Chapter 29: Setting a Trap (2/2)

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

<Familia> was located in the H district, a sector renowned for its hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. This choice of emplacement was already odd given that most of the services there only worked outside the Tower.

Being based there wouldn't really bring added value to a guild. How much drug would one have to buy to justify a move in the nearby area?

"How do they recruit?" Josh inquired.

"I think you need to be recommended by someone."

Josh couldn't help but agree that a shady guild definitely would be more careful with recruiting. They would likely try and find people that had no immediate family to notice their behavior change. It just so happened that Dale was both someone that noticed and cared. Josh quickly formulated a plan.

"Alright, I am Josh, nice to meet you. Lately, I have been despairing because no guild wants to accept me. I am Classless but I can solo the lower Floors somehow with much difficulty. That's when you chanced upon me and invited me to your guild. Now we are going to your headquarter to visit."

"Eh, I only have a normal apartment that we use for meetings. Also, what's with the introduction?"

"Don't mind it. No real headquarter is perfect! Soon you'll message that Lou guy telling him you finally found a replacement for him. That I'm actually an underestimated talent, that while my growth prospects are bad I'm actually able to barely solo clear so I'll shine in a party. Taunt him about how he made the wrong decision to leave."

"What will be the use of that?", doubted Dale.

"Well, that Lenny guy is probably watching the UW of his members attentively. Whether he bites or not will remain to be seen."

One thing for sure Josh wouldn't just go guns blazing in a situation he only knew one side of the story. From experience he knew that it was life was never fully white or black.

Now there was bound to be a bit of danger, but nothing he felt was too threatening. Especially with Draconic's backing that he could rely on in case of emergency.

Thus they proceeded with the plan. Following Dale, Josh adopted an entirely new persona. One that was still naïve. One that was despairing because of the hardships of life, yet one that still had hope to be kindled. One that simply wanted to be noticed and praised, by anyone.

Dale's place really was nothing more than a hangout. It had a comfy-looking sofa, a big HUB (the tv thingy), snacks spread out on a low table. There were also two of his guild members there with the third absent.

There was a cute and polite young woman called Lara. Short brown hair, smiling eyes, elegant. She was the healer of the party. As soon as they entered, she welcomed Dale back while quickly introducing herself and bringing refreshments out.

The second was a man called Rolly, tall, relatively handsome, with bright purple hair. He seemed to be energetic and introduced himself as the guy that just held the shield. He was their dedicated tanker. Meeting Josh, he quickly beamed proudly declaring that if he needed anyone to serve as a meat shield, he was confident in his abilities.

As soon as there was mention of Josh possibly joining, they instantly rejoiced. Josh couldn't help but chuckle at their enthusiasm. They didn't know him yet were so happy about getting a new friend.

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At first, Josh felt these kids should definitely stay on the lower Floors. They could slowly farm for materials to make an easy living. While it wouldn't bring them massive wealth, they would have a peaceful and fun life. Well, disregarding the monster-bashing of course. Akin to the middle-class back on Earth.

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But the more he hung out with them the more his opinion started changing. They were more perceptive than he had first believed.

Lara quickly noticed that there was something wrong. Simply by how Dale was acting. After all, Josh was subtly directing him on what to write the Lou guy on the side. Still, this didn't matter. They weren't trying to fool their own allies. She simply kept entertaining him as a guest with cookies and drinks.

Rolly too realized that Josh wasn't really there to join when he showed a very slight fraction of his ambition. Josh was practicing his role. He had to show the appearance of a young man that had reached his limit already. One that wasn't sure how to grow anymore, but that was burning with hope, one that would easily be tricked.

Later on, the scout of the party returned. A man called Trevor, brown hair, eternal slight smile, calm. He had apparently simply been on a long walk. Josh's gut told him that said walk had been in the H district for some reason. As soon as he entered, he did a subtle double-take on Dale's expression. Then he showed a slight smile of gratitude toward Josh.

They surprisingly all showed great potential from Josh's evaluation. Them being stuck at Floor 5 was definitely weird. Or perhaps their best talent was to be a judge of character? They had joined Dale, the literal gold mine of Tower information tidbits, after all.

Why had only one of them left? What had prompted this? Usually, a sinking ship would never have only one escapee.

Josh didn't overthink the issue either. He simply sat on the sofa laughing with them, relaxing for a few hours. They watched a show on the HUB. Once more Josh was amazed by the Tower's influence.

Metropolis C was the Heaven for Climbers. It was also surrounded by many normal cities filled with normal people living their normal lives. If anything, there was a difference with Earth: the technology. It at least made basic food supplies easily accessible and made entertainment readily available.

Such entertainment included shows. Such programs were broadcasted across many cities, especially the non-Climber ones. Metropolis C seemed to be the equivalent of Hollywood on Earth, except the stars were the Climbers instead of the actors. They were the target of envy, veneration, and gossip.

The whole culture was Climber-oriented, with backlash from only a few grumpy individuals remembering the old days.

So for a few hours, they watched a show from the <RealityC> guild. It featured lots of Climbers stuck in one apartment. It was the usual popularity contest of voting people out of it. The last one remaining would be the winner.

Ah, but of course there was a twist. First of all, they were all wearing disguises that changed daily to hide their real identity from one another (with the viewers knowing of course). Second, fighting was allowed under certain rules. Why appeal to the public when you can directly beat your opponent up?

Last but not least...killer robots were added to the mix. Whoever came up with the show's concept was clearly going to Hell. Well, it was always the industry's standard even on Earth haha. For the job description wanting to watch the world burn was but the very first requirement.

It is only after "wasting" some time that Josh bid them goodbye. He had only been walking for a few minutes that a cold-faced young man intercepted him. He seemed normal at first glance but Josh felt his state somewhat seemed unnatural, he was clearly here because of someone's orders.

"Hey, I'll be brief. I used to be a member of Flaming Phoenix, don't join them. You'll regret it. Anyway, I'll go back to my own guild. I simply wanted to warn you. It would be a shame to have someone with great prospects wasting his time in such a failure of a guild."

The man, Lou, was clearly bating Josh, but in this situation who was really baiting who?

"Wait up, brother! Explain yourself! Also, did you say you are part of a guild? Is it better than Flaming Phoenix? Are you guys recruiting?!"

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