"Let's skip the dire wolves," Vell said, glancing at the quest board with disinterest. "We're not here to waste ti on entry-level tasks."
[Agreed. Though it seems most newcors start with these basic quests.]
'That's because most newcors aren't us.' He turned to his group. "The guild master ntioned sothing about special challenges for those marked by the tower. That's where we'll start."
Regina nodded in approval. "Finally. I was worried we'd have to pretend to be novices."
They made their way to the special missions counter, ignoring the curious looks from other adventurers. The receptionist started her usual welcoming speech but stopped when she saw his expression.
"Just show us the restricted quests," he said.
She hesitated for a mont before pulling out a different crystal. This one showed far more interesting opportunities - unstable dinsional rifts, corrupted tower guardians, and zone-wide anomalies that needed to be contained.
"These are typically handled by established teams," she warned. "Even those marked by the tower usually start smaller-"
"This one," he pointed to a particular listing. "The reality fracture in the eastern district."
[Master, that's listed as extrely dangerous. Perfect.]
The receptionist looked concerned. "That area has been quarantined. The last three teams-"
"We'll take it," Regina cut in, recognizing the glint in Vell's eye. "Send the details to our player cards."
"...Ok, one mont please." Before she could begin, a voice called out.
"Hey, fresh at! You're in our hunting ground!"
The shout ca from behind them, followed by heavy footsteps. A group of five players approached, their gear marking them as experienced tower dwellers. Their leader, a tall man with a scarred face and ornate armor, wore the smug expression of soone used to throwing his weight around.
[The leader's strong, but nothing special. Low apprentice at best.]
Vell didn't bother turning around. "How long until the information is ready?"
"Oh, not too long," she replied, not being threatened by the players approaching.
"THmm, might be enough ti to play with out guests."
The leader's face darkened. "Listen here, you arrogant-" He reached for Vell's shoulder.
Regina moved. One mont she was beside Vell, the next her blade rested against the man's throat. Her expression hadn't changed at all.
"We're working," she said quietly. "Leave."
The other four players drew their weapons, but froze when they felt Ada's killing intent wash over them. She didn't even looked their way, her eyes locking onto them like a viper ready to strike.
"You... you can't treat us like this!" One of them stamred. "Do you know who we are? We've been here for years!"
"Years you say?" Vell approached slowly, his expression playful, almost mocking, "Wooow, we have ourselves so big shots here but one thing is confusing . For such strong players, why are you still on the 1st floor?" The look in his eyes and the little laughs in the background embarrassed the bullies, making them attack.
Big mistake.
The first attacker's blade whistled through empty air where Vell had been standing. He didn't dodged – he simply wasn't there at all.
"Too slow," Wren's voice ca from behind the group. She stood there casually, holding their leader by the collar like a misbehaving puppy. She moved so fast that none of them saw her snatch him away from his own attack.
The remaining three fighters spun around, but Jia was already among them. Her claws flashed once, twice, and their weapons fell to pieces. The beast girl hadn't even broken a sweat.
"Master doesn't need to move for trash like you," she said, her tail swishing in annoyance. "We handle the cleanup."
"I-impossible!" one of them stamred, staring at his ruined sword. "We're apprentice-rank adventurers!"
Ada laughed coldly. "That's it? That's adorable." Her fingers traced patterns in the air, dark energy crackling between them. "Want to see what real power looks like?"
The group's bravado crumbled. These weren't ordinary newcors – the gap in their abilities was like heaven and earth.
"Enough," Vell said quietly, still standing in the sa spot, still wearing that amused smile. "They've learned their lesson."
Wren dropped their leader, who scrambled back to his companions. They backed away slowly, then turned and fled into the crowd.
"Registration's complete," the receptionist announced, seemingly unfazed by the brief display of power. She saw enough in her ti at the guild to know when soone was truly exceptional. "The reality fracture quest is now in your log. Would you like any additional information about the target area?"
