As they climbed up the low-level hunting ground to the Starter Town, Vivian paused, standing on his tiptoes to look around.

“What?” Kyung asked.

“Last time, there were some noob-hunters hanging around here with an Armored Slime. Just checking to make sure they’ve left,” Vivian explained.

“It’s broad daylight,” Kyung deadpanned.

Vivian shrugged. “Never hurts to be vigilant.”

Kyung looked at him. He raised his eyebrows and frowned, then nodded, slowly.

Hey, what is that? Don’t give me that look! That ‘I didn’t expect to actually hear something intelligent from this idiot’s mouth’ look! I know what you’re thinking. Hey, just because I’m chatty, doesn’t mean I’m stupid.

Vivian sighed. He shook his head at Kyung.

Taken aback, Kyung furrowed his brows at Vivian.

Vivian pulled a dumb face, grinning wide.

Kyung rolled his eyes and pushed past Vivian, ignoring him.

“We’re such a great team. Look at that, we’ve already got nonverbal communication going!” Vivian said, raising a hand to thump Kyung on the back.

Kyung whirled. A hand dropped to his waist, where scissors of various length hung in a short black cloth apron.

“Ah… right. Touchy equals killy,” Vivian said, lowering his hand.

“It’s good that you can learn,” Kyung said coldly.

“How on earth did you put up with those girls for so long?” Vivian asked.

Kyung wrinkled his nose. He shook his head.

It’s really troubling him, huh? Vivian went to pat him on the shoulder again, but snatched his hand away and put it behind his back at the last second. “They can’t hurt you anymore. I’m here now.”

“Disgusting,” Kyung muttered. He hurried off, hurrying into the Starter Town.

“What? I’m not allowed to touch you or say nice things? What can I do?” Vivian asked Kyung’s retreating back.

Kyung marched on, ignoring Vivian. Vivian stared after him for a moment, then sighed and ran after Kyung. “Kyung, I’m sorry. I won’t be nice again. Will you still be my friend?”

“What would you know,” Kyung said quietly, frowning.

Hmm. Kid’s got problems, Vivian thought, putting a hand on his chin. A second later, he shrugged. And I technically just committed mass murder—mass… self-defense? —so I guess that makes two of us.

“Hey, Kyung. I have a question.”

“What?” Kyung snapped, annoyed.

Vivian waved a hand. “It’s not about your delicate glass heart, so don’t worry. Hey, is it really rare to Player Kill? Like, no one does it?”

Noah’s a kid, ultimately. Kids often have an idealized or unrealistic view of the world. That’s fine, but it doesn’t mean I should trust his word as the absolute truth.

Kyung regarded him for a second, then sighed and rubbed his forehead. “You really…”

“What?” Vivian asked.

“It’s not common,” Kyung said shortly. He paused. “But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Does it get punished often?” Vivian asked.

“On Floor One? Yes.”

“And the other floors?”

Kyung regarded him from the corner of his eyes. After a second, he sighed. “I’m tired and frustrated today. Can you just… be quiet?”

“Uh, probably not, but I guess I’ll try?” Vivian said.

“Good. Please. Please try,” Kyung said.

In any case, I got most of the picture from that. It’s not as common as I remember it being, but as long as you don’t leave heaps of evidence all over the place, or at least commit murder on higher floors, you aren’t going to get caught.

Well, not that it matters. NPCs aren’t real people in the eyes of the law. We can’t be tried or arrested in the first place. Even if I killed a Player in the middle of the Starter Town, I’d face a respawn, at worst.

“Hey, Kyung,” Vivian said.

“What?” Kyung demanded.

Vivian waved his hands. “I know I just said I’d shut up, but this is important. When you said ‘unless you are,’ back when we met, who did you think I was?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Kyung said.

“No, it does. Was it Vivian? Er, ‘the’ Vivian,” Vivian clarified.

Kyung paused. He looked back, regarding Vivian from the corner of his eye. “My father… that is, when I was young, I was encouraged to study the previous champion Climbers.”

“Ah, that’s a good idea for a Ranker’s kid,” Vivian agreed.

