After looking around, Aaron came to three realizations about the Tower. Firstly, he noticed that most of the commercial buildings on the floor were owned by players, not NPCs. From this observation, he deduced that each floor had its own ecosystem, but an overarching coalition controlled all of the available floors.
It's possible that the Floor Masters are the ones responsible for setting the architecture and ambiance of each floor. How does one become a Floor Master in the first place?
This meant that while clearing the lower floors would be a breeze, progressing higher up would require a team. Fortunately, since the First Floor had already been explored by others, the map provided all the necessary locations Aaron would need.
As he contemplated his options, several locations caught his eye. The first was the Elemental Grove, a zone designed for level twenty players. Although Aaron was only at level twelve, he was confident that he wasn't too far off from being able to tackle it.
With the potions he needed now in hand, Aaron set off on his journey.
The Potion shop only offered modest healing potions and strength potions. Though it wasn't particularly impressive, Aaron knew it was his best option for now. He noticed other varieties of potions on display as well, but unfortunately, they were way too expensive for his current budget.
With eight hundred Green Mystcoins left and a plentiful stock of potions, Aaron felt well-equipped as he set out for the Elemental Grove.
As he made his way towards the Grove, Aaron knew he would encounter Elemental Golems, tougher versions of the golems he had faced during his Adventurer evaluation.
After a half-hour of uneventful travel, he finally arrived at the location, only to find someone else already there - a woman with a huge sniper rifle.
Her futuristic army attire featured black and white highlights, and she towered over Aaron with a stoic expression on her face.
Unsure of how to proceed, Aaron debated whether to greet her or continue on his way but decided that if he needed guildmates, she was as good a start as any.
"Hey!" he waved, but she ignored him.
With a deep breath, she unleashed a powerful magic shot that blasted through the air with a searing sound, finding its mark on two level twenty Earth Golems and killing them instantly. Aaron raised an eyebrow in surprise, thoroughly impressed by her impressive skills.
"Sorry," she said simply. "Was focusing."
"Aaron," he replied, extending his hand.
She tilted her head. "Last name?"
"Er," he hesitated. "Vanguard."
She smiled broadly. "Oh, it's you."
"You know me?"
"Of course," she replied. "Your legend is grand. CEO and Founder of the Infinity Group."
"Are you a gamer, then?" Aaron asked, his curiosity piqued.
The woman drew his attention to her emblem patch. Aaron's eyes widened as he took a closer look. It was his company's emblem, but something about it was different. He furrowed his brow, trying to make sense of it all.
"No, I'm a part of the Third Battalion for your company," she replied, still smiling broadly.
Aaron's confusion deepened. "Third Battalion? What are you talking about?"
"In the future," she said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, "artificial intelligence created robots to try to take over the world. Your company was the first to mount a defense. Your future leadership branched into the military."
It took a moment for Aaron to fully process what she was saying. "Wait, I own a private military company?"
"Infinity Vanguard: Safeguarding the Future," she replied, emphasizing the name. "But that's just one of many businesses you own."
"So, how did the war go?" Aaron inquired, trying to make sense of everything.
"I'm not sure," she shrugged, her smile turning wistful. "I died valiantly in combat."
Aaron's expression softened. "I'm sorry to hear that."
She shrugged again. "It was an honorable death."
"And you ended up here?" Aaron replied. "Seems convenient, doesn't it?"
"Convenient, how?" she asked, tilting her head.
"That a person from the future who's a part of my company met me here," Aaron explained.
"Things work in mysterious ways," she chuckled. "Perhaps fate?"
"Perhaps."
He didn't know what to do with this information. Was there really a war against robots in the future? If so, that meant he died before such things could happen. At first, Aaron questioned the information he received, but at the same time, who would lie about such a thing?
"So what do you do?" he asked, changing the subject.
"I'm a sniper," she replied, her eyes brightening. "I used energy-based weapons, but it seems here, it translated to magic instead. Fine by me, however, since I don't need to reload."
"Would you like to team up?" Aaron asked, feeling a sense of camaraderie.
"Party," she corrected him, and a holographic screen appeared in front of him.
[Zephyria wishes to invite you to her party. Would you accept?]
"Sure," Aaron replied.
