I changed out of my track pants and t-shirt, opting for a clean black shirt and jeans. My old outfit was a bit dirty and smelled, but I decided to wash it later. Before heading out, I took a good look at myself.
"Damn, did I grow muscles or something?" I muttered, glancing at my toned body. With dark hair and dark blue eyes, I couldn't help but feel a bit of vanity in my looks.
[Eh, I've seen better.]
"Just let me have this!" I scowled at Sephera's message screen. "I finally have a six-pack now."
[All thanks to your Strength stat, which, by the way, is thanks to me and my tower. :D]
I ended up at a PC cafe, where I could rent out a computer for an hourly rate. I spent the next few hours researching the world since I came back, verifying that what Tessa had said was true.
The strangest part was, I found no traces of the virtual game 'Last Stand', finding information about the physical place instead. It was as if the game never existed, nor were there any memories of it.
"Am I being gaslit?" I murmured to myself. "I could've sworn I was playing that game before I woke up in the tower."
[Maybe the trauma of your deaths caused some sort of defense mechanism?]
"Hey. Are you saying you don't believe me?"
[Not at all, but as of right now, I only have your word to go by.]
I growled in frustration, typing away at the computer. So what if I was the only one with memories of that game? It's not like it was important right now, anyway.
I was so preoccupied with surfing the internet that I hadn't realized a presence behind me.
"Oh, Luke?"
I swiveled my head around, seeing a man I hadn't seen in a long time. He had dark, curly hair, and brown eyes. He wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses, a black shirt with white buttons, and a black blazer. Tall and handsome, he smiled down at me with a familiar warmth.
"Wait... Tommy?"
I shot up, embracing the man in a tight hug. "Holy shit, how have you been, man?"
"I've been good, you bastard," Tommy replied, returning my embrace. "What about you?"
I smiled, leaning back against the table. "Eh, I could be better. You know, the usual."
"Working that dead-end desk job and playing games?" Tommy grinned back.
We had been friends ever since grade school, with Tommy heading off to university and eventually graduating. I hadn't spoken to him much since then, but we had been so close that I felt like it didn't matter how much time passed- we'd always have the same brotherly friendship.
"Er, not exactly," I scratched the back of my head. "I'm... a Player now."
"Oh? Like the returnees? Nice, so am I."
"Huh?" I concentrated, pulling up a blue Status Window next to Tommy's face.
[Name: Tommy Zhen | Level: 227]
[Title: Baron of the Blade (B)]
[Health: 600 | Strength: 345]
[Speed: 105 | Magic: 100]
[Risk: 0 | Stat Points: 0]
[Experience: 66%]
"Oh shit... you're level 227?" I asked, impressed.
"Yeah," Tommy smirked, folding his arms. "Though it's not as great as some of the top Players in the Lambda sector." He squinted his eyes as if pulling up my Status Window. "What about you-"
Tommy made a choking sound, causing me to realize that my scythe's passive wasn't hiding my true stats.
"Aye, yo, what the fuck, Luquier? Your stats are absurd."
"O-oh, yeah," I chuckled awkwardly. "Well, you know... high Risk, high reward, right?"
"Hah, right," Tommy replied, laughing. "No kidding. I mean, I've known you for a long time- you're fucking unhinged. But I never thought you'd make it this far."
"It did take me 300 days to return," I admitted with a smile. "So, for the moment, just treat me as if I was actually level 17."
"Hah, got it," Tommy chuckled, though I could tell he was still impressed. "So, what have you been up to? Last time I checked you were just coasting through your life in the same old routine."
"Nothing different," I avoided his gaze, embarrassed. "But, now that I'm back, I plan to change that. Any tips on where to go from here? I'm deciding on whether or not to join a guild, but..."
"Say less," Tommy held up his hand. "First things first. You won't get into any of the good guilds just by applying. You're going to have to go to the towers and climb the floors to the current global cap. That way, you can showcase what you can offer to them."
"Oh. You know where the nearest tower is?"
Tommy grinned. "I'll take you there. We can catch up along the way."
"Sure," I hesitated. "What were you even doing here in a place like this anyway?"
"To play games, of course. I never had time to do so when I was busy with my job and stuff, so when I finally returned as a Player, I freed up a lot of my schedule."
