"What's… happening?"
Zac's whispers were completely drowned as he entered the Tower; his steps almost stuttered. He was expecting his return to the Tower to be filled with a sense of nostalgia, but now; just meters after he entered the building, he saw his mother grabbing someone by the neck.
Any nostalgia he even had was now gone.
'Of course', he thought as his steps slowed down. How could he forget who he is? The Tower, it was always this kind of place. It was a breeding ground of heroes, but it was also a breeding ground for people who tend to overstep their bounds.
And no doubt, the man that Nathalie was holding by the neck overstepped his boundaries.
The guards and the other explorers don't and won't really do anything as long as no one gets seriously hurt or dies. It was… just that kind of place.
"Ah!"
Nathalie quickly let go of the man she was holding as soon as she saw her son, she seemed to want to say something and explain, but Zac only waved his hand.
"I'll stand in line, just follow me when you're done," Zac sighed as he passed by his mother, not even glancing at the man on the ground.
"...Eh?" Nathalie could really only look back and forth between Zac and the man she almost strangled to death. As for the man in question, he quickly stood up; his eyes centered on Zac.
"You… you're with a Level 4? What the fuck are you—"
"Mind your language if you don't want me to pull out your tongue."
But alas, before he could even finish what he was going to say, he felt a small pressure climbing onto his neck as Nathalie's glare seemed almost as if it were death. The pressure didn't last, however, as a smile quickly appeared on Nathalie's face as she went to follow his son to the receiving area.
There were lots of people on the line, obviously since the Under York Tower was the only Tower for a thousand kilometers or so. Any and all trades and meetings gather here.
"You're… not going to ask why I was doing that?" Nathalie then whispered as she stood beside her son.
"..." Zac just looked in response, before a small smirk appeared on his face, "You're beautiful, mother. It makes sense that people would flirt with you."
"Oh?" The smile on Nathalie's face also turned into a smirk, "Who are you? What did you do to my son?"
"Pft," Zac only shook his head and chuckled, before a whisper escaped his mouth, "He… has been dead for a very long time."
"Hm?"
"Nothing," Zac shook his head as he stepped forward. The two of them waited for almost a quarter of an hour before they finally reached the front of the receiving area.
"Please present your Explorer's License."
And the man behind the counter did not even look at the son and mother pair as he stretched his hand towards them; his eyes were almost sunk in; his voice, extremely monotonous that it might as well be coming from a robot.
But of course, why wouldn't he sound like a robot— when he's been stuck behind the counter for years? The man's name was Dan, and Zac knew exactly who he was. He wanted to be an Explorer so badly but was sadly not given the chance to open a Curtain and gain a System.
And when the time came that he had his chance, he was killed… by Zac and the crew he was going around with at that time.
"What about you, where's your license?"
"I—"
"He doesn't have one yet," Nathalie was the one to answer for him.
"..."
"Then, please fill out the registration form," and once again, Dan didn't even look at either of them as he handed a piece of paper to Zac. He then examined Nathalie's license, putting her identification number in the computer, but before he could enter the last number, his eyes which were devoid of any emotion started to squint.
And soon, he looked back and forth between Nathalie and her license; his squinted eyes, slowly widening with each turn.
"I… Identify," he then whispered.
"!!!" And as soon as he did so, he suddenly stood up from his seat as his breaths started to stutter,
"Na…thalie Baker…
…aren't you the Witch of Carnage!?"
Dan's hurried voice almost echoed throughout the entire lobby.
"...Excuse me?" Nathalie, on the other hand, could only raise an eyebrow as Dan's words reached her ears, "Did… you just call me a witch in front of my son?"
"...Son?" Dan quickly turned his head towards Zac, who was still just casually filling in the form and seemingly not caring about the situation. And it wasn't only the receptionist, the man who tried to hit on Nathalie also turned towards the mother and duo pair, before looking at his peers… and running away from the building; with his friends following him a few seconds later.
The rest of the people in the lobby also looked, and soon, whispers began to scatter in the air.
"The Witch of Carnage?" And with the sound of a pen clicking, Zac finally breathed out as he looked at his mother,
"Who's that? What did you do to my mother?" He then said with a small smirk on his face.
"D… don't mind it," Nathalie awkwardly let out a chuckle before look—glaring at Dan, "I'm sure he just made a mistake."
"Ah, y… yes. A mistake. Hehe…he," Dan's lips didn't know whether to quiver or smile as he slowly made his way back to his seat, "Are… are you here to take your re-evaluation, Ms. Baker? It… it says here that it's been 18 years since you last took the test, a lot has changed since—"
"Re-what? Just process my son's registration and stop spouting things," the warm voice that Nathalie uses on her son seemed to be reserved only for him, "Just give him his license so we can start bonding in the city."
"That— you may not be aware since… since it's been 18 years since you last took your evaluation," Dan took in a small gulp,
"But… there's a combat test now."