****(POV)

"SCREECH!" That was all that Dale heard. The non-stop shrieking was as endless as the monsters that kept flying toward him. 

This place was the perfect Floor for the spell-casters but a nightmare to the warriors. The entire sky was dark with shadowy ethereal silhouettes that quickly glided everywhere. These were wraiths. 

They sounded evil with their soul-piercing shrieks, looked evil with their edgy cloak-looking body, and were annoying with their relentless attacks. They were trying to rip him apart with their sharp claws.

Dale kept dodging but shivered every time one of the creatures flew next to him. He was used to their attack patterns by now. He could know exactly the angle they would attack from simply by the degree of their acceleration or deceleration. 

Ever since he had left Josh, he had been here training. This was usually considered insane. Floor 26 wasn't a place anyone would wander alone, even a mage. This was because they excelled at wide AoE attacks that would take out swarms of enemies at once. 

It wasn't possible against these flying bastards! They would scatter at the first sign of anything remotely AoE. They were like a bunch of mischievous kids that would harass travelers to no end…until death. 

This meant that he had spent a while practicing his basic fireball technique. He wasn't exactly sure how, but he was now able to cast it as easily as breathing. He would feel the cold on his nape, and "BAM!" he'd throw a fireball in a wraith's ghostly face. 

The hard part was to dodge while waiting for his mana to regenerate. It was a slow but worthwhile process. He felt that it had helped him become more conscious of his surroundings and develop more precise control. 

Dale made most of the wraiths disappear, burning them unalive. He only kept exactly 10 of them. They would prove helpful for what would come next. 

He then slowly closed his eyes. He still remembered the first time he had done so. He had come here with a random party. They had begun screaming in fright while watching him try to feel what Josh called killing intent. 

To this day, he still had no clue how that worked. But, he did figure out how to avoid death somehow. After fighting relentlessly, he could now feel his ass on fire whenever a monster was about to sink its fangs into him. 

That did sound like a normal Mexican Monday, but it was more literal! He had already resolved never to reveal it. What kind of power was that?! He wasn't even sure if it was related to his Class as a Pyro Mage or not. 

This specific training went like this. 

"Dodge!"

"Dodge!"

"Dodge! Oh god, it's hot." 

" Dod—ouch! Goddammit. Motherfucker!"

Good thing that no one was there to see his sorry state. Recently, he felt he had hit a wall. No matter how he tried, he'd get scratched eventually. It was nothing serious, but it did irk him. 

Oh well, it was time to use his trump card! It was a tactic as old as time: to beg. If he asked nicely, Josh would teach him, right? Probably.

Dale left the Tower, tried messaging him, and headed to Draconic. He could wait for Josh there and perhaps use the opportunity to bully and train with other members. 

He was confident that as long as they played the low-level dueling game, he'd perform well. This time he would be able to perceive feints better for sure. 

"Hey there! Can you tell the peeps down there that Dale is visiting?" He said to a cute receptionist that promptly nodded. 

"Oh, it's you." A voice came from his back.

As he turned around, he got the shock of his life. So many Draconic members had appeared while he was distracted. One, two, three…there were almost 50 of them! What the heck was happening?! He could only stare, mouth opened wide. 

"What are you guys all doing here?!"

"You're just in time. We're going to have some fun." They could be seen grinning with a tinge of savageness in their eyes. Kasha looked especially hyper in their midst. 

"What kind of fun?" 

"Oh, you know, the usual. Going on a walk, maybe break a few teeth or spines." Lucas added, glossing over it. 

He could only watch in shock as the procession left the building akin to conquerors heading to the battlefield. 

"Don't mind them. They are all a bit on edge ever since Gene Corp has kidnaped Josh. Anyway, time to go." Liam explained gently. 

"Josh has been what?!" 

How the hell had this happened? Actually, what had he missed while he was training? He hastily followed the group as he checked the news. So much had happened. 

As they passed through the city, he could see faint traces of destruction. The U-Bots that could be seen dutifully scurrying around had done a miracle. That's when he realized that the buildings might be repaired, but these events would still mark the people. 

There was an air of gloominess to be felt spreading all over. Somehow, it reminded him of when the Tower had appeared. People were stressed and many couldn't cope with such sudden changes. 

He soon understood where they were going. There were a few people having kidnapped a poor farmer in order to learn about— Dimensional Legion! He almost choked when he saw this. Holy shit! Those guys had chosen the worst timing possible to act rampantly. 

Dale followed along until they reached their destination. It was a large mobile home with many curious spectators encircling it. Somehow, none were raising a finger to help as they watched the interrogation's stream. 

