***

The Next Day.

Mavelard City.

Through a party message, Leon told Ethan to meet him outside the city's north gate. There, Leon explained that a teleportation crystal was usually used to travel to the Tower area.

That made Ethan leave his inn room with all the gear he had prepared. He didn't carry his swords in hand, since holding either Bloodblade Ashura or Tempest Reaver would automatically activate Ashura Mode or Tempest Mode.

Along the way, Ethan noticed that fewer players in the city were giving him hostile looks. Only a few still did.

It seemed most no longer cared about him. As long as Ethan didn't cause trouble, they wouldn't mind his presence. Still, they didn't forgive his past crimes either.

From a distance, he saw the northern gate of the city, busy with trade and people coming and going.

Right as Ethan left Mavelard, he summoned his black mask and put it on. It made his face completely unrecognizable.

It was a precautionary step to keep anyone—especially LionArk's enemies—from recognizing him.

Someone might know who he was and leak that information to their guild master, which could spark a major conflict. The best option was to hide his true identity.

When Ethan stepped out through the north gate, he saw Leon waiting with Jill—not Ashley.

They were both waiting for him to arrive. Ethan looked surprised; he had clearly told Jill not to come this time. Her presence near the teleportation crystal confused him.

"Jill? What are you doing here?" Ethan asked.

"It's the guild master's duty to send off a raid party. But to keep her image good among other players, she sent me instead," Jill replied.

"And what did Ashley say about my request to you?" Ethan asked again.

"She didn't mind. She said I could take one last skill as a support spell. I'll choose something that fits that role," Jill explained.

Leon overheard their conversation and grew curious. Ethan smiled faintly and gave Leon a light pat on the shoulder.

"You'll find out later."

Once everything was ready, Ethan and Leon said their goodbyes to Jill. She smiled, waving her hand and telling them to be careful.

"Take care of yourself, Leon. You'd better come back just like you promised if you want me to keep my promise," Jill said.

Leon smiled with his cheeks turning red—clearly, something had happened between them that Ethan didn't know about.

"What promise?" Ethan asked.

Leon turned around, chuckled, and patted Ethan's shoulder lightly.

"You'll find out later."

Damn it. He's teasing me.

Both of them stepped into the teleportation crystal and left Mavelard City. Jill smiled softly, exhaling a quiet sigh as if to pray for their safety.

Their journey began from the first floor of the Tower, where the monsters were relatively easy to handle for players of their level.

But every floor of the Tower had its own difficulties—traps, monsters, monster villages, and more. Ethan and Leon had to stay alert at all times.

After seeing them off, Jill walked back into the city to report everything to Ashley.

Somewhere else, Ashley stood on the balcony of her room, turning her head to the right as she gazed at the city's north gate with a faint, wistful look.

Be careful, Ethan.

When they arrived in the Tower region, Ethan and Leon stepped away from the teleportation crystal.

They stood atop a red earth cliff, dry and barren. They weren't the only ones there; many other players had arrived for the same reason—to conquer the Tower floors.

One thing that made the Raid Tower different from other events was the player profile feature.

That's right—their levels were hidden on purpose. The system only showed their username and class.

For many players, that change had a big psychological impact.

They became more cautious, afraid to attack someone who might have a much higher level. The feature reduced unnecessary or intentional killings.

Ethan observed the players who had arrived at the same time. They all wore matching uniforms, though it wasn't clear what guild they belonged to.

"Looks like we should follow them over there," Leon said, pointing ahead.

He was pointing at a wide stone bridge that connected the red earth cliff to a massive building before them, with a fifteen-meter-tall gate made of solid stone, left open.

They crossed the bridge heading toward what lay beyond the giant gate. Ethan and Leon followed the group, with Ethan still wearing his black mask.

"How does it feel, exploring the Tower again?" Leon asked.

"I don't know. Before, I did raids using a console or PC. But now… I'm doing it for real."

"There's some thrill to it… but also danger."

Leon swallowed hard. He knew Ethan as the Guild Master of LionArk, the one who had once led the guild to its peak.

When it came to knowledge and experience about the game, there was no reason to doubt him.

What scared Leon, though, was hearing Ethan sound uncertain. Still, he convinced himself that they'd both be fine.

Once they passed through the stone gate, Ethan stopped and froze. What he saw was completely different from two years ago.

Major Update. They changed everything.

His eyes widened, his throat swallowed repeatedly, his mouth hung open, speechless.

What lay before him was a vast forest filled with dead, leafless trees.

Black soil stretched under a grayish-red sky—a chilling sight. The air, the atmosphere, the scenery, even the ecosystem—all of it felt real to Ethan.

From what he remembered two years ago, the Raid Tower had been designed like a dungeon with stone walls—no trees, no sunlight.

Players had to search for the floor boss by exploring the maze-like area. But this time, everything was clearly different.

"What's wrong?" Leon asked, confused.

"Is all this… real?" Ethan muttered.

"Ashley told me the Tower's concept changed. The Major Update happened a month before Tower of Ascension VR Full-Drive was released," Leon explained, recalling what Ashley had told him.

Many players weren't familiar with this new concept, which made mapping far more difficult and time-consuming—not to mention the countless monsters.

The difficulty had increased, and so had the danger. Ethan realized it just by seeing the Tower's new design.

"Ashley also said we have to cooperate with other teams to do mapping, especially to find the floor boss's castle," Leon added.

Forget the floor boss—at this rate, I'm not even sure we can find a single tower artifact with this kind of layout.

There must be something similar to the old system.

Come on, Ethan, think. What's the trick? What's the secret? Where is it?

Just as Ethan was lost in thought, trying to come up with a strategy, he and Leon were startled by someone calling out to them.

They turned around to see a woman in a yellow-and-white uniform approaching. What surprised them more were her first words.

"You two must be from LionArk, right?" she asked, guessing.

How did she know? Does the LionArk uniform look that obvious?

"Yes," Leon answered without hesitation.

Ethan's eyes widened again. He sighed and shook his head—Leon had just given away their identity too easily.

"That's great. Please, let us team up with you. I'm begging you," the woman said.

She wasn't alone. Four other party members stood behind her. Leon turned to Ethan, waiting for his decision.

I need more information about this new Raid Tower system. It's better to work with them for now.

Even if they betray us, I can kill them easily.

Ethan smiled, stepped forward, and extended his hand toward the female mage. "Sure."

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