Noah quickly forced himself back to his feet. The blue goblin still seemed to be slightly sluggish from missing its target, considering his body was supposed to be the cushion for its fall. This was an opportunity to easily get rid of his would-be assassin in its moment of weakness. Plus, he was infuriated at how close of a call this had been.

The blue-skinned goblin had just managed to get back up to its feet, but the angle of its attack meant that if it missed it would find itself with its back towards its prey. Noah did not let go of this opportunity and cleaved towards its neck with such ferocity that even he was surprised.

The goblin's hide was much thicker than expected, but he still had exerted enough force for his blade to cut halfway into its neck. More blue blood spilled out, as its body went limp. He had no idea what other sinister traps were planned for him as he explored further, but he had underestimated their intelligence and ruthlessness to their own kind.

The blue-skinned goblin had watched its own companions get slaughtered, only deciding to act when Noah believed he'd dealt with all hostiles. He had not even considered the possibility of an aerial attack, though, in hindsight, it made sense. The ultimate vantage point coupled with the low body weight of the goblin meant they had a natural advantage in climbing and jumping off trees. Perhaps once Noah had enough stats in constitution, leaping off trees like a madman would be his hidden ace in the hole.

Another possibility was that the blue-skinned goblin belonged to a different race, and didn't really care about the green-skinned ones. Either way, it had far higher intelligence in contrast to the green-skinned ones, that had decided to blindly rush him with brute force.

He was still in fight or flight mode, so he didn't give his invisible companion too much thought right now. For now, it had no intention to harm him or harass him further, so he would deal with the situation later.

What he had eyes on was the goblin's dagger, he really could use a secondary weapon in case he was disarmed in combat. He reached out to grab it, but before he could the blue screen popped up.

Loot

He pressed the button, and the goblin's body dissolved into motes of light. No stranger to video gaming, he knew what he had to do. Quickly looting the other two goblins as well, he hightailed it in fear of reinforcements.

As he sprinted away from the area, he could hear a weird crunching noise coming from behind him. Resisting the urge to look back, he increased his speed hoping to create some distance between himself and the source of the voice, but it seemed to be tailing him. He slowed down his speed to a crawl and rapidly turned around hoping to catch a glimpse of the entity he suspected was making that noise.

His jaw dropped at the sight that welcomed his eyes, and he wondered if he'd gone insane. Hovering above the ground there was a man..... comfortably resting on a brown recliner, with the damn leg support fully extended outward.

The man was in his late thirties, maybe even his early forties. He sported long hair that had been dyed in a very dazzling hue of silver, a perfect match with the man's silver-colored eyes that seemed like they would shine in the dark. Of caucasian descent, he had a wiry frame, to the point of extremity. Every inch of his body seemed to be pure muscle, without a single ounce of fat to be found to the point where it seemed slightly unnatural. He had a small nose, a well-defined jawline, and rosy lips. He could easily pass for a model or an actor, if his entire being wasn't semi-translucent, that is.

That same elegant looking man was now stuffing his mouth full with potato chips while staring at Noah like he was watching a particularly interesting T.V. Series.

"What mate, never seen a bloke snack on crisps before?" the man asked questioningly, in a deep voice that contained an authoritarian edge that could not be concealed, despite his effort to.

"You!" Noah pointed at the man, his anger threatening to overwhelm him to the point where he no longer showed any fear as he confronted the occult. The person who had thrust him into this godforsaken place had been watching this entire time, like him almost dying was part of a Reality TV broadcast.

"What the hell is wrong with you, man! Why did you send me to this place, the heck did I do to you? AND WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?" Noah ranted, his voice cracking near the end. He wanted to see Ava again, to see his parents again, and hug Kylie and apologize to her for not spending more time with her. The corner of his eyes was slightly wet, though he tried to maintain his composure out of sheer stubbornness.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey, kid you've got it all wrong! Don't cry on me now you hear!" the man kept his 'crisps' aside and said in a reassuring and soothing tone.

"Look here kid, I'm not here to mess with you. Instead, you've got a once in a lifetime opportunity! You, Noah Smith, have won the bloody lottery. Because you got me on your side, mate." the man hurriedly continued the explanation.

"And who the heck are you supposed to be?" Noah snapped back, clearly irritated at this 'opportunity' which he had never asked for.

"Well, more like was supposed to be. They called me The Eternal Lion, and in the original timeline, I reached the 98th floor. Which, I guess makes me a demi-god. Not in this kiddy tower mind you, but the real one. " he replied in a wistful and crestfallen tone, a jarring tonal shift from his previous frivolousness.

Noah gasped at the revelation. The man's words carried two shocking implications at once.

"What do you mean, original timeline?" Noah asked, wondering if 'it' was actually possible.

The man sighed, and his face appeared to have aged by a few years in that brief moment of vulnerability. Though seconds later his jovial expression was back as if nothing of significance had occurred.

"I was there when the tower originally invaded Earth. Which mind you, is right now. Just with one minor difference. The strongest challenger.... no longer exists."