Chapter 91

The Drawn Curtains

Cain stood in silence, his sadness-dripping eyes looking around at the wanton destruction, at the clouds of smoke and fire rising to the sky. Every inch of his surroundings reflected gloom, reflected the hell that he was very familiar with. However, most of the truly gruesome things he'd experienced, he'd experienced them in the Towers. As for the rest, he'd only ever seen them on TV or recordings.

It was his first time standing in the belly of the fire and watching the whole world burn. Glancing to the side, he saw a Tower piercing the horizon, virtually a replica of the one in L.A. -- at least externally. It changed the world in one, swift move, and made it almost unrecognizable.

“They’re here,” Cain said, startling Rick from his own thoughts.

“Start the chopper!” Rick hollered orders at the nearby, uniformed men who quickly complied. “This... will it ever calm down?”

“Eventually,” Cain shrugged. “When people get tired of dying.”

In the distance, the two quickly spotted four silhouettes emerge from the smoke. Emma led the charge while Jamal brought the rear, Diya, and Lukas running in-between the two. They'd also spotted the corpse flung over Jamal's shoulder and the head Lukas was carrying, causing Rick to frown. Do... do they not know you can put them into the inventory? Cain mused, looking oddly at the newcomers.

They reached them rapidly and, without exchanging more than a few words, they all dipped into the helicopter as it took off under the protection of Cain’s Elemental and Amnesty Shields.

The destruction appeared even more ravaging from the above, the whole of Frankfurt set afire, smoke drifting and cradling the sky. The ripping of the chopper’s blades snuffed out what was undoubtedly a symphony of agony down below. The group could only stare hollowly and turn away, leaving.

“You alright?” Cain turned toward pale-faced Emma and asked.

“... yeah,” she replied meekly. “Just...”

“Yeah,” Cain nodded, holding her hand. Though he offered to go in her place, she staunchly refused.

Cain understood why -- she wanted to get used to it, the best that she could. By now, it had begun to dawn on them that the world will never be as it once was. From here on out, it will be just like the one down below -- just on different scales.

“This is Lukas?” Cain asked, turning to the bald, pink-eyed man who had a dull look in his eyes. His name being called out seemed to startle him as he looked at Cain.

“Yup.” Emma replied.

"Hi," Cain said, smiling and extending his hand. Lukas replied to the gesture. "I'm Cain."

“Lukas.”

“Nice to meet you, Lukas. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“T-thank you...” the man bit his lower lip for a moment. “Where... where are we going, if I can ask?”

"For now," Cain said. "We're headed to a private airport a bit west of here. The rest of us plan to go to the U.S. after, and I'm extending the invitation to you. You could say we are a party of sorts, on the lookout for talented people to join us in exploring the Tower."

“Me... too?” Lukas asked, a strange look on his face.

“Yup,” Cain nodded, smiling. “Ricky over here discovered you -- if you want the details, ask him. And, well, against my better judgment, I trust his.”

“Oi!”

“You are free to refuse, of course,” Cain added. “We’ll still help you out as much as we can.”

“I... I heard the first floor, in America, got cleared,” Lukas asked. “You guys?”

“... yeah.” Cain nodded, smiling lightly. “Though, I’d appreciate it if you kept it to yourself.”

“...”

“Emma,” Cain pointed at the startled woman who looked at him oddly. “Is a Paladin, level 31. Jamal, the black guy, is a Blademaster, level 31 as well. Diya, the girl who healed you, is Illumity, level 29. And me... well, I’m an Elementalist,” Cain said, deliberating for a moment whether to disclose his level. Ah, whatever. May as well get it over with. “Level 49.”

“....”

“...”

“...”

“...” a momentary silence reigned in the chopper as every pair of eyes on their side of it focused on Cain, widening with each passing moment while the latter chuckled bitterly.

“HUH?!!”

“Y--YOU... YOU ARE LEVEL 49?!”

“NO--NO WAY!! WHAT THE FUCK DUDE?!” to Lukas’ surprise, everyone else appeared similarly shocked at the revelation. Rather, he was plenty shook just hearing the levels of other people, especially considering his and those he knew. Reportedly, the highest level in the German Tower was 24, yet every person here was higher than that. And then... then there was the man sitting opposite of him, hardly a handsome sort, yet with the type of enigmatic presence that was difficult to describe. Level 49.

“When?” Emma asked.

“This and that happened,” Cain replied vaguely. “Anyway, I’m level 49. God, that felt good to get off my chest...”

“... he totally solved that Sphere when we were asleep.” Jamal commented.

“...!” Emma’s and Diya’s eyes lit up like lanterns as Cain groaned, shooting the grinning Jamal a glare of anger.

“Are we... are we going in immediately?” Lukas interjected as Cain looked at him gratefully.

“No,” Cain shook his head, smiling. “Right now, we are resting and relaxing.”

“...”

“Did your friend have any family?” Cain asked abruptly.

“H-huh?”

“We can have Ricky here hire some guys to extract them and bring them to the funeral.”

“A-ah... no... he didn’t...”

“I see.”

“... a-are you sure you’re okay with me?” Lukas asked once again, looking at the group around him. Inside, he realized that he met some amazing people -- no, perhaps the most amazing people in the world right now. No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t see himself matching up to them. “I’m... I’m just level 21, and I don’t have any items besides my Class gauntlets.”

“Would you mind showing me your Status Window?” Cain asked.

"A-ah, sure." Lukas nodded, giving Cain permission. Once glanced at it and Cain nearly clicked his tongue audibly, but others hardly held back as they, too, got to take a look.

