F. But Here’s the deal. If you get a sponsor by then contract a tower and buff yourself. You’ll be able to surpass the jobber rank for sure.”
Rain glanced at the massive screens overhead. A match announcement flashed across them.
Avenge Guild.
Going up against Black Star Dojo.
Rain narrowed his eyes.
He wasn’t officially ranked yet. But the game was already moving around him. And if he didn’t move fast, he’d be left behind. He had to move but his eyes were still glued to the screen.
An important meeting was taking place at Avenge Guild HQ. High above in a skyscraper that overlooked the city an important conversation was taking place. This building was shaped like a massive sword. Planted in the earth to tower above the New York skyline.
A low hum vibrated through the steel floor, deep enough to be felt in the teeth. The walls were soundproof, sealed tight with anti-surveillance wards. No lights flickered. No cams watched. This was where the real conversations happened.
Cumulus stood at the head of the war table, her robes whispering like smoke, the scent of ozone clinging to her like storm clouds waiting to strike. Across from her, three legends of the Avenge Guild waited: Camilla the warrior, Freedom Lucas the soldier, and The A-Tank, who practically vibrated with boredom-fueled rage.
The air was thick, like the world was holding its breath.
Cumulus finally spoke.
“Rain is the Fatewalker.”
Silence. The room didn’t just go still—it froze.
She let the weight of it settle, her voice soft but thunderous.
“The only Player summoned to Earth. Not pulled by Tower conquest. Not by war. Summoned. The system itself bent to bring him here. That makes him the chosen hero of this planet. And thus we all need to stay out of his way.”
A sharp inhale from Freedom. Camilla didn’t blink. A-Tank grunted, confused.
Cumulus’ tone darkened. “If that leaks? If anyone so much as thinks about testing him? We take action in his defense. He is not a normal player. He was summoned. To walk the path of fate.”
A-Tank cracked his neck. “Monster man? Weak. Not worth time. Not worth muscle”
Cumulus’ gaze pinned him. “In a world like ours, power compounds. Fast. A little water is a small problem until you’re in an ocean.”
Camilla crossed her arms, frowning hard. “He said my axe, and I quote, ‘smelled like a strip club.’”
Freedom Lucas coughed to hide a laugh. “Well, it does have glitter on the handle.”
Camilla shot him a look. “He disrespected Thor. Thor. I’ve bled for that constellation. Me and Mjolnir have ascended the realms in his name!”
Truthfully, they called her the Goddess of Body—a title whispered with reverence across dungeons. And maybe, lately, she’d let it go to her head. She earned it. Every rep, every fracture, every conquest etched into muscle and memory. But Rain? Rain didn’t care. He didn’t flinch. Didn’t praise. Didn’t even look impressed. He treated her like a side quest. Like she was just… muscle. And that made her want to throw him through a mountain or throw a mountain through him.
Her fists tightened at the thought, muscles crackling with divine ki. “He doesn’t just walk away from that.”
But Cumulus wasn’t budging. “You think your path is divine? So is his. The difference is, his wasn’t earned. It was granted. You cross him, you cross whatever brought him here.”
Freedom stepped forward, his voice calm but commanding.
“We’ve conquered realms. Toppled demonlords. Liberated a hundred dungeons. But along the way, we forgot how to lead?”
He looked each of them in the eye. “We let ego speak louder than purpose and we’re only soldiers, killers, among gods… but we are supposed to be heroes.”
Even Camilla lowered her gaze. “Let it go. Put it to the side. We stand for something more than ourselves as we represent the team of America.”
He finished, voice rising like a war cry. “So today, we fight clean. We fight smart. We fight together. And we win.”
He slammed his fist into his palm.
“Let’s go put some big boots in some Black Stars.”