Sorrento Creek looked nothing like it did when Langa left this morning. There were glowing lucent lights in the streets, music filled the air, and children ran around happily playing on the road. Multiple rows of stalls were lined up along the streets, with the players walking around buying food from NPCs and laughing. Lucent crystals of all colours shone brightly and Langa cringed when he remembered Coraloa’s words about the wastage of the precious resource. Perhaps she had a point, after all, Lucent crystals were expensive.

The festival reminded him of the Market at the Sheds in Pretoria, but on a much, much larger scale. Langa couldn't help but notice how the increased presence of the high-level Federation Police added more security to the festivities.

A large lucent tile sat just outside Sorrento Inn's entrance, where Liv’s informal dinner party was going to be held, and next to it, a long platform filled with casks, tankards, and bottles of alcohol caught Langa's attention. There was a high table next to a bar with twelve seats, presumably for the six players and their guests. There were also various foods on the table, including bowls of selanre soup and colourful salads next to sliced roast unknown meat that smelt divine.

"Wow, you've really outdone yourself, Liv," Langa said, genuinely impressed.

"Thanks. You would not believe how much it cost to set all this up, even with support from the Federation. At least I saved on hiring mercenaries to protect the townspeople since the Magistrate volunteered the Federation Police to provide security for free,” he said wearily.

"For free? Why?"

“I think they are hoping to use this opportunity to catch some high-level criminal players,” he said with a shrug.

"Makes sense. Why did you go all out? I thought this was just a festival to welcome our batch into the Tower," Langa said.

"I had to, I used most of my savings to buy this place. This is a rare opportunity to have high-level players down on this Floor, and they have money to burn. More players being here is good for Sorrento Creek's economy," he said. "Hopefully, when people are drunk, they won't care how much they pay for alcohol, because we need that money to renovate our 1st Floor guildhall."

Langa fished out the 150 silver he received as payment for participating in the Celestial Clash and handed it to Liv. "Put that towards the guild’s funds as well," he said.

"What? Are you sure?" Liv asked in surprise.

"I was probably going to blow all that money on alcohol tonight anyway," he said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"This is a lot of money, Langa," Liv said hesitantly. "You said you weren't gonna help out with the guild's admin stuff."

"I know. I could have bought a lot of uncommon lightning mana potions with that," he said. If this guild was going to help save Earth, he figured contributing to it wouldn't hurt. Besides, he still had some silver left from the High Commissioner's quest. "Don't embezzle my money, okay? I'm hungry, so let me go change and get ready to party."

"Thank you," Liv said after him.

*

After he took a bath and got dressed, Langa was happy to find Di Etta waiting for him downstairs. “Hey. I'm glad you could make it. You look great,”

“Langa!” she said with a smile, rushing over to hug him. She wasn’t wearing her long coat and armour today, but a long black leather dress. “Thanks, you too.” She grinned mischievously. “I see you tied your headband up properly today.”.

He laughed. “Yeah, I can't be too careful.” He did not want to repeat what had happened the last time he got wasted with her and her friends at Risa’s Plateau, so his headband was secured on his head as it was the only thing protecting him from mental attacks.

“Well, good. Your match was awesome!” she said. "I don't think I've enjoyed watching a Tier 1 League Match this much before! You did so well in the Clash that our guild master wanted me to ask you to join The Speedrunners after watching you.”

“Di Etta. Slow down.” Langa placed a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you for coming. Tell your guildmaster that I appreciate the offer, but I’m taken.”

”You are? She’ll be disappointed. Which guild are you joining?” she asked.

“It's a secret. Come on, you must be hungry,” he said as he led her outside.

“Gods, I am starving!” she confessed, eagerly following him. It didn't surprise him; after all, the reason the two of them even met was because she was hungry. "You know, I made a bet on you on The Hallow Reapers' Blackbets and won. I earned 10 silver.”

“Really?” he asked. If he'd known bets were going around, he would have bet on himself too. “Good for you.”

The outside dining area had elaborate decorations like banners and flags with different guild logos. The tables were set with clean tablecloths, sparkling silverware, and pewter cups. A lot of players gathered around the area, so Langa hoped Liv would make a lot of money tonight.

The pathway leading up to the high table was lined with fire-lucent crystals and the sound of soft music floated through the air as an NPC band played odd instruments outside the inn. Once they reached the high table, they found Coraloa and her guest, who was, surprisingly, Aria seated. Well, she was a Guardian so it shouldn't have been surprising.