"No need," he replied, checking his status screen. "We'll figure it out when we get there." He turned to his companions. "Ready for so real action?"
Regina sheathed her blade with a satisfied smile. "Finally. I was getting bored."
As they walked out of the guild hall, other adventurers quickly moved aside, creating a path. Word would spread quickly about the newcors who humiliated one of the first floor's strongest teams without breaking a sweat.
[Master, I think we made quite an impression.]
'That was the point,' he thought back. 'Better to establish our position clearly from the start. No more ti for playing weak.'
[The tower's energy feels different here. More... concentrated. We might be able to try so interesting combinations.]
'Looking forward to it. But first, let's see what this reality fracture is all about.'
They stepped out into the sunlight, ready to tackle their first real challenge in this new world. The ga of pretense was over – it was ti to show the tower what they were truly capable of.
"These cards are sothing else," Wren marveled, holding up her transparent player card. A three-dinsional map hovered above its surface, showing their current position and destination with pristine clarity. "Way more advanced than the paper maps we used back ho."
Jolly peered over her shoulder, watching as the holographic display adjusted itself as they walked. "Look how it even shows elevation changes and underground passages. And those little dots must be other players?"
"The Tower's technology is beyond anything in our world," Regina comnted, studying her own card. "Though I suppose that's to be expected from sothing that can create entire reality zones."
Ada swiped her finger across her card's surface, cycling through different overlay options. "Environntal hazards, monster spawns, safe zones... it's all here. Even shows real-ti weather patterns."
[Master, your card has additional functions the others can't see.]
He glanced down at his card, noting the extra layers of information visible only to him. Power readings, dinsional stability trics, and sothing called "reality coherence indexes" pulsed across his display.
"The fracture's about two kiloters east," he said, watching the pulsing red warning zone on his map. "Looks like it's affecting about three city blocks."
Jia's ears twitched as she looked at the danger zone. "The scents are getting stranger the closer we get. Like... like reality is burning."
They turned down a street that was surprisingly empty for mid-day. The few people they did see were hurrying in the opposite direction, so casting nervous glances over their shoulders.
"According to this," Regina said, bringing up a detailed report on her card, "the fracture appeared three months ago. Started small, but it's growing. Last team that went in reported seeing 'impossible geotries' and 'physics violations' before their cards went dark."
[The mana readings are off the charts. Whatever caused this tear, it's not natural even by Tower standards.]
'Is this why the system wanted to co into the tower? It can't expect to eat that powerful thing right? I will die. '
[I am sure there is a safer way, you will figure it out.]
The buildings around them started showing subtle signs of distortion – windows that reflected things that weren't there, shadows that fell in the wrong direction, and stones that seed to shift when viewed from different angles.
"Cards say we're entering the outer impact zone," Ada reported, watching as new warning indicators lit up across her display. "Dinsional stability at 82% and dropping."
Wren whistled softly. "The detail on these readings is incredible. Back ho, we had to rely on gut feelings and guesswork for stuff like this."
"The Tower provides tools fitting for its challenges," Regina said, then paused as her card projected a new alert. "Hold up – massive energy spike ahead."
The air in front of them shimred and twisted, reality itself seeming to fold in impossible ways. Through the distortion, they could see what looked like fragnts of other places, other tis, all bleeding together in a kaleidoscopic ss.
Vell's card displayed information that made him smile. This wasn't just so random anomaly – there was a pattern to the chaos, a purpose behind the destruction.
"Everyone ready?" he asked, though he already knew the answer. His family had faced worse odds before. Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire
[This should be fun. Shall we show the Tower what real chaos looks like?]
'Let's not get too carried away,' he thought back, but he was grinning. 'At least not until we understand the rules better.'
They stepped forward together, towards the heart of the fracture, their cards automatically adjusting to track the increasing reality distortions around them. Whatever waited inside, it should be afraid on what was coming its way.
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