Conlan Griffin clenched his fist, a victorious grin on his face within the blank-white confines of the System space. He had done it. After killing the Abyss Monster in combat, slaughtering the demonised Town Lord with the weapon of the abandoned shrine, while half dead from its curse, and dragging his trophy to the Marquess of the region for verification, he had managed to complete the Tutorial. It was finished. He could now enter the Tower and begin his real climb to the top. He was ready.

It hadn’t been without its hiccups though. For some inexplicable reason, his former friend, and the one who had given him his X-ranked elixir, wasn’t there at the time of the original rift outbreak on Earth, so he never got to save him this time. When he tried to find out why, for some reason the man had been at a bar, drowning his sorrows, so he wasn’t at the place he was in the past. Conlan was of mixed emotions, but unfortunately, the man wasn’t that important in the scheme of things, so he didn’t try to befriend him this time. It meant he had to do some illegal hunting and take some more indirect methods to gain the fortune and reputation needed within the three months leading up to July to get the X-ranked elixir for that year, but it was worth it. He was aware his actions would cause butterfly effects, but even if he had changed things on Earth, it was the Tower’s realms that really mattered.

And he, the only User with the Unique Hero of Light class, was about to return to where he truly belonged. He hoped he could prevent her from falling down a dark path this time. He had killed her with his own hands in the past, but he would NOT let that occur again.

To do so, he needed to rip out the corrupting influence that had brought her down. He would do whatever it takes to prevent that group from rising again with their devastating magic and terrifying tools of war. Right up until he regressed, he still had a wound from them that had never healed, no matter how many mages, wizards or doctors looked at it. The only issue was he didn’t know where to start searching for them. They only appeared 70 years before he regressed, with no warning, but with immense power. He shook his head. He couldn’t do anything about them currently. He needed more strength before he could find clues. And for that, he needed to enter the Tower.

[User has completed the Tutorial]

[User has gained new rewards! Please check your notifications to receive them.]

[User has unlocked their Classes]

[User had unlocked their Skills]

[User has unlocked their Aspects]

[User has unlocked their Titles]

[User has unlocked their Quest Log]

[User has unlocked their Directory]

[Would User like to view the System Guide? Yes/No]

Smirking at the last notification, he pressed [No]. He had spent most of his life within the Tower. If he didn’t know what these functions did, he couldn’t be called a true User. He opened up his Status.

[Status: ]

Name: Conlan Griffin (Lv. 0)

Class: Hero of Light – Unique

Age: 21y

Race: Human

HP: 100/100 {+1/5m}

MP: 100/100 {+1/5m}

Stats:

Free Stat Points: 60

STR: 9

CON: 7

AGI: 8

DEX: 9

INT: 6

WIS: 5

[Origin Skill: A Hero’s Blade | Type: Weapon/Elemental

Desc: [Collapsed]

Subskills: [Collapsed]

Awakening: 8% ]

Skills:

[[Empty] ]

He had to sigh when he saw it. All those years of levelling, all the stress he went through, and he was reduced to this. He used to be a Rank-7, Level 799 behemoth power in his own right, but he’s now back to the bottom of the ladder.

He grinned. For now. He closed his Status after distributing his stats evenly between STR, AGI and INT. His Origin Skill was the same as before, boosting him with the light element, increasing his talent with the sword and making it easier for him to gain skills, while his class was working as normal, giving him double the stats a User is normally awarded, with each increase in Rank, increasing the rarity of the class his doubled stats were based off. He was ready to move.

[User has reached a Completion Rate: MAX in the Tutorial and is now on the Leaderboard. ] What shall you call yourself?

[Leaderboard Identity: ______________ ]

With a smirk, he inputted his Identity. There was no point changing it, and he wanted it to be the same, showing the world he was back and will be on top once more, even if he wasn’t currently.

[User has reached a Completion Rate: MAX in the Tutorial and is now on the Leaderboard. ] What shall you call yourself?

