Lord of Mysteries:Fire of Destruction

From one blink of an eye to the next, the group went from an old alley to a completely white room.

There was no better way to compare it than a large white room. With a small living room with white sofas and a small table of the same color.

In one corner was a bed that could easily fit three people and still have room. Its sheets and blankets were the same color as everything else.

With so much white, the strange black rectangle in the middle of the wall in front of the room stood out that much more. Below it was an empty long metal table.

'A television...' The red-haired man looked at the familiar object he never thought he would see again without knowing how to react; his expression showed no change.

"Is this some kind of hotel?" Maric asked, looking around.

"Do you really want us to answer that question?" Adryan walked over to the couch and sat down, placing an ankle on his knee and resting his cheek on his knuckles.

Out of curiosity, he taped over the place where he had kept Margwa's Heart, but it was now empty.

Maric's lips trembled slightly, and the trembling intensified as he noticed Sharron looking at him from the side.

Closing her eyes, the goth walked over to the sofa and sat gracefully on the one-seat couch.

Flora, for her part, looked around with a sideways smile. The redhead could easily notice the pride welling up in her, and he could only roll his eyes in amusement.

As that happened, the screen suddenly lit up, and Hermes began to be written live.

Congratulations on Completing the First Floor!

The letters were the color of a rainbow. At the bottom, a happy face with a little hat and a whistle appeared.

You are now in the Room, where you will always stop when you complete a floor and where the door to the next floor will be.

A small click sounded, and a few meters from the screen, a door manifested in the middle of the wall. It had the Number 1 in Hermes shining like stars.

You can always go back to complete the floor if you want to receive different rewards or if you would like to try another challenge of the same level.

Another click sounded, and a new door appeared a few steps away from the other one, but it did not have a number on it.

The door that just appeared will take you to the Second Floor. It will only activate the next time you return to the room, and you can challenge it!

Only once the current floor is completed can one move on to the next floor.

Now, if you like, you will be given the compass to find the Room once you leave.

It is a choice. You can refuse it if you like, but you will not be able to find the entrance without someone who has it.

Do you want to get the compass?

Holding back the corners of his lips from quivering, Adryan sighed quietly. "I want it."

As soon as he gave consent, a warm sensation formed on the back of his left hand. Curious, the redhead removed his glove and saw how a familiar purple tattoo had appeared.

Numerous runes and symbols were interconnected in a shifting pattern, indecipherable, and constantly changing.

The language of these was utterly unknown to him, and yet it seemed to change to a different one so fast that it made him dizzy within seconds of seeing it.

But, despite that, the information of what he had seen had implanted itself in his brain.

Rubbing his forehead with two fingers, Adryan grunted a little.

'November 18th...'

Shaking his head, he looked up, and the screen continued to type.

Returning to the successful completion of the First Floor...

Congratulations!!! You have broken the record for the fastest completion!!!!

Confetti fell on the screen, and the words constantly changed colors to rainbow colors, a grand celebration, and praise.

Please write down your names so we can put them on the list!

Of course, you can also use a nickname if you think it's better.

Suddenly, a transparent blue screen appeared before them, except for Flora.

'A keyboard? It looks like the creator of this Tower was a Pc fan...' Sighing a little, the red-haired man looked at the various letters of the Hermes alphabet in somewhat deep thought.

Placing his name was out of the question. As soon as he finished this round, everyone would know he was climbing the Tower; no one needed to know what floor he was on.

The decision then was obvious: a nickname.

But the question was, which one?

For a moment, Adryan considered placing a certain Russian weapon, but after thinking it over, he only denied it with a chuckle.

'If I used that, it would just be a simple anagram that was quickly discovered. Using AK-47 as a nickname might be fun, but come on! It's so obvious!

'Mmm'

Remembering what he was doing and the mission he had been given, enlightenment fell upon him.

If he was climbing the Tower, wouldn't it be fitting to connect to that?

With that in mind, his finger quickly typed in his nickname, which he would henceforth be known in the Tower.

Finally, his finger pressed the large Confirm button, and the keypad disappeared, replaced by a simple sentence.

Welcome, Ascender Stark.

'If I've already chosen to be a billionaire. Why not finish off and take the other one?' laughing a little, the screen disappeared, like Maric's and Sharron's.

The blue screen changed, and a huge list appeared. The people had different names but shared the same number at the top, a 1. At the end of each was a time.

The list glowed momentarily before changing, and four names were added in a row to present a group, all at the top.