Vos and Linora sat whispering together at the end of the table and Langa was glad that Vos treated his aide better than Fi Kindaro ever treated Ghol.

“Langa, can you introduce me to that woman? She is a knockout!” Di Etta said with awe. Langa followed her gaze and it landed on the approaching Synn who wore a tight-fitting brown dress the same colour as her eyes.

“Sure,” Langa said as Synn came to sit next to him. "Hey, Synn, nice dress. You cleaned up surprisingly well today.”

“Just today?” she said in mock offence and then laughed. “Thanks.”

Di Etta nudged his arm. “Oh right, this is Di Etta. Di Etta, Synn."

"Hi," Di Etta said, extending a hand with a blush.

"Hey, it's nice to meet you,” Synn said, shaking her hand politely. “Wow, Langa, I didn't think you had other friends besides Liv'Kungsadu!" The fact that she looked genuinely surprised annoyed Langa.

He would have argued with her if he wasn't hungry. He got distracted by platters of succulent roasted meats and mouth-watering desserts. He immediately grabbed a tasty-looking large leg of lamb and put it on his plate. He sank his teeth into the spicy, tender meat and moaned in delight.

”Would you like a moment alone with the meat?” Synn asked, watching him in amusement. He ignored her and reached for more meat.

"Langa! Man! It's been so long!" Someone shouted.

Langa looked up to see Liv walking towards the table, followed by their former tutorial teammate, Sigurd Magnarson, with a joyful grin on his face.

"Hey, man!" Langa smiled as he shook the older man’s hand.

The wrinkles on Sigurd’s face were more pronounced, and he looked weary. It had been less than a month since the end of the tutorial, and he already looked so much older. Still, he immediately pulled a plate towards himself and began to eat as soon as he sat down.

Introductions went around as Langa stuffed his face with more food. After making more small talk, Sigurd asked. “Have you heard from any of the others from our tutorial?”

“No, I haven’t. Just you and Liv,” he replied, pouring wine into his cup.

“I see.” Sigurd looked around. “Where’s Makoto? I expected him to still be following you around the way you two were so close.”

Liv tensed up immediately and the drink Langa instantly downed tasted bitter as his emotions swelled. Hadn't Sigurd seen that Makoto’s name was missing when they completed the final tutorial quest?

“Makoto’s dead. Fi Kindaro killed him,” Langa said, allowing himself to breathe.

“What? Oh man, I’m so sorry, I-” Sigurd's shock turned into an apology.

“It’s fine,” Langa said, brushing it off. He did not want to talk about this. Vos’ eyes flashed towards him, but he pretended not to notice. “What about Eniche? Have you heard from her?”

“No,” Sigurd said sadly. “I sent her a message a while back, but she didn’t respond.”

“You wouldn't happen to mean Eniche Tigris Vale?” Di Etta asked, her mouth full.

Langa turned to her. There were millions of people in their tutorial batch. What were the odds that Di Etta knew Eniche? “ Yeah, you know her?”

Di Etta nodded. “Sure do. She joined the Speedrunners a week ago. She's very fierce.”

“Oh, if she’s okay, then that’s good,” Langa said, nodding.

He didn’t know much about Di Etta’s guild, but if Eniche chose it, he was sure there was a reason; after all, she was from the 6th Floor.

The table was long enough that they could have separate conversations and small enough that they could hear what each of the conversations were about. Vos and Coraloa sat on opposite sides of the table, with Coraloa constantly looking at something beyond the dark elf’s shoulder and Vos ignoring her completely. Once Sigurd spotted Synn, she had all his attention. He downed his cup of wine and moved closer to her. Liv helped himself to some very rare meat and turned to speak to Coraloa instead. Laughter filled their table, and even though there were two empty seats since Vavuciadsforenkka wasn’t there, no one cared.

"We’re from the same batch, right?” Aria asked Di Etta. “You look familiar.”

“Are you a Guardian?” Di Etta asked, swallowing a large chunk of meat. When Aria nodded, she continued. “Then you probably know me from the Pailin Heist. Your deputy guildmaster raised a massive ruckus over that incident.”

Aria blinked. “That was you? Do you know how much the loss of the Pailin necklace cost the sun elves? Are you even allowed on the 5th Floor?”

