Going back a few hours, Ruby was storming down the steps of the Tower, clear fury in her expression. She didn’t even take in the fact that members of her camp, including Gareth, were already at the base.

“That fucking Golem is absolute bullshit!” she cried in outrage. Each word came with a raging stomp.

“It was,” Gareth agreed, approaching her. “Those teammates that the trial gave us didn’t do enough.” He sighed. “Maybe it was me. I could barely hold it back.”

“I didn’t take the handicap,” Ruby snarled.

That earned her an eyebrow raise from Gareth. “You went for the solo combat? No wonder you didn’t manage it. That thing was a monster, I mean, Level 37. We’ve just barely hit E-grade.”

“Shut up!” Ruby screamed, small flames flickering from her hands. “I don’t need any sympathy!”

Knowing when to back off, Gareth didn’t say anything more.

A moment later the light of the blue portal lit up once more. Then twice more in quick succession.

Ron, Amy, and another from Gareth’s camp appeared.

Amy spoke first, as Ron was unlikely to speak at all with all the attention on him.

“Did you guys die to the Golem too?” she asked the crowd that had gathered when Ruby had begun her tirade.

Ruby’s lip curled up in annoyance.

Gareth disagreed and was more of a respectful person, answering Amy. “Yes. It appears that anyone who has gotten to it so far has died.”

Amy nodded, then looked around. “Has any of our group come out yet?”

“A few,” Gareth said, gesturing to the group that was gathered to the other side.

It appeared that both groups hadn't been interacting much during any absence. Luckily they had at least lit up the area with a few torch stones and fires. It would have been rather dark without them.

Looking over the group that was assembled, Amy could see that there was no one she was all that familiar with.

“Still a chance that one of ours makes it then,” Amy said, somewhat goadingly.

Ruby’s eyes locked onto hers. Her fiery red irises trying to burn a hole through her.

“They’ll be out soon. No way they beat that bullshit Golem.”

“Even Leo?” Amy tauntingly raised an eyebrow.

Ruby just clicked her tongue and sat down next to the fire, staring into it, trying to gain some insight or some kind of increase to her power through some miraculous means in order to beat that shitty golem.

A second later, she felt a mental message come through and the deeply uncomfortable feeling that came with it.

“Do you have a moment, young child of flame?” Pyronis asked, his voice causing her to groan.

“What do you want?!” Ruby snapped, her internal thought coming off as rude as she hoped it would be.

“I simply wish to enquire about your tutorial so far. The system does not let us gods witness anything yet. All we can receive are feelings, and only from those we have blessed.”

“I don’t have time for this, unless you want to give me more power, don’t contact me. I need to beat this stupid tower. Which means I need to go kill more ants.”

“Ants, you say?” The god sounded concerned and Ruby picked up on it.

“Why does it matter that it’s ants?” Ruby asked, now a bit more interested.

“Insect based tutorials are classed as the most dangerous tutorials, although where danger is, great rewards tend to follow. Should you survive.”

“Whatever,” Ruby responded. “These things burn like everything else. Golems, however, don't. Stupid fucking golem.”

“Some sort of Trial I assume? The system likes giving those. Why don’t you tell me about it while we still have time?”

Ruby sighed but explained the entirety of her Tower experience in as short a time frame as she could.

Pyronis spoke a moment later. “Quite typical. Although the level of it is rather high. I doubt any will be able to manage it solo at this stage. By the sounds of it, that’s a good thing. That dome shield is likely protecting you from the stronger ants.”

“Why are you even telling me all this?”

“Merely the ramblings of a curious old man.” Pyronis avoided the question.

“Take care not to die, young pyromancer. Fire will give you the strength to survive the coming trials.”

And with that, the God’s presence vanished, and with it the headache.

That guy is weird as fuck. Ruby thought, still staring into the fire.

He had told her while Ruby was explaining the entirety of the Tower that the survival rate of insect based tutorials was roughly ten percent. That would be fine. Weak people were boring anyway. Also what was the point in all this if it wasn’t difficult. Ruby couldn’t imagine just how bored she would be if it wasn’t a challenge.

A flash appeared, drawing her attention once more. It was the lead knight of the other group—Bjorn, if she remembered correctly.

