****(POV)
Jack was a simple ordinary man with grand dreams. He knew very well that he wasn't a genius. All that he had now had been obtained through hard work, discipline, and luck. Yet, he had somehow managed to join Draconic.
He was living the dream. It didn't matter to him that he was only a cog in a bigger machine. He just wanted to do his part the best he could. He wanted to contribute and to know that he was actively building something.
But as with every good dream, it shattered when morning came. In this case, it happened because of a man: Josh Motherfucking Malum. Who was he, and where did he come from? He had just come out of nowhere and had started ordering people at the guild as if in charge.
Jack had faith in the management of Draconic. Back when the world was despairing with the Tower appearing, Dario had instead been reassuring people. He was the reason Jack had joined Draconic in the first place.
He still remembered one speech this legend had made. People mostly forgot about it, only caring about the latest trends, but Dario had been one of the very first to show humanity hope. That the Tower was not only a land of danger but also one of opportunity.
Yet, this fearless and wise leader now had his name and guild tarnished by an arrogant asshole. He went as far as bringing outsiders in! Jack thought he'd call him out, and the man would realize the error of his ways, but no.
Instead, it escalated. Josh had him suspended from the guild temporarily. Jack would be required to help the man's disciple with training for a chance at redemption. That's when he realized Josh's real identity, or so he thought.
The man had amazing blade skills. He could only be one of these purists. They were known for going all into one single ability.
In this case, it seemed to be swordsmanship. Purists might not have tremendous explosive strength, but they were a force to be reckoned with. Each of their regular strikes showed the power of half-skills.
But, Josh Malum was also Classless. This probably was why he was ostracized from the purist group. Chances were his kin were Rankers, probably from another Metropolis. This is why he was a loner. Well, that was fine, but his attitude was problematic for sure.
Eventually, Dario stepped up to alleviate the situation. Josh then suggested Jack do one thing for him. But the duration of that task was a problem.
Jack felt indignant but mostly devastated. This was killing his Climber's career!. If he couldn't Climb with his Draconic party for months, he would be left behind forever.
As he came out, he saw their eyes glimmering with hope. They had told him not to worry, that everything would be sorted out soon. But when they saw his expression, they understood. It was as if he had just been told he had cancer. Well, nowadays, normal cancer was curable as long as it wasn't a magical one.
It's with a heavy heart and a knot in his stomach that he faced them one last time: "Barbara, Dimitri, Raffa, and Joel. Thank you for all the good times we have had Climbing. It's been fun."
On that note, he left. They wanted to protest, but he shook his head sideways. He wasn't sure why, but Dario must have a reason to give in to Josh's demands. He wasn't the kind of man to be blackmailed, but perhaps he needed to do this for the sake of the guild.
He felt lost. Jack, the Healer of Draconic, would just be Jack now. He dragged his feet toward the exit, but then a man stood in his way. He looked ordinary and was wearing a gray suit. This annoyed him as it looked just like that guy.
"Hey there, Jack. How has it been?" The man that was called Tallis asked him cheerfully. He knew him to be an analyst.
"I'm not in the guild anymore. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some training to get to." Jack sighed as he went around the man. Except the man moved at the last second, making both of them collide.
That is when he slipped a piece of folded paper into his hand. He had done so in a way that would be close to impossible to notice for an outsider. Afterward, he left without saying anything.
Jack felt his breathing hasten, he felt his skin getting colder, and he felt a sense of discomfort. He called this the healer's instinct. He would usually feel like this when a catastrophe was about to happen.
He knew to get ready for lives would be in peril. How was he even feeling this from a piece of paper?! This didn't make any sense, but so did his current predicament anyway. The usual Dario wouldn't kick a loyal member that easily.
He hurried back home, soon reaching it. It was a cozy, familial home in the D-District. As soon as he entered, the voice of his mother could be heard.
"Are you already back, sweety?" she came out of the kitchen. She was a full-time cooking streamer. She didn't have to work for her son was in Draconic, but she kept at it for its fun.
"Hey, mum."
"Something is wrong, isn't it? You seem angry and unsettled." She somehow instantly saw through him. He couldn't help but shake his head wryly.
