Archive of Our Own

"Stop stop stop! Not its eye!" 

Baozi diverts his claw just before he hits the cyclop's giant eye, instead raking a score of poisoned red down its shoulder. 

"Sand! Throw sand!"

Baozi dutifully tosses a handful of sand at the wound, hoping to irritate it.

"No, at its eye! Blind it! Didn't you call yourself a Brawler? How do you not know anything about your own attacks?"

"I'm gonna be a Brawler, yeah! They're the coolest class!" Baozi says, then mentally scratches his head at the contradictory instructions. Hit its eye or not? Whatever. He jumps and, like a slam dunk, smashes a brick to the cyclop's nose, its second most obvious target. Enraged, it strikes back, and a spritely red cat leaps up to take the brunt of the attack. The cat lets out a piteous cry before fading to sparkly ally dust, but the intervention allows Baozi to roll away unharmed.

Baozi mourns for half a second its fashionable sacrifice, then shouts, "Bro, your cat's so weak!"

"That's because—behind you! Go left! Hit its belly button! Hurry!"

"So fussy. What's your zodiac sign?" Baozi mutters. But does as he's told, stabbing his claw into the cyclop's round belly and twisting viciously. It makes a noise of surprise, then collapses into a pile of dusty enemy dust and a few glittering coins. "Hey, that worked!"

"Of course it did, now hurry and help me with this one!"

Baozi turns to see the little guy who's been following him trip and stumble, allowing the other smaller cyclops to close in on him. The small green goblin at the guy's side boldly throws a rock at the cyclops, but it flies wide, almost hitting Baozi. 

"Hey!" Baozi protests and throws a brick back at it to teach it a lesson. It clutches its head and looks forlornly at him, but Baozi tsks, unsympathetic.

"The hell are you wasting your bricks on?" The little guy shouts, tumbling away desperately from the cyclops. "Help!"

"Then control your goblin better!" Baozi counters. He's still a little shocked that a goblin can miss so badly. The cyclops was literally right in front of it!

Still, yeah, he should probably help out the little guy who'd helped him. He looks at his brick-lacking hand, laments its lack-ness, then picks up the rock the goblin had tossed and chucks it at the cyclops. It hits it square in the eye, and the cyclops roars, clearly pissed off. In its rage, it summons rock after large rock, pelting them with a rock storm. 

Unfair, why does Baozi have a cooldown on his bricks while it has unlimited rocks? And these rocks are so much bigger than his bricks, doubly unfair!

"Ah!" The little guy wails as he runs desperately away. "I said don't hit the eye!"

"But it's so target-shaped," Baozi objects, ducking behind the nearest tree. Three concentric rings of white, gray, black, just begging to be hit. "And you said I could hit it earlier!"

"Only magic attacks, not physical. Don't you know anything? Argh, how'd a guy like you survive so long in the Tower?" In the midst of his griping, the little guy has finally found his own tree, but he lost his goblin along the way. Alas, another noble sacrifice. 

But there's only so much time for mourning in the middle of a battle. First he has to figure out, "Why is my sand magical when I have it physically in my hands?" He can feel his sand. He can feel his brick. He can feel the rock. Physical means he can feel it, right?

"Because—because… that's actually a good question. Let me add it to my list of research questions." The little guy pulls out a notebook to jot something down.

The rock storm still hasn't stopped.

"Now what?" Baozi asks.

The little guy mutters a long string of numbers and words to himself, then says, "On my count, rush out and attack its belly again. I'll distract it. 3, 2, 1, run!"

A little red ghost floats out from behind the little guy's tree, weaves around the cyclops's last rock, and launches a small Fireball at its face. Baozi charges out also, leading with a flying kick that makes him feel like a movie star, even if he misses, and follows with a few punches, then a Slap that makes a funny sound as it jiggles its belly fat. Huh, first time using the Slap skill on someone's body. It doesn't seem as effective as a Slap to the face, but if the little guy says to attack the belly then he'll attack the belly.

The cyclops makes a couple swipes at him, but Baozi cleverly weaves around them. With the fiery ghost helping distract it, doesn't take long before it falls to his mighty claw.

Baozi pumps his arms in victory and claims his spoils of war. Generously, he passes half the coins to the little guy and says, "Your pets sure are weak, but I suppose you contributed."

The little guy makes a series of faces. "They're not pets, they're summons!"

"Same thing," Baozi shrugs and continues his way into the forest. 

A few seconds later, he hears a voice behind him. "Ah? The others should be this way!"

It takes them another couple hours to find the rest of their team, just outside the Floor Boss's lair. Baozi beckons Concealed Light—the little guy, whose name he finally learned—to catch up and waves enthusiastically as he runs toward the group, and they startle like they're seeing ghosts.

"You're alive," one of them says, so spooked that he nearly drops the shield he's polishing. 

"Of course! You guys are too!" Baozi replies.

They exchange funny looks with each other, then another of them says, "Thought you'd for sure Quit on us. How'd you get out of the trap? "

"We climbed!"

"And those cyclopses?" asks someone else.

"Dust and coins," Baozi preens. "One of them even dropped an eyeball! But I killed it so it's mine."

"Yours, yours. We know the rules," says a fourth, circling around them for an inspection. He marvels, "No injuries? God really smiles upon the idiots and the inept." 

"Hm?" Baozi looks Concealed Light up and down, then says, "Bro, I think he's insulting you."

Concealed Light squawks. "M-maybe falling down the trap was my fault, but clearly you're the idiot here!"

"Whatever," the leader of the group says, finishing the bandaging of another member's arm with a forceful pat. "You're alive, and that's good news I guess, more DPS. Well, so long as you don't get in our way in the boss fight I suppose. Frankly, you're more trouble than you're worth, but guess that's luck of the draw with wild teams. You especially," he says, nodding to Baozi.

Baozi processes that. "How much am I worth? Think I can sell myself for a bar of gold?"

"Maybe half," the leader guy says, "but I'm not buying. Anyway, it's on me for taking in a loose cannon. Come on, rest for a bit, then we'll finish up and get out of here." He pulls a bag of jerky from his pack and offers them each a piece.

Baozi happily munches down and offers his own share of snacks, but no one seems interested. More for him then. He settles down in their small circle, and the others happily make a lot of space for him. He recounts for them his valiant battles against those pesky cyclops on their way over and gets a few oohs and ahs from the group, but mostly it's just Concealed Light butting in to correct him on silly details. Who cares about the density of a brick if it hits hard? 

Just as he's getting to the good part where he jabs the cyclops in the stomach, the leader stands up and says, "That's enough rest, let's finish this before it gets dark."

Baozi switches tracks immediately from storytelling to adventuring and cheers. "Yippee! Boss fight! Boss fight!"

The leader snorts. "That excited?"

"Of course!"

The leader shakes his head. "Hit hard and don't get in our way, I guess. The goal's to all get to the next floor in one piece. We've got a healer, but you know how it goes. If there's too many injuries, he's prioritizing our team. The boss isn't anything special, so we're going with the standard formation. Teamwork might be shaky with new members, but try not to hit each other. Worst case, you all remember how to trigger this Floor's Escape Clause—get the hell out, don't die here meaninglessly. Any questions?" 

There's about two seconds of uncomfortable silence.

Baozi breaks it, pounding his chest and assuring, "Don't worry. With me around, we're the number one team in the Tower!"

"Tch, pride cometh before the fall," someone mutters. "Try telling that to God Ye."

"God Ye?" Baozi's been hearing that name a lot lately. He scratches his head. "And I thought it was 'Glory in the highest.'"

"Two things can be true," the leader says. "They're just sayings."

"But in the Glory Towers, we've got to follow the Glory motto," Baozi insists. 

"You really plan to find the so-called glory in the highest?" another person asks with some level of skepticism. "Make it all the way to the top?"

It's the first time Baozi's considered it, but immediately he likes the idea. "Yeah!"

The person raises his eyebrows and asks, with even greater skepticism. "Don't tell me, you wanna be the first to clear the Tower?"

"Of course!" Baozi answers, because that sounds hella fun. "That'll get me on TV, won't it?"

Concealed Light, the clumsy little mage, almost trips from a standstill. He asks, "Do you know what you're talking about? Clearing the Tower? First? That's something not even all the Professional Ascenders dare to dream of! And do you even know what it takes to make it to the Pro level? Good weapons, lots of skill points—things we can only obtain from record clear rewards. We only barely survived those cyclops from earlier. Assuming the boss fight goes as the previous 85% of the dungeon went, we can extrapolate that we'll only score in the 54th percentile for this dungeon, meaning there's only 17% chance of obtaining Purple or higher grade rewards, and less than 0.1% chance of receiving bonus skill points!"

"Oh," Baozi says. "Maybe next floor then!"

"Are you even listening to what I said?" Concealed Light demands, stomping a foot. 

"Not really," he admits. Something about not making a good score this time, but there's always next time, right? Each floor is a new adventure, all the way until they make it to Floor 100, the rumored top floor and the biggest adventure yet! Baozi's buzzing with excitement just thinking about it.

Concealed Light makes some steaming kettle noises, then sighs. He regathers his composure and tells Baozi, "If you're serious about catching up to the pros, there's still a theoretical chance. Assuming you have what it takes to become a Pro, though. We're only on Floor 19, and there's not a statistically significant difference between seriously starting from Floor 1 and Floor 21, after the Class Dungeons. The biggest factor would be how you perform in the Challenger Dungeon, which should appear on Floor 51 this year. All the top scorers there can usually find a spot on a Pro Ascender team, but then again you'll be competing against all those teams' top trainees. As God Ye has—er, had—been quoted saying, 'Glory isn't a simple game.'"

"Oh," Baozi says when Concealed Light's done rambling. He scratches an ear, "So I have to get to Floor 21 to become a Pro?"

"21's only the first step!" Concealed Light emphasizes. "While anyone who ascends the Tower is technically an Ascender, most people say you're not a proper Ascender until you get your class. But even after Floor 21, you still have to catch up to all the Pro Ascenders at the 70s—or maybe 80s, if they've pushed into the next Deca by the time you get there. There's still a long, long way to go."

"Oh," Baozi says again, stroking his imaginary beard sagely. "So first I've gotta become a Brawler, you're saying. That's easy!"

Concealed Light trips over nothing. "You—!"

"Let's go fight the boss already! What's everyone waiting for?"

The leader sighs, shaking his head. "If everyone's ready, let's go."

As far as boss fights go, it's a fairly straightforward one. Just one boss vs ten ascenders. No deaths, no bad injuries. Just a dislocated shoulder temporarily taking their tank out mid-battle, which led to a bit of a scramble. But Baozi heroically steps up to distract the giant cyclops with a sneaky Sand Toss followed by a Back Throw, buying enough time for their healer to return their tank to fighting condition. 

But as Baozi exults in how great his save was, his next Knee Strike knocks the boss right into the wannabe-Assassin aiming for a back attack, making him trip backward into the person behind him, which made her Bind spell miss and hit Concealed Light instead, immobilizing him for several seconds. But fortunately Concealed Light's critters could still attack, and everyone recovered quickly, so Baozi doesn't think much of his miss, even if everyone else gives him the stink eye about it.

Finally, the boss falls to Baozi's Brick, and a holographic GLORY floats above its dusty remains. A now familiar feminine voice chimes, Floor 19 Cleared. Rating: B. Rewards: +5 strength, +5 skill points.

"Ah? Skill points? For a B?" someone exclaims.

"A regular reward, not bonus points," someone else corrects.

"B," Concealed Light mutters. "I had thought we'd at best score a B-, but more likely a C or C+. Where did my calculations go wrong?"

Baozi's not sure why everyone's just standing around talking. He cheers a wahoo! and runs for the loot.

But someone shouts, "Hold up!" 

It's the wannabe-Assassin who tripped earlier during the fight. He walks up to Baozi and jabs a finger at his face. "This guy, kick him out. You all saw that right, just after our tank stabilized the situation, this guy nearly caused a wipe out. If I didn't adjust quickly enough, I don't know what would have happened. He's a hazard, and I vote him out now."

Baozi pushes the finger aside. "We're voting? I vote for ice cream!"

Everyone looks around at each other, but no one else casts a vote for anything.

"Red bean ice cream?" Baozi tries again.

Concealed Light says to the Assassin, "True, his Knee Strike was out of place, but neither of you made optimal choices in that moment. If you—" A glare from the Assassin silences him. 

The leader takes that as an opportunity to step forward and mediate. "That's enough. We survived the dungeon together. Sure some blunders were made, but none severe enough to waive anyone's rights to the clear prize. Come on, let's pick up the goods and get outta here. I'm so done with this."

As he says so, another member of the team waves them all over to where the cyclops corpse has dissolved away, having taken over the job that Baozi originally wanted of sorting through the loot. The leader divides the gold evenly between them all, and they roll for the dropped equipment—2 Green, 2 Blue—but Baozi unfortunately wins nothing. Normally, they'd take the dropped material to the marketplace on the next floor and split the profit, but Concealed Light offers to buy them from the group directly, something something science. No one objects, so they set off to the next floor with heavily jangling pockets and a lot of excitement.

Or at least, Baozi's brimming with excitement. Floor 20! And then it's Floor 21, where Baozi can officially become a Brawler! And then after that, Floor 22 and 23 and 24 and so on until one day he reaches the heights of Glory, or whachamacallit! He can't wait!

It's late evening when they step into Floor 20, after a full day in the dungeon. Concealed Light mutters about time's relatives being evil across floors or something, then excuses himself. Others break away also, to nap or shower or repair their equipment, but Baozi's stomach rumbles loudly, so he takes its good advice and makes his way from the teleporter square at the edge of the Safe Zone to the nearest tavern.

Floor 20's Safe Zone is similar to most others—a smallish village comprised of several taverns, each with an affiliated inn, a square of peddlers peddling their goods, and a further off area, just within the far borders of the monsterless zone, to camp out if one can't afford an inn. It's a lot quieter compared to Floor 11 and especially Floor 1, but nothing compares to the liveliness of Floor 1. What catches Baozi's attention about this floor is the distinct current of anticipation: just one boss battle between you and the Class Dungeons, the start of your journey as a true Ascender.

Of the people who've made it this far, most are either like Baozi, gradually Ascending the Tower for the thrill of it, or hoping to find some hidden treasures and secrets like Concealed Light, or some mix of the two. The more casual tourists have mostly dropped off by Floor 11, like the group Baozi had originally come with and then lost somewhere several floors back, but it seems there's still a few premium tours ongoing. 

