A sudden commotion broke out instantly at the Draconic headquarter. One that puzzled the general members grandly. All the core members had suddenly erupted in shouts after seeing something on their UW. Yes, all of these veterans that had seen much of the Tower and the world…were now freaking out!

Yet, no one had an inkling of what was happening, at all. People instantly started fearing for the worst. Some hurriedly checked the news, others the forums, with some even asking their friends. There was no answer to be found.

Some even mustered their courage and asked these elites directly. It was in vain for the Dragon had called a gag order already. For starters, the man hadn't even announced the news to the shareholders. He was actually in the process of scheduling a meeting, one that he insisted be in person.

Meanwhile, Josh was face to face with a crumbling Kasha. She was grasping her hair and rubbing her eyes wondering what was wrong with the world, wondering how the hell a newcomer had more influence than her! HER the ace scout of Draconic! The newcomer somehow had white gold clearance?! How?!

"Y-you! Who the Hell are you?!"

"Josh, Josh Malum. Anyway, I'd like to borrow some gear."

"Don't just change the topic! You can't just gloss over something that huge!!"

Josh simply smiled at her without answering. More accurately that in itself was his answer.

Kasha simply gritted her teeth: "Sure, what's your current Climber Rank?"

"Eh, I don't know. Is that supposed to be in the status screen?", this confused Josh.

"Judging by your lack of knowledge, you are probably a First rank Climber aka you haven't beaten Floor 25 yet. What level are you?", she was scowling at him.

"Level 8, currently."

"Alright, anything above Rank E would tax your body too much. Here is the available selection."

Josh looked over carefully without being able to make head or tail of what he was seeing. There were a lot of items available. Not sure what to pick, he used the secret tactic called: ask a colleague! "Liam! Help me choose gear, please! I need a sword too!"

"Strength and agility based as a typical swordsman?"

"Indeed!"

His friend enthusiastically started choosing. Before long an angry Kasha was forced to head to storage to bring all of it. The whole set was worth a lot and was rendering even the experienced scout jealous, not because of the items themselves but because it was free stuff, and everyone loves free stuff!

Josh's new items were so numerous that his entire UW screen got filled up with the details of the transaction (borrowing):

<Rank E – Spider Leg>:

-Sharp

<Rank E – Ratskin Boots>:

-Agility +40

<Rank E – Gnoll Chest>:

-Defense +4

<Rank E – Ghoul Greaves>:

-Magic Resist +4

<Rank E – Nightmare Cloak>:

-Agility +20, HP +100, Mana +100

<Rank E – Feather Helm>:

-Defense +2, Magic Resist +2

<Rank E – Orc Bracers>:

-Strength +40

<Rank E – Chitin Gloves>:

-Strength +20, Agility +20

<Rank E – Dryad Necklace>:

-HP Regen F

<Rank E – Shroom Ring x4>:

-Mana +400

-Strength +10, mana +300

-Agility +20, mana +200

-Agility +10, Mana +300

<Rank F – Imp Earring x2>:

-Strength +20

Liam grinned at him: "This should last you a long time. With this, you will literally be going from 0 to hero in a second. You'll fill all your inventory slots! Try it on!"

Josh quickly tapped every item selecting to equip it. Of course, he had to unequip his current gear, leaving it to Kasha directly (keeping his secret ring). She found it unbearable especially when she had to deal with the smelly Zombie Cloak.

How does it feel to equip all kinds of powerful magical items at one time? Magical!

With every item added Josh could feel his power directly increase. For stuff like mana, hp, and resistances it was a more subtle feeling but it was nice, nonetheless. He couldn't help but check his status with everything added:

[Status!]

Josh Malum Lv8

#STATS# (16)

HP: 800+100

Mana:800 +1100

Magic Ability:80+20

Strength:160+110

Agility:160+110

Defense:8+6

Magic Resist:8+6

#SKILLS# (16)

-E Weapon Mastery

The awesome gear was pretty much doubling his stats. He felt like he was at the top of the world, that he could do absolutely anything! The euphory brought by such a fast increase was immense! Most would have described the feeling as better than winning the lottery, better than getting the most beautiful woman falling for you, better than any drug-induced high!

Josh started slowly walking, it proved difficult, as in he was using more strength than intended. He understood why. In the Tower, the process had been extremely fast but every Floor (or almost) he had fought, and that had exponentially quickened the whole adaption process.

But soon afterward Josh's body somehow became accustomed to it. That is when he felt a deep and primal call from his soul. A raw desire for power, one completely illogical and purposeless! It came over him suddenly, but a second later Josh had retaken control.

