“A bed befitting a dragon,” Lindyss said upon stepping through Tafel’s portal. She raised an eyebrow and looked around at the dragon-sized furniture within the dragon-sized room. “Ed Edward really went all out when he made this place for you, huh? It’s funny how a man gets saved by a religion I created and someone else gets all the credit.”

Vur blinked. Ed Edward had gifted him the mansion out of gratitude for a chance to live on after dying. It really didn’t seem fair that Ed hadn’t given Lindyss anything even though she was responsible for bringing the dead back to life. A furrow appeared on Vur’s brow, and he gestured towards the ground, which was the surface of the bed. “Do you want my bed?”

“What. No,” Lindyss said, her nose wrinkling. She narrowed her eyes at the red portal which was pulsing in the air by Vur’s pillow. A frown appeared on her face. “Is that the entrance to the tower?”

“It should be,” Tafel said and glanced down at the set of rabbit bones in her arms. “Right, Hyeonnam Tokki?”

“…Yeah,” the skeletal rabbit said. It wasn’t quite sure how it was speaking. In fact, it still hadn’t figure out how it was still even alive with only a skeleton supporting it. Or was it even alive?

“Our guide looks a little bit out of it,” Lindyss said.

A sunlike rune lit up on Vur’s shoulder, and Sheryl’s voice rang out of it. “The poor thing is probably scared of you because you ate him. Her?”

“He’s a him,” Vur said. He stared at the skeletal rabbit which was blankly looking off into space. “Don’t worry, Hyeonnam. There’s no need to be scared of us; we won’t eat you again.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Sheryl asked.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Stella said. She was inside of Vur’s body, so only her voice could be heard echoing out of the tattoo on Vur’s chest. “If Vur really wanted to, he could still snack on the rabbit’s bones.”

“If our guide doesn’t start guiding, I’ll snack on his bones,” Lindyss said. Even though she had a feeling the trip she was going on this time was going to take a while, she still wanted to get through it faster. Lindyss flicked her finger, and a blob of black mana smacked and sank into the back of the rabbit’s skull.

Hyeonnam Tokki stiffened, his little legs extending straight out, his tall boots nearly falling off his limbs. He wriggled and hopped out of Tafel’s grasp, landing on the bed without making a sound. He was too light to even crinkle the blanket. His skeletal legs flashed as he bounced over to the ominous, red portal. “Greetings, intrepid travelers,” Hyeonnam Tokki said and bowed, tipping his cowboy hat at the trio. “I’ll be your guide to the tower. Please enter the spatial rift by my side. Once all of you step through, don’t move around; I’ll be there shortly. If I enter before you, the rift will close. Make sure you have everything you need with you; if you’re weak, chances are, you might won’t be coming back at all.”

Tafel furrowed her brow and glanced at Lindyss. “What exactly did you do to him just now?”

The cursed elf crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t feel like explaining.”

“Are the three…?” Hyeonnam Tokki stopped speaking and stared at Vur. “Exactly how many…, actually, never mind. Are the three of you prepared to enter the tower, the fabled land where strength and riches await?”

“Is it really fabled if we haven’t heard about it before?” Tafel asked and raised an eyebrow.

Hyeonnam Tokki shrugged. “It’s fabled in dimensions where people have been able to establish a home rift.” The skeletal rabbit stood on its hindlegs and shrugged. “I’m not saying the people of your world are weak, but … it’s not the tower’s fault for not making its presence known here.”

Tafel’s brow furrowed. “Are you saying we’re weak?”

“No, no,” Hyeonnam Tokki said and shook his little head. “The people who’ve entered the tower in the past from your dimension were weak individuals. The three of you are the strongest beings I’ve ever met; after all, no one’s ever been able to eat me before. Even without my assistance, I guarantee you’ll make it to the highest echelons of the tower.”

“See?” Lindyss asked. “I knew eating it wouldn’t be a problem. We would’ve been fine without a rabbit guide.”

“You could be making him say that,” Tafel said and rolled her eyes, unable to forget about the blob of mana Lindyss had flung into what seemed like the rabbit skeleton’s brain. “Alright, everything’s in order? We’re all good to go?”

Vur grunted in response, and Lindyss nodded. A fairy crawled out of Lindyss’ robe; her hair was disheveled and a riverbed of dried drool was imprinted across half her face from the corner of her mouth to her ear. “What…? What’s going on?” the fairy asked and looked around. “Where are we?”

“Hi, Erin,” Vur said. “You’re coming with us?”

“Does Erin Koller ever back down from a challenge?” the fairy asked while yawning. She wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes that the yawn had squeezed out before blinking a few times. “Of course, I’m going with you.” She looked around again. “Where are we going?”

“On a typical Vur and Tafel adventure,” Lindyss said and took a step towards the red portal.

“Oh,” Erin said and flitted her way over to Lindyss’ shoulder. She took a seat and crossed her arms before glancing at Vur. “So, we’re chaperoning again?” Erin blinked as Lindyss stepped through the portal. The other side was pitch black with only a faint white light in the distance. “Right. What should I prepare?”

Vur and Tafel stepped through the portal as well, arriving by Lindyss’ side. As Hyeonnam Tokki hopped in behind them, the red portal shrank and winked out of existence, leaving the party stranded in the darkness.

“It’s too late for preparations; we can’t go back now,” Lindyss said, causing Erin to whip her head around to look at the cursed elf’s face. It was dark, but thanks to the light up ahead, it was still possible for the group to see glimpses of each other’s features. Lindyss placed a finger against Erin’s cheek and pushed the fairy queen’s head, forcing it to look ahead instead of at the elf’s face. “I’m joking. I’ve already prepared everything you need for you.”

Erin frowned. “What if I didn’t want to come with you guys?”

Lindyss snorted. “As if you’d ever volunteer to be alone,” she said. She glanced behind herself and snapped her fingers twice at the skeletal rabbit standing by Vur’s feet. “Guide? Hello? Do some guiding.”