He spots a couple such groups approaching the tavern, each led by a tour guide with a brightly colored sash, chattering excitedly among themselves and showing off shiny prizes. In contrast, most of the groups without a sashed guide trudge with heavier, dragging steps, sporting red-brown bandages and worn down armor, looking for the closest, cheapest inn to collapse in. But here and there, mixed among the two sorts of groups, are individuals and small clumps of people still looking as fresh as Baozi feels. Maybe he can find one of them to challenge the floor's dungeon together with?

He squeezes past the tittering tour groups and lumbering masses into the tavern and calls for an order of steamed buns, then sits himself at one of the few open seats that offer a good view of multiple TVs.

Unfortunately, his name doesn't appear under the Floor 19 Records, not even today's Daily Records, so he's a bit disappointed. Then his order of buns arrives, and Baozi quickly forgets his disappointment. With his belly filling satisfactorily, his attention wanders between several monitors, from some fancily-clad guild team's ferocious boss battle on Floor 53, to a replay of a flashy gun fight from a previous year's Challenger Dungeon, to some noob team running from the emu flock on Floor 9. He loudly laughs with his tablemates when the slowest of the noobs gets her hat stolen by an emu, and boasts that he had taken down six of the flock with his bricks alone. The other patrons demand a reenactment, and Baozi happily complies, waving his last bun around like he would his brick.

Then talk turns to some Lord Grim guy and his team, who'd started Ascending rapidly from Floor 1 just a couple weeks ago and been leaving a trail of eye-catching records in his wake. Just last week, they topped the Floor 13 Annual Record with an SS rated clear, and followed immediately with a 3rd place All-time finish the next floor.

And speaking of the devil, someone shouts, "It's Lord Grim!" 

Baozi turns around and scans the crowd. "Where?"

"There!" The person says, pointing not at a person, but at the Floor 19 Records. Baozi settles back, a little disappointed at the trickery, but he's soon distracted by the updated Daily and Weekly Records: 

Affiliation: Unaffiliated

Rating: A+

Members: Lord Grim, Soft Mist, Seven Fields, Sleeping Moon, Drifting Water, Sunset Clouds, Immersed Jade, Quiet Stillness, Blue Bridge Spring Snow, Bound Boat

The Monthlies and higher remain the same, but a 2nd place Weekly is still respectable. Baozi himself has two Weeklies under his belt so far. But from the sound of it, this is a rather subpar rating for that Lord Grim guy.

Baozi tsks and shakes his head. What a guy. Seems Baozi's got a lot of catching up to do.

He wonders aloud, "Why don't they ever broadcast their runs? It would be so cool to see them speed clear the dungeon!"

The guy sitting opposite him swigs his beer and snorts. "Probably got a cheat or something. It's not normal to be breaking records left and right like that."

Baozi shakes his head. "Maybe he's not a cheater, but a beater. Does he have two swords?"

"Huh? Heard he had an unusual weapon, so probably not a dual wielding Assassin."

"Oh." He finishes his last bun and sticks around a while longer to watch the TV broadcasts. 

Fancy-armor crew is still going steady, the Challenger Dungeon replay fast forwards through the non-actiony travelling, and the noob group rushes for the dungeon's Emergency Escape, toll stones and emu feathers primed and ready, taking turns to throw skills out behind them and slow the giant birds hot on their heels. Four people now, Baozi counts. Then the camera zooms out and he spots the fifth crouched a ways off from the group, unmoving even as two emus peck bloody trails down his hairline and back, before his body fades and disappears, leaving behind his glove weapons and a scrappy pile of cloth armor. A Force Quit, Baozi recognizes. Tsk, silly guy. If he had just gone with his team, they all could have made it out by now. But now he has to start all over if he re-enters the Tower, while his teammates fend off the monster emus themselves.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spots a new group of people enter the tavern—three guys and a girl, and Baozi is instantly distracted by the giant umbrella one of the guys holds. Is it gonna rain? He's never encountered any rain in the Tower yet, how exciting.

"Ah! Excellent Era! They're challenging Floor 77 again!" Someone shouts, pointing at a screen in the corner, pulling Baozi's attention back to the TVs. Immediately, a clamour rises in the tavern, everyone trying to catch a look and speak their thoughts. 

The party of four sitting beside Baozi is particularly rowdy:

Mage A cheers, "Go Excellent Era!"

Tank B questions, "Now? Isn't Ye Qiu's memorial in a couple days?"

Gunner C muses, "Maybe they're rushing it in his honor. It's been three weeks, about time for another shot."

Healer D mutters, "No God Ye, no Goddess Su, can they do it?"

Tank B, standing and blocking half the table's view, "What do you mean no Goddess Su? Where's my Goddess Su?"

Gunner C, motioning futilely for him to sit down, "Class disadvantage, I hear. They didn't take her last time. It's a five-person dungeon and—the hell? They're taking the rookie?"

Tank B, "My Goddess Su!!!"

Mage A, "Kyaa, Sun Xiang!!!"

Healer D, leaning back, "Hah, Tyranny just claimed Floor 76's First Clear yesterday, looks like Excellent Era's getting antsy."

Baozi, mathing, "Huh? How'd they clear Floor 76 when 75's not done yet?"

Mage A, banging the table, "Sun Xiang's not just any rookie. If even Ye Qiu can lead Excellent Era to clear half the dungeon, there's nothing to worry about with Sun Xiang. Look, he's so handsome with Evil Annihilation!"

Tank B, heatedly, " Even Ye Qiu? What are you saying about my God Ye!"

Mage A, stepping onto the bench to match Tank B's impressive height, "I'm saying, he's old and washed up and probably ugly. Nothing like my God Sun."

Gunner C explains nicely to Baozi, "It's the Pioneering Front, the set of ten new floors that opens at a time. They can challenge the floors in any order, except Floor 80 and its Deca Boss fight. And the Half-Decas, like Floor 75, with their mini-boss are usually the hardest of the set, as I'm sure you've noticed."

Baozi hasn't noticed. All the monsters fall to his mighty brick in the end.

Healer D adds, "The Tower likes having multiple Pro teams competing, not sure why."

Mage A and Tank B start a fist fight. They get evicted, and Gunner C and Healer D follow them out, exasperated. Baozi thanks them for their expositing.

Over the ruckus in the tavern, someone booms, "Boss, switch the screens! Press conference is starting!"

Baozi leans this way and that, but still can't see the monitor. Just as he gets out of his seat to fight for a better spot, several other monitors flicker and switch to display Excellent Era's press conference. The tavern's even nice enough to tune their speakers to the channel. He sits back down and listens in with everyone else.

" —will lead Excellent Era through Floor 75, then 76—er, 77, and 78, and 79. And 80, 90, all the way to the top, where we'll claim the first clear of Floor 100!" The lanky blond teenager sitting at the center of the press table says, expression fiery. He raises his pitch black spear high into the air and somehow doesn't poke the people sitting next to him. "I'll take Excellent Era to the heights Ye Qiu couldn't."

"Ayaya? He sure can count," Baozi comments. "What's an Excellent Era?"

Someone besides him chokes—one of the guys who just entered the tavern not long ago, the one with a sword at his belt. The group has made its way over, and the guy with the umbrella asks, "Mind if we sit here?"

"Of course!" Baozi says. Four people left, so four can sit. His math is on point today.

"Do you really not know who Excellent Era is?" The choking swordsman asks as he sits down beside Baozi.

Baozi shakes his head. "Are they good?"

The guy in a healer's priestly robe sets his cross down and leans in to reply, "They're not bad, but Blue Rain's better. Have you heard of Blue Rain? Or the Blue Brook Guild."

"Ah!" Baozi says, "So it is going to rain!"

"What? No, Blue Rain. A pro ascending team," the swordsman emphasizes. 

Baozi frowns. "Is rain ever not blue?"

"Well, there's Misty Rain," the healer guy starts, but the swordsman cuts him off.

"Let's continue the previous conversation. What do you say, Lord Grim, do you have any interest in joining us?"

"You're Lord Grim? The guy on TV?" Baozi interjects.

Lord Grim, tucking his umbrella under the table, into the space meant for large weapons, looks up and says. "I am. And you are?"

"Steamed Bun Invasion, but you can call me Baozi!"

"Steamed Bun Invasion? The name sounds familiar," Healer guy muses. "I'm Bound Boat, by the way, and this is Blue Bridge. We're both from Blue Rain's affiliate guild, Blue Brook."

"I'm famous?" Baozi exclaims. "That's a lot of blue."

"Ahem," Blue Bridge clears his throat.

Lord Grim says to him, "8 White Wolf Sharp Fangs and 24 Strong Spider Silk. You want the Floor 20 record, right?"

"Can we take first place?" The girl in their group, still holding on to her long red spear, chimes in to ask.

"You don't object?" Lord Grim asks, seemingly surprised by her enthusiasm.

She thinks for a bit. "I think this can count as part of your training. Guoguo has been wanting to expand into more premium tours."

"Tour?" Blue Bridge questions.

The girl smiles. "Happy Tower Tours. He's our latest tour guide in-training."

"So you've already got an affiliation," Blue Bridge says slowly. "Just not officially registered—a small, independent company, then. Not one tied to any pro team."

Lord Grim studies the two Blue Brook people sitting across him. "Does your guild still want the record?"

Blue Bridge shares a skeptical look with Bound Boat, then probes, "First place?"

"Depends who you bring along," Lord Grim says, "All-time might be iffy, but Annuals should be doable if you can find a few more experienced Ascenders."

"Are you guys going on TV again?" Baozi asks. "Can I join? And then can we beat the All-time record!"

"Oh?" Lord Grim says. "Are you good?"

"The very best!" Baozi boasts, pounding his chest. "I'm an Aquarius, I get along swimmingly with water types! What sign are you?"

"Isn't Aquarius an air sign?" the girl asks.

"Aiyaya, you know a lot! What sign are you?" Baozi asks, delighted.

"Aries," she says.

"As expected!" Baozi cheers.

"What are you guys on about? Let's get back on topic," Blue Bridge cuts in. "How can a noob who doesn't even know the pro teams be any good? Lord Grim, can you really guarantee an Annual Record?"

"Who are you to doubt my badassery?" Baozi demands.

"Blue Bridge Spring Snow," he says, strangely proud. 

"Baozi," Lord Grim says, "is this your first Ascent?"

"Of course!" he says.

"Melee DPS?"

"A Brawler!"

"Do you have a guild affiliation?"

"A what-a-what?"

"Tch," Blue Bridge Something or Other tches, "he really is a noob."

"Yeah?" Baozi extends an arm, "Let's go, best two of three."

Blue Bridge gets up from the table. "Let's go!"

"Huh?" Baozi pulls back his arm to scratch his head. "Where are you going?"

"To the Field Zone!" Blue Bridge explodes.

"Why do we need to go there? There's a perfectly good table here!"

"Why do we need a table?"

"Do you not use a table when arm wrestling? Maybe you really are an expert!"

"A-arm wrestling?" Blue Bridge splutters. Bound Boat tugs him back into his seat.

"Oi, everyone! Shut up!" someone from the neighboring table shouts at them, "My Goddess Su is about to talk!"

Baozi gives a gloating look to Blue Bridge, then shuts up and turns his attention back to the TV along with the rest of the group. Sure enough, it's a pretty girl smiling sweetly at the camera.

"It's unfortunate that I cannot contribute to Excellent Era's success today, but one day I'll avenge Ye Qiu," she says in a sweet voice that sends shivers down Baozi's spine. "For now, I can only wish Excellent Era the best of luck."

More murmurs pass through the tavern crowd as Su Mucheng passes the mic.

"So they really did have a thing…"

"If only she was there, then God Ye might not have…"

"I love you, Goddess Su!"

As the others in the tavern murmur this and that, Bound Boat asks Lord Grim, "Mr. Expert, what are your thoughts? Do you think Excellent Era can do it?"

Lord Grim blinks out of his contemplative stare at the screen and says,  "Clear the dungeon? If they can integrate well with Sun Xiang, it shouldn't be too difficult. Liu Hao and the others know what to do, and though Sun Xiang lacks experience with pioneering dungeons, he has plenty of raw talent. But to clear it on their first run together… I'd consider that a pleasant surprise."

"Excellent Era knows the Escape Clause now, so hopefully it won't come to the worst," Blue Bridge adds solemnly. "God Ye's death was a tragic misfortune, and I hope they won't let his sacrifice be in vain."

Lord Grim goes back to looking contemplative, so Baozi prods him, because they seem to have all lost track of the important part of the conversation. "So can we go on TV?"

Hearing that, the girl turns a pleading look toward Lord Grim too, which makes him chuckle helplessly. "Sure, if you're confident," he says, then tells Blue Bridge. "Bring your best experts and trainees from this floor. We'll meet at the teleporter tomorrow and decide the final team to challenge the dungeon."

There's a lot of people milling about the teleporter already, meeting up with predetermined teammates or trying to pull in new ones. He spots Lord Grim pretty quickly, standing in the shade of his giant umbrella, with a small group of twenty or so people gathered around him. Seeing Baozi, he beckons him to join, and they all head out to the Field Zone.

Along the way, they split into teams of three, and Baozi ends up with Blue Bridge and the girl from last night, Soft Mist. Everything goes well as they take care of the few stray ferret and boar monsters near at the zone's outskirts, but then as they face off against a pair of wolves, Blue Bridge walks into Baozi's brick.

"Hey!" They both shout at the same time.

"What do you mean 'hey,'" Blue Bridge demands, frantically swinging his sword to fend off the wolf as he recovers his balance. "Watch where you're aiming!"

Baozi rushes in to help him out. "But you're the one who walked into my Brick!"

"Watch out!" Soft Mist warns. Baozi whips around and tosses a handful of sand, and the second wolf that's now pouncing in their direction shrinks away with a whine. That's enough of an opening for Soft Mist to regain control over the wolf and separate the fight again. Baozi throws another brick in that direction for good measure, then goes back to pummeling this other wolf with Blue Bridge.

"Baozi," Lord Grim calls out when the fight's over. He shoots a couple bullets from his strange umbrella to assist another struggling team. "Why'd you suddenly throw that Brick at Blue Bridge's wolf?"

