Chapter 17: 15. Behind the Number 42

15. Behind the Number 42

- The Next Day / Inside the Soul Harvesting Tower (Level 14) -

Lucas jolted down the tunnels with sword and armor equipped as well as a torch and map in hand. Sprinting so fast that the flames on his torch were pushed back, he ventured deep into the tower while being keenly aware of his surroundings. Approximately 15 minutes passed since his solo entrance into the darkness.

Twisting and turning between tunnels - tunnels leading to compartments, he searched for anything catching his eye. Passing by large “X” marks engraved into the circular stone walls, he continued running and running. His immense speed sent a gust of wind trailing behind him.

As he took in deep breaths, he went deeper and deeper all by himself without stopping to take a break. As he exhaled, small quantities of water vapor left his mouth like heat slowly evaporating from a sweltering body.

He began to approach the door leading to level 15. But up ahead he saw a group of people, three to be exact, surrounding a big monster. As both sides stood firmly, the people held swords or staffs while the monster watched with its bright orange eyes.

“It’s a Grinder,” one of the men said, staring at the creature with a ferocious mouth containing hundreds of miniature sharp teeth. Its body was covered in thick fur, while the neck region was covered in long strands of brown condensed hair. Standing on four legs, it roared at the three men, rattling its jaws and stretching its mouth abnormally wide.

As they backed up, they grabbed their weapons and prepared to attack. The man in the middle raised his sword up high and made his first move. Attacking the monster by swinging his sword in front, the Grinder leaped back and charged at the man again. Using its sharp claws, it tried to latch onto the man. Using his silver sword, he quickly blocked it.

The two men in the back wielding large staffs took deep breaths and began chanting their abilities. As the man in front stalled, they continued pouring large quantities of energy into the tip of their staff. And with all of their might, they commanded: [Fire Cast: Hollow-]

Suddenly, the Grinder shoved the man to the side and focused on the two men in the back. It ran at them with its massive jaws wide open, ready to swallow them whole.

“Eek!” They squealed in fear as the monster approached at unwanting speeds, and they immediately stopped chanting. They backed away as fast as they could, but they were all too slow as the creature was right up to their faces.

But right before it touched them, Lucas caught up from behind and charged right at the Grinder. Without withdrawing his sword, using his bare hands, he grabbed onto the monster’s thick neck and pushed it into the stone wall. Its face got slammed like a bug, denting the solid wall and cutting off its agonizing roars.

Lucas dropped his torch and map behind the men, who were at a loss. Moving almost twice the speed as compared to the Grinder, he appeared and pushed the monster on the wall in a blink of an eye. All stood in shock as he subdued the enormous monster with his bare hands.

What the hell happened? One of the men said in horror.

So fast, another said.

Lucas continued squeezing the Grinder’s neck as he pressed one of his knees onto its back so that it wouldn't lash out and attack. "Are you guys alright?" he asked, panting slightly.

“Uh… Yes, thank you…” The man in front bewilderingly said. “Um, if I don’t mind asking, but who are-”

"Sorry," Lucas replied, stopping the man's curiosity. He stood up against the Grinders' forceful strength in a desperate attempt to be freed. Lucas’s veins began to appear in his arms. “I’m going to do something with this thing, so if you could. Can you guys leave…?”

They looked at Lucas with baffled expressions. “...What?” One of them questioned.

“Can you guys- just hurry?” Lucas’s arms were beginning to shake as the infuriated monster persistently fought back. “My arms are about to give up… Hurry…!” “Oh-,” One of the men took a few moments to recollect himself and pick up their torch.

The others followed and quickly ran off. “T-Thank you!” They said as they quickly headed up the tunnels into the surface, passing Lucas's map and torch.

Lucas watched them leave, and once their flaming torch came out of view, he slowly faced the Grinder with a murderous face. Suddenly his arms stopped shaking and his hands grasped at the monster even more firmly, as if his innocent facade vanished. There were small popping noises coming from its neck.

