Isa tightened the knot on the rope, then stepped back. “Okay. It should hold.”

“Good enough for me.” Vivian tossed the tail of the rope off the top of the building and grabbed on to the top, winding a loop around his waist and another around his forearm. He backed toward the edge, resting with his heel out over the air.

Taking a deep breath, he rolled out his shoulders. Alright. Here goes.

“Vivian!” Noah called suddenly.

“What is it, kiddo?” he asked, distracted by the gap beneath him.

“Don’t die!”

Vivian snorted. “Not planning on it. Yet.”

He stepped backward, slowly lowering himself horizontal off the edge. Down over the wall, feet sliding slightly over the painted-on bricks. The wall still had enough texture for his shoes to catch, but only barely, more out of laziness than anything else.

Below him, a stained-glass window stretched nearly the breadth and width of the hall. Twenty feet of stone at its bottom ensured no one climbed in from beneath. In lurid reds, oranges, and yellows, it depicted brilliant flames that would flicker and twinkle deceptively during a daytime fight. As it was, the first rays of dawn had lit the other side of the castle, but hadn’t yet reached the Boss chamber, so the window stood dull and vacant.

Stained glass is pretty easy to break, luckily for me, Vivian thought. But on the other hand…

The window groaned under his weight. The glass pieces clicked in their thin lead casings, shifting beneath him. He spread his legs, stretching his weight out as far as he could.

Don’t want to prematurely blow my load.

Slowly, he slid his feet down the glass, afraid to lift them in case he broke the glass with his next step. Through the glass, he dimly made out a few shadows. Chandeliers appeared to hover, dark expanses distorted by the glass and their chains washed away, while the features on the floor of the chamber—the throne, and the vases—appeared as little more than lumps. The Rankings board, which floated behind the throne, didn’t appear at all. Well, it’s invisible from behind, after all.

He glanced at the throne, little more than a rectangle from behind. He rappelled down the wall, thinking to himself as he slid his way down the window. Wish I knew if we NPCs will proc the boss. I didn’t re-proc aggro on the Lady of the Lost, even though a human was running her, but that was when I was a Gardener, in my proper space as an NPC. The monsters here in the castle have proc’d to us so far, but then, there aren’t usually NPCs in the castle’s grounds… and we brought Noah, though the centaur did attack me and Kyung alone. All that to say, the monsters on the castle grounds may just be programmed to attack everything they see. However, in the castle, there are NPCs. Only a few, but still. It could be different inside the castle.

And the Boss… he’s almost certainly the same as us, a human on the inside. From my short time as a Boss, I know Bosses have to move according to “Patterns,” but I didn’t really spend enough time in that phase to know what that means. It does seem to mean that, despite the Lady knowing I’d likely attack her at some point after I reappeared, she still didn’t proc to me until I aggro’d her. So it might be that his Patterns keep him from attacking until we aggro, no matter how obvious we are.

Hmm. If we can wander the Boss chamber without procing the Boss for a bit…

At last, he reached the midway point of the window. He glanced down, checking the drop. Alright. My SPD is high enough that I should be able to land this… since SPD effects dexterity and alacrity, too. Turning up, he found Kyung watching him from above. Vivian held up his free hand, showing three fingers, then forming a zero with a loose fist. Wait thirty seconds, then send the next one.

Kyung hesitated a moment, then gave him a thumbs-up.

Be nice if we had some form of communication… not that phones or walkie-talkies work in the Tower, anyways. He unwound the rope from his waist, only holding on with his arm. Taking a deep breath, Vivian kicked away from the window, then held his legs stiff. Here we go!

Glass shattered, shards bursting inward. He flew through, released the rope, and took to the air. For a few moments, he hung there, flying above marble floors and a rich crimson rug, and then he plummeted. Vivian hit the ground and rolled, bouncing back to his feet in the next moment. He spun around, turning a wary eye to the boss.

A man lounged in the throne. He looked exactly as Vivian remembered, wavy black hair spilling down his head, a golden crown lying askew atop his fine locks. A purple coat with gold buttons and fine gold cords gave way to cream leggings and a matching codpiece. He rested his head on his fist, and gazed lazily at Vivian.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Vivian gave him a deep, sarcastic bow. “My liege.”

“The hell did you smash the window for?” the King asked, in a very un-kingly tone.

“Variety…?” Vivian tried.

The King sighed. “You NPCs… I get it, you want to be King. Listen. There’s only one King, and it’s me. This Boss role is mine. You can fight amongst yourselves for the Vizier or whatever. That’s a route to the next floor. But King? That’s me.”

“A big fish in a small pond,” Vivian said, clicking his tongue. He casually glanced around, checking for the old trap. His eyes lit up at the sight of the chandeliers. Still there. Hell yeah.

“I’d rather be a big fish living in luxury than… what’s the other option? Being a small fish in a big pond?” The King scoffed.

Vivian pursed his lips and nodded. “I mean, can’t blame you. I’d live in luxury if I could.”

“Too bad you can’t. Because I’m King,” the King said, yawning.

“Ah, well. I’m just a lowly Gardener with the habit of breaking windows,” Vivian said, shrugging.