“Nope,” Di Etta said, taking the wine Langa poured into her cup.

“You’re a thief?” Langa asked, mouth full.

“Occasionally,” she replied. “If the money’s good. I gotta eat.”

“How did you do it? Their priestesses are excellent at detecting changes in mana. I'm sure the safe has a mavale shield.” Aria asked curiously.

“I’m from the 30th Floor,” Di Etta answered. Aria nodded as if that were a sufficient answer.

“How is that relevant?” Langa asked curiously.

The one who answered was, surprisingly, Coraloa. He hadn't realised she and Liv had been listening to their conversation. “Magic doesn't work on the 30th Floor. It’s a highly advanced technological world. They harnessed the world’s mana core and used up all the lucents. All that's left in the air are mavale particles, which can seal magic.”

“That's not what happened,” Di Etta muttered, but it was so low that only Langa heard her.

“Magic doesn't work? Please. There’s always a way, so I will consider it a challenge when I get there,” Synn said, stuffing a slice of cake into her mouth.

”Well, you better not get caught then,” Di Etta told her. “Anyone caught trying to use magic gets Strapped.”

Synn’s face darkened. “There are worlds that still use Strapping as a punishment outside of The Quartenity’s Carciere?” she asked, her voice low.

”Of course there are. The 12th Floor is like that too,” Aria told her.

Langa was about to ask what all of that meant when Aramaga, Aquila, and Ormeth came looking for him. He poured them a few drinks, and they spoke for a while about the dungeons they had to clear. It seemed they had struggled, Ormeth more than the others, but they had made it without dying. Aramaga even received a Sponsorship Contract.

They congratulated him on his victory, discussing the match in detail. As they were doing that, Matt, the commentator from their match, stopped by and sat down for a few drinks, replaying the highlights of the match on a large lucent tile.

Aquila and his team left a while later with Undkese to enjoy the festival and look for people they knew.

A lot of people from the festival passed by their table to talk or buy them drinks as the night went on. There were quite a few players from the 36th Floor, but no one that Langa knew. He'd thought he would be overjoyed to see people from back on earth, but there wasn't much to say besides asking about any loved ones they might have met. Most of them were Americans and a few Europeans with whom he had nothing in common.

He drowned himself in ale when he didn't get any news from his family. For some time, the high table was swamped with Celestial Clash team recruiters, but none of the rookie rankers were interested in joining any teams.

By far the most popular people at the table were Synn and Coraloa. More and more chairs were pulled towards their table. The girls were hounded by so many players and propositions that Liv had to ask a party of Federation Policemen to surround their table and filter out who could pass through to meet them.

"I meant what I said at the post-match ceremony. You guys may not realise it but you are the last batch with the ability to catch up to The Pioneer. From batch 5 and after, the gap will be too big to close," Matt, the commentator, said. "A 2 Tier gap is hard to close, but not impossible. Any more than that is just wishful thinking."

Di Etta patted his shoulder sympathetically. "I know what you mean. My friends and I cleared the first four Floors in half a year. The 5th Floor took a bit longer, but we cleared it three years ago, and we've been stuck there all this time,” she said. “I've decided, fuck it, I'm going to pay my way through the 6th Floor. I'm tired of battling level 10 to 15 monsters for trash loot. Since I've cleared the first 5 Floors, I'm not gaining experience down here anymore.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Matt looked down in shame. "That's how I did it too. I paid the Sumo Feints off, and they gave me one month to clear the 6th Floor without being hunted," he said. "I just got to the 9th Floor last week, and while I hate what I've done to get there, I'm also one of Batch 3's highest climbers right now."

"Lucky you. I don't even have the option of paying my way through the Floor as a Guardian. We are actively hunted by Anarchist's Sumo Feints," Aria sighed, looking pensively into her cup. "I've been thinking about Undercrawling to the 7th Floor."

There was a collective, shocked gasp throughout the table. "You can't be serious!" Coraloa said. "You could lose The Unrivalled's Blessing if you did that!"

Synn gave her an incredulous look. "That's what you're worried about? There are no respawns if she dies from Undercrawling! Not to mention the karma loss? Surely there has to be another way."

Matt shook his head gravely as he downed another bottle. "There isn't. More than 30% of the players from Batch 3 who died tried to Undercrawl. Some tried to band together to take over the 6th Floor, but that was an even bigger disaster considering the deal The Hallow Reapers have with the 6th Floor Overlord. No wonder they call us Batch Flee.”

