Alex found himself back in the uncomfortable pod that had initially transported him into the arena. The final round was over, and he’d just barely lost. He let out a sigh as he cursed the leech that had drained his spirit energy and taken his victory right out of his hands.

Oh well. Second place isn’t bad.

The rectangular screen in front of him lit up with a message.

Congratulations, you have placed second in the Level 10 Battle Arena!

As a result of placing second, you have earned 20 coins!

You may also select a prize from one of the following items:

Four weapons appeared below the prompt, each with a picture and brief description underneath.

Leviathan Lance Grade: Rare Quality: Excellent

Archangel's Bow

Grade: Rare Quality: Excellent

Warthunder Axe

Grade: Rare Quality: Excellent

Firelord's Staff Grade: Rare Quality: Excellent

Alex studied each weapon carefully as he mulled over the decision. He’d come across each of these items in the previous timeline, and just as the descriptions stated, each of them was indeed rare. They could only be found in a few locations throughout the whole tower.

A rare weapon at such a low level would certainly be powerful, but he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed as there was nothing for a Spirit Fighter to use.

I guess I’ll take the next best thing.

He selected the Warthunder Axe and accepted the confirmation prompt. A few seconds later a small message appeared stating that it had been transferred to his inventory ring along with the coins. Satisfied with the haul, he exited the pod and left the battle arena behind.

A short walk later and he found Luke in the waiting area where they’d previously agreed to meet up. The young Berserker was in such deep thought that he didn’t notice Alex approach him.

“Well,” Alex said, “it didn’t end quite how I wanted it to, but it was still a good show, right?”

Luke turned and a bright smile quickly set on his face. “Are you kidding me? That was awesome! I mean, you lost in the end, but you had some sweet moves back there. How were you able to hold your own against someone six levels higher than you?”

“I’d love to tell you,” Alex said, coyly, “but it’s a secret.”

Luke’s enthusiasm quickly warped to disappointment. “Aww, com one. Are you really gonna pull that on me?”

Looks like he took the bait, Alex thought. “Well… I guess I could tell you. But first, I want to show you something. It’s just outside the Grand Arena and it’ll be the last place I’ll drag you to today, I promise.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Luke agreed and Alex led him outside into the chilly evening wind. The sun had set in the first haven, and the atmosphere imitated a real-life city just as it had in the daytime. Thankfully, streetlights kept everything well lit around the the Grand Arena, and their destination was only two blocks away.

As they walked, Luke’s enthusiasm over what he’d seen quickly took over the conversation. He had always been too easily excitable, and at eighteen years old that trait was showing a lot more than it had in the previous timeline.

A buzz from Alex’s communication bracelet let him know he was receiving a call. With a tap of a finger, he answered the call and a voice appeared in his head.

“Hey, it’s Buddy. You got a moment? I got some good news to share.”

“I always have a moment for good news.” Alex said. “What’s up?”

“First of all, I’d like to thank you for giving me first rights to the farming information. It’s been… how should I say… very lucrative. As per our agreement, I’ve decided to open an investigation into the Mafia. I sent a few guys in to infiltrate their guilds, but again, this is the Mafia we’re dealing with, I can’t promise that we’ll get anything out of it.”

“No worries.” Alex said. “Do what you can.”

“I’m also working on the next Diamond report. Just need a little longer to gather up more info on the other two towers. You can expect it within a few weeks.”

“Sounds good. I appreciate it.”

“Mhm.” Buddy said. “We’ll keep in touch.”

The line clicked shut, signaling that the call was over. A few minutes later and they’d arrived at their destination: a tiny patch of grass with a small tower standing in the middle. The tower was as wide as Alex but stood twice as tall.

Alex turned to Luke. “This is what I wanted to show you.”

“Uhh. What exactly is it?”

“A miniature version of the Dominion Tower.”

“What does it do?”

“Nothing.” Alex said. “It was found here when the first explorers entered this floor, but it appears to only exist for decoration. It doesn’t possess any special magic or anything like that.”

“I see.” Luke said with an unimpressed tone. “Why are you showing me this?”

Alex pointed near the bottom of the tower. “We’re roughly this far up. There are thirty floors in total and we’ve cleared the first three.”

“So, we’re ten percent through. That’s good progress if you ask me.”

Alex nodded. “That’s right. The climb so far hasn’t been too bad, but it becomes more difficult in the higher floors. Much more difficult.”

“Let me guess.” Luke said. “You can’t do it on your own and your class told you I had high potential, so you want me to join you.”

“You catch on quickly.” Alex said with a smile. “Believe me, there’s no one alive that can do it on their own, not even you. It’s impossible. That’s why I want you on my team. I’ve spent a great deal of time learning everything there is to learn about the tower. That knowledge compared with my ability to see people’s potential means that no one has a better set of tools for climbing faster than me.”

A brief moment of silence fell as Luke stared at the top of the miniature tower.

Alex broke the silence with a question that he already had the answer to. “Why do you want to clear the tower, Luke?”

“That’s easy.” Luke said, without skipping a beat. “I just want to explore it. I want to be the first to step into the upper floors, the first to brave new, unknown challenges.”

Alex smiled. Same old Luke; an explorer at heart.

“Since you did me the honor of joining me here, I’ll tell you how I managed to do so well in the final.”

Luke’s eyes snapped away from the tower and on to Alex. “Wait, you’ll really tell me?”

“The secret to my success,” Alex said. “Are the Warrior’s Principles.”

“Warrior’s Principles?” Luke said as he raised an eyebrow. “Like honor and pride and things like that?”

Alex chuckled. “No, they’re nothing like that. Think of them as the principles of combat for melee fighters. Mastering them is the equivalent of gaining a huge boost to your mental stats. This boost will allow you to punch far above your weight. With enough skill, you can make up for a difference in physical stats the way I did in the final.”

“And how do you master these principles?”

“I can train you.” Alex said. “But you have to work with me to get to the top.”

Alex kept a straight face through his bluff. He had every intention of teaching Luke the principles regardless of whether he decided to join him or not. If nothing else, teaching Luke these principles would be the most important thing to do in this timeline. They’d been discovered about five years into the previous timeline, so they were still two years away from becoming common knowledge. Combined with his natural talent, mastering them now would give him—and by extension, all of humanity—a better chance of avoiding the dark fate it had previously met.

“If what you say about me is true,” Luke said, “how do I know that I won’t be wasting my time working with you? No offense or anything, but I may end up hating your guts.”

Such a way with words, Alex thought. Now he’s gonna get a big head because I told him he has a lot of potential.

“You’re absolutely right. I can’t guarantee that we would work well together, so how about we do a trial run first? I’ll teach you the Warrior’s Principles in exchange for accompanying me to the second haven. That’s only three more floors. Once we reach the second haven, we can break apart the partnership if it isn’t working out. What do you say?” He offered a handshake to seal the deal.

Luke pondered the offer for a moment before responding. “Well, I can’t deny what I saw with my own two eyes. You managed to defeat all those people that were higher level than you, so I have no reason to believe that you’re lying. Now I’m really curious and I want to see these principles for myself.” He grabbed Alex’s hand and shook it. “You got a deal. I’ll accompany you to the second haven, but I want to train me as soon as possible.”

Alex smiled. “That’s good to hear, because we can start training right away.”