“What? A Gardener? We have a Gardener? The mobs outside didn’t kill you?” the King asked, confused.

“No, no. From the Garden of Lost Souls,” Vivian explained.

The King’s brows furrowed. “Eh, Andrea’s replacement? The hell are you doing here, then?”

Vivian shrugged. “Exploring the world.”

“Bullshit,” the King said.

“Alright, alright. I’m climbing to the next floor,” Vivian admitted.

“After my crown, after all,” the King grumbled.

Vivian shook his head. “Not really, no. Too slow.”

The King squinted at him, confused. “You’re an NPC. You have to become a Boss for the System to put you on the next level.”

Vivian grinned. He put his finger on his chin thoughtfully. “Is that true? Has anyone ever beaten you?”

The King scoffed again. “What, an NPC? No.”

“Then, what if they beat you and refused your Role? What if an NPC just climbed the Tower on their own?” Vivian asked.

Taken aback, the King stared at him. “No? No one can beat me. You can’t beat a Boss without a Role. Even a Role isn’t enough. You’d have to be a Boss.”

Vivian laughed. “I beat the Lady of the Lost, though.”

The King stared, startling half to his feet. A second later, he settled back in his throne dismissively. “You’re lying.”

“Well, you can find that out for yourself,” Vivian said, smiling slowly.

“It’s an obvious lie. Andrea would not let you go if you beat her. She’s been trying to leave that garden for a decade now,” the King said, rolling his eyes.

“A decade?” Vivian asked, flabbergasted. Only affirms my decision! I’m not spending a decade on each floor! If the Tower does indeed have its rumored hundred floors, that’s a thousand years! There’s no way I’m spending a thousand years in the Tower. Hell, I’ll be long dead.

Probably. I’m not really sure if NPCs age or die permanently.

The King nodded. “Understandable. No one wants to spend forever in a damp, nasty garden. A luxurious castle, on the other hand…” he spread his arms and smiled.

“Damp—” Vivian pursed his lips. Insulting my garden. Gardens should be damp! Humidity is good for plants. If you don’t understand, don’t complain!

Abruptly, he slapped his cheeks. “Right! The Rankings Table!” His eyes darted up to the space behind the throne, but nothing hung there. The table was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh, do you want to see it?” the King asked. “I don’t usually pull it up for NPCs. Have a bet or something?”

Behind him, glass smashed again. Noah flew through the air, eyes wide, screaming incoherently. Stepping forward, Vivian caught him, stumbling backward a few steps.

Gasping, Noah clung to Vivian for dear life. He stared into the middle distance, his heart hammering a thousand miles an hour.

“What, afraid of a little drop? We’re about to fight the boss, you know,” Vivian chided him.

Noah slowly pulled away from Vivian. “So high… why is it so high up?”

“It isn’t that high,” Vivian said, clicking his tongue.

“Shit, a Player? I mean—ahem. Welcome to my Castle,” the King said, straightening up in his throne. His voice shifted from casual to a deep, imposing tone.

“Nah, it’s okay. He’s with us,” Vivian said, waving the King down.

“Oh, alright. Wait… is that alright?” the King asked, furrowing his brows. Absent-mindedly, he waved his hand.

A green table flickered to life over his head. White text popped in, one after another.

Vivian held his breath. The moment of truth!

Noah gasped. His eyes widened.

Vivian’s brows furrowed, and he scowled. “Oh, you’re kidding me.”

“What? What do you mean? You are THE Vivian!” Noah said, jabbing his finger at the list.

At the top of the list, in bright blue text, 1. Vivian X. scrolled out, blindingly bright.

Vivian waved his hand. He nodded at the second entry.

2. Cha Yeong-ho

“Everyone knows Cha Yeong-ho is the top living Player!” Noah said, rolling his eyes. A beat later, he paused. “Oh, right. You didn’t.”

“No, I didn’t! No wonder everyone knew his name! Number two, huh? He’s a damn celebrity!” Vivian complained. Crossing his arms, he sighed. “Damn. Guess that’s good enough to get K-pop level creds, huh?”

Noah nodded. “Yep.”

Another crash of glass. Isa flew through the air, screeching in horror. Noah jumped forward to catch her. Halfway there, he turned, giving Vivian a confused look.

“She’ll be fine,” Vivian said.

Isa crashed into Noah and bowled him over. The two of them tumbled across the marble.

“Honestly, why did I even bother to build a door when I’ve got a perfectly good window?” the King asked, annoyed.

Vivian shrugged at him. “I don’t know. It’s your bad decision.”

Barely a moment later, Kyung blasted through the glass. Isa and Noah stared up at him in horror, tangled on the floor. Vivian watched with a smirk, the corners of his lips already curling into an evil grin.

Hair swishing, glass shards sparkling as they hung on the air, Kyung’s eyes cut through the room. Midair, he spun around, neat and sharp, touched down a few inches in front of Isa and Noah, and leaped completely over them.

Noah’s eyes shone. He applauded. Climbing off of him, Isa let out a sigh of relief.

Vivian clicked his tongue, disappointed.

“Goddamn. Is there a clearance sale on window busting today? I have to spend my Trust to fix that, you know,” the King complained.