Two humans stood before a towering dark marble archway, a wooden door was set into the arch with carvings of winged creatures inlaid. A conjoined sun and moon held the door together.
The two humans made a sardonic scene. They were centered around a spacious archway presented with a huge door, giving an overwhelming atmosphere.
The door slowly opened outward in the middle. A strong gust of wind blew through the open gap. The wooden door scraped the marble floor, sounding a screeching scream.
The two humans fought against the wind, with the half-open door assaulting their ears. They pushed through the gap, entering a massive chamber. The size of the room obstructed sound, words were pulled down by the weighted pressure presented by the chamber.
Amidst the enormous space, hair jumped from their skin. In the of the chamber they spotted a tiny life form, sitting on a throne. It made no sound, but the two had the same thought in mind. A demon baby!
Their minds ran amok with fear that engulfed their bodies. Even with no words, the two reacted with their instincts alone; screaming "Run!"
However, their stoned bodies couldn't react fast enough. A razor-sharp voice pierced through the heavy ether. "Again! I just slept and I'm once again woken up with all my monsters dead! Do you know how expensive they are!"
The voice was counteractive to a demon's appearance. With its red skin and Jett-black wings, a tail sharp like a knife, and horns that complete its evil visage. Its voice sounded that of a high-pitched tone.
The words took longer to process in the human mind. Yet, their body already instinctively moved at the sound. Running straight to the arched door, the demon uttered a voice penetrating their soul.
"You think I'll let you escape! Oh fuck you!- Man I have so much work to do again!" The demon paid no heed to the humans in its territory. Before either of the two could even completely digest the situation, the demon lifted his hands in a fast motion, and a crimson-colored spear rose from the ground, piercing both the humans' hearts.
"And just 200 points for those humans, this is such an unfair system."
***24 Hours Ago***
Inside a well-designed room, with the bright light of day dimming from the windowed wall behind a wooden desk, sat a man with his fat escaping from the different holes of a wooden chair muncheing his food, as crumbs and saucefood fell upon his fancy clothing. "A tower in the middle of the Barren Lands? Don't joke around with me, sir Costanza!" Said the fat man, jowels swinging as grease ran down his face.
"Just send two C-Rank Scouters!" The fat man continued. In front of him was a long, soft brown couch. A 6-foot tall, buff man covered with scars looked on from the upholstery.
Costanza, blowing his cigar then replied. "But I told you, we already lost contact with the B-Rank Adventurer that was reporte-".
"We are done here, Sir Costanza!" Yelled the fat man as he smashed the table with his fist.
"But Mayor Harley!" Yelled Costanza, he clenched his fist in anger, blood beginning to pool from where his fingernails met his palm. He tapped his feet multiple times on the floor, he couldn't argue anymore or as he knew it, he would be punished. However, he was determined to win his case against Harley.
"Assistant! Get Costanza off my office!" Yelled Harley towards the door. Costanza already knew he had no chance to win. He stood up from his chair picturing the wasted lives he was about to go through once more. "Mayor Harley! We can't be stupid about this!" Yelled Costanza.
"Oh! You’re calling me stupid now, sir Costanza! You're on thin ice!" The door opened; a well-dressed woman with a slender hour glass body, her long black hair tied back in a sweeping ponytail. "Take him outside, Assistant!" Yelled Harley.
"Mayor Harley! Think about this!" The woman grabbed Costanza's arm and started to inch him towards the door. She didn't have enough strength to pull the man, but Costanza knew of the situation. He discarded the meaningless play and pushed the woman off his arm.
"I'm going out on my own." The woman launched to the floor and Costanza left through the door.
***A Few Minutes Later***
In another room filled with hot air, the door opened and Costanza walked in. "So how was the meeting?" Asked Jack sat beside the walls. "Shit as always! Those damned Nobles!" He stomped his feet on the floor and slammed the door; shaking the walls. Costanza took off his jacket and threw it to a bench beside Jack.
"Ughhhh!" Costanza groaned. He sat on his desk and placed one of his legs above it. He took out his cigar and threw it into a trash bag beside him. "Did you get any reports on the Scouter twin?" Asked Costanza.
"Well, as a matter of fact, I did, they will arrive around dinner, they plan to scout the tower immediately by the next morning." Answered Jack. He stood up from his chair and moved towards the door.
"Ah... Well ok, go on, I can't do anything about it anymore! If they die! Curse the fucking nobles! I fuck..." Costanza kept rambling on and on with his hatred of the upper echelon. Jack opened and slammed the door behind his back, walking away from an old man's prattle.
