20th Floor, Orphanage.
Today was a beautiful day.
The gentle and refreshing breeze of summer continuously attacked Kael, causing his hair to sway rhythmically.
The chirping of birds could be heard everywhere, forming a symphony bestowed by Mother Nature herself.
It sounded extremely soothing, peaceful, and pleasant to the ears
The sky was vast and clear, without a single cloud, let alone a single rain.
For everyone else, today was a good day for them to enjoy, for them to have fun.
But for Kael and Hans, today was the day the two of them went to visit Caster's grave.
Under an apple tree in the orphanage - where the three of them first talked to each other, and also where they had their last conversation, was a grave.
Not too luxurious, but not too ordinary or terrible.
He stood there, staring at it without saying a word.
His hand was still holding the bouquet of flowers, not moving, like a statue.
Kael was recalling the moments the three of them had spent together.
Those were happy times, but unfortunately, now, they were just memories, and they would no longer be able to create such memories.
"..." Hans wanted to speak up, but decided to stop.
Just like him, the protagonist felt very sad about the boy's death.
But unlike him, in his previous life, he had witnessed the deaths of many comrades, so it didn't take Hans long to recover from that loss.
That was how he had lived in his previous life, but what about Kael?
Since Hans had experienced this feeling before, he understood that for now, leaving Kael alone, giving him more time was the right choice.
"Phew." Kael spoke, ending that flashback.
It was time for him to get over Caster's death.
If Kael continued to be haunted by the past, his situation would only get worse.
He needed to move forward, life needed to continue.
He took a few steps forward, then stopped when he was only a short distance from the boy's grave.
"Goodbye, Caster. It was nice to meet you."
He gently placed the bouquet of flowers on Caster's grave, along with some toys that kids enjoyed.
It would all end here.
A new chapter would begin.
At that moment.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, …
Someone was coming. And based on what he heard, it was a group of four people.
'Who is it?'
He turned towards the source, and his eyes widened as he saw those people.
The protagonist was reacting exactly like him.
Thinking that he was in a dream, Kael rubbed his eyes a few times, blinked a dozen times, and even slapped himself hard.
But no matter what he did, those four people were still there, not disappearing.
There was no doubt that this was reality, not a dream.
"...Really?" With an incredulous smile, Kael said.
The four people standing there were not ordinary people.
On the contrary, they were the pinnacle of humanity in the Tower, the top of the food chain, the strongest.
Adam Lancaster - Angel Guild Master - Top 10 Ranker.
Seraphina Veyra - Serpent's Covenant Guild Master - Top 5 Ranker.
Alaric Valthor - Azure Crown Guild Master - Top 1 Ranker.
And finally.
Kaede Shirayuki - Shadow Viper Guild Master - Top 2 Ranker.
They were not only extremely famous people, with extraordinary strength, possessing power that no one could match in the Tower.
But they were also the strongest 5-star characters in the game Tower of Glory.
'This is crazy.'
Kael had predicted that him and Hans becoming the top 1 and top 2 of the 20th floor would definitely attract a lot of people's attention, and would make a lot of Guilds feel interested.
But even in his dreams, Kael would never have thought that these four people would be the ones to come see him.
Not the HR staff, but the Guild Masters themselves.
While he was still drowning in questions, Alaric Valthor, the strongest at the moment, spoke up:
"Hello, are you Hans Varun and Kael Draven?"
"Yes." The two answered in unison.
A smile appeared on Alaric's handsome face.
"Oh, that's good to hear."
"Good?"
"I, no, we have something to discuss with you two, could you please accompany us to a secluded place?"
His voice was gentle, but at the same time, Alaric was emitting an incredible pressure, not allowing anyone to refuse.
Just like in the game.
With a white military uniform on his body, he was truly a king.
And a king usually had an ego so high that no one could compare.
Without hesitation, Kael nodded.
Only fools would dare to refuse the offer of the four Guild Masters of the top Guilds in the Tower.
***
Uhm…
'It's true that I followed them to a secluded place…'
But…
'Why did we end up in the cafe where Hans and I first met?'
To be honest, Kael couldn't even remember how many times he had come to this place.
Probably more than 10 times.
And it seemed like this cafe was about to become his second home.
'Should I bring my blankets and pillows over?'
Kael took a sip of his milk tea, chewing on the soft, chewy tapioca pearls in his mouth while listening to the Guild Masters giving out all sorts of different conditions:
"Hey Kael and Hans, if you come to our Angel Guild, we'll give you a salary of $10,000 a month."
Adam Lancaster spoke up.
His eyes were sparkling with stars, really hoping that the two of them would consider joining his Guild.
Kael didn't say anything, just continued listening to the others.
"Don't listen to him, you two. If you join my Guild, I promise to make you two captains of two different teams, and give each of you an Artifact for free."
Seraphina smiled gently, but the purple snake on her neck was glaring at them threateningly.
"And of course you can choose the Artifact you want."
She was an elf, to be more specific, she used to be a resident of one of the floors of the Tower.
But now, she had become a Ranker, a Guild Master with a great reputation.
From someone who had nothing to someone who had almost everything.
What an admirable person… no, elf.
Alaric interrupted:
"Don't listen to those two. If you join my Guild, I promise to give you everything the other two just promised, and not only that, I can even give you some real estate."
Hearing this, Hans Varun's eyes became brighter than the sun.
But Kael still controlled his expression.
There was still one last person who hadn't spoken - Kaede Shirayuki.
"Is it finally my turn?"
Kaede put down her cup of chamomile tea.
"Hans and Kael, if you join my Guild, I will personally train you."
Just a simple sentence, without any great conditions like the other three, but just that was enough to make Alaric, Seraphina, and Adam sweat with worry.
For those who didn't know, being trained by Kaede was like a life changing opportunity.
Even if that person was useless, being taught by her would definitely make them a Ranker in the top 20.
Many people wanted to take her as their master, but Kaede always refused.
And now, such a person was saying that she was willing to train not one, but two people?
Kael smiled gently, without any ill intentions.
"Everyone's offers are truly wonderful, and I'm very grateful for that."
He glanced at all four of them, still smiling.
"But unfortunately, I'm afraid I'll have to decline all of them."