Di Etta slammed her fist on the table. "That's enough. Let's just drink."

Once everyone shook off their despair about the 6th Floor and focused instead on eating, drinking, and making good conversation, it became a night of fun despite the differences between guilds and deities.

"Oh my gods!" someone shouted.

"What's wrong?" Aria asked.

"All of us from Batch 2 just received a system announcement that GM Merreddyd earned a Unique Achievement! She is the first person from our batch to enter the Third Storey!" she said.

She wasn't the only one excited; everyone was buzzing below, and there were shouts of both joy and indignation over the announcement.

"Wait, how is that possible? Last I heard, she was on the 29th Floor. GM Nocnitsa has been stuck on the 30th Floor for months now, how could the Guardians have cleared it before the Hallow Reapers?" Vos asked.

Aria laughed and stood up. "I have no idea. Our Merreddyd is a miracle worker, that's for sure!" Shouts of celebration from Guardians erupted all over the festival, gloating at any Hallow Reapers they saw. Thanks to the Federation Police, no serious fights broke out. "I hope this means she can rest a little. She's been working too damn hard for the past year."

Langa was impressed with Merreddyd's achievement. Merreddyd being on the 31st Floor was a good thing since it meant she would be one of the first people to reach the 36th Floor, hopefully before the Hallow Reapers. While The Pioneer and Kimi'Ndashin from Menika Shin were always the first to clear any Floors, they weren't extremists and cared mainly about earning all the firsts they could over helping the locals or oppressing them.

“I'm so giddy, I want everyone to know!” Aria shouted. “Merreddyd is on the 31st Floor!”

"Even though you are loud, no one will hear you over the festival. Let me help transport the sound waves for you," Coraloa offered.

She placed her hand on Aria’s neck, and when she next spoke, her voice boomed all over the festival. “GUARDIAN KNIGHT MERREDDYD IS ON THE 31st FLOOR!”

“Holy Adtonifulmin!” Langa said, covering his ears.

Aria dug into her bag and produced a few silver coins. "Liv'Kungsadu, bring out your best bottles of wine. It's on me!"

More alcohol was always welcome and Langa drank the night away. "Um, we've turned away most of the men asking for Miss SynnForessa and Miss Coraloa. But Blitzhunter, Liv'Kungsadu and Prince Vos, there are a lot of women down here looking for you," one of the Federation Police guarding their table said. "It's becoming a mob."

Langa looked down and sure enough, beautiful women of all races waving up at their table, but he shrugged. "Not interested."

"There are a few men too," the policeman said.

"That's not it," Langa laughed. Most of them looked younger than him, and besides, this was too easy; he liked a challenge.

Linora nudged Vos. "My Liege, perhaps you should-"

"You know the answer, Linora," he said, cutting her off. "I have eyes for only one woman." She sighed in defeat.

Liv stood up. "I will go entertain the lovely ladies," he said. Sure enough, he went down there all smiles and spoke to them, letting them touch his arms and buying them drinks.

"Cora?" Synn said, looking at Coraloa who was engrossed in conversation with Aria.

"What?" she asked.

Synn gestured at Liv. Surrounded by an army of people who were inclined to worship him, Langa knew Liv must be having the time of his life. "You don't care?"

Coraloa frowned, looking genuinely confused. "About what?"

Synn sighed. "Forget it," she said, turning back to her plate. "I don't get it. Why is everything so casual nowadays? Am I too old, or is romance truly dead?"

Langa didn't know what Liv and Coraloa's relationship was, and he honestly didn't care.

Di Etta reached over Langa to pat Synn's hand. "You are not too old. You are adorable," she said. "I am also of the same mindset."

"Finally, a sane person," Synn said. "Wanna play a game?"

Langa was happily buzzed and swimming in the 'poisoned' debuff while he, Di Etta and Synn played a drinking game, but he couldn't for the life of him remember who was winning, so he took another shot.

“Langa, don't be an idiot,” Synn laughed. “I was supposed to drink!”

Liv finally managed to detangle himself from his fans and caught the whole table's attention when he produced a large calabash from his inventory. "As promised, Langa, Sigurd, this is Callistria, the strongest dragonkin ale blend I have."

