The Iron Sovereign's voice resounded once more: 

"I will now show you a skill. How much of it you understand will be up to you. Hopefully, you comprehended the Will of Iron enough to master it."

Right afterward, they were back above the liquid metal. The old man had a glint in his metal eyes as he looked toward Josh. But, his gaze was slightly off as if he couldn't truly see him. Was this the magical equivalent of a recording? 

"Observe carefully, for I will only show you once." He had a gentle smile that turned serious as he graciously raised a hand above his head in a commanding posture. 

Following his gesture, the liquid began rising. The metal formed spikes, flying spears, soldiers, mounted knights, and even dragons. Josh could only stare wide-eyed. This was a goddamn legion! 

Just with their presence, the creatures rendered the atmosphere heavy. Josh felt like they could overcome anything. A single foot-soldier would be able to defeat him, and there were thousands and thousands of them! How insane was that?! 

Then, the old man suddenly lowered his hand. The army charged toward him with the dragons roaring, the projectiles screeching, and the soldiers thundering. Their stomping made the entire realm shake. 

Josh lost his breath as his entire body felt pressured in place. He had to use all his willpower just to stand straight. How was he even supposed to learn this?! He had no clue.

But, it all proved useless. A mere second later, he was already overrun. A piece of gum under a shoe would have looked better than him. His vision went dark as he heard the old man utter: 

"This is how one controls the very essence of Iron. Everyone knows this is my signature move, so do not disgrace my name. That is all. Let us meet if fate wills it." 

Then Josh was back on Floor 18 as if nothing had ever happened. The metal wave was gone, and he had seemingly been sitting in place all this time. Had it all been an illusion? 

He could only laugh in self-deprecation. He wouldn't misuse these teachings for sure. How could he when he understood neither the Iron Will nor that army invoking ability?! 

He had almost drowned, had been devoured by a dragon, and an army had stomped him to death. This was definitely a monumental failure! But he didn't dwell on the past and focused on the message in front of his eyes: 

[Mission accomplished! Please select your reward!] 

[Please select one: Basic Iron Elemental Soul | Iron Pickaxe | Partial Iron Sacrificial Manual | Shattered Sapphire]

How oblivious the Tower Protocol was! It really didn't seem to be able to detect the gods. Last time it had even shown signs of breaking down. Had it been fine this time because there had only been a single god, or had the old man been less invasive? 

Whatever. The pickaxe would be a sub-par version compared to the one he already had. As for the Partial Iron Sacrifice, there was no way he'd be able to learn it. Even a god directly teaching him hadn't been effective! Talk about bad affinity! 

"Give me a Sapphire then." Josh chose. 

<Sapphire Fragment>

- 4/100 Once upon a time, it formed a beautiful gem that was the pride of the Iron Giant. Upon its defeat, the pieces were scattered across the realm. Finding them again allows — 

"Hey, system! That can't be it. Where's the rest of it?" What was the point of this useless flavor text?! The most vital information, its effect, was missing!

Josh could only sigh in resignation. He would be farming this place for a while. However, was there anything he could train at the same time? What if he worked on his magical skills?

"Teleport out!" 

As he arrived at the plaza, all of the eyes turned toward him. This time around all of the people waiting for him carried food. It instantly became a competition once more. 

"Sir, I brought pizza!" 

"Want some fried chicken?" 

"Here are some burritos!" 

That is when a confident voice was heard: "Sir, I have some cake for you! There is nothing as satisfying as a dessert after a full meal!" 

But it was followed by an even more confident voice: "Sir, here are sweet pancakes! Not only is it an amazing dessert, but it matches perfectly with dumplings!" 

All the others couldn't help but freeze in stupefaction. How had they missed such a detail?! No matter how much Josh had exercised inside the Tower, he would already be full from his previous meal. 

Bringing a light, tasty, and well-assorted treat would work wonders! They could only blame their own lack of foresight and sigh heavily. That is when the dumplings youngster shyly chimed in: 

"I restocked my dumpling cart if….no, never mind." He couldn't even finish his pitch as even he realized how shameless he sounded. 