"Huh?" Baozi thinks for a second, then remembers, "The wolf was turned around. Didn't you say to hit the back of the head when I can?"

Lord Grim nods, "That's not wrong, but also make sure to keep an eye on the whole situation. Soft Mist hadn't fully gotten her wolf under control when you turned away suddenly. Though, Soft Mist, if that Dragon Tooth had been half a second faster, that wolf wouldn't have escaped. And Blue Bridge, mm, keep it up."

He lets them go again, and the next couple fights go progressively smoother, even if Blue Bridge and sometimes Soft Mist clash attacks with him sometimes. By the time noon rolls around, while the other teams are still struggling with just two monsters simultaneously, Baozi's team can handle clusters of three or even four without too much hassle. 

When the monster density increases to the point of multiple groups having to struggle with clumps of three or more monsters, Lord Grim calls for everyone to regroup and backtrack. They retreat to a clearing they'd passed a while back and set out monster repellent so they can have lunch in peace. As they eat, Baozi recounts to the other groups his wily Sand Tosses and mighty Bricks and punches and kicks, but Blue Bridge kept butting in with complaints how Baozi tripped him up all the time.

"It's a skill issue," Baozi tsks.

"It's a you issue," Blue Bridge counters. "Who randomly tosses sand backward over their shoulder!"

"I do!" Baozi says indignantly.

"It worked sometimes," Soft Mist speaks up on his behalf, and Baozi beams at her.

"See?" he gloats to Blue Bridge.

Bound Boat says, "Steamed Bun Invasion, right? I remember where I'd heard that name now. Xiao Ke had mentioned you before. Very unpredictable, hard to work with. What do you think, Blue Bridge?"

Blue Bridge nods emphatically. "Worse than any other noob I've come across. I'd win a million dollars at mahjong before I figure out where this guy'll aim his stupid brick next."

Baozi shakes his head. "Gambling is bad."

"It looked like you guys were clearing monsters pretty quickly though," Bound Boat says.

Reluctantly, Blue Bridge admits, "His attacks are fast and accurate. Ms. Soft Mist's too. She's a very fierce fighter; I'd taken notice when we cleared the last floor."

Baozi turns to Soft Mist for a fist bump. "As expected of an Aries."

"You were pretty good yourself," she tells him. "Should I say, as expected of an Aquarius?"

"Of course!"

Lord Grim, after making a round of the perimeter to check for lurking monsters, sits down beside them. He tells Blue Bridge, "Not bad, the Blue Brook Guild. Taking the record should be doable. What do you say, 8 White Wolf Sharp Fangs, 12 White Wolf Bristles, and 24 Strong Spider Silk if we top the Annual board? Plus a Vampiric Light Saber if we claim the All-time first."

"You didn't mention the Bristles last time!" Blue Bridge hisses, then hesitates. "Though I suppose that's reasonable if we do actually claim the Annual or, somehow, All-time Records."

He seems to think something over as his expression hardens. "I'm not naive enough to think we can play it safe in a record run, taking the extra time to satisfy all the clauses for the Emergency Exit, but all bets are off if we have to Force Quit. I'll generously refrain from asking for compensation for the 20 floors of progress lost in such a case, since you'll likely be in the same boat. But if, god forbid, we lose anyone before they can even activate a Force Quit—" 

He grits his teeth and breathes out slowly. "Everyone's on edge with God Ye's recent tragedy. After three years of bloodless victories, his passing is a sudden reminder of everyone's mortality."

"I understand," says Lord Grim. "If anything happens, I'll be the last to Quit."

Blue Bridge nods solemnly. "Then I'll be second from last."

"Third!" Baozi claims.

"Fourth," Soft Mist smiles.

Lord Grim doesn't argue, just raises his voice to address everyone around, "Final roster: Me, Soft Mist, Baozi, Blue Bridge—" He lists several other names Baozi doesn't recognize before concluding, "Thank you everyone else for participating. Those listed, stay behind to continue some formation practice. Everyone else is free to leave."

Lord Grim blinks at the unmoving crowd. "What, you don't know the way back? Don't tell me all of you are bad at directions."

Blue Bridge jumps to his feet. "You—you!"

"Me?" Lord Grim says, pointing to himself.

When Blue Bridge doesn't finish his thought, Bound Boat tentatively asks, "You're not bringing a healer?"

Lord Grim shrugs. "It's just Floor 20. Most of you have been through it at least once or twice, and the old dog doesn't have any new tricks."

"But—that's just asking for a wipeout!" Blue Bridge argues. "And you're taking him?"

"Hey," Baozi objects to the finger pointed at him.

"He's an integral part of the strategy," Lord Grim says, and Baozi puffs out his chest because he's an integral.

Lord Grim adds, "I have a Small Heal and Small Cure, if that makes you feel better. Tank, you've learned the two also, right? Don't worry, with me manning the boss, the hulking beast won't be any more nimble than the ferrets and wolves you've been dodging all morning."

"I—what—that's not how the boss works!" Blue Bridge objects.

Lord Grim tilts his head. "Why not? You just have to chain your CCs well, which I suppose is a bit challenging if the leader doesn't know how. Which reminds me, I need a list of all the team members' equipment and skill point distribution."

Blue Bridge bites his lip and asks, "You're sure about this?"

"Sure as anything," Lord Grim says. "Are you?"

That makes Blue Bridge pause. "You're right," he says. "There's no grand reward without an appropriately sized risk. This is Glory, after all."

The chosen team of 10 spends the afternoon practicing together in the forest, pushing deeper into the forest where the monsters are tougher. Lord Grim drills them on dodging and coordination, and though Baozi still trips up occasionally and runs in front of a teammate's attack, he's feeling pretty good about the whole thing. Apparently the others aren't though, and Lord Grim calls for another two days of training to whip everyone into shape before they take on the dungeon. It's a Deca Boss, the uber boss of every 10 floors that gets a whole dungeon to itself, so they want to be extra prepared, Lord Grim says. He especially emphasizes the evening practices, just after sundown, which supposedly best mimics the conditions inside the dungeon, because dungeons are frozen dumplings in time soup or something.

Unfortunately, that means most of his teammates are too tired to hang around the tavern after training, but Lord Grim and Soft Mist usually stick around, and even share with Baozi their real names. 

Lord Grim—or Ye Xiu—would usually offer commentary on some of the dungeon runs broadcasted on the TVs, pointing out things to note for Baozi or Tang Rou, Soft Mist, to learn from. The lessons would then turn into late night sparring sessions, and just after two nights, Baozi feels like he's improved leaps and bounds with both the sneakiness and precision of his attacks. It makes him all the more excited to finally become a Brawler next floor and put his skills to the test as a real true Ascender.

On the second night, they catch the tail end of Excellent Era's press conference, post failed dungeon run. Fortunately, everyone made it out this time, escaping with more bruised pride than physical injuries, but Sun Xiang, Excellent Era's new captain, is incensed they didn't clear it on his first try. Behind him, standing with the other members who didn't participate in the dungeon run, Excellent Era's girl with knives in her voice says nothing, but her smile contains a thousand tiny blades cloaked in shadow. 

According to Ye Xiu, it's normal for a pioneering team to take four or five tries before they achieve their First Clear. But Sun Xiang—swaddled in bandages, burning with passion, and ignorant of Ye Xiu's caustic commentary before the screen and Su Mucheng's chilling smile at his back—proclaims they'll clear the dungeon on their next try, or else. 

Ye Xiu frowns, but Baozi thinks this little fella's fiery spirit is pretty contagious. Only after three consecutive beatdowns from Ye Xiu does he cool down at their night's sparring session.

When it finally comes time for the dungeon run, Baozi's buzzing with excitement, flitting from person to person as they make their way through the Field Zone's forest to the dungeon entrance, and drawing in plenty of roaming monsters for a warm up. He even sings a song, but has to stop when Blue Bridge, who's unusually fussy for a Saggitarius, threatens violence.

There's several other teams running through last minute preparations outside the entrance when they arrive, not surprising given it's already mid-morning, but Baozi unexpectedly finds several familiar faces among them: the clumsy little mage guy he'd cleared the last floor with, plus some other members of that team. 

"It's you!" Baozi exclaims.

"It's the idiot!" Concealed Light says, surprised. "What are—you found a team?"

The Assassin-to-be from last time glances over. "Good on them. Guy's a hot potato that can explode any moment."

"So long as he's not our problem," someone else adds. "It was pure dumb luck we all made it out last time."

Not exactly following, Baozi asks, "Did you overcook the potato?"

The two sneer and turn back to their own group, ignoring Baozi. Concealed Light shifts, a little uncomfortable. "Um," he says, "it was my fault for getting us into that situation." 

He looks like he's gonna say something more, but the team's leader calls him away.

"See you around!" Baozi calls after him, then returns to his own team.

"Someone you know?" Ye Xiu asks, watching with furrowed brows as the other group enter the dungeon.

"Yeah!" Baozi says, "We cleared the last floor together. We bonded at the bottom of a pit trap."

Ye Xiu pauses. "Oh. Come on, we're about to head inside."

Baozi does a final equipment check and plucks a stray leaf from his claw weapon, then it's off to the dungeon.

Before they enter, Ye Xiu gives them a pep talk. "This is Zhou Zekai's record we're aiming for. Even if he was in his rookie days, without the rest of today's Samsara around him, the fact that his record has remained untouched for three years proves it's not a score to take lightly. Stay alert, stay light on your feet, try not to get bit."

Then, he's the first to step into the swirly portal in the hollow of the large tree. Baozi follows after, and he steps out into a forest much like the one they were in, but denser and darker.

Baozi stares at the ominous thunderclouds overhead. "Do dogs shed more in the rain?"

"It doesn't rain in this dungeon," Ye Xiu explains. "Just lowered visibility, which is why we've been practicing at sundown."

"Oh," Baozi says, and they forge onward.

As a boss dungeon, there're no minor monsters for them to whet their weapons against. Just a short 100 meter trail they take at a steady run. At the end of the trail, a large three-headed dog lies in front of a cave, the entrance to the next floor. It lifts first its left head as they approach, then its right, then finally its center head, staring them down with three pairs of blood red eyes. It growls a disharmonious warning. 

The team spreads out slowly to surround it, the melee fighters ready at the front, the ranged seeking a vantage point from behind.

Baozi, as they practiced, circles his way around as close to the dog's rump as he can get without notice, and with Ye Xiu, Tang Rou, and the tank each distracting one overgrown puppy head, he gets real close. And as soon as he gets the chance, he takes a flying leap and lands on Cerberus's back, anchoring himself with a dug-in claw and bashing with his free hand the bad dog with Bricks and Sand Tosses and Slaps and a good ol' fist or ten. 

He has just one task in this battle, and that's to bash the doggo—on the backside of any head—the instant his Brick comes off cooldown. So he does, and he's only a teeny bit late maybe twice.

Surprisingly no ranged attacks from his team hit Baozi, even though he braces himself. Each time something comes close, Cerberus would turn or duck or buck, and avoid the attack in the nick of time. Maybe Baozi's become some sort of super genius superman, gifted with the power of foresight. There's some other Pro Ascenders rumored to have supernatural powers, so why can't Baozi be the same?

Soon the boss reaches its last breaths and gains a surge in strength, nearly throwing Baozi off with its next lunge. But Baozi digs his claw in even more viciously and pulls himself in for a Back Throw—he may not be able to throw giant Cerberus, but the skill ensures that he stays hugging the doggo for its active duration. Three seconds is more than enough for Ye Xiu to reorganize the team for an effective counter, and they wear the last of its health away.

And so just like that, in less than an hour, the fight ends.

Baozi shakes himself out of the pile of dusty remains and bats at the holographic GLORY sign blinding his eyes. "That's it?" he asks, weighing the unused brick in his hands.

As if in answer, the voice in the sky chimes, Floor 20 Cleared. Rating: SSS. Rewards: +5 intelligence, +5 stamina, +15 skill points, +10 skill points.

"SSS and extra skill points," Ye Xiu echoes with a satisfied nod, "Not bad. Good job, everyone. We'll have to see how the exact scores stack out after we get out, but at least we've topped the Annuals. Someone grab the loot and let's head out."

Blue Bridge only then lowers his sword. "I-it's over? How long was that? That was the Floor 20 boss?"

"Sure was, bro," Baozi replies. "Where've you been this whole time? Hurry and pick what you want before all the good ones are gone!"

Blue Bridge snaps to his senses. "You—drop that! Just one piece of Purple equipment, like we agreed!"

"Aw, but they look cooler together," Baozi protests, but drops the arm guards in favor of the nice leather boots he's itching to try on.

As the others gather up the drops, Baozi heads over to where Tang Rou is stabbing her spear at an imaginary enemy. It's pretty fun imagining himself as that imaginary enemy, so he yips and ows whenever he's imaginarily struck, until Tang Rou finally lowers her spear and gives him a funny look. "You wanna spar?" she cocks her head and asks.

"Save it for the Arena next floor," Ye Xiu says. "Great opportunity for you to test out your new skills once you clear the Class Dungeon."

"Yeah, I'm gonna be the best Brawler!" Baozi cheers. "Come on, let's go already! Blue Bridge Something or Other, what are you dallying about now?"

Blue Bridge glares over from where he's counting things and gives him a finger. Baozi returns him two, because he's been told it's good manners to give more than you're given. 

"Wow!" Baozi exclaims when they emerge onto Floor 21.

"Impressive, isn't it," Ye Xiu says.

"Wow," Baozi repeats.

They emerge into the teleporter square, which is fancy enough with its own little fountain, but that's nothing compared to the small city they stand just outside of. Multifloor buildings stretch along wide streets, speckled with bright signs advertising a host of services—not quite the flashiness of Floor 1, but pretty close. But Floor 1 is meant to attract the tourists and business people from Outside, while Floor 21 is for the Tower's inhabitants—the Ascenders aiming for the top, and the former-Ascenders now-Residents who've chosen this land as their home. 

Straight down the main road, in the center of the city, Baozi spies a lively open square full of colorful stalls—the Marketplace, where you can buy just about anything so long as you had the money—and behind it, the stark white building that must be the Arena Ye Xiu has been hyping, where you can spar to your heart's content.