"Oh, you are a demigod of your word, aren't you?" Langa laughed, remembering that Liv had promised him and Sigurd a drink of the gods back in the tutorial.

"Are you serious?" Di Etta eyed the calabash excitedly.

"Callistria? Are you trying to kill them? They are human! That's a drink for seraphim!" Synn exclaimed.

"Relax, I'm going to dilute it," Liv said, pouring lime juice into a pewter jug and then pouring barely a quarter of a cup of the brown liquid of Callistria.

"That's still too much," Coraloa said, looking worried.

Langa and Sigurd immediately passed their cups over to Liv, but he shook his head, pouring them each a shot. "If you don't want to die, this is all you're getting."

"I feel like you're underestimating us, Liv," Langa said, frowning.

"A drop would be underestimating you," Liv said. "Vos, Linora, would you like some?"

"Oh, His Highness doesn't drink strong liquor," Linora said.

"It's a special occasion, Linora. Let us not be rude to our host," Vos said dismissively, and Liv handed them both a shot.

He poured himself a cup, and Synn, Di Etta and Coraloa a shot as well. He raised his cup. "To the rise of Batch 4," he said.

Langa drank the surprisingly sweet liquid, and it evaporated in his mouth, burning his throat slightly as if he were drinking whiskey.

"Holy Destroyer of Light!" Sigurd said, and his eyes were suddenly unfocused, and then his head fell onto the table, unconscious.

Langa still didn't feel any different, but he suddenly had to stand up and step away since, for some reason, Synn had activated her Fire Ring and it was spewing a bunch of Flame Spikes into the air. Matt reacted too slowly and got blasted away. At the other end of the table, Linora looked slightly dazed, and Vos was blinking rapidly.

"How are you not affected?" Liv said, pouring himself another cup.

"Maybe I'm an alcoholic and I need another shot. Come on," Langa said, and Liv shrugged and gave him another shot.

A young dwarf ran to their table and whispered something to Linora and she stood up abruptly. Langa thought he heard 'guild' and 'administrator' in the conversation.

"The Lackadaisical Herald better not visit his wrath on me if you die," Liv said as Linora half-dragged and half-supported Vos towards the inn.

Coraloa started singing something that sounded like opera, and Synn climbed on top of the table, her Fire Ring still active, and started fire dancing. She bent her body back, dancing along to the flames licking her dress as her hips swayed to the soothing sound of Coraloa's singing. Langa's head felt woozy as he watched her.

"You are a lucky man," Di Etta said, watching her in awe.

“Oh no, that’s not happening.” Langa heard himself answer, even though his head felt like it was miles away.

“Are you celibate?” She asked. "You're not interested in the mass of pretty young girls or Synn.”

“I never said I wasn't interested in her. She's kind, beautiful, and an amazing woman—the kind you could really fall for. But she's my friend…and besides, I prefer my women a little less emotionally available,” he said.

Langa stood up, his eyes blurry as he felt needles and pins all over his body. Fuck, this was some strong liquor. He hurriedly staggered towards the tavern bathroom. He didn’t throw up, but when he came out, he saw Vos and Linora talking to a familiar person at the corner of the tavern.

He squinted his eyes as he saw brown skin, short, dark hair, and a floral tattoo on her cheek. The woman’s green eyes found Langa and for a moment, his heart sped up, his body recognising her before his mind did.

Before he could call out, he was pushed aside as a group of Federation Police stormed into the tavern. “There she is! Attack!” One of them shouted.

The woman cursed and jumped out of the tavern through the window as the Federation Police chased after her.

Langa’s mind snapped awake, drunkenly equipping his Avatar title, trying to find her breath of life. He ran through alley after alley, but he couldn't sense her. Finally, he stood alone in the middle of a street, wondering what the hell he was doing.

"Looking for me, sweetheart?" A smoky voice with a soft accent asked, and Langa turned around to find Liberty leaning against the wall, watching him.

“Hi, ntombi. You look lovely today.” Langa's mind swam as he looked into her eyes. Green, a piercing contrast to her dark skin. She wore a bright red dress whose colour complemented her and flowed along her skin like water. With alcohol coursing through his system, his inhibitions were lowered, and he allowed himself to appreciate how attracted he was to her, despite how dangerous she was.

She licked her lips, reading his emotions. “Gods, can't you try to hide it a little?”

