The next morning, I was awoken by my phone ringing loudly in my ear.

Irritated and groggy, I reached for my phone, the screen blurring slightly as I brought it closer to my face.

"I'm up, I'm up," I groaned, fumbling to silence the call. It was still dark outside, and my body begged for more sleep, but I knew I had to get going. My dreams had been filled with the sizzling sound of the Silver Serpent cutting through the air and the roar of the Celestial Twin Snakes. The adrenaline from the dungeon run hadn't fully worn off, leaving me feeling both exhilarated and drained.

I staggered to the door, opening it to reveal Celine already dressed in dark athletic-wear, looking as energetic as ever. "Morning... Luquier," she quietly greeted, a hint of excitement in her eyes. "Ready to go?"

I tiredly glanced down at my clothes, which I didn't bother to change out of before getting into bed. I thought I'd at least have some time to myself to get ready, washing up and whatnot.

"Can I have like, five minutes?" I mumbled, not bothering to hide my exhaustion.

"Very well," Celine consented, strolling into the guest room. I was going to protest, but then remembered that I was staying over at her mansion, so I didn't really have much of a say in the matter. I sighed, heading into the spacious bathroom.

"How are you so... normal right now? Didn't you get wasted off of three glasses of wine?" I called out over the sound of running water as I washed my face.

"I have a passive Skill that restores my vitality faster," she replied nonchalantly, her voice carrying over the sound of the shower.

Huh. How convenient. For all the power I had, I suddenly found myself wishing I had some sort of Skill that could do that as well.

"Must be nice," I muttered, toweling off my face. I guess it made sense, with her being the Saint of the Phoenix. From what I recalled from mythology, the Phoenix had some sort of regenerative ability.

I threw on my clothes from yesterday, feeling a bit grimy but too tired to care. I stumbled out of the bathroom and into the grand hallway of the mansion, the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafting through the air. The scent was heavenly, and it was all I could think about as I followed Celine to the kitchen.

"So, what's the plan for today?" I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "Just head into the dungeon resonance and clear the hidden quest?"

Celine nodded. "Yes, but I think we should get some breakfast first. I've already prepared something light for us," she said, gesturing to the dining table.

I watched as a maid set down two plates of food, the aroma beckoning me forward. "You mean, you asked your maids to make us breakfast."

[Someone's a grumpy grouch this morning...]

Celine's cheeks tinted pink. "Well, I might have had a little help," she admitted, "but I did pick out the menu."

I grunted, sitting down at the table. Okay, maybe I was a little sour from the lack of sleep and my appetite, but I figured after eating and having time to wake up, I'd feel much better.

The food looked amazing. There was a fruit platter with the juiciest berries and melons, a perfectly poached egg on a bed of toast, and a steaming cup of coffee that smelled like heaven. I grabbed the cup and took a sip, feeling the warmth spread through my body, chasing away the last of my grogginess.

"Thanks," I murmured, taking a seat across from Celine at the grand dining table. She was already digging into her meal with gusto, not bothering with the dainty manners one would expect from someone of her status. Granted, I hadn't known of her past status until last night, so it didn't really come as a shock to me.

After we ate, my mood improved quite a bit, and we stepped out of her mansion into the early morning, the sun beginning to shine. The crisp air helped to clear my head, and I took a deep breath, feeling the excitement build up in my chest. Even though we were going back into the same dungeon as yesterday, it was going to be different this time, for better or for worse.

"Ready?" I grinned at Celine, holding out an arm. She looked at me warily, but accepted my hand nevertheless. I paused for a moment, then immediately launched into the air, feeling her grip tighten on me.

In a few seconds, we were at the GPA, where Celine shakily detached herself from me. It seemed like little by little, she was getting used to my supersonic flight speed. For now, at least.

As I followed Celine inside to the simulation room, I went over my stats. Since my extra Stat Points weren't enough to bolster my other attributes, I went ahead and injected enough to round out my Risk stat to one hundred million. I planned to use the Shackles of Restraint to grind rewards again, and hopefully my increased Risk stat would net me more points.

"Luquier...?" Celine asked me hesitantly as we stepped into the training simulation room.

"Yeah?" I turned to face her, feeling the excitement of a new challenge building up. I took out the Twin Celestial Snakes core and injected 1 million stat points to turn it into an active Skill. I'd make back those points after we cleared it, but it still hurt.

"It slipped my mind before, but didn't the dungeon resonance require at least three Players?"

I stared at Celine for a moment. "Fuck. I forgot about that too."

