Huxley finally arrives at the Chinese restaurant that he and his friends had planned to meet at. He goes past the front door and tries to spot his four friends. Finally, after a brief moment of scanning across the restaurant, he spots three guys and a girl sitting as a group at the corner of the restaurant with a chair free, already eating their meals. One of them was a young, tall and skinny guy with a sheepish demeanour about him. That would definitely be Archie, Huxley assumes as he notices Archie's clean-shaved hair, the identical hoodie but a white variant he had given to him as a gift and wearing some white tech-wear cargo pants and expensive sneakers that for the most part, cost the same as a new 'C-Phone Mk V', the newest in phone technology and Challenger assistance that all the wealthy and top Challengers use. Huxley immediately notices his best friend's clothing style. Back in the day, it was just the two of them and they didn't have a group. But now they've created a comfortable group of friends which has grown to be a more enjoyable experience than both of them could ever imagine when it was just the two of them.

"Dang, eating without me already guys. Couldn't wait a few more minutes for me?" teases Huxley as he goes to greet everyone at the table before sitting down at the only unoccupied chair right beside Archie and Braxton.

"Yeah, well you took your time getting here, I was gonna starve to death if you took any longer so we just decided to order all together" responds Tila before continuing to chow down on her food like she hasn't eaten in days.

"Sorry Huxley, I did say we should wait but Tila kept being impatient and nagging us to order with her so she wouldn't be the only one ordering," Archie says as he laughs nervously and rubs the back of his shaved head.

"Hey! We were sitting here for like twenty to thirty minutes, I came out because I wanted to eat, not sit down and look at all the food being served around me" remarks Tila as she gives Archie an unapproving look.

"Settle down Tila, it's not that deep and he's not wrong. Just eat your food and chill," replies Koriyama nonchalantly as he eats his rice and chicken in a respectful manner.

"Ughh, fine" Tila rolls her eyes and sighs before breathing in and composing herself. "You know what, it's my bad, I was super hungry and you know how I get when I'm hungry. It's good to see you again, Huxley". She smiles softly and everyone around the table looks relieved as Tila calms herself down and drops the hostilities.

"It's good to see you too Tila, I'm liking the new outfit and style your rocking today as well!" points out Huxley as he notices Tila's newly dyed cyan-tipped blonde hair, new black leather jacket and black leather skirt to match.

"Thanks, I thought I'd dye the tips of my hair and buy these clothes similar to that of what Airia wears, you know the famous fifteenth-ranked challenger who's popular for her bubbly personality but powerful and explosive style as a challenger?" She stands up and does a little twirl to show off her outfit before sitting down again.

Airia was one of the original challengers to ever enter the tower, she's still alive and an officer to one of the strongest guilds in the world at the moment, The Grand Chosen.

Archie grabs an order menu off the table and decides on what to eat. He raises his hand and one of the waitresses politely smiles and walks towards their table.

"Is everything alright today?" asks the waitress politely.

"Uhh yeah, I just wanted to order another meal at the table thanks" Huxley responds as he browses through the menu.

"All good, what would you like to get?" the waitress pulls out a tablet and starts tapping on the screen.

"I'll just get the kung pao chicken dish and a jug of cola for the table please" he answers as he puts down the menu.

"No problem, that'll be the $12.50 Kung Pao chicken meal and a jug of cola" She continues tapping out the order on the tablet, finalizing the order "And all done, your meal should come shortly sir" she respectfully bows her head and walks away, tending to the other diners.

"So anyways, how's everyone doing?" asks Archie, as he sips on a glass of water.

"Just got laid off from my job a few days ago, got some money saved so we'll be alright for a bit" mentions Braxton, long and black bushy hair, covering his eyes making him look like he's in his own world and not even in the conversation, leaning back on the chair, phone in one hand and eating food with the other.

"Wait really, what happened?!" Tila concerningly asks.

"Got caught playing games on my phone, it is what it is," Braxton replies with his face still glued to the phone, not even turning to make eye contact with Tila amidst the conversation and still continuously eating.

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised now that I think about it" sighs Tila as she facepalms in disappointment, as Braxton continues to nonchalantly eat and play games.

"That is Braxton for you," Koriyama says quietly as he slurps on his noodles while the steam constantly blurs his glasses as he tries to eat the hot steamy noodles.

Braxton raises an eyebrow at the comment, slightly offended by Koriyama's reply then shrugs it off and continues playing on his phone.

"What about you Huxley, how are things with Madeline's condition and how're things going for you yanno, mentally and all, we all care about you and her," asks Archie showing a face of genuine concern and care for the matter at hand.

Huxley gets surprised by the sudden bringing up of his sister and stutters to answer correctly.

