Chapter 10

Euphoria (III)

There was something peculiar, almost unsettling, about returning to the Tower, Cain realized. It was a completely familiar sensation, one he had experienced thousands upon thousands of times before, but on the cusp was something else, now. He knew -- unlike everyone else in the world, all these soldiers standing around with their guns at a ready, unlike Rick and Emma walking excitedly next to him, unlike all those still trapped inside the Towers... he knew that as much of a blessing this would become, it would shatter the world.

He couldn’t change it, any of it. No matter what he did, no matter what choice he made, ultimately... the world would become the same as it was the last time around. One person did not possess the capacity to stand their ground against the avalanche that did not wish to stop.

The army parted, some high-ranking official calling out Rick in panic and begging him to stay outside. Gazes of the soldiers were shifty, their fingers itchy. Yet, Cain felt cut off from it all. The sounds were muted and muffled and distant, and his gaze never left the Tower, the behemoth that was never adequately described.

Many theories would surface within the first week of it all. It was aliens, it was a gift from the God, it was a glitch in the simulation’s system, it was a freak-of-nature accident, it was a wormhole connecting our planet to other planets in the massive universe... people would continue to holler on for years and years, with each consecutive one giving birth to a weirder and weirder story of how it all came to be.

In time, however, the world will cease to care. Top stories would be about the Conquerors beating this and that monster, about a party being annihilated, about the conflicts between the corporations, territorial disputes, lists about the hardest bosses, weirdest floors, hardest Tower... the seven behemoths would dominate the news channels in every facet, but few would continue to care much for the how and why parts of the phenomenon, while the vast majority would simply be too busy sinking their teeth into the goldmine.

The trio stepped inside. As it’s only been a couple of hours, nobody else came in or out, and the place remained the same as Cain left it. Damp, but bright -- largely due to the light coming from the outside.

“Right,” he exclaimed as though suddenly recalling something. “Totally blanked on it -- but can you guys see a screen in front of you when you say ‘Status Window’?” people had to at the very least step into the Tower, otherwise the status screen would never become ‘available’ to them.

“Huh?” Emma and Rick glanced at him, confused.

“Just try it,” Cain said. “You should be, I think.”

“... Status Window.” both Emma and Rick said at the same time and, as though they’d coordinated beforehand, jumped in surprise at the seeming nothing in front of Cain’s eyes. He knew, however, that it ‘worked’.

“You can?”

“Holy shit,” Rick exclaimed, moving his hand around up front. “It’s... e-eh?”

“What?”

“... it... it says, under this stupid ‘Traits’...” Rick added, rubbing his chin. “That I have Constipation(D-). What the hell does that mean?”

“... that you need to take a shit more regularly?” Cain said, though understanding of Rick’s confusion. Most of the time, ‘diagnosis’ can be a bit... misleading. So, rather than saying irregular bowel movement, it would immediately move to the most common phrase, and simply grade its seriousness. In the same vein, rather than saying ‘mood swings’, it would list out ‘Manic’ and grade it. It really did cause a manic back in the past... fuck, feel so bad I can’t say that pun out loud... “Anyway, what’s yours say, Em’?”

“... where are the special properties?”

“Huh?”

“Shouldn’t we get assigned some special properties unique to ourselves?” she glanced at him. “What is this garbage? It makes me seem absolutely worthless!!”

“...” I’ll bet her starting stats are twice my own... Cain held back a bitter laugh, merely nodding. “I dunno. Maybe it’s glitched?”

“Yeah, that must be it!”

“... I was joking.”

“H-huh? Fuck you! Do you really think I deserve to start with ‘Intellect’ at 31?! Huh?!” That’s barely worse than mine and I’m level 10 with a fuckin’ item!!

“Heh,” Rick chuckled smugly. “Mine’s at 33.”

“... you both can go fuck the sun,” Cain flipped them off as he took a step forward.

“Eh? C’? What’s wrong? Ah, yours was like 3 wasn’t it?”

“It wasn’t, shut up!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Emma walked up with a chuckle, matching his pace. “I’m sure there are stats that are higher than mine. He he...”

“Don’t be like that, Emma,” Rick joined in. “He’s... helpful, you know?”

“...” Cain suddenly stopped, turned toward them and grinned. Both Rick and Emma immediately got a bad feeling. “You know what? You guys are so right! Since you’re obviously geniuses beyond compare... what in the God’s name am I doing here? You guys got this!”

“...!” Cain began walking back toward the entrance, startling both Rick and Emma.

“Hey, let me know how you guys absolutely dominate this place with your unmatched talents,” he added with a cheerful smile. “I sure look forward to hearing all about it.”

“Hey, C’, come on, don’t be like that! We were just kidding!”

“Yeah, Cain. Just joking around, you know? Like friends do?”

“I’m joking around as well guys,” Cain said. “Why do you suddenly look like you’re about to cry? I wouldn’t miss watching you guys stumble around trying to figure out what’s going on for the world!”

“H-huh?”

“Oh? I didn’t tell you? The way I got my class, it said, can only be done by one person. So, you two are stuck looking for your own ways to do it.”

“... you didn’t tell us that.”

“Oh? Sorry. Must have slipped my mind...”

“How can you hold a grudge for something that we didn’t even do at the time?!” Emma growled.

“... ‘cause I knew you’d do it,” Cain shrugged. “You’re both insufferable at times like these. It’s just a bit of payback...”

“...” Rick and Emma looked at him oddly before relenting, the latter taking the lead and walking down a path that led out of a fairly dark section of cliffs.

Rick matched Cain’s pace, the latter carefully scrutinizing every corner around Emma so that she never truly becomes endangered.