That wasn't who he was. He was Josh Malum, calm and steady. Quite insane according to most people, but not one to be affected by such things. He shivered slightly, realizing that for a second, he had lost himself, promising himself to be careful in the future.

Lucas couldn't help but exclaim incredulously: "Josh! How the Hell are you so calm?! Didn't you just double your stats at the very least?! It took me a whole day to calm down the first time I got a few items only! Same for Liam! How?! You just equipped a full set!"

"No, haha. I lost myself there. Just that I came over it is all.", Josh admitted.

"Friend, if that is you losing yourself…then you could be losing yourself 24/7 and no one would notice!", Liam chuckled.

"Guys! Guys! Check your UW! Serene and Ronan are about to duke it out! They were arguing in chat about how a certain someone had gotten his guild rank. Hurry up! Better not miss it!", Lucas excitedly called, before running off.

Liam helplessly shook his head before following with Josh in tow. Judging by how hyper he sounded these guys were probably bigshots. The kind that Josh needed to learn from for sure!

Before long they arrived before a huge screen set-up on the wall of a spacious room. Lucas could be seen pushing his way forward in his excitement.

Liam turned to Josh: "The reason their duels are so popular is that they allow anyone to watch and don't use the usual VR blurring either. It is extremely enlightening, to say the least. Alright, it seems to be starting."

On the screen appeared two people. A lady with red flaming clothing and the hair to go with it. Her long hair was flowing all the way to her back, a fashion choice that Josh couldn't help but think was peculiar for a fight.

Her opponent was a steady-looking man with sharp features. He looked mature and pleasing to the eye. He was wearing a white standard healer robe but cut at the bottom to allow easy movements. In his hands was a sturdy-looking staff. He was the only one with a weapon.

They started exchanging pleasantries:

"I'm gonna fuck you up so bad even your mother won't recognize you!"

"I'll take your staff and shove it so deep up your ass it will exit from your mouth in place of the shit you've been spewing!"

"Even with a staff up my ass to the brim I'd still be able to wipe the floor with you!"

"Please, it's doubtful if you can even wipe your own ass!"

"Screw you bitch!"

"Screw you too!"

Josh couldn't help but ask the nearby Liam: "They often do this?"

Liam showed an expression that clearly meant: always.

It's only after a solid 10 minutes of insult that they started fighting. Without any warning.

*DASH*

They both charged! The Serene lady away, the Healer Ronan guy in. At her heels, Josh noticed wheels of flames obviously boosting her speed. Behind her back were translucid half wings of fire. Meanwhile, a fireball was growing by the instant in her hand. The sheer quantity of mana that she was allocating could be seen.

Josh figured that was a feature of VR technology. Before long she launched her spell at Ronan. But instead of being a simple small fireball what came out of it was a Fire Shower, one so large it quickly filled the entire arena! Josh wouldn't have been able to dodge it for sure! An extremely powerful and close to unavoidable spell!

How was a healer supposed to cope with that?! The answer was both simple and insane. He didn't avoid it. He couldn't so he simply charged right in headfirst! The man's skin was getting burned, then melted, before long it was the turn of the flesh underneath. The insane heat was ruthless and unforgiving.

Yet the man kept running, something that shouldn't have been possible. Ah! He was healing himself during the process. He finally managed to reach the other side, right next to the lady.

Except that she simply ran away as fast as the wind, a flaming deadly wind in this case. One that kept throwing fiery attacks one after the other. She was true to her nickname, for she was bringing the heat!

She scoffed: "No matter how many times you try you won't win. You've been screwed ever since I've managed to learn this mobility technique haha! Serene number one! Deal with it!"

"That is to be seen."

Josh could see a shadow of a smile on the man's face. That is when something epic happened! He somehow gathered mana in his legs, then he teleported! He had rushed at her so fast it produced such an effect!!

"What?!", was the last thing she uttered before a stick as heavy as her previous taunts slammed her right in the face. It quickly reduced her whole head to a bloody mush tainting both the wooden weapon and the previously white healer clothe bloody red.

Then the man fell, both legs destroyed. This explained his sudden burst of speed! He had used a self-damaging technique! Had she avoided that one attacked she would have won for sure! But it was too late for regrets, well at least the fight had happened in VR only.

Amidst everyone's cheering, Josh realized how weak he was compared to them. Power would be needed for him to attain his goal, more power than these guys even had shown.

Thus, Josh simply turned around.

"Josh! Where are you going?!"

"The Tower, I'll be testing all this new equipment!"

"Geez, you're even more of a climbing addict than Liam!" Lucas remarked.

Not that Josh cared. He was already gone.