The party stood outside the Tower once more. Vagis rolled on the balls of his feet, trying to psyche himself up for the trip inside.

As the [Scout], he would have to go inside and make sure the way was clear for the rest of his team. This would be his first time actually entering a Tower. He usually just helped track down rogues or something. But a Tower? This was the real deal.

What if he ran into the Manager while he was checking for traps? What if he accidentally missed a trap and someone got hurt? What if he ran into a big group of monsters? What if-

“Kid,” Saira grunted. “You gonna go in and do your job?”

“S-sorry, I was just-”

“Just get in there,” Rayn said, clapping the younger boy on his back. “You’ll be fine.” Vagis winced. Maybe he should put more points into Constitution if the [Knight] was going to keep doing that. He shuddered to think what would happen if Saira got a little friendlier.

Okay, he thought while finishing his stretches. Let’s do this.

He gently tapped the door and then jumped back, just in case there might be a hidden trap. When nothing happened after an awkward few seconds, Lavar snorted.

“Have you never been to a Tower before? Managers aren’t allowed to have their Cores place traps five feet in front of or behind the door, idiot.”

Vagis flushed and muttered, “Oh. Well, uh, I’ll just...go in then.”

Her eyes narrowed. “The Core will sense you as soon as you enter. Don’t you have some sort of stealth skill?”

“I, um, yeah, I do.”

He sighed, activated [Lesser Hide Presence], and opened the door just a smidge. Taking a peek inside, he nearly fainted.

He’d been imagining a dark, musty hallway with flickering torches and cobwebs sitting everywhere. Maybe some bones placed haphazardly here and there. What he saw instead was an ornate hallway, brightly lit by a weird contraption of glass, metal and what looked like contained fire, but he couldn’t be sure. The floor was not dirt or cracked stone but a shining white marble. The walls were of a light blue material he couldn’t place.

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I have to get a better look at this, Vagis thought. But wait. I still have to be cautious. Who knows what’s waiting for me there. And I’m using [Lesser Hide Presence]; the Core might still be able to sense me with this crappy skill.

He curled one hand around the hilt of his shark tooth dagger, Jagged, and opened the door just wide enough so he could slip inside. He pressed a hesitant step on a tile, paused, and came all the way in.

“We’ll be right outside if you need us,” Rayn whispered. “Just yell for help if you need to, okay?”

Vagis gave the older man a thumbs up before turning back to the task at hand. Luckily, Lavar was true to her word. Casting [Sense for Traps] revealed nothing for the first five feet of the hallway. It actually revealed nothing in the entire hallway, but that couldn’t be right.

He’d always heard of bitter delvers ranting about Tower traps being literally everywhere. It wouldn’t make sense for this one to be trap-free. Maybe the Core just didn’t have enough resources at the moment? It only had one story; maybe it had just formed.

Then again...It might just not be a Tower. After all, he was pretty sure they didn’t look like this. It felt like he was walking through a noble’s manor or something.

He glanced up at the light contraption that swung gently above him, idly wondering if the chain holding it up would break and fall down. At that thought, he hastily jumped to the side and stared warily at the foreign light source.

It’s gonna fall, isn’t it? I just know it is. Things on chains always fall. That’s why I never wear necklace items, no matter how useful their boosts are.

“Vagis? Are you okay in there?” Rayn called.

“Uh, yeah, just...checking for traps in the hallway.”

Rayn started to say something, but Lavar’s snarky voice interrupted: “You sound like you haven’t moved from the door.”

“He’s just being cautious,” Rayn snapped at her. “Lay off him, alright? This is his first time.”

“Whatever.”

Vagis sighed and started moving further into the Tower, one eye still tracking the contraptions movements. When he neared the five feet boundary he paused and pulled out a squishy toy from his pocket. Squishy toys were a good way to test whether any traps weren’t detected by [Sense for Traps]. He gave it a gentle toss and hopped back a few steps.

When the squishy successfully made a few bounces without being blown to bits, becoming a pincushion, or activating poison gas, Vagis started cautiously toward the first room.

He picked up the squishy as he passed it before tossing it at the wall beside the room entrance. When nothing happened, he picked up the squishy once more and pressed his back to the area he’d thrown it at.

He cast [Sense for Traps] in the room and when it detected nothing, tossed in the squishy and ducked down.

When nothing was set off and he didn’t hear any grunts or shuffling toward the door, he took a quick gander inside of the room.