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Thanks to Jeremy J. and Drew H. for sponsoring this chapter!

Mary pushed open a golden door. Light streamed onto her face, and she frowned while squinting, raising her arm to shield her eyes from the sudden change in brightness. After her vision cleared, she saw a ceiling full of bright lights and a massive circular arena placed below her. The frown on her face deepened, and she descended down the flight of steps, heading towards the arena. She looked around, but there was no one in sight. After waiting outside the red portal for something to come out, her curiosity had gotten the best of her, and she went inside. She had to walk through a dark tunnel for what seemed like an eternity, and at the end of the tunnel, there was this room.

Mary climbed the steps leading onto the arena. Although she could’ve walked around the platform, due to the size of the circular platform, it would’ve taken much longer to get to the other side of the room compared to walking straight over it. When she neared the center of the platform, she froze. The ground was trembling. Mary glanced at her surroundings before looking down. Two stone tiles were shaking, and without warning, they shot downwards, leaving a rectangular hole in their place.

Strange laughter echoed out of the hole, and three bald, green heads appeared, rising upwards. They continued rising, revealing the rest of the three creatures’ bodies, which were as green as their heads. The green creatures were naked save for a loincloth covering the region between their legs. In their hands, there were wooden clubs.

Mary furrowed her brow. “Hello?” she asked. “What is this place?”

The three creatures laughed and spread out into a triangular formation. The creature with the biggest stick stood at the front while the other two stood slightly behind it. A shadow crossed over the arena, causing Mary to raise her head just in time to see the backside of an owl. It was large, nearly half the size of the platform. The owl landed at the edge of the platform and hooted as it turned its head to look at Mary, its body still facing away from her. “Welcome, challenger, to the Tower,” the owl said, speaking clearly despite its lack of lips and teeth. “Prove you’re worthy of stepping foot within.”

As soon as the owl finished speaking, the three green creatures charged forward, brandishing their wooden sticks. Mary stared with a blank expression before placing her hand on her sword’s hilt. With one swing, the green creatures’ arms and legs stopped moving, but their bodies continued forward. They hit the ground, and within seconds, puddles of blood formed underneath their bodies which had been cut apart at the waist. After confirming the creatures weren’t going to move, Mary raised her head and looked at the owl. “What is this place?”

The owl’s head returned to its normal position. Then, it hopped a few times, bouncing its body around to face Mary directly. “You’re worthy of entering the Tower, but would you like to continue?”

Mary furrowed her brow and raised her sword in front of herself. She narrowed her eyes at the owl. “I don’t like it when people ignore me. What is this place?”

The owl hooted. “So, you would like to continue then,” it said as its talons rapped against the platform. The ground rumbled once more, and another hole appeared in the arena as two tiles fell away. This time, a dog’s head appeared, but as it rose up, it became apparent that the rest of its body belonged to a human.

“Do you know what this place is?” Mary asked, pointing her sword at the dog-headed person wielding a wooden rod with a sharpened stone tied to one end.

In response, the dog-headed man meowed like a cat and ran forward, its spear pointed at Mary. Mary snorted and slapped the spear away with the flat part of her blade. Then she grabbed the dog’s face, not caring where her fingers went, and slammed its head towards the ground. She placed her sword against the dog-headed man’s neck. “Speak.”

The dog-headed man let out another meow, louder this time, and pressed against the ground with its arms. It rose up, its neck pressing into the blade as if it didn’t care about its life. Mary frowned and released the dog-headed man before kicking it away. It flew through the air in a perfect arc, landing outside of the arena. Mary turned her attention onto the owl, the only thing that could speak. “I’ll ask you one last time. What is this place?”

The owl hooted and flapped its wings once before letting them settle against its sides. “This is the Tower’s entrance exam. You’ve already passed and gained entrance into the Tower, but you can continue taking the test here. The better your results, the bigger the reward you’ll obtain upon entering the Tower.”

“What is the Tower?” Mary asked.

“The Tower is the Tower,” the owl said. “Would you like to continue?”

Mary furrowed her brow. She raised her foot and took a step forward. It was just one step, but the platform shrank underneath her feet as she walked. Before the owl could react, Mary was standing in front of it. She grabbed a fistful of its feathers and pulled, causing the owl to squawk as its massive body was dragged to the ground. Mary jumped up and mounted the owl in one smooth motion. She made her way up to its neck and stabbed her sword downwards, piercing the stone tiles right by the bird’s head. It trembled as the ends of its feathers fell to the ground, the tips cut by Mary’s sword. “Answer my questions properly,” Mary said and leaned close to the owl’s ear. She whispered, “If I’m not satisfied with your response, I will hold you down and eat you alive—starting with your stomach. I’ll only ask one more time. What is the Tower?”

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