****(POV)

An old man with a head of white and a tan could be seen sitting. He was basking in the sun peacefully, his trusty cushion bringing comfort to his old bones. Welner truly appreciated his life at the moment!

Now retired, he barely needed anything to live. A few credits would be plenty for him, but the same couldn't be said for his grandson. He had been worried. In the future, perhaps Climbing would be required even for people that just wanted to live a simple life.

At least, the mysterious people that bought the farm had assured him that they'd give his grandson slight help when he'd be ready to start his Climber career. This didn't mean much to these bigshots, but it meant everything to him.

He had never told the kid about it because he didn't want to spoil him. That's why he always treated him like any usual worker. The different surnames helped keep it a secret too. Still, he wanted him to have all the tools for his success, whatever these were.

Honestly, he felt left behind as the world kept evolving. He especially realized it with the many Climbers squatting at the farm. Recently he had tried joining a bet between the Climbers for fun. When he had called a thousand Atarx in a dice game, they had all looked at him puzzled.

How had they never heard about the official currency of this region?! The Metropolis really seemed like an entirely different world. With that failed bet he had also discovered that there were actually Fallen wasting their time here. Was this possible recruitment worth using up their lifespan?

Most actually passed the employee token around between their Climbing party. They treated this as a timeshare! While other people went to other cities for their vacations, these guys went to work on a farm!

As a Fallen walked next to him, he couldn't help but warn him.

"You know, there is no guarantee that Dimensional Legion will recruit anyone here. You could be Climbing or just relaxing. It's important to take breaks too." Welner reminded.

"I am taking a break. Why else would I be enjoying this wonderful sunny day? Gardening is fun. It helps remind me that life isn't all about killing monsters, but also about growth and patience." He showed a smile as bright as the sun.

Welner knew about such simple pleasure way too well: slowly digging the soil, planting seeds, and taking care of it all as it grew. He figured he may as well encourage the youngster.

"Alright, I believe in you to grow hard and long cucumbers! They will be so great that hungry men and horny housewives will buy them all in a heartbeat." Welner nodded to the man that was now as red as a tomato.

He found it funny how the Climbers either loved to work on the farm or became visibly annoyed. Only these two extremes. With every passing day, some became irritable and left but there would always be newcomers to take their place.

In fact, there was permanently a queue at the door. People were allowed to trade tokens with others, but they had to do it at the farm. This was to prevent counterfeits from circulating.

This led to professional queue standers appearing. They would hurry up and sell their token to the highest bidder. How amazing it was to see rich men competing on the right to slave on a farm!

Then there were the food vendors that had set shop nearby. The scent of their cooking would drift all the way to the field on windy days. Then, everyone would salivate, some even eating random stuff that wasn't edible.

Some others had brought mobile homes that people could rent. Hell, there were even rumors of some ladies and lads selling their services at night to the occupants!

He would never have believed it if anyone had told him that his simple farm would become a miniature town one day. There were even toilets and running water to it!

This had become even more exaggerated with the recent events in Metropolis-C. Many had taken refuge right at the property line.

At every hour of the day, there would be people making a bow of respect toward what they believed was one of the bastions of Dimensional Legion. They felt safe. A farm was giving them hope for the future! How crazy was that?!

He could only chuckle as he watched them work. His grandson could be seen waving at him happily from the field. He truly was lucky for— but that's when a commotion happened.

"MOVE BITCH!" An angry shout was heard.

"Who the heck are you guys?! Eeek, go ahead. I don't want to die!" The only protest was quickly drowned.

Welner understood what was happening, and so did his grandson. He rose in panic and dashed this way, but Welner shook his head, indicating him to hide.

"Gramps, I—"

"Leave. They know my face, I won't be able to, but you can. Hurry up. Otherwise, whoever is coming may take you hostage. Go." He said sternly.

The kid was smart, and he realized that staying here would only be a liability. Tears of helplessness could be seen running on his face.

Welner closed his eyes and waited. He could hear the sound of footsteps coming his way as well as low exclamations. Before long, he was surrounded. He could feel many presences right next to him, staring. There were probably about 30 or 40.

That's when a cold metallic object made contact with his temple. This was either a blaster or a cold pipe. He'd bet on the former.

"Do you think that I'll believe you are sleeping, old coot?" Do you want to sleep forever?!" A smug voice resounded.

Welner was only an old man. He had indeed no way to do anything about this situation. A possible option was to beg and hope to look pitiful enough to be spared. But he disliked that very much.

