"Alth-although, I don't reall-y think that all mages are cunning, I me-

"Stop stalling" Anthony cut off the duck, it was clear he was stalling for time, yet the trio couldn't really think of what it was.

"Y-Yes...I shall g-get the head of the marketing department i-in just a moment" The mage duck named Mike waddled away, most likely not getting the actual department head, after all, what kinda cult with a crumbling magic tower as their base would be good people?...Although it did make Anthony think, 'maybe that was the truth, maybe they did want to rebrand or whatever the head needed' It was unlikely that was the actual case, but the boy decided to stay regardless.

"I mean, if they are telling the truth, then I can see why they need rebranding, this place is destroyed...probably beyond repair if you ask me."

"Regardless, the least we can do is wait, if this really is some trap then they may already have people outside" Moses readjusted his hat as he sat down.

"Right, just stay on guard" Anthony sat down, leaning on one of the broken walls while he took a look around. It was only a few minutes when the ground shook, forcing Anthony to take a stance as he stood up, he could take care of himself, but he may not be able to stop every single enemy. Almost on cue, multiple robed figures walked through the door that Mike went through, speaking of the duck, they seemed to be following him as he stood in the front.

"H-Here you go! j-j-u-ust like you asked" As Mike finished his sentence, the robed figure that wore a distinct mask motioned him to leave, and Mike followed the order.

"So, you're the supposed leader of this cult" Although it probably wasn't the best idea, Anthony taunted the robed people, adopting a more defensive posture. "If that's the case then we might as well get this over with"

"Of course, let's put this to an end" The figure reached for their mask, pressing a button the mask made a type of hissing sound, then fell off the person's face, landing on their opened palm right below it. "So, where shall we begin?"

"W-What? What are you on about, we're fighting here!" Susan took off her glasses as she questioned the figure.

"Fighting!? I thought we were rebranding?" As the figure looked up in surprise the three got a look at his face...it was, a lot less menacing than they expected...describing the difference between their ideas of what the figure looked like with reality, would take more than months.

"You made it sound like you were preparing to fight" The rabbit, Moses, went in front of Anthony.

"No I didn't? You know, putting an end to this? This dusty, almost torn apart tower?" The trio were utterly confused, they thought they were going after some dreaded, mysterious cult that took souls and lives...but...they really just wanted to rebrand their image. "You know, when you try and do good some person always takes it as an attack, you heal someone with very minor side effects and they act like you just made the next plague" The presumed leader rambled on and on about how they were misrepresented. "Of course, that's why we wanna rebrand into something else, maybe some guild that you can hire for a healer in your squad, or maybe to dish out more damage" The rambling of the marketing leader seemed to never end, it was putting both Susan and Moses to sleep from boredom.

"Alright! We get it" Anthony stopped the man before he could continue his life story. "Here's one thing, get rid of the damn robes, I can see why people call you a cult!"

"Y-Yes...we should but, as you know some gear helps people harness powers, and the recruit mages tend to struggle when we first start teaching them, and then we would all look vastly different, some of us wearing these pieces of old mage armor, then the newer, and even some higher up ones wearing robes, you see how confusing that can get?" The guy didn't take any breaks in his talking, it made sense why he was the marketing head, he could go on and on and on and o- I think you get the point. "We're more worried about our living space" The leader mage motioned to the tower they were in, as a piece of said tower broke off behind him and made a loud bang as it hit the floor right behind him. "As you can see"

"Well then, maybe lose the mask as well, or is that important too?" Moses spoke up, his voice barely getting across.

"Y-Yes, it has a lineage, a very long and important one as well" It seemed like this place was doomed to be a cult.

"T-Then the most, the only thing, we can do, is get you some sort of upgrade when it comes to your base" Susan suggested.

"Y-Yeah...I assume so..." The leader seemed down, he probably realized how helpless the situation is.

"Well, some mages can change the looks of things right?" Anthony asked, after all, if they could do that, why didn't they just make this place look better.

"Well...none of us are great in the architect department"

"Really? You have a marketing department, but not an architect one?" Anthony facepalmed with his right hand "My god...why did I come here Alright! Listen, this is what we're doin-

"I know architect magic" Mike, after staying silent for awhile, spoke up and cut off Anthony, just like he did to him before. "I may still be learning it...but maybe it could work?"

"Well, there you go" Susan motioned towards the duck "You've got your builder"

"I understand, well then Mike, work your magic" The Head knelt down to the duck and watched as Mike raised a small wand, pointing it towards the destroyed walls of the tower, a purple like glow took over the walls as everyone walked around, surprised and stunned by how beautiful the transformation was. Soon the purple aura went away, and immediately, everyone saw the change that took over the tower, it had a more sophisticated look to it, and even the inside of it was filled with tables and boards.

