Kim Hajun stowed his ant mandibles and panted for breath. By his feet, there were dozens of fallen people. Behind them, there was a large field of pigs. After steadying his breath, Kim Hajun grinned to himself and stepped over his fallen enemies. Even though he hadn’t yet conquered the first ten floors of the tower, he had still managed to complete a tower-conflict mission on his own. It might’ve been one of the easier ones, obtaining a pig farm, but the rewards granted by the tower were still generous.

By the fence, there was a floating green crystal, the dimensional monument. Kim Hajun placed his left hand on it, and his root bracelet flashed amber. The dimensional monuments were tough to break, so weaker fellows used the tower’s abilities to finish the job. It wasn’t that he couldn’t break it himself, but his energy had been completely exhausted after fighting with the defenders. As the amber glow from his bracelet slowly infected the green crystal, Kim Hajun closed his eyes, mentally reviewing what he’d do with the tower’s rewards once he returned.

***

Ashley walked through the tunnel and into the light where a large crowd of people had gathered. A woman with long, black hair and green highlights waved both of her hands above her head, catching the Light Lord’s attention. “Ashley, over here! Hi, you made it!”

Ashley ignored the crowd, a skill she had honed through years of practice, and made her way over to the Wind Lord’s side. “Hello, Jasmine,” Ashley said. “You’re as loud as ever.”

“Rude,” the Wind Lord said and rolled her brown eyes. She glanced past Ashley and raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t bring anyone from your guild? How are you going to recruit him without anyone backing you up?”

Ashley turned her head to the side and squinted at the crowd. Amongst the sea of people, there were seven who stood out: the lords. The people gathered around them were dressed in similar outfits, but all that did was accentuate the leaders of the groups. “This Vur Besteck guy,” Ashley said to Jasmine with a straight face, “tell me about him.”

“Yeah, honestly, I don’t know much about him,” Jasmine said. “But it’s like … if everyone else is here, he has to be a bigshot, right? If I don’t show my face, it’d be like I’m out of the know, and I have to be in the know, you know?”

Ashley nodded. Her eyes narrowed at a white and fluffy object partially hidden behind Jasmine’s legs. The Light Lord shifted her feet, practically teleporting in Jasmine’s direction, and grunted as she slapped her hand down, striking the fluffy object.

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“Ow! Woof! What’s your problem!?” Sir Selddup raised his head from the metal bowl that was placed on the ground. He wiggled his rump, where he had been slapped, and turned around to glare at Ashley.

Ashley glared at the dog. “You peed on my bed.”

“Ashley,” Jasmine said, taking a step to the side to stand in between the white dog and its owner. “You can’t abuse dogs like this; you’re a lord. If you’re going to beat Puddles, at least do it away from prying eyes.”

Ashley turned her head to the side, glaring at the onlookers. “Anyone want to speak up about me beating dogs?” she asked as her root bracelet flashed amber. A white rifle appeared in her hands, and everyone who was looking turned their heads away at the same time. Ashley nodded and made eye contact with Jasmine. “Prying eyes?” the Light Lord asked. “I don’t see any.”

Jasmine pursed her lips. “You can’t use guns to solve all your problems.”

“I have a bazooka too.”

Jasmine heaved a sigh and shook her head. She was about to say something, but she turned her head towards the tunnel. The crowd wasn’t noisy earlier, but it was eerily silent now. A group of six figures appeared from the tunnel. “I think that’s them,” Jasmine whispered as she leaned over to Ashley without taking her eyes off the view in front of herself. “Vur Besteck should be a part of that group. I can feel it.”

Ashley nodded. Vur was a part of the group, but there were two unfamiliar figures accompanying them: a pink-haired woman, and a red-haired knight dressed in black armor. The Light Lord took a step to the side, sheltering her body behind Jasmine to stay out of the group’s line of sight.

“Vur Besteck!” the Martial Lord said, breaking the silence as he took a step forward. He was wearing a sleeveless, black gi and had a red headband tying his long hair back. “As a true warrior, the Eyeless Fist guild invites you and your companions to join our guild!”

Vur blinked. “No, thanks,” he said and turned towards Lindyss. “Where are we going?”

“Well, I’d say down the main road, but it looks awfully crowded at the moment,” Lindyss said and furrowed her brow. She took a step to the side. “Let’s walk around these people first.”

“Wait, wait,” the Martial Lord said. “As someone who just entered the tower, it’s understandable you don’t know who I am or what the Eyeless Fist guild represents. I’m the Martial Lord, Ouyang Feng, and I’m the strongest person in the tower.”

Vur turned his head towards the Martial Lord, but Tafel tugged on his arm to follow after Lindyss. “If someone has to tell you they’re the strongest,” Tafel said, “then that usually means they aren’t the strongest. There’s a lot of scammers in the tower; just ignore him.”

Ouyang Feng’s jaw dropped open, and he fell onto his hands and knees, his face pointed at the ground as a miniature, dark cloud appeared in the air above his head. A lowly scammer? Him?

“Oh, okay,” Vur said and nodded, turning his head away from the depressed Martial Lord.

“Halt!” a man with wild, red hair said. “The lords of the tower have gathered to recruit you. Don’t you think you’re being too rude by leaving without a proper discussion?”