She watched as he looked a bit guilty, grimacing as he exited. The reason why became apparent as that bitch who had mouthed off at her earlier approached him with an angry expression. Ruby would enjoy the show, hoping it would distract her from her own thoughts.

Bjorn held his hands up in defense of himself before speaking. “Woah, Woah,” he began, “before you read me the riot act, I know I fucked up. I’ve cleared my head and I’m no longer losin’ it.”

Amy looked at him like she wanted to bite his head off but held her tongue. Instead, she sighed. “Fine. It’s not like I need to be the one to give you a dressing down. Cece will likely spank you after what you did.” She smirked, devilishly.

Bjorn coughed in surprise upon hearing her words but then chuckled softly. “If I’m lucky.”

“Ew. Come on man, you’re married,” Amy said.

“No no! Not what I meant, I meant—”

“Relax.” Amy interrupted his panicked ramblings with a swift jab. “I’m fucking with you.”

“Anyone else out?” Bjorn asked as he glanced around. “The kid?”

Amy shook her head. “Only me and Ron so far. No one has been able to clear the Tower. Even that crazy strong psycho girl, Ruby.”

“I see.” He nodded. “I didn’t stand a chance against that thing either. What a monster! Sliced me apart like a fresh loaf.” His body shuddered briefly.

Amy and Bjorn settled in with Ron and some others from their camp that either hadn’t entered the Tower or had left much earlier than the combat portion of the Trials.

Time passed, each time the portal lit up it was either a member of Gareth’s group or one of their own.

Nolan’s entire party had also exited the Tower, all of which held solemn faces. Apart from Gordon. Gordon’s face was lit up like a Christmas tree, bouncing down the Tower steps in excitement.

Those who spoke to him assumed that it was due to him completing the Tower, which had gotten the attention of everyone involved. This was quickly cleared up when he was talking about how cool it was when the Golem turned him to dust with; “An awesome laser.”

From there, it was just chatter and self reflection from all who gathered. There was an unspoken agreement between everyone to stay gathered until everyone exited the Tower. Those of Leo’s camp were holding out hope that one of them would clear it and soon it came down to the last three remaining.

“What are they even doing in there? It shouldn’t take this long to just die!” Ruby groaned, loud enough for everyone to hear.

“They’re probably taking longer due to them all clearing it,” Amy replied.

“I’m so done with you!” Ruby had gotten herself worked up and her presence had started blanketing the area.

To her credit, Amy didn’t back down. Rising up to meet the woman that was ready to fly off the handle.

Gareth got up to try and calm the situation before war broke out between the parties, and just as he did there was another flash.

Cecelia walked out through the portal and onto the plateau of the steps of the Tower. Immediately, both groups gathered, one because she was their leader/friend and the other due to curiosity and group mentality.

“Cece!” Amy was the first to address her. “Did you clear it?”

Cecelia’s expression gave away very little as she looked upon the crowd. A deep breath later, she spoke, calmly and loudly.

“I am afraid I was unsuccessful.”

The words sat in the air for a few seconds before a loud guffaw was heard. Ruby strode forward, her smugness almost tangible.

“Told you that no one–”

Ruby was interrupted by the sound of a deafening crack that echoed out over the entire city. People's heads turned up to look at the crystal that was sitting atop the Tower and were stunned. The crystal had cracked and the light began to fade.

Everyone’s attention was suddenly shifted towards the portal as another blue flash lit up the surrounding area. Leo stepped through the portal onto the same plateau that Cecelia was currently occupying.

“Hey,” Leo said, a bit awkwardly, “did you guys clear it too?”

~

Leo was not expecting the crowd to be so close to the entrance, and for everyone to already be there waiting… and staring. He wished he hadn’t taken the time to nap, although based on people’s expressions, he would need all the mental fortitude he could muster.

“What do you mean, too?” Ruby demanded.

Leo looked around confused and spoke a bit sheepishly. “Well I know I got the first clear but then I took a quick nap. Sorry if I kept you all waiting.”

Silence fell upon the crowd.

“What’s wrong?”

Was this still part of the trial he didn’t know about? Some kind of mental trial where he had to guess which was an illusion? Luckily he didn’t have to consider it for long as Cecelia cleared it up.