"I-i-it's tough, she's not getting worse but she isn't getting better either Archie..." Huxley pauses and lets out a small sigh, hoping he would not have to talk about his sister's condition or about himself today. "As for myself, I'm pushing through and doing what I can, you don't gotta worry guys." he lets out a pained smile as the table goes quiet for a moment and the mood around the table suddenly turns blue.

"Aww, Huxley you know we wish the best and will do whatever we can to help you through this right?" replies back Tila "You forget that little Maddy is also our sister too on a personal level" Tila puts reaches over the table and puts her hands on top of his and looks apologetically at him, feeling sorry for everything Huxley is going through right now. Everyone agrees with Tila's statement and Archie and Braxton who are sitting beside Huxley, give him a pat on the back while Koriyama gives a nod to Huxley.

"Look, it's fine guys, let's just change the subject and enjoy today while we are together for once," asks Huxley as everyone nods in agreement. Everyone goes silent at the table for a brief moment as no one is able to bring up a topic to change the now, depressing mood around the table.

"Umm, anyways doesn't that mean we are all kind of unemployed at the moment then?" questions Archie. "Working part-time at your mother's store doesn't count either Tila and neither does working at the Internet Cafe Huxley," he adds before staring towards both of them.

"What, why not?" says Huxley with a look of disapproval. "I literally make money".

"Yeah $18 an hour doesn't count, the net cafe owner is underpaying you hard and he also needed an extra worker for nightshift ever since that one guy went and quit on him, I'm not surprised why now that I think about it. He's paying you the bare minimum, especially with how little hours he gives you." answers Archie.

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"Whatever, whatever. Guess we are all unemployed then huh?" says Huxley sarcastically as he does air quotes with his fingers.

"Well, I've been thinking. You know how everyone who enters the tower gets rich and super amazing and famous?"

"Oh god, you're not thinking about becoming a challenger on your own are you Archie?" blurts out Tila as she crosses her arms and gives a menacing stare of disapproval.

"I'm just saying, have you seen how much money they make going into the tower and fighting monsters?" Archie pulls out a flyer and places it on the table.

[The Grace Of The United]

A logo of a steel sword and a wooden mage staff crossing paths with each other appears in the middle of the flyer with words written above and below it.

[Are you looking to start your life as a challenger but don't have the necessary funds or just looking for a guild to call on for support?]

[Well look no further, our friendly and supportive Guild is looking for new talented people to join our ranks and expand our power within Grand Tower City and in return, we shall teach you the ropes and provide you with the necessary requirements to conquer the Tower and become rich and famous!]

[If you're looking for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure and to do something different with your life or just get rich, famous. Contact one of our recruiters on our guild page on the Challenger Space website]

in small writing, at the bottom, it reads

[Notice: We DO NOT pay for your registration fees or anything else. We provide an experienced guild-certified trainer who will help you and other guild members in a party survive and thrive within the tower!]

"We could join this guild and get them to teach us how to profit and grow stronger in the tower! Imagine how much money we could make and how famous we could be, the top challengers are worshipped like gods!" says Archie enthusiastically.

"Or we could go into the tower and get straight up brutally murdered by some evil demon or something" answers back Tila coldly and sarcastically.

"Nah look, the flyer says they will get an experienced trainer from their guild to help train and teach us!" He grabs the flyer and points to the small writing that talks about the trainer. "Think about all the possibilities that could come of us and trust me, I've done my fair share of research on the tower too!"

"I have seen some cool videos of challengers fighting off the tower's monsters. It's pretty much just like a VR game, check it out!" Braxton says as he pulls open a recording of Albion Lionheart fighting off the Frost Dragon with his party on the app ChallView, fascinated by it all.

"Yeah, but you can't get literally killed in VR can you," Tila replies as she sighs once again at Braxton.

"I saw that video while I was walking here, it's unbelievable how powerful that Albion guy is, and look at how tall and huge he is, Jesus," Huxley says in bewilderment even though he's seen the recording of Albion already.

"Oh, hold up and he's super handsome too, check out that long red hair, and how big and muscley his entire body is, just imagine him holding you in his arms and staring into your eyes," Tila drools, dreamily fantasising about Albion and giggling to herself quietly.

"Ew, seriously?" replies Koriyama with a look of disgust.

"Yeah anyway, we should go for it, none of us are doing super great in life and I heard they finally reduced the registration requirements to register as a challenger and gain entry to the Grand Challenger City," Archie continues as he tries to persuade everyone.

"We could fight side by side and explore the mysterious tower together, slaying the monsters and making a name for ourselves. How cool would it be if we were the top challengers in the world and made our own guild together!" He stands up from the chair, enthusiastically continuing on with a look of ambition on his face, that none of his friends or Huxley has seen before.