[Leaderboard Identity: The Ruler of Light ]

There was no need to check his rank on the Leaderboard, it was obvious he was going to be in first place. He stretched out his hands, cracking his fingers and warming up his muscles. It was almost time for him to leave. But first, he ran over what his plans were for the future.

It was unfortunate, but he wouldn’t be able to get to the Inheritance Event in time if he wanted to gain the most benefits. What was more important was levelling up so he could satisfy the baseline requirements for the elite training camp of the Empire’s Distorted Depths Navy Battalion at White Squall Fortress. To find his future Faction and party members again, and recruit some talent, he needed to be placed in her cohort.

So, the first thing he needed to do was to attack some Lairs, the Permanent Realm Events of the Beast Realm, so he could quickly gain levels by killing the monsters within. He knew of the better ones for his current skill level, and he also knew where he could find some equipment and weapons too, so he would do that first, then attack the Lairs. Then he would go find Catherine Sherwood, his past party member and another forerunner from Earth, someone who would go on to become one of his trusted friends. She would currently be working in an inn in a poorer region. He needed to take her with him to the White Squall Fortress.

Next, he would sign up for the cadet applications with Catherine two months later so he could get a recommendation for the elite cadet training. There he will gain the best resources and meet other members of his party. There were a few he wanted to try to gain the loyalty of too, although it would be a task. They didn’t have much like for him in the past, but if he could get their support, it would be worth it, even if it upset her. She’ll forgive him in the end when she knows he’s doing it for her.

When the icy storm period comes to the Distorted Depths, the cadets will be given leave to let their superiors deal with the harder monsters, so they can take that time to go to the Forerunner’s Event on November 22nd. That will be when it is revealed to the forerunners what the purpose of their entry into the Tower is for, and when they’ll all begin trying to build up power and influence within the Tower, not panicking anymore about never returning to Earth.

After a year or so in the Navy, he’ll make his next move. But for now, it was time for him to enter the Tower once more. He would reach the top again, and nothing will stand in his way.

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

Two young men were walking down the busy market streets of the Supreme Serpent’s Silent City. The city had a much livelier feel to it than when Lucy had been there, as thousands of new visitors rushed in, trying to earn a place for themselves in the soon-to-rise city. Rumours had it that the Supreme Beast clan of the region had been discovered and were going to open their enclave to trade shortly after proper trails and routes had been made to make it more accessible. It was interesting news for the older of the two men, but the younger one just ate his frozen fruit dessert with gusto in the humid weather.

The man with the ice dessert had messy navy-blue hair coming down to his shoulders and was dressed in sandals, shorts, and a short-sleeved shirt, abandoning his normal dark-blue mage robes that were so incredibly impractical for the current temperature. The platinum-blonde-haired man next to him just watched him eat his dessert at high speed with an expression of mild bemusement. He was dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and pants, with polished leather shoes, but anyone who knew him personally would think that it was a miracle he wasn’t wearing his suit.

They were, of course, Efratel and Marellen, the two Vadel cousins that Lucy had met in the inn at Darvis’s makeshift celebratory party. Marellen spoke up once he had finished the treat, looking rather red from the hot weather.

“So, I know you did have spare leave to take, but there’s no way you would’ve come here to take a holiday. Can I finally know the real reason we came to this city, or are you going to tell me once it’s all over?”

Efratel sighed but nodded, rubbing his pale, sweaty face with a handkerchief. “Fine… It’s true, I’m not here to take a break. There’s an object being transported by one of the Commission’s convoys, and I need to supervise it to make sure it arrives safely at its destination. I need to check the convoy to make sure it’s all in order, and I have the authority to add extra protection if I wish, but it needs to arrive at the next region.”

Marellen nodded but looked up in confusion. “Why am I here then?”

Efratel eyed him to see if he was joking but shook his head in mild frustration when he saw that Marellen was not. “Marellen. While you waste your talent on… other, less profitable ventures, you ARE considered a magical talent by virtue of having all six essential affinities. If you just study at one of the Athenaeum’s Academies, then-”

“But that costs too much. I won’t be able to afford my experiments.”