She had always been that good at reading people. In fact, her cooking stream was more of a life advice channel. She was renowned for being so bad of a cook that she could even burn water. How? It was one of the profound mysteries of life.
"Don't worry, mum. Something happened at the guild, but it all will be sorted soon. No one died or anything."
"I see. I may not be as wealthy as you, but I can definitely keep us afloat easily! Also, you don't have to worry. In the worst case, it's fine if you take a vacation and relax for a while." She reassured him.
That's when she came closer and hugged him. Somehow, all the worry he had about his future, about the guild, about that mysterious paper he was holding all vanished. He could feel the warmth and…the scent of burnt eggs.
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Finally, she released her grip and smiled, seeing that he had calmed down. "Alright, I'll go back to my live stream. She happily went back to the kitchen to prepare another disaster jokingly.
Jack went to his room. He couldn't help but smile as he slowly unfolded the piece of paper lazily. He was so peaceful right now that he wouldn't get fazed by whatever was on it. He slowly read what was it on.
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What The Fuck?! How was this possible?! This had to be a joke, right?! Right?!
No, why?! Dario would see it coming, right?! But it sounded right. Could it have been an error?! This man was a member of Draconic too. Was he trustworthy?!
Jack didn't know! He was pulling his hair in dismay. Seriously what was that?!
That's when he stopped himself forcefully. He threw himself on his bed and began to breathe deeply. He needed calm to process all this. But it was pure madness!!!
Steady the body, steady the mind, steady— no, this wasn't working. He slowly got up. He could feel his legs and hands trembling as he unsteadily headed for the kitchen.
In there, his mother was talking to a camera. Without even hesitating, he dashed in her embrace, hugging her tight. She couldn't help but be shocked seeing his current state. She didn't say anything and just remained there.
People on the live stream were going crazy. Some were wondering when their beloved streamer had turned into a cougar. Others berated the idiots, reminding them that he was her son. Finally, some showed concern. He was a tough member of Draconic. What kind of tragedy had made him like this?!
After a few minutes of silence broken occasionally by the gift notifications, they finally separated. Jack felt better. His mother pointed at the screen laughingly. "Look how popular you are."
All the gifts came with messages saying stuff like:
- Cheer up, dude.
- You are a proud Draconic member! You got this!
- Are you single? I have a granddaughter that loves hugging too.
- I came here to watch some cooking!
- User above, you came to the wrong place for the host doesn't know how to cook. xD
Jack then went back to his room, leaving his mum, that was faking being angry about her culinary skills being questioned. Then, he once again read the very normal paper with extremely disturbing content.
The message consisted of a few paragraphs. But, let's just say there were a few keywords that scared the living Hell out of him:
???????????????? ????????????????????
???????????????????? ????????????????????????????????
???????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????
????????????????????'???? ???????????????????? ????????????????????
???????????? ???????? ????????????????????????????????
???????????? ???????? ???????????? ????????????????????
The font akin to one from a love letter was as distressing as the content was alarming. Josh wasn't who he claimed to be. He had gotten close to Dario to exploit him and possibly ruin the entire guild. But that wasn't the worst.
No, somehow, it seemed that his nefarious plans could potentially end the world itself. Crazy, right?! The worst was that it somehow sounded believable as he kept reading.
Josh had first visited Tallis to plan with him, but the latter had only faked agreeing to help him. Instead, he had taken this all to Dario. But he wouldn't believe him. After all, Josh turned out to have the support of one of Dario's friends at Metropolis D, Markus.
There were the details of Josh's plan in there. He was a man that was evidently batshit insane. Plus, he had Dario, Kasha, and a few other gold members on his side.
People in the guild wouldn't believe such a story. People outside of it would believe it even less. To save the world, they had to do one thing. Josh needed to disappear.
But for that, he'd have to get in touch with someone that wouldn't be afraid of Draconic one bit. There needed to be bait. Apparently, that would be his job in Tallis' plan.
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It was time to save the world…
Creator's Thought
It's at that specific point that everything turned into motion. Before, the world outside the Tower had been at a standstill. The Tower had brought all humans under the banner of survival. But, the more time passed and the less afraid people felt. Without being worried about their lives, they became greedy again...