Since he had hit S-rank, Rivyn had gone to insanely bizarre lengths to keep himself anonymous. Every time he was ever outside, his features were always shrouded by the puzzle skill known as Mask. This wasn't paranoia-no, this was a willful action on his part. He didn't have to worry about any threats to his person; on that, he was crystal clear, having tested his ability against other S-ranks and finding them wanting. Unwanted publicity and risk associated with that kind of sudden exposure-what really terrified him. Once they knew what he looked like, it was just a question of time before catching up with him.
After all, he had little to actually fear from the revealing of his house, as all that he truly valued was safely tucked away in his Inventory.
Yet the thought of his sanctuary violated grated on him. For the moment, at least, discretion was necessary. His Mask was instinctive now, a constant companion as he worked in and out of the thronging avenues of the empire. Not even the wheeling birds above might have marked him, let alone the tides of people. But today was different; today he decided to drop this mask for some time.
Rivyn made his way to the adventurer guild main branch-most grand compared to all of the guild outposts scattered throughout the empire. It was here that the most prestigious missions were posted; this is where the best of the best would meet. For any S-rank, it was the only place that mattered. His visit wasn't altogether casual, either. Of late, Rivyn had been noticing a number of stealth-based adventurers apparently lingering around his environs, many of them A-Ranks. They were not good enough to find him, but that didn't mean he wasn't watching it.
From what Rivyn gathered, they were scouts, set in place by the S-ranks themselves. The S-ranks had been hunting for him. Rivyn couldn't help but smirk at that notion-it was never found unless he wanted to be.
He had tracked a number of them in the past, breaking into their lines of communication until he knew their reasons for coming smoothly. The S-ranks were quite eager to extend him an invitation to join them on this tower raid.
It did not surprise him because news spread like wildfire in both the guild and black market about fighting two S-ranks; hence, after convincingly beating two S-ranks, all were seriously anxious to find the mysterious new S-rank. Going into the tower was an option Rivyn had weighed for some time now. The curiosity swirled in his stomach as he wondered if he would be taken back into that strange room, monsters coming in incessant waves, or if it was going to be utterly different. There really was just one way to find out, and with S-rank looking for him. Well, he'd make them come to him.
Rivyn moved with ease down the busy street, his mind awake and alert, yet bothering little with surveillance for any cause that might lead to his being followed or ambushed in any manner. There was basically one challenge he was really facing now: what to do next. Since attaining S-rank, things started to change-no more was power solely driving, but a will to be someone in this world, having great affluence or influence, or even better, a mix of both. Now, however, the tower beckoned.
Before him stood the adventurer guild, towering well into the crowded marketplace. Needless to say, it was a flurry of activities both in and out-food and adventurers alike-placing up missions, collecting rewards, and updating their ranks. Rivyn pushed through the heavy oak doors and entered the grand hall. Needless to say, Rivyn's entrance was not ignored.
A few faces now turned in his direction, their gaze clinging to him, their curiosity intertwined with the smile of familiarity. Most of those gazes were cast his way toward the staff, for they knew him-for all the times he had come in-they didn't know his name, but his face lingered in their minds. After all, it didn't happen every day that somebody came into the main branch of this guild so full of confidence. Rivyn relished the attention; he had come with a purpose.
He sat down at one of the free tables, crossing his arms to wait patiently for whatever would happen. He knew that it would not be much longer before the S-ranks found him; they had been looking for weeks, and he was sitting right under their noses. The only question was just how long it would take them to realize that.
Blocks away, a man sat with his back to a grand oak desk deep within the Imperial Palace, filling out paperwork-his dark eyes scanning whatever was before him, his brow furrowed slightly in concentration. He was the Empire's Minister of Adventurers-a key figure responsible for overseeing the operation of the adventurer guilds.
He will be accustomed to fighting the empire's best warriors, especially S-rank, and maintain the highest order in defending the realm.
He had been working when the knock on the door called his attention.
"Come in," he said in soft measured tones.
With that, the door suddenly burst open, and a young lady appeared, her face a mixture of excitement and urgency. She quivered lightly before speaking with him: "Minister, we found him-Rivyn; he is, at this moment, at the adventurer guild.".
The minister's eyes widened further. After weeks of ceaseless search, they finally found the well-hidden new S-rank. For far too long, he had been nothing but a ghost, dodging them with practiced ease. As this continued, mounting, into a rage that was most patient, he was dead set on not losing Rivyn again when they finally had him right in their pocket.
Is he there?" the minister asked, even as he rose, reaching for an orb nestled in a drawer of his desk.
"Yes, Sir. He has just come. He is sitting in the big hall."
It didn't take the minister much longer. He harnessed his mana into the orb, and the magical properties inside stirred into motion just like that. The thing flickered alive-a soft blue glow being emitted from its surface-the moment he spoke into it:.
"We found him, sir," the minister said firmly, "he is in the adventurer guild; let us hurry."
In but a moment, the orb brightened to show it received the message of the other S-ranks. The minister, in a haste, thrust the orb back in his drawer then ran out of the office. He would not let Rivyn slip away after he cornered him.
