Chapter 58: An Unexpected Path into a Foreign War (3)

After hearing the mercenaries’ proposal, the Colonel decided to listen more closely to their plan and guided them to his tent.

“(Heh, I knew he’d take the bait, I did this plenty of times in my previous life when I got paid to level up accounts for lazy rich people who wanted the glory of a high rank without putting in the slightest effort.)”

Ebony thought as she walked behind the Colonel, along the way she noticed the battalion’s soldiers looked nervous, fear in their eyes, which only increased the blonde’s suspicions.

Lucian and Daniel, for their part, resigned themselves to the fact that the blonde would drag them into some dangerous deal just for her ambition, however it was already too late to refuse, so they decided to play along.

“Your men are in good shape, but their eyes tell a different story, they look like prostitutes about to confess their sins at church,” Ebony said in a friendly tone.

“Hah, your mouth is filthier than your face suggests, woman, but you’re not wrong… My boys aren’t worried about survival, we’ve been here for days and haven’t seen a single battle,” the man said, stroking his mustache before stepping into his tent.

“But isn’t that a good thing? That way there are no casualties or anything like that,” the blonde girl said as she entered with her companions.

Inside, the temperature was warmer thanks to a couple of braziers filled with hot coals.

“That would be true if we weren’t guarding a Reset Tower.” The Colonel then sat in his chair in front of a wooden desk covered with papers and a quill with ink.

“What’s a Reset Tower?” Ebony asked reflexively, her curiosity too strong.

Her companions, who knew her secret of being a Visitor, exchanged worried glances at the Colonel’s possible reaction, after all, the rules of that world were public knowledge.

“… Hmm… It’s when a tower reaches its maximum number of floors to climb and, if no one conquers it, it collapses and begins growing again floor by floor, when that happens it’s the best time to conquer a tower, didn’t they teach you that before?” the man said, suspicion filling his gaze.

“Sorry, sorry, this girl’s an airhead, since we’ve never climbed a tower she never bothered learning anything about them,” Lucian said, lightly tapping Ebony on the head.

“The hell do you mean? If you’ve never climbed one, what the hell are you doing here saying you will? This situation isn’t a game!” the Colonel snapped, slamming his hand on the table.

“Well, well, it’s true we haven’t climbed one, buuuut… We’ve already faced a Lord of the Lake, a phantom rider, and even a dark elf, so we’ve got experience dealing with devastating beings,” Ebony said proudly, planting her fists on her hips.

“Really? You’re telling me the three of you, a skinny stick with no muscle, a kid what, thirteen? And a bony, arrogant woman fought monsters like that and even beat them?” the Colonel said, raising an incredulous eyebrow.

“I already said yes, but if it’s that hard for you to believe, then take a look at this, you faithless idiot.”

Ebony said as she pulled the severed head of the dark elf out of her backpack and slammed it onto the wooden desk.

At that, Lucian and Daniel couldn’t help but gape at their companion’s shamelessness, even the Colonel jolted so hard he fell out of his chair.

“You carried that thing this whole time? What the hell? Why are you hauling around his head, you lunatic?” Lucian said, annoyed and worried about the Colonel’s reaction.

At that moment, sweat on his forehead and shock on his face, the Colonel stood up from the floor and inspected the head on his desk.

Beyond its pale appearance and pointed ears, the head emitted a faint breeze of dark magic, something too subtle for any normal person.

But for the Colonel, who had faced dark mages before, that faint breeze was proof enough.

“This is impressive… To think you carried something like this in your backpack like it was just some souvenir…”

The Colonel wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked at the girl, and offered his hand.

“I’m Mercury, Colonel Mercury Hakor of the 104th Infantry Battalion, it’ll be a pleasure working with you on this mission.”

“A pleasure, I’m Ebony Strange, it’ll be a pleasure doing business with you.”

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The next day, after a long night’s rest and with new clothes provided by the Sapphire Port battalion, Ebony’s group stepped out of their tent.

The three friends stretched to warm up before entering the tower, Lucian armed with a wooden staff at his waist and a bow with a quiver full of arrows on his back and another at his belt.

Daniel carried two forged iron axes ready for use, but at his belt he also wore a pair of daggers on his back as well as a round wooden shield.

Meanwhile, Ebony had her shield repaired courtesy of the battalion’s blacksmith, as well as a small staff with a magic crystal embedded in it hanging from her belt, but most importantly was the gigantic backpack she carried on her back.

The group walked through the camp toward the tower, but along the way the soldiers noticed that Ebony was carrying more weight than her companions.

That drew looks of disapproval and whispered criticism for allowing such a beautiful lady to carry all that baggage while the other two only carried their weapons.

“Psst… Shouldn’t we at least carry a couple of backpacks? This is embarrassing, Greenie,” Daniel muttered, glancing at Lucian.

“I know, I know… But she insisted on carrying everything since it helps her measure her strength or something, besides, she really is the strongest of the three of us…” the green-haired elf replied, walking while trying to keep the icy wind from blowing off the hood that hid his ears.

“Glad to see you, boys, I apologize for the new clothes, but I needed you dressed appropriately for the army if we want this to be an official job,” Hakor said, greeting the mercenary group.

They all wore bluish clothing with Sapphire Port crests, since they had signed a temporary union agreement with the army, that way it was legal to employ them to conquer the tower.

“Don’t worry, blue looks fantastic on me, but now let’s review, old man, who exactly do we have to kill?” Ebony said while looking at the tower in front of her, a white stone structure with no visible door.

“Straight to the point then, good, I already told you the details before, you just need to clear the first floor, that’ll be enough,” the Colonel said, stroking his mustache into a curled shape.

“Perfect, and as agreed, we get to keep all the treasures we find, right?” Ebony asked with a smile.

“Half of them, don’t push it, woman… Of course, that’s only if you survive, and remember, I won’t send reinforcements to help you, you’ll be on your own in there,” Hakor replied, frowning.

“Perfect, no dead weight is better, now let’s go, boys!”

Ebony led her group toward the tower, but seeing no door, she looked at Lucian for help, he sighed, placed his hand on the structure, and said:

“We accept the risk, let us in.”

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You have entered a Central Tower, you will be sent to the first floor, until you defeat the floor boss you will not be able to leave, may you meet a worthy end or claim a deserved treasure. Good luck, Player.

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