[Party accepted. You may track party members across the map. Any mana crystals found will be divided equally amongst both members.]
"Are there Guilds?" Aaron asked.
"You can create a Guild on the Third Floor," she replied, her eyes scanning the horizon. "Information about the other floors is limited here, but I have a contact from a friend of mine who's climbed up to the tenth floor. He was also part of your company."
"Are there any others?" Aaron pressed.
"Not that I've found," she admitted, adjusting her grip on her weapon. "He was the one who reached out to me through a transponder. It seems that any equipment you had when you died immediately changes to support the Hero System. The person who made it is ahead of our technology. I presume he is from a longer and harder future."
"I see," Aaron replied, "What's your plans?"
"Each floor is divided into fifty levels. That means the Divine Dungeon on the first floor requires you to be at least level fifty. But that's for one person. With two, we could probably do it at level forty," Zephyria explained, her eyes scanning the horizon.
"Are you grinding until then?" Aaron inquired.
"Somewhat," she replied, "I'm looking for certain rare materials on this floor. We can trade them for better weapons on the higher floors."
"But don't weapons on the higher floors cost a lot?" Aaron asked, "How would the materials here compare to higher materials on the upper floors?"
"Surprisingly, when you destroy a monster, harvesting its materials is based on your magical resonance," Zephyria explained. "Which is essentially just a term that dictates your level. Certain mobs will only drop certain rare materials based on the level you are."
"Right, because the Hero System is man-made," Aaron mused, connecting the dots.
"Correct," Zephyria nodded. "The Hero System evaluates your magical capacity along with your physical strength to determine your magical resonance. That is then converted to a number, which is your level. So, that's why I'm hunting for a specific material. It will only drop from mobs when you destroy their magical core if you're below level fifty."
"What's the drop rate?" Aaron asked, trying to gauge their chances of success.
"With a sigh, Zephyria replied, 'It's extremely low, but regardless, I need to reach level forty. There's a Magma Core Dungeon that I need to clear, and to do so, I have to be at that level. The drop rate in there is much higher.'"
"What exactly are you looking for?" Aaron prodded.
"The Magma Core," she said simply. "My connect just told me it was very valuable."
"Then I guess I'll join you," Aaron said, offering his assistance.
"Be my guest," Zephyria replied with a smile. "You have potions?"
Aaron nodded, pulling out a small vial from his inventory.
"Sweet, that means I don't need to restock," Zephyria said with a grin.
"How long do you think this will take?" Aaron asked.
"Depends on how fast we clear and their respawn rate," She noted. "You're level twelve, right? So it should take you half a day."
"You seem quite knowledgeable about the afterlife," Aaron commented.
"It's not much different from my current life as a Battalion Commander," she replied, her tone matter-of-fact. "I graduated at the top of my class, you know."
Curious, Aaron asked, "How did you die?"
"Are you sure you want to know?" she asked in a serious tone.
"If it's a touchy subject, I won't pry," he reassured her.
"I died defending the Nothern United States," she said, a touch of sadness in her voice.
"Northern?" Aaron repeated, surprised.
"The States became divided when there was an uprising. Half wanted to destroy robots because they didn't regard them as sentient, while the other half wanted to make peace with them, giving them a new species name," she explained.
"Ah, the classic quarrel between whether robots were sentient or not," Aaron mused.
"Exactly," she replied. "I didn't have much of an opinion on the matter. I just followed orders, protected my Battalion, and then died for my friends."
"That's all you can really hope for in life, I suppose," Aaron said.
"It could've been worse," she chuckled. "I don't regret it."
Curious to know why she had decided to climb the tower, Aaron asked, "Why did you decide to climb the tower?"
"You can reincarnate from any time period to any position, with all of your memories intact, right?" she explained, a wistful look in her eyes. "For me, I'd love to spend my next life as a farmer in a futuristic world, just as long as I can provide for my family and keep food on the table."
Aaron nodded, sharing her sentiment.
"If you hit level thirty first, can you wait for me?" Aaron asked, hoping to stick together.
"Of course," Zephyria agreed, her eyes gleaming. "But only if you tell me your history from your own mouth. I'm always interested to learn about your ordeals. Was everything they said about you exaggerated, or did it really happen?"
"Fair enough," Aaron said with a smile.