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Gaegukja Yeol floated back to the center of the room after delivering her bonus gift to Tafel. “Now that that is settled, shall we get on with the first order of business?” the fiery woman asked. “The test to enter the tower is a simple one.” She pointed her finger at the ceiling, and the sunlike sphere floating above let out a roar. A pillar of purple light shone down from it, and a portal was torn apart in the ground where the light had landed. After a bit, the purple light faded, but the portal remained in place. “Enter the portal and bring back a jar of ant honey.”
The fiery woman reached into her bag and pulled out a fist-sized cube that she tossed onto the ground. The cube whirred and clicked, unraveling while growing until it was the size of an elephant. Gaegukja Yeol fiddled with one edge of the cube, and the cube’s front face swung open, revealing a shelving system with rows upon rows of empty jars. “Take a jar before entering. Does anyone have any questions?”
Vur raised his hand.
“Yes, the territorial woman’s husband,” Gaegukja Yeol said and nodded in Vur’s direction. “What would you like to know?”
“Can we keep the jar of honey we bring back?”
“No,” Gaegukja Yeol said before smiling. “You have a good sense of taste though. The ant honey can only be stored in these jars here which have been sprayed with a special layer of coating. There’s only one jar per participant present. If you want some honey of your own….” Gaegukja Yeol’s smile grew even wider, almost splitting her whole face in half. “Take someone else’s jar.”
Vur raised his hand again. The well-dressed man standing behind the eagle guide glanced at Vur before staring at the fiery woman. The well-dressed man’s body was tense, and from the way he was standing, he was prepared to leap away from Vur’s direction at any moment.
Gaegukja Yeol nodded at Vur. “Within the tower, there are no rules, only results. If you want to kill someone to take their jar of honey, feel free. If you want to monopolize all the honey for yourself, do as you wish. As long as you place a jar of ant honey inside of this storage unit, you pass. Did I answer your question?”
Vur nodded.
“I have a question,” someone said from the polar bear’s group. “What happens if we fail the entrance exam?”
“You’ll be left in the basement with the other failures,” Gaegukja Yeol said. “I’ve never been to the basement personally, but I’ve heard it isn’t a pleasant place to be.” She clapped her hands together, the two fiery hands making a surprisingly loud sound. “I won’t be taking any more questions at this time. You have three days to complete your mission. I suggest you get started now.”
Tafel blinked as Gaegukja Yeol disappeared, the air shimmering once more. She glanced down at Hyeonnam Tokki. “I thought you said this was a tutorial of sorts.”
“It is,” the skeletal rabbit said and bobbed its head up and down. “Haven’t you learned a lot about how the tower works? If you complete a mission, you obtain a reward. I’m not sure what else you’d want to know.”
Tafel’s expression darkened, and she glanced at the cube that had been left beside the portal. Crowds of people were rushing towards it, and clearly, they didn’t care there was only one jar available per person. Some greedier individuals grabbed as many as they could before jumping through the portal. However, not everyone was in a rush; the well-dressed man went towards Tafel’s group rather than fight for a jar. He went up to Vur and held out his hand. “Hello. My name is Kim Hajun. This may be shameless of me, but the three of you look strong, and I’d like to get to know you better.”
Vur blinked at Kim Hajun’s hand. A third arm sprouted from Vur’s right armpit and grabbed the well-dressed man’s hand, much to his surprise and perhaps dismay. Vur crossed his main arms over his chest. “I’m Vur.”
Kim Hajun retracted his hand and nodded at Tafel and Lindyss. He took a glance at the diamond Tafel was holding with the fire suspended inside of it. “By any chance, are you willing to part with the gift you were given?”
Tafel raised an eyebrow and held the diamond up. “You’re talking about this? You know what it is?”
“Yes,” Kim Hajun said. “It’s a Heart of Fire. If you consume it, you’ll be granted a mastery of basic fire magic, and if you continue feeding it properly, your mastery of fire magic will increase.”
“Consume it?” Tafel asked and blinked. She looked at the diamond in her hand. Unless she had teeth like Vur’s, there was no way she was going to fit it inside of her stomach. “Well, what do you have to trade for it?”
Kim Hajun straightened his back and adjusted his vest. “I’ve already given you a sample of what I can provide,” he said and gestured towards the diamond with his head. “I’m an information dealer.”
“As an information dealer, you can tell us the best routes to travel and which pitfalls to avoid in this exam, is that correct?” Lindyss asked.
“That’s correct,” Kim Hajun said. “Not only that, but I can also tell you the location of the hidden piece within this stage. As a show of my sincerity, I’ll tell you what a hidden piece is; within each mission the tower provides, there’s extra rewards to be earned—if you’re smart or strong enough to obtain it.”
“You’ll tell us the best routes to travel?” Tafel asked an raised an eyebrow. She couldn’t help but glance down at the skeletal rabbit standing not too far away. Its empty eye sockets met her eyes, and it tilted its head at her. “I don’t think that’ll be enough to exchange for this Heart of Fire.”
A tiny furrow appeared on Kim Hajun’s forehead. “Please, hold onto it for me; I’ll obtain something satisfactory from this stage to trade for it. How does that sound?”
Thanks for the chapter!
* “You’ll tell us the best routes to travel?” Tafel asked an raised an eyebrow.*… *asked and raised an eyebrow.*