He used his brute strength to lift the monster. In a swift move, he swung his arms back and slammed the monster’s entire body onto the ground. Many of its brown condensed hairs got pulled off and bruises slowly appeared on its body. A minute ago, the Grinder was intimidating the men with its size, but now it was crying out in immeasurable pain over one single man.

Lucas whispered as he jumped on top of the creature's body, which had given up trying to fight back. He used one hand to pull on its hair as his other hand pressed a sensitive joint on its neck. With just one twitch, he could break its neck, and the monster was well aware. “You may not understand me, whatever you are. Or whoever you are. But… speak to me.”

Lucas eased up his tension, allowing the Grinder to breathe and weep in excruciating pain. “When I mean speak, I mean speak in a human way. Cry, scream, shout, do whatever. Say ‘hello.’ Do something.”

But as a minute passed, the monster remained still as it kept crying in pain. Its mouth was tightly shut and its eyes were closed.

“Do something!” He shouted, pulling its head back and folding its neck even more. “Are you a human, or are you not?!”

Despite his efforts, the Grinder didn’t muster a word or even a noise. It was so terrified that even hearing Lucas speak caused its body to tremble. Another minute passed and the monster didn’t do anything.

“I guess you’re just as you look…” Lucas slowly withdrew his sword from his scabbard.

His murderous eyes fixed on the monster, he raised his weapon high into the air and aimed it directly at its neck. He gripped it tightly and began swinging his sword.

“Goodby-”

All of a sudden, Lucas quickly turned his blade onto its side. As the weapon rushed to the

Grinder’s skin, it abruptly stopped with no damage dealt. He quickly canceled his strike and looked at the monster’s face with a ghostly expression.

It was the first time he had ever witnessed something as horrifying as what he witnessed in front of him since entering the tower. Like a story told in horror books, Lucas became speechless and slowly pulled his sword away. Lucas saw the Grinder’s terrified expression from above. And staring at its closed eyes, he saw a river of tears flowing down its monstrous face.

“You…” Lucas mustered. “You… are supposed to be… a monster. Why are you…”

The Grinder gritted its teeth as tear droplets drooled down its fangs and to the ground.

“Emotions…? Fear…? I thought only humans cry like this.”

In silence, Lucas slowly drifted his hand away from Grinder's head. He jumped off its body and landed a couple of feet behind it. Slowly getting up from near death, the monster shook itself. His expression tightened as he could hear the monster’s sniffling.

The Grinder stared at Lucas with an aggravated look, eyes enraged and mouth grinding back and forth from its small teeth. But no matter how much Lucas tried to focus on it, he kept looking away as its face was covered in tears.

It lowered its stance and made a low-pitch call that vibrated the surroundings. Staring at Lucas with its orange eyes, it roared and sprung its legs forward. With incredible speed, it charged at him as it opened its mouth to eat him in one bite.

Lucas firmly held his sword and looked at the Grinder with mixed emotions. As he faced it with a sour expression, he clenched his fist as hard as he could. Suddenly, a burst of orange flames grew out from inside his closed hands, squeezing out and surrounding the sword. Starting from the handle, the fire crawled up to the handle, the crossguard, and then to the entire blade. Orange light swarmed his weapon and he slowly exhaled white steam from his burning body.

“I’m sorry…” With final words, he lowered the sword to his side. With almost a foot away from getting swallowed by the Grinder, Lucas swung his blade from bottom up. Aiming at its head, he struck his final blow:

[Slice]

 

---

 

- A Couple of Hours Later / In the Central District -

It didn’t take long for Lucas to come back up to level 10 and leave the SHT. He ventured down to level 18, looking through many tunnels and coming across any monsters he could find. About two dozen monsters appeared, and more than half displayed some kind of odd behavior. But after killing all of them, he collected their drops and returned to the surface. For the Grinder, he plucked out its claws to sell it at the inn.

His members were resting at their homes, though most he imagined would be visiting each other to be accompanied in the long idle rest. But surprisingly, before he even set foot inside the tower, he saw Morgan standing in the Central District. In the absence of any set plans for the following five days since battling the Thornial Hunter, Lucas was confused to see him, especially with his large-filled backpack. However, he realized that him being there was his biggest help.