How dared they?! The old man could be seen, his face full of tears, snot, and blood. He was resisting the best he could, but he was only an old man. His skin was wrinkly, his flesh weak, and his endurance nothing to write home about. 

"Get out of the fucking way, you assholes." He found himself growling. 

"HA! What the fuck?!" Someone screamed in panic. 

"There is a madman! Quick, someone, restrain him." Another wisely delegated what he felt was a dangerous task. 

The entire crowd was pulling away in fear. A very small man revealed himself as he headed toward him angrily with a huge hammer. "Did you just call me an asshole? Only my wife can call me that. Apologize right now, you bastard, or I swear I'll beat you to a pulp!" 

Dale was about to retort, but he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. It was a man reassuringly smiling at him. He looked friendly and wore the tightest leather outfit he had ever seen. "It's fine. You can extinguish this."

Extinguish what? But then he realized that his entire upper half was somehow burning. He had trained his reaction speed so much recently that he had used a skill without even noticing. He'd have to be hella careful with nightmares from now on. 

"You said something about beating someone to a pulp, right? Do you mean like this?" He said it very casually but what followed was anything but casual. 

He dashed so fast that Dale could barely see his shadow. But he could definitely hear him. He was so loud! In a split second, he was already in front of the angry man as he slapped him, violently sending his small body flying along with his teeth. 

The crowd panicked as they quickly left. That is when the people inside noticed the commotion. They could be seen peeking through the blinds as they became more and more agitated. 

But then there was a sudden change in mood as they began smiling in anticipation. Many small groups could be seen coming in their direction. Most had only from 1 to 5 individuals with all adorning clear guild emblems.

Dale could identify them all. They were mostly rank A and B guilds, with some subordinate guilds following. The S-Ranked ones probably played a hand here too. It was a clear show of force. 

A handsome man from Hydra slowly advanced toward them, smiling. "Friends, do you perhaps know the gentleman inside? We negotiated with the kidnappers earlier, and they promised to release him once they are done interrogating him."

"You call that interrogation? I call that torture!" Dale couldn't help but shout.

"Young man, you're on fire again. Anyway, compared to what we all endure daily in the Tower, there is nothing excessive happening here. They have already agreed to release him once he answers their questions." The Hydra guy replied.

"How about we skip the part where we fight to your death, and you let us through?" Kasha butted in. She almost seemed to be anticipating a fight to break out.

"Please! Are you going to fight all of us just to rescue a stranger?" He scoffed loudly. "Or is there something you aren't telling us?" He turned triumphantly toward them only to see their radiant smiles. 

That's when the man froze. He had been saying all this tirade knowing that it would be madness for any guild to fight all the others. But, he now remembered that this guild was Draconic. 

They were now summoning their gear and slowly equipping it while making small talk about how far they could take it, claiming legitimate defense. Some were even 'wisely' suggesting that if they silenced everyone, they could go as far as they wanted.

When the man decided that he wanted to live and moved to the side, sighs of disappointment could be heard from their group. That is how he knew he had made the right decision. 

Now, there remained only the arduous rescue mission left for them. How would they go about it? Dale would do his best to help, even if his flames were more suited toward destruction. 

"What is the plan exactly?" He asked curiously. 

"This." A red-headed lady replied laughingly. 

What did that even mean? Just as he was wondering, the man in tight leather dashed as fast as lightning and as loudly as thunder. When he returned to his senses, he was back with an old man in a princess carry.

What the Hell?! That was it?! What had happened to the plan to design a well-thought-out rescue?! The people inside began cursing in fright and anger. The people outside began cursing in shock and awe. The Draconic members began cursing in joy. 

Then it began. In a few seconds, dozens of skills were used to bombard the mobile home. The most impressive was probably a red-haired lady throwing fire everywhere. She was so beautiful, with her gentle face yet that absolutely destructive power, and — no, that was beside the point. 

He came back to his senses. There only remained charcoal, ashes, and random flashes of magical light. Enemies? None. Fucks given? None. These guys evidently were the bane of home insurers.

Now, he had so many questions. For instance, where the fuck was Josh, and when were they going to save him? 

[Status!]

Dale Faren

Pyro Mage Lv 27

#STATS# (0)

HP: 7300     

Mana: 8200     

Magic Ability: 770   

Strength: 300     

Agility: 690       

Defense: 37         

Magic Resist: 40       

#SKILLS#

-D Weapon Mastery

-D Flame Manipulation

-D Fireball 

-E Fire Volley

-E Fire Shower

-B Let It Burn (Passive)

Creator's Thought

Rule number one of fighting Draconic: do not fight Draconic! This was serious advice to remain out of trouble. Well, it would take a while before they obtained such a reputation. But, the kidnapped old man incident did remind the populace about that golden rule.