1- Ascender Stark, Dark Doll, Malicious Eye, and Savior Of The J - 30 minutes and 40 seconds.

Inevitably, several eyes moved toward a confident white-haired woman who had suddenly found the empty wall to her left exciting and wasn't looking at them.

"And then you complain about my way of naming things," Adryan said blankly.

"Those were other times when I was immature."

"And has that changed?"

Finally, Flora turned and looked at him, her eyes deep and charged, "Yes."

"..." His eyebrows raised slightly, and the redhead raised his arms in surrender.

You got me there, girl.

As if tired of being ignored, the screen glowed a little brighter, drawing attention to itself again.

The reward will now be delivered. It will be adjusted as the Secondary Mission was found and completed.

As soon as that was finished being said, a small flash formed in front of everyone present, who now had a small table with a silver tray in front of them.

On top of his tray, Adryan looked somewhat lost at the objects on it, which ranged from a few stones to a yellowish piece of paper and an old book with a grape leather cover.

The first stone was dark brown, much like dried blood, and its surface appeared to have multiple mouths whispering incessantly.

The second stone was very different from the previous one; this one was utterly transparent and similar to amber. In its interior, multiple sentences in other languages were moving.

Adryan looked at these objects, somewhat stunned. The information about each was revealed in simple name holders with their names written in Hermes.

Listener for the first stone and Scrolls Professor for the second.

'These are characteristics! Sequence 8 and Sequence 6!' The red-haired man found himself a bit stunned, not having expected this.

'Surely these characteristics belonged to the Beyonders who failed to climb the Tower.'

Shaking his head slightly, he looked at the paper to the side, an idea already forming in his mind of what it might be.

Grabbing it, he read it.

As usual, it was all written in Hermes.

<>

Conspirator's Potion Formula.

Main Ingredients: A Black Hunting Spider's composite eye and a Sphinx's brain.

Supplementary Ingredients: One Black Hunting Spider's poison gland, 80 milliliters of Sphinx blood, 10 grams of Amber powder, 2 White Oak Fruits.

<>

"..." Adryan took a moment to read the paper. After 15 seconds without moving or saying anything, he carefully folded it and put it in his vest pocket.

That done, the red-haired man brought a hand to his forehead and began to massage it.

Right now, he wished he could feel his right hand to clench his fist in anger.

This would have been extremely useful two weeks ago when he had to die and cook his organs to advance to Sequence 6!

A long sigh left his lips, and he went into a small cogitation to calm himself.

'It's over... it's over...'

Ohoho, he planned to take revenge on his closet after all this.

Putting this episode aside but planning to watch it later, the red-haired man grabbed the last item on the tray.

The leather-bound book.

Despite its aged appearance, the texture was quite detailed and felt pleasing. The grape color only added to the overall elegance.

It didn't have a title, so he could just open it and see what it was about.

While he would usually take this kind of suspicious book to the City of Calamities to read it more safely, he could take a chance that the Tower's security would not fail here.

With that in mind, he opened the book to the cover.

An elegant title written in Hermes, beautifully lettered in black ink, welcomed him along with the soft scent of roses.

<>

Divination, Protection, and Curses through Mirrors.

Written by S.B. in the year 1090 of the Fifth Epoch.

<>

'This...' Adryan looked at the title in surprise.

A book about divination! Something that, despite his considerable knowledge of rituals, was something he was still far behind!

'Divination through mirrors... That's the way Witches use it. This book was written by one? That would explain the smell of roses and the exquisite handwriting...'

'When I master this book, I am sure I will be able better to use the power of the City of Calamities... That part about curses through mirrors is exciting...'

Nodding slightly, the red-haired man noted an appointment with this book later.

As he closed the book with a plop and put it away in his jacket, Adryan felt extremely satisfied.

The rewards were undoubtedly valuable; in his opinion, the best was the book, followed by the characteristics and formula.

He didn't take long to pack them all in containers and put them in his jacket.

After doing all that, he told the rest what he had obtained and asked about their gains.

"Magician's potion formula, a pair of eyes from a Psychiatrist, and some mystical ingredients," Flora commented, holding up a vial with the aforementioned eyes and a piece of paper.

She looked at the vial in her hands before tossing it to him. "Here, you can use it as a replacement for the Dragon Mirror eyes for that brat."

Catching the vial, the redhead looked at its contents momentarily before putting it away. "Thanks."

"Hum."

Maric held up a piece of paper and a book. "Devil's potion formula and a book on different methods of torture."

The redhead paused for a moment before nodding.

"...We can use the book; what would you like to do with the formula?"