“Right, I asked Morgan if I could use his map. I should return it later,” Lucas said as he folded the massive paper into a small square. The paper seemed to be connected to a book - all being in one connected piece.

Morgan is really something. I wonder how he does it. After inserting the note neatly into the book, he closed it and put it in his bag that he carried behind him. Most of the content he collected was stored there as well as his torch that protruded out.

In the Central District, he walked toward the inn so he could sell the monster drops for some easy coins. Looking around, Lucas saw people walking around mainly in pairs. But to his confusion, there were not many people in the area. Some hid under shades away from plain sight.

But as he looked inside the building where he’ll be selling materials, he saw an unusual cluster of people. There were mainly venturers like him standing around idly waiting. He doesn’t know the reason, but he was certain that seeing dozens of venturers massed in one area was not normal. However, after a second of skepticism, he moved along and ignored the people.

Before he entered, he noticed multiple pieces of paper scattered all around the walls. There were papers from his right to his left on the walls. Some covered the windows. Papers moved with the gentle breeze. And written on top of those papers, that Lucas could see without coming close, was the word "MISSING." Underneath were smaller words that Lucas didn’t bother looking at, disregarding the papers and entering the inn.

Walking through a doorless entrance, he continued walking forward until he met the front desk. He focused on his business, and so did everyone else. The inn was the place to gather information before heading down the SHT and a place to eat. But to his eyes, he could see nothing but groups of men drinking recklessly while some gathered around a single woman with large grins - something that was never common.

On seeing the man behind the counter covered by a fence and a transparent glass, Lucas placed his pouch on the table. This contained all of the materials he collected during his venture. Silently, the man slid his hand under the glass hole to collect it.

After a minute of viewing the content, the man ordered one of the people behind to put it away at another place. As the person walked up and grabbed onto the materials, he walked off into an unknown area away from Lucas’s view. Being on the other side of a secured wall, there was no way for him to know where those were going.

Afterward, he heard a rattling sound in front of him. On the desk, he saw 2 silvers and 3 noble copper coins.

But without grabbing onto them, Lucas stared at the man who had an eye patch on his left eye. He refused to look away, not even collecting his coins. He spoke with a low and serious voice. “Hey, do you know about the monsters dwelling in that tower?”

There was no response. The man kept looking down at the desk while playing with something Lucas couldn’t see.

“You do, don’t you? Are they human? Or were they human?”

Still no response. There was no sense of motion coming from the man other than the fidgeting of his hand he was staring at.

“Hey! I know you can hear me!” Lucas shouted, feeling ever more frustrated. He attracted the attention of the entire crowd. Men stopped their drinking and looked at him with a fuzzy feeling, as did others around the inn. The chattering vanished and all eyes were on him. Lucas didn’t stop and kept yelling at the composed man.

“This isn’t some game. Are we killing monsters or humans? They cry like us and speak in our language. Tell me, just what are we fighting against?!”

Lucas suddenly felt light taps coming from his shoulder. He peeked over to his side and saw a shorter, bearded man smiling back. His hands were softly tapping on Lucas to grab his attention.

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“Sir, might you quiet down? If something is wrong, I can be all ears for you,” The man said with a friendly tone. He pointed his finger at an empty table with two vacant seats. Lucas looked at him and then at the wooden table and chairs as well as looking at the people staring back. He nodded at him without acknowledging the agitated stares.

“Cool,” The man walked to the spot, expecting Lucas to follow. Ignoring the front desk, he grabbed onto his coins and walked away. Following behind, Lucas sat on the wooden chair opposite where the man was seated. The crowd started talking again, and the awkward atmosphere was once again lively.

Lucas looked at the grown man in front of him. He placed his arms on the table and rested his head on his hand, waiting for the person to talk first.

“What’s the matter, bud?” He asked with a calm smile.

“So why am I talking with you again?” Lucas frowned as he shook his legs.