Rivyn sat at the adventurer guild, ordering a drink as he waited; though hardly a sip had touched his lips. The guild hall was filled with boisterous life: adventurers discussing missions, trading tales, and haggling over gear prices. He didn't care about anything in relation to that. His purpose for coming here was singular.
Not for long, though, as the door into the guild opened and a group stepped inside. Rivyn's gaze immediately fell upon the leader-the Minister of Adventurers. He was flanked by a number of S-rank adventurers, the powerful auras unfolding in their intimidating presence. Rivyn did not need to probe them with mana to know these were anything but ordinary adventurers-they were only the cream of the crop.
His eyes swept around the room, lighting finally upon Rivyn, who lounged at his table exuding nonchalance. Rivyn caught in the slight hesitation of the minister's step-a giveaway, he was taken aback at being seen to sit in comfort, waiting for them all along.
Rivyn stood, offering a slight, courteous smile as the party drew in closer. Hemade no move to screen himself; in truth, he desired this meeting.
Indeed, the minister had stopped, a few feet away from him, and regarded Rivyn for some time before he spoke.
"Rivyn, I presume?" said the minister, sounding very formal.
"Aye," Rivyn said, his smile inching wider by a fraction. "I was waiting for you."
Some of the S-ranks glanced at each other; they seemed to wonder how Rivyn had known they were on the way. The minister's face pulled tight for a heartbeat before smoothing once more.
"We have been looking for you," the minister said, his voice a little looser now. "Not every day does an S-rank just pop out. We were thinking you might consider joining us on a special mission.
Rivyn didn't need to-he knew what it was about. It had to be the tower raid, and he'd managed to piece together enough from the A-rank scouts that he grasped the gist of it.
"I suspected as much," Rivyn replied, nodding slightly. "That's precisely why I'm here. I've been eager to explore the tower myself."
A glint of surprise and pleasure mingled in the minister's eyes; certainly, he had expected Rivyn to be at least a little more evasive about things. The other S-ranks looked similarly surprised-up until then, they all had been silent, awaiting the necessity of coaxing Rivyn into their fold, and now, apparently he was inclined to join their cause.
Now it was all friendliness, and after clearing his throat into that characteristically professional and diplomatic voice: "Well, then, Rivyn-good to know we are in agreement on at least this much. If you're ready, we'd like to give you a fuller briefing on the mission. There's quite a lot to cover, and we want to make sure you're fully prepared for what lies ahead."
Rivyn crossed his arms, nodding slightly. He'd done his homework. He knew a good deal already, but there was no real harm in hearing their version of things. "Go ahead. Let's hear it."
"Follow us," the minister invited, gesturing Rivyn onward as he strode deeper into the guild. Turning, the sea of uniforms squeezed through the broad double doors that swung open onto a private conference room reserved for S-rank missions and sensitive briefings.
As they entered, the noise in the guild hall slowly died down until, after the door closed, complete silence reigned. Inside the great hall, a large table occupied the center, while the walls were lined with huge maps, pieces of artefacts, and symbols of the adventurer guild. It looked more like a war room than a meeting room, which spoke volumes for how serious the meeting was going to be.
Rivyn sat down at the table, opposite the minister; the other S-ranks were across from him. The feel of the room was decidedly formal, the people in it mature and dangerous, experienced in life-or-death situations. Still, Rivyn sensed that an undercurrent-a feeling of tension, or desperation-lay hidden.
As the Minister, he also gave very few preliminary remarks.
"We are going to attack the 67th floor of the Tower." He said with a slight lean forward. "As you know, the Tower is one of the most dangerous buildings in the world. Extremely old, gigantic, housing an unimaginable number of monster types. And since each floor is way more dangerous than the last, we came to consider the 67th floor as. to be especially troublesome. We have sent several S-rank teams in the past, but none were able to conquer it."
"None?" Rivyn asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise. That was not expected. Rivyn knew the tower was formidable, but not one team of S-ranks to succeed? That raised the stakes, all right.
The minister nodded seriously. "We have seen many S-rank teams continue to fail; there are those who have even lost their lives, and their companions turned injured. The floor is filled not only with strong monsters, but literally, the structure is crafted to break the adventurers' endurance. Topography changes at every moment, and mana flows thickly everywhere. The remaining energy gets used up faster than one could imagine. In just a few hours, several veteran adventurers were already completely exhausted.".
"And you think I can help?" Rivyn asked, though he knew already.
"You're not like the others, Rivyn," spoke one of the S-ranks, a tall woman with dark hair. "You took down two S-ranks as if it were nothing. You're stronger than anyone we've seen in years."
Rivyn said nothing; he thought. Flattery was not needed, but he felt better-he was fonder of their belief in his merits. But this was not for the sake of self-assurance in his strength, this was all about the limit of his strength, how far it would carry him. The tower was just the place for that.