Jack went down the stairs and entered a chaos-filled lobby full of adventurers all addicted to fighting and drinking. "Jackman! Come down here and drink with us!" Yelled by one of the adventurers. Jack walked past the man and said. "Sorry, have some business today."
"Oh come on Jackie, let's go on and have some fun!" A half-naked woman danced in front of Jack holding a beer; waving it and dripping bits on his feet. "I'm busy Ley Ley." Jack walked out of the adventurer guild and started to walk on the streets to the gates of the city.
***A Few Hours Later***
The City of Phyli is one of the many cities in the world known as a "Border City", separating the middle of the country from The Barren Lands, a dry piece of gray savanna filled with dangerous monsters that could trample multiple cities.
Phyli wasn't the most renowned "Border City", in fact, it was one of the weakest cities in the world, only having B-Rank Adventurers as the highest rank, aside from their guild master. The adventurers of Phyli consisted of many failed knights or retired soldiers, they are known to really be the lowest of the low.
Outside of the city, at the large carved path known as the "World Road", a horse carriage arrived at the city gate. "Welcome to the city of Phyli, Scout Twins!" Jack welcomed the horse carriage to the city. Driven by a professional coachman, two men walked out of the carriage.
"Yeah, yeah."
"Bring us to our inn."
"We are here for business,"
"Nothing more."
The twins finished each other's sentences. They acted arrogantly with their tone carrying heavy pride. Jack didn't reply further and directed the two to their inns.
The Scout Twins, are C-Rank Adventurers who are known to be the greatest scouters for their low prices. They may just be C-Rank Adventurers, but their abilities have warranted them to even be A ranks.
Equipped with the skills to gather any information and traverse even across the “Barren Lands”, the Scout Twins have earned prestigious recognition, making them very important people.
The three arrived at the biggest inn at Phyli. They walked straight to the counter with not a single word came out of anyone's mouth, either it was from Jack or the people in the lobby. "Kelly, are the rooms I told you about ready?"
Kelly nodded his head, he handed out the keys to Jack and the three made their way up to the second floor. Noise still filled the hallways, some doors opened and people passed by, yet at the sight of Jack and two unknown strangers, the people knew their roles.
Jack and the other two arrived at the best room of the inn, he opened it with the keys and handed it to one of the Scout Twins. The Twins slowly walked into the room, sharing a short look at each other before the door closed.
When the door closed, legs turned into water, the body fell to the ground, and the backs lay on the door. Then the same thought ran through the three's mind.
[Why was he so serious?! I almost peed my pants!]
[Why were they so serious?! I almost peed my pants!]
***Inside The Room***
Inside the best room of the best inn of Phyli, two people sat with their backs on the door. Both of them panted heavily, their heart ached and their breath was cut off short.
"We really should." The man stopped from heavy breathing. The other then continued the sentence, "Get out of this." The other also stopped. The two kept on exchanging their words and breathed heavily afterward.
"Stupid."
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"Fucking shithole."
"That we've put our-"
"-selves on."
"Just why did we."
"Become this."
"Respectable adventurers."
"We just have."
"The ability."
"To remove our pre-"
"-sence..."
The two relaxed and fell completely to the floor. Their eyes slowly closed and in their uncomfortable position, the two slept peacefully on the ground.
***In The Lobby***
"Why are those two even here???" Kelly wondered. Jack slowly walked down the stairs with his hand on his chest. "Cause this is the best inn in town! Which... still sounds weird to say!" Jack said with his head bobbing and his body boiling from nervousness.
"Are you good? You're shaking." Kelly asked. Jack's body danced around and his head started to feel nauseous. He repeatedly slapped both his cheeks and jumped around. "I'm A-Okay!" Jack yelled!
"They could hear you." A man moved over and whispered into Jack's ears. He shook his body around far from the counter, missing the man's words. "You know, never seen him that nerve wrecked." The man placed his right arm on the counter with his hand flailed to the side.
"Well, it is the Scout Twins. I mean, the nobles LOVE those two. You know I'm starting to think that Sir Kafele got all these things wrong." Kelly remarked. He faced the man and pointed his finger out.
"And what do you mean by that?" The man asked. He pointed his finger at the cabinet behind Kelly. "Oh and can you get me some bread." He added hurriedly after his first sentence.
