"Sir, how much is this bread?" Hove Gilgamesh asked the stall owner selling several kinds of bread and meat. His voice cracked slightly, almost desperate, though he tried to hide it.
"This bread? It'll cost you 45 Vedi!" the owner replied with too much enthusiasm, as if happy to rob a starving man.
'Forty-five Vedi?! What a scam!' Hove cursed in his mind. His expression stayed flat, trying to act like he knew exactly how merchants tried to reel in clueless travelers like him. But the loud growl from his stomach ruined everything. Even the owner raised an eyebrow.
Hove considered causing a scene, maybe arguing, maybe acting offended—anything to save money. But he was too tired and too hungry to fight over bread.
"Fine… here." He sighed and pulled out four gray coins and five brown ones.
The owner scooped up the coins like a greedy squirrel and handed him the bread. Hove glared but didn't say anything. He walked away, chewing angrily, though even disappointing bread was bliss after three days of barely eating.
"I haven't eaten in three days… and yet I'm not even that hungry," he muttered. "Weird for someone who basically starved himself."
He took the last bite and kept walking. Then his brain suddenly clicked back into reality. Why was he in this kingdom in the first place? Oh, right—Hangeldad, home of the Red Tower. A massive tower that supposedly had thousands of floors, where warriors, adventurers, magicians, and all kinds of strong people went to prove themselves and earn money or fame.
Hove had come from a tiny village far away. His father, a former Peak-Rank adventurer and a semifinalist of the Red Tower decades ago, had trained him since he was young. His father had only lost to a man who was ranked top 4 in the world at the time. Because of that, his father believed Hove had the potential to go even further.
So Hove was full of confidence, ready to take on the tower and shine.
There was only one problem.
He had absolutely no idea where the Red Tower was.
For a building that supposedly reached the clouds, he expected to spot it immediately from anywhere in the kingdom. But after walking around, exhausted and starving, he couldn't see anything except buildings and crowds.
Too tired to keep wandering blindly, he decided to ask someone.
Let's see… that guy!
Hove spotted a stranger who looked particularly unlucky today—the perfect target.
He approached him. "Hello."
"?!" The man flinched, then tried to look normal.
"Sir, may I ask where the Red Tower is?" Hove asked before the man could even breathe.
The stranger blinked slowly, then pointed straight ahead. "The Red Tower? The huge tower right in front of us?"
Hove followed the man's finger.
Oh.
There it was.
Massive. Red. A literal tower stabbing into the sky.
He had somehow failed to notice a structure bigger than mountains.
Hove opened his mouth to say something, but his vision spun. The ground wobbled. His legs gave out.
The stranger snorted into laughter.
And then Hove collapsed.
---
Four days before departure
"Hovie…" a soft, worried voice called. His mother. She looked like she had cried earlier but was trying to hide it.
"I don't like this," she said. "The road to Hangeldad is dangerous… and even if you reach it safely, the Red Tower is filled with strong people who can really hurt you."
"Hah! Don't worry, honey," a deep voice boomed. His father stepped beside her proudly. "As his trainer—and a former Peak-Rank adventurer—I guarantee he'll do great!"
"Yeah! I'm basically peak rank already," Hove said with a grin.
His mother didn't look convinced, but she sighed. "Fine… but take this."
She handed him a huge bag. Almost the same size as him—even though he was over 170 cm tall.
"What's this?" he asked, confused.
"Food," she answered simply.
He gave his final goodbye and set off.
The entire giant bag of food lasted… one hour.
---
Hove jolted awake with a loud, "Wah!"
His heart raced. He looked around and saw several people staring at him like he had fallen from the sky.
"Where the hell am I?!" he shouted.
The last thing he remembered was the bread, that overpriced stall owner, and then collapsing after talking to the stranger. Now he was lying in the middle of a wide road, and someone was sitting a short distance away, staring at him.
A man wearing a huge straw hat tilted his head slightly. "You're awake?"
The man looked around twenty-three years old. Half his face was hidden under the hat. He wore a rugged black shirt and black baggy pants filled with holes, and on his waist hung a short sword—not the usual knight's sword, but a katana.
"Where… where am I?" Hove asked again. The man didn't answer. Instead, he simply turned his head forward.
Hove followed his gaze.
The Red Tower. Even closer than before. Even more gigantic. So tall that clouds seemed to cling to it.
"Someone dumped you here and left," the straw-hat man said casually.
"A guy? I don't know anyone here," Hove muttered. But then he realized—it must have been the stranger he asked for directions. He probably panicked when Hove fainted and dragged him here.
Beside Hove was a bag of food.
He opened it.
Bread. Again.
"The guy bought that from me and gave it to you," another voice said. The bread stall owner stood a few meters away, waving lightly.
Yum. Instinct took over and Hove bit into the bread immediately.
The straw-hat man stood up and stretched. "You should get out of the road."
Hove froze mid-bite. Right. He was still lying in the middle of the street. He scrambled to his feet and hurried over to the stall.
"By the looks of it, you're entering the tower, right?" the stall owner asked. "Aren't you a bit young?"
Hove swallowed the bread. "Don't worry, old man. Don't let my age fool you. I'm pretty strong." He posed dramatically like an Olympian.
"How prideful," the man chuckled. "Here, take this."
He handed Hove a rye bread, much better than the plain one he just ate.
Hove hesitated—afraid he would get scammed again—but took it and devoured it quickly.
"Fool," the straw-hat man said from nearby. "The tower is about to open."
Hove froze, crumbs falling from his mouth.
The Red Tower was opening.