"You'll be part of a team," the minister said, "but you'll have tremendous autonomy. We won't require you to be blind to orders. Your quite conspicuous talents are known to us, and we'll be trusting in your independent judgment as needed. We want, as said, to find and defeat the guardian of this floor. When that's done, we can go on to the next floors.
"Guardian?" Rivyn echoed, his interest now piqued.
"At each tier of the tower, there is a guardian," he explained. "A monster, often at the top of a food chain on that level. They guard the path up to the next layer. The guardian must be killed in order to advance, but the real challenge is finding it. The tower is constantly shifting, and the guardian may move to any of numerous zones in the floor. It's like searching for a ghost in a maze full of predators."
Rivyn settled back in his chair, weighing the matter at hand-impossible seeming and yet not quite impossible. He'd been in many worse fixes in those mystic lands in which he'd fought hordes of monsters without end. Compared to those, this seemed almost manageable, at any rate, at the time.
"And what if we can't?" Rivyn asked.
The minister said nothing for a moment before he replied, "We might fail. which would set us back by several months, or even years. The tower isn't just simply an obstacle to be overcome by adventurers, but also a source of power. With every floor overcome, the empire would obtain more resources and ancient magic. If we were to be defeated with heavy losses or fail to clear the 67th floor, it would undermine our standing in the north.
So, that was it, Rivyn thought; it wasn't just about the tower but about power and control. The empire wished to outshine all the other nations put together, and this tower was the clue toward their aim. He wasn't much into politics, yet Rivyn knew he did realize the intensity of what he was getting himself into.
"I'll do it," Rivyn said finally, his voice steady. "I'll join the raid."
It was as if the group exhaled together, but they tried to cover it up.
"Very well," said the minister calmly. "We leave in a week. I'll send through all the details and coordinates to you. Be ready." Rivyn nodded and rose to his feet, silently declaring their conversation done with. The S-ranks exchanged quick glances, the flicker of uncertainty in their eyes dancing across as they all so evidently were wondering what to make of him. Rivyn had seen it before: how they regarded him with a mixture of respect and wariness, not quite used to someone such as himself, someone who near enough popped out of nowhere yet had already come to be considered among the guild's strongest.He didn't care; Rivyn wasn't here to make any friends with them, only to get stronger.
From the adventurer guild on, Rivyn had become even more cautious, changing his look a few more times as he crossed the busy streets of the empire. Not leading anyone to his home, not that it would make much of a difference-really, his most valuable items were safely tucked away in his Inventory, unreachable by anyone-but better safe than sorry. The familiar crowds of merchants hawking their wares and adventurers of all manner hurried along the streets between missions.
Rivyn paid little mind to the scene around him, keeping his head down and his mind razor-sharp on the raid soon to be conducted. A thrill ran through him, though well-masked. The tower stood before him then-perilous, without a doubt-but it also promised so much: the knowledge to be culled from it, the power he could harness.it was a tantalizing thought that kept cropping up in his mind. But more to the point, he was preoccupied with other thoughts. Rivyn readjusted his look one last time as he came up to the edges of the empire, bound for the black market-where business was awaiting him.
A little earlier in the week, he'd brewed a new set of potions with much care, and now was the time to sell them. In his deal with that shop in the black market, it seemed to bring in good money, and since that small romantic tryst with the two S-ranks, his fame had fantastically grown. Within a second of his walking through, attentions fell on him from the busy market street: whispers following him, murmurs of the man who took down two S-ranks in a public duel. Still, he could feel their eyes on him, and that did not bother him, actually; if anything, he loved it. The more they spoke of him, the bigger his name would become, and those would convert into more opportunities.
The moment Rivyn entered his familiar shop, a reaction unfolded before his eyes. The staff froze in place, their faces reflecting surprise and a touch of fear. Of course, his very presence disturbed them; a few of the youngest made busy work for themselves, their eyes fluttering elsewhere anxiously. Rivyn couldn't suppress a smile at the scene-he had done nothing to garner their fear, but his reputation was most definitely doing quite a bit of talking on his behalf. The man first to have attended to him when he came visiting them found the last shred of courage and came forward. Nervous, he was rather silent, instead of his usually talkative self. Rivyn did not mind the silence; it was better that way.
Up the stairs they went to the office of the manager, tension palpable between them. Sedar leapt from his chair the instant Rivyn entered, his head bowed respectfully. "Master Rio," he said a little too deferentially, using the name Rivyn himself had given him. "An honour it is to see you again." Rivyn let out a silent sigh; it was the overly formal treatment that he knew would become inevitable. He reached into his Inventory and drew out the potions, setting them neatly onto the table. Sedar knew better than to question his quality this time around; it would go exceptionally bad if he insulted an S-rank over doubting his craftsmanship.
When these were ended, Rivyn with all possible expedition made his way to his house and oftentimes changed his appearance to be cautious. Once home, Rivyn let out a slow breath as he sank onto his bed. It indeed had been a fruitful day, but his head was now wandering to the tower: the raid wasn't for a week yet, and he needed to get his head prepared. To him, the very idea of fighting against the 67th floor captivated him more than everything else.