Efratel glared at Marellen with all the fury, frustration, and condescension he could muster. Marellen had the bare minimum decency to avoid eye contact but didn’t say anything else in the way of an apology. In fact, he continued to push his point.

“I still believe chance can be calculated without fate, karma or fortune manipulating-“ He shut up when he saw Efratel’s expression.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“If. You. Went,” Efratel began again through gritted teeth, “Then you would realise for yourself that you have the magical talent to be a successful mage. Although, I think the problem with you is you just wouldn’t care even if you were a genius.”

Marellen blinked, nonplussed. Efratel just sighed and put a hand to his left temple, feeling the beginnings of a headache rear its ugly head.

“Look,” he said. “I brought you here to reduce the pressure on my family by the side-families. By allowing you to come along, I can reduce the complaints from them believing that I’m not allowing the side families to share the benefits of me being a manager for the Aurelian Commission. I’m ‘sharing’ part of my power with them through you by letting you aid me in one of my tasks. You’re Rank-2, and you’re a competent mage, so I can let you come along to reduce their noise.”

Marellen rubbed his nose, thinking. “But… our fathers are best friends?”

“Some people are easily satisfied,” Efratel replied.

“So, I’m a scapegoat,” Marellen stated, eyes narrowed.

“It’s because you hate politics.”

Marellen gave a belated ‘ah’ in the understanding of only that final sentence, making Efratel roll his eyes, but the two men kept walking down the streets of the city in the heat of the early evening. They made their way to the inn for dinner, as had been routine for most of the month. When they got there, they took a seat and ordered their meals. After a while, Marellen spoke up.

“So…” he said, pondering. “When does the convoy arrive?”

Efratel placed a tin fork next to his plate. “They’re arriving in two days. I didn’t know until this morning. That’s why we’ve been here all month. There were no time constraints for the convoy to arrive, and they don’t know what they were transporting. All I know is their name: The West Lion’s Merchant Train. They’re one of the better ones, but not a convoy company owned by any big guild or such.”

“No time constraints?” Marellen asked, inspecting a spoon distractedly.

Efratel raised an eyebrow at what Marellen was doing but nodded. “The only requirement is for the object to arrive safely. Because the convoy doesn’t know how important it is, they’re taking their time like a normal merchant train would. This will be their last stretch before they turn back though, so I need to make sure they don’t have any obstacles for this last region.”

“Which region?”

Efratel shook his head. “There’s only one region past the Violet Luminosity Jungle. Those nearby haven’t finished coalescing in their pocket dimensions for the System to bring them to the main Beast Realm yet. That’s why it’s a ‘frontier’ region. The region we’re heading to is named the Permafrost Glacial Abode.”

Marellen made a face, looking up from his spoon. “Cold? Right after a boiling hot tropical region?”

Efratel shrugged. “The Beast Realm doesn’t have seasons. It’s all dependent on the individual regions, and if they have weather cycles themselves. It’s why the Distorted Depths is so dangerous at the end of the year. It has its ice storms during that time, and the Empire’s Navy always loses a few ships.”

The navy blue-haired noble nodded, before leaning forward. “So, what’s the object? Is it a rare item or a natural treasure? Can I study it?” he asked his full attention now on the conversation.

Efratel shook his head and crossed his arms, but Marellen was not about to give up. “If you don’t put my curiosity to rest now, it just might get the better of me later. Then you’ll be sorry.”

“It’s just politics,” Efratel tried to use it as an excuse. Marellen was not fooled.

“And who am I going to be revealing this to that would ruin some clan’s political ambitions? What is it Efratel? I’m not asking for major details here.” He gazed intently, frowning at his cousin.

Efratel sighed and put his hands up in a surrender position. “Look, I don’t know anything either. All I know is I was informed to come here and ensure it is delivered safely. That’s all I can tell you.”

Marellen narrowed his blue eyes at that. “That’s all I ‘can’ tell you? So, there is something you’re not telling me.”