“You’re like that, huh. Well, sorry for your inconvenience, but talking with that man dealing with your coins will not help much. I believe talking with someone that listens will be of more use.”

“And that’s why I’m here with you? If I’m being a bother, why not just kick me out of the place?”

“Oh, no need for that! Besides…” The man analyzed Lucas’s light-armored presence. With a touch of seriousness mixed with his thrilling excitement, he inched his head forward and placed his arms on the table for support. He sensed something was radiating out of Lucas’s body, a filling of strength that caused his hair to stand straight up. “Your power says a lot about you.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“All I’m saying is that I took a liking to you, and that we should have a little chat. After all, I don’t just go up to a stranger all the time.”

“If you can sense my fire, then you must have a good thermal perception. Who are you?”

“Glad you asked! It’s Roger,” he lowered his head to Lucas. “And yes, I can sense who is strong and who is not based on how much energy one emits in oneself.”

“Why am I talking to you? Get to it.”

“Scary man you are… Well…” Roger leaned in closer to Lucas, placing one of his hands close to his mouth and whispering right to Lucas’s face. “I heard your little rant about the monsters in the Harvesting Tower. I’ll give you information that I believe may prove useful for you later.”

Lucas also leaned closer to Roger in curiosity. “Are you saying…”

“I know your question, whether those monsters we’re killing are really monsters or not.”

Lucas took a moment to process what the man was talking about. But after some time, his eyes widened and he looked at Roger with more intent. “Do you really?”

“Yes, but I’ll tell you what’s the deal if you tell me something first.” Roger pulled away from Lucas and sat back down on his chair.

He felt at ease when following the man’s words. The biggest reason was the way Lucas could sense the amount of strength a person has by just sensing their presence. This was called [Thermal Perception] - many calling it the sixth sense. When it came to Roger, he felt no danger coming from him. Like a man of no experience, he gave off powerlessness. “Alright, then what is it you want to know?” Lucas said with open ears.

“How confident are you in going over to the Dominant League?”

“The city? I’m well concerned about the dangers over there, but it’s better than being in this place.” Does he know I and others are going there? Or maybe it’s just a hypothetical question.

“Are you really certain about that?”

Lucas paused for a moment. “Certain…? Well, yes.”

“Gotcha… Well, that’s enough on my end. Now tell me what you want to know.”

Based on the man's speech, Lucas felt something was off about him. Cutting off the current flow of the conversation, Roger left no explanation and proceeded to move on.

“Um, before that, why were you asking that question?” Lucas said with wonder.

“It’s no big deal - just a man’s curiosity. Anyway, about that thing about the Harvesting Tower. Tell me all about it.”

“Aren’t you supposed to tell me?”

“Oh right! What was it again?” Roger laughed in a joking manner.

“Whether the monsters are actually monsters or not.”

“Right, it was about that. Ahem, have you heard of the story behind a single man going down to level 42?”

“I think everyone who enters this building has heard of it.”

“Haha! You’re right about that! It’s quite baffling to see such a number being tackled by one person. But what if I told you that person could’ve gotten deeper down?”

"Deeper?" Lucas' tone was harsher as he struggled with his response. “That’s not possible. Level 42 monsters are almost twice as strong as those in level 38.”

“It is possible. Let me tell you about something. All of us here revolve around books and storytelling because that’s where we all get our knowledge from. Have you read the book called, ‘Here Comes The Puppet!’?”

Lucas recalled the last time he walked up to the bookshelf his household owned, a large collection of books of many categories. There was a recollection of a book title that matched Roger's description. “No, but I believe I have it.”

“Want me to spoil you?”

“I don’t care.”

“So it’s about a little girl who had many friends and one best friend. And one night, all of the children got captured. The party was stranded in an empty mansion where everything they needed was readily available, yet it was quiet and dark. The little girl and her friends tried to escape but couldn’t.

“A day later, they found a doll that was chasing after them with ghostly eyes. One of their friends fell into its arms and got choked to death. But eventually, the doll deteriorated and died without any sense of pain or emotions. The little girl and her best friend knew that if they got caught by the doll, they would die.

