"I've never seen a life force skill like that," Adrian mutters, his hand touching his face.
"That was the advantage I had," Reyna replies. "She never saw it before."
"I guess... but still, risking the life of a guild I'm working with isn't exactly my style," Adrian says with a sigh. "Regardless, we need to be prepared. Sho would rather ensure Valen keeps his end of the bargain than fight him."
"And how do you know that?" Reyna asks.
"Because Sho loves me," Adrian says confidently. "I'm sure I could convince her."
"If you're certain," Reyna responds. "We need to determine the rules of this agreement."
Adrian pauses, lost in thought, before continuing. "Being so professional is hard," he mutters.
"Anyway... the boss hasn't been found yet, and the floor is different from the game. All the items we enchanted with Specter's Bane are essentially useless. So, we'll help you with the ninth floor until the fifteenth. By then, you should be stable enough to continue without us."
"Sho will most likely call for another summit after the last of the tutorial floors are beaten," Reyna points out.
"You're right," Adrian agrees. "We might not even be assigned those floors."
"But I agree," Reyna adds firmly. "We'll stay united until the fifteenth."
"From that point on, we're G2 Crusaders!" Adrian laughs.
Reyna nods. "We'll find the boss," she says confidently. "Once it's dead, we can teleport to the tenth."
"I agree. We can't risk the boss absorbing magic," Adrian warns. "However... I can't, in good conscience, have our guilds work together without at least getting a good idea of your members."
"I agree," Reyna smiles. "We don't want to be watching over each other... or worse, dealing with casualties," Adrian adds.
Guilds are assigned floors by RG and Sho based on her assessment of which groups are capable of handling them. If a guild volunteers for a floor, they receive priority for claiming the loot after defeating the boss. While some solo players attempt to challenge bosses on their own, this is generally considered dangerous — even in the tutorial stages. Viri and Sears once witnessed a player lose their life this way, or so they told me.
"I don't know if Sho will give us more time," Reyna says.
"As I said, I'm sure I can convince her," Adrian replies. "If not, we'll have to proceed regardless."
"If she does agree," Adrian continues, "then tomorrow we'll hold a training week where we introduce ourselves and our members."
"I know your guild has quite a few NPCs," Reyna says. "How many players will be attending the fights?"
"Ten players," Adrian answers. "So fourteen of us in total."
"I'm sure they're great fighters."
"Don't you have a lot of NPCs? I ask, why don't we use them?"
Reyna glances back, but Adrian seems amused.
"I'm not fond of using NPCs as fodder," Adrian says firmly. "Besides, dungeons are dangerous for NPCs, let alone bosses."
"I agree," Reyna nods. "I've never thought about it... I've never even been inside a dungeon."
"They're very interesting," Adrian says. "I'd recommend going at least once."
"We will," Reyna says. "We'll find the boss as soon as possible."
Reyna stands, and Adrian follows her.
"There's one more thing I need to talk with you about," she says as they step outside. Adrian follows, and the room falls into silence.
Tank, the man clad in crusader armor, remains quiet. Reyna's conversation drifts in from outside.
"It's nice to meet you," I say. I try to smile. I can't quite convince myself.
"Tank... I think," I mutter.
Tank remains silent, and I decide not to speak further.
"You can call me Gerald," Tank finally says, his voice low and gruff. "Gerald Ash."
He seems older than most, so I ask, "How old is Adrian?"
Gerald doesn't respond at first. Then, in a voice louder yet still reserved, he answers, "I'm 27. Adrian's 17."
"Ten years apart? Are you related?"
Gerald shakes his head, about to answer when the door jolts open.
"It's Teruki!!" Teruki announces, stepping inside.
"Reyna and Adrian are still talking outside," she says, setting a small box on the table.
She turns to Gerald. "Want a muffin?"
"He doesn't speak much," I whisper. "His name's Gerald."
Encouraged by her words, Gerald finally removes his helmet. It reveals his messy blonde hair, the scar that marred his left eye—a deep, jagged slash. A permanent reminder of a past battle. His eyes, sharp and red. They glint with an intensity that contrasts the softness in his expression.
He picks up a muffin, his fingers rough yet steady, and takes a bite, offering a faint smile as he chews, his expression softening for just a moment.
"This is good," he mutters.
Reyna soon returns, Adrian nods toward Tank, and he quietly exits the room. Tank bows to Reyna before leaving, and Adrian follows suit.
As they depart, the rune on the wall begins to slowly dim, fading away to nothing.
Reyna's face glows with a happy grin.
"It's nothing," she insists. "I'm just glad he agreed without trouble."
I hope I did everything correctly...
It's crazy when you stop to think about it — how kids, how young adults, are taking on this tower while governments sit back and watch. One person alone can be stronger than 90% of the guilds.
Sho's strength is unmatched; if she were to face 70% of players in the tower, she'd cut through them with frightening ease, her sheer power and skill making the battle seem less like a fight and more like a demonstration of dominance — a reminder that few could ever hope to stand against her.
"We'll leave tonight," Reyna orders. "Prepare any warm armor you have. We head out once Sera returns with the Flame Amulet."
I nod, heading back to my room to prepare.