Baozi's about to rush toward it when he notices the stone towers looming in the distance. A set of 24, spaced at even intervals encircling the entire Safe Zone. Each looks like a mini Tower, an obsidian black cylinder crowned with sawtoothed crenellations. But unlike the featureless Tower they're familiar with, each tower here is topped with a different statue, posing in a way that captures its class's distinctive aura. Baozi immediately spots the majestic Brawler to the southwest and changes course. Ye Xiu grabs him by the collar before he can run off though, and points him forward.

Right before them, between the teleporter and the city, sits a large beckoning archway. A large wooden slab hangs from the center of it, echoing the words inscribed above each swirling entranceway into the Tower, the epigraph that gives the Glory Towers their name: Glory in the Highest.

In the shade of the entranceway, a small crowd of people peer this way and that, some with welcoming signs and others with party poppers. Like at the airport, where they're waiting to welcome friends or guildmates to the floor. He doesn't recognize anyone, but Ye Xiu seems to. He waves, and Baozi notices two women snap to attention. The two stand at opposite ends of the arch, like a pair of stone lions, but instead of a ball underfoot, each carries a Launcher's small cannon in hand. When they notice each other, they seem surprised to see a doppelganger, but they both trot over to meet Ye Xiu and their group halfway. 

Ye Xiu first introduces the woman with a long ponytail making a scary face: "Chasing Haze, boss of Happy Tower Tours." 

Chasing Haze temporarily replaces her scary face with a friendlier one as she greets them, then switches right back as she demands to Ye Xiu, "Where's your armband? Why aren't you wearing it?"

Ye Xiu scratches his head. "I thought you said not to wear it yet?"

She sniffs. "That's because you were embarrassing yourself and our great Happy name browsing the discount dungeon guides! But since you're doing so well now, might as well wear it."

With a sigh, Ye Xiu rummages around his pack and pulls out a rumbled red armband, which he pins to his tunic sleeve. Happy Tower Tours - Guide In-training, it reads.

Chasing Haze nods, satisfied, then beelines for Tang Rou. "Xiao Tang, you're alright still? No injuries? This guy didn't pull off anything weird to get you guys here so quickly, did he? And where's your Guide sash?"

"No, no," Tang Rou says quickly, and pulls her aside to catch up.

Ye Xiu lets them go and turns to the other woman, wearing a large scarf and oversized sunglasses that hides most of her face. "And…"

She smiles at them and says, "You can call me Mumu. Nice to meet everyone."

"What are you doing here?" Ye Xiu asks her.

"To find you!" Mumu says. Her smile, despite its glowing warmth, is full of barbs, and Baozi feels a strange sense of deja vu hearing her speak.

"Hm?"

"Lord Grim. I saw you on the record boards, you're making quite a splash. Why didn't you call me along?"

Baozi's just about to ask her to come along now, it's not too late, but before he can speak, Blue Bridge, who's already herding the other stragglers, drags him by the ear toward the arch. 

When Blue Bridge finally lets go, Baozi retaliates with a Sand Toss that catches him by surprise. Blue Bridge unsheathes his sword halfway, then remembers, "The guards are watching."

"Peh," Baozi spits, "I can take them on too! But what was that for?"

Blue Bridge wipes his eyes and tsks. "I thought even idiots would have better sense than to get between a lover's spat. Or even if they're not, we should leave them alone to catch up. Come on, let's head in first."

But Baozi's already tuned out what he's saying, attention captured by the large news board on the backside of the arch.

"Isn't that Mr. Expert? What's he doing there?" Baozi points at the fancy-printed poster pasted smack dab in the middle of the colorful board.

"Memorial for Ye Qiu, One Autumn Leaf," Blue Bridge reads, then turns to Baozi, perplexed. "Where do you see that guy? Even if Lord Grim is admittedly an expert far above my caliber, to compare him to God Ye, one of Glory's Gods? What is your brain made of, bricks? Besides, Lord Grim's alive and well."

"Ah?" Baozi scratches his head, examining the black and white picture again: a backlit shot of a man, long spear in hand, facing the infamous dragon of Floor 50. Baozi looks from the picture to the slouching Ye Xiu still chatting outside, back to the picture, and switches to scratching his chin. "But that's clearly…"

Tang Rou and Chasing Haze wander over, finished with their conversation. Tang Rou, now sporting a sash the same bright red as Ye Xiu's armband, reading Happy Tower Tours - Guide, steps up for a closer look, then looks back consideringly to Ye Xiu.

Ye Xiu, sensing all their gazes, beckons Mumu to follow him over. "What's up?"

Then he sees the poster and raises his eyebrows. "Oh? A memorial? Did you know about this?" he asks Mumu.

She smiles.

Chasing Haze, though, frowns. "What are you guys saying? Didn't you guys hear about it previously? It's been all over the news lately. I thought you were a dropout—ahem, retired—Pro, don't you keep up with anything from your previous circle?"

Ye Xiu shrugs, and Chasing Haze continues with a humph, "I don't know about you Blue Brook people, but everyone in Happy, since you're here, put on your best gear tomorrow, we're all going—er, as Lord Grim's friend, you can join us also, if you wish," she adds to Mumu. "This is God Ye, and he deserves our greatest respect."

"Mm," Mumu nods. "May he rest in peace."

Ye Xiu sighs. 

The newcomers stick around as they head into the bustling streets, and Baozi learns that Chasing Haze—or Chen Guo, because government name is helpful as a legal business owner—is a Leo, as expected, while Mumu's a fellow Aquarius he's sure he'll get along swimmingly with. They pop into a tavern to check the record boards, and sure enough, their team hangs as the new number 1 in the All-time records.

Affiliation: Blue Brook Guild

Rating: SSS

Members: Blue Bridge Spring Snow, Thundering Light, Returning Cloud, Lunar Grace, Flowering Lantern, Gray Streams, Whispering Wind, Lord Grim, Soft Mist, Steamed Bun Invasion

There's already a party underway—this is a Blue Brook owned tavern, lookie that—and Baozi jumps straight into the fray. His name's on TV, and that's extra cause for bragging. Even the uptight Blue Bridge exchanges congratulatory high fives and excited chatter with his people, but Happy's people seem more reserved. Chen Guo points at the records screen and mutters something angrily to Tang Rou, Mumu quietly sips a soda, and Ye Xiu stands around impassively until Bound Boat hands him a bag of goods, plus an ornate Orange ranked sword with funny little fangs he yanks out of Blue Bridge's hands. Only then does Ye Xiu saunter off in good spirits to find a corner and count his goods.

Mm, being materialistic isn't a bad thing. Baozi takes a second to admire his own new Purple boots, then again his name on TV. Yes, between materialism and glory, Baozi chooses both.

In the middle of their celebration, another team stumbles into the tavern—Baozi's team from the last floor. The leader, serving as a crutch for one of his teammates, pauses when he spots Baozi in the middle of the celebration.

"Tch," the injured wannabe-Assassin says, "Look at them making a big fuss out of nothing."

The leader shrugs and leads them to an empty table, where he starts to organize care for their injured.

Concealed Light, hanging out at the back of their group, excuses himself and makes his way over to Baozi. "Looks like you guys made it out before us. How'd you do?" he asks.

"Best of all time!" Baozi laughs. He shoves one of the beers Blue Bridge had ordered into Concealed Light's hands. Concealed Light takes a cautious sip, then chokes when Baozi pats his back to ask, "How 'bout you guys?"

When he recovers, Concealed Light says, "A-. One of our healers got swept by a tail attack early in the battle, but we managed to get it under control and came out with only moderate injuries."

"Haha, we got none!" Baozi boasts. "But we're good at dodging. You're kind of clumsy, so it's okay if you're not."

Concealed Light chokes again. Then he looks at the TV, eyes widening when he spots Baozi's name under the All-time records, and he coughs even harder.

A little concerned, Baozi pounds Luo Ji's back until his coughs turn into cries. Airway clear, job well done.

"Come on, let me introduce you to everyone," Baozi says, steering him toward Ye Xiu's corner, where Mumu, Chen Guo, and Tang Rou have also settled.

"L-lord Grim!" Concealed Light stammers a greeting.

"Yo," Ye Xiu says. "Just got here? Take a seat and rest a while. You too, Baozi."

Baozi does and pats the spot on the bench next to him to make Concealed Light sit. "This is Concealed Light, the little mage guy I met last time."

"Hello, I'm Concealed Light, or you can call me Luo Ji. Honored to meet you." Concealed Light bows.

"Concealed Light…" Ye Xiu repeats. "The one who wrote the Dummy Guides?"

"You've read them?" Concealed Light exclaims. "What do you think?"

"Very detailed. Too detailed," Ye Xiu says.

Baozi interrupts, "What Dummy Guides? Is it because you're a dummy?"

"You're the dummy!" Concealed Light explodes. "They're step by step manuals for how to clear the lower floor dungeons, the products of my research!"

"Oh," says Baozi. "That's boring."

Before Concealed Light can erupt further, Ye Xiu interjects with a question, and they fall into a rabbit hole of technical babble that Baozi doesn't bother to follow. 

On his other side, the three girls discuss things like the prettiest equipment and accessories in the Tower and which famous Ascender has the best fashion sense. Baozi votes for himself, but they only give him a cursory "yes yes yes" before resuming their chatter. So Baozi spaces out for a while, contemplating how many steamed buns an All-time first place record is worth.

When he tunes back in, the Blue Brook Guild's celebration now involves cake, a luxury in the Tower, and Concealed Light's team is long gone. Concealed Light himself still sits beside Baozi though, furiously scribbling down notes as Ye Xiu continues to talk. The girls' conversation has become Chen Guo's monologue about God Ye and his upcoming memorial, which seems to make Mumu unusually happy for some reason. 

"Do you also like team building events?" Baozi asks her.

"Hm? Depends which team, I suppose," Mumu says. "Why?"

"You look excited about our team building memorial," Baozi says.

"What team building memorial?" Chen Guo snaps. "Why aren't you over there celebrating with the rest of your guild?"

"Huh? What guild?" Baozi asks, puzzled. "Paying respects at a memorial is a good team building activity, I heard. I haven't done any of those in the Tower yet."

"What does that even—"

But Mumu smoothes things over, saying, "It's not the memorial I'm excited about. I just think it's cute that Ye Qiu has such a devoted fan."

Chen Guo ducks away, eartips red. "Who's his fan? I—okay, fine, a liiiittle bit. But! Su Mucheng is my favorite Ascender! I'm just sad that she lost her best partner."

Hearing that, the smile slips momentarily from Mumu's lips. "Ah. That…"

Ye Xiu glances over and meets Mumu's eyes. He clears his throat. "The next floor is a 6 person dungeon. What do you all say to a true team building activity?"

"But I've already cleared the floor," Chen Guo frowns. "And I don't plan to reset my progress any time soon. So even if we do well, the record won't count."

Ye Xiu shrugs. "It's just Floor 21, there's plenty more records to collect. Besides, Mumu here's also visiting from an upper floor."

"Count me in!" Mumu grins.

"Me too!" Baozi says.

"Huh? Do I count?" Concealed Light points to himself after thrice counting the people at the table.

"I'm in," Tang Rou says. "Can we still aim for the record though?"

"Hold on, I didn't say no!" Chen Guo cuts in. "And I thought I was still your boss, why are you making all the decisions? Mumu, don't you have a team in the upper floors, do you need to notify them first? What about your guild?"

"I put in a vacation request," Mumu says cheerily.

"What guild?" Baozi asks again.

Ye Xiu says, "And I'm asking for your input now."

Chen Guo acquiesces with a grumble. "Fine, fine. It's as good a time as any to see if you're actually that skilled, or if you're all empty talk. No one knows a former pro called Ye Xiu."

"I thought that's why you had Xiao Tang following me this whole time?"

"What do you mean following, she's there to show you the ropes as a tour guide!" Chen Guo objects. "Don't forget you're not here for fun. This is a training, part of your orientation as Happy's latest employee."

Mumu asks, "Happy takes new guides all the way to Floor 21? Impressive."

"Not really," Chen Guo admits, "it's another part of orientation to assess the new employee's limits, so we can determine what sorts of tours they can lead." She prompts Tang Rou, "So? How's he doing?"

"He's a former pro," Tang Rou says demurely, "His limit is likely beyond anyone at Happy's."

Chen Guo squints at that. "I suppose even a dropout pro was still once a pro. How far did you make it anyway?"

"Pretty far," Ye Xiu says. "How about you, Xiao Tang, seems like you've done this a few times before."

Tang Rou smiles, a little rueful. "Not as far as you, but we reached Floor 35 on Happy's last expedition before we had to Force Quit."

"It's my first ascension, and I'm already at Floor 21," Baozi brags. 

Mumu giggles, "This is also my first ascension, and I'm also pretty far."

Chen Guo crosses her arms and sighs sulkily, "I get it, you're all talented like that. Even after three years, I still haven't made it past the 40s."

"Um," Concealed Light tentatively raises a hand, like a goody two-shoes student, "I think it depends on your teammates, too. I was stuck at Floor 5 for the longest time, until some upperclassmen came back to help us out."

To that, Chen Guo nods fiercely. "You're right. God Ye always said Glory's not a single person game." 

"It's because I was following Ye Xiu for most of my ascent, that I made it this far," Mumu adds, making Ye Xiu raise an eyebrow. "Mm, being a tour guide suits him."

"What about me?" Baozi asks. "Would I make a good tour guide?"

Chen Guo looks him over properly for the first time, taking in especially his luscious long locks and trusty ol' claw and fancy new boots. She asks him skeptically, "You're really not part of Blue Brook?"

To Ye Xiu she asks, "You know him?"

"Steamed Bun Invasion, Bao Rongxing," Baozi introduces himself. "But you can call me Baozi. I'm 21, an Aquarius. I like steamed buns and dislike that guy who keeps cutting in front of me at the vendor stall. My dream is to become Ho—Ascend to the top of the Tower and be on TV!

"This is Baozi," Ye Xiu says, "He might be a bit eccentric, but he's got the skills and enthusiasm to be a decent Guide."

"You're recruiting?" Chen Guo asks, dubious. "Who gave you that right?"

"His reactions are pretty good, about on par with Xiao Tang's. I think we can keep him," Ye Xiu says appeasingly.

Chen Guo waves him off. "Go ahead, do what you want. We'll discuss contracts and stuff after you return to the base."

Baozi cheers. "So if he's recruiting me, does that mean he's my boss now? Boss! Do I get a welcome gift?"

