“I’m Nathan,” Nathan reached for Carter’s hand and entered a firm handshake,

“Me and my guild saw you come here alone, and were just wondering if you wanted to join us?” Carter gestured over to his guild. There were two other males and one female. As Nathan examined them, he couldn’t help but see the familiarity to his own guild. He quickly looked away and at the ground before responding,

“Sorry, but I have to fight the boss alone.” Nathan attempted to avoid thinking about his friends. Seeing people who reminded him of them hit harder than he could have imagined. Carter, his expression now worried, looked back to his guildmates,

“It’s fine, but there’s still a few more hours before it respawns, so why don’t you come sit with us? I’m sure it’ll go by much faster if you have people to talk to.” Carter attempted to convince Nathan, who had looked up at Carter, and back toward the guild. After a few long seconds of contemplation, Nathan decided to accept the offer,

“Ok.” Nathan slowly stood up and began walking over to the group of hunters. As he and Carter arrived, Carter began to introduce his guildmates,

“This is Ivy.” Carter pointed to a beautiful woman with black hair tied in a ponytail and bright green eyes. She had a thin frame and wore thin leather armor, similar to what Nathan was wearing. A pouch of throwing knives was attached to her hip.

“Nice to meet ya Nathan” Ivy waved with a smile.

“This is Max.” Carter gestured toward a towering figure, standing at over six feet five, with a bald head and broad shoulder's that would take up an entire doorway. He was wearing heavy full plate armor, and a large metal shield and ax laid on a tree next to him, presumably his weapons. He also wore what looked to be a green resistance band loosely around his neck. With a simple nod, Max showed his greetings,

“And last but not least, Ethan.” An older-looking man maybe in his forties, with sun-streaked brown hair that fell into his keen hazel eyes, and a well-trimmed beard, offered a hand-shake to Nathan who quickly accepted. Ethan's hands were calloused, but his touch was surprisingly gentle. He wore similar leather armor to Nathan and Ivy and had a utility belt wrapped around his waist with an assortment of tools. He also held a bow in his left hand, and a quiver full of arrows rested on his back.

“Well, that's everyone. So…uh…are you sure you don’t want to join us?” Carter put his hand on Nathan’s shoulder, “If something happened on the first floor, you don’t have to go at the rest of the tower alone. You-”

“It’s fine. I didn't lose my guild on the first floor. I beat the first floor's boss by myself.” Nathan attempted a smile, trying to show his appreciation for their attempt to console him. All of them looked shocked,

“Oh, sorry. I’ve heard stories about hunters challenging bosses alone after their guild members are killed, as a form of suicide…but you must be really skilled to kill the Goblin King by yourself.”

“I just got lucky,” Nathan laughed awkwardly. He didn’t want to attract too much attention to himself so early into the tower,

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

“Luck’s got nothin to do with it,” Ivy quips with a frown, flicking a coin before pocketing it, “You from one of those famous hunter families?” Ivy looked at Nathan with slight animosity,

“No no no, I’m from a regular family. My parents were both hunters…but… they're not around anymore,” A tinge of sadness appeared in Nathan’s eyes, prompting Ivy to change the subject,

“Oh…sorry about that. It’s just that I’ve never heard of someone skilled enough to beat the first floor boss alone, that isn’t in one of those dumbass families. Although, I guess you don’t have a bodyguard, so I shouldn’t have brought it up.” Ivy seemed angry just talking about them. Nathan could guess who she was talking about, but from everything he saw of them, they didn’t seem bad. However, Nathan could see how angry they made Ivy, so he decided to change the subject,

“Well…” Nathan looked around, trying to find something to talk about. His eyes landed on Max, and Nathan was reminded of something, “Max, is that a resistance band around your neck?” Nathan pointed to the green band, interested in why he was wearing it. Max simply nodded in response. Nathan waited for Max to say something,

“Sorry, he doesn’t talk much,” Carter laughed, “He thinks that resistance band is a lucky charm, so he spent a bunch of money to imbue mana into it, so he can bring it with him into the tower.” The entire group including Nathan chuckled, except for Max of course, who looked around with an embarrassed expression on his face. As the conversation started to gain some traction, the group sat down, and Nathan began to learn more about the guild. Carter and Max knew each other before becoming hunters, and they picked up Ivy and Ethan on the first floor. Carter was in the army for a few years, and Max was a professional fighter, so they were able to breeze through the boss of the first floor. From what Nathan heard, Ivy and Ethan were skilled in their own right,

“Yeah, Ivy was even able to dodge the Goblin sorcerer's magic,” Carter bragged, smiling at his guildmate,

“Really? Even I had some trouble with those,” Nathan chuckled, surprised by how skilled this guild was, “You’ll all definitely go far!”

“Ivy wants to become a High Ranker, so she should at least be that skilled,” Ethan commented while examining the plants around him,

“Don’t we all want to,” Ivy replied,

“That is the ultimate goal, but you really should have a secondary goal. Like me for example. I want to gather the greatest collection of plants from all floors of the tower.” Ethan didn’t take his eyes off the ground,

“I do. Once I’m strong enough, I’m gonna destroy the most powerful hunter families. Those high and mighty bastards think they're invincible...but I'll show them how weak they truly are!” Ivy seemed to have a fire in her eyes as she spoke.

“Anyway…what’s your goal, Nathan?” Carter turned to Nathan, clear curiosity in his eyes. Nathan was unsure if he should lie or not. Would telling these people such an ambitious goal cause any issues? He was silent for a short time before making his decision. Even after only knowing these people for a few hours, he felt weirdly comfortable around them, like he had known them for many years,

“It’s pretty ambitious…but…I want to destroy the Tower,” Nathan’s face turned serious, and the determination in his eyes was palpable. The eyes of everyone widened, and they didn’t speak until Carter broke the silence,

“That is certainly ambitious. The tower has ruined so many people’s lives, it is certainly admirable,” Carter smiled, “If you need any help in reaching that goal, we’ll help you!” Ivy, Ethan, and Max all smiled and nodded their heads. Nathan couldn't believe it. After only just meeting these people, they would help him with such a goal? The only other time he felt this way was with his guild. He couldn’t risk these people dying trying to help him with a goal he should be doing alone,

“N-” Nathan was suddenly interrupted by a notification from the system.

Boss - Hobgoblin Champion has been reset!

“Wow, time really flew by,” Ivy remarked, checking an imaginary watch.

“Before we part ways, why don’t we add each other as friends,” Carter suggested, standing up along with everyone else. Nathan was about to say no, but something called out to him. It could have been the memories of his friends or the friendliness that this guild showed him, but he couldn’t bring himself to deny Carter’s request.

“Alright!” Nathan smiled, and with the simple command ‘Add friend’, Nathan could now message the guild anytime he wanted. The guild waved Nathan goodbye, and began walking into the Hobgoblin village,

“That was nice. But now I have to wait a few more hours. I can’t be bothered to go home…I’ll just take a nap.”