----------------------------------------
As Tommy drove us to the nearest tower in his rather expensive sports car, I couldn't help but feel a mix of nostalgia and anticipation for whatever awaited me. The car's leather seats were surprisingly comfortable, despite their aggressive racing design, and the engine roared beneath us like a hungry beast.
We traded bits and pieces of our lives, though it seemed like Tommy had more to say than I did. The Lambda Sector we were in was just below the Sector where I had been living in, and Tommy had found a high-paying job right before he got sent to Last Stand.
After returning, he promptly quit his job, opting to make a living as a Player and joining a guild called 'Inquisitive'. He seemed to be quite successful, as he had climbed the ranks quite quickly and was now one of the guild's most respected members. As we neared the tower, I couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for him, as well as a twinge of envy.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Tommy had always been the more successful of us, better-looking, and much more put together than I was. Despite having nothing in common save for our shared notions of thrill-seeking, Tommy and I had grown extremely close throughout our academic careers. Sure, I got a little jealous of him at times, like when he would get a new girlfriend every couple months or so, but we were still tight.
As we pulled up to the tower, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nervous anticipation. This was my chance to make a name for myself, to prove that I wasn't just some scrub who had been coasting by on the bare minimum. I hopped out of the car and stretched, trying to calm my racing heart.
"Don't sweat it too much, Luke." Tommy said as he stepped out as well. "The global cap is the 28th floor, so feel free to quit before the 14th floor."
"14th? Why?" I frowned as we walked towards the tower entrance, which was guarded by a couple of officials.
"In the games we used to play together, you'd think that levels correlate with each other, right? Apparently, that's not true in the real world. The monsters and their stats seem to exponentially increase with every floor. A level 17 monster would have 1000 Health at minimum, and there's no telling what other crazy numbers they'd have for their other stats."
"That... makes sense." I nodded understandingly, recalling how my battle simulation had disproportional values. "I learned that the Lambda GPA Branch's chairman was level 540. I'm assuming even that isn't enough to clear floors higher than the 28th?"
"That's right," Tommy replied with a sigh. "I don't know what kind of sick sense of humor the towers and their creators have, but the higher you go, the harder it gets. It's why the highest leveled Player is around 5000, but still requires a strong party to clear levels."
We approached the tower entrance, where the officials were checking our identifications. After verifying that we were indeed who we said we were on our IDs, they allowed us to pass through the security checkpoint. The interior of the tower was just as lavish as the exterior, with marble floors, grand staircases, and enormous chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings.
In front of us was a glowing green-ringed portal, leading to the first floor of the tower. Tommy took a deep breath and stepped forward, followed by me. As we entered the portal, I felt a strange sensation, like being simultaneously pulled and pushed in opposite directions. When it subsided, we found ourselves in a dim dungeon, lit only by the flickering torches on the walls.
I turned back to see a red-ringed portal, depicting a view of the place we'd just come from. It seemed like the red portals were exits, while the green ones were to the next floors.
"Well, this is the first floor," Tommy said, his voice echoing in the empty chamber. "You go first, Luke."
I grunted, pulling out my Silver Serpent from my Inventory.
[System alert: Floor level has been determined too low for the user. No experience or rewards will be gained.]
Wait, what? Damn, that sucked. I guess that means I'd have to face monsters that were stronger to gain any benefits.
"Alright, let's see what's on the first floor," I said to Tommy, steeling myself. We walked further into the dungeon, our steps crunching on the gravel underfoot. The air was thick with the smell of must and dampness, and it was deathly quiet. Suddenly, a low growl echoed through the chamber. A number of blue screens popped up in front of me.
[Name: Wolfkin | Level: 1]
[Health: 130 | Strength: 20]
[Speed: 75 | Magic: 0]
I almost laughed at the stats I saw. Compared to when I first awoke in Sephera's tower, this small army of monsters wasn't even a warm-up.
"All you, bro," Tommy said, raising his hands and stepping back. "Let's see what a level 17 with stats like yours can do."
"Hope you're ready," I smirked, raising my Silver Serpent. In the blink of an eye, I dashed forward, cutting through the Wolfkin with ease. True to the system message earlier, I was getting no notifications of receiving rewards from the monsters.