"Calm down, Baozi," Ye Xiu says hastily. 

"Boss!" Baozi cheers again.

Concealed Light tentatively asks. "What about me then?"

"I found you first, so you're my lil bro, of course! Come on, you've can call me Big Bro and him Boss!" Baozi says, patting the dumb little head of his lil bro. 

"You can join us if you want," Ye Xiu tells him more seriously. "But if you came here for research with your university, don't let us take you away from that."

"No, it's no problem at all," Concealed Light says. "I just need to collect some samples for the team, and they said the higher the floors the better. But safety first, of course. A lot of my schoolmates already teamed up, they're all seniors who have a lot of experience here. I… frankly I know my skills aren't up to par, are you sure I can join?"

Ye Xiu hums. "We'll see after we train together. Skill can be built up, so long as you're willing to work at it."

"I am!" Concealed Light says.

"Then it's set," Ye Xiu concludes.

They sketch up a tentative plan for the next few days—memorial tomorrow, Class Dungeon, then the Floor 21 dungeon, with some training and some breaks in between.

Noon passes, and they decide to have lunch at the tavern they're already at. Baozi raises a mug to his and Concealed Light's joining of Happy Tower Tours, and Mumu's also inducted in, but as an honorary member since she has a team to return to in the upper floors once she's done here. After that, Ye Xiu and Mumu announce they've got an errand to run at the Crafters Alley adjacent to the Marketplace. Chen Guo and Tang Rou say they haven't been in a while, so they're interested in checking it out too, and Concealed Light is also curious, so Baozi decides to tag along also because why not.

They pass through the busy Marketplace, and Chen Guo comments it's more subdued than usual, likely with all the memorial setup taking place at the Arena nearby. There's still lots of people and goods though, and all the shiny gear and crazy gadgets and pretty potions keep catching Baozi's attention. But Luo Ji—as Concealed Light likes to be called, not Little Light Light—has taken it upon himself to herd Baozi through it all, and they make it to the quieter Crafters Alley without incident. Here, the gear's somehow even fancier, the gadgets more bizarre, and the potions more mesmerizing, and Baozi skips from display to display, even more distracted.

"These were all designed and created by the crafters here," Ye Xiu explains. "Compared to the generic Tower drops and mass produced goods out there, the quality's usually much higher. Of course, there's the occasional scammer trying to pass off duds at a premium, but so long as the seller lets you appraise the item yourself, you shouldn't have a problem. Even though the best craftsmen are hiding out at Floor 51, there should be some interesting pieces here and there." 

They wander a bit without stepping into any shops, and Chen Guo asks, "Are you looking for something in particular?"

"A place to upgrade my weapon," Ye Xiu says. "And to exchange some gear for materials."

"That place is pretty good," Chen Guo points. "It's Excellent Era affiliated, so their quality's vouched for."

"Hm," Ye Xiu nods but keeps walking past it.

"Ooh, that's a pretty hair clip," Mumu comments, pointing in the window of a different shop.

"Mm, that place isn't bad either," Chen Guo says. "Not sure about their weapons work, but their potions are the best around. And they have a cute collection of garden themed accessories."

"Floor 23, Purple grade," Ye Xiu reads the sign next to the sunflower hair clip. "And it boosts mana recovery, not a stat you need."

"But it's pretty," Mumu says. She points again at a shop further ahead. "That one too! The kitty glasses! I think it suits you, Ye Xiu." 

Tang Rou coughs lightly. "Not bad."

Baozi runs over to stand next to it. "What about me? Does it suit me?"

"Maybe the one next to it," Tang Rou says, failing to hold in a smile.

Baozi looks at the heart shaped sunglasses and scratches his chin. "They look a bit small. Think they have them in a bigger size?"

They engross themselves in window shopping until Ye Xiu calls out, "I'm gonna head in further. If you guys want to browse around here more, I'll meet you back in an hour."

"Wait for me, boss!" Baozi wails forlornly, tearing his gaze away from a pair of Brick-boosting leather arm guards.

Chen Guo and Tang Rou exchange a glance, then follow after him too. "I want to see what this mysterious guy is up to," Chen Guo says, as if she needs to explain her reasoning to someone.

Mumu tags along with a smile.

"Hurry up, lil bro, you're gonna be left behind," Baozi shouts to Luo Ji, who's spacing out beside a display of mechanical parts of something or other.

"Huh—wha—coming!" He nearly trips as he jogs to catch up.

As they continue down the street, the buildings transition from the bright and beautiful displays of the guild affiliated storefronts to smaller, dingier workshops. Chen Guo points out a few reputable independent run stores she's heard of, but Ye Xiu seems to already have a destination in mind. 

Sort of. He pops his head into a couple stores, but pops straight out almost immediately, and continues to lead them down.

"What's wrong with all the ones we passed? What are you looking for?" Chen Guo finally asks, frustrated after the third store they fail to enter.

"One that I'm familiar with," Ye Xiu says, "It's been a while, I don't know who's still in business."

"How about that one?" Mumu asks, pointing at a crooked sign a few buildings down. Mo Qiang's Workshop, it reads.

"Oh? Worth a try," Ye Xiu says and enters. "Lao Mo?"

"L-lao Ye? You're not dead?" Someone answers faintly from inside. Seeing his boss doesn't immediately step out, Baozi enters too and finds a small man behind the cluttered front counter, grasping at his heart. "I'm not seeing a ghost?"

"Good, you're still in business. Still buying scraps?" Ye Xiu says.

"And Xiao Mu—" he cuts himself off, and Baozi turns to see Mumu raising a finger to her scarf-covered lips. 

"Qiang-ge," Mumu says. "It's been a while."

"Kh-hmph," Mo Qiang clears his throat and turns his attention back to Ye Xiu. "You said you're buying scraps?"

"Selling," Ye Xiu says. "Have some old gear to retire. Baozi, your old boots."

"Huh?" Baozi reacts, then remembers he threw his old pair of boots into his pack after switching to his nice Purple ones last floor. He pulls them out, and everyone reels back from the stink. 

"Pwah, just incinerate the damn things. Quickly. Now. I'll give you 5 if you toss them in the next three seconds." Mo Qiang holds his nose with one hand and points emphatically at a dumpster outside with the other.

Baozi sprints outside at everyone's encouragement, and bows in honor when everyone lauds his triumphant return.

"Good job, Baozi," Ye Xiu says. "2.8 seconds, Make sure to count the five gold you promised, Lao Mo. Anyone else?"

No one else's old gear elicits the same reaction as Baozi's old boots, though a quaint necklace Mumu sets on the table makes Mo Qiang raise an eyebrow. 

"You sure it's fine? He doesn't even have an appraisal stand," Chen Guo says quietly to Ye Xiu.

"Who needs one when you have a pair of eyes?" Mo Qiang rebuts. "In the spirit of Lao Ye, I'll even give you the best prices in town. 150 gold for the necklace. 50 for everything else."

Tang Rou peers at the necklace curiously and asks, "Which floor is it from? If I may ask."

"47," Mumu answers easily.

"It's the reward for topping the Monthly records," Mo Qiang adds.

"Impressive," Baozi nods.

"47," Tang Rou echoes thoughtfully. "You've been further, though."

"Yup," Mumu admits, and laments, "The large gemstones are a bit gaudy."

"Little Mumu's really grown up," Mo Qiang mutters. "Raking in cash just like her big brothers."

Before the conversation derails further, Ye Xiu hands Mo Qiang a slip of paper. "Have anything on this list?"

Mo Qiang takes it and marks it up with a pen. "Easy, they're all Floor 20 and below. These all for 80 gold."

"You're being awfully generous," Ye Xiu comments, counting the gold Mo Qiang lays out and returning 80. He hands 50 to Chen Guo for her to distribute, then asks, "How much for your workbench rental?"

Mo Qiang huffs. "You're right, I should make you pay for the tears I wasted. Another 50."

Mumu smiles sweetly. "I'm glad to see you're doing well, Qiang-ge," she says.

"Unfair," Mo Qiang mutters, but says to her, "And I'm glad you grew up beautifully."

Mumu giggles from behind her scarf and sunglasses, "How can you tell?"

He changes his tune, "Then I'm glad you grew up strong and fierce." He swipes the pile of equipment aside and flips open the entrance to the workshop behind. "Come on, pocket the rest. I see that umbrella of yours. In you go to fix it up. Just for today though, next time you're paying in full."

"A-ah? You're upgrading your weapon yourself?" Chen Guo asks. "Isn't that like, super technical work?"

Ye Xiu asks back, "How do you think I've been upgrading this on previous floors?"

Chen Guo turns to Tang Rou, still half in disbelief, and Tang Rou shrugs. "He usually uses the basic repair bench some inns offer."

Before Ye Xiu follows Mo Qiang into the back, he dismisses the rest of them. "I'll be done in half an hour, feel free to continue browsing the street."

So Baozi ends up dragging Luo Ji around until Luo Ji gets too involved in a conversation with one of the craftsmen, so Baozi leaves him behind and window shops some more before bumping into Tang Rou and Chen Guo, and he listens in on their gossiping about Ye Qiu and the various stories of his death, because apparently there hasn't been an actual death from the upper floors in over a year, and overall there's been a sharp decrease in casualties since the discovery of the Emergency Escape years ago, and Ye Qiu was the top Ascender blah blah blah.

"I think Boss is number one though," Baozi concludes as the half hour comes to a close and they make their way back to Mo Qiang's Workshop. 

Tang Rou holds Chen Guo back from exploding into another diatribe but agrees with Baozi, "He is strong."

They collect Ye Xiu and Mumu from Mo Qiang's, and his umbrella looks fiercer with new razor bright claws. They collide with Luo Ji on the way out of the Alley and, since the day is still young, decide to head for the Arena to test it out.

At the Arena, though, there's an unusually large crowd gathered. When asked, the people at the edge of the crowd say something about a Pro or Pro Team here, though which one exactly even they're not sure of.

Since there's a similar setup of buildings and services on Floor 51, very rarely do Pros ever come down to the lower floors these days. In fact, the actual memorial service for Ye Qiu will be held on Floor 51, with all the Pros in attendance, plus the other elites who've made it that far, while they live broadcast to Floor 21 and the Tower's TV network at large. Of course, Floor 21 has other ceremonial things planned as well, but nothing that should draw the attention of any of the Pros.

Ye Xiu shakes his head and gives up on the Arena for now. Instead, the crowd reminds them that they should probably find an inn to check into sooner rather than later, but it already seems to be too late. The guild-affiliated inns are closed to non-guild members for the night, independent inns turn them away, citing they're at capacity, and Chen Guo shoots down the idea of camping out at the Safe Zone's outskirts, insisting they need a proper bathroom to be presentable tomorrow. When nightfall rolls around without much luck, they decide to just squeeze into the rooms Mumu and Chen Guo each reserved previously. Both of them still have the rooms for another night, since their plans all along had involved attending the memorial. The girls take Mumu's room in the nicer inn, while the guys crowd together in Chen Guo's small single.

As the king of rock-paper-scissors, Baozi gets dibs on the bed, while Ye Xiu and Luo Ji lay out their bedrolls on the floor. Baozi graciously lends his own bedroll as extra padding to Ye Xiu, the second place winner. He quickly falls asleep, dreaming of playing fetch with a three-headed puppy named Little Light Light.

Ye Xiu's already gone by the time Baozi wakes up, leaving only Baozi's bedroll loosely folded and tucked away. Baozi, as instructed, dresses himself in his best set of gear, which is his only set of gear and still missing a neckpiece after his last one broke, and packs his stuff before kicking Luo Ji awake and heading downstairs to the tavern for breakfast. 

The tavern is already full by the time he makes it down, and the atmosphere is stiff and somber, like one of the black thunderclouds from last floor's dungeon has crowded into the room with them. Most of the TV screens are off. Only one shows the Floor 20 Records, and a couple run muted specials featuring the Battle God, One Autumn Leaf. Everyone talks in hushed whispers, and even the waiters float between tables act like they're aspiring to be ghosts. Baozi ponders this strange atmosphere for half a second, like he's invaded the graveyard of a fallen god, before he spots Ye Xiu seated at the far wall, dressed in his usual set of mismatched gear and his Happy armband, starting on breakfast without him.

His stomach growls, and he forgets all his mullings. He raises his voice to call from halfway across the room, "Good morning, boss! Is any of that for me?"

As he sits, Ye Xiu hands him a steamed bun. "Where's Luo Ji?"

"Bumming around in bed," Baozi says. Meat and green bean filling, yum. He flags down one of the ghostly waiters for another order of meat buns, plus a sweetened soy milk and a couple more sticks of fried dough. He stage whispers, "It's so quiet here."

"That's expected. The memorial's today."

"Say boss, did you ever know this Ye Qiu guy? Was he any good?"

The question makes Ye Xiu pause, or maybe he took a bad bite of food. "Something like that."

"Are you stronger, or him?"

"Hard to say."

"What about me?"

"What about you?"

"I think I'm more handsome."

"Probably."

"But it's kind of hard to tell. He doesn't have any pictures, and his face is always blurred in their dungeon broadcasts."

"I hear it's a special item he had."

"Ooh, a special item. Can I get one too?"

"Maybe from the Challenger Dungeon. Otherwise you'll have to try for Hidden Clears and First Clears, but those are trickier."

"Oh. This soy milk is very sweet, but did you know I have a sweet tooth? Do you think it's anything like a Dragon Tooth?"

"Probably not."

"Xiao Tang's Dragon Tooth is pretty fast, but it's no match for my Brick. Do you have one?"

"...Both are lower level skills, so I can use them."

"A sweet tooth?"

"......I prefer salt over sugar."

"Salty soy milk is a special item? I'll order one too!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Luo Ji asks around a large yawn, appearing with a tousled bedhead and a misbuttoned robe. He grabs a stick of fried dough and chews mechanically.

"Nothing much," Ye Xiu says, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Baozi pushes his sweet soy milk off to Luo Ji so he can order a salty one, and asks, "What's it like to crash your own memorial?"

"How would I know?" Luo Ji says, muffled by another giant bite of dough. "You have to be dead to have a memorial."

Baozi looks at Ye Xiu, who's set down his chopsticks, finished with the meal. "Is that a requirement?"

Ye Xiu says, "Normally."

"Oh," says Baozi.