Meanwhile, a few bystanders had just arrived and were wondering what was wrong with the Tower Plaza. Why did it look like a food market?! Also, who the heck was the man that everyone was so eager to please?! 

Josh didn't hesitate and headed toward the dumpling cart. The reporters could only watch in confusion as he stopped in front of the youngster.

"I'll be counting on you to cook again," Josh said. To be fair, the man's dumplings were eerily delicious. 

The young man froze for a second before hurriedly getting to work. He wouldn't miss his chance again! As he applied himself to his task, his brain kept working at full speed. Why was Josh eating at his small stall? 

"Do you want to know why I picked you this time?" Josh casually asked. 

"NO!" The young man screamed along with many of the other reporters in unison. The bystanders were left even more puzzled. But then whispers were heard recounting the earlier events. Some people had even 'seen' through Josh. 

"How magnanimous! He 'tricked' the kid earlier in order to teach him a life lesson! Now, he is making sure he has learned it. He will eat a few dumplings and allow him to ask. This way, it will be fair, and he will honor his word. Amazing!" 

"I see! That makes sense. Sir Malum looks young, but he is so wise! Actually, he is teaching us that knowledge has worth at the same time. But, he is so selfless that he only requires cheap food as payment!" 

"You guys are right. He is such an altruistic man! I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to meet him." 

All around, there were only words of praise for Josh. These people sure had a vivid imagination. He happily began devouring dumplings at a terrifying rate. How would these guys feel when they realized how off the mark they had been? 

"Wow! How considerate! He is even forcing himself to eat so the kid doesn't feel like he has received any charity. He is teaching him the value of hard work. He has to cook to earn this opportunity!" 

"This is so deep! There is so much wisdom contained in these actions that may look so simple at first glance!" 

"How greathearted! We all pale when compared to such a great man!" 

Josh heard it all as he calmly ate. He felt that there was something wrong with the world. What the hell was wrong with their heads?! This was so cheesy that he felt the need to enlighten them. 

"You guys are overthinking this too much. I was hungry and felt like eating some more of these delicious dumplings, nothing else. Sometimes the most obvious answer is the right one." Josh explained. 

"Of course we understand!" 

"It's obvious that you were simply hungry!" 

He could only nod in satisfaction. But then he heard them whisper about how humble he was. There was also something about teaching them another life lesson on not only judging sorely on the first impression. 

Seriously, had these guys been dropped on the head when young?! There were actually people that had believed his 'hungry' statement, but they were slowly getting convinced by the 'logical' arguments the others provided. 

Oh well, it wasn't his task to set them on the proper path. He took note to remind them to consult a specialist for their mental health. He would leave the daunting task of saving their sanity to their psychiatrist. 

Josh finished eating, patting his belly in satisfaction. This was bliss after all the exercise he had accomplished earlier. 

"Alright, what is your question?" Josh casually asked the youngster. The kid seemed extremely nervous. 

"Sir, I have an issue. I have spent my childhood cooking dumplings that I would sell with my grandma. We were poor, and I came to Metropolis-D as soon as I could to make money. I've even tried Climbing, but I received the Class 'Dumpling Maker'." He explained.

"Where exactly lies the issue?" Josh asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"I don't have any connection to join Devouring Panda, and all the guild offers that I have ever received are conditional to me cooking full-time. But that's not what I want to do! I want to become a proud warrior fighting for humanity's survival!" 

"So let me guess. You want me to introduce you to Bennett?" 

"Ye—" He suddenly seemed to think of something as he changed his mind. "Actually, no. Please tell me how I can get stronger on my own without becoming a cook!" 

"Are you sure? I can either answer your question or introduce you to Bennett. Perhaps I don't even know the answer. You'd be wasting a golden opportunity." 

The young man was confronted with what he perceived as a life-defining decision. Was it bad that Josh enjoyed seeing him squirm? What would he choose?…

Creator's Thought

The Iron Sovereign (a true god) tried teaching me without any success. Then I casually began eating and somehow it taught people life lessons?! On one hand, they were clearly overthinking. On the other, it's true that one can learn from anything and anyone in the world regardless of their intent...