We stood around for a moment, at a loss for what to do. Maybe I could Duplicate myself and hopefully my clone would be considered as another Player.

However, as if by miracle or by curse, the door opened and in walked Tessa, with a rather sour look on her face. It didn't take a genius for me to realize I had missed several lunches with her.

"Luquier," she nodded to me curtly. "Nice to see you using my building again."

I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. "Tessa, h-hey. Sorry about the no-shows. I've had some weird stuff happening lately," I said, hoping she wouldn't hold it against me.

She studied me for a moment, her red eyes peering with an indescribable gaze. "Weird stuff, huh?" Tessa's tone was flat, unreadable. She looked at Celine and then back to me. "Well, I'm sure you had your reasons. That's not the reason why I'm a bit upset, though."

[She sounds mad...]

I opened my mouth to try and appease Tessa, but she simply sighed and shrugged.

"It's fine, you don't have to explain," she said, as she started tying up her hair. Then, she snapped her fingers, instantaneously changing out of her usual red dress and into a sleek and form-fitting bodysuit. "Just take me along to wherever you guys are going."

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Celine looked at me with a question in her eyes. "Is this... okay?"

It was my turn to shrug. "Well, with her, it would fulfill the three Player requirement, so why not?"

----------------------------------------

Stepping into the cavern, I took out the Soultaker, which had fallen silent since last night. I suspected that it felt a little miffed from being ignored after I gained the Golden Serpent, but I wasn't sure how to comfort a sentient sword. I hoped that using it for now would lift its mood.

The dungeon resonance was set to level 3027, which was only one level higher than the previous run. That meant that as soon as I activated my shackles, my adjusted stats were pretty much the same as before, save for the fact that my Risk stat sat at 50 million now. Huh, I guess the shackles didn’t have as much of a restriction on Risk. If I had known that earlier, I’d have maximized it in the first run instead of capping it at 21 million.

"So? What have you been up to?" Tessa's question broke the tension in the air as we walked through the chambers of the dungeon. "That's pretty much the reason why I'm a bit miffed. Our lunches have been more silent every time we have them. I have no idea what you're up to these days."

"Er, quite a lot, actually..." I began, desperately trying to think of excuses as to why I had ignored Tessa's invitations for lunch. "Just been busy with Enigma stuff. Oh, and I joined the Noble guild."

Tessa's eyes widened. "You did what?" she blurted out, then immediately regained her composure. "I see. You're with them now. Honestly, I thought you'd have chosen Inanis."

I made a face. "Yeah, that or Helianthus. But then Izu approached me and offered an invitation to Noble. Technically, I'm an intern or whatever, just at least until I get an appointment with Nephilim and he officially registers me as a member."

Tessa gave a wry laugh. "Good luck with that. I'm sure you know of Nephilim's notoriety for being hard to reach."

"Yeah, that's the vibe I've been getting from everyone," I grimaced and sighed. "What's the deal with him anyway? Does he just hole himself up in dungeon resonances solo or something? Why's he so hard to reach?"

We encountered some snake monsters, but I simply summoned my clone, handing him the Soultaker to farm more damage and to aid Celine. The two of them did most of the work, facing the bulk of the monsters as Tessa and I hung back, continuing our conversation.

"I can't say for sure," Tessa said, her eyes on the battle ahead. "But rumor has it that Nephilim is searching for something. Or maybe someone. It's all speculation, really. But he's definitely not one to sit around and wait for things to come to him."

[Huh, he reminds me a lot of someone else I know :P ]

I ignored Sephera's message, focusing on Tessa. "What do you mean by that?"

Tessa gave a small chuckle as she summoned a lightning storm, accurately striking the snake monsters ahead and Stunning them for a brief moment. "He's the reason why the world's tower progress has both accelerated and halted. He cleared the first twenty or so floors by himself and then abruptly stopped, turning to dungeons and dungeon resonances. Claimed that he was searching for something that would 'change the tide of the Tower'. It's been like that for a while now."

[Change the tide of the Tower? I've never heard of something like that as an Admin. Ask her what it is, Player.]

"I'm guessing no one knows what this thing is?" I pressed Tessa, eager to satiate Sephera's and my curiosity.

Tessa shook her head, the light from the lightning bolts illuminating her face. "Not that I know of," she said, her expression turning perplexed. "Then, when the top guilds formed, Nephilim jumped on that as well, establishing Noble, but not promoting it. As far as I know, he stated that those who join his guild would be individuals who just 'get' how the world now works."

