45 The Grand Staircase

FYI spent all of today editing. Changing Lin's name to Hei(black in Chinese) to avoid people confusing it with Yin. Sorry for the confusion.

Happy New Years!

Tiendas Tower Welcomes Its Visitors In:

00:10:05

"Jeez, the System sure is fancy. Using electricity during the Calamity." Yin mutters indignantly. "I miss my phone. Not that I have many people to call left. But at least I could see if my cousins are alive."

"At Lvl. 30, you'll gain access to a limited messaging system through the System. It doesn't work outside of cities without a Heavenly Mandate, but it helps." I whisper in her ear to try to cheer her up. Her sad face perks up a little bit and I feel warm inside.

"Oh…that sounds cool. Only ten more levels!" Yin grins widely, and I quickly put a hand over her mouth as the purple-haired dude next to us gives us a curious look. "Oops, sorry, too loud! I forgot."

"Let's wait. It seems like most people didn't have as much trouble with the storm as we did." More people are pouring into the ground floor with every second. Tiendas Tower is so wide that it's impossible to see to the other side, but I'd estimate there are at least twenty entrances. In the middle of the building, a massive spiral staircase with doors on each side is currently surrounded by blue light. The screens on its walls all display the countdown timer, and people are fighting with each other to get a closer spot. Suddenly a thought occurs to me.

"Watch the escalators coming from the underground entrances!" I scan around, seeing three other entrances like the one we just came through on the first floor. "If someone defeated one of the Eight Servants, the lightning will have forced them to come underground like we did!"

"You're right!" Yin watches one of them on the left and I keep an eye on the two from the right. There are already some people standing at the top, but I can't tell if they came from the subway or if they just decided to stand there because there's space. Turning to the purple-haired dude, I ask him a question.

"Hey, did you see anyone come from underground?" I point to the escalators. He gives me a strange look as if questioning my intelligence.

"What's it to you?"

"Just want to find some friends is all." I quickly think of a reasonable excuse on the spot. However, the purple-haired guy just sneers, with a pointed glance at Yin.

"I might consider telling you. If you let me spend some time with her…" He grins while licking his lips. "What a nice piece of…"

*Smack!*

"OW WHAT THE HELL!" He whirls. While I was deciding to kill him or not, Yin has already punched him in the face. As a Lvl. 20, specializing in agility, her speed is insane compared to the average Hunter in this room. "Woman did you just hit me?"

"So what if I did? You deserved it." The beautiful oriental girl smiles innocently while drawing her katana with lightning speed. Before the man can even get his hand on whatever weapon he has in his pocket, she levels her blade at his throat. One wrong move and he'll never speak again. "Uh uh. I don't think so."

"Haha…" The man gulps nervously and winces as Yin's blade presses against his Adam's apple. "You wouldn't kill a man for having a loose mouth, right? I'll tell you who came from underground so why don't we just forget about what I said…I'm Jensen okay! Let's be friends! I want to be your friend!" He does a 180 degree turn from the brooding rebel delinquent look he had earlier. Yin taps him lightly on his gullet with her sword before bringing it back to its sheath. Heh, she learned that from me!

"Fine. Spill it." She commands.

Damn Yin…when'd you become so badass?

A little bit proud that my student just dismantled another Hunter without me, I resist the urge to smile at the poor man.

"Okay okay! But can I join your party after? What's your name? Are you two dating?" The man's curious questions cause Yin's hands to come dangerously close to the handle of her sword again. Hurriedly, he backtracks and holds up his palms. "W-Wait! It's okay I don't need to know! Just don't!"

"Talk already!"

"Um, yea. So that group over there came up about five minutes ago." Jensen points with a nervous flick of his purple hair. There's a group of five Hunters in the corner. One guy, four girls. Immediately I grow curious. Pretty soon being male will not give a large physical advantage because the stat system will make up for your original body's weaknesses. However, at the beginning of the Calamity, before people understand the System, most parties would be reluctant to take women into a life or death fight. They might bring a few girls, but you usually wouldn't see more women than men. Thus, my guard instantly goes up. Either this guy is very confident in his skills, or these girls are a lot stronger than you'd think. Mentally, I give him the nickname "Harem Leader".

"Okay. That's one." I scan around for the other escalators. "Anyone else?"

"Not that I know of, but I haven't been here for too long. Some of them might have come up before I arrived." Jensen clears his throat. "So we're cool right? I told you everything!"

"Mmm…"

Making a noncommittal noise, I shoulder him aside and move away from the escalator. Unfortunately, the commotion caused by Yin drawing her sword has not gone unnoticed. Several groups of people are definitely whispering about us.

"Come on, Yin." I grab her elbow, checking to make sure her unforgettably beautiful face is well hidden under the hood. "Let's get away from the escalator. So, people can't tell we came from the underground."

"Good idea!"