Efratel made eye contact with his younger cousin, expression unusually serious. “Don’t pry into things not related to you and please, act oblivious. I’ve got things under control.”

Marellen looked at him for a long moment, before sighing and nodding. “Manager business stays with the managers. I get it. Who have you hired?”

Efratel nodded, happy to move on. “I recruited an adventuring snow elf mage through an intermediary at the last region. She’s currently with the convoy already and will do the last stretch with us as well.”

Marellen looked interested in his description. “A mage? And a snow elf… they live in the plane of the World Tree, Glenheim. Isn’t she a bit far from home?”

Efratel gave him a warning look. “Marellen. Don’t upset my contracted subordinate by asking invasive questions. The fact that snow elf is out here isn’t a willing choice: She’s got ice and fire affinities.”

Marellen looked down, thinking for a minute, before looking up. “I don’t get it. It’s useful to have more than one affinity when it comes to magic.”

Efratel groaned. “You and your magic-based mindset. That’s not the issue. Needless to say: The fact a snow elf was born with a fire affinity points to speculations that she isn’t a full snow elf and one of her parents is not her real parent. It’s not necessarily true, but that doesn’t stop rumours. Please, don’t ask why she was socially exiled in the way of asking her questions about her heritage and reason for being here. Got that?”

Marellen nodded, and Efratel sighed, mentally exhausted. “Why ask about the convoy guards in the first place?”

“Well,” Marellen said, counting on his fingers. “If you have that elf and me, that means you have two mages, right?” Efratel nodded, so Marellen continued, “Ideally, that would mean you need two frontline fighters to protect us at the bare minimum. So, what about the guys behind us?”

Efratel leaned to the side to see where Marellen was pointing over his shoulder, and raised an eyebrow, before leaning back, a hand on his chin in thought. “That’s… a decent idea. They have the reputation to scare off any potential bandits and must have good combat strength to join a Mercenary Guild like that. Well, the woman at least, the man doesn’t seem to have joined yet. I suppose as her adventuring partner he must have the strength to handle himself too though.”

The man and woman in question were Larena and Garthe Barbosas, the sibling pair who aided Lucille by distracting Abbott Everett when she was escaping the city guards. They were currently having another argument, this one about Larena’s choice of attire. Efratel looked at Marellen, his eyes narrowed. “When did you see them?”

Marellen held up the spoon.

It took Efratel a moment to realise what he meant before he put a hand to his forehead in frustration. “Really… that’s what you were doing with the spoon? Spying on the table behind you?”

“It was the best way to do it without drawing attention. I don’t have any stealth skills.” Marellen raised an eyebrow, acting like what he said was obvious.

Efratel stared blankly at him for a second, but rubbed his temples, giving up on discussing Marellen’s actions any further. “Any particular reason why you pointed them out? It’s not like you to pay attention to anything outside magic.”

Marellen gave a sheepish smile at that. “I wanted to ask them what they discussed with that girl Lucy a few weeks ago.”

His blonde-haired cousin raised an eyebrow at him, a smile on his lips. “Why? Are you interested in her? I’m kidding, there’s no way-“

“I am,” Marellen responded.

Efratel froze, his expression still smiling, his teasing words halted. He stared at him in abject horror. “I’m sorry, what-”

“I heard she spent over a thousand silver coins at the local Emporium, so she must be quite rich. Since she seemed interested in my experiments, I think she’d make a good sponsor for me,” Marellen mused, looking thoughtful.

Efratel stared, then clenched a fist, steadily growing more incensed by his blue-haired cousin. “That’s not what I- You know what, fine. Fine, fine, fine.” Efratel took a deep breath, calming himself down. Marellen watched him puzzledly, oblivious to why Efratel was acting that way. Efratel didn’t miss his cousin’s reaction, but ignored him after summoning all his will and looked around his cousin to view the table near them again.

“Well, can’t hurt to talk to them. Let’s try it,” he said, getting up from his seat, Marellen following him soon after. They arrived at the table just as Garthe was struggling to escape his sister’s death grip around his neck. They looked up, interested in the new arrivals.