"Is it ever not?" Luo Ji asks, looking between the two of them. "The Tower may have game-like elements, like how healing can be advanced with potions and skills, but death here means death."

Once again, he flows into that particular lecturing tone that just so easily flows in one ear and wooshes out the other. 

Something something realities, something something physics and natural laws, something something magic and games. Ooh, games—Baozi forces himself to listen a bit more intently as he grabs another bun.

"—like the respawning of monsters and their dropped loot. We have plenty of hypotheses and several working theories that my professor is leading us in modelling, like—"

More big worded doodah. Baozi finishes the last bun and eyes Luo Ji's half eaten dough stick he waves around like a teacher does a pointer stick.

"—biggest question of why—why these Towers even exist, why did they suddenly appear on Earth? Were they created for a purpose, or was it just another event coded into our evolutionary timeline? Is there a deeper—"

"You're still not done talking?" Baozi finally asks. "Can I have your fried dough stick?"

"Wha-huh-no!" Luo Ji takes a forceful bite and says around it, "Like I wash shaying—"

Ye Xiu raises one hand placatingly and rests his forehead on the other. "That's enough for now. Finish your food, we'll need to find the others before the memorial starts."

When they find the girls at the agreed-upon lamppost near the Arena, where the memorial will be held, the first thing Chen Guo does is berate Ye Xiu for wearing his armband. Apparently it's too bright, but Baozi had thought that that was the point of it? But it's bad taste to advertise for Happy at this moment or something.

They follow the line of people around the building to the outdoor training fields at the back. It's set up like one of those outdoor movie theaters back in the day, bring your own seating on the grass, and a projection of the broadcast on the building's wall. Several volunteers at the entrance to the area pass out flowers to everyone who attends, and melancholy music plays from the speakers.

Luo Ji, still in exposition mode, mutters about Tower-provided technology working while outside technology doesn't, but Chen Guo shuts him up with a teary eyed glare. She sniffles harshly and Tang Rou pats her reassuringly on the back. 

At the back of the line, a commotion arises. A man in black-gold armor—a knockoff God Ye cosplay—shakes his spear at the sky and shouts, "This is blasphemy! God Ye can't be dead! He's God Ye, God of Glory! There was no body! God Ye is—"

Ye Xiu quickly ushers them all forward to fill the gap in front of them, cutting through the quarter of the crowd that turns back to stare.

Since they arrive relatively early, they manage to find a spot with a decent view of the projector screen, not too far from one of the scattered speakers, and they squeeze onto the two picnic blankets that Chen Guo had brought. All they need is some popcorn and candy, and it'll be just like the movies. The screen's even playing some trailers, a compilation of One Autumn Leaf's best recorded moments, and Baozi oohs and ahhs at the fluid movements and monster gore.

"So this is what those dungeon recordings are for," Ye Xiu comments. "They're trash for any useful review, with the camera angles constantly auto-adjusting, but I suppose it makes a good action movie."

Mumu nods. "Pity his handsome face is blurred."

Tang Rou asks, "You met him before?"

Mumu nods again.

Baozi glances at Ye Xiu and boasts, "I have too!"

Tang Rou too flicks a curious look to Ye Xiu. Seeming to sense something, she says, "If you knew him, I'm sorry for your loss."

"It's okay," Mumu says. She gestures at Ye Xiu. "This guy—"

"Ahem," Ye Xiu coughs. "This guy thinks Boss needs more tissues. Let me go grab some."

While he's off, Chen Guo narrates each of the scenes on the screen between her sniffles, providing context for all the battles she knows of, and fangirling whenever Dancing Rain appears. Mumu adds some additional comments, especially about the few earliest recorded fights that Chen Guo isn't as aware of. Unfortunately, the dungeon broadcast system had only opened up after the pioneering Ascenders first cleared Floor 40 around five years ago, so there aren't any videos from before then.

Apparently the organizers of this memorial had the foresight to prepare tissues, Ye Xiu tells them when he returns with several packs. The volunteer handing them out had only wanted to give one per person, but relented when Ye Xiu said their group contained a super fangirl crybaby. That incenses Chen Guo, and she chucks pack after pack at his head. Baozi bravely steps in to protect his boss, but that just redirects Chen Guo's rage to him instead, and Tang Rou has to step in to diffuse the whole situation. They roughhouse some more and the neighbors nag them to be respectful, but when the screen goes black, everyone quiets.

Slowly, two large lines of white text fades in: One Autumn Leaf, Ye Qiu

The screen transitions a couple more times, listing accomplishments, listing dates, all in complete silence. Er, near silence. Here and there, near and far, Baozi hears sniffles throughout the crowd. Nearest him, Chen Guo clutches one of her tissue packs with trembling lips. Baozi glances at Ye Xiu again, who wears a complicated expression as he watches the screen.

Finally, the live broadcast switches on, displaying a middle-aged man in an elegant black suit and white armband rather than the gear of the Tower, taking measured steps up to a raised podium. Baozi wonders if he's also a tour guide in-training and why he gets to wear an armband, then remembers it's more likely an indication of the bereaved. 

The camera pans over the gathered audience of Floor 51, and immediately murmurs start rising in the crowd. Their naggy neighbors murmur extra loudly, and Baozi catches snippets of their exchange.

"Where's Goddess Su? I don't see her sitting with Excellent Era."

"On bereavement leave? Wait, I think some other pros are missing, too."

"Tyranny's Han Wenqing and half of Tiny Herb, including God Jiexi."

"Blue Rain's missing some people too. I don't think I saw Huang Shaotian with them, but the camera cut away too quickly."

"Tyranny I understand, but do the other teams have beef with God Ye too? Are things not as harmonious as they seem on the Pioneering Front?"

Back on screen, the man has finally made it down the aisle, and he coughs lightly to clear his throat. Once again, everyone around falls quiet.

"Good morning everyone, and thank you all for being here. I'm Tao Xuan, founder of the Excellent Dynasty Guild, sponsor of the pro ascending team Excellent Era, and, chiefly, friend of the man we've gathered here today to mourn.

"I'm sure you've all heard by now, but Ye Qiu—also known as One Autumn Leaf, the Battle God, and our Excellent Era's captain—has regretfully passed away in the Floor 75 Dungeon, nobly holding back the raging boss and buying, with his own life, the opportunity for his comrades to escape."

Mumu mutters something darkly. Ye Xiu shushes her when he notices Baozi's curious look. 

As the man drones on, Baozi plays with the flower he was handed earlier, a white chrysanthemum. He takes a deep sniff of it and sneezes, then twirls it this way and that, wags it back and forth like a magic wand, and only reluctantly sets it down when Chen Guo shoots him a watery glare. Tang Rou pats Chen Guo's leg consolingly, but her attention is elsewise directed to the screen. Likewise, Luo Ji too is enraptured by the sappy story, so Baozi gives the man another listen.

"—and soon enough, the boy Ye Qiu has become the Battle God at the forefront of the battlefield, leading the charge as humanity's sharpest spear, as your most reliable captain. Our One Autumn Leaf."

Here, Tao Xuan leans away from the mic to clear his throat, swallowing thickly before concluding,

"I share all this with you in the hopes of passing onto everyone Ye Qiu's spirit. One that dwells not on the tribulations and glories of yesterday, but forever yearns for the possibilities of tomorrow."

As he steps away from the podium, applause erupts, both from the broadcast and from all around, and Baozi enthusiastically follows suit. 

But he suspends his clapping when he hears Ye Xiu say, softly, "Personally, I prefer the here and now of today."

Ye Xiu starts to his feet, saying he needs a smoke, but Chen Guo forcefully pulls him back down with a hissed warning of or else . So reluctantly, he sits back and looks around. When he sees Baozi though, he startles and pats around the blanket for an unclaimed pack of tissues, and hands it over. "Even you?"

Baozi honks out a great deal of snot and sniffles. "I think it's pollen season. The flowers are making everyone cry."

He hands his used tissue back, but Ye Xiu refuses it, just makes him toss it into Chen Guo's growing pile. Baozi looks up and finds Mumu glaring at the mound of crumpled tissues.

"Ah? Did I do something wrong?" Baozi asks her.

"Not you," she says, jutting her chin at the screen where the suited man is returning to his seat. "Him. I don't like that guy."

Her voice is full of knives, and something in Baozi's brain clicks. He takes in her pale skin and sunglasses and scarf that covers half her face. His eyes widen. "You're—"

"Shh," Ye Xiu shushes.

Baozi switches to a whisper. "You're one of the Upper Moons, a super powerful demon with—"

Chen Guo slaps him. "Shhh!"

Baozi indeed shhs this time, but he sneaks another fretful glance at Mumu before turning his attention back to the screen.

At the podium now is a younger man, in Ascender gear this time with a short sword hanging from his belt, dabbing at his eyes before he even speaks. Seeing him, Mumu stands up and declares, "Bathroom. Ye Xiu, come with me."

"Me too!" Baozi says, standing and stretching. Mumu is still wearing that dangerous expression, and he doesn't trust his boss alone with her. Even if his boss is an existence greater than any demon. 

Ye Xiu also gets up and casts a glance at Chen Guo, who doesn't have an excuse to stop them this time, waving them off with a disdainful glare and a warning to be quick.

They collect several other such disdainful glares as they weave their way out of the field and around the building. Even the volunteer overlooking the entrance to the Arena looks a bit exasperated at them getting up so early in the service.

The good thing about their timing though is that there's no lines. So Baozi and Ye Xiu finish their business quickly and wait for Mumu outside.

Ye Xiu lights a cigarette and nudges Baozi away from his side. "Baozi, you don't have to stick so close to me. Mumu's not some demon Kizuki or whatever you need to worry about."

Reluctantly, Baozi backs off a step and looks at him dubiously. "Are you sure? How do you know?"

Ye Xiu sighs. "I've known her since she was a kid, she's practically my little sister. Besides, even if there was a threat, I'm sure I could fend it off myself."

"Of course! Boss is the strongest!" Baozi chimes. He pounds his chest. "But even still, you can rely on Baozi too!"

"Of course," Ye Xiu chuckles. Seeing Mumu exit the Arena, he motions her over, and the three of them chill for a while as Ye Xiu finishes his cigarette.

From here, they can still hear the service over the speakers, and as the speaker keeps speaking, his voice rising and falling and creaking and breaking like an old roller coaster, Mumu's expression sinks darker and darker. Baozi edges closer to Ye Xiu, sure she's about to unleash some super secret demon art, but Ye Xiu gently pasts Mumu's shoulder, and her expression immediately clears. She smiles reassuringly at him.

Huh, maybe she isn't a demon after all, just a scarier Aquarius.

She asks Baozi, "So how are you finding the Tower?"

"It's a lot of fun!" he answers. "I get to beat up a lot of things, and no one yells at me to stop."

Mumu laughs, "That is pretty nice. Do you think you're going to continue Ascending?"

"Of course!" Baozi says. "What about you?"

"As long as he keeps Ascending," Mumu tilts her head at Ye Xiu.

Ye Xiu smiles. "To the heights of glory."

"Glory in the highest!" Baozi cheers. 

"If we're aiming for the highest, the Arena's empty now. What do you say?" Mumu asks wryly.

"Hell yeah! Should we grab the others too?" Baozi says.

"Mm, I don't think Boss will let them go so easily. Or us, if we go back now," Ye Xiu says. Seeing Mumu's pleading look though, he sighs. "But I suppose we could go for a couple rounds while we're here."

The volunteer at the door rolls her eyes this time as she lets them through again, and once more the world quiets, the speakers inside not tuned to the same channel as outside. The Arena, much like the Tower itself, operates in its own separate reality space—or something like that. Basically, the inside is a spacious lobby, with the reception desk on one side, the public locker rooms on the other, and 10 swirling portal doors along the back wall. Each door can be tuned to open to one of a set of ten doors, for a total of 100 rooms that can be rented. 

The receptionist, seeing them again, gives them another funny look, which seems to be the running theme of the day—if you're not at the service, if you're not mourning, you get looked at funny. But that's fine by Baozi, he's long used to funny looks. 

They grab a room for an hour, and Ye Xiu and Mumu take turns pummelling him before making him take a break as they fight each other. When Ye Xiu's umbrella almost clips her for the second time, she tosses away her scarf and glasses, and sure enough, her eyes are free of numbers. Phew. Baozi stares a bit at her pretty face, sure he's seen it before but can't quite place where. 

Free of her burdens, Mumu quickly gains the upper hand, and the match ends with Ye Xiu surrendering to the threat of her charged Cannonball. They rotate, Baozi gets beat up by the two again, and Mumu this time ties with Ye Xiu. 

Baozi manages to catch Mumu by surprise with a sudden Knee Attack the next round, though she quickly puts him in his place. Ye Xiu, as always, lets Baozi hit him, but never hard, and always returns a quick and snappy counter. Fighting the both of them is fun, because they like to imitate different monsters from the Tower, especially the wily and tricky ones from the Upper Decas. In one round, the two even tag team Baozi, working together to imitate the twin automaton bosses of Floor 40. 

By the end of the hour, Baozi is black and blue and red all over, but satisfied he got to hit Mumu with a Brick once and jab Ye Xiu with his claw multiple times and sneak a special peek at all sorts of fascinating creatures coming up in the Tower.

Ye Xiu shakes his umbrella to throw a Small Heal and a Small Cure on him, and a pleasant warmth seeps through Baozi's body. "Nice job. After you switch classes, you should hang around here to gain some more experience. Sparring is the best way to get to know the intricacies of both your class and your partner's, which is important for knowing how to best work together when on the same team. Though I'm not sure if the other Ascenders from this floor will be much of a match for you."

Baozi brushes himself off and asks, "Say Boss, what class are you gonna be anyway?"

"Me? None. Or Unspecialized, as they call it," Ye Xiu says.

"Ooh," Baozi says. "What's that?"

Mumu hops back into the ring to join them. "Right now, when you visit the Skill Adjuster, you see that you can add points to skills outside of just your Fighter class, right? Though even if you add them, you can't use them because your weapon's a claw, a Fighter class weapon. But after you successfully challenge a Class Dungeon, those lower leveled skills from outside your class will all be locked, while the upper level skills of your subclass can be gradually unlocked as you Ascend the floors. An Unspecialized who doesn't complete any of the Class Dungeons gets to keep all his lower leveled skills, at the cost of specializing in a subclass of upper level skills."

"Oh," Baozi says.