It didn't matter, since in mere minutes, I was already done killing all of the Wolfkin. I turned back to look at Tommy, who was staring at me with an incredulous look.
"Jesus Christ, Luquier... what the hell did you go through in your tower? Stats aside, you fought with a crazy ferocity."
I shrugged. "Just what I had to do, I guess. Now let's move on to the next floor."
We came across a green portal, entering it to find a similar environment to the first floor. Based on my initial impression, the 2nd floor wasn't any different. As we walked deeper into the dungeon, I explained to Tommy what I had been through. His expression seemed to shift from one of incredulity to one of awe, and then finally, respect.
"You died over 300 times? Are you okay?"
I shrugged. "I wasn't okay at first, but I got better. Or stronger, at least. And the deaths...well, I don't remember most of them. It was all a blur. But it was all worth it."
"If you say so. Anyway, sucks that monsters don't drop more cores either." Tommy remarked as we walked down the dim corridor.
"What do you mean?"
"Aside from experience and the occasional skills, most monsters drop cores, graded from F to A. They're extremely useful and chock full of power, so Players like us gather monster cores to sell for gold. It's a good business. We produce the raw materials, sell 'em, and people who know how to use them make products for us to buy from."
"Oh, that's cool. So what's this about monsters not dropping cores anymore?" I could sense a couple of faint presences up ahead.
"Well, it actually explains why the world's been stuck on the 28th floor for so long. At the end of a floor is a boss. If the boss isn't defeated, then Players are able to harvest cores from whatever floor the boss is still alive on. The lower floors are pretty much useless," Tommy explained. "So, because the 28th floor boss has been pretty difficult for even the top Players to kill together, the world's been on the 28th floor for about... a month now?"
"What– A month?!"
"Yeah," Tommy smiled wryly. "The difficulty scales so high. It kinda sucks."
It wasn't long before we encountered the next batch of monsters. A group of goblins blocked our path, chittering and snarling.
[Name: Goblin Soldier | Level: 2]
[Health: 100 | Strength: 15]
[Speed: 25 | Magic: 0]
[Name: Goblin Mage | Level: 2]
[Health: 70 | Strength: 5]
[Speed: 20 | Magic: 40]
[Name: Goblin Archer | Level: 2]
[Health: 80 | Strength: 10]
[Speed: 30 | Magic: 0]
Once again, I tensed my body, preparing to slice through the army. I pushed off, swinging my Silver Serpent–
[Wait, Player!]
I tripped and fell forward, my Silver Serpent clattering to the ground. The goblins all laughed, their sharp, gleeful cries echoing through the chamber.
[System alert: You have received 1 damage.]
[Health: 9999]
[LOLOLOLOLOL.]
"Sephera... what the fuck?!" I groaned, trying to ignore the pain that blossomed out from my elbow. I hope I didn't scrape it.
"Luke, you okay?" Tommy called out behind me. I gave him a thumbs up as I got to my feet.
[I was gonna say, since these lower levels won't give you any rewards... how about you use your new weapon?]
"Huh?" I blinked, opening my Inventory. The Hand of Thanatos glowed with an eerie blue light within the grid space. "Oh, that's right."
As the goblins rushed towards me, I quickly put away my Silver Serpent in my Inventory, preparing to pull out the Hand of Thanatos.
[System alert: Equipping this weapon will lock all of your skills. Titles and Achievements will still apply.]
[Equip Hand of Thanatos?]
[Yes | No]
I smiled to myself, tapping the Yes option.
****
[Name: Luquier Vaunt | Level: 17]
[Title: Reckless Immortal (A)]
[Health: 10000 | Strength: 4305]
[Speed: 4205 | Magic: 4310]
[Risk: 2075 | Stat Points: 0]
[Experience: 86%]
[Skills]
[Divinity (Passive)]
[Holy Element 17/17]
[Death’s Shadow 17/17]
[Reap 17/17]
[Final Gambit 17/17]
[Death Match 1/?]
[Achievements]
[Even Death Can't Stop Me!]
[Pick On Someone Your Own Strength.]
[Untouchable.]
[New Beginnings.]
[Items]
[Silver Serpent]
[Hand of Thanatos (+?)]