"I've got nothing going for me in this city anyway or in life in general. And neither do most of you guys, we're missing out on an amazing once-in-a-lifetime chance adventure that we could do together as friends. Don't you want to get away from this mundane life we are all living in at the moment?" Archie takes a sip out of his water and sits back down, calming himself down while he awaits an answer from everyone.

"Look, If you're so fixated on becoming a challenger then count me in Archie, Someone's gotta look after ya, since you can't do that job at all" replies Koriyama as he nods his head and pushes his glasses back on his face.

"Yeah, me too Arch, fighting those creatures would be sick as hell man, Would be way better than doing it in VR, I've always been kind of interested in The Tower anyway yanno?" Braxton says as he tries to fistbump with Koriyama which Koriyama does so reluctantly as he faintly smiles before going back to his natural poker face.

"Argh, well if all you's are going then who else am I going to bother and hang with after I finish working at my mother's store?

This is such a dumb idea and we might die, but whatever, I'd rather not be alone here working at my mother's store constantly. I'm gonna have to try and persuade my mother though, she might kill me before the monsters at the tower do for even suggesting such a thing" Tila shakes her head and shrugs with a small smile on her face, glad to be doing something with the group even if it's registering for the tower.

"I don't know yet, what if this is a bad idea?" Huxley says as he worries about everything that could happen.

"Bro, this is a chance to change our lives, think of how good our life could be, I know a buddy online who plays Valor with me and he's like a B-rated challenger and he says it's the best thing he's ever done.

He said he earns enough money as a B-rated challenger to live in a penthouse with his new girlfriend. His family used to be super poor too, he's basically supporting all of them and still spoiling himself. And apparently, he's gonna turn his younger brother into a challenger once he reaches the minimum age requirement to register" tells Braxton.

"I'll think about it alright, just give me a few days to decide," says Huxley quietly as the waitress finally brings in his food.

"Fine, fine. But you better say yes though man, we can't do this thing without you" says Archie as he puts his hand on his shoulder and smiles slightly.

Huxley eats his meal and chats with his friends for a while before they all finally decide to part ways for the day. As Huxley and Archie wave goodbye to the rest of the group who live relatively around the same area. Huxley and Archie walk in the opposite direction towards both of their homes.

"Look, we'll all be fine, the tower's first levels are relatively safe, I've done my research yanno?" Archie assures Huxley, patting him on the back as they continue to walk.

"Yeah I don't doubt it Arch but still, we could get mauled by some monster or stabbed in the back by a goblin or something man" Huxley sighs worriedly.

"Bahahaha, really a goblin?" Chuckles Archie as he smiles faintly while they continue their walk.

"Do you think a goblin could kill us, everyone who enters the tower gets godly powers, man, when was the last time someone died to a goblin in like the past five years people have been there?

We just gotta be smart and stick to this guild for support till we get our own footing. Then we could make our own guild and become the most legendary group of challengers!" Archie says ecstatically in a manly superhero voice as he jumps in the air before doing a heroic pose in the middle of the pathway

Huxley laughs in embarrassment for his friend and smiles fondly at him "Ah you can be so cringe sometimes you know, you remind me of when we were little kids still I swear"

"Wow, rude!" Archie punches Huxley in the shoulder playfully and they both laugh it off as they reach an intersection.

"Aight, well this is where I turn off Hux, just give it a thought okay?

It wouldn't be as great of an adventure without you coming with us... Coming with me. Think about it alright?" Archie puts his hand on Huxley's shoulder and looks at him seriously.

I don't think I'd be able to last a long time in there without you." Archie lets go of his shoulder and gives a wave goodbye before turning off at the intersection and disappearing into the other side of the city.

Huxley continues his walk and after a few minutes of thinking and walking, makes it back to his small apartment and lazily flops on his bed, smothering his face in his pillow.

"Ughhh" moans Huxley as he lies there like a dead fish, wondering what he should do.

he rolls onto his back and grabs his phone from his pocket, searching on the internet how much an average challenger makes a month and how dangerous it is in the tower.

[The tower is an insane money maker to those with the right skills, every creature drops an item upon death, and some are rarer than others. Depending on your luck and how rare of a creature you hunting, it can be a crazy way to get rich. Or you could find a rare cave with valuable resources or a hidden treasure room that's guarded by monsters but has some super rare items!]

[The tower is only dangerous if you make it so. As long as you stay on the lower floors you should be relatively safe, although be aware of challenger killers or CK'ers for short. All though it is a crime to kill someone, the tower itself has no laws, only morals and ethics we all should stand by, so keep on the watch for CK'ers and run away or teleport out from any fight you think you can't win!]

Huxley ponders to himself if he should register with his friends, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and would be a chance to have an adventure and a life completely different from normal society. There was a time five years ago when this was considered impossible and something that could only happen in a book or a video game. As he continues to think about it, he puts his phone away on the desk next to his bed, slowly falling asleep, still undecided on what the right choice is.