“The very first of them, Vivian… You look exactly like him. If you are him, somehow, by some trick of the Tower…” Kyung fell silent again.

“What? What is it? Is there something bad in my past?” Vivian asked. “I only remember some glimpses. Like your father’s face… er, rather, this really cool scene of him killing a bunch of monsters. And stuff about the Tower. And—”

“And a woman?” Kyung asked.

Vivian pointed at him, nodding vigorously. “Yes! What happened with her? She seemed like… I don’t know, my teacher or something?”

Kyung regarded him silently for a long moment. At last, he said, “You don’t remember, then.”

“No. I don’t remember a lot. C’mon, out with it. What happened?” Vivian asked.

“She died.”

Vivian frowned. “Well, so did I—”

Kyung cut him off. His gaze flashed up directly into Vivian’s eyes. “You killed her.”

Taken aback, Vivian stared at him. “What? Why? I mean, she’s only helped me out. Her whispering is a little creepy sometimes, but she—”

Massaging the bridge of his nose, Kyung raised a hand. “Please.”

Vivian shut his mouth obediently.

“According to the history books, she was your teacher. She was one of the very first Climbers, and in fact, she was the first to ever clear Floor Thirty. Eventually, you joined her there, at Floor Thirty, challenging the battle floors beyond the thirtieth floor in hopes of reaching Floor Forty. No one’s sure quite what happened, because only you and she could pass Floor Thirty back then, but according to legend, you killed her to be the first to reach Floor Forty.”

Confused, Vivian shook his head. A strong sense of denial welled up in him, one that came from deep within his memories. “I wouldn’t. I would never!”

Kyung spread his hands. “It’s only a rumor. You were never charged with her murder. But it was enough to ruin your name. Apparently, everyone was convinced you did it. Outside of the Tower, your name was dragged through the mud, all your partners dropped out of supporting you, and you were treated like dogshit. In response, you entered the Tower, never to emerge again. Except for your name at the top of the Rankings board, you vanished from the public eye entirely. To this day, no one’s sure how high you got in the Tower. Some people say you’re still climbing.”

“Huh? Wait, I’m still at the top of the Rankings?” Vivian asked.

Kyung inclined his head. A moment later, he glanced at Vivian. “If you are the Vivian, that is.”

“I’m becoming increasingly convinced I am,” Vivian said, scowling slightly. Killed her? I killed her? I didn’t. I would never!

Kyung chuckled under his breath, flicking his eyes at Vivian.

“What?” Vivian asked.

“If you are the Vivian…”

“Yes?”

Kyung waved his hand. “There are betting pools about what floor you’ll eventually be found on. I don’t think anyone’s ever put a single dollar on ‘Floor One.’”

“I mean, I got higher than Floor One. I just wound up back down here, somehow,” Vivian explained, sighing.

“Mmm. You wouldn’t be at the top of the board if this is all the higher you ever got,” Kyung agreed.

“Aside from me, who’s second best?” Vivian asked.

Kyung cocked an eyebrow at him. He scoffed.

“What?”

Kyung shook his head. “Weren’t we going to fight the cannibals?”

“Oh, that’s right. Let’s hurry up,” Vivian said, nodding.

Vivian led the way to the tavern. Before he entered, he paused at the door. “Alright, here’s the plan. There’s three cannibals. Allan, Angie, and Anders. Allan and Anders are the two muscular guys who sit at the bar. Angie’s the barmaid. We sneak up and backstab the two muscular guys while Angie’s in the back, then team up on Angie. What do you say?”

Kyung nodded. He drew out a large pair of shears and whirled them around his finger, catching them by their pivot screw. “I’ll take right.”

“I’ll take left, then.” Vivian drew out his hand trowel. Time to find out what eight levels of Dig does for me in combat! If it’s nothing, it’s time to respawn!

Kyung stepped forward. He raised his hand to open the door.

“Wait!” Vivian said, throwing his arm out seconds before Kyung opened the door.

“What?” Kyung asked.

Vivian licked his lips. “Was the Vivian… was he rich?”

Kyung stared at him. “Seriously?”

“What? It’s very important to me,” Vivian said.

Rolling his eyes, Kyung pushed open the door.