"What could be the meaning behind your words?", Kevin asked, as he pressed his eyeglass and calmed himself.
Nostalgia erupted in the man as a silhouette of a man posing intelligently as he rub the temple between his eyes, fixing his glass shortly after. The silhouette was no different than Kevin that was standing before him.
'It is no doubt that he is the late Guildmaster's son', the man marveled.
Bowing his head as he parked his right hand in his chest, with the other resting by his side, he dignifiedly spoke.
"The name is Mordred, Captain of the 10th floor. I am afraid that I can't tell you the specifics here, Guildmaster. If your respectable honor permits, these humble subordinates shall lead you to our camp to give light to your inquiries.", Mordred articulated as his masculine voice embodied respect for Kevin.
Spectators remained in a trance as their jaws dropped to the ground, their curious eyes trailing the Sword Saint Guild members left the scene with Kevin who calmly led the group beside Mordred.
Kevin glanced ahead as he blinked at a normal pace, amidst the sudden unveiling of shocking episodes, he recollected his composure as he followed Mordred. There was no fruit in loitering and his queries would only be resolved by following the group of players who kept upright as they traversed the sea of inquisitive gazes from the crowd.
Ahead of the circular platform was a congested road with scattered stalls on both sides as vendors called out one after another, vying to attract potential customers. As they exited the crowd, Kevin's gaze landed on one of the stalls with its vendor waving a transparent bottle as its blue liquid contents swayed erratically.
Kevin then opened his [Status Window], disclosing his information as he skipped right to the Karma points section.
[Karma Points: 20,000]
"Sir Mordred, how much does Elixir cost?", turning to Mordred on his right side, he asked. Kevin ventured into this Tower for a single purpose - securing an Omnipotent medicine, Elixir, for his ill mother.
Caressing his pouch, he felt a marble-sized orb in the deepest corner. Kevin knew well that a mere 20,000 Karma points wouldn't suffice for a single Elixir, thus he intended to auction his [Rank Upgrade Orb] that he got as a bonus reward in the Tutorial to secure enough funds for buying Elixir.
Though not as rare as [Rank Upgrade Orb], Elixir was still hard to come by so its price must be on millions of Karma points.
Mordred motioned and lowered his head to the left as he glanced at Kevin. He was too tall that he had to lower his head to meet Kevin's eyes which were only on his shoulder level.
Mordred is a massive man with thick veins protruding from his packed biceps. His broad chest was clad in golden sleeveless armor that was akin to medieval times. Right in the armor protecting his heart, a sword emblem grasped by a hand was engraved on it. It dazzled under the ray of sun as it reflected the might of Sword Saint Guild.
His black hair with streaks of white swayed with the warm breeze of the daylight as he gazed at Kevin with his dark eyes. His withered lips moved up and down as he spoke.
"Elixir? What for? Do you have any sickness, our Lord? And please drop the honorifics, I am nothing but a humble subordinate", Mordred uttered as he scanned Kevin who appeared to be healthy outside.
Shaking his head, Kevin replied as he adjusted his eyeglass.
"No, it is not for me. It's for my mom", he uttered as he glanced at Mordred who flashed a worried look upon hearing him. Now that he gave it a thought, they were aware of his dad so shouldn't they be aware of his mom too? And her illness?
With another question resurfacing in his mind, Mordred heaved a sigh as with a bitter expression, he said.
"We regret to inform our Lord but, just this dawn, we received a report about your mother.", heaving another sigh, Mordred watched an inquisitive look of Kevin as he continued.
"Your mother… she just died", he muttered.
Kevin felt his ears being stabbed by countless swords as his thoughts became blurry by clouds of emotions. His head turned dizzy as he heard nothing but Mordred's last phrase that went in a loop. Not knowing how to respond, the sword dropped to the ground as the sound from the impact pulled him out of his trance.
"T--that can't be, she was fine. I will be buying her an Elixir and she will be fine. She is not dead yet… she is not —", with tears rushing out of his eyes like spring, Kevin entered grief as he wailed.
"Sorry, but that is the truth. Your mother is no longer in this world.", Mordred uttered as he lowered his head.
—---
Two days later, on the late night of the last day of the Tutorial, two girls emerged from the Resurrection Hall.
It was Hiraya and Althea.
Their excitement was halted as a sea of players welcomed them with lustful eyes upon witnessing their otherworldly beauty. Men who couldn't contain their lust came rushing forward as their eyes fixated on Althea's large bust.
An outpour of drool fell from their mouth as they ravages the people ahead of them. Before Hiraya and Althea could react, three old men with bumps on their stomachs, hurled towards them with their fastest speed and mouth widely opened.
Hiraya stepped forward as she hid the horrified Althea on her back. The men extended their hands as they couldn't wait to relieve themselves of their weeks of abstinence. In no time, their extended hands suffered a sharp pain as something hard blocked their path.
Standing proudly in between the men and Hiraya, Minokawa looked down at three humans that appeared tiny before it. Minokawa then unwrapped his wings at blinding speed, he decapitated the three men. Blood spurted from the headless bodies as they fell to the ground.
Three players in the Tower met their death in the bladed wings of the SSS-grade monster, Minokawa.
Minokawa flapped his wings a single time, cleansing his bloodied wings as the blood spath on the nearby bystanders, dying their stunned faces red.
He scanned the surroundings as he finally escaped his hellish cage and entered the Tower. As his knowledge contained, the Tower is a lawless world where murders were the social trend.
The aggression and killing all happened in a minute as the bystanders couldn't recollect themselves yet when another group of prominent players entered the scene.
Minokawa looked at the players as he felt a strong aura emanating from them. To be exact, the woman directing the group oozed a strong aura.
"Be careful around her, she must be an SS-grade or SSS-grade player", Minokawa turned his head as he whispered to Hiraya.
The bunch marched forward as they traced a path formed by the bewildered onlookers. They had already witnessed the same event two days ago when Kevin was escorted by the large guild, Sword Saint Guild. They pondered that this tale-like event could not happen twice in this lifetime.
Marching forward with long glossy legs that could choke any burly man to death, the woman in her 20s glanced at Hiraya as she excreted a harmless aura.
"Great to meet you, Heir of the Empress. Your Arimaonga family is waiting for you.", said the woman as she extended her hand for a handshake, her grin reaching her ears as she glanced at the dazed Hiraya.