Mumu giggles. "It's okay. Your Boss is the strongest and most unique, with the coolest weapon of all time. That's all it means."

"Wow," Baozi says, giving Ye Xiu a thumbs up. "Impressive!"

Ye Xiu stretches. "Time's up in here, let's return to the group."

As Baozi limps after him, Mumu follows them reluctantly, donning her demon-concealing disguise once more. She asks, "Do you need another smoke break? I won't object, just this once."

Ye Xiu just smiles. "Come on, the service should be almost over. Without the star best partner present to give a moving speech, let's see how they close this thing out."

But, when they step out into the Arena's lobby, Ye Xiu pauses his steps. Chatting with the receptionist is a guy in a pointy witch hat and black robes. When he notices them and turns to look, Baozi sees that his left eye is a size larger than his right. Or maybe it's the angle? Baozi tilts his head for another look.

"Yo, Big Eye," Ye Xiu says. "What are you doing here?"

The witch called Big Eye looks them over, from Ye Xiu to Mumu to finally Baozi, his criticism magnified by that big eye of his. Whatever he finds, though, he keeps to himself and says mysteriously, "As I thought. How's the new Ascent?"

Ye Xiu shrugs. "Could use some more materials."

"Oh?" says Big Eye. "For that thing?"

Ye Xiu shakes his umbrella. "It's a gluttonous one. Don't you have your little sprouts to tend to?"

Big Eye nods. "They're reviewing Floor 78. We'll be challenging it tonight."

"Moving fast," Ye Xiu whistles.

Big Eye eyes Ye Xiu and says, "One of the few positives that resulted from the recent controversy."

Ye Xiu nods sagely. 

Baozi does too and says, "You lose some, you gain some, that's equivalent exchange. Who gave up the arm?"

Once more, Big Eye scrutinizes him, and Baozi bravely meets that mystical eye of his head on. "No one. But the person they're all mourning outside did give his life."

"Ai, what a fashionable sacrifice," Baozi sighs.

Shifting the topic back, Big Eye says to Ye Xiu, "It'll take some time before Floor 80 opens. Perhaps enough for several rounds of special training."

"You're letting them out of the greenhouse?" Ye Xiu asks. "We've got some tenacious weeds here they can compare notes with. What do you say, Baozi?"

"Huh? Yeah!" Baozi says, squaring up. "Who are we fighting?"

"We'll pay," Big Eye says dryly. "Tiny Herb can afford a boss fight."

He nods to the receptionist, who holds stars in her eyes, then brushes past Baozi and the others, toward the training room entrances.

"Good luck," Ye Xiu calls after him.

Without turning around, he says, "See you soon."

After he's gone and the doors shut behind him, Mumu asks, "What was that about?"

"Yeah, who was he?" Baozi adds.

Ye Xiu shrugs. "That's Big Eye, and who knows what he hides behind those mismatched eyes of his."

"Ah? So he does have a doujutsu!" Baozi gasps.

Mumu asks, a hint worried also, "He won't bring any trouble?"

Ye Xiu thinks for a second. "He'll bring his kids around, but from what I've heard, they're tame enough. Don't worry, unlike some certain others, that guy hates trouble."

They return the room key, and the receptionist who was previously frumpy to them now asks fervently, "You guys know God Jiexi?! Can you—"

"Not at all," Ye Xiu says and walks away quickly, Baozi and Mumu hurrying to catch up. He shakes his head and mutters, "Tiny Herb fans."

Once they're outside, they're once again hit with the oppressive atmosphere of the memorial service, a strangely dark and somber feeling that contrasts with the bright sun shining down from above. As they circle the building to return to the field out back, the volume rises and the words become more distinct.

"—current captain and inheritor of Evil Annihilation, for closing remarks."

"Peh," Mumu spits, mood a complete 180 from inside the Arena, "Why him? He's never even met you."

Ye Xiu shrugs. "It's fitting, in a way. Looking to the future, carrying on a legacy." 

Mumu, following her mood, turns about face and walks back to the Arena, looking back when she's halfway to smile sweetly at Baozi, "Baozi, do you need a rest, or maybe a shower to get cleaned up? The Arena's locker room is quite nice."

"Huh? Sure!" Baozi says and heads back also.

Ye Xiu sighs. "Boss is gonna be mad."

Mumu giggles from up ahead. "You'll survive."

Because Ye Xiu refuses to go back inside and face the fangirl, they end up hanging out instead in the shade of a tree near the entrance. Ye Xiu leans against its trunk and sends a few more Small Heals Baozi's way, stopping when Baozi starts squirming too much from the itchy warm feeling. And the warmth reminds him, "What about our flowers? When do we get to burn them?"

"Burn them?" Mumu echoes.

"Yeah! In offering to this God Ye, right?"

Ye Xiu pulls out another cigarette and shrugs off the look Mumu sends him. "The others probably offered them for us. It usually happens earlier in the ceremony."

Baozi says, "You sure know a lot, Boss."

"I've been to a fair share of them," Ye Xiu says, exhaling a long trail of smoke.

Mumu leans into his side and giggles softly. "None as grand as today's though."

"You're right. This one's the biggest farce yet."

After a few minutes, they notice a growing commotion from the crowd in the back field. 

"Is it over?" Ye Xiu says, lazily flicking the ash from his cigarette away with a finger. 

Mumu looks around. "No one's left yet."

"Should we look for Lil Bro and the others?" Baozi asks, getting up from his crouched position plucking blades of grass.

"Might be hard in a crowd," Ye Xiu says, not making a move to unlean against the trunk.

"Send smoke signals?" Baozi suggests.

"You know how?" Ye Xiu asks in surprise.

"Not a clue," Baozi admits.

Soon, two streams of people, one from around each side of the building, enter their sights. Baozi and the others scan through both streams, looking out for their teammates. 

As the crowd approaches, so do their whispers.  Surprisingly, the name that comes up most isn't Ye Qiu or One Autumn Leaf, but this Sun Xiang person. 

"—don't know what to make of his closing—"

"—kyaa, too handsome—"

"—did clear Floor 75—"

"—falls, another arises in his wake—"

"—just me or was it a tad, you know—"

Mumu, hearing the same things Baozi is, tilts her head. "Now I'm kind of curious what the idiot said."

"It must have been exciting," Baozi agrees.

Ye Xiu says, "We can ask Boss or the others when we find them. Speaking of which…"

He surveys the tree above him, then draws his umbrella sword and chops down a long branch. Seemingly satisfied with its length, he rummages his pack for his crumpled red armband and ties it to the tip.

"That should do it," he says as he raises the branch, waving the armband around like a pennant, just as the tour guides Outside do. Baozi applauds his ingenuity.

Sure enough, it only takes a minute or two before Chen Guo, with Tang Rou and Luo Ji following after, cuts through the crowd in a beeline charge toward them. 

Baozi looks between her face and the flying armband. "You're matching! As expected of Happy's boss."

Chen Guo's face reddens further. "What do you mean? Where were you guys? Don't you know it's rude to just leave in the middle of a memorial service like that? That's God Ye! Battle God One Autumn Leaf! The little Sun Xiang at the end was infuriating enough, are you guys trying to anger me to death today? And what are you doing with that armband!"

Ye Xiu hastily grabs the armbands off the stick and reties it around his arm.

Mumu smiles placatingly at her and asks, "How was it?"

Chen Guo makes a sound of rage, then rants, "You know that Sun Xiang, Excellent Era's new captain, that brat who inherited Ye Qiu's Evil Annihilation? You know what he said? Haa! I'm getting enraged just thinking about it again!"

"Oh?" Ye Xiu probes, "What'd he say?"

In a low voice, Tang Rou quotes, "'Ye Qiu, I will surpass your legacy.'"

"Actually," Luo Ji says, stuttering over the words a little, "it was more like: 'Finally, I want to say to Ye Qiu, wherever your spirit may be, you can rest assured, I will surpass you and take Excellent Era to the heights you couldn't.'"

Baozi nods thoughtfully. "What a go-getter. What sign is he?"

Ye Xiu chuckles, "From what I know, sounds like something from his mouth."

"But I don't think it was very fitting for a memorial service," Tang Rou says with flattened lips.

"Exactly," Chen Guo nods forcefully. "What's Excellent Era thinking, letting a kid like that close the service? What's their PR team doing?"

Almost thoughtlessly, Ye Xiu starts walking back toward the main path, away from the Arena. But after only a few steps, he looks to the sky and says, "What if that was PR's move?"

"Then—" Chen Guo blurts, hurrying after him, "but why?"

Ye Xiu just shrugs. "Let's grab lunch. I'm sure all that crying has made you hungry, Boss."

At lunch, after briefly discussing their plans for tomorrow, conversation inevitably turns back to the morning's memorial. 

Tang Rou says, "I think I understand what you mean now."

"What does he mean about what?" Chen Guo asks. "Oh, that?"

Baozi isn't quite following, but Tang Rou nods. "Do you hear what the people around us are saying?"

Chen Guo eavesdrops intently on the neighboring tables, and Baozi follows her lead.

"You mean about that Sun Xiang guy?" Baozi asks. "He seems pretty popular."

"Exactly," Tang Rou says.

But Chen Guo counters, "It sounds more like 'unpopular' to me."

Luo Ji leans in, wiping his mouth. "I think I get it too."

"Get what?" Chen Guo demands when he doesn't continue.

"Boss, who is everyone talking about today?" Luo Ji asks.

"Sun Xiang, of course. And Ye Qiu."

"See?" Luo Ji says. When understanding doesn't dawn on either her or Baozi, he continues to probe, "Who was everyone talking about yesterday?"

"Ye Qiu!" Chen Guo says, seeming to understand the same something everyone but Baozi does.

"Huh?" he asks.

"But," Chen Guo blitzes on, "He's their captain! They can't just—"

"Former captain," Ye Xiu says steadily. "In other words, a relic of the past, and they've already found an inheritor of his legacy."

"That new kid?" Baozi clarifies, maybe following along. Ye Xiu nods.

"You mean, Evil Annihilation… Excellent Era…" Chen Guo stutters to a halt.

"Is welcoming a new era," Mumu concludes.

Baozi still doesn't quite get it, but he gives up following their cryptid half sentences and instead steals the last piece of meat before anyone can fight him for it. He chews and swallows and burps. A good meal, simple but filling. He contemplates the solemn mood hanging over everyone, still more confuzzled than not, because, "What's this Excellent Era gotta do with us? Boss's era will be better anyway."

He chugs the rest of his juice and blinks when everyone looks his way.

After the memorial, the crowd of people on Floor 21 thins considerably, most of the veteran Ascenders returning to the upper floors to continue their journey. Generously, Chen Guo leads them to one of the nicer inns after lunch and pays for everyone's rooms for a whole three nights, and Baozi sends her a great thumbs up. As expected of his boss's boss. 

They don't have any plans for the rest of the day, so Baozi drags Tang Rou and Luo Ji to the Arena for a last hurrah as classless noobs. Tang Rou's as fierce as ever, and it's pretty much even odds who wins between them. But Luo Ji, frankly Baozi is a little worried for his wannabe-Summoner lil bro who can't even make his goblin guy throw rocks correctly. Fortunately, Ye Xiu and Mumu show up soon after and Ye Xiu takes Luo Ji aside for coaching, while Mumu overwatches his and Tang Rou's spars. 

Insisting on proper rest, Ye Xiu calls it a day after another couple hours, then ends up lecturing them on what to expect in the dungeons tomorrow. Luo Ji takes frantic notes, Tang Rou nods along and asks some questions here or there, and Baozi tries not to fall asleep.

"Just limit… details… shouldn't be too difficult… As for you two—"

Tang Rou prods Baozi, and he startles awake.

"We can keep things interesting with a challenge: you can only hit the head of your opponents. It's a way of practicing precision, which will be helpful when you get to the monsters with very specific weaknesses."

"Like Hollows?" Baozi asks. "Do we have to smash them in the face?"

"That's just an example," Ye Xiu says. "The automatons from the 40s have a perpetual movement machine in their torsos, while the Floor 50 Boss has a single reverse scale the size of your hand. If you're aiming for the top, might as well start practicing for it now."

"Hell yeah!" Baozi says. He offers a fist to Tang Rou, asking, "Wanna bet?"

She bumps it with her own. "Loser carries the winner's pack next floor."

Baozi throws an arm around Luo Ji. "How 'bout you, Lil Bro? Bet you'd make a great pack mule."

"No way. It'll be enough if I can hit the monsters at all!" Luo Ji says, shoving Baozi off.

Baozi shakes his head. "You're no fun."

"Fastest finish with the least misses to the head?" Tang Rou asks to clarify the terms of the bet.

"Time, strikes to parts of the body besides the head, strikes that miss entirely," Ye Xiu says.

"And potions used!" Mumu adds. "Don't be too reckless in your training."

"Of course!" Baozi cheers.

"Everyone, let's do our best," Tang Rou says.

And finally comes the day Baozi becomes a Brawler. 

Seeing the giant tower and all its scenery inspires in him a slight sense of deja vu. 

Empty fields of grass on all sides, a swirling portal behind him, a short, well-trodden dirt path before him, leading to the obsidian black Tower that pierces the sky—that was the scene from the Loading Screen, his first glimpse of a fantastical world after stepping into the portal of that shady bar, entering the in-between of the Outside World and the Glory Tower

But this time, the tower before him is shorter—tall as a skyscraper, but still a height within human comprehension. It's skinned with rough grayish stone rather than clean cut black, and there's no carved sign above the entranceway. Rather, at the top of the tower, a large bronze statue poses in a half crouch, his right hand jabbing out with a claw, his left pulled back with a brick at the ready. And it's not just him alone, but dozens of Ascenders trodding down multiple paths, all converging at the Brawler's Dungeon entrance. 

Back then, Baozi had sprinted through the Loading Screen, eager to see with his own eyes the fantastical paradise they call the Tower.

This time, he's already entered paradise, and there's no need to rush. His boss said to not overdo things too early, so he takes the path at a more leisurely jog, taking in the sights. Especially that magnificent bronze Brawler smiling down at him from above. When he gets closer, just before the statue on top disappears from his vantage point, he stops to mimic its pose. If only he had a camera, but it's too bad the Tower rejects all Outside technology. Maybe he can get Luo Ji to whip something up—he's a scientist or something, right?—and come back later to get his selfie.