Maric sprouted his fingers and burned the paper with his spirituality. Then he looked at the rest and said, "The fewer devils in the world, the better."

"Well said."

His eyes then fell on Sharron, who held up a blackish, burnt book with both hands. "The Characteristics of a Midnight Poet, its Formula and a book on various ways to prepare talismans of medium-high level."

Adryan whistled slightly. His eyebrows raised in appreciation.

The profits had been highly juicy!

'From the looks of it, it's much better to complete the Tower in a group than alone. Not only is the reward much more significant, but it's much safer.

'Provided there is trust, of course. Otherwise, once outside the Tower, one would have to watch their back.

Could that be a way of spreading knowledge about the Tower? That way, more people come and try to climb it?'

Of course, the red-haired man wasn't taking the gains now as the common one.

They had completed the Hidden Mission, which, according to Flora, further improved the quality of what they got.

'Also...' Patting the various containers on his chest, Adryan frowned slightly.

Everything they had gained benefited them in one way or another, either themselves or people they knew.

'It seems the Tower has a certain way of seeing information about a person... And it seems that consent is once again affecting...'

The Tower could read information about him despite Hunter's Hallow being there.

He was sure of that because of the Listener's characteristics.

Until now, he had never told any living being that he planned for Serena to take that path.

Putting aside the issue of his consent, the red-haired man returned to the bounties.

"Would you like to leave them with me?'

Sharron nodded, "Please."

With more things to take to his Calamity Closet. The group finally had everything to leave.

What the white-haired woman said in Ancient Hermes settled the question of how.

"Exit!"

The table under the screen disappeared, and a white door appeared. This one was huge, easily fitting all four of them through simultaneously.

The screen lit up, and the words Exit were written on it.

"Once we get outside, I want to talk to you two for a while. You don't have anything to do today, do you?" Adryan said, looking at the gothic duo, who shook their heads.

They walked calmly to the door and opened it; the same darkness that strange hallway greeted them.

They had stepped into that darkness when Adryan was suddenly pulled back with force, tripping him.

By mere reflex, he twisted his body and fell over the one who had pulled him.

Thump!

His hands broke his fall, placed on either side of the head of a stunned Flora whose face was inches away from him.

For a moment, their breaths mingled, and the redhead couldn't help but laugh a little. His cheeks slightly reddened.

"Wow, Flora, don't you think it's a little fast for this?"

"Get off me." Instead of answering his question, Flora demanded, her body frozen and her eyes twitching slightly.

This hadn't been part of the plan!

Wanting a little revenge for the scare she'd given him and being knocked to the floor, Adryan decided to play a little.

Licking his lips, his head lowered slightly, their noses now touching. "Oh? And why would I do that? I finally got you right where I wanted you~"

Flora began to tremble, her eyes moving side to side in alarm.

"Princess-"

Chuckling a little, the red-haired man touched the woman's neck and softly sniffed, smiling at the lavender. "We're alone now. Why don't we make up for some lost time?"

"W-wait- Ah!" her complaint died in an embarrassed moan, with her eyes widening in shock as she felt her neck being gently kissed.

With extreme nerves and her heart on the verge of exploding. The Jacob placed both hands on the man's shoulders and stuttered in alarm. "Wait- Adryan- not yet!"

"Okay." With that simple reply, the red-haired man jumped to his feet, leaving a highly shaken Flora in shock.

"Wh-what..." Stunned, the Jacob looked up and watched as a blushing Adryan winked at her.

"I'm a No is No advocate, so when you're ready, let me know. I promise you a good time~"

Flora blinked a little confused, before a vein exploded in her forehead and neck. "That was too much, even for you! Playing like that with a Lady, where's your education?!"

She had never felt so humiliated!!!!!

Adryan smiled gracefully and bowed softly, extending a hand to the woman. "It would only be a game if I planned to stop, my Dear Worm."

The woman's mouth hung. Her face went from glowing red with fury to red with embarrassment.

"W-you w-want to sa-say!?"

His smile grew a little, turning flirtatious. Adryan nodded with a twinkle in his eye.

"Not to be vulgar. Let's say that bed and the various couches would have seen quite a bit of action~"

Flora looked at him with her mouth half open. Her eyes moved to the outstretched hand, much larger and bigger than hers, to the arm and up the man's body that easily covered hers completely.

At this exact moment, she felt something she hadn't in a long time.

It was safety.

Swallowing saliva, she took the hand as a fleeting thought passed through her mind.

Maybe she shouldn't have asked him to stop...