"Move. You're blocking the sun." Welner calmly declared.

Giggles were heard before their leader spoke again: "You think yourself great, don't you? You're nothing more than a shitty geezer!" He shouted.

"This shitty geezer would like you to stop blocking the sun." Welner instantly replied without missing a beat.

"He thinks he's funny. Let's see how you like that!" The man forcefully opened the old man's eyes.

Welner could see this rude man for the first time. In normal circumstances, he would have looked like a gentleman. He was neatly shaved, had a heroic face and a determined gaze. He was also wearing full armor.

"How does that feel?" He slowly opened the old man's mouth as he fit the tip of the gun in it. Just the tip was enough to overwhelm most people, but he remained calm.

The man snorted, gesturing his colleagues to grab the man as they began to evacuate. That's when someone protested.

"How about you let him go?" One of the temporary farmers stood valiantly.

"You want to stop us alone? There is a difference between being brave and an idiot."

"What do you mean? There are almost a hundred of us here!" He confidently looked at the people that were in this specific area but most averted their gaze. What was happening?!

"Idiot. Most of the people here are low-level, and they have no reason to risk their lives. It's far better to wait for Dimensional Legion to appear. Hell, you guys should probably be starting to wonder if the whole thing is even true, am I right!" He chuckled lowly.

That is how they kidnapped the old man and left. At the farm's entrance, about a hundred more people blocked their way.

"You guys went far enough already. Put him down and get the Hell out of here!" One gave them an ultimatum.

"Is that so?" The man leading the kidnapers showed no sign of cowering.

It seemed like it would turn into a bloodbath for a few seconds, but then came many notification sounds. Beep! Beep! Everyone who checked their UW moved away, some frowning and some clicking their tongues in anger.

Many guilds had spoken. They were to stay put and wait for what would follow. They, too, wanted to pierce the mystery of this place. As for the guildless members and the refuges? Well, they were the weaker ones, and no one really cared about them.

That's how they swaggered outside. Soon, they had taken the poor old man to a temporary mobile home. They tied Welner to a chair and took out a camera capturing the old man's face. Then, their leader pointed his gun once more as they began streaming.

"Hello, all of you! I am your host, a humble seeker of truth. It has come to my attention that recently, there have been lots of rumors about Dimensional Legion. Well, right now, it is time for answers." He paused slightly for dramatic effect.

"Now, old man. Can you tell me: where exactly has D.L been? They proudly paraded in town a while back and brought everyone to a farm for some obscure reason but then disappeared. Normally it would be fine, but they didn't even bother to help Metropolis-C in these troublesome events that just happened."

But Welner remained silent as he could only sigh inwardly. He neither could nor wanted to tell them anything. Would he die today? At least the man had promised to help his grandson. Hopefully, they would honor that promise.

"Oy, gramps! Did you forget how to speak? Where were they?! Why did they ruthlessly abandon everyone? Were they afraid of suffering casualties? Are the lives of the people of Metropolis-C beneath their notice?"

Silence once more. The wannabe interrogator didn't take it well this time.

SLAP!

SLAP!

SLAP!

Welner's face now showed clear signs of being battered. Blood was even trickling from his lips, but even then he didn't make a peep.

"Oh? We got a tough one on our hand. This is all very suspicious. There is no way a real guild, even a hidden one, would have allowed us to enter into their land and kidnap someone!"

That's when he took something out. It was a small blue serum that had been very popular before the Tower. This was a miracle truth serum. It wasn't potent enough to work on Climbers, but it would definitely work on the old man.

At that moment, Welner struggled for the first time. He could already picture how this would play out. The drug would make him ramble a LOT.

These guys hadn't captured his grandson yet. It seemed that they hadn't properly researched him. That meant that should he start speaking, he would probably remind them of this detail.

No way in Hell he'd let that happen! He bit his own tongue. He wasn't even sure how. He somehow did so, even with his mind protesting. That's when they injected him.

"Now, tell us everything!" The man had a victorious smile.

"Weeeaaa yooouuuu eeeeeeee" Blood spurted out of his mouth as he tried confessing to a lot of things, but only a garbled mess came out.

"Fuck! Heal him, someone!" They quickly managed to shove a healing pill in his mouth, but it also boosted his body's regeneration just enough to clear the poison.

The kidnapper could only sigh. Why the heck was an ordinary old man being so troublesome?! But it was fine. They had plenty of time…