*Sigh* Being an Administrator is Hard Work, Isn't It?

Seeing as I had not met the other Floor Administrators yet, and that I still needed to get the general gist of the Campaign we were running, I figured I'd contact an Administrator I had met before. One that seemed like a social individual at heart.

Administrator Lilian.

Opening up the System, I dug through the list of Active Administrators and found Administrator Lilian.

A little green bubble sat beside her name. Below it was little grey text that read: Floor 12 - Dream Crush.

So she's on the 12th Floor... Who does this Floor belong to again? I scanned the list of Administrators, clicking names at random. Finally, I arrived at my target. An Administrator named Seve.

With their name in mind, I messaged Administrator Lilian.

"Hey, when we first met you mentioned you wanted to know how to get a Soundtrack. Is now a good time?"

A few silent minutes passed before she replied back.

"A texter huh?"

I blinked. Is that a bad thing? As I was typing a response, another message popped up.

"Me and Seve are in the middle of something at the moment. I'll contact you when we're done."

I guess they're discussing Floor Plans? I wasn't expecting to be put on hold...

An invitation broke me out of my thoughts.

{Administrator Seve would like to invite you to Floor 12 - Dream Crush. Would you care to join them?

Yes

No}

Accompanying the invitation was a message.

"Ok, I sent you an invite. You need to do me a favor when you arrive."

***

"So... this is it?" I asked.

"Yup." Administrator Seve nodded their head.

"I told you I had good taste." Administrator Lilian raised her nose up in pride.

Puffing out their chest, Administrator Wross Ester laughed. "And with this, my grand invention is complete!" He raised his arms dramatically in the air. "When these pathetic Humans finally get their shit together, they will gaze upon my creation and admire its beauty!"

I blinked. It's... just a teddy bear...

Administrator Lilian clapped her hands. "Indeed. Whatever I touch will no doubt sparkle in the spot light!"

I'm glad the task was something relatively easy... 

Currently the four of us were huddled around a plush, cotton teddy bear. It was a stereotypical kind of toy; it was brown with black beady eyes, a button nose, stitched smile, and a thin red ribbon wrapped around its neck. It had to be an item that was natural--something to help evoke emotions from the Humans when they arrive. After all, we were designing a Sub-Quest that the Humans will hopefully pick up along their adventure. I glanced around the nursery.

"Ah, we missed a spot."

The bright, bubbly nursery that was packed with forged mementos like toy blocks, old-looking furniture, photos, crayon drawings, and a neat, cozy cradle, had a speck of dried blood flickering in the far corner of the room. It was almost hard to spot as the corner was dark enough to cover most of the shade of blood. 

"Seems to be a clipping error." Administrator Seve observed. With a snap of his fingers the innocent nursery changed to a scene of horror. The clean, well-put teddy bear was now missing an arm, stained cotton peeking from its torso from where it was attached. Its black beady eyes hung from a loose thread and its button nose was cracked. Specks of blood could be found on its body, almost as if it was splashed on. Most importantly, the red ribbon around its neck was missing. The surrounding nursery was in a similar state of disarray.

"Alas, imperfections are found in every masterpiece." Administrator Wross Ester held his head in dismay. 

I shook my head. This Administrator seems to be the dramatic type... I stole a peak of his attire. Despite obviously not being Human, he took on a Human form with a typical masquerade design. It was flashy and elegant, to say the least.

As for Administrator Seve, they were a clockwork robot. With a sleek, golden copper design and its turning cogs visible for all to see, it left quite an uncanny--almost fragile feeling. 

"There it is." Administrator Seve held his chin in thought. "It seems the blood particles got stuck in the shadow since we coded the rest of the blood to appear depending on the light level. Let me fix this real quick." Administrator Seve began to type in the air.

After a few seconds Administrator Seve snapped his fingers once more, returning the nursery to its neat illusion. 

"Nicely done." Administrator Lilian complimented.

"Thank you." Administrator Seve nodded.

Administrator Lilian clapped her hands. "Now that this room is done, why don't we take a little break and enjoy some tea?" As she was speaking, she smoothly began to leave the room, the other Administrators following. Seeing this, I silently followed from behind. "I brought just the perfect leaf. Have you heard of a leaf called the 'Blood Vein'?"

***

In the time it took for the tea to brew we set up the dining room table of this fake family home and took our seats. As I was sipping some "Blood Vein" tea, I observed the dining room. It seemed to match the general vibe of the nursery so far--neat and inconspicuous. As for this "Blood Vein" tea... it had a unique flavor...

"Thank you for the wonderful tea, Lilian." Administrator Wross Ester gratefully said.

"You're welcome." Administrator Lilian smugly replied.

"I should also say thank you to all of you for helping me design this last room. Thankfully I've had 2 timelines to design my floor..." Administrator Seve nervously fiddled with his cup.

Two timelines to design a Floor? That means when the Tower was first opened, the Humans were up against incomplete Floors... In that case, are the higher Floors incomplete as well? Despite that, how did they only reach the 6th Floor? Should I be impressed by the Administrators for holding the line or disappointed by the Humans for not grasping the opportunity to rush the Tower?

"It was my pleasure." I responded, breaking myself out of my thoughts.

"I will always take the opportunity to leave traces of my magnificence." Administrator Wross Ester boldly declared.

