Mykel watched Asmond, Kastor, and Caesar with Enma at the frontline fighting the demon servants. They were a bit struggling to defeat them because most of the demons from the Lucifer tower could fly. They had become stronger than the last time he saw them, especially Asmond because he was the main character of the story.
âAsmond! We will make an opening and you will take care of the rest, okay?â Enma said as she blocked the mace of an angelic-like demon.
âGot it! I will do my best!â Asmond said as he repelled the mace of the other servant with Kastor.
All the wounded Awakeners were resting on the back and Mykel wasnât that far from them. He decided to approach them and find out what kind of things they had in their minds.
âGood work,â Mykel said as he offered a guy with a helmet on a sandwich that Edith made.
The guy lifted his head and looked at Mykel with a sandwich in his hand. âThank you and your team is a big help to us,â he said as he grabbed the sandwich from Mykelâs hand.
âWell they are but compared to Asmond, theyâre not really that great, huh?â Mykel said as he sat down next to the guy with Edith sitting next to Mykel and checked her sandwiches.
The guy sighed and rolled his eyes a bit. âYeah, our hero is doing all the work as always,â he said with a bit of annoyance.
âWhatâs wrong? Did they treat him differently?â Mykel asked and pretended that he knew nothing.
âDonât make me start talking about it,â The guy answered as he raised his eyebrows while he ate the sandwich. âAt first we are happy that we have someone that we can depend on, and Iâm grateful that Iâm here right now, but they only focused on Asmond that our gap started to visible. Instead of helping us to get stronger, they only focused on Asmond, and I think they were blinded by Asmondâs talent that they forget that they couldnât clear a tower with just him alone,â he explained.
Mykle listened to the guyâs whine and it started to attract the others who agreed with the guy. One by one people joined in and they were starting to express their dissatisfaction with Kastor and Caesar. They didnât even bother to talk about it in front of the others and knowing that, Mykel knew the situation was worse than he thought and he couldnât be happy more than that.
âSo Kastor and Caesar did nothing after you guys told them that?â Mykel asked as he leaned on his arms behind his back.
âThey did but they said they would think of a way after we are done clearing the fifteenth floor,â The guy with the helmet said.
All of them scoffed and shook their head. âYeah sure, like we are going to believe that,â a guy said and the others nodded in agreement.
âThose two think they can clear the fifteenth floor if they keep treating you guys like this?â Mykel asked with a surprised expression. âI donât think thatâs going to work if they only focused on Asmond alone,â he continued as he looked at Asmond and tried to be neutral to avoid suspicion.
âI believe Kastor wanted to make a team like how you made your own, Mister Mykel,â Another guy said as he pointed at Mykel. âI think heâs obsessed with the idea of making a team with talented Awakeners, but looking at his own strength, the best he could get is someone like himself,â he continued.
âYeah, heâs not even that strong but trying to compete with Mister Mykelâs skills and capabilities it will go wrong pretty quickly and I can bet on all Zeny that I have,â a guy said in agreement.
âHe could dream to have Awakeners like Gunnar, Rozan, Agnez, Jeanne, and the others. The best he could get is Awakener like us because I believe it isnât just about talent but also how he treats his teammates,â
âWe are jealous of them, Mister Mykel, if only we didnât leave the Guild Association, we might be able to do better than this,â a guy said and all of them agreed to his words.
Mykel chuckled and shook his head. âNo, itâs because of their own hard work and maybe because we have so many facilities that suffice their needs,â
[Congratulation you have cleared the fifth floor of Azazel Tower!]
[The portal to the sixth floor is now open!]
âWell, I guess thatâs enough with the small talk,â Mykel said as he stood up and they both walked toward the portal while some of the Awakeners were cheering for Asmond.
Hours had passed and they finally reached the ninth floor, and all the Awakeners from the Guild Associations used all their stamina on clearing the ninth floor. The Awakeners from the Fraternity were also the same except for Kastor, Caesar, Asmond, and Enma.
Kastor looked at the exhausted Awakeners from his team and he was hesitating if he wanted to continue or not. âI believe we can defeat the demon lord since we have Mykel to back us up if things didnât go as planned. What do you think, Caesar?â he asked.
âI donât know, we canât just depend on Mykel after knowing that everyone is exhausted right now,â Caesar answered while he looked at Mykel who was checking everyone from the Guild Association.