Efratel gave them his best smile. “Good evening to you both. My name is Efratel Vadel, and this is my cousin, Marellen Vadel,” he said, gesturing to the navy-haired man beside him. He stuck out a hand for them to shake.

Larena saw the hand and quickly let go of her brother, realising that holding someone in a headlock wasn’t the best first impression to make, and pushed him aside to stand up and shake the hand.

“Good evening to you too. My name is Larena Barbosas, and this is my younger brother, Garthe. Forgive me for my forwardness, but can I ask why you wanted to introduce yourselves?” she queried. Garthe sat next to her with a smile on his face, looking up at them with curiosity.

Efratel nodded, and he and his cousin pulled up a seat at their round wooden table. “Well, my cousin here wanted to talk to you for other reasons, but I would like to negotiate a contract with you two mercenaries.”

The siblings looked at each other, then looked back at them with mild interest. “I am technically on leave…. but considering it’s a trip to aid my brother’s training, I might be open to a deal. But have you got the money to pay a member of the Black Hand?” Larena asked him, an eyebrow raised.

Without saying anything, Efratel fished a small object out of his shirt pocket and flipped it onto the table. The siblings leaned forward to look, and they could see a small badge with the logo of 3 gold coins upon a royal blue surface. They both nodded in understanding.

“Well, if you’re a manager for the Commission under the Alichanteu, then I can at least say the pay might be enough to move us. What’s the outline of our potential task?”

Efratel smiled at how they seemed to be considering his offer seriously and described it to them. Larena tapped her fingers on the bench, while Garthe leaned back in his chair, arms crossed as he observed them with a smile.

“So, what’s the object?” Garthe asked nonchalantly.

“That’s confidential,” Efratel replied smoothly with his best business smile. The green-eyed man just clicked his tongue in disappointment but didn’t push it further, something that instantly made Efratel’s opinion of him rise a notch and his opinion of Marellen lower. Not that it could be lowered any further. Larena frowned a bit, uncaring or oblivious to the others, and looked up.

“Can I have more details on why you need us two specifically? If you needed manpower, you could easily hire twenty mercenaries or more to guard this convoy.”

Efratel nodded. “The… convoy company is unaware of what they are transporting, and it is essential it stays that way. Hiring fewer, but more powerful guards would make me feel assured of my own, and the object’s safety.”

Larena’s eyes narrowed and Efratel inwardly grimaced, being careful to show no change in expression. She was sharp. She tilted her head to the side, looking at him with a calculating gaze. “And so, who is more important as our priority for protection: you, or the object?”

He hesitated for a second, before deciding to reveal more. It was obvious she had already guessed this much anyway. “The object,” he stated firmly. She gave him a smirk, revealing that his guesses about what she knew were correct. She rested her head in her hand, twirling a fork. Before she could speak up, Garthe beat her to it, leaning forward with exaggerated eagerness.

“So, anyone particularly strong in this group of yours?”

Ah. A battle junkie. Efratel knew those types well. Unfortunately, he would have to disappoint him for now, but he knew how to entice him. “Sadly, you two would be our front liners for this contract if you take it, so there would be few who could be your sparring partner,” he said, resting his elbows on the table, fingers intertwined. “But...” he added, seeing Garthe’s interest dwindle slightly, “We intend to go to the next region. As another frontier region, this time a wintery forest and mountain range, I’m sure it would have plenty of beasts, monsters and bandits who would be good to train your weapon against, compared to this area. The Violet Luminosity Jungle and its illusions are a bad matchup for warriors and weapon users, unfortunately.”

Efratel could see that Garthe was thinking intently about his suggestion, nodding to his explanation distractedly. The brown-haired man made eye contact with his sister, some unknown message being shared between them, and he turned back. “If you need front liners, then who are the other members of the group?” he asked, an eyebrow raised.