We separate ourselves from the escalator, walking towards the center of the room. Luckily, there are plenty of disagreements going on between various groups of Hunters on the first floor of Tiendas Tower so our scuffle is soon forgotten. Looking around, I try to see who's strong. Anyone that's made it to the center of the city in time for the opening of the throne room is the cream of the crop of a million Hunters. That's no mean feat. And somewhere hidden in all these people are seven more who possess the System Reward. It seems we're not the only ones who are concealing our identity however. Most people are staying low key and avoiding talking to other groups.

"Hey! It's Mr. Hei and Ms. Yin!" A familiar voice breaks the hushed atmosphere. My eyes search out who has called out our names. Waving us over frantically is a surprising face. Wow…I didn't think even she'd make it this far.

"Hei it's them!" Yin breaks out into a beaming smile as she sees who it is. Tatsuya, in his white priest robes, as well as the two salary women, Andie and Penelope wearily flag us down to join their group. I follow Yin as she runs to greet them. Keeping an eye on the surroundings, I catch sight of a familiar person coming out of the one of the escalators.

The corrections officer in full black plate armor, Jian, stomps up the escalator with a dark expression. It doesn't seem like his journey to find Grom the Unstoppable went well, though it's impossible to tell from here. Some of the newcomers from the previous fight against the Daemonic Minotaur show up behind him. Including the machete wielding man in a Hawaiian shirt and the wavy red-haired boy, I think they all merged their groups into one.

Quickly, I steer our group away to a corner out of the limelight as I see Jian looking around. He knows that Yin has the System Reward and I don't want him recognizing us and making trouble before the boss fight. Catching up with the others, whose numbers have been reduced to a mere dozen, I realize that while they have definitely suffered losses, they've actually done quite well for themselves. I hadn't expected the newbies to make it this far, let alone maintain a party one dozen strong. It doesn't really make sense to be honest. They weren't strong enough fighters, but maybe they got lucky.

"We're all at least Lvl. 10 now! And Tatsuya is Lvl. 12! What about you Mr. Hei?" Penelope suddenly asks. The salary-woman surprises me out of my thoughts. Even this girl has managed to hit Lvl. 10? "Well I only got this for by hanging out in the back, but I managed to hit one of the undead once!" She hefts her studded wooden bat and shows off the blood on the nails. "Pretty good huh?"

"Mmm…yea. I'm Lvl. 11." I say without much interest. She nods, happily.

"Oh that's great! I should have known the companion of Yin would be a higher level than me. But I'm glad the distance isn't too great!" The girl's eyes dart over and she leans in conspiratorially, "Say, Mr. Hei. Tell me, what level has that one reached now? She got the reward and she was already so strong before that so I bet she must be at least���"

Penelope holds up several fingers.

"Eh, I'd rather not say. She's higher level than me though for sure." I sigh, unwilling to divulge our true combat power. Though Penelope is acting like we're good friends, to be honest we've only gone through a few fights together. Although, they did cover for us back there. Not that it really mattered since we could have escaped anyway. But still…

"Oh…of course, you wouldn't want to give away any secrets!" Penelope's clear brown eyes turn sad and I have a sudden mental image of a puppy. Feeling kind of bad and scratching my head, I check the countdown.

00:02:01

"Okay, the boss fight is going to begin soon!" Tatsuya suddenly calls me over to where he and Yin are speaking. Everyone joins in a little group huddle. "Mr. Hei, I'm glad I wasn't wrong when I said we'd meet again. You had some excellent shot-calling last time, would you two like to join our party for this battle? We'll let Mr. Hei lead us of course. Please, accept this responsibility so I can rest easy knowing we are in your hands!"

Tatsuya bows his head and I soon see the others do the same. Ugh, this is so awkward!

"Um, about this…I'm just a regular Hunter so this is a bit much…ouch!" I try to get out of it but Yin, damn that woman, is too sly. She reaches over with the speed of a Lvl. 20 agility type and quickly pinches me in the back. Before anyone else notices she withdraws her hand. The message is clear.

Help them or you'll be angry huh?

Everyone is giving me a weird look and I feel a headache coming on. Unable to see a way out of this, I nod. "Fine. Yin will join your party. I will direct you guys. But make no mistake! If the boss is going to take someone out, I will not give my life for you! I'm just the shot-caller!"

"You join too!" Penelope tugs at me sleeve with a heartbreaking expression. The salary woman seems genuinely concerned for my well-being. "Last time you weren't even in the party even though you were the leader!"

"Ugh…that's…" My refusal is met by a stern face from Yin and the pleading looks from the newbies are too much for me to bear. "Fine, just this once, we'll party together!"

"Excellent! I think we have a great chance of being the one to kill the boss now!" Andie says with a serious expression. The salary-woman hefts her club. "So, what is Mr. Hei's plan?"