"It's been a day since my confrontation with Seo-ah. I had recently received my guild ID, Which granted free access to Tower Floors based on your rank Average. Being the first S-rank, that practically meant the first 60 floors of every tower that had been given public access. To be ready for the third tower, there was something I needed to find, a rare artifact. The third tower is much more dangerous than the guild realizes. If I remember correctly, it was only crystal structures. In fact, It was so crystalline that even the monsters were powered and evolved based on the crystals on each floor. Conquering it would bring an unpresidented shift in the world's economy. Which would be in our favor. I have a strong feeling that what stopped the scouting squadron was no monster...".
Min-jun rode his new upgraded motorcycle, which now ran on Aqueous Mana. His destination was The Second Mayhem Tower, east of the first tower in the fifth district of New Lotus City. The Second Tower was one of the only two towers available to the general card master population.
Due to it's intense difficulty, card masters had only crossed the first fifteen floors. Min-jun hoped no one had discovered what he was about to exploit. With his vast knowledge of cheat codes, he knew where exactly to find the artifact he sought.
"... The Second Mayhem Tower, commonly known among true players as Brimstone Peak. All one hundred floors are riddled with scorching hot active volcanoes and magma deposits. This gave the monsters a flame attribute buff. Only elements like wind, earth, light, darkness and of course, fire could handle them. I've been watching news updates for weeks, hoping that I might not see anyone who had unlocked that cheat. I have to hurry!!"
Speeding through traffic, he placed his mask on, activating the first form which protected his face from flying debris.
In the fifth district... ...
"You bastards!!!!", screamed a man who was held by his shoulders. Surrounded by five more goons, he cursed his lungs out, protesting his current predicament. The leader of the six, stepped up, a baseball bat in hand as he dragged it on the ground lethargically.
In his right hand, he held a small rolled up piece of smoky death, taking heavy drags of its fumes as he revealed his deranged visage.
His username was Cypher, a member of the Scarlet Fang Guild and one of its most powerful masters.
He sized up the restrained man, a look of heavy disdain on his face. Adjusting his figure, he swung at the restrained man's stomach.
[Smack]!!!
"AAAARGH!!!"
[cough]!!!
"Y-you B-bastard!!!"
The pain coursed through his stomach as he coughed up a torrent of blood. Dropping to his knees in pain, he shed tears of agony.
"Y-you think I'll tell you where it is?!! You're joking!!! Hahaha!!!"
The man had gone insane from the pain, but so had his captors gone insane from bloodlust.
Spinning the bat, Cypher aimed at his head, delivering a clean swing that smashed his skull.
"But boss, what about the location of the relic?! Won't the master get angry?!"
"Shut it!! I'm thinking. He's the only one who admitted to being a true player and not a merge awakener. We'll have to find more true players if we want that relic... ... Oi! Get rid of the body".
Tossing away the bat in his hand, Cypher brought the cigar close to his mouth, puffing smoke as he walked away from the scene, ignoring the effect of smoking on his lungs.
The truth of the matter was that, not all true players knew of the vast cheat codes in the game. There were only two player IDs that had an in-depth knowledge of the game. These were SHADE from over a decade ago and the recent player Card Dealer_ X, who had vanished from the public eye after the merge disaster. There were many a player that used the SHADE alias, so narrowing it down, was troublesome.
Outside the Tower Access Checkpoint, Min-jun got off his motorcycle, mask on with his black shirt that highlighted his features. He went to the Checkpoint, flashing his master's card to the receptionist. In shock, the receptionist nearly blurted out his S-rank status, only to receive a silent hush-gesture from Min-jun.
Taking back his card, he prepared to enter through the entrance portal that led into The Brimstone Peak. As he turned away from the counter and ducked past the checkpoint, he couldn't help but notice a nasty gaze. It felt different, much more menacing than the gazes of people who simply harboured jealousy. This was bloodlust.
He turned towards the source, but saw no one in the distance.
"Anything missing Sir?!", the receptionist inquired.
"No, nothing at all", Min-jun reassured. It was unmistakable, someone was harbouring killing intent. After tracking down monsters and evolving his level beyond leaps and bounds, Min-jun now had a sharp sensitivity to killing intent.
"I'd better watch my back in the Tower. Although structures are in place for Tower Raiding, "What happens in the Tower stays in the Tower". It's an unspoken rule among Card Masters".
Notice: Welcome to Brimstone Peak. Note- the first fifteen floors have been cleared. Would you like to challenge floor sixteen, or would you like to pick a floor to go to?
"I'll pick a floor, I'm on urgent business. I'll be back when I need to stack up some levels. Go to floor fifteen".
[Flash]!!
Notice: Floor fifteen - Brimstone Edge
"Alright, let's get started. With all these people around, it was easy to get carried away. To obtain the artifact I'm looking for, I have to unlock a bonus floor scenario. Some poetic shit that took me five hours to get back when it was just a game. To start, I need to find the Statue of Amber. If I remember correctly, it was somewhere near the boss chamber".
Min-jun marvelled at the obsidian structures and the Brimstone crafted pathways. Brimstone Edge, even in-game, was a marvelous site in The Tower. Seeing it in real life, held a certain mystique for Min-jun. He walked past the streamers, who were actively live-broadcasting the events on the fifteenth floor.
Tower Streaming was one of the popularity based professional pathways for card masters. Streamers made video content and in exchange, they got income and gifts from fans and viewers.
Walking through the seemingly endless crowds, he felt that nasty gaze once more, causing him to twist in its direction.
But once again, no one was there.
Behind a wall in an alleyway where Min-jun glanced, Cypher was secretly hidden, exuding waves of killing intent.
"You're quite the sharp sensor, SHADE. But it doesn't matter, I'll find my opening, soon enough".
At the Statue of Amber, which was a maiden beautifully crafted of refined amber and polished jewels, Min-jun read the stone tablet in her hand. It was carved in the language of The Fallen, a race of beings that once lived in the Tower ecosystems.
Min-jun, being the broke bum he was, had taken his time to learn and master reading and writing this language.
Translating it in his head, he knew what the tablet said.
"When the last petal falls, with my sorrow absolved, the furious beast who took it all. Find the precious lily that blesses my soul and with it's beauty, make me whole".
Any player who read this scenario tablet would immediately understand, "the maiden needed the boss on the fifteenth floor dead". But, there was a side condition, something only Min-jun could decipher at the time.
When the maiden said, "... and with it's beauty, make me whole", she meant returning to her the only flower that bloomed after you killed the boss.
Min-jun was sure of it. In the game, he was the one who resolved the riddle, unlocking the bonus scenario that gave him the artifact he was now looking for.
Pushing against the boss chamber door, he was eager to get this over with.
Players all around saw him as a Late Farmer.
Late Farmers: players who challenged boss chambers only after they had received information on how to defeat it. Along with all it's attack patterns and weaknesses.
"Hmmm! Like I care... For the power to stand at the Apex of this world, I'll gladly belittle myself".
Notice: Floor Fifteen Boss Event - The Wrath of Cerberus - has been activated. Player SHADE has entered and as such, access to the boss chamber has been cut off until further notice.
From a nearby crevice, Cypher stepped into the light with his men, waiting patiently for Min-jun to come back out of the boss chamber.
"I'll wait. I've been monitoring every single player who came new to this tower and this was the first time I had seen you. You must know something about the artifact, I'm sure of it".