“If you take the job, we’ll have two front liners and two mages. One of them is my cousin here,” he said, placing a hand on Marellen’s shoulder, shaking him a bit so his wandering attention would return to the discussion. “The other is a female snow elf with a dual affinity in ice and fire.”

They both blinked in surprise at that, and Larena spoke up with an eyebrow raised questioningly. “Snow elves are one of the higher-ranked elf races, and they rarely leave Glenheim. Does she have political entanglements surrounding her, considering her affinities?”

Efratel shook his head. “She does not. She is essentially separated from the political bodies of the Great Fae plane. I have researched extensively into her background for this task, and I can say that there is no need to worry that working with her will offend a larger force. In two days, the convoy will arrive, with her as well. She is Rank-2, like my cousin.”

Larena leaned back a bit, thinking. “I am Rank-3, but I suppose if you’re paying me well I’d be fine with working with other Rank-2s. My brother is one, anyway. Technically two front liners and two mages are indeed best for a small party without a healer, but one of the front liners should be a tank.”

Before Efratel could say anything, Garthe raised his hand a bit. “Actually, I could probably fill that role. I’ve got a few defence-boosting skills in my list that would likely be enough to cover us in the worst case.”

Larena turned to her brother with mild scepticism. “Why haven’t you told me this already? Also, you use a spear, which isn’t known for its defensive capabilities.”

He shrugged. “I earned them because of a lucky skill confluence between my earth and wood affinities. I can’t exactly use them for myself as they rely on more than one user, so they’d be no good for our fights. We had better things to do than try to train me in them, especially when you don’t have those affinities.”

Larena gave a nod of understanding, her scepticism fading. She closed her eyes for a second to contemplate it, before turning to Efratel. “I think you should consider my current decision as ‘temporary acceptance’. We’ve had enough training in this region for now I believe so getting some more experience in before we head back to the Mystical Realm can be allowed. We need a bit of time to get our things in order, so how about we meet up at the Obelisk at 10 am in two days to finalise the deal and meet this snow elf?”

Efratel nodded, happy with the plan. Garthe spoke up just before they got up, “Oh, what did your cousin want to discuss?”

Marellen’s eyes lit up, but Efratel clasped a hand around his mouth, keeping a polite smile on his face. “I believe if you join us on this convoy he will have plenty of time to ask you then. Trust me, it’s not as important as he seems to think.”

Marellen struggled weakly to get the hand off him, but Efratel didn’t relent. Garthe cocked an eyebrow, wondering what it was, but shrugged and stood up with Larena, having finished the discussion. They said their goodbyes, moving towards the door. Garthe gave them an easy-going wave as he went in front of them to leave, but just before Efratel started walking, Larena placed a firm grip on his shoulder behind him and whispered into his ear, her killing intent thick.

“The only reason I’m allowing this to happen is so my brother can gain experience with how the big Factions do things. If you think for one second you can use us as scapegoats and sacrifices for this scheme of your superiors, then you would be dead wrong.”

Instead of submissively nodding in fear as she expected, Efratel spun around and took her grip off his shoulder, a stern expression on his face as he looked at her.

“I am not someone who would let others die for me. Just because I am not a fighter, does not mean I am not risking my life in this venture too,” he almost growled.

Larena gave him a long look to see if he was genuine, then nodded with a wry smile. “Seems I misjudged you. Maybe things will end up all right for you in the end. Well then, I’ll see you again in two days!” she said, walking away with a small wave of her hand.

Efratel watched her leave, slightly apprehensive, but she didn’t come back. He sighed and turned around, before freezing when he saw Marellen in front of him with narrowed eyes.

“I know nothing, he says. If that’s true, then I’m the Grand Arcanist of the Spatial Tower. What rubbish.”

Efratel sighed and checked his wristwatch for the time. “Look. Everything must go to plan. All I need you to do is do your part as a mage, and we should be fine. Just follow my lead, okay?”

Marellen considered it but eventually shrugged. “Can I have a budget increase after this trip?”

If that was what it would take to get Marellen to cooperate, then so be it. Efratel was willing to allow him to indulge in his experiments later.