"Why, there's no need to be so formal between us Seve." Administrator Lilian said, "We are friends after all. Friends should always help each other out." Administrator Lilian then turned to face me. "Now that we finally have a moment, let me introduce you all to each other." Administrator Lilian gestured in my direction. "Administrator Seve and Administrator Wross Ester this is Administrator Rose, the man who will give me a soundtrack."

I blinked in surprise. That... is not how it works though?

"Ah, so that was the racket I heard whenever Administrator Rose spoke or did something." Administrator Wross Ester very obviously studied me with his eyes.

"If I remember correctly, soundtracks aren't something that can be handed out." Administrator Seve muttered.

"You are correct." I sighed. "Soundtracks are something only an Ascended Bard Player can give you during the Trials1. Its somewhat similar to a curse, in a sense. If you have more than one soundtrack you can cycle between them in the System Settings but once you have it, you can never turn it off. It's meant to act as a warning for future Players."

Administrator Lilian huffed in disappointment, crossing her arms. "Of course it has to be given by one of those noisy freaks." She clicked her tongue. "Perhaps if this batch of Players were not so weak, I'd have a soundtrack by now."

"Speaking of Players," I began, "do we know what campaign Administrator Ko De Oako is going with for the Tutorial?

"Oh, that Dwarves vs Ogres drivel for Floors 1 through 4?" Administrator Wross Ester interjected. "He's just weeding out the inferior on mass with High Ogres. The Dwarf tunnels are supposed to be hidey holes for the Humans. I believe it is during Floors 5 and 6 that the Humans will be introduced to the civil society in this Tower and a path to farming is set."

I suppose that's basic enough for a Tutorial...

"The Constellations are getting bored of the Tutorial though..." Administrator Seve pointed out.

"Of course they're bored, they're basically watching the same content over and over again. If it were me, I'd get rid of the entire Dwarf Ogre concept and go for something fresh. Like, a race against time! A race that will leave their hearts thumping in utter despair, a fresh new fear that will capture their very souls!" Administrator Wross Ester proudly declared.

"Oh shush, you only ever play with Zombies." Administrator Lilian sighed, shaking her head.

"Do not look down upon Zombies for the Zombies shall never look down upon you!" Administrator Wross Ester interjected.

"I understand you've put a lot of time and effort into their creation Wross Ester, but not everything should be Zombie related. Or else, the suspense will be gone." Administrator Seve cautioned.

"Hmph." Administrator Wross Ester turned a cheek.

"Besides, we don't have the time to recreate an entire set of Floors. The Trials are going to start next week." Administrator Lilian sipped her tea.

"A week?" I asked. I didn't know the Tower was going to open that soon.

"Indeed. A week. We shouldn't let those two buffoons suffer for too long."

"I suppose you're referring to the Constellation's Doll and Returnee?"

"Yup." Administrator Lilian confirmed.

"You don't seem that worried about their influence on the Trials..." 

"They have yet to prove themselves someone to worry about." Administrator Lilian raised an eyebrow in defiance. "Now, enough about this Trial talk. I'm bored."

As the others chatted about mundane things, I sunk into my thoughts once more.

So, a week... None of the other Floor Administrators seem to believe that the Constellation's Doll or Returnee will be able to effect the plot. So, this either means it's an issue of Stats or an issue of Skills...

Originally I would've thought it was an issue of Skills, but this is now going to be the third playthrough so the Returnee should know enough to do some serious damage. Not only that, but the Constellation's Doll is no doubt a former viewer of this specific Tower. Why else would they have joined the Trials if not under the pretense that they would be able to carry the Humans? Constellations themselves are not ordinary individuals--most of them are former survivors of other Towers and Trials so they no doubt have a vast amount of experience with fighting. 

So, for neither of them to pass at least the tenth floor means the enemies they are going up against are too high level. Not only that, but they aren't being provided with good enough equipment to survive...

I understand this Tower is supposed to be a competitive-based Tower, but there needs to be an even playing field for a competition to even start...

"I'm sorry to interrupt but would any of you mind if I edited my Floors at higher levels? I'm not sure if you had any prior campaign ideas linked with Administrator Snow."

Administrator Wross Ester frowned. "How rude."

"No, you may delete the whole Floor if you'd like." Administrator Lilian said carelessly.

"Good. I'm sorry for the abrupt departure but there is something I must do."

I stood up from my seat at the table, bowed, and immediately transferred myself to Floor 30.

I have until the Trials start next week to set my plan in motion.

{Now Transferring to Floor 30 - Palace of Ice}

***

After quickly editing the 30th Floor, following the same principle I did with the 6th--minus the [Satellite Link] of course--I quickly opened the System Shop and searched for what I was looking for. A [Web Plant]. It's a System item that allows one to open a... I guess in Human terms a website within the Tower. Seeing as I had the [Satellite Link] already set, and since the Trials had yet to start, now would be a good time to set this up. This will be something that the Humans can access even outside of the Tower.

Quickly setting up the website, I selected it's main function: a Market Place. The currency it would be accepting--since the Humans will need to be able to access it--will have to be their money... Why do they have so many currencies?!

Now, I need to set it up with basic weapons and armor... I will also need to create some potions that will aid them in their survival...

Looks like I'll need to restructure the 6th Floor again...

*Sighhhh*