Kian heard Helen clearly. She wanted to keep her son safe. When Kian looked at his mother, the same feeling washed over his body. "Deal."
"What?" Brent scoffed. "You're willing to die for me?"
Kian looked at his brother. He was always protected by this man. When they were young, Brent skipped three years of school just so he would be in the same year as Kian. They got older and the former still kept following him, protecting him.
"No." Kian looked away, glancing at his mother who had tears brimming on her eyes. "I'm doing this for my mother."
Kian left the rooftop as Helen led him to his room. Kian's mother already packed for him, giving him a large bag that was filled with clothes and food.
"Mom, I don't need all of those," Kian chuckled as he watched his mother pack more items. "The government will supply us with what we need."
"Oh," Sonia smiled and chuckled. She offered her hand to Kian which he took hesitantly. Sonia grabbed something from the bag and wrapped it on Kian's wrist. "This was the bracelet that your father bought for me when we had nothing. It was his first purchase with the money he earned from selling sugar. It's not expensive, but it meant so much to me."
"Father…" Kian whispered. "Father was broke when he married you?"
Sonia's eyes widened for a split second before she shook it off and smiled. "No. It doesn't matter. What matters is that whenever you have anything to remember at your most desperate moment, remember us, my dear boy."
Kian wanted to cry, but he knew that his mother would only feel worse if he did. He took his tears back with a gulp and giggled. "I know that I can always rely on your prayers. You have been praying for me for years."
"And I will never stop praying for you, child," Sonia hugged Kian. "Thank you so much. You never stopped helping us."
"It doesn't matter, mother," Kian returned the warm embrace. "What matters is that you are safe and father is safe."
"You're going to take Helen's offer?" Sonia asked. "But Kian, it's a death sentence."
"Only if I let Death knock on my door," Kian smirked. "I will never give him the chance to do it."
After the time allowance that the government gave the Heroes, all eighty-eight of them were taken to the headquarters of the League of Nations.
The headquarters was a cube-shaped fortress made of iron and stone. The cube was hollow on the inside, since the rooms surrounded the wall of the fortress. The hollowed-out inside was the training ground for the Heroes.
"Today, you will all be trained to handle the system that all of you were given to," a petite old woman said as she paced back and forth in front of the eighty-eight chosen people. "After deliberately collaborating with some of the Heroes, we have figured out how the system works. If you already figured it out, then good. But if you haven't, you might want to listen up."
The system that Kian and the rest of them were given to has the same features. It was similar to an RPG game where the player can see his stats, skills, and even weapons in his inventory and the equipped weapons that he currently had.
While the rest of the Heroes had their skills displayed, Kian could not see his own. Even the old quirky woman, Agatha, could not answer his questions.
"If this system really is like a video game system, then your levels should increase inside the World Tower where you would face challenges," Agatha said. "If it follows the same logic, then the higher the level you have, the stronger you become. The numbers on your stats should increase as well."
The orientation went on, but it did not entertain Kian anymore. When he was younger, they were still wealthy. He would skip classes and play RPG on his own computer. He knew a lot of these rules, maybe even more than Agatha.
"Your destination is unknown, so it will be best if you have the complete set of tools for the job," Agatha said. A man pushed a cart towards them. On the cart was a bag that hikers would use. "This is a special bag that we designed for your journey. It contains weapons, tools, clothes, and even food rations. We don't know what's inside the World Tower. You should be prepared for anything."
The rest of Agatha's talk was filled with intentions about how the bag works. Kian looked around him, studying all of the faces that he was going to ally with for their journey.
The group was filled with different kinds of people. There were ones who looked normal, ones who did not, and some looked oddly in the middle. As expected, there were different races that were selected, but there has never another pair who came from the same country, let alone the same family.
"You're brothers?" a young, beautiful woman whispered beside Kian. When he glanced at who it was, he saw her face. Her skin was soft and silky, it was like porcelain. She had features that would make anyone mistake her for a beautiful doll. "That is so cool."
Kian simply nodded and smiled, avoiding her gaze. It has been a long time since his heart skipped a beat because of a woman. It was because he was too focused on work and trying to live that he forgot that there were beautiful women such as her around.
"My name is Mira," she offered her hand. "I have Cassiopeia, the Seated Queen, as my Soul."
It made sense for the most beautiful constellation to be embodied by her. She looked so beautiful that it felt like a crime to look at her. Her voice was also soft and gentle, like a calm flowing river. Her eyes glimmered as if they were the stars above.
"And you are Kian Collins, right?" Mira giggled. "I heard all about you. The only people who came from the same country are brothers, and your beam… it's kind of famous."
"When I survive the World Tower, I will personally leech out my background to the media so I can become rich," Kian jokes, but it took Mira a long time to process it. When she did, the woman snorted and giggled even more.
"You're so funny, Kian," Mira said. "Let's survive the World Tower, alright?"
She offered a closed hand at him, signalling a fist bump.
Kian sighed and shook his head before fist bumping Mira. "Yeah, let's conquer this bitch."
On the other side of Kian, Brent cleared his throat. He glared at the two, but then offered his fist. "But we should listen to Agatha first, okay?"
Mira and Kian released a small fit of laughter and the three hit it off as Agatha continued. When the orientation ended, they started to network and introduced themselves.
Several people came first before it was time for Kian.
He stood in front of the group, bowing before introducing himself. "Hello, my name is Kian Collins. I was chosen by Ophiuchus, but I don't know why it's like this. My beam is transparent and my Status does not display right. It shows errors, but I won't let it hinder me from helping this group conquer the tower."
"Ophiuchus was always the black sheep among the constellations," a girl suddenly interrupted. She had long, wavy blonde hair and a pale skin that was almost the same complexion as paper. She was sitting on the row behind Kian, so he does not know her name yet. "The Serpent Bearer would always defy the usual and is arrogant, self-centered, and egotistical. Maybe that's why it's not responding."
Kian gulped. "Maybe, or maybe not. I don't know, but I promise that I won't be just a bystander when we enter."
"You don't even see your skills," the first person to introduce scoffed. He was a tall, muscular man that had shoulder-length hair. He stood and glared at Kian. "How can you promise to help?"
This man was Joseph Robin, the host of Capricorn. He was sitting in front, right beside the other royalties from different countries.
"I am strong," Kian said to Joseph. "I could be of use even when I have yet to discover my potential."
"That's why Ophiuchus chose you," Joseph laughed. "You're the same."
"No wonder the goat chose you," Kian curled his lips to form a smirk.
When Joseph growled and stood in anger, Kian did not participate in the argument anymore. Instead, he returned to his seat and left the man standing there. Kian was victoriously smirking as he watched Joseph slowly sit back on his chair.
"He's an asshole," Mira growled as she stood. It was her time to introduce herself. "My name is Mira, the Hero with the Soul of Cassiopeia. And together with Kian and Brent, we will lead this team to victory!"
Kian's eyes widened. He gulped and wished that he didn't talk to Mira from the beginning. She was specifically looking at Joseph, further escalating the tension. This woman spells trouble.