In the Alter Tower, a party could be seen. While one member was casually observing his surroundings, the others appeared extremely shellshocked. There was surprise and confusion.

"How does one become a Tower whisperer?!" Minor exclaimed

​​

"How is this Tower so talkative?! This doesn't make any sense!" Emsee interjected.

But there was also worry as some could be seen frowning and trembling. It was mostly because of the mission.

[Kill 20 innocent human beings and deal with the aftermath.]

"There is no way we will do that! Look at them! Everyone here is human?! I won't kill any innocent!" Joe righteously affirmed.

"Deal with the aftermath? What kind of sadistic Tower is this?! Kill our brethren and suffer for it?!" AIYA remarked, showing disgust.

"It's worse than that. Look at how real they are! This here is not a game. It's a true world for sure." Minor's eyes shook as he said that.

They couldn't really be blamed for it. The various NPCs were extremely vivid and numerous. Each had their own personality, habits, language patterns, and even their physique looked real. They seemed to be moving either with a sense of purpose or just strolling having fun. Some even appeared worried, lost in thoughts, or had other various expressions.

Then there were the shops too. They were extremely colorful, huge, detailed, and were frequented by many customers. It was far from a placeholder normally used as a Floor setting. No, everything was clearly real. For instance, there was even small print on the promotional adverts.

The entire scene was serene and the very definition of peace. The place showed pure and heartwarming natural lighting that fell from big glass panes on the ceiling. Smiles could be seen, and laugher could be heard from time to time. Were they supposed to shatter all this?!

"Josh, what kind of crazy place is this?" Emsee solemnly inquired. His face was tense, and he couldn't believe all that he was seeing. The clash between the usual Tower and this was making them all be on edge.

"Here? It's the Alter Tower. Also a shopping mall. Looks pretty good, doesn't it?" Josh relaxedly stated the obvious.

But the others were simply staring at him, unsure how to react. They couldn't wrap their heads around this whole place.

"Alright, any suggestion on the best places to commit a subtle murder in such a place? I'm listening!" Josh calmly asked.

"You mean this is the only way out?!" Emsee's tone was panicked.

"Indeed. It's not that bad. One just needs to be careful not to be seen, that is all." Josh shrugged.

"But these are humans!…." Joe said while frowning.

"Aww. You guys are cute. Getting worried for NPCs?" Josh teased them.

"NPC?! This can't be! Look at how they are acting! They are real for sure!" Joe kept arguing.

"HAHAHA. You guys are overthinking all this. This is only a simulation." Josh told them the secret.

"Simulation?! That's impossible! These are all 100% real!"

"Nope. Pretty cool, am I right?" Josh winked.

"How is this possible?!" Joe still couldn't believe it.

"How? Well, normally, a Tower Protocol has to generate tons of Floors for all Climbers. Here we are the only ones, we get VIP treatment ;)" Josh explained, with the Tower itself chiming in.

[Technically that slothtrosity is still sleeping on Floor 1.]

"There you have it. He's attentively watching all that happens and improving the experience in real-time. He's a very conscientious Tower Protocol." Josh praised the system, which acted all shy.

[ (>//w//

It took them all a while to come to terms with this new reality. They kept sneaking glances at the NPCs trying to notice flaws, but without success. As these guys did so, Josh casually wandered the place, finding an information booth.

At the booth with the ℹ️ symbol stood a bored-looking girl playing some kind of candy-crushing mobile game. She seemed youthful and would do a small cheer every time she passed a level or grumbled whenever she lost a round.

"Grrr, my luck with this one is really bad— Ah! Hello, ladies and gentlemen, can I help you find anything?" She was flashing them a radiant smile as bright as summer.

Minor advanced: "Hello young lady, what is this place exactly?"

Upon seeing the young man's peculiar but handsome appearance, she could be seen blushing furiously. Was he an actor?! She kept wondering but began talking about the mall's features. A few instants later, she was somehow already spilling her gut to him.

He learned about her passion for K-pop, her studies, her family, her insecurities, and even her deepest desires in life. All until he left, returning to the group to her disappointment.

That is when his otherwise sunny face turned into a grimace. His eyes began showing sadness and doubt. He overall appeared highly distressed. He was trying to understand what they were expected to do.

"Josh, this place is Hell. These are no AIs. These guys are all human. They feel alive! I've talked more with that girl than some guild members. How is this possible. TELL ME!" As he screamed the last part, bystanders turned around, shocked and curious.

All of their expressions were grave as they realized the difficulty of this place. The Tower had always been a simple game of clearing monsters. But, there were none here, only people. These people were so very alive! They had to fight their own morals.

