Chapter 95: Intruders

It was dawn when Theo and Uthed walked back toward the manor, side by side, laughing and throwing different comments at each other.

"That really had me surprised. I thought I could use the water against you, but now it feels like you were just expecting me to fall into the lake."

Theo laughed as Uthed continued to express his disbelief at being defeated in a lake.

"But I don’t understand. I thought you had an affinity for shadow. Don’t tell me..."

He paused, then gasped.

"You have an affinity for two elements?"

Theo laughed it off without giving him a direct answer.

"Do I? Do I not?"

Uthed gave him a dark, suspicious look before sighing.

"I understand why you’ll be secretive. This is some kind of dog-eat-dog world. And after seeing all that went down just trying to transport your sick wife, honestly, I can’t blame you. Just get stronger so you can protect them better."

Theo smiled.

"That is what I plan to do."

He studied Uthed for a while as they continued along the forest path, their footsteps pressing softly into the damp earth.

"Sir Uthed, you seem like a good and strong Hero. What’s your story?"

Uthed gave an absurd chuckle.

"My story, you say..."

He fell silent for a moment as they walked.

"Contrary to some valiant story, I was actually very reckless and unskilled. I had to learn the hard way."

Theo looked at him.

"You were a Climber at some point, weren’t you?"

Uthed chuckled again.

"After Floor 5, I gave up. I think I valued my life too much to want to go any further than that."

The two continued walking. Uthed’s steps gradually slowed, and his gaze dropped toward the path beneath them. He drew in a shallow breath before letting it out heavily, his shoulders rising and falling with the sigh.

"The Tower is a brand-new world. Every floor is a different world, with unexplored regions. It promises greatness, and that is the problem. Because of the immense excellence it promises, it is impossible to be satisfied with staying on one floor in the Tower."

He gestured lightly with one hand as he spoke.

"And even if you do feel like you want to stay, surviving is insane. You have to continually enter dungeons, sell monster carcasses and cores to earn money, and the economy is very unfair to Climbers. There’s a lot of exotic stuff there, but the cost of buying them is just a die-or-die affair. And again, let’s talk about the levy they charge on dungeons and ancient ruins."

He clicked his tongue.

"Dungeons are still fair, except for the higher-tier ones. But Ancient Ruins? Tsk. Insane."

He exhaled shakily.

"You can’t so much as survive unless you side with a Faction, and Factions are rarely interested in individuals. Or, right, Agencies are what are called Factions in the Tower. Actually, Agencies and Factions are linked. I think Agencies feed Factions information from outside the Tower. You have to be very careful because they can be a bit extreme when trying to recruit people."

Theo nodded at the man’s advice.

"So was your adviser tied to a Faction?"

Uthed chuckled.

"Well, yes, but it was more like being betrayed. I had a partner. We were climbing together. He was a friend and a student. But he stabbed me in the back."

Uthed’s mouth twisted into a bitter smile.

"Honestly, I don’t blame him. Even though I contributed my fair share, it did feel like I was riding on his back, and I didn’t want to admit it. I was still demanding that the rewards be shared equally between the two of us. I was pretty arrogant."

He was quiet for a breath.

"Still, I didn’t deserve to be stolen from in such a manner. He took something I found, something that would have earned me, us, a nobility status on Floor 5, and instead used it for himself alone, casting me away like a dog."

His voice had grown quieter.

"How pathetic I was revealed itself after he left. I failed at everything until, eventually, I had to leave the Tower and go back to my dojo. From there, it was just downhill. My wife left with my kid since I wasn’t making as much money as I used to, and it was all my fault."

He rubbed a hand over his face.

"Worse still, I got into gambling and became a drunkard. I wouldn’t blame her. In fact, I’m grateful she stuck around as long as she did with someone like me."

He allowed a sad smile.

"Well, what matters is that you learned your lesson now, right?"

Theo said it simply.

Uthed opened his mouth, but the response never came.

He paused and glanced around.

"What’s wrong?" Uthed asked.

Theo said nothing. His gaze moved through the surrounding forest, past the trunks and low branches, toward the familiar stretch of trees ahead. He could see the crib right beyond the woods.

"The forest is silent."

Uthed tilted his head.

"...In what sense?"

Both men widened their eyes as an arrow streaked through the air.

Theo turned, and Raindrop appeared in his hand. He swung the blade, striking the arrow aside with its flat.

The arrow spun away and vanished between the trees.

At the same time, Theo locked his gaze onto the place the arrow had come from and disappeared.

Another arrow came.

Uthed immediately unleashed his sword, swinging it through the air and knocking away the multiple arrows that followed. Steel rang through the forest as the projectiles were sent flying into the trees.

Theo appeared above one of the trees, looking down at the creature below with a slight frown.

The person had still not realized where Theo was. His head continued to turn toward the place where Theo had initially been, searching the empty space beneath the branches.

He had dark skin covered in crimson tribal markings and wore ragged, woven clothes around his lower body. His white hair stood out vividly against his dark skin, while his body was lean, almost starved, yet tightly packed with fearsome muscle that shifted beneath his skin whenever he moved.

But the most prominent feature, one Theo noticed before he even used Genesis Eyes, was his long, pointed ears.

A Dark Elf.

And when Theo used Genesis Eyes, his suspicion was further confirmed.

[STATUS]

IDENTITY

Name: Asterion

Age: 143

Race: Dark Elf

REALM

Realm: Enhanced

Stage: Peak

CLASS

Class: Nightstalker

Authority: Shadow

Domain: None

ATTRIBUTES

Strength: 17

Stamina: 21

Agility: 34

Intelligence: 29

FOUNDATION

Constitution: Severely Depleted

Circulation: Malnourished

ABILITIES

Class Abilities:

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Skills:

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Traits:

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AFFINITIES

Primary: Darkness

Secondary: Poison

STATUS EFFECTS

• Severe Starvation

• Mana Deficiency

• Blood Weakening

• Exhaustion

• Soul Fatigue