"Nope." He smiled, noting that she wasn't discouraging him at all. “So, what are you doing here?"

Liberty glanced around. "I don't know why you're following me, but I have to go," she said.

He shook his head. "If you didn't want to talk, you wouldn't have waited for me. You're acting pretty detached for someone who's claimed me," he said.

He wasn't sure if it was her, but her reaction confirmed it.

"Are you hurt? Which one of the guildmaster's hounds came after you? I made it explicitly clear that you are a person of interest to me," she said sharply. Her anger simmered under the surface of her already violent karma, and it stabbed outward like a thousand needles. "It was Octavius, wasn't it? When I kill him this time, I'll make it much slower. How dare he try to undermine me?"

"Hey," Langa said, touching her arm. "I'm fine. And Octavius didn't hurt me. He was there for Liv."

Langa decided not to tell her that Octavius had brought Statia to kill him. He didn't want Liberty to fight his battles. She was only protecting him because she suspected he had Amalgam's Key. She took a deep breath, and her karma returned to its neutral state.

Langa sensed a couple of breaths in a nearby alley and felt Liberty tense.

"I have to go," she said curtly. "My bodyguards are leading the Federation Police away so I can escape. It was nice seeing you again, Langa."

"Hold on," Langa said, his hand still on her arm, stopping her. "Why are the Federation Police chasing you?"

"Anarchist killed the High Commissioner's daughter. The Federation Police have a kill-on-sight order for all Insurgents. I can only use two skills right now; everything else is sealed, and my level is locked on the 1st Floor. I don't wanna tempt fate," she said.

If she really wanted to, she could pull away from him. Her repulsive aura, or as she'd called it before, her cadence, screamed at him to run and save himself, but it made his heart race even more. If he'd been sober, he might have realised just how messed up he was. Now, however, he stepped even closer to her.

"I know a place where you can hide for a bit. Come on," he said, letting go of her arm and holding out his hand.

She hesitated before finally taking that hand. Smiling, Langa re-equipped his Avatar title, led her towards Liv’s old mansion, and used his set of keys to open it.

The inside was dusty and dark, but thankfully one of the lucent lights in the sitting room still had power, so it turned on.

"What is this place?" Liberty asked, looking around.

"I kind of own it," he said, locking the door behind him. Technically, Liv owned it, but Langa had invested silver in the guild.

The sitting room was clean even though some of the old furniture was broken, and the sofas were dusty. The cleanest place was the large dining room table, so he led Liberty there.

She smoothly slid on top of the table and sat with her legs dangling on the side.

"Thanks for the help, but I only have ten minutes left until I'm forcibly kicked out of this Floor. I should probably just return to the 20th Floor now," she said, watching how the lucent lights bathed Langa's whole body in light as he approached her. She bit her lip. "...before I do something stupid."

"There's a lot we can do in ten minutes," he whispered. Langa stood in front of her, placing a hand on her cheek. “I think we'd have a great time together.”

“You're drunk,” she said, leaning into his hand.

“So? That just means my inhibitions are lowered a little more,” he murmured, inching closer to her.

She breathed and closed her eyes. "If you're going to come onto me, do it when you're sober."

"Sober me doesn't like to fuck with evil women," he said.

"Good for him," she whispered, placing a hand over his mouth. "Unless your Poison Resistance is higher than 5%, the venom in my mouth will instantly kill you if you kiss me."

"Damn it," he cursed, making a mental note to research ways to increase his Poison Resistance.

He sighed and then sat on the table next to her. "So, why were you talking to Vos?"

"Jealous?" she asked, crossing her arms. "I came to give him a gift from the guild for winning the Clash."

"Why would someone as important as you be doing something so trivial?"

She shrugged. "Vos is important to the guild. He's a token of the alliance between The Demon Reaper and The Thousand Undead. But you're right, this was supposed to be the duty of the Ground Storey Administrator. But when your boyfriend is the guildmaster, and he is upset over being overtaken by Merreddyd, he can order other people to do your job if he wants to have you all to himself."

"That doesn't sound fair," Langa said as he inched closer to her, feeling the buzz from the alcohol settling in. "I also did well in the Clash; how come you didn't give me a gift?"

"You rejected me, remember?" she laughed.

"Not you, your guild," he said.

“Oh? So, why didn't you listen to me?” Liberty asked. “I told you to lay low, and you go and challenge Anarchist?”