Closer to the entrance, he weaves around the several people dallying with their final preparations, and he steps without hesitation into the dungeon.

He emerges in a moonlit alleyway so familiar he's confused for a second whether he'd stepped back Outside. It's a lot like his old haunt, where he'd swap stories and share drinks with his hooligan friends. A random alley, short brick buildings on either side, a large graffitied dumpster filling the dead end just behind him. At the alley's other side, the opening into the street, sits a cheap plastic table and stools under a flickering streetlamp, littered with empty cans and scattered cards. The mingled smells of sour piss and alcohol and rotting trash permeate the area, and Baozi takes a deep, nostalgic whiff. 

Then he summons a brick and hollers, "Come at me!"

In the shadows before him, several pairs of yellow eyes gleam. Short critters, is his first impression. The eyes start shifting around, and with the movement comes squeaks and chitters—rats, large ones. As soon as he comes to that conclusion, the first rats rush out to attack. It takes some getting used to their short height, and he misses a couple times. But soon enough, Baozi gets used to their rhythm and bops them each a couple times on the head like a game of whack-a-mole. Their corpses fade to dust, no coins or materials left behind. But that's not the goal of this dungeon. He may not come out any richer, but he'll have earned the right to call himself a bona fide Brawler in this Tower.

After the wave of rats comes a wave of stray dogs. Then coyotes. Some rowdy drunks armed with shattered beer bottles. Small-time gang members with knives. Another wave with bats and clubs. 

These NPC monsters are a bit trickier, mostly because Baozi doesn't know if blocking their strikes counts against hitting their head. But after two bops to his own noggin, he compromises and figures that so long as he isn't blocking with his weapon or a skill, he's good. And that wave ends pretty quick, too.

Just as he's warming up, raring for a bigger fight, he's met with silence.

Huh. He glances around, and nothing jumps out at him. He jumps onto the dumpster lid and peers out beyond the dead end. Only darkness, a void. He stares into the abyss, but nothing stares back. He jumps back down, a little disappointed. Seems that's it for the dungeon's first stage. 

So far, his tally is 4 misses and 1 misstrike. Ay, those pesky rats.

He takes a short couple of minutes to dress his oozing cuts and but passes on the recovery potion, then sneaks his way out of the alleyway. Peering around the corner, he finds a long, empty street; the half to his left is all dark, while the right glows with the occasional street lamp. Further down that way stands the only lit building at this time of night, its collection of neon signs dazzlingly bright.

Baozi thinks he gets what he's supposed to do. He runs toward the very ostentatious building. 

The first half of the run down the street is uneventful. Then gradually—in pairs, then triples, then fives, then a single elite looking for trouble—more senior members of the gang approach for a fight. They're all mooks from the same gang, Baozi's pretty sure—they wear the same gaudy chains around their neck and shout the same cheesy dialogue and have the same hardy heads. 

Of course, Baozi dispatches of them all, but in the process almost triples his misses and misstrikes.

Unlike the small alley stage where the numbers' advantage is diminished by the narrow space, the street is practically a free for all field. For the most part, Baozi did remember to keep an eye on his surroundings, but during the 5-on-1 fight, he realized too late that the four gangsters were forcing him into the alley where their last colleague was waiting in ambush. 

Mook Five rushes him with a knife, and Baozi can only block with his claw if he doesn't want a hole in his tummy. That's one misstrike. Mooks One and Two rush in while his claw is stuck in the block, and Baozi counters them with a Brick and a plain old kick. The Brick he smashes into Mook One's head, who, with a final cheesy "you'll pay for this," collapses into dust. But because Baozi does not have the flexibility of a former dancer like Tang Rou, his kick catches Mook Two in the crotch for misstrike two. Mook Two is an NPC monster and not a human with feelings though, so he doesn't drop with a girly scream, and instead stabs his knife into Baozi's thigh.

And that's not really fun. But Mooks Three and Four have finally caught up, and Baozi distracts them all with a practiced over-shoulder Sand Toss, then a few other CCs, as he works on beating Mook Five up first. It's just like in the Floor 20 forest, but Baozi beats these ruffians up all by himself this time.

Then comes the elite guy, who's mostly elite in that he had a sword to the other guys' knives and daggers. But after several days of training with Blue Bridge's speedy saber and Ye Xiu's tricky hidden tachi, Baozi can't quite call this elite a very elite elite, though it sure is a fight. Especially when the elite NPC monster isn't the dumb kind to ignore Baozi's lacking mobility. But Baozi manages, coming out with several misses but no misstrikes, because he's a god gamer like that.

11 misses and 4 misstrikes. As he bandages up and drinks his potions, Baozi wonders how Tang Rou compares, and if Luo Ji is surviving.

It takes him two and a sip potions to heal up this time, but he figures it's bad hygiene or something to walk around trickling blood. He tucks the sipped-from bottle back in his pack, and the two empty ones too, because he feels a bit bad littering in the streets that feel so like home. He can practically feel the street cleaner lady's broom across his bum and her scathing lecture itch his ear.

Rested and recovered, Baozi steps up to the old gambling hall and pushes open the grand double doors, faded gold leafings and gaudy accents and all, and struts inside. 

The inside is dim and hazy with smoke, but bustling with activity. People—or rather, Tower NPCs and possibly monsters in disguise—sit at old timey slot machines, at poker tables and other game tables, at the bar and lounge in the back. Baozi surveys the area for threats and finds—nothing out of the ordinary.

"How may I help you, sir?" A waiter comes up to ask. 

"Yeah!" says Baozi. "Who am I fighting?"

"Fighting?" the waiter repeats with a puzzled frown. "Well, there is a crowd of troublemakers that come around this time of night. You… wouldn't happen to be a part of them, would you?"

Baozi scratches his head. "Are they Brawlers?"

"I'd say so," the waiter answers. "Ruffians, hooligans, the like."

"Then they must be friends! Do I have to fight them?"

The waiter narrows his eyes. "Wait here, please."

Baozi waits. He watches a poor NPC lose everything at the slot machine before selling his watch to the casino's reception for some coins to continue gambling. It's interesting watching the Tower NPCs, always so expressive even despite the cloud of mosaic blurring out the faces of most of these background characters. 

Soon, two burly men in sunglasses and neat suits and earpieces—the epitome of bouncers—come to escort Baozi to their boss, claiming that their boss has been wanting to meet him. Because they're bouncers, Baozi takes them at their word, but they ignore his friendly attempts at shop talk.

A part of Baozi recognizes that these guys are probably NPC enemies he'll have to fight, so he considers taking the first move and bashing them in the head first, but that feels wrong, because they're bouncers, and that means they're basically Brawlers with less brick more suit, and Baozi was a bouncer back Outside though—

They enter a bare wine cellar after traversing a maze-like set of hallways, and unless their boss has some odd workplace fancies, he won't be finding any head honcho here. Sure enough, the bouncers close the door with a click and round on Baozi. 

Well, if they dare sully a bouncer's good name and betray Baozi's trust, there's no holding back.

Halfway through the ear clouting (no misses to the head!), two more bouncers enter, and it's four-on-one. Except the original two are already cowed by his earlier force—huh, do these NPC monsters actually have feelings?—and unlike with the previous fights in the wide street, all the empty racks and overturned crates crowding this tiny room make it easy to keep the four from ganging up on him. 

The fight turns into a game of hide-and-seek-tag among all the miscellaneous junk, a deadly battle of wits. Baozi ducks this way and that and tosses out Bricks and Sand, aimed always at their heads, and the stupid bouncers are utterly hopeless at stopping him. 

Sure the fight's going in his favor, but Baozi finds himself miffed at these bouncers' incompetence, losing so easily. 

If it weren't for the Tower's setting of turning finished enemies into dust, Baozi would have demanded these guys stand back up so Baozi can pummel them some more. But what's done is done, he supposes. He'll just have to be the bigger person and forgive them or something.

Huh, that's right, he can take up a complaint with their boss! That's where he's going anyway.

As soon as he steps out of the cellar, some guy in an even fancier suit and slicked back hair awaits him. The amount of detail in the guy's character design tells Baozi this guy is important, and he confirms it when the guy speaks: "The boss is waiting."

"Time for the boss fight?" Baozi asks, following along eagerly. "Do I have to fight you too?"

The guy may be dressed all fancy, but Baozi knows a brawler when he sees one. Fancy guy talks a lot, enough to give Luo Ji a run for his money, but about what, Baozi's not sure. He's too busy contemplating how he missed his chance with the bouncers earlier, but should he just take the guy out now?

Might as well.

Just outside the fancy double doors of what must be the boss's room, Baozi Slaps the fancy brawler guy upside the head, and catches him in a Strangle as he's disoriented. He's not sure if this is what he's supposed to do, but no one's stopping him. This guy's a lot stronger than all the previous mooks in the gang, even pulling out fancy silver needles that make Baozi feel funny when jabbed. But soon enough, the fight ends as all fights end, and Baozi is left to wonder if someone left the dungeon on Easy Mode. Or Baozi's just that good, especially after a whole week of training with Ye Xiu and the others. 

He chugs a quick potion and tucks the empty bottle back into his bag. 17 misses—he didn't adjust to the needle's jelly-like effects soon enough—4 misstrikes, and 5 potions. Not bad going into the boss fight. 

Baozi steps up to the double doors, and they slowly creak open by themselves, revealing a dark room lit only by a single window in the back. The backlit boss dramatically turns around in his leather chair and starts monologuing from behind steepled fingers, but Baozi manually fast forwards the dialogue by chucking a brick at his head. Of course, this incenses the boss, who in true Brawler fashion, throws his very own Brick right back at Baozi, before picking up his desk and hurling it also.

Baozi ducks and rolls away, and pops up again with stars in his eyes. Once a Brawler, always a Brawler, no matter how smartly dressed or fancily officed. And as the boss, this guy must be a true Brawler among all Brawlers.

After he makes it to the top of the Tower, Baozi vows to get his own office too.

The boss shows off all his basic Brawler moves, matching Baozi's Bricks with his own, and tosses magical sand in a boring way Baozi can predict a mile away. Baozi ducks a Slap, but the following Molotov Cocktail catches him by surprise, and he dances his way from the flaming puddle in the carpet. That's a skill from a higher floor, so Baozi can't pay him back evenly, but he picks up the upturned old timey rotary phone from next to the desk and chucks that at the boss's face. It hits with a brrring , and Baozi follows with a Brick that's just come off cooldown.

"Young upstart brats these days—" the boss mutters as he catches Baozi's swinging arm and throws him with a Back Toss.

"But that's Grappler's skill!" Baozi complains as he rolls out of the throw and recovers a distance away. A low level skill that Baozi can use also, but just not today because it means grabbing the body and not the head. But the point is, this is the Brawler Dungeon, so the boss should be the ultimate Brawler!

But the boss ignores him in favor of continuing his preset lines. "—Need to be taught a lesson!" 

He tosses his suit jacket aside and rips off his dress shirt, revealing all his muscles and tattoos and plentiful scars.

Baozi whistles. That sure is a Brawler.

"Oh yeah?" he says and discards his own leather armor top. "Two can play at that game!" 

But the next two shots the boss gets in hurt extra, so Baozi dives aside to fetch his top and hastily throws it back on. They go toe-to-toe, and the berserked boss seems to have learned that Baozi's aiming for the head, twisting his neck in wild dodges and intercepting Baozi's strikes with his own. But a sneaky Sand Toss momentarily blinding the boss breaks that stalemate, and before too long, he too falls and fades to dust.

In the end, Baozi proves himself to be the Brawlerest Brawler.

GLORY

The holographic letters spin slowly above the dusty remains.

Class Dungeon - Brawler Cleared. Rating: SS. Rewards: +10 strength, +10 spirit, +5 stamina.

He did it. He's finally a Brawler now! Baozi flexes his bicep and… feels nothing different. Huh.

Baozi takes a few seconds to admire the glimmering GLORY, then steps out the portal exit.

Back outside, he waves goodbye to the tower and its Brawler boss statue, then jogs back to the tavern to find his waiting team. 

Only Ye Xiu and Mumu are there when Baozi arrives, no sign of Tang Rou or the others, so Baozi asks, "Did I beat Xiao Tang?"

"Oh, Baozi, you're here," Ye Xiu says when he notices him. "How'd it go?"

"Congratulations," Mumu smiles.

Baozi dances his way over. "I won! I'm officially a Brawler now! Hahaha—hic!"

Tang Rou's sudden appearance with Chen Guo from the opposite direction of the tavern's sole entrance makes Baozi pause in his tracks. "Xiao Tang? What are you doing here?"

At the question, she looks confused as he is. "I finished the dungeon."

"Ah? Already? When'd you get here?"

"Five minutes ago. I was using the restroom." Tang Rou says. With a sly smile, she adds, "Looks like I won in time."

"Oh yeah?" Baozi says. "I hit the body 8 times and missed 20-something times, with 4 potions!"

Tang Rou doesn't drop her smile. "4 potions too, 11 misstrikes, but only 18 misses."

They both look to Ye Xiu, who raises his hand that's closer to Tang Rou. "Five minutes, could be a difference of half a rating."

Baozi suddenly feigns ignorance. "Hm? What were we talking about? What win? I didn't know the Tower had a lottery."

Tang Rou hands him her pack. "Thank you."

Baozi pouts, but a deal's a deal and a man shouldn't go back on his word. He takes the bag, and his arm sinks with the unexpected weight. "What the hell? Do you carry bricks in here?"

She laughs. "Ye Xiu had me carry some stuff for him."

Baozi turns pleading eyes to his boss. Ye Xiu returns his gaze evenly and says, "Think of it as weight training."

Baozi looks to Chen Guo, who rolls her eyes. "Whatever, it's your guys' bet, I'm not involved." Then she adds, more genuinely, "But congrats on passing. How was it, your first Class Dungeon run?"

"Hella exciting!" Baozi says. "I met so many new Brawler friends!"

Tang Rou, not making any move to help him with the extra pack, offers him a fist bump. "I don't suppose you mean the dungeon boss?"

"Of course! He had a really cool dragon tattoo. Hey, do you think I should get one too?"

"I know a good artist on Floor 51," Mumu offers. 

"Oh? What are we waiting for then, let's go!" Baozi bounces with excitement.

Ye Xiu laughs. "Alright, let's go pick up Luo Ji and continue the Ascent."