Hou Zheng crawled out of his tent in the morning and stretched hugely. He did most things hugely. That was just how he was built. This was one of the only times of the day he could safely be out and about without his bulky robes, so he took a long moment to just soak in the light of dawn.

The Jungle was, of course, thick here. Trees bigger around than he was tall reached high into the sky. Trees that would have been impressive anywhere else looked like shriveled bushes next to their giant cousins. Birds chirped in the distance, filling the air with song. That would be disrupted as more monsters awoke, but still, it was a nice way to start the day.

Once his skin had warmed enough, he turned toward the Tower. He was far to the south of it now, too far to see even at this distance, but he still liked acknowledging it. Taking a moment to remember that none of this would be possible without it.

Most people misunderstood the Tower. They thought of it as a harbinger of destruction, the first sign of the Jungle that would devour everything in the world. It was actually the opposite. The Tower was what bound the Jungle, what kept monsters from appearing out of random rifts and just slaughtering entire countries. It was the Jungle that gave humanity power, of course—the Jungle gave power to everyone and everything without exception—but it was the Tower that shaped that power into something that people could actually use.

Without the Tower, there would be no classes, no levels, and no structure. Some people would randomly become gods and conquer the world, others would randomly become cripples and die. The rest would gain some bare trickle of power and be stomped by the stronger.

He took a moment to thank the spirits of the Tower for their gifts, as he did every morning. It had no practical effect; he knew this. Still, respect was never wasted, even if the spirits did not grant a boon.

Moments after he was done, however, he did receive something.

“Hou Zheng,” a voice boomed inside his mind. It was like someone was using the inside of his skull as a drum to communicate. “There has been a development.”

Zheng took a deep breath and pushed the pain down. “What do you need, Lord Wú Huǒyàn?” The dragon had many names, of course, so he used the one from his own language, which he felt more comfortable with.

In English, the dragon was named Flamebreak.

“Mizuno Masahiko is dead,” Wú Huǒyàn said without preamble or emotion. “Another must take up his hunt.”

Zheng frowned at that. Mizuno was a tough one. Even considering the reset, he wouldn’t have thought anything on this world would be a real threat to him. Had he been outplayed, or had he just gotten careless?

That sounded right. Mizuno tended to talk too much, especially when he thought he had the upper hand. Then again, Hou Zheng was no better, so he shouldn't be throwing stones.

“It does not matter,” the dragon said, as if he could read Zheng’s mind. He spoke in Zheng's own native language with no hint of an accent. “He has failed the task. Thus, it falls to you.”

Well, Zheng couldn't argue with that logic. He was the closest thing to a friend that Mizuno Masahiko had. Which wasn't saying much. He hadn't seen the man in a year, and he doubted Mizuno had thought of him more than once or twice in that time.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

Still. He had his pride, and his pragmatism. “I assume I will be paid for this task?” he asked. “No matter how simple you claim that it is, it is an imposition on my time.” Also, at least one person had already died trying to complete it. While bringing it up would do little more than annoy Wú Huǒyàn, it certainly increased the price he would demand.

There was a very loud silence.

“You haven't even told me what the task is, or where,” Zheng pointed out. He assumed it was nearby, and an assassination. No one ever hired Zheng for anything besides killing people. “An assurance of payment is a small courtesy.”

“You will be paid,” the dragon said finally. His voice ground against his mind even more than usual. “We will discuss this further once you are on your way. Mizuno was last located at a village to the south-east of the Tower, near the end of the valley.”

Zheng couldn't help but snort. He turned and started packing up his tent. He was already in roughly the right area, and he thought he knew the village in question. “Is the village still there?”

“He destroyed it in the course of his mission.”

Which meant that Mizuno had brought a horde of monsters down and killed a few hundred people while, apparently, failing to get his actual targets. Yes, that sounded about right. It also likely meant that there would be a number of advanced monsters there now, fat on the blood of the people they had killed. It was even possible that there was a dracobeast, if a monster had managed to eat most of the citystone itself.

Zheng didn't mention that. Wú Huǒyàn hated dracobeasts. “Will I have any allies for this task?”

“You may recruit as you see fit.”

That meant no, unless he got ridiculously lucky. “All right, then who am I killing?”

“There are four individuals. Two Attackers, a Defender, and a Crafter.”

He had to blink in surprise at that. “Wait, they have Crafters now?” For the past eighty years, this world had only had access to eight foundational classes, split into the four combat roles: Attacker, Defender, Healer, and Tamer. No one had any bloodstones for any non-combat classes, meaning no one had any non-combat classes.

“No,” the dragon said. “This is an anomaly. His class is irrelevant. All you need to know is that he is a primary target.”

Zheng yawned. He finished packing up his tent and put it in his backpack. “Apologies, my lord, I'm not awake enough for a briefing yet. I'll get closer to the village, then call you for more details, okay?” He chuckled. “Maybe this will be one of the missions I can solve with a duel.”

He felt the grumble of the dragon's disapproval, then the presence disappeared from his mind. Zheng wasn't worried. Wú Huǒyàn was grumpy, but ultimately a good employer. He would provide the information needed to get this job done. And he'd pay enough for Zheng to be set for another couple years at least.

On a whim, he brought up his status screen. He hadn't checked it in a while.

Name: Hou Zheng Race: Human (fire-type) Role: Healer Class: Battle Mender, level 64 Stats: Strength 17, Agility 12, Constitution 14, Perception 12, Power 25, Flexibility 14, Capacity 20, Sensitivity 14 Techniques: 20 Spells: 20 Skills: 8 Would you like to see a full list of your abilities?

He waved away his list of techniques and spells. He never paid too much attention to those past the initial push. You had to relearn everything at the start of every reset, but beyond that the list was just a distraction. Everyone knew that re-learning old abilities was the secret to leveling quickly in the early days, but not everyone was dedicated enough to actually do it.

Zheng whistled as he walked, and cast a quick energy spell on himself to push back the last vestiges of sleep.

At least he had something to look forward to today.