"So how have you been?" I asked my team, who had already made their way to my table.
"Pretty good," Ignis replied as she took the seat to my left. Liam sat on my right while Elizabeth sat in front of me.
"After we arrived here, we searched everywhere for you. Just where were you?" Elizabeth inquired.
"I had some work to attend to," I replied. I can't tell my team too much.
"Anyway, it was the inn owner who told us that you were here. We have been waiting for you since dusk," Liam said as he drank some water.
Just what did Sarroth want?
"By the way, did you see how many different species coexist here!? It's like we are in a dreamworld!" Ignis exclaimed excitedly.
A dream world? This Tower was far from it. It was almost the equivalent of hell. Then again, I guess I forgot that Ignis was still a child.
The young boy excitedly whispered, "There are elves, dwarfs, beastmen, lizardmen, and other species that only existed in fantasy novels, back on Earth! How fun!!"
Children really looked at the world from a different perspective. So it was refreshing to talk with them.
"Your food!" Margaret exclaimed, as she appeared behind Elizabeth. She placed a dish in front of the four of us, bowed, and went to attend to the other customers. It's good that she got something for all four of us; it would have been awkward if the only one eating was me.
"Did you guys eat already?" I asked.
"Nope! We were waiting to dine with you," Elizabeth replied, digging into the steak placed in front of her.
Only a bowl of salad was placed in front of me. I wonder what kind of great flavour this had. Grabbing some cutlery, I took a huge chunk of the salad and put it in my mouth.
It… It… It tasted just… like a normal salad.
I took another chunk of salad from the bowl, but it tasted the same. It tasted the same green, fresh vegetables and leaves found on Earth.
I guess it was good to have some normal food once in a while too. Getting used to the delicious food of the Tower was unnatural, after all.
I gobbled another spoonful of the salad, my eyes almost tearing up because of its 'normal' taste.
Soon, the entire bowl had been devoured. Even if it wasn't the most delicious thing, it still filled my belly and mind.
The team had also finished their meals and were reclining back on their chairs due to the exhaustion caused by eating so much.
A waitress came over, cleared the table, and went away, not saying or asking anything.
"So, do you guys plan on climbing the Tower?" I inquired.
"Well, I do, but they don't," Elizabeth replied, pointing at the siblings.
"It's too risky. Plus, I am sure we can find some job in this city and just live by. I can't afford to put Liam at risk," Ignis said, staring at the empty table.
"I have the same opinion," Liam replied.
It made sense that the siblings thought that way. Climbing the Tower was a risky business. Compared to that, most people would prefer to live here peacefully.
I wonder why the Tower summons new random people. I don't think that it has any lack of people in it already. But, well, that's a topic for another day.
"That's good," I replied.
"Yeah. I and sis thought a lot about it. But, we decided that we'd still challenge the first floor. The inn owner told us that it is nearly impossible to die on the first floor since the challenge would be simple and hand-made for each player," Liam said.
The challenge would be hand-made for each player. How does that even work?
"So, I guess it's just the two of us after that," Elizabeth said with a tone of melancholy.
No. I can't take Elizabeth with me. Climbing the Tower will be riskier since even some influential figures will be targeting me.
Although I didn't know or understand Elizabeth, one thing was clear about her. She was good at heart.
I can't involve someone like her with me.
"Why do you want to climb the Tower anyway?" I asked.
"What? Isn't it obvious? Because staying in the same place will be too boring," she replied. I guess that was a valid reason too.
She wouldn't be able to handle the challenges that I may face.
"I don't think that staying together would be right. Plus, we only teamed up for the tutorial," I said.
Elizabeth seemed to be taken aback a little.
"Ye-yeah. I guess you are right," she replied.
What was this strange feeling that I felt? It felt as if I was losing something important. Did I grow attached to these people during our time together?
After my master's death, I promised myself that I would never get overly attached to anyone again.
Then why? Was this something Caligo was doing? Was he playing with my thoughts and feelings? Or was I just weak?
I need to move on. Thinking about my team for too long would yield no practical results. Right now, I need to focus on climbing the Tower. I need to focus on getting stronger.
I need to focus on seeing my parents!
"I guess this is it then," Liam said, sorrow brimming in his voice.
"Yeah," Elizabeth replied, fixing her eyes on the empty corner of the room.
"Still, you guys can always come to me in times of need," I said, comforting them.
.
.
.
Lying on my bed, I stared up at the ceiling. Was leaving them the right choice? Only time will tell.
According to the administrator of the tutorial, the path I would travel would be filled with obstacles that would be extremely hard to cross. The lesser people I had to worry about, the better.
Thinking about these things anymore was utterly pointless. I need to believe in myself and the decisions I make.
I took out my dagger and started examining it. It was a beautiful weapon.
"Moon," I called out.
I received no reply. I guess it wasn't the same as Caligo, who could talk to me.
But still, to think that a dagger had a consciousness of its own was something unimaginable until now. My luck nowadays has been on a roll.
I slid my dagger back into its scabbard, switched off the lights, and shut my eyelids tightly.
Tomorrow would be the day I took the first step toward my parents!
##########
"It has been two days already since the new batch of players entered the Tower. Why is it so difficult to find the Librarian amongst them!" angrily yelled the Tower Lord as he paced back and forth in a beautiful garden.
The garden was filled with beautiful and exquisite flowers, bushes, and trees. The indescribable flowers sparkled like gems throughout the day while the trees stood tall and proud, bearing the most delicious fruits.
A huge fountain of water could be seen at the centre of the garden. A bench was placed in front of it, on which Mark was seated.
"Give it some time. It's not like you don't know the rebellious state that floor zero has been in recently. Even if the Divina staying there met the Librarian, it is highly unlikely that they would inform us about him," Mark replied calmly.
Mark wore a casual black shirt along with grey pants with white lines on them. Although he liked wearing his suit of armour more, he was forced to remember his battle with his best friend whenever he wore it.
The Tower Lord wore his usual white and golden gown. A single black shackle could be seen on the right hand of the Tower Lord.
"The Divina are respecting me less and less, each passing day. Yet, each one of them, even the high Divina, revere and fear 'him'! I need to put an end to that Librarian bastard if I wish to continue being the Lord of the Tower," yelled the Tower Lord as he lightly punched a tree.
The tree evaporated into thin air, not even leaving a spec of dust behind.
"The garden was made by the Eternal Gardener. You shouldn't just destroy things on a whim," advised Mark, sitting on the fountain.
Irritated, the Tower Lord stomped his way toward the bench and sat on it.
"It is because you get so easily agitated that the Divina have started losing their trust in you. You need to be calm," Mark advised the Tower Lord.
"You are not wrong," the Tower Lord said, taking a deep breath.
"But, if 'he' gets out this time, I won't be able to seal 'him' again. The last time, it was only because of a sealing circle left behind by the first Tower Lord, that I was able to seal 'him'. But, the entire sealing circle was extinguished after I used it," the Tower Lord informed Mark.
"Can't you just draw the sealing circle again?" inquired Mark.
"No. I cannot even compare to the power of the first Tower Lord. It was only because I specialise in sealing skills that I could even use the sealing circle, and that too, at the cost of being shackled for the rest of my life," the Tower Lord said.
"Don't worry. If the Librarian isn't found in a month, then I'll go myself," said Mark.
##########