[Many Hours Earlier in the Day (Around Noon): Body Double POV]

I leave my main body at the edge of the canyon and use the transport crystal to teleport back into the lobby of the Galeheart Tower.

I put up my mana shielding, but unfortunately don't have Qi to block my overwhelming mana control presence in this form. Only the ability to block my intimidation aura. That will have to do for now,I won't be able to go outside the tower into Valor City without being noticed in this form.

So, I call out to the lobby men while walking toward the front desk.

"Lith, I need to talk with Lith."

*Ding*

The elevator door opens, and the man in question walks out, replying to me promptly.

"Back so soon? I assumed you'd make it to Sector 2 quickly, but this kind of speed was not expected. That answers the question of where Arie went earlier too. Seems you've been busy. I guess Fisher and Lydia won't be getting their full day off."

He chuckles, but I reply in an urgent tone.

"Yes, I made it out to Sector 2, but the Dark One managed to send a few of its higher level guards out there too... I think they were looking for me ever since I ditched the arena event last night."

Lith's eyes widen.

"You managed to come face to face with multiple Dark Guards and made it out alive?"

I nod.

"Yeah. Six of them showed up in the sky and attacked on sight. I managed to kill them all. Even the strongest one that was over level 1000."

I recount the events of my dealings in the town, excluding the mention of any unique riches found in the warehouses and of course the help of Ember in my battle, but make sure to keep Lith fully informed of what went down so he knows the severity of this situation.

I point to the ceiling for my next ask.

"Pull up the surveillance system. I need to find my teammates. That 7th Rank Dark Guard threatened them before I killed him, so I'd like to make sure they're safe before the Dark One finds out what I've done. There probably isn't much time left."

Without question, Lith brings up the live surveillance of Valor City, and we begin scrolling through it together; watching ordinary people go about their day-to-day lives in the Silver, Gold, and Platinum districts.

After scouring the streets, zooming in and out of every corner inside shops and behind buildings, there's no sign of Abby or Maria in sight.

"They must be training with Monk..."

I let out a sigh and shift my focus back to the Silver and Gold districts.

"If they're in the monastery, we won't be able to sense them until they come out. Considering the arena event doesn't start for another 6 hours or so, this is going to be a long wait..."

I zoom in on a very fancy upscale lounge in the Gold district. There are large comfortable looking recliners, an active spa treatment in session for clients inside, and many courses of delicious food being served on golden platters.

Beautiful young women in maid outfits are serving the men while handsome men in butler uniforms serve the women.

Right in the middle of this display, I see my other two teammates, Lydia and Fisher sitting back with hot towels over their faces, enjoying the day.

I almost can't believe what I'm seeing...

Then again, they did want the day off to rest and explore the city.

I let out a sigh and turn away from the moving image projection, scratching my head and thinking to myself.

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"Let them rest for now, this is fine. Those two have never been in an arena event, so I doubt the Dark One has its sights set on them."

Lith speaks up.

"I could send one of my workers into the city to wait outside their shop to tell them to come back to the Tower once they've finished their fun."

I nod.

"Sure, that would be perfect."

My gaze shifts back to the Platinum district, and I zoom in on the monastery. Its entrance looks like a dark black void, as no mana can be picked up on this surveillance system. I speak up again.

"Could I get a sheet of paper and a pen? I'd like to send a message to Abby and Maria, but I doubt it's going to be as simple as walking up to the monastery and handing them a letter."

I think to myself for a moment in silence as Lith motions for the lobby men to fetch me paper, then I continue speaking.

"If we notify them right now, the entire Dark Guard could swarm the Platinum district in an instant. It would be rather odd for an unknown person to approach the monastery without Monk's permission. Even if the Dark One knows they're here, it doesn't bother attacking because it doesn't fear them. If too many odd events begin occurring at once, it will surely become much more suspicious."

Lith responds.

"So, we wait until they naturally come out on their own."

"That would be the safest bet."

I take the papers from the lobby men and begin to fill in the events of the last few hours along with what I believe is the best course of action for them.

In simplified terms, the core message reads "Run! We've got company, get back to the Galeheart Tower Now! -Jay".

However, once I hand the paper off to one of Lith's workers that looks just like a very generic businessman in a presentable manner to infiltrate the city unnoticed. The other guard called forward to retrieve Fisher and Lydia looks like a weekend shopper with less professional attire.

It's impressive how quickly he manages to get his team together for specific jobs. All I can do now is sit back and wait.

Lith turns to the elevator and motions for me to follow.

"Come on, this is going to take a few hours, we might as well get comfortable."

I walk into the elevator with him, and we're brought back up to his office.

The surveillance system comes online in his penthouse suite as well, and I sit back on a comfortable chair with my arms crossed, staring up at the city watching people go about their daily lives.

In the back of my mind, a timer ticks away.

While my real body trains Arie and begins to climb the Labyrinth on its way to reach level 1000, hours go by here in the city.

Fisher and Lydia finish up their time at the spa and go on a short shopping spree to buy some new interesting magic items and accessories, then are briefly filled in on the situation by the undercover shopper brought in by Lith.

They casually take their time leaving the city not to draw any extra attention and use their transport crystals to come back to the tower once they're far away from the city and out of sight.

Once they get back to the tower, both of them come up the elevator and begin to question me more about this cryptic warning, but after an explanation, they begin to see the seriousness of all of this and cease their complaints. They watch the surveillance of the monastery with us up in the penthouse office.

We all patiently wait for our other teammates to come out and for the businessman standing in the lobby of a partnered trading company's tower nearby with a message in hand to give it to them.

It's rather natural that many businessmen would be waiting for meetings or finishing work in these buildings. Standing around fiddling with paperwork isn't very uncommon.

Another hour or so passes before three figures emerge from the dark hallway. As soon as they do, the businessman sees them from across the street and walks out the door, making his way down the road to coincidentally cross paths with the trio.

He pretends to accidentally not be looking where he's going, and stumbles into their path. With a worried look plastered on his face, he apologizes for making them stop in their path by bowing and reaching out a hand to Monk.

As he shakes and accepts his apology, it's clear there's more to this interaction.

Once his eyes meet the paper, he squeezes his hand closed tight and speaks up to Abby and Maria.

"I forgot one thing, please, let us head back to the training rooms momentarily."

With confused expressions, they agree, and my heart rate stops beating at such a rapid pace once I see them step back inside the black monastery door.

Twenty minutes later, they all come out again, walking to the Platinum gate entrance at a fast and steady pace, not saying a word.

They make it through and move to the Gold district.

However, out of the corner of my eye, I see a large black suit of armor come out from one of the private towers in the Platinum district.

It flashes its wristbands and makes its way into the Gold district. The Platinum guards bow down to the Royal Guard that is making a rare appearance in the main city.

As the trio walks to the next gate, making their way into the Silver district, the Royal Guard isn't far behind. It is quickly and calmly closing the gap between them until they make it to the final gate that leads to outside.

As they do, the Royal Guard motions for the Silver guards to halt their activities, and Monk, Abby, and Maria have to directly confront the mysterious Black armored guard.

The words that echo through the surveillance system from the Royal Guard are quite surprising.

"You three must compete in the arena event tonight. Without the Flame Emperor present, our newest guests still wish to see a show. We can't have our top performers leaving the city so soon..."

Lith rotates the angle of the live video, and a large number "5" is printed on the black armored guard's chestplate, glowing bright orange through its heavy armor.