Once Langa got out of the centre, he looked back at it. The building was a decrepit old house, surrounded by other similar-looking houses. They looked to be made out of marble. If he could count them, he guessed there were about a hundred of those marble old houses, with overgrown moss along the walls, showing no signs that anyone had lived here in years. The marble was also crumbling from lack of care, and thinking about the tutorial quest that said all sapient creatures in this world were kept in these cages, Langa wondered if there were no more sapient creatures.

The thought of a world without humans in it made him shiver uncomfortably as he stealthily walked around the centres. This place seemed to be a large gated prison with no prisoners, only corrupted animals. He had no idea where to move as everywhere he turned was the same type of building, stretching on for kilometres, and it would be a massive waste of his time if he kept going around in circles. The ground was very rocky and hard to keep a stable pace on it, but Langa kept going, trying to get as far away from this place as he possibly could. The only living things he could see here were the corrupted foxes that he kept having to hide from. Was he alone here? He did not like that. Lady Mira had said that there would be people from blessed and natural worlds as well in this tutorial, but so far, all he had found was one dead man.

Langa kept silently sneaking around the centres looking for a way out until he found something strange. He found one centre that was bigger than the others, and instead of the same drab lifeless colour, this one was white, and it looked pristine. He looked at the door into this building, considering if he should check it out, just to know what was going on, but he immediately squashed that idea when he saw a line of corrupted animals emerging from that large centre. They emerged from there and then scattered around, going into the other centres to search for signs of life. Langa held his breath, hiding behind the centre, until no more of them emerged.

That was dangerous. If they had spotted him, he would have been overrun, without any ability to fight them all. It seemed like this was the command centre from which all the corrupted animals came. He had to get out of there and get to the safe zone as soon as possible. To accurately plan how to move, Langa once more checked the map. There was a gateway to the east of the centres, and from there, a narrow stretch of road leading to the safe zone.

For some reason, on the map, the area within the gate, which contained all the centres, was marked in yellow, while the road leading to the safe zone was red, and the safe zone itself was green. It gave Langa a very bad premonition. He decided to stay vigilant and aware of his surroundings, and this saved his life.

As he was walking past one centre on his way to the gate, two level 1 corrupted foxes leapt at him, and he was able to dodge quickly and throw the two daggers that he'd obtained from the dead player into one fox's eyes while impaling the other on his spear. After this encounter, he ran into a level 2 corrupted fox, and thankfully it was alone, otherwise, he might have been hurt. Seeing that being cautious was not really helping, Langa decided to allocate all his free attribute points from the level up into agility, and he ran towards the gate as fast as he could, to avoid fighting and get to the safe zone as soon as possible.

Just as he was closing in on the gate, he heard a loud crash ahead of him. He checked the map, and to his surprise, there was a blinking black dot close by. Langa cautiously approached the area, intending to observe whoever was fighting. In front of the gate, there was a large level 3 fox and a level 2 fox. The level 2 fox had an arrow sticking out of its side, while the level 3 fox seemed relatively unharmed. It was at this moment that Langa found the cause of the loud crash, earlier.

A young man lay on the ground, sprawled down by some crates. There was a bow on the ground not far from him as well. As this was the first living human that Langa had seen in this place, he immediately threw the two daggers at the level 3 fox, one getting it straight in the eye as it leapt towards the fallen boy, but the other dagger missed, as the fox was in motion. Langa ran over and pierced as hard as he could into the fox’s back. Meanwhile, the boy on the ground scrambled for his bow once more but by this time he was ready to fire his arrow, Langa was wrestling two injured, but fierce and rabidly attacking foxes. He missed the first shot.

“Shit! Shit! Sorry!” the boy screamed, trying to find his balance.

The level 3 fox completely ripped Langa’s jeans open, its claws digging deep into his legs, but he gritted his teeth, choosing instead to quickly finish off the level 2 fox since it was trying to bite him. Thankfully, the boy managed to hit the level 3 fox with his third arrow, as Langa cut through the neck of the other fox. Once one was down, it became easier for him to finish off the other one.

“Are you okay?” Langa asked.

“No, what the hell? Do you know what’s going on, brother?” The boy asked him. Now that he’d managed to stand, and look at him, Langa noticed that the boy was young, probably no older than sixteen, and he was trembling as he pulled out his arrows from the dead foxes.

He was a child. Langa frowned, his thoughts turning unpleasant. The boy would have died if he hadn’t come here, and it made his heart ache to think that his niece, only nineteen herself, could find herself in such a situation.

“I don’t. I’m Langa, What’s your name?” he asked, in as soft a voice as he could muster. He had no idea how to talk to kids or offer them comfort. Khaya always teased him about it.