Kelly nodded and he continued what he was saying. "Well, first of all, we all know Harley is stupid!" The man immediately nodded in agreement to the statement. He looked at Jack while he talked with Kelly, as he adored his panicked state.
"So, think about this, if the two are killed, Harley will be thrown off his position and this tower will finally be taken seriously!" Kelly got back from the back of the counter and handed the bread over to the man.
"Is the tower really that dangerous?" Asked the man. He took a silver coin from his pocket and flicked it to Kelly. Man, he is still panicked. He thought in his mind as he stared at Jack.
"How long have you been in your house? 4 people already went missing while venturing in that damn tower, and one of them is a B-Rank Adventurer!" Kelly freaked out.
"I mean, it's placed in the middle of the Barren, it's easily possible he was killed by a wandering A-Rank Monster." The man faced Kelly and placed the bread in his hand on his mouth.
"Wha- We- A- Plls- W- Well!" Kelly stuttered; what the man said sounded plausible in his mind. The Barren Lands is a dangerous area, the deeper you go the more powerful monsters exist, they never even found the body, so it really was possible. But he kept his mind straight and true to his belief. "Why is there even a tower in the middle of the Barren Lands!"
"Uhuh. Well, good day to you Kelly. Thanks for the bread." The man turned away and headed toward Jack. "Think about it! Why is there a tower in the middle of the Barren!" Kelly shouted, still in pursuit of his lost pride. The man just nodded and said his goodbyes to Jack. "Bye Jack, get your shit together man."
The man headed out of the inn with his bread in his mouth and hands in his pockets. "Bye Garter!" Yelled Jack. A tower huh... might be a good place to stay. Garter swallowed the entire bread, licked his lips for remnants, and smiled.
***The Next Morning***
Callan woke up as he lay on the floor. He flickered his eyes before he looked to his side. He moved his leg and kicked Seth in the stomach. "Wake up! It's morning!" Callan shook his head to get rid of any remaining dizziness. He then stood up and kicked Seth in the stomach once more. "Wake up. We have a tower to infiltrate."
"Ughhh, it's morning already..." Callan stretched his hand upward and his mouth then opened wide, releasing a loud yawn. "Yeah, so get up, I don't wanna talk with anyone else again." A shiver from his stomach made its way up his body violently. For a weird reason, Seth also felt the shiver after Callan experienced it, causing him to jump from the floor fully awake.
"Well, I'm good now, let's go." Said Seth as he held the door knob.
"So we're going to eat?" Callan asked his twin brother.
"Well... yes, why? Stomach can't handle it?" Seth asked.
"I can handle it," Callan answered.
The Scout Twins, despite their reputable status, in reality they were just ordinary people who have been pressured by society. They weren't arrogant, they were just socially awkward. They weren't always serious, they really were just socially awkward!
Callan and Seth have been placed in a higher pedestal than they feel comfortable at, they were just twins who only had each other's back.
Seth opened the door and something behind it surprised the two. "Food on the floor?" There was a tray of food outside the room, filled by ants that formed a tray to the adjacent wall. On the tray also lay a piece of paper that said, "Dinner Food... uhhh... I think we were supposed to eat this yesterday night..." Seth said in a confused tone.
"Who would leave food in front of the door, is this really the best inn in the city?" Callan questioned. He took off the bag on his back and picked out two pieces of wrapped bread. "This city is weird, let's just leave..." Callan said as he handed a piece of bread to his brother.
The two placed the bread in their mouth. They then strapped their bags tightly on their back, raised their arms, and held hands. "Stealth, brother!" said the two at the same time. Slowly their entire presence became invisible. Their body turned transparent till they disappeared fully.
The two could still see each other completely clear. They both nodded at each other and headed out of the room. They walked in the hallway and made no sound from the floor, when someone passed none even noticed them. But they did have to scooch over to the wall to avoid contact.
The Scout Twin, they were professional scouters. They are adventurers who are sent out in advance to of course as the name implies, scout and gain information. But unbeknownst to everyone, the Scout Twin had always been able to perform well because of a simple secret.
They were born into poverty and only had each other, stealing food from random stalls perfectly with no one noticing. They would always raise their arm, and hold each other's hands, and yell "Stealth brother!", even in the middle of the street, that was just their living. When the two grew up, realizing the greatness of this power, they were overwhelmed by their conscience.
Seth and Callan decided to do good rather than evil, and because they lacked any combat abilities, the only perfect job for them was to be a scouter, it was their destiny. Due to some unknown magical power, the two have been able to turn invisible when in contact with one another, this power had seemingly no backlash and its only downside was if they came into contact with another person, only then would they be revealed.