“Every day though, their friends slowly vanished. When one of their friends disappeared, another doll appeared. The little girl and her best friend were all alone until a month later, when her best friend also vanished. The following night, a puppet appeared and was chasing her. But this toy was different. She found it more appealing and tempting as if she had seen it before. However, the little girl kept running away.

“One day, the puppet had enough chasing and made a noose to capture her. When the little girl walked to the kitchen to eat, the puppet snatched her neck from above and killed her.

“The puppet was the only one left alive when all the children died. As the puppet called out to its best friend to play, she didn’t respond. When it knew it had killed her, it began to cry. And that’s practically the end of the story.”

"So what was the point of that?" Lucas asked, dozing off in the middle of the story until the man finished.

“Very dense. I thought it was tragic… Anyway, the book is basically telling us that humans, no matter what they become, if they confront their biggest fears or somewhere close to that, their humanity will be shown.”

“Humanity…? Like what?”

“The biggest are talking and crying. But the stronger their emotions are, the more they talk and exploit human thoughts. Sometimes they repeat what they previously said right before they got turned into monsters or puppets.”

Instantly, Lucas felt lightheaded. A small rush of coldness crawled up his back as he remembered when something close to Roger’s explanation had occurred. Looking away from Roger's eyes, he placed one hand on his mouth and fell silent as he stared at the wooden table.

“Um, you alright, pal?" Roger asked as he hopelessly looked at Lucas whose expressions showed dread and hurt. “... When you were talking to that front desk man, I already knew that you saw something. But I didn’t know you were feeling this jumbly.”

"Tell me..." Lucas tried to speak as clearly as possible. “Why doesn’t anyone else know about this?”

“About human-like emotions? Why would they? We just kill, don’t we? And we kill before the monsters do anything. It’s idiotic if we keep it alive for it to fight back.”

The two fell into silence. They heard dishes rattling from the second floor, people talking and laughing, men taking turns drinking in large quantities, and tables getting slammed by people’s hilarious remarks. As Roger looked at him in idleness, Lucas kept gazing at the table.

“So uh, tell me. How far have you gone down?” Roger asked politely.

“29…” Lucas whispered.

“29. Well, all of this is not for certain, but I’ll tell you this, bud. The lower you go, the more you’ll see these kinds of things.

“I’m sure you know too, but we all have a vessel in our body. It makes us control fire, but it also has a deep connection to our deepest emotions. When we lose hope and have no sense of purpose, the vessel will also have lower activity, causing us to be weaker. Nevertheless, if we are enraged by our desire to survive, or if we have a burning desire to live, our vessels will follow suit and help us achieve our highest potential.

“You said you went down to level 29? I think I remember it being a big area instead of tunnels. But yeah, if you encountered a tree dweller, you’re already facing a level 35 monster. It’s obvious that the lower you go, the stronger they get. That’s because the vessels inside of them deliver fire powers at their highest.

“The reason they can wield fire is because of their vessels, and if their vessels are what we believe they are, then there must be some kind of emotion inside of them that is influencing their tendency to be stronger. Now don’t tell me why it gets stronger the further you go. That is a no-brainer for me.

“While it’s true that many of us try to harm others for our own satisfaction, some of us don’t kill people for no reason. But for monsters, they’re different. They kill with no emotions. They just murder.

“But what if their emotions are so powerful that they are able to cry? What if they were so deeply emotional during their human life, that when they became a monster, their human cries could be heard when they faced death? You’ve seen this, correct? Even if this is all a conspiracy, if we really are killing humans and selling their clothes and teeth for money, then aren’t we monsters in their eyes as well?

“I’m getting a little sidetracked. So coming back to the man who solo ventured to level 42, he faced monsters with extreme levels of power, which sounds obvious. With fire powers that strong, their emotions must also closely resemble that of humans'.

"Are you beginning to understand why the man may have stopped at level 42 now? There is more meaning behind that number than what we think. And as human as that guy is for going down to level 42, he may have also felt the same way as you are feeling right now.”

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