âWe can rest here for a few hours and then we can continue, I believe we can do it even without Mykelâs help,â Asmond said with a serious expression while staring at the portal. âWe need to get stronger if we want to clear the fifteenth floor,â he continued as he looked at Kastor.
Kastor nodded in agreement and then he turned around and looked at everyone. âWe are going to rest for now and we can go to the tenth floor after everyoneâs stamina is replenished,â he said and it surprised them because they knew it wasnât because they were exhausted but because they werenât strong enough to kill the demon lord.
Caesar looked at Mykel who looked fine with the decision, but he wasnât convinced so he approached Mykel to ask about it.
âWhat do you think, Mykel? Do you think we can clear the tenth floor? We in what Iâm saying is we without you,â Caesar asked while he looked at the Awakeners sitting behind Mykel.
âIt depends, but if Asmond is so serious about it, I think you guys can clear it,â Mykel answered as he looked at Asmond. âEveryone is fine with that as well since they wanted to see the famous angel-like demon lord,â he continued as he looked at Caesar.
âAre you questioning Asmondâs talent, Caesar?â Mykel asked.
âNo, itâs just that he has been acting weird for the past few days. Heâs pushing himself to the limit but heâs endangering everyone else with him. Iâm just worried that bad things will happen if he keeps doing things like that,â Caesar answered and he looked worried about it.
âBut Kastor seems to like it, right? Look at him, he looks so proud of Asmond,â Mykel said with a smile on his face.
âI think because of the joint team, heâs starting to think differently, especially after we witnessed the difference in skill and power compared to your team, Mykel,â Caesar said as he sighed.
âI guess itâs fine since they see me here with them so they think they can try to push the limit because of the given opportunity. You donât have to worry too much, I can handle it on my own if things go bad,â Mykel replied. âJust get some rest, you will need it to fight the demon lord,â he continued as he nodded his head at the portal.
âYeah, I will get some rest,â Caesar nodded in agreement then left.
Mykel looked at Asmondâs status screen and he got the same exact set of skills as in the original story.
[NAME: Asmond Radfeld]
[LEVEL: 23]
[AFFINITY: GOOD-NATURED]
[BENEFACTOR(S): NONE]
[ARCANA COIN: 7,800]
[SKILL(S): NEMESIS (Lv.4), SWORD-MASTER (Lv.3), STRENGTH (Lv.9), AGILITY (Lv.7), DEXTERITY (Lv.8), STAMINA (Lv.7), MIGHT (Lv.8), PAIN RESISTANCE (Lv.6), PERCEPTION (Lv.6), RECOVERY (Lv.5), RETRIBUTION (Lv.4), CRITICAL (Lv.3), MIND-STABILITY (Lv.2), HEAT RESISTANCE (Lv.2), COLD RESISTANCE (Lv.1), KEEN (Lv.1), MEDITATION (Lv.1), TOUGH SKIN (Lv.1)]
Mykel tapped on Asmondâs skills tab.
[ACCESS GRANTED!]
[PLEASE SELECT AND MODIFY [Asmond Redfled]âs [Skill Tab]!]
[ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO REMOVE [PAIN RESISTANCE (Lv.6)]?]
[YES.] [NO.]
Mykel chuckled and tapped on the [Yes] button.
[ACCESS GRANTED!]
[The [PAIN RESISTANCE (Lv.6)] skill has been removed from [Asmond Redfled]âs [Skill Tab]!]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Mykel tapped on Asmondâs skills tab again.
[ACCESS GRANTED!]
[PLEASE SELECT AND MODIFY [Asmond Redfled]âs [Skill Tab]!]
[ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO MODIFY [STRENGTH (Lv.9)] TO [STRENGTH (Lv.1)]?]
[YES.] [NO.]
âYesâ¦â Mykel said as he tapped on the [Yes] button.
[ACCESS GRANTED!]
[The [STRENGTH (Lv.1)] skill has been modified from [Asmond Redfled]âs [Skill Tab]!]
âKeep pushing yourself, Asmond, you were lucky because in the original story you had companions who were as strong as you are. Now that those people are on my side, I canât wait to see you suffer from your own ambition,â Mykel talked to himself quietly.
âI canât wait to see you scream in pain, Asmond,â Mykel said as he walked back with a big smile on his face.