"That... sounds like he doesn't know what he's doing," I replied, watching as Celine dashed forward in her pseudo-Phoenix transformation, firing off bolts of flames alongside my clone. "So he's off doing god knows what, while we're here fighting for our lives."

"While it seems arbitrary, Nephilim has continually contributed to the world's progress in his own way," Tessa corrected with a dry smile. "Izu, as the vice guildmaster, takes care of everything he should be doing, from government cooperation and politics, to guild management and such. But don't let that influence your impression of him. Other than the top guilds, Nephilim has provided the most dungeon resonance stones, holding the world record for number of dungeon breaks cleared. I think it was around... six hundred or so?"

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Six hundred? That's..."

"I know, it doesn't make sense. You would think that six hundred dungeon breaks in a year is a lot, but it doesn't match the rate of spawn here, right? The thing is, he's cleared six hundred all over the world."

[!!!]

I blinked in surprise. "All over the world? How is that even possible? Do we have planes faster than light or something?"

Tessa stared at me as if I had said something stupid. Which, to my knowledge, I didn't think I did.

"Right, you're essentially still new to current events in the world," Tessa sighed, "Nephilim has a teleporting Skill, enabling him to be anywhere at any time. And as far as I or anyone else knows, he's the only one with it. In my opinion, I think it's a Title-exclusive Skill, which is pretty unfair."

"Teleportation?" I couldn't help but repeat. "And he's so hard to reach? What, is he literally just jumping from one dungeon break to another?"

"Yes." Tessa nodded, her expression a mix of awe and envy. "It's insane, really. It's like he's playing a game of dungeon dominoes, popping up at the most random locations to take them down."

[And I thought you were addicted to clearing floors and dungeons... xD Luquier, you've got competition.]

I had to admit, I was feeling a mixture of jealousy and admiration. Even with my insane Speed coupled with my Grim Mantle's flight, I still have travel time. For Nephilim, he could appear wherever he wanted and easily cut down on travel time in exchange for clearing time. If I had that sort of Skill, I'd drastically raise my rate of growth.

"Huh, no wonder he's the strongest Player in the world," I muttered under my breath, a bit discouraged, but motivated. There was a very good chance that Nephilim had already reached the requisites for Ascension with his methods. If that was the case, seeing as nothing major happened yet, it was safe to say that the system hadn't tried to mess with him just yet, leaving me room to catch up as well.

As we finished up our conversation, we reached the familiar grand doors to the boss room. Celine looked back at us, her eyes alight with excitement. "Are we ready?" she asked, her fire wings glowing brightly behind her.

"Oh, almost," I replied, taking out the Golden Serpent from my Inventory and handing it to her. "To trigger the hidden quest, you have to have either the Golden or Silver Serpent swords."

Her eyes widened in surprise, taking the sword from me. "Thank you," she murmured, inspecting the gleaming blade. My clone came up to me and handed back the Soultaker.

[Soultaker damage: +73]

Ah, I forgot that I needed to be the one slaying the monsters in order to gain experience. Well, that was okay, since the bosses would net me way more Stat Points anyway.

"What, so you're just going to put me away again to use that third-rate sword?" The Soultaker's sass was heavy, even as an inanimate object. Celine's eyes widened in surprise at its sudden voice, though Tessa and I were unphased.

"Immortal- Luquier, your sword–"

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I don't think you've ever heard the Soultaker talk, have you?" I sheepishly explained. "Ever since it evolved back when we cleared the Mountain of the Unforgiving dungeon, it's been sassing me this whole time."

Celine raised an eyebrow. "It speaks to you? I have never heard of a sentient weapon before."

"Yeah, it's pretty... unique," I said, trying not to let the annoyance slip into my voice. "It's a bit much sometimes."

"A bit much?! You know what, I've decided to take back my agreement–"

I stowed away the Soultaker in my Inventory, ignoring its indignant messages as I retrieved the Silver Serpent instead. I knew I would have to make it up to the sword later.

Then I winced to myself, realizing how absurd that thought sounded.

"Alright, let's get this over with," I grumbled, pushing through the doors.

****

[Updating…]

[Current Stats (Shackles of Restraint)]

[Level: 3024]

[Health: 21,175,750 | Strength: 21,107,300]

[Speed: 21,106,250 | Magic: 21,106,100]

[Risk: 100,000,000 | Stat Points: 327,513,446]

[Items]

[Soultaker (10,126,071)] +73