“Sato Makoto,” he said, drinking a health potion, still looking dazed. “I… I was trying to get to the safe zone but… this is so screwed up, I…”

“Okay, Makoto, listen to me, the noise would have attracted all the other foxes left in this area. We need to run to the safe zone. As fast as we can, then we’ll talk, okay?” Langa said, making a decision.

The boy nodded bravely, and the two of them started to run out of the gate. Langa had a really bad feeling about passing through the red zone, but here was not safe either, and he did not know if they could make it to the safe zone on time if they got delayed here.

So, they ran. As expected, Makoto was not nearly as fast as Langa, and he was afraid to leave him behind alone. He was worried that the red zone would be full of vicious monsters that would overrun them.

But in truth, Langa need not have worried about that. After all, there was only one monster in the red zone, and it came barrelling straight at him as he was running. Naturally, Langa managed a quick sidestep and dodged the monster. Makoto quickly got behind him, nocking an arrow.

Langa once again threw a dagger at the monster, but it swiftly evaded, leaping back. This monster was fast. Langa would be able to outrun it, but Makoto definitely wouldn’t. Moreover, his breath deflated when he checked the monster’s level.

 

Corrupted Fox

Level 5

HP: 300/300

 

"What do we do? It's too strong! I only just got to level 2," Makoto said helplessly. Langa analysed the situation. Its HP was higher than the two they'd just killed combined! His spear only dealt about 20 damage, and Makoto's arrows about 25 damage, and that was if he actually hit it, moreover, Makoto only had four arrows. He definitely could not throw his weapon in this instance, and he doubted whether the daggers he had left would help.

"Shoot at its feet. Let's reduce its mobility," Langa told him, readying his spear.

Langa and the fox both charged forward at the same time, and Makoto scored a lucky hit on the monster's left leg. It snarled, changing its target to him, but Langa thrust his spear forward, and it narrowly evaded, and he managed to graze its side. It only lost about 30HP in total from both attacks. While Makoto readied himself for another shot, Langa was forced to contend with the monster in close combat, and he thought to go for its neck, but the fox once again leapt up and this time its claws slashed Langa's chest.

 

[-29 HP.]

 

"Langa!" Makoto cried in panic.

It hurt. Just one hit and Langa lost a quarter of his HP. He could feel the blood trickling down his chest. At that moment, the fox leapt back, to avoid another arrow.

Makoto's arrow managed to at least give Langa some breathing room to create distance so that he could use the spear better. But the fox would not give him even a second to drink a health potion, and it came at him once more, and he could only dodge. Still, as it was close to him, he managed to sink the dagger into its uninjured foot as he dodged. At this moment, its already rabid blue eyes turned vicious as it howled, facing Langa. An arrow missed it, and it was advancing towards him once more, and all he could do was tighten his grip on his spear and not allow his fear to overcome him.

At this dire moment, something unbelievable happened, and a misty black rope suddenly bound the fox's legs, and someone came flying at the fox, kicking it down. It turned its head to the newcomer, but before it could fully turn, he kicked it again, this time on the side, and although he did not send it flying, Langa swore he heard a bone crack. To his surprise and disbelief, just from these two attacks, the fox lost more than 50% of its HP. Another dark mist rope appeared again, this time around the fox's neck, causing it to whimper and thrash on the ground, belly up. Langa woke up from his stupor and thrust the spear right into the fox's belly, piercing it through, and taking the last of its HP.

 

You have killed a level 5 corrupted fox

+120 EXP

+20 bonus EXP

+7 karma

+20 copper coins

 

[Congratulations! Level Up!

Level 3

+3 karma

+2STR, +2VIT, + 1AGI

You have 3 free attribute points to distribute.]

Langa plopped down on the ground in exhaustion. That was too much excitement for him. It was enough to last him four lifetimes. He needed to steady his heart because he could barely even breathe right now. Makoto was also sighing in relief that they made it. They actually managed to defeat a level 5 monster. Langa felt his body heal up and presumed that he had levelled up. Although he wanted to check the system messages as soon as he could, right now, there was a more pressing matter. Their saviours. There were two of them, the one who tied up the monster, and the one who dealt a lot of unbelievable damage to it.

"Thankfully, we made it in time," the man said. And that was using the word man loosely.

At 1.7 metres tall, Langa was at the average height for a man, and yet this person standing in front of him towered over him. He had to be about 2.4 metres tall. He was dressed in odd armour, a leather vest, and leather trousers with gauntlets on his arm. His belt had a sword sheathed neatly on it. His long blue hair flowed in the wind, his gait imposing as he fixed his eyes on Langa, one purple, one red, unnatural, yet completely in place for him, a stark contrast to his olive skin. There were also tiny scales running up his hands and arms.

Yeah. He was definitely not human.