“Wow, your stats are pretty nuts.” Jamal said.

“And the Traits...”

“Nine achievements? Damn, you’re almost as good as us.”

//Name: Lukas Koch Age: 22 Race: Human

Class: Unslayed Level: 21

Strength: 185 Vitality: 212 Agility: 44 Stamina: 183

Intelligence: 41 Wisdom: 53 Health: 4240 Mana: 410

Traits: Hardened(A+), Determined(A), Undaunted(SS-), Adaptable(B+), Self-conscious(A+), Depressed(C+)

Skills: Hyper-Drill(B-), Immortality(D-), Seismic Shock(C+), Restore(C), Immovable Guardian(B), Solder(E+)

Items: Gauntlets of Life(C+)

Titles: The First Unslayed, Unshaken, Guardian of the Moh’bortoh, Rippling Shockwave, Bonded, Friend of the Shades

Achievements: 9(+1 to Main Stats for each Achievement) //

“You’re good,” Cain said. “Better than good, actually. With some items from our warehouses and some new skills we’ll hatch for you during our next run, you’ll catch up to the rest of us in no time.”

“A-ah, is that so...”

“Have more confidence, man,” Emma said, slapping his back soundly. “You and I will be standing at the front and taking all punches so that the rest of the guys can clean house. I need to be sure you’re gonna be the bear to my golem or something when we’re out there.”

“... y-you are a tank, too?” Lukas asked.

“Yup!”

“Don’t be impressed,” Cain said. “She sucks at it.”

“Oi!” Emma exclaimed. “I’ve gotten better! You didn’t see me fight that construct! I was pretty awesome, you know?”

“Couldn’t you have at least hinted to Diya or Jamal to praise you instead of praising yourself? Damn...”

“I’ll smack you.”

“Why do you always resort to the threats of violence?” Cain asked, looking at her oddly. “Do you find pleasure in thinking about beating me or something?”

“...” Emma sighed and rolled her eyes, not wanting to get dragged into it.

Ah, Lukas exclaimed inwardly, glancing between Emma and Cain. These two... are together. Like it matters. As though I’d ever have enough confidence to ask her out...

The group continued to chatter, mostly Emma and Jamal asking Lukas about the insides of the Tower here, while Cain drifted back into his thoughts, wondering and planning for the future.

**

Lander stared at a portrait of his grandfather hanging on the wall, lit dimly under the light of the hanging chandelier above. He never quite liked the portrait as it gave the old man too stifled of a look. From Lander’s memories, his grandfather was a brutish and snobbish man, always yelling, keeping everyone in the family under his thumb.

Luckily, both for him and the family, the old man didn’t get to live until the day the Tower fell. Otherwise, he would have likely never died. Sighing, Lander turned around and saw Belamin walking up to him. Even in his sixties, the man carried the poise of youth and vigor, his stalwart body only seemingly improving as it aged, like wine.

“Sir Lander.” Belamin said in a surprisingly soft tone as he bowed for a moment.

“Is it ready?” Lander asked.

“Yes, Sir,” the butler replied. “However, Emilio failed, I’m afraid.”

“That is fine,” Lander shook his head. “Rick was already in the Tower, very early on. I never expected Emilio to succeed.”

“...”

“I had them send him there,” Lander replied the butler’s inquisitive look, smiling. “As a probe. Rick, or whoever is behind him, will likely retaliate. It’s probably one of those people from the party. I just need to know who and their overall strength.”

"Appraisals put them in the high twenties, Sir," Belamin said. "They are rather quick."

"Yes," Lander nodded. "But it doesn't matter. We have discovered a gold mine of our own, and we just need to wait for now. Go back and tell Mother I will be late for dinner."

“Yes, Sir.”

**

“Man, that was difficult as all hell...” Sigmund mumbled as he struggled to normalize his breathing, glancing around once again. He was currently sitting on top of the broken-down carcass of a stoned giant surrounded with a dozen or so corpses of winged and tailed ante-Humans.

“I warned you that we should have grinded out a bit more,” Amelia said as she walked up to him. Her usual, graceful countenance was nowhere to be found, her whole attire drenched in blood -- some her own, and some of those ante-Humans. “It was needlessly too difficult.”

“At least we finally became ‘Heroes’, though,” Sigmund laughed freely for a moment, bringing up his status window and admiring the numbers. “Aah, who the hell cleared the first floor?! If I ever find out, I’ll behead them all.”

“Easy on the bravado,” Anton joined from the side with a rather emotionless tone. “Whoever’s strong enough to likely defeat a boss that’s even harder than this thing... do you really think it’s a good idea to mess with them?”

“They stole our glory man! Doesn’t it bother you?!”

“Why would it? It’s just the first floor. There are likely many more to come.”

“Ah! That’s right!”

“... wait. Did you seriously forget?!”

“Ha ha ha, never mind that,” Sigmund laughed, standing up, reinvigorated. “Come on. Let’s clean this up and get out of this place. I really miss beer.”

“You packed the entire inventory full of them... how are you already out?”

“It’s ‘cause he’s an alcoholic.”

“Fuck you, guys! I’m not an alcoholic! I just like drinking a lot!”

“...”

“... let’s clean it up.”

**

Shae felt it -- the pain in her knees. She was surprised it took so long. After all, she’d been kneeling for three days straight, now. Praying. And praying.

She looked up, a statue of a hooded woman looming over her like the moon. How much longer? She wondered. A day? Two? A week? Forever? She didn’t care, however. All she knew... was that she had to continue kneeling. Even if it truly took forever.

End of Book I: Return of the Tower Conqueror