Chapter 114: Explanations Abound
Seeing kids like Killua, Simon, and Riko appear in the rankings, one of the people present in the lounge, a tall, muscular man with a handsome face, unkempt, sandy-brown hair that formed a long, thin ponytail that dangled over his left shoulder, issued a loud groan and asked, "What kind of Power Rankings are these? Nearly half the people listed are women or brats, and Ranks eight through ten didn't get a single elimination..."
"What, you think being old and male is an accomplishment? Congrats for getting to live your life on easy mode, old man," remarked a little girl with a notably petite build and doll-like features that included large, sharp, icy-blue eyes and messy blonde hair that framed her face and formed a loose ponytail at the back of her head. At a glance, she appeared to be no older than ten, but her apparel, consisting of a fur-lined, olive green turtle neck flight suit, a dark grey flak jacket, and black leather combat boots, made it clear she was no ordinary little girl.
"Hey, you better watch it, kid. I'm not above disciplining you in place of your parents..." remarked the man, his leaf-green eyes narrowing and a frown marring his face. The little girl adopted a distinctly sadistic smile in response, but before a fight could break out, a tall, pale, and exceedingly muscular man with emerald-green hair, a scar running diagonally across his face, and a prominent red gemstone embedded in his forehead, took it upon himself to step between them, his fierce green eyes focused on the man as he calmly stated, "You will not lay a hand on this child..."
Recognizing what the green-haired man was and sensing the powerful aura exuding from his body, the handsome brunette swallowed hard, a bead of sweat forming on the left side of his face as he raised his hands in mock surrender.
[Transporting all participants to the explanation venue. Please stand by] stated a synthetic-sounding, distinctly feminine voice that everyone but Vahn recognized as the Administrator. Immediately after that, everyone, including those confined or simply passing the time in their rooms, found themselves in a spacious, circle-shaped, white-and-blue stone chamber lined with multiple glowing portals. Its dimensions were at least 500m in diameter, with walls and a ceiling that was more than a kilometer tall and covered in intricate, spiraling murals, and each portal had words carved in its frame along with a large F, F+, or E posted next to it.
bwaaashu
Before most people had a chance to take stock of their surroundings, cylindrical barriers appeared around everyone, preventing them from moving freely and muffling all sounds they produced as a breathtakingly beautiful and mature woman with long crimson hair and steel-grey eyes appeared, dressed like a barmaid but with form-fitting dark brown pants in place of a dress or skirt. Virtually everyone present was taken aback by the woman's looks, but Vahn even more so as Sis confirmed, (This is the Avatar I made for my Administrator persona. It's ultimately just a spiritual projection, but what do you think? Is she cute~?)
'Are you kidding me? She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen...' responded Vahn, spotting traces of virtually every woman he had ever loved or had a crush on in the Avatar. The strangest thing about this was that he didn't feel any attraction but admiration toward it, almost as if he were staring at his real flesh and blood sibling...
Meeting Vahn's gaze through the eyes of her Avatar, Sis adopted a faint, narrow-eyed smile before passing her gaze over the rest of the group as she relaxedly revealed, "As many of you have already deduced, I am the Administrator of this realm between dreams and reality, freshly anointed the Tower of Ascension. It's a pleasure to make everyone's acquaintance, and I look forward to improving the Tower along with everyone's help and feedback."