"I-I tried...basing it off what you sai-id, with the guild-like look." It looked exactly like the inside of a normal guild building, with a few major differences that made it distinct, like a flag that hung on the wall, carrying the same design as the other mages had on the left middle of their robes, a hooded figure carrying a seemingly ancient staff, it must've been some legends that they created, or have experienced.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"I-It's amazing, stunning even." The leader of the department put his hand to his mouth as he took a deep breath in, beyond impressed by what he was seeing. "A-and the outside is like this as well?" He looked back down at Mike.

"Y-Yeah...it is"

"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!" It seemed like the trio who came here really didn't need to do anything, at least they thought until the leader came up to them. "You three! Can you spread the word, we're going to be heroes! With low prices to hire as well due to our low cost of living"

"Urgh, I-We already did our j-

"I don't see why not" Anthony, seemingly interested, cut off Moses as he tried to detest the idea.

"Yes! Thank you! Come on everyone! Let's rebuild and get ready!" The leader seemed to run off back into the door he came from, some of the robed men went with him, as the others stayed behind and took out tools to change whatever change they deemed wrong.

"Well, let's get going then, shall we?" Anthony walked back to the door alongside his crew.

And so the trio went off, telling the world how misunderstood the "cult" actually was, it seemed like in reality, they were just some people who wanted to be heroes for hire, although...it seemed like they may have accidentally harmed some people in the process. While some people believed the trio, others were more confused as they didn't know what they were talking about, or straight out didn't believe them, but they tried nonetheless. They continued to travel until they were sure that at least every major city knew about them, Anthony didn't know why he was doing it, maybe it was because in some way he understood what they felt, but regardless he did it, and he made sure of it.

After two years of traveling and spreading the word, the trio decided to return to the so-called cult and see how they were making themselves out in this world. As the trio returned, they saw around two hundred people outside the tower, chatting about, Anthony seemed to recognize some of them, it seemed like the mages had changed their attire into a more mature and defensive look. The tower was also more massive, seemingly taking in more people.

"Ah, there they are, how long has it been?" The leader of the mages walked up to Anthony "Thank you for spreading the word, it must've been difficult handling those stubborn people"

"Of course it was" Moses spoke out behind Anthony "People confuse me"

"It wasn't that hard, stop complaining" Susan scolded Moses.

"W-Well either way, I appreciate it...come in, come in" The leader led them inside, the interior was split into sections, most of it, about 3/4s, were for travelers to rest or acquire jobs, the last quarter was for hiring the mages that resided here, it seemed like many of them were hired already. Just by taking a look around Anthony understood that this place was fine and that they were booming in business.

"Gotta say, didn't expect you to travel for two years just to market a former cult" Adrian stood against a wall with his arms crossed, the lance he used during the tower battle with the fake master was on his back, brandishing a new branding, it seemed like even though the lance had a past legacy, one filled with misery and war, had now been turned into something that resembled a peacekeeper. "Well, from what I heard they weren't one...don't know if I believe it though...but hey, if you do, then so do I" Adrian got off the wall and patted Anthony on the shoulder

"Never expected you to be here of all places...guess I did a good job of marketing huh?" As Anthony chatted with Adrian, the other two started looking around, seemingly impressed on how a place has changed so much in such little time...well, two years have passed after all.

"I guess so"

"What're you here for anyways?" Anthony asked Adrian

"I never finished what I came for, that codex is still out there somewhere, supposedly a mage is needed for it, so I came for that" Adrian looked out the door.

"You're still looking for it? Didn't I tell you, you're too inexperienced, even after two years" A man walked up to Adrian, Anthony on the other hand didn't know who he was "If you really need a mage's help, then I can only stop you from getting yourself killed during the journey"

"Heh, can a defeated tower master really be that cocky? Adrian seemed to know the guy, a failed tower master...

"Well then, if we're making a squad then I wouldn't mind tagging along" Anthony suggested, wanting to tag along with his friend again.

"Huh, never picked you for the adventure t- well I guess you did go on a marketing trip for a few years...I still can't believe that...so...wanna bring them along?" Adrian motioned towards the two that Anthony had come with.

"I think they need time to sort themselves out, and I think they had enough travel for awhile" Anthony looked back at them with a smirk "I don't think they'd wanna come along for some codex"

"I'll come along" The leader of the marketing department came up to them

"Really? Don't yo-

"Listen" He cut Anthony off "I've...well really you, have done my job already, I can afford to leave this place for a few years.

"Well then, I'd say we have our crew, two mages, two fighters, I'd say we have this handled" Adrian went to the doorway and out his arm on it.

"Well, a failed mage" The former leader of the tower taunted the failed tower master.

"Listen here you prick, at least I can do my job somewhat correctly"

"This is going to be fun" Anthony joined Adrian at the doorway "Alright everyone! Let's go!"

And with that, Anthony, Adrian, The once head of the marketing department of the tower, and an old tower master set off for the ancient and powerful codex and the artifact that it could unleash, with this, they began their next journey into this mystical world that held many secrets within.