“Sir Jackal, your refreshments.”

A jackal-headed man glanced up from the papers he was holding in his hands. He narrowed his eyes at the woman carrying a tray of biscuits and tea. “Put it down there,” Jackal said. “I’ll get to it later.”

“Yes,” the woman said and placed the tray on a nearby stool. She bowed her head and backed out of the room, closing the massive oak door on her way out.

Jackal waited until he could no longer hear the woman’s footsteps before turning his attention back onto the report his subordinates had sent him. As expected, Mary was demolishing the bases the large guilds had set up on the eleventh floor. Her existence was miraculous; never had he seen a newbie enter the tower with the strength of an explorer until he met her. By exploiting her strength, he could implement plans that only existed in his fantasies; only with the proper amount of power could someone brazenly snatch resources out of the large guilds’ mouths. Poison and deception, he didn’t need those when Mary could smash people’s faces in.

Jackal grinned to himself as he placed the report concerning Mary’s status onto the table in front of him. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing the heading on the next piece of paper. A dragon had been spotted in the first floor’s advancement exam. In fact, it had been spotted multiple times flying all over the exam region. Not only that, but it was accompanied by humanoid beings.

The only way for a dragon to enter the exam area was to be a participant. Jackal’s eyes narrowed. If he could convince a dragon to join the Virtuous Hand, then the dragons on the ninety-first floor, the ones who had always been unconcerned about human activity, wouldn’t they aid their fellow dragon in a fight against the lords? Dragons couldn’t normally be swayed, but if this one was traveling with humanoid beings, then perhaps the situation was different. At the very least, persuading them to join was worth a shot.

***

“Vur,” Tafel said and glanced down at the two orbs in her hand. One of them had the Intuition skill while the other contained Tremor. “Are you sure you don’t want these?”

Vur nodded. “Yeah.”

“Alright,” Tafel said. “Then I won’t be polite.” She pressed the two orbs against her root bracelet, and they dissolved into motes of light that surged into her head and feet. Tafel closed her eyes and clenched her hands. Then, she opened her eyes and waved her arm at a nearby tree. It rustled, its leaves vibrating along with its trunk. A frown appeared on the demon’s face. “It’s a bit underwhelming.” She turned towards Vur and pointed at Stella. “Try hitting me.”

The fairy queen pointed at herself and blinked. When Tafel nodded, Stella grinned and flew off of Vur’s shoulder. She flew towards Tafel’s face before suddenly diving towards the demon’s armpit. Tafel stepped back as her arm jerked forward, catching the fairy mid-flight. “I said attack me,” the demon said, her expression darkening. “What were you trying to do?”

Stella wiggled out of Tafel’s grasp and pouted, placing her hands on her hips as she hovered in the air. “Tickling is a form of attack too.”

“I did ask for it,” Tafel said and shook her head. “Now that all the skills are settled, are you sure you want to take a nap instead of exploring the second floor?”

“The inside of a tree is the inside of a tree,” Vur said and yawned. His eyes lit up, and he nodded before tapping his left forearm, causing the brown runes to light up. “Make an earthen spider, but keep the inside of it hollow for me to sleep in, and follow Tafel around.”

A lump rose up from the earth. Sections of it fell away, and the shape of a spider took form. Grass and flowers remained on its body, giving it a mossy looking layer of fur. Vur walked up to it, and the top of its abdomen expanded, revealing a dark space within.

“That looks like a coffin,” Tafel said.

Vur stepped inside of it and wiggled his way in. He furrowed his brow and sat up, his legs hidden within the spider’s body. He turned towards Tafel and held out his hand. “Pillow please.”

Tafel’s horns glowed silver, and a portal appeared beside her. She reached inside and took out a pillow before passing it to Vur. “Is there anything else I can get you? A blanket? A sleeping mask? Maybe some earplugs?”

“I won’t need those in here,” Vur said, smooshing the pillow down into place. He laid down and rested his head on the pillow before nodding. The runes on his arm glowed with a brown light, and the top of the abdomen fell back down, sealing Vur within the earthen creation.

Tafel stared at the spider, and it stared back at her. She took a step to the side, and the spider shuffled over like a crab to follow her. Tafel scratched her head before turning to the side. “Do you want to explore the second floor with us, Auntie?”

Lindyss let out a sigh and leaned back in her rocking chair. “If I don’t, you’ll wind up getting scammed,” the cursed elf said. “So, I guess I have to go.”

“How naïve do you think I am?” Tafel asked, furrowing her brow. “Besides, Diamant used to be a clan leader, you know? He has a century’s worth of wisdom inside that rocky body of his.”

“Yet he was still tricked into becoming Vur’s henchman,” Lindyss said and rolled her eyes. “You’re going to put your trust in him?”

“If you weren’t right, I would take offense to that,” Diamant said with a sigh, the spider’s mandibles moving as he spoke. Even the spider’s head drooped down a little.

“Yeah, well, the fairy who tricked him is also here,” Tafel said. She glanced down at the spider and raised an eyebrow. “Do you think you can add a seat to the spider? Right behind the head would be perfect; you can use the bulbous part as part of a backrest.”

Diamant sighed again. “Yes, of course. I’m already carrying one of you, carrying another won’t hurt.”