For the entire nine years, the fact that he lacked special abilities tortured Axel. But he knew what real pain was like a year ago. His lifeless eyes drifted to the open window leading to the ceiling balcony. Memories flashed in his brain, attacking his whole being like poisonous gas. He coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground. Dead, dull eyes still continued to gaze at the balcony, as if doing so could bring back his cheerful, bright brother who would pat his head and say, "Welcome home."One year ago, on this very day, he received the news that his brother had died. His brother's guild members filled the entire yard, carrying his unrecognizable body. His limbs were horribly torn from his main body, his face utterly disfigured. It was a miracle these people could recognize his brother as their guild master, 'Nyx'. Axel, however, with just one look, immediately recognized him. Was it because they shared the same blood running in their veins? Or because they had the same genes? Th

Soon, other students from different classrooms had gathered around. The principal came to the field with other teachers.“Ah, he finally kicked the bucket.”“Isn’t he Nyx’s younger brother?”“Yes, but he didn’t awaken any special abilities, right?”“Wasn’t he the student who was used as a living target by the whole class not long ago?”“Ah, you mean during the shooting exercise? He had many of his bones broken because of that incident, right?”“How come there’s no healer who healed his injuries now? Most of his broken bones before weren’t fatal because there was a healer who took care of them.”“How did he die, anyway?”“One of his classmates boiled him to death.”The murmurs of the students were particularly distinct. Some conversations were drowned out by the ambulance that came to collect Axel’s dead body. The atmosphere was solemn, but no one felt sorry for Axel. Their expressions were sympathetic, but their thoughts did not have any space for Axel.‘Ha, so the weakling finally ki

For some unknown reason, Axel could see Nyx’s thoughts. The reason for his brother’s alienation was that he didn’t want Axel to have anything to do with being a Challenger and the Tower of Erase. His goal all along was to conquer the Tower of Erase, erase it from the face of the Earth, so that normal human Axel could live a normal, happy life.Axel’s tears could not stop streaming down his face as he watched the images his brother imagined. They were filled with Axel: what he would look like when he graduated from college, when he landed a corporate job, how happy Axel would be when he introduced his girlfriend to Nyx, and what Axel would look like in a black suit as a groom when he decided to marry his girlfriend. Nyx would take care of his cute nieces and nephews.Axel finally understood that it wasn’t Nyx’s intention to isolate him. He just wanted to protect him from the bad and ugly things that make one unable to sleep for countless nights. Axel’s tears never stopped. He continued

Both men use weapons against each other. The man who can control metals wields a large metal axe, which he swings horizontally and vertically. He has a huge mustache and strong, beefy arms full of tattoos. The other man is slender in comparison.What’s surprising is that the metal man can bend and change the shape of his weapon at will. At first, it was an axe. When he noticed this could injure his friend, he changed the shape into a long metal rod. His speed and strength are no joke. He fights on equal footing with his opponent, who can fly.The more Axel observed, the more he wanted to have that skill. Axel approached them and observed with the other patients.“You idiot! Come down here and fight me, Nelson!”“Tsk, tsk, tsk. So immature, Leroy. How are you going to kill monsters with wings if you dumbly ask them to come down?” Nelson used his sword and swung it three times; three wind blades immediately appeared to attack Leroy.But Leroy seemed unfazed. He deflected all three wind

Axel spent all night practicing the three skills he had just stolen. The challenging part was finding a small knife. The Wind Slicer skill required a weapon to be held in his hand, or it wouldn’t activate. But Axel could have sworn that this morning, when those two men were sparring, Nelson was able to use his ability even though he had lost his sword.The book from his wrist suddenly appeared in front of him. It opened itself and flipped to the first page. New words appeared at the bottom part.[Everytime you try to steal a skill, the limits or restrictions will be twice as heavy when you use it.]“Oh,” Axel murmured.Axel did not mind that his limitations were twice what they were when the skill was originally used. What he wanted was to master how to use the stolen skills so he could use them against those people.In the morning, Axel requested to be discharged from the hospital. Since he was healthy, there was no need to stay. The doctor once again asked him questions regarding hi