"There are two of them...Luck, are you sure about this?" Damon asked, looking at me with worried face. I know my decision is reckless and it could endanger the three of us, but Blanche's face, she wasn't lying, and I can tell it.
"Yes. I should be the one asking you two. Are you sure you want to join me in this fight?" I asked, making sure that they aren't here because they need to, but because they are willing to do so.
"Yes. I also want to know if Blanche is telling the truth or not. She's quite strange, but she did defeated that monster and saved us. I think the only way I can repay her is to trust her," Ethan replied. He's really mature. Well, an heir of a law firm, that's to be expected I guess?
"Yeah, me too. I want to do everything with everyone," Damon answered. Damon's stats are quite high, I'm pretty sure he'll be fine.
Somehow, I miss my family.
"That's good to hear. Now, shall we go?" I asked. The two of them smiled at me and nod their heads. I can tell how determined they are for this, but I can't also ignore their nervousness, because I am also feeling the same way.
I'm pretty sure I'm trembling and they can see it as well.
"How are we going to approach them?" Damon asked.
"Head on," I replied. I heard Ethan chuckle.
"You're a straightforward guy," he spoke. I just laughed a bit as we all walk toward the two monsters that are roaming their eyes.
As we approach those monsters, the reek of blood from all the people they've killed. I heard Damon trying so hard not to vomit.
"If I were you, just...throw it up. It might affect you later while we're fighting the monsters," Ethan spoke. I turned to the both of them, and Damon's having a hard time to walk, while Ethan is doing his best to cover his nose and mouth to prevent himself from the scent.
"Are you alright, Damon? Do you want to withdraw from this?" I asked.
"Bleughh!" He walk towards the side, a bit far from our location as he start throwing up because of the scent of the wind. The blood that came from the surroundings and the monsters that are too strong for him to handle. My nose already got used to the smell, but it really still smells fishy and bloody.
"No--way...I don't want you two--bleughh! Hah...to do this without me..." He looks like he's dying...
"Are you sure? You know we won't hold it against you if you back out now," Ethan spoke. Damon spits on the ground and shake his head again as he walk back to our direction.
"It's fine, really. Luck experienced this too, yet he kept leading us...I don't want to be a burden right now," Damon replied. He really is a nice guy. I turned my head to Ai and Blanche again and I saw how Ai is also throwing up...looks like she upgraded her senses as well. Blanche is caressing her back, and she looked extra worried.
Looks like I don't need to worry about Ai. Blanche can protect her just fine.
"But---"
"Alright then. I respect your decision," I didn't mean to cut Ethan's words off, we just spoke at the same time.
"Uhh..." I turned to Ethan and just smiled at him. He stared at me for a few seconds and sighed. The same reaction I got from Damon earlier when I decided to go along with Blanche's plan.
"Let's go," I spoke, running towards the direction where the monsters are. I heard the two responding to me and running with me.
When we got close to the monsters, the two of it looks down at us. One monster in front of me, looks like an ant, but with the wings of a butterfly--while the other one, a butterfly...without its wings?
And why is an ant roaring at us? Ant, ant is roaring...?
I covered both my ears when I felt my ears ringing because of its loud roar. I can also see Ethan and Damon doing the same thing. Dang it, maybe I shouldn't have asked them to enhance their senses. This is a mistake on my part.
I look up to the ant who's planning to attack me right now as it roar. Did it know we were gonna get affected by its roar that its not stopping its roar? Dang it--
"Luck--ughh! STOP SCREAMING!" Damon yelled angrily to the ant, and surprisingly...
"It stopped...?" Ethan asked, slowly removing his hands from his ear. What the actual heck? The ant stared at Damon and to us, the same goes with the wingless butterfly. They're just staring at us right now.
"Should we try punching them?" Damon asked. Pointing to the two monsters in front of us. I nod my head.
"Can you do it?" Damon smirked and glared at the two monsters.