Langa looked at her. “There's one thing you should know about me, ntombi. I don't like looking at anyone’s back. I spent too much of my life allowing others to run ahead of me in my path. No more,” he said.

“If only the world would stop and let us all overtake those who stand in our way. Challenging those ahead of you is admirable, but Langa, not everyone will race you on your terms,” Liberty said, her eyes blazing into Langa’s own with intensity. “Sometimes you have to burn the entire path and everyone on it to ashes to prevent anyone from getting ahead of you.”

Wow, she really did believe in anarchy. "Is that why you work with voidents?" Langa asked. “To burn the path?”

"I don't work with voidents," she said sharply. "The only reason I associate with those interlopers is because I know Anarchist wants to try every other option before he accepts that anarchy is the only true path to freedom for our kind. He still thinks there might be another way, but as soon as he accepts the truth that the only path to liberty is anarchy, I am burning my bridges with voidents."

None of what she said made any sense to Langa, but maybe that was because he was drunk. Was that why she hadn't done anything, even if she could sense in his emotions that he was lying about Amalgam's key? He wanted to ask, but what if he was wrong and she didn't know?

"Can you tell when someone is lying?" he asked.

She smiled. "It depends on how well I can read them."

She could read him very well. "Then why..?" he let the sentence trail off.

Her green eyes met his, and she seemed to understand what he wanted to ask. "Why indeed?" she muttered. "Voidentism is not the answer. Maybe I just don't want Anarchist to get lost further down the wrong path. Besides, I know where it is. You're a good person, so I know you would rather die than let it fall into evil hands. You won't misuse it either."

"So I'm just a pawn to you?" he asked.

"Of course," she said. "Similarly, I'm just a distraction to you."

He smiled. Oh, she was perfect. Langa was tempted to ask for her story, but he honestly wasn't looking for anything real with her.

“Can I ask you a strange question? Is Alchemy similar to cooking?” he asked

She was an older, emotionally unavailable woman, and so dangerous that the idea of chasing her set his nerves on fire.

"That is a strange question,” she said, frowning. "Stalking me, are you, sweetheart?"

“If we're going to be friends, we should get to know each other, right?” Langa said.

She raised an eyebrow. “You think you and I can be friends?”

“Hey, if you want more, you know I'm all for it,” he grinned.

“Fine. I can cook up poison, among other things," she said with a smile. "I learnt how to do it since I lived alone when I was young."

Langa remembered from stalk- erm, researching her on the Dent that she was a Chosen, not from any Floor in the Tower. The more he learnt about her, the more curious he became, but he shut those thoughts out of his mind.

"Hmm. So, since you're an Alchemist, you could give me an antidote for your venom, couldn't you?" he asked, changing the subject.

She shrugged. "I'm an Apothecary, not a mere Alchemist. Now why would I give you the anti-venom, granting you power over my greatest weapon?"

"We can trade. I'll give you something hundreds of Alchemists have been begging me for," he told her.

"What could a Tier 1 rookie possibly have to entice an Advanced Apothecary like myself?" she asked sceptically.

"I happen to have a large quantity of allemak lifeblood," he said, dangling the bait.

"I heard you weren't selling." There was interest on her face. "I can't give you my anti-venom but I guess I do need to raise my pawn. You put me in a good mood tonight, so I'm going to give you a gift for winning the Clash after all. You struggled to use your divine skill in the clash, right? Is your mana core unstable?"

Even half-drunk out of his mind as he was, Langa knew it was a bad idea to tell her that he didn't have a mana core, so he nodded. She took an empty scroll from her inventory and handed it to him. “Draw the magic circle for your divine skill here for me.”

“Why?”

“Do you want to ruin the surprise gift?”

He only hesitated for a second before drawing the magic circle. Even if anyone else knew how to draw the magic circle for Lightning Lance, they couldn't use it without the divine skill from Adtonifulmin.

"Okay, sweetheart, now take off your shirt,” she said.

He grinned, removing the shirt. "Oh, you've changed your mind, I see."

“Now lie down on the table," she said softly. Langa lay on the table, and she climbed onto the table after him. "Do you trust me?" she whispered, straddling him.

Her hands brushed over his skin, lingering on his bare chest, where she could feel his quickening heartbeat. He placed his hands on her back, pulling her closer.

"No ntombi. Not one bit," he whispered back.