“... I get why Emma chose to come so impulsively,” he suddenly said, breaking the silence between Rick and him. “She’s... always been like this. Reckless. Steadfast. Stubborn.”

“... she has?”

“Hm,” Cain nodded, chuckling lightly. “Once upon a time, believe it or not, I attended college.”

“I don’t believe it, actually.”

“Shut up. I was a student, as was she. We were polar opposites; she was the university’s star, the best, the smartest, future so bright ahead of her it blinded the world. And then... there was me. Lounging around at the bottom of the pile, barely passing the exams. The only reason I’d gotten in to begin with was that she tutored me for six months prior for eight hours a day. And even then, I just barely passed the entrance exam.”

“...”

“Anyway, there was this one professor, Rudwig,” Cain continued. “That I did not get along with. He had issues with Emma dating me, he was an old, stubborn prick, and I was a kid with an attitude. I thought he was skimming my grades all throughout the semester, and I bitched and moaned about it to Emma. So, when she heard we had a written assignment from home, a research project of sorts, she jumped on the train and helped me do it.”

“...” Rick continued to listen in silence, occasionally glancing upfront at Emma.

“Rather than help, she practically did the whole thing on her own,” Cain said. “But she did it just well enough for me to get a B. Results came in, and Rudwig barely passed me instead. When she’d learned...” he paused for a moment, sighing. “She lost it.”

“... what did she do?”

“She stormed his office,” Cain said. “Yelled at him, spat at him, threw a lamp at him, punched him, called him so many names even the Satan himself blushed in shame. By the time I got there, poor old man was in literally in tears, sitting on the floor. I managed to somehow pull her away, but... it was too late.”

“They kicked her out?” Rick quizzed.

“Yup,” Cain nodded. “Boot and all. She had the brightest of futures ahead of her and she threw it all away... just like that. The worst part is, I don’t think she ever really regretted it.”

“...”

“So, I can understand her impulsive nonsense,” he turned toward Rick. “What’s your excuse?”

“... I don’t have one,” Rick shrugged. “I’ve done nearly all the things you can do in life, Cain. Last few years I’ve spent in this limbo, floating around mindlessly. When I saw you light that fire above your hand... it was like a thirsty man in a desert coming upon a lake. At first he fears it’s an illusion, but then he realizes it is not... and his world is upturned. He’s alive.”

“... so... boredom?” Cain asked.

“... it’s more than that,” Rick chuckled. “I never get to be the impulsive guy, Cain. Not anymore at least. But all that be damned, for this... I’d do it all again.”

“...” Cain remained silent as his senses suddenly spotted something up ahead, at the exit from the rugged path among the cliffs. “Em’, hold up.”

“... what’s wrong?” she stopped and turned toward him, asking in a quizzical tone.

“There’s someone ahead.” he replied.

“No there isn’t.” Emma said confidently.

“Ah, yes, ignore the warnings of the only guy with magic here,” he grinned at her. “That 30 intellect sure looks like an utter waste on you...”

“It’s 31 and shut up.” she growled, but still chose to retreat and match his pace.

It wasn’t even a few seconds when the trio exited the path onto a brown-dyed meadow that three people suddenly jumped from behind the rocks and blocked their road. Two on the sides held knives in their hands, while the one in the center had nothing, yet seemed the most confident.

“... this is kind of exciting,” Cain said, stroking his chin. “It’s been a while since someone tried to rob me.”

“Someone tried to rob you?!” Emma exclaimed. “Why is this the first time I’m hearing about this?! Are you okay? Did you get hurt? How much did he take?!”

“... mighty sexist of you to assume it was a ‘he’.”

“...” she glared at him for a moment and turned around, ignoring me.

“Leave all your valuables,” the one in the center spoke out; he appeared to be in his early twenties, average-looking, believe his destiny had turned around. He’s not alone, Cain sighed inwardly. Just how many had believed that very thing when the Towers first fell? “And you can go. Don’t try to resist -- I have the power that is beyond your capacity to understand.”

“... he did not just say that...” Rick mumbled, hiding his eyes in shame.

“... I just got goosebumps...” Emma joined, looking toward the non-existing sky with melancholy in her eyes.

“... khm, yes, uh, I’m... I’m sure it is man,” Cain leveled the awkwardness. “You... khm... you seem like a man destined for great things...”

“... I do, don’t I?” the young man lit up at Cain’s praise and struck up a pose, causing the latter to nearly break down as well. “Ah, very well. Seeing as at least one pair of eyes had seen Mt. Tai, you are special in your own right. I will be benevolent and let you three pass.”

“... y-yes...” Cain mumbled. “T-thank you... very much...”

“Yes, yes, be on your way, then. My time is too precious.”

Cain pulled the two with him as they made their way past the ‘robbers’ and into a nearby forest. They all slumped and fell down the moment they were out of sight, similar expressions of lifelessness on their faces.

“... you... you were not like that, right?” Emma suddenly asked. “When you got magic...”

“... if I were,” Cain replied. “I would have never come out of this place.”

“Good,” Emma nodded. “Nobody would want you back.”

“Eh?” Cain exclaimed suddenly, though in a slightly exaggerated tone. “Look there!” he pointed through the trees, drawing Rick’s and Emma’s eyes over. “That really specific place through the trees looks a lot like the one where I got my magic...”

“...!”

“...!” neither Emma nor Rick said anything, immediately leaping to their feet and rushing over like the wind.

“... you fucks have no right to criticize that kid,” Cain scoffed as he stood up. “Hypocrites... tsk...” Well, the first time I got Classified I used to stare into the mirror for hours on end trying to think up a catchphrase... but... oh well, nobody bloody needs to know that...