"Sure thing," he replied, running towards the monsters. Both Ethan and I prepared ourselves if ever he gets in danger, so we followed him from behind.
When Damon got close to the monsters, it roared again. We all covered our ears for the second time, and we I saw how the monster swing its wings to Damon, I run towards him and pushed him away. We both rolled on the ground and we saw the ant monster and the wingless butterfly heading towards Ethan.
"STOOOP!" I yelled. Damon and I quickly stood up to run towards Ethan. The ant, however stopped swinging its wing and turned to us. When it saw us running towards them, it also run towards our direction. It's still roaring. How the heck can an ant roar?
"It's heading this way!"
"I can see that clearly!" I replied to Damon's yell.
I stopped running which made Damon do the same.
"What are you doing?!" He asked, looking back at me. I stayed quiet as I stare at the winged ant that's approaching us.
"Luck! What are you planning to do?! Let's run away!"
"Luck! Don't just stand in there!" Now even Ethan is panicking seeing that I am only standing as the winged ant run towards our direction. I don't have any idea why I suddenly feel confident, is it because of what Blanche said. Are these monsters really weak? Are those levels above their heads are just for show?
"Luck!"
Both Damon and Ethan yelled when the winged ant swing its limb to me. I bend my knees as I grab Damon's hand to pull him down. I quickly stood up and clenched my fist, running under the ant's body. I focuses the strength to my feet as I force myself to jump, punching the ant's chest. The ant screeched, causing me to cover my ears while preparing myself to land. What the heck, how did I managed to jump so high?
When I landed, I looked up to the ant while running towards Damon's direction, I made sure to use these stats very well, and it didn't took long before I reached him. The two of us were surprised to see the ant lying on the ground. That ant's level was way higher than me, yet I was able to defeat it...?
"I TOLD YOU!" We all turned to Blanche. She looks really proud.
"But, it's not done yet!" She added, pointing at Ethan's direction. Ethan looks up to the wingless butterfly, but the butterfly was just staring at him. It's not doing anything at all. Come to think of it, this butterfly is far more docile than the winged ant. Even when its approaching Ethan earlier, it doesn't seem planning to attack him at all.
'Sas...efcharistó...'
Huh? What was that? I didn't understand it at all...
Ethan was about to run towards the wingless butterfly, but it took a step backward...
"Ethan, stop," I spoke. He confusedly looks at me, and I just shook my head.
"What are you thinking, Luck?" Damon asked, looking at me with those disappointed eyes?
"It's fine...just don't..." I spoke. I don't have any idea why but I feel like this butterfly won't attack us.
I stared at the butterfly, and it also turned to me.
'Efcharistó...polý'
I creased my forehead and touched my temple. Am I the only one hearing this? I don't know what its trying to say, but I think its the butterfly that speaking in my mind. Is it...really?
"Wha--" All three of us were surprised to see the butterfly slowly growing a--a wings? And its similar to the wings of the ant that I just defeated. Out of curiosity, my head turned to the ant, and I was right. The wings of the ant was slowly dissolving, and its turning to ashes, while the ant turns to small particles.
"This butterfly..."
"I don't think it will attack us, just...leave it be. Let's go," I spoke. Damon creased his forehead while staring at me.
"You think so?" I did not answer his question.
"Ethan, let's go!" I yelled. Ethan glanced at me and to the butterfly. He once again stared at it for a while before he starts walking slowly. The butterfly that's growing its wing just watched him walks away from their direction.
'Makári...na xanavrethoúme'
I stared at the butterfly, turning its back from us in a very slow way. But wasn't it moving fast earlier? And why is it not attacking us at all? I have no idea what I heard...I did not understand what it was, but I felt like I understood the butterfly.
"It's leaving?" Ethan asked when he got close to us.
"Were you aware of that, Luck?" He added.
I stayed quiet and stared at the monster that's starting to fly away from us.
"Luck?" Damon asked.
I just smiled at the both of them.