"Good," she said. She opened her comcer interface and took out a needle and some strange green liquid in a flask, dipping the needle inside. "My gift to you will be to make it so you don't have to use artificial mana cores and spell scrolls anymore. I usually charge a few silver coins per symbol I Inscribe, and the magic circle of your divine skill has over a hundred of them."

"Thanks," Langa said, genuinely surprised. "Will you take the lifeblood?"

"Not yet. You'll owe me. I'll need an excuse to come visit you next time after all." When she smiled at him, her face lit up, and she looked so beautiful that his heartbeat picked up again. Fuck, he wanted her.

She gasped. “Did you forget that I can feel your emotions?”

”No,” he said.

”You really do love flirting with danger,” she whispered. "The poison in the auink will knock you out, so I’ll see you around, Langa."

She bent down, and he felt her breath on his neck, making him shiver as she kissed his cheek softly.

He was about to respond, but then he felt the sting of her needle on his chest, and his mind went hazy.

*

The terrible itch on his chest was so bad that it woke Langa up. The first thing he noticed when he awoke was that he was sleeping alone. He whispered, "Liberty?"

"Seriously?" an annoyed voice said.

Langa looked around. He was lying on a mattress on the floor, with a blanket draped over him. He was in Sorrento Inn but this room was much bigger than his, and there was a large, king-sized bed next to the wall.

Liv stood in front of the bathroom, a towel on his head. "That's the first name on your lips when I had to carry you, passed out, into my suite last night. The Sun God forbid if I ever give you alcohol ever again. You almost ruined my night."

"Almost?" Langa asked, and Liv pointed at his bed, where, sleeping peacefully, was Coraloa. He raised his eyebrows. ”Wow,” he said, impressed. “She didn’t strike me as the kind of woman who’d be willing to worship you.”

Liv rolled his eyes. “It’s not like that with her; she’s just using me,” he said.

”You say that like it’s a good thing,” Langa said.

”Why wouldn’t it be? Our goals align somewhat. She needs my influence, and I need her connections, so we’re keeping each other close,” he said, then grinned. “Besides, she may not worship me, but I'm sure I can get her on her knees."

”Ew. Argh. Ew, for the gods’ sake, Liv, a little respect goes a long way. I didn’t need to have that image in my head,” Langa said, wondering if he was going to be sick.

Liv brushed his hair and levelled him with a look. “By the way, Langa, should you really be questioning my choices when yours are the reason why your chest is being eaten away by poison?" he asked.

What? Langa looked down at himself and found the source of the itching on his chest. There was a strange circular tattoo the size of a fist drawn there, and it stung his skin as if it were alive.

"What the hell?"

"That's exactly what I thought when I couldn't find you at the festival last night. I contacted your comcer only for it to be answered by-" Liv looked at the bed to make sure Coraloa was still sleeping, "—the freaking Hallow Reapers’ First Storey Administrator! What happened?"

"So I did meet Liberty last night?" Langa asked, his head throbbing.

"Yeah," Liv said, then pulled a jar of cream out of his drawer. "She left this with you; I'll assume it's to counteract the poison in that magic circle."

[IL's MoorootSap Cream

Rank: Uncommon

Alchemist: ??? (Insurgent Liberty)

Effects: Clears 50% of all DOT effects from MoorootSap poison when applied within 12 hours. Grants immunity to MoorootSap poison for an additional 60 seconds.

Warning: Not for oral consumption!

Cool-down: 120 seconds]

Langa took the cream and looked down at the tattoo again. Now that his vision was clear, he could see that the tattoo was an Inscription of the magic circle for Lightning Lance. He searched his mind, and flashes of last night came back to him as he remembered what happened.

He exhaled, smiled, and applied the cream over the tattoo. The itching ceased instantly, and the poisoned debuff disappeared.

"Well? What's your relationship with Anarchist's left-hand woman?" Liv asked, still waiting for an answer.

"Hmm? Oh, we all have our secrets, Liv,” he said with a shrug. He honestly had no idea.

Liv shook his head. "And you made fun of me for my type? At least I don't want a dangerous woman who has both the power and incentive to kill me at any moment."

”You don’t know anything, Liv. That’s what makes it exciting,” Langa said.

”Langa. I say this as your friend," Liv said, shaking his head. "You have issues. You need help.”

Langa glared at him for flipping that line back at him.