The two walked down the inn, passing by the talking people. They continuously heard their names but they paid no interest on it and rushed to the outside of the inn. Once out, the two were lost, they had forgotten that they had never been to that city. But luck would find them as a piece of paper suddenly flew from the sky and covered Callan's face.
Callan panicked with his mouth open releasing no sound, it was a habit they had made. Seth pulled the paper off Callan's face, the paper then slowly turned invisible as the two's power circulated around it. A map! Seth yelled in his mind. He held the map, waving it to Callan with a smile on his face.
Callan saw the map Seth was holding and he too was overjoyed. Seth held one side of the map and Callan held the other. With a map equipped the two quickly escaped the city and started to make their way through the Barren Lands.
Exiting the city, Seth and Callan saw Kafele Costanza and Jack Corner, one was the person that they were supposed to meet and the other was the man who welcomed them.
Jack ran straight past them after being told by Kafele something. But the two paid no mind and just continued their exit. But before they officially go out of the city through the gate, the two got to thinking, that if they just randomly leave with no notice, the entire city might be run down by the nobles backing them.
With their conscience in control, the two quickly made a simple note saying "We're going." with both of their signature. They then dropped it on Kafele’s shoes and they went on ahead.
The Scout Twin knows the Barren Lands like the back of their hand. They had crossed its lands multiple times and had even recorded many scriptures about monster's habitats, weaknesses, and many more. It was the main source of their reputation.
And so, when the moment they were tasked to scout a weird tower in the middle of the barren lands, even the twins were confused. They knew the most about the Barren; yet a tower in the middle? That wasn't even possible.
Seth and Callan arrived at the border of the grass-filled land and the suspiciously clean cut to dry land with nothing but grey dirt and monsters already in sight. They entered and went on their way to cross the Barren.
As they walked across Barren, the two spotted many different creatures and even adventurers the fought for their lives just to earn a living. Many monsters are created in the Barren for unknown reasons. Rising from the ground, it concluded many deformed versions of normal animals.
A scary cow, a skeleton horse, a giant rat that emits poison, a giant worm that causes earthquakes, zombie birds flying through the sky despite lacking any feathers, and even fish existed in the Barren Lands, it was a deadly place no one dared to enter.
But the power the two had defied the entirety of the Barren Lands, even with the deadliest monster, a Death Knight, a Skeleton Dragon, you name it and none would be able to sense the twins.
The Barren Land is a wide area filled with nothing but dry dirt, dead trees lying on the ground, a clear area that is slightly darker than the outside, and cracks on the floor that you can fall into if you are not careful.
Crossing it is filled with luck, though in reality, it wasn't really as hard as many would believe. Powerful monsters only come out at night and even then, rarely could you even spot them.
Days passed by, and Callan and Seth switched places as one slept and another stood guard. They ate the food that was in their bags and had already gone through half of them. But thankfully they had already arrived at their destination.
The two didn't spot any significant obstacles or powerful monsters, just proving how easy it was to cross the Barren Lands, though most of the result still goes to their stealth, allowing them to not make any noises.
The tower stood mighty far from the two's vision. The land was different around the tower, with spiked ground that was only seen in that area and nowhere else in the Barren. Clouds surrounded the tip of the small tower and lighting continuously struck around the land.
It was eerie and suspicious. It was surrounded by the aura of "Death". Every corner warns you to not enter, but Callan and Seth had no plans of backing out. Armed with full confidence in their stealth power, the two marched carefully in the uneven terrain that surrounded the tower.
Lightning struck around the two like they were being targeted by it. Just slight jumps and movement allowed them to barely survive such an attack. Still brimming with wonder, the two didn't hesitate, they were already halfway through, there was no point backing out.
Callan and Seth stepped on the first part of the tower, a small one-step that led to an area that presented a small door.
Being close to the tower, the two got a better look. It was a dark tower that had no windows. It wasn't as tall as expected, but it was still far taller than even the castle of the country of Draylie, the richest country in the world, and the place the two are from. The two gulped instinctively from fear.
They stared intently at every detail of the tower. The two were deciding whether to draw it as a record or go in for, hopefully, protection, but then "Boom!" multiple lightning strikes perfectly around the tower, causing fear to run shivers to the two's bodies.
They ran without even thinking about it straight into the tower, and then they were presented with a much bigger surprise than anything in their life.