"I don't know. I just felt like that butterfly is different from the others..."
Right. I did say that they reek of metallic rust, but when the ant died, the smell also slowly disappeared. That butterfly, it has no smell at all.
"Hmm..."
"The timer's almost done," Ethan spoke. We all look up and saw the timer, it's at 00:43.
"Let's go back--oh, by the way you were cool earlier, Luck! How did you jumped that high?!" Damon asked, now he looks like a kid who's excited to listen to a bedtime story.
"Probably because of my upgraded stats? Pretty sure you can do it, too," I replied. He was panicking earlier, but I know he can do it as well. Now that we've confirmed Blanche's words. It won't be difficult to escape...but, the timer's already up.
"That was nerve wracking..." Ethan mumbled.
"And how did you know that the butterfly won't attack us?" He added. I stayed quiet for a while and turned to the two ladies who are waiting for us. Blanche is waving at us, while Ai is just smiling with both her hands on her chest. She looks really relieved.
"I...just felt like it," I replied. I noticed Damon and Ethan exchanging looks with each other. I know it's confusing to them, because I myself is also confused.
"Maybe you're a monster whisperer?" Damon asked. I chuckled and shook my head.
If that's the case, I should've just sent all those monsters that chased us away.
"Hope that's the case," Ethan replied, laughing.
"Hiii! You're amazing out there!" Blance yelled, waving her hands with a huge smile on her face. I can't believe she was right about the levels of the monsters.
"Wait...is it just me or did the timer skipped minutes?" Damon asked. What does he mean by that? I didn't notice, actually.
"Really?" Ethan asked. Damon cocked his brow. Well, the last time I checked, it was at 6 minutes, I think?
"Maybe you didn't notice it because of what happened with those two monsters. But, it took a lot of time before we could deal with those monsters," Seriously? I tilt my head and look at Ethan. He also turned his head to me and raised his brows.
"What? You're also confused? I can't blame you, you were the most unfocused of the timer," Wow, I don't even know what to respond to that.
*Ding ding ding*
Because of the sound that came from above the area, it caused the three of us to pay attention there. And we're all surprised to see a little...kid? He's so small, I think he's less than a hundred centimeters...
"He's glowing," That's right. He has white hair and gold eyes, even his eyes are glowing. And this kid looks really handsome. His clothes is strange. He's wearing only linen that's wrapping his body weirdly. There are also gold linings on some of his clothes.
And did he just appeared out of nowhere?
"Greetings, everyone. It looks like a lot of you survived. That's quite amazing, and surprising at the same time," His voice...what's that? It sounds so soft and mesmerizing that my auditory senses focused on his every words. I can't even turn my head away from him.
"I am glad that the amount of survivors this time is higher than the survivors last time. I believe everyone came prepared?" He asked. Came prepared, huh? We don't even have any idea what preparation we should take since we don't have enough information about this tower.
"Also, it seems like a lot of you are perceptive and observant. Now, this is going to be fun," No, 'cause who is this kid? He haven't even introduced himself yet.
"Oh, you're right. I haven't introduced myself yet," What? Did he read my mind?
"I am the Overseer of this tower, named Asmodeus. Nice to meet you, everyone," Asmodeus? That's a unique name.
"Woah...he's so small," I heard Blanche mumbled when we finally reached their direction. He is indeed small, I wonder what his height is.
"I showed myself here to give you all the rewards that we promised," Asmodeus spoke again as he slowly let himself down to the ground. He then snap his fingers and a notification window appeared in front of us.
[ You've accomplished the first quest! Here are your rewards:
- 30,000 Stellas
- 10,000 Gold Stellas
- 100 Gems
- 300 Clovers
- Plain Sword (3-star Weapon)
Congratulations! You can equip a weapon now! Please tap 'OK' to accept tutorial! ]
A tutorial?
