Tafel frowned as she stared at the space in front of her. Her root bracelet was glowing amber, and the wooden tablet used to interact with the tower was within arm’s reach. “It says not all of us have permission to proceed to the second floor.”

Melody cleared her throat. “I didn’t get a chance to finish the trial in the Temple of the Water Lord before it was transported to your residence.” She scratched her neck and stared at her feet. “I’ll go take the advancement exam again.”

“Right,” Tafel said, a sheepish expression appearing on her face. “I suppose that was our fault for interrupting you.” The demon nodded. “Let me try something first.” She placed her hands on her hips and stared at the wooden tablet. “You make exceptions for strong people, right? Let Melody enter the second floor with us, or else I’ll hurt you.”

“Spoken like a true gangster,” Lindyss said.

“Hey,” Tafel said and pursed her lips. “When Vur does it, you don’t make snide comments.”

Lindyss shrugged. “It’s more of an art when Vur does it.”

“Art or not, let’s see if I’m qualified to strong-arm the tower into listening to me,” Tafel said and narrowed her eyes. A blood-red imprint appeared on her forehead as phoenix flames blossomed into existence around her. “Are you going to let Melody up to the second floor or not?”

“This really isn’t necessary,” Melody said. “I’m quite confident in passing the advancement exam.”

“Yeah, but how long will that take?” Tafel asked. “You’ll have to secure enough food, find a temple, and then clear the trial.” The demon shook her head and pointed at the tablet. The phoenix flames surged forward, surrounding but not touching the wooden object. “What will it be? Are you going to make an exception, or do I have to wake Vur up and blame it on you?”

The wooden tablet trembled, and an amber glow surged out of it. The light washed over Tafel, the spider, Lindyss, Melody, Miranda, and Kax. As for Kim Hajun, he had left earlier, saying he had some business to take care of. Jeffery watched from a distance as the amber glow vanished, taking the people with it. The old man turned around and examined the residence. Now that the group had left, he could finally pick out a nice tree to retire in.

On the second floor, in an empty region with a wooden tablet, six figures appeared with a flash of light. Tafel squinted, her eyes adjusting to the dim lighting. The area they had been transported to wasn’t dark, but it wasn’t as bright as the sunlit residence they were just in.

“It seems like Vur was onto something when he said the inside of a tree is the inside of a tree,” Lindyss said after inspecting their surroundings. There was only one direction they could travel, away from the tablet. “Well, let’s go.”

Tafel nodded and climbed on top of the grassy spider, taking her seat on the chair that had been added by Diamant. The spider followed alongside Lindyss, and Melody, Miranda, and Kax trailed behind them. After rounding a bend, a bright light came into view at the end of the tunnel. Then, two large silhouettes appeared, blocking the exit. Tafel narrowed her eyes at the two armored men walking towards her. Judging by the way they were looking at her whilst grinning, it didn’t seem like they were here to use the wooden tablet.

“Newcomers?” one of the men asked while taking a halberd off of his back. The blade of the weapon was red and shaped like a flame with multiple sharp and curved points.

“Fresh meat for the slaughter,” the other man said and chuckled as his root bracelet flashed amber. A white rifle appeared in his hands. “I see you haven’t joined one of our allied guilds. Hand over all your weapons and armor, and we might just let you off.”

The first man barked out a laugh before sneering. “You might not know it as newbies, but the tower can’t protect you everywhere. There are little regions like these where all sorts of things can happen.” He planted the butt of his halberd into the ground, and a red flame blossomed into existence by his feet. “Do as we say, and we won’t hurt you.”

Tafel blinked before turning towards Lindyss. “This is a mugging, right?”

“It appears so,” Lindyss said.

“Are you seeing this, Garlic?” Tafel asked, looking down at the pouch hanging on her waist. It was large enough for an egg to fit. “This is the first time we’ve encountered bandits in the tower.”

“How do you expect me to see anything when you didn’t cut any holes in the pouch!?”

Tafel furrowed her brow. “What do you mean? There aren’t any holes in your egg either, but you can see just fine.”

“It’s a one-way eggshell! One-way! Do you know what that means? It means people on the outside can’t see through it, but I can see out of it just fine!”

“You should’ve said that earlier.”

“I would’ve, but you threatened to throw me into your cache if I spoke without being spoken to first!”

“Alright, alright,” Tafel said, opened the pouch’s flap. “It’s my fault; there’s no need to yell.”

“Hey!” the man holding the white rifle shouted. “Do you think we’re playing around?” He raised his left hand, revealing an emblem sewed onto the back of his glove. “The orders from someone of the Legion of Light aren’t something the likes of you can ignore!”

“Are you looking down on Eternal Flame?” the man with the halberd asked. “The Fire Lord conquered the tower long before you arrived; he can kill you with a simple sneeze! Do you wish to make an enemy out of that man by going against me?”

Tafel turned her head towards Lindyss. “What do you think we should do?”

Lindyss raised an eyebrow. “You can’t figure it out yourself?”

Tafel snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, I might just wind up getting scammed if I don’t ask for your opinion first.”

“Right, I did say that,” Lindyss said and nodded. “Watch closely then; this is what you do to bandits.” The cursed elf waved her arm to the side, and a massive hand made of shadows emerged from the tunnel wall. The shadowy hand swept from one side of the tunnel to the other, swatting the two armored men into the wall as if they were flies. “Done. Let’s go.”