Level Up Legacy

Whisker returned from the orphanage as Arthur took the man outside, wanting to flee the scene before Vesper realized something was wrong. The feline was confused, and Arthur found his expression strange.

“Have they been hurt?”

“Not even a hair of them,” said Whisker with confusion. “The demon gave them the water and healed them and then left. I witnessed the sight, and I might never get over it.”

“Is that so unexpected?”  asked Arthur as he looked around the street before entering an alley. Whisker followed after them with the same dazed expression. “Are demons vile by nature?”

“I met just one other, and it was the most terrifying creature I have ever met,” said Whisker with a shake of his head. “I heard stories as I grew about demons and what they would do to us if given the chance. Is that different?”

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“Demons are eradicated as soon as they appear in the world,” said Whisker as he caught up with Arthur. “The gods loath their existence and seek to kill them wherever they are. Religions started because the gods sent their apostles after the demons.”

“That explains why religion is almost nonexistent in my world. There needs to be darkness for there to be light. I don’t know anything about demons, but if the gods are as true as they claim to be, I hate them too.”

“…do not test the heavens, Seika.”

“The heavens should avoid testing me,” said Arthur without turning back. “If everything that happened to my world and every other is because of the gods, then they deserve hatred. Demons might not be the villains, after all.”

“I don’t know about that,” said Whisker with doubt. “Even if one demon was alright, that does not excuse what their race has done. Worlds fell under their hands.”

“My world suffers from a different matter, so our views might be different,” said Arthur as he stopped and turned toward the man following after them. “Have you thought about my offer?”

“A-a-are you going to give me a quest?” asked the man with a stutter. His hair was messy, and while his eyes were sunken in, they were bright. Arthur hated to see someone like him act in such a manner, and he hated Vesper even more for what he did.

“I will give you the quest and help you raise your strength. After that, you have to start spreading rumors about what happened to Peter. Do we have a deal?”

“…how can you give quests if you are not the floor master?” asked the man with confusion.

“I obtained the floor master title from Peter. Don’t worry about that. If I wanted to harm you, I had two chances already. Meet in the slime field in an hour, and I will help you defeat them. What is your name?”

“My name is Benji,” said the young man with hesitation. “I’ll do as you say, sir,” Benji hesitated but agreed nonetheless. After taking some details, he left, and only the two remained.

“He would spread the rumors even if you didn’t offer him anything,” said Whisker as he watched Benji leave the alley with fear. “He might be the biggest coward I meet inside the tower.”

“According to his words, he lost his courage after Vesper killed him. Does that happen inside the tower? Do people lose parts of their character once they die?”

“I never heard of such a thing,” said Whisker with a shake. “I died once after I entered the tower. It was a sickening experience that resembled true death. I felt as if I disappeared and was reassembled by the tower. However, I never lost a part of myself.”

“That makes me think Vesper has something to do with it,” said Arthur while pondering before turning toward the feline with surprise. “Who managed to kill someone like you?”

“…a demon,” said Whisker while squinting his eyes. Arthur did not say a thing because he felt he said too much in favor of those creatures. However, he simply hated the notion of an entity staring down at them from the skies.

The two then headed toward the walls before leaving the town again. No one asked where they were going or even cared about them as long as they paid a fee when they returned. Arthur then used his lightning to gain more reward points, which he planned on using to give the quest to Benji.

Arthur realized the reason behind his armor. Eragon could no longer influence inside the tower as he did in the outside world. Thus, he would need to lose control of his emotion to use this armor which could manifest because of the tuned-down wrath.

The slimes were the perfect target for his farming. Arthur obtained enough reward points for another level and even more reward points to raise his stats. That was in just half an hour, so he felt this tower would not prove itself a challenge.

Benji came rushing toward them an hour after their agreement, wearing several shirts and pants as if they would serve as armor. His appearance was hilarious as if a worm had swallowed a grape.

“You don’t need that amount of clothes,” said Arthur with a smile. However, Benji simply shook his head. Arthur noticed he had no weapon and took one out of his bag. A spear materialized in his hand, which he obtained from Peter. “I will enchant this weapon for you. A single strike would kill a slime.”

“Is it an S-Rank weapon?” asked Benji with surprise. Arthur smiled, infused the tip of the spear with his colorless lightning, and then threw the weapon toward him.

Slimes were slower than most monsters, so Benji had no problem against them despite being clumsy. The slimes disintegrated when he stabbed the spear into them and fell to the ground. Benji was shaken and flinched.

“Sir…! What just happened?” asked Benji with fear as he turned toward Arthur like a stiff doll. His arms were extended, and his back would not bend because of the clothes. Arthur found him amusing.

“As I said, that is an enchantment. You can raise your level in this manner until you are strong enough. Then, I will give you the quest.”

“Thank you, sir!” said Benji as he turned toward another slime and rushed toward it. Arthur was surprised to see the coward act bravely, but that might be the intoxicating taste of power. He smiled as Benji started grinding his level.

Arthur did not sit idle, and neither did Whisker. The first boss gave him this trouble, so Arthur did not doubt that he would need to grow stronger for the upper floors.

As Benji used his spear to kill slimes, Arthur cleared them with a wave of his hand as soon as they tried to gang up on him. No giant slime appeared this time, which might have been an event for the first person to kill so many slimes instantly.

After an hour of constant grinding, the slimes disappeared from the field. Arthur and Benji stopped their hunt while Whisker woke up from his nap.

“You cleared every last slime?” the feline yawned. Arthur was glad to see him better after meeting that demon. “We should go deeper into the forest. The first layer rewards the least points.”

“There are more than just elemental monsters there, right?” asked Arthur as he gazed at the forest.

“Have you grown used to the taste of quick strength?” asked Whisker with a grin. “Monsters on the deeper level are both elemental and physical. Even if you have an easy time against elements, you must put in some effort.”

“I wanted to have some work out anyway,” said Arthur with a smile as he stretched his arms. “You should go back to Sith Town, Benji. You have work to do. Spread the rumors that Vesper killed Peter over a disagreement about money.”

“As you command, sir!” said Benji with much more zeal and loyalty. Arthur smiled and took out his medal, which he used to grant Benji the quest. This way, he had to do it or face severe punishment by the tower.

  [Please assign the quest and the reward.]

Arthur saw a giant panel appear in front of him. He could create a new quest and fill in the details of it. After he was done, he set the reward to be ten points. Then, he selected a target for his quest and could choose the two closest to him.

“Whoa! I obtained it!” said Benji with surprise when he received the quest. “I will do it, sir! When you enter the town tomorrow, everyone will have heard about what happened to Peter.”

After Benji left, Whisker turned to ask him, “You are investing too much into this coward. Ten reward points are more than he could ever dream of obtaining.”

“I learned that you cannot do much alone, no matter how powerful,” said Arthur with a smile as he remembered his helplessness when Julia left the runic dome. “People are useful.”