Chapter 28: Setting a Trap(1/2)

Josh waited for Dale's arrival in the G district. He came running exhausted but not bothering about it. The young man was clearly sleep-deprived with dark circles under his eyes. His usually tidy attire showed traces of being disheveled. He also had a stubble of a beard that was slightly noticeable.

But what stood out most to Josh was his entire attitude. Dale exuded an aura of disappointment and rage. It was something that Josh had felt in the past, that reminded him of when he had just lost them.

"Hey Dale, what's up?", Josh greeted.

"This world is a dark place." The way Dale said it sounded as pessimistic as one could be. As if he had just encountered darkness for the first time.

He kept going sighing: "This world is infested by trash. Everything is going to Hell since the Tower arose. I was simply too blind to notice it before."

"First of all, will a few hours of delay affect the situation?", Josh asked.

"Probably not. I fear it's already too late."

"Alright, slowly explain everything to me." Meanwhile, Josh was walking with a purpose, dragging Dale along. Attentively listening, to both the verbal and non-verbal.

"You know about my guild the <Flaming Pheonix>, right? Lately, I stopped climbing with them since they are still stuck on Floor 5. The plan was for them to take it slow and eventually make it. They would find a mage as a replacement and that was supposed to be the end of it."

Dale kept going, sadness and self-blame noticeable in his eyes."Then, Lou, one of our members decided to leave. At first, I didn't mind. I simply wished him good luck. He joined an unranked guild called <Familia>. I felt that I had betrayed him by going my own way and me letting him leave was my way to atone."

Josh could feel that there was a twist incoming.

"Lou came back to brag about how awesome his new guild was, how friendly the members were. There were many guildmates that were young and full of ambition. These guys had a great leader that he kept praising to high Heaven. He quickly made a point to tell me how amazing this Lenny guy was."

An awesome guild that recruited a man that couldn't pass Floor 5 by himself? Either this was a charity, a group only meant to have fun, or there was something fishy going on for sure. Josh had seen how harsh most of the guilds were with recruiting. While his own Classless situation was special he was clearly stronger than the average Climber his level and yet...

"Lou even tried to poach over the three remaining members of my guild. I told them that I wouldn't stop them if they wanted to accept the offer. That while I would miss them I simply wanted the best for them, whatever that was. Still, I didn't have any good feeling toward the <Familia> but it could have just been me being salty over losing a friend."

"So, how did you figure out that they were crooks? That's what they are judging from your current mood, right?"

"Yesterday I met Lou again. Except, he wasn't himself anymore. I just happened to chance upon him as I was exiting the Tower. He had soulless eyes, didn't react to my presence either. Even when I called out to him he simply ignored me as if we were strangers. The thing is he was always someone easily scared, we had to help him calm his nerves whenever he as much as saw the Tower."

"So what do you think?"

"I've spent the night doing research. It can only be one thing, a drug called Firgone. It robs its users of all emotions. It started as a legit pharmaceutical project but was quickly terminated. It was made to remove fear, but instead, it simply rendered people less than humans. It destroys them from the inside and is highly addictive."

"What if he voluntarily took it?"

"There is no way anyone would ever...!"

"That's where you could be wrong. Remember when you fought that goblin on Floor 5? You were in an incredibly pitiful state. Had you felt fear, you would have died right there and then. Maybe he saw it as an opportunity to get rid of the fear binding him."

"This....no way...I think they are exploiting him somehow. We need to help him!"

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Josh could somehow relate to his situation.

"Fine, I'll help you just this once. But we do things my way. You obey each of my directives and you yourself won't be directly involved. Is that clear?"

"A-alright!"

"Now, there is something more pressing."

"What is that?"

Josh had guided them all the way to a little stand called <IceMeister>. He simply pointed toward the ice cream shop confusing Dale in the process. Josh simply went in and ordered two very tasty-looking sundaes before handing one to a bewildered Dale.

"What is this?!"

"A sundae, have you never eaten one?"

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"I know what a sundae is! I mean why are we here?! Not for the ice cream, right?"

Josh looked over the horizon seemingly lost in thoughts for a second, looking pensive and mysterious. Dale couldn't help but await his next words.

"You said this world is dark because of the Tower, right?", Josh started with Dale nodding along.

"That is where you are wrong. There will always be darkness. In the worst places of all, but also hidden right in the spotlight. Now, that is reality. You can try your best to change it but eradicating it is impossible. Do you know what this means?" Josh glanced inquisitively at Dale who shook his head in denial.

"It means that you cannot simply look at the darkness. It will always be there, you need to learn to live with it. Now, this doesn't mean giving up at all. There are still changes one individual can make to make the world a better place. But you need to be careful not to get consumed by such a task."

Josh simply took a huge bite of the sugary and light goodness before smiling at Dale. "You see there is also light to be found. Whenever you despair and feel beaten." Josh took another bite. "Simply find one thing, one tiny thing that brings you joy. Then from that simple thing get the strength to keep going."

Dale simply watched dumbfounded as Josh kept savoring his desert, before exclaiming: "You are telling me to use sundaes to forget that my friend is out there in a living Hell?!"

Josh glanced at him in a way that seemed like it could pierce his soul directly. "Nope, I'm telling you that blaming yourself won't do anything. He is quite possibly a drug addict, don't become one yourself. The drug called hate is very strong you know."

Then Josh gave a little laugh: "Oh, don't get me wrong I'm all for revenge, especially a bloody one. Just don't lose sight of what's important in a fit of rage. That is also why I don't want you to interact with <Familia> at all. Your head is not in the right place. For revenge to succeed, one needs to be cold and calculative. I know a thing about it. From my old world standards, my opponents were S-class criminals."

"That..." Dale started seriously pondering. Who knew that there was such dept to revenge. Ah, also the same could be said for sundaes. He simply took a small bite and then somehow the world seemed a little less dark. He couldn't help but comment: "This is ridiculous, you know?"

"You think? I would have used delicious instead.", Josh winked.

Dale finally cracked the shadow of a smile. Then as they ate, he started sharing more information about the target.

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