“It appears you are the only one who has been successful so far. All of us were unable to take out the War-Golem. Its prowess was a bit too much, especially for level 37. I assume you were able to clear it with the spectre's assistance.”

Alright, so this was a little unexpected.

Firstly, the Golem was level 37 for everyone. Leo had assumed that it would be ten levels higher depending on what level you entered. Although, if he thought about it now, the levels of everything so far around the tower had hovered in the low 15-20s with the only outliers being the Goliaths. That meant people could level up slowly just by farming all the ants in the nearby area until they were strong enough to beat the Golem.

Secondly, Cecelia spoke of spectres and he wasn’t sure what that meant. He had guesses but decided to just ask.

“Spectres?”

Cecelia nodded, not grasping the meaning behind his question. “The spectres, or ghosts, in the group trial. They were capable, but in the end not enough for me to finish the job. I got close, but the final attack was too much. How did you deal with the laser?”

Leo was about to answer but Cecelia seemed to read his nervous expression and spoke first.

Her words were almost a whisper of disbelief. “You cleared the Solo trial..”

“What?!” Ruby yelled.

“Uhh.. Kinda?” Leo said.

“No, no, no, no!” Ruby stormed up the stairs until she was face to face with Leo. “You’re lying! You had to have cleared the Group trial, that’s the only way! No one could have faced that thing alone!”

“I wasn’t alone.” Leo smiled brightly and a dragon materialised in front of him, looking extremely proud as he stroked her head.

“That’s it!” Ruby said in realisation, “You cheated! You had a dragon helping you! She must have basically fought it herself.”

“Oh, no. She’s just a baby. I only let her fight after the laser attack finished.” He wasn’t lying. Letting her fight before the golem was weakened would have just ended in disaster.

Ruby winced, her face crinkling as her hand grasped her head for a second before screaming out. “Shut the fuck up Pyronis! I don’t care!”

Then she stormed down the steps and out of the gates at the Tower area. Gareth hurried along after her, stopping anyone else from coming as he commanded them to wait here.

“That was weird, right? Even for her,” Leo said, bewildered. “Who’s Pyronis?”

“No idea. Not someone I’ve heard of. She didn’t mention it at all before now,” Amy replied.

“Congrats on clearing it, you monster,” she added with a punch on his arm.

Another flash and Ashley stepped out, also surprised at the gathering around her.

Leo had forgotten their fight and just wanted to chat to his friend, so he did. “Hey Ash. Did you manage to clear it?”

She looked a bit conflicted, expressions of sadness, guilt, and anger flashed as she looked around a bit panicked until she settled on sadness.

“Oh. Sorry, you’ll get it next time!” Leo tried to encourage. It was at this point he remembered their fight and felt his cheeks get a little red.

Then she grinned. “Gotcha back!”

Leo looked confused for a moment before asking in awe, “You mean you did clear it?”

“Hell yeah I did! Got this sweet staff out of it.”

Ashley brandished a large metal pole with a crystalline gem embedded in the top of it. Leo could tell that it was also a real good looking item, similar to those he just received.

“Ooh, that’s nice," Leo crooned. “What rarity is it? Uncommon?”

“Rare!” Ashley smugly replied. “Gives me some good stats and makes my shields even stronger.”

“Hell yeah! Looks good on you.” Her enthusiasm was infectious and he was glad that they seemed to be back to normal.

It was at this point the pair realised that everyone was staring at them as they had their little chat and embarrassingly faced the group. But as they did, it was like a light lit up in Ashley’s head and she tackled Ellie into a massive hug.

“Ohh I missed you!” She squealed.

It hadn’t been all that long since they last interacted but Leo did suppose that the trials were quite intense, so it was like time wasn’t quite the same. Ellie seemed to love the adoration, cuddling into her with delight.

Cecelia broke the silence once again. “As heartwarming as this reunion is, and while I am glad you two have made up, I think we should discuss the repercussions for clearing the Tower.”

Leo didn’t miss that she sounded a bit off. Less commanding and more disheartened. It was likely due to her feeling less capable than both himself and Ashley but Leo knew how to fix that.

“We can definitely get to that,” Leo said before he took on an excited look.

“But first, I’ve got a gift for you.”