In less than 5 minutes, the 20th floor would open, and those who wanted to participate in the raid would head there.
And now, to kill time, Kael and Hans were chatting in a cafe.
Yes, that’s where they first met.
The beginning of everything.
Kael, with a gentle and calm demeanor, gently sipped his coffee before finally opening his mouth, starting the conversation.
"So, my friend, how’s your family?"
In front of him, who was drinking a glass of pineapple smoothie, was the main character of the game Tower of Glory - Hans Varun.
And anyone who looked over could clearly see the word "happy" on his face.
"They’re fine! Extremely fine! It’s all thanks to you, Kael!"
It was obvious that Hans was feeling cheerful when he realized that the people he cared about the most were okay.
But it was a pity that Kael couldn’t sympathize with the protagonist.
Because unlike him, in the previous world, he grew up in an orphanage, without anyone worthy of being considered close, let alone family.
"That’s good to hear."
Putting on a fake smile, Kael continued to enjoy his coffee.
"Oh right, Kael, if you’re free some day, would you like to come over to my place? Both my mother and sister are truly looking forward to meeting you, their benefactor."
He paused, focusing his attention on Hans Varun.
Well, they had become friends, but they had only known each other for a week after all.
Was that how young people were nowadays?
’Wait, I’m young too, right?’
"That’s right. And if you come, my family would definitely treat you like a king. Maybe even more."
He slowly put down his cup of coffee. There was nothing left inside.
"Your family’s gratitude is more than enough. But going to see them in person is a bit..."
To be honest, he had thought about visiting the protagonist’s family, since he was the one who paid for their medical treatment after all.
Besides, he and Hans would definitely become close comrades in the future.
Nevertheless, Kael chose to put that idea aside.
But the biggest one was... he was worried that he wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy that meeting because of an emotion called jealousy.
Kael was a person who grew up without parents, so family love was something extremely precious to him.
No matter how rich he was, he would never be able to have it.
So, when Kael witnessed the scene of Hans Varun being taken care of by his family, being loved by them, ..., surely, in his heart, that emotion would well up.
It made him uncomfortable.
But in the end, Kael still needed to give the protagonist an answer.
"Okay, if I have free time, I will come."
Without saying when he would come.
That meant Kael might not come either.
Hearing that, Hans didn’t ask any more questions, returning to finishing his smoothie before that moment came.
As for Kael, since he had nothing else to do, he turned his gaze outside, where most of the people were looking up at the sky.
Or rather, the giant clock counting down the time until the 20th floor opened.
There was still less than a minute left.
The conversation between the two of them had already taken up quite a bit of time.
And then, when there were only 5 seconds left, everyone started counting down together.
Exactly like what humans did on New Year’s.
Everyone had smiles on their faces.
Their eyes were filled with excitement and anticipation.
Everyone in the Tower was feeling very joyful.
Humans were strange creatures.
They knew better than anyone that clearing the floors of the Tower was a dangerous task, and could take the lives of the participants at any time.
But for some reason, they didn’t feel the slightest bit negative.
Heh, that was only natural, after all, they were not the ones who had to bet their lives, were they?
All they need to do was wait, and then enjoyed something they didn’t even contribute to.
[Announcement to all lives in the Tower.]
[Floor 20 - Dune City has opened.]
[Anyone who wants to participate in clearing this floor can participate. But remember, only when the 20th floor’s mission is completed, everyone can leave.]
[You have 1 minute to make a decision.]
Kael quietly glanced outside, unable to help but smile as if he had predicted everything.
’See? Just now, everyone was still very excited, but in the end, no one went up to the 20th floor.’
It was a beautiful, medieval-style city.
Nothing too breathtaking.
As soon as Kael opened his eyes, he realized that he and all the people participating in the raid on this floor were in the square - the center of Dune City - where there were many people passing by.
Because of the sudden appearance of the guests wearing strange costumes, many people stopped, focusing all their attention on all of them.
Following that, murmurs of discussion broke out.
In the face of all that, the participants did not seem to care.
In order not to waste time, they quickly gathered with their teammates, discussing what each of them should do when the mission of this floor was given.
All the people present here were famous Rankers - people who should only be seen through the screen.
The aura they exuded, the way they spoke, and the way they reacted to everything was enough to show that all of them were very professional.
Suddenly, Kael couldn’t help but let out a smug smile.
So what if they are professionals? Either way, on this floor, and probably the floors after that, the MVP position will belong to me and Hans.’
When the final 1-minute countdown finally ended, all the people who took part in clearing the 20th floor received a notification from the system at the same time.
[The 20th floor has been closed, and no one can go up anymore.]
[We have a total of 42 people.]
Of which, 40 were Rankers with profound knowledge, and 2 were Climbers, but were not ordinary.
[Mission: Defeat the Boss - Doom Bringer.]
[Time until that Boss appears: 5 days.]
[Time to complete the mission: Unlimited.]