I reached the door and opened it. Once again I went up the stairs and I reached the next level.

Only one word could truly describe the next level.

Paradise.

It was the perfect, most pleasant weather ever. Just the right balance of sun and clouds.

An abundance of huge rhododendron and cherry blossom trees delighted the eye. Birds sang songs and butterflies danced, their little wings fluttering in unison with their mates’.

And in the middle of this paradise there was a great altar. A really big sacrifice stone, the insides filled with fluid. It sparkled in the sun and was a dazzling sight to behold.

“This is the supreme level. The Level of Love,” Pook said, swelling with pride like an artist who had created a beautiful painting.

Somehow I had thought Pook wasn’t someone to be bothered by things like love. But no, he had based the supreme level on it.

Everyone was silent, adoring the place. I wondered why Pook had spent so much time with this mega quest. What was his real objective?

“Pook,” I said. “What are you getting out of all this?”

“What do you mean?” he asked me.

“Why did you make this quest? What are you getting out of it?”

Pook folded his arms.

“I would have told you what I am after, if I knew exactly why I feel like I have known you from the past. But since I don’t, all I shall tell you is that it is important for me.”

“All right,” I said. If Pook didn’t want to say then I wasn’t pressing him. “Take us to the door on this level then.”

“That you will have to figure out on your own this time,” Pook said. “I’ll give you a hint: This is the supreme level, and it’s all about love.”

Looking at the altar in the distance I guessed the level required a big sacrifice for the sake of love.

“If the attack happens how long will we have to defend the tower?”

“Twenty four hours,” Pook said. “If you are successful then you will be given what you seek. You must protect this supreme level at all costs. If things fall so bad that the attackers are able to reach here, then you must find a way… to find more love than them. If you can do that then the tower shall remain unconquered.”

“Will I have to kill myself in the name of love?” I asked Pook.

I still had two lives. I had protected myself well enough that I had not lost a life despite escaping by the skin of my teeth on several occasions. So sacrificing one life would not be entirely stupid.

“Love has nothing to do with killing oneself,” Pook said.

I noted that Pook had become quite the philosopher after leveling up. He had acquired some inner depth besides his jacked up figure.

Pook continued, “In fact, I would recommend you to protect yourself at all costs. You are the protector of this tower. If you are killed, then it will be easy for the attackers to reach the top. You have many helpers. But that’s what they are— helpers. The moment you are gone, protecting this tower would be of no use for them. So they are bound to lose interest. Perhaps they might even end up fighting between themselves. Remember, at the end of the day, this is your quest. Not theirs.”

All of us returned to the first level.

Pook disappeared, promising that if the attackers came then we would receive the notification beforehand. And if they didn’t come within ten days, then the quest would be considered complete by default. I would receive my legs for free.

The monsters rested, and so did I.

We had worked hard to build the tower and now we enjoyed the pleasant first level. Outside the tower, there was nothing but mist. So it was far preferable to be inside.

I began to count the days, as per the rising and the setting of the sun in the first level, assuming it was in sync with the original sun of the game world.

One day went by, then two and then three.

Initially I expected the attackers to show up any minute and would sometimes go out of the tower and stare at the mist, expecting hordes of players and elves to materialize from the whiteness.

But as the days rolled by, an easy completion of the quest seemed more likely. I filled my do-nothing days with imaginations of me walking joyfully in the real world, hand to hand with Kiara whom I had married.

Eight days went with no event. Even the ninth day ended with no news of the players from Pook’s end.

Finally it was the tenth day and a thought crashed into my mind. I had not really made any preparations to ward off attackers in the scenario they came, which was lame beyond measure. A few hours were still left and if they barged in now, we had no strategies on how best to act and protect the tower.

I told my monsters that the moment the attack began then they would concentrate their effort on finding the tree, and then informing me about its location. Sharing information with me was easy, since the monsters and I could communicate with each other through telepathy.

There were a total of five stone giants, including Fono and Bono-Bui (counted as one). I told them to camouflage themselves by kneeling down and burying their heads between their arms so that they appeared like mere lifeless boulders.

I decided to hide with Fono when the attack occurred. It was vital for me to safeguard my two lives.

He would pretend to be a giant rock, concealing me inside himself, leaving a small gap so that I could breathe.

I trusted Fono more than I did Bono and Bui.

While the couple were my loyal followers, the problem was that they kept bickering with each other, their foul tempers punctuated by the occasional lovey-dovey moment. A soap opera on granite legs. I couldn’t stand them.

I assigned the Mantures and the smaller monsters to search for the doors leading to the higher levels.

The job of the intermediate-sized monsters, like the Skhites and the Hornies, was to distract the attackers by engaging them in combat.

The hours of the tenth day slowly evaporated.

Finally only five hours were left. I was quite confident now. I had strategized enough, but still I hoped that the day would pass by without the players showing up.

My hopes were crushed without mercy.

Pook didn’t message me, instead he appeared behind my back, spooking me by whispering in my ear.

“The attackers are coming!”

I whirled frightfully to find him.

“In under ten minutes they will be here,” Pook said, placing his hands on my shoulders and giving me a shake. “It’s your turn to defend the great tower of Oddity!”