[ Tutorial to equip a weapon, 'OK' ]
I tapped the 'OK' word and suddenly the notification bar went to my inventory and there's a tiny hand pointing to the sword that is now in my weapon inventory. I tapped the Plain Sword and it showed its stats.
Crit Rate%: 10.1%
ATK%: 20%
Hmm, I have no idea if this is good or lacking.
There are two words under it which are 'Ascend' and 'Equip'. The tiny hand is pointing to the 'equip' word, so I tapped it as well. I flinched when I felt something on my back, and I saw how a sword appeared behind Damon's back too. It's not attach on his back, it's just floating there behind him.
*Ding!*
Another notification window appeared.
[ You Got an Achievement!
A true hero: Equip a weapon for the first time
- 10 Gems 'Claim']
There's even an achievement for it? And it also gives a reward? I tapped the 'claim' and it gave me another notification after I claimed it.
"Wow, feels really real that we're in a game," Blanche spoke. She already have the sword behind her. Ethan and Ai too.
"W-well...this is real," Ai answered. Blanche laughed and nod her head.
"You're right, hahahaha!" She's an energetic one.
"Are you happy with the rewards?" Asmodeus asked. Of course no one answered. Who will be happy in this situation when a lot of people died because of the monsters? They didn't even know they can actually defeat it.
"Aww, it looks like everyone's exhausted. Alright then, I'll give you two days to rest. After that, all of you should gathered in front of that huge door over there so you can get to the second floor. I shall take my leave now," Asmodeus spoke, and disappeared right away after ending his speech. Washe referring to that huge and wide door ahead? The design looks quite strange. There's a woman, wearing an infinity dress, with a crown and a ball of something on her palms. She has her eyes closed, and she's smiling.
"Asmodeus...is it just a similar name?" Damon asked. I creased my forehead and looks at him. What does he mean by that?
"Asmodeus is the name of one of the Demons written in an ancient scripture," Blanche added, causing the other four to nod their heads. Demons? Ancient scripture? Now, what is that?
"Do you not know, Luck?" I quickly shook my head to Damon. I have no idea what they're talking about at all.
"The ancient scripture talks about how the world is created and how it was once colonized by demons. Asmodeus is one of those demons who colonized our world," Ethan explained. Wow, I had no idea about that at all. Is it only available to those of higher status?
"Though...his appearance isn't even close to the ones in the murals," Ai added. Scriptures, murals, what's next?
"Right. Still, we can't rule out the possibility," Ethan replied. Well, because of this chaotic quest, I don't think that kid being a demon is not impossible. Maybe this is one of their ways to conquer the world again? If that's the case...we should stop them.
I turned my head to the huge door again and clenched my fist. For the sake of the people outside this tower, we should do everything to explore this tower and get a crucial information about why this tower mysteriously appeared in our world. And having an Overseer that has the same name with the demon they mentioned. This is getting a little suspicious.
"Anyway, let's rest. We still haven't touched the food we brought, so let's eat as well," Ethan suggested. We all nod our heads to agree and we're about to start walking, but suddenly, the surroundings went back to how it was earlier before the quest started.
"Woahhh! That felt weird!" Blanche spoke with a loud. It does feels weird, as if we were moved without us being aware of it. I felt a bit dizzy for a few seconds.
"Hmm...looks like we're back," I roamed my eyes around and saw how the players quantity decreased. Even though Asmodeus said that a lot have survived, the loss is still massive.
There are people who walks to some area and takes a seat on the cold floor.
"Let's just stay here in this area and eat. Did you brought food with you, Blanche?" I asked, which she responded with a nod.
"Yep! Lupin prepared it for me," How did he prepared it for you when he doesn't even exist...?
"Really? We all should eat now then," Damon said.
"Yeah. We have two days to rest, so let's make the most of it," Ethan added. He's right. We need a lot of energy for the second quest for sure. The first quest was already exhausting, and I'm pretty sure the difficulty of the quests will increased as we ascend the tower.
We should rest well.
***