“Are you guys good to go? You don’t wanna miss the deadline for the quest, and these foxes respawn every five minutes,” one of the men who saved Langa and Makoto, said. He was human at least.

He was a middle-aged man with dark hair and a rough beard and he wore a long dark red robe and was carrying a short staff. Besides thanking the two for saving him, Makoto did not say much and he only walked behind Langa, constantly casting glances at the other two men.

“Um, yeah. Thanks for saving us,” Langa said, picking up his weapons, with Makoto trailing behind him. “I’m Langa, and this is Makoto.”

“It’s not a problem. I’m Liv’Kungsadu, and that’s Sigurd,” the non-human gentleman answered him. “You can call me Liv if you want.”

Curious if it would work, Langa scanned the two of them inquisitively, and sure enough, he saw their levels. Their names were written in yellow, but curiously, Makoto's name and information were written in green.

 

Sigurd Magnarson

Level 3

Mage

 

Liv’Kungsadu

Level 4

Fighter

 

Langa looked around the red zone as the four of them started walking at a fast pace towards the safe zone. There was an uncomfortable stench in the air, of death. He could not explain it, but it made him extremely wary. Here in the red zone, there was not a single tree in sight, just dead rocks and destroyed wooden buildings that looked like outposts. Where they were walking, it appeared to have been some kind of a road before it was torn apart by signs of fighting. This world, it seemed, had not known peace before it was destroyed.

There was a small, very dim sun that Langa could see in the sky, yet there was light in this place. The sky above them was blood red as if at any moment, blood would rain on them like hair in this godsforsaken world. He looked up into the sky, and it truly cemented for him that he was in a different world now. It was quite jarring, and he had no idea what to think, but he knew that right now, there was nothing he could do but accept this as his new reality.

As far as the eye could see, the land around this world was barren, the red sky completely overcast, and yet the temperature felt neither hot nor cold. No wind was blowing, and everywhere Langa looked, everything stood still. Every building that they passed by was half destroyed. Farmlands all over the place were overgrown with weeds, and Langa knew, having grown up in the rural areas, that it had been years since anyone tended to these farms. What on earth happened to this world? He wondered. It was desolate, no matter how far he looked as if there had never been a soul living here, and he did not like it one bit.

He decided that what he needed most was information. He needed information on this world, the Tower, and his companions. He was not sure if he could trust them, but they had saved his life, so he gave them the benefit of the doubt. They did not have to come out here to search for survivors, but they did, and he was grateful to them for that.

They were getting closer to the safe zone when Langa asked, “Did your worlds also get integrated into the Tower? Does that mean that you guys are here for the tutorial too? Have you met up with any other people?”

"Yeah, we're also here for the tutorial. I'm from the 40th floor, and he's from the 32nd,” Liv said, looking at him with his unnatural-coloured eyes. "Besides the two of us, there are three other players in the safe zone. The next tutorial quest is gonna be a group effort, so the others are waiting for us at the town hall. Which floor are you from?"

Langa matched his step, "36th floor, whatever that means." He could feel a headache coming on. Today was not going at all how he expected. He hated being behind, he liked to be in control of his life, and without knowledge of this world, that control was slipping.

Fuck, he needed a drink.

Did they have wine in the Tower? Langa could not believe that was the first thing he thought to ask and shook his head as Liv continued speaking.

Liv gave him a sideways glance. “You don’t know? This tutorial is taking place because someone cleared the 30th floor of The Deiwos Tower, therefore, The Unrivalled has unlocked the next ten floors of the Tower for players who have cleared the 30th floor,” he explained. “That’s why inhabitants of the worlds that are set to be the 31st to the 40th floor were given a chance to become players and climb the Tower.”

“How does that even work? I mean does it mean that while we’re out here, those players can just travel into our worlds as they see fit?” Langa asked, puzzled.

“No,” Liv shook his head. “Only the 31st floor is open right now, and I don’t know how long the players who have made it up there will take to clear it before the 32nd floor opens up.”

”I see,” Langa said, though he didn’t get it. Something occurred to him as they continued to walk towards the safe zone. “How come you can understand IsiZulu? I’m pretty sure that’s not a language that they teach in your world. It’s not a language that’s even taught all that much outside of South Africa,” he asked.

”What are you talking about, brother Langa? I’m speaking Japanese right now,” Makoto said with a frown.

Ah, what? This just confused Langa further until Sigurd explained. “The system translates all languages in the multiverse into Towerspeak, the universal language of the multiverse. You may not know it, but you’re speaking Towerspeak right now. You can even read it as naturally as if it were your native tongue. Even all the prompts and notifications from the system are in Towerspeak.”

That was fucking weird. There was so much more that Langa wanted to ask, as this was a lot of information. However that would have to wait, and he suppressed all that as they finally reached the safe zone. He wanted to take a rest.