Minor could already be seen crumbling emotionally. Meanwhile, the others didn't know how to react. They truly didn't. Were they to kill anyone here, they would probably forever be haunted by their ghost. They would lose sleep and slowly fall into insanity.

They could feel it, all because of the realism! The Alter Tower that appeared extremely peaceful, far from dangerous and calm, suddenly turned into a nightmare in their eyes. They could all be seen shaking.

"W-what now?" Joe asked.

"Right now, we hunt. While Minor was talking to that girl, I thoroughly checked this place's plan. Don't worry. This will be over soon. Follow me." Josh gave them a reassuring smile.

The first step was to find an area without surveillance. He first swung by the bathrooms, but there were cameras, as expected. There was a sign that even announced it. It was to prevent crime.

"Why are we here?" Emsee asked.

"Eh, apparently for a wasted trip. There are security guards constantly checking the mall's surveillance cameras. They will sound the alarm should we start killing, or so I assume." Josh explained.

"So what do we do? Do you just want to go for the flashy but fast way?" As he proposed, he could be seen wincing.

"Nope. There is a reason 'aftermath' is written in the mission. I'd rather not fight anyone with guns. We can expect that much at least."

"How do you know?"

Josh didn't even bother answering as he just pointed at the environment. It was a given with such a setting. How ridiculous would it be if the cops showed up with knives?!

Instead, he led them all the way to a chain clothing store. It was one that was relatively vast and even had many floors accessible via small escalators.

"Now what?" Emsee asked once more.

"Now this." Josh picked up some random pants then headed to a fitting room to try it all.

There was a man in charge of it. He was polite, wearing a clean uniform, and welcomed them all without any suspicion. He was standing right at the only entrance of it. The design made it so the interior was away from the gazes of others.

The main point was that the interior was camera-free. Josh called the man over for his opinion on his jeans. As the man did, Josh smiled at him before he twisted the man's neck in one straight movement CRACK. Then he chucked the body in a stall.

"What the Hell did you just do?!" Minor exclaimed, shaking.

"Only 19 more to go." Josh simply murmured, not bothering to explain himself.

The other members of the team were shellshocked as they watched Josh undress the man and wear his work outfit. Then he stood at the entrance of the changing rooms, smiling at customers.

Every time someone would come to try a piece of clothing, he would politely usher them in. But none would come out. If one had opened the very last stall, one would have found a pile of dead bodies. All until….

[Mission accomplished 1/4….as unconventional as usual!]

The scene in front of their eyes changed with a flash of red light, and they were back at the starting area. THUD. The tough party members could be seen on their knees, a few threatening to be sick.

Josh's killing had been efficient, quick, and bloodless. The targets had been happily living, and then it had been over, just like that. Some glanced at the calm Josh. Had he just taken the lives of humans so easily?!

Josh could see the doubt, the despair, and the shame in their eyes. They were disgusted by his actions, and yet they knew that they couldn't just stay here forever either. They knew, but they still felt their stomachs churn.

[Mission! Kill 20 innocent human beings and deal with the aftermath.]

"Why?! Didn't we just do that?! What kind of perverse agenda does this thing have?!" Minor screamed, making others stare once more.

Josh couldn't help but sigh. What agenda did it have? "Knowledge." Then Josh stared at the sky. "As long as one will be able to differentiate real humans from these simulations, the work won't be over, am I right?"

[Correct. Others are easy to fool, but…]

"How do you know he's not just an unfeeling killing machine?!" Minor suddenly screamed at the air before looking despondent. "Ah, sorry. I didn't mean it like that …I …"

[Because this is the world he longs for more than anything…]

"?!?"

"Shall we keep going?" Josh began leading them again.

"Wait, why aren't we heading to the same place as before?"

Josh chuckled. "Let me show you then."

He brought them to one changing room after another, but every single one showed that it was closed. It was always watched by bystanders too.

"Does that answer your question?" Josh chuckled.

"What?! But we just…." Minor showed extreme confusion.

"The Tower adapts. All of them do. It's just that the Alter Tower does it at a faster rate." Josh shrugged. He could see them pensive. He could see a hint of worry flash in their eyes.

This time, he guided them to a cinema. Needless to say, the task was accomplished even more easily. In the darkness, one could now see tons of people "sleeping" slumped on their chairs.

Josh left as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. His companions were already in a turmoil of conflicting emotions, and yet this was but the beginning. That is when came the third mission.

[Find the murderer roaming and take care of him however you see fit!]

What?! It was still an assassination mission, but one for justice this time around?! Wait, they didn't even have to kill the target, right?! Hope could be seen igniting their expression again.

Josh couldn't help but wonder. Was this the Alter Tower being considerate?...