Zach wasn't sure what hit him harder: the numbing, icy cold that slammed into him as he stood on the ledge of the cargo jet's ramp, or the shame and self-resentment deep in his soul that came after he realized he was feeling actual fear at the idea of jumping out of the aircraft. It made no sense, either, because cold aside, it was a beautiful afternoon with a clear sky and just enough sunshine left in the day to really appreciate the sight of it. So why did he feel so apprehensive about jumping?

What the hell is wrong with me?

Zach had jumped from high places before, including once from a helicopter while carrying Kalana. He'd gotten to a point where falling out of the sky wasn't remotely scary to him. And yet, here he was, eight months later, and his legs were shaking for a reason other than the extremely frigid air, which caused his face to ache despite the mask he was wearing that provided him supplemental oxygen.

"Zach, we're over the target," the pilot said into the Comm in his ear. "Why aren't you jumping?"

It was a really good question. Zach swallowed down his fear and said, "I'm going now."

And with that, he checked to ensure his two large, suitcase-sized bags were securely strapped to his body, and then he stepped forward and out of the rear of the cargo jet. Now, he began plummeting down, the wind blasting and surrounding him as he entered into a freefall. Following a brief dropping sensation, his adrenaline began to spike, and he no longer even felt the cold. All he felt was a rush of fear that quickly turned to exhilaration and excitement as he spread his arms wide and descended through the mostly clear sky.

And he liked it.

I was afraid for nothing, he thought with a smile, remembering how much he actually enjoyed the freeing sensation of a freefall. It wasn't like he could actually get hurt. Also, the sense of adventure and mystery was starting to lift his spirits, too. The idea of what dangers could possibly lurk, and the struggle in overcoming them—this was a feeling he'd completely forgotten. It had just been so damn long.

I really am an adventurer, he thought to himself, remembering how he used to revel in this excitement back when he was first starting out. Sure, he might never love it the way Jimmy did, but it was a part of him that not even all this time behind a desk had erased.

"You're perfectly on target," the pilot said. Following these words, a crackling, static-like sound started coming over the line, making him much more difficult to understand. "Zach, there's some…of…interference. I…we're losing…"

And that was the last Zach heard of the pilot as he continued to fall. Below, he could see the surface of the sky island approaching. Zach flipped his body right side up, his flight suit fluttering as he dropped down through a world of blue until he came closer and closer to the island, which he could now see. But he had to raise a hand to filter out the sunlight coming from over the horizon ahead of him.

"Here we go!" he shouted as he plunged the last bit of distance.

A moment before touching down, the cold vanished, and a warmth enveloped him. At first, this confused Zach, but then he recalled that, according to the Explorers Brigade, this island was perpetually surrounded by an invisible "bubble" of sorts that served as a self-contained atmosphere, one that both pressurized the air around the island and also warded off the extreme cold during times when the island floated up to a much higher altitude. This was something that Zach had just enough time to remember as he at last touched down, landing quietly and softly on both feet in a field of green grass near a clear pond.

All at once, the sound of crickets, birds chirping, and running water reached his ears. Life existed in this place: natural life. There were small animals and deer nearby, as well as fish visible in the pond beside him. And all of this struck Zach as odd—the idea that an entire ecosystem resided on the surface of an island in the sky that only came into existence eight months ago. The spawning of mobs and even vegetation was one thing, but real, biological fauna? That was totally unexpected.

Regardless, with his descent having come to an end, it now began sinking in that Zach was really, truly here. Just like that, he had arrived. After putting this off for way too damn long, Zach had finally shown up. He had finally come. Should he have made his way over here a long time ago? Of course. But he was here now, and there was nothing he could do to change the past. All that mattered was what happened next.

"I'm here," he whispered, taking a look around him, but he soon paused, becoming distracted by an annoying crackling in his ear.

"…ch…"

The sound of static had now become too loud and too annoying to ignore, so upon landing, the first thing Zach did was dig the Comm out of his ear and toss it away. Then he unclipped the oxygen tank and slid his arms out of the harness that secured it to his back, removing it completely. Likewise, he undid the straps securing his two large packs to his body, both falling a short distance onto the soft grass. And with that, he had another look around.

"It's bigger than I thought it'd be."

The island was definitely larger than it had appeared from above, but at least it was simple and uncomplicated. From what Zach could see, the island consisted mostly of grassy, dry land with a few small bodies of water here and there, but what really mattered was what Zach spotted towards the middle, where there was a large, ancient, and rust-covered tower that looked nearly fifty stories tall.

I guess that's where I'm heading, he thought as a small breeze tickled the back of his neck. It was significantly warmer here. Not quite to the extent that he'd call it summer-like, but rather something closer to room temperature.

Unwilling to fumble with all the buttons and clips, Zach ripped off his flight suit, shredding it in the process and throwing it away, where it drifted off on another breeze; now, Zach was standing here in his black sport coat and slacks, complete with a tie and boots. The boots were out of place with the rest of his fancy, professional guild attire, but he knew that wearing dress shoes would be a huge liability if he had to fight in them, which he probably would.

Reaching down and grabbing his two packs, he held one in each hand as he began calmly strolling towards the large, mysterious-looking structure in the middle of the sky island. Though it wasn't wrong to characterize it as a "tower," that alone failed to describe the strangeness of it. The top of it was rounded, flat, and made out of glass, and it seemed to have some kind of gigantic antenna jutting from its roof. The roof was also rotating around and around clockwise, and there were domed windows at the very top, through which Zach could just make out what appeared to be a flashing blue light at the highest part of the structure, likely coming from within. Other than that, there were no other windows visible, so Zach assumed his goal was to get to the top.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

But that might be easier said than done.

From what Zach could see, the entire fifty-or-so-story structure was covered from top to bottom in a red, pulsing, and ominous-looking energy that, in Zach's opinion, clearly signaled danger to anyone foolish enough to touch it. There was only one single part of this tower that was not covered in it, and that was the doorless, rectangular opening that led inside.

Probably means I'll get hurt if I try climbing my way up from the outside, he thought. Need to head in on foot.

At the base of the tower were about twenty steps that led up to its entrance, and just before these stairs, there seemed to be some kind of tremendous corpse. As Zach neared, he recognized it as the giant Gate Guardian that Jimmy and the others had defeated almost a year ago. Zach was surprised to see it was still here. Gods, it sure reeked terribly—it was clearly decomposing. As Zach neared, he could see that its left foot was in the last stages of rotting, and its right one had already become skeletal.

"You didn't put up much of a fight back then, did you?" Zach asked the corpse, chuckling. He could still recall how nervous he'd been when Jimmy and the others had fought this thing.

Back then, Zach had been in a jet with Kalana, the two of them on a long-haul flight to the Orcish continent. As a courtesy to Zach, Jimmy had sent him a private stream of the raid, live. Zach recalled hearing once that nobody in all of history had ever managed to actually defeat the Gate Guardian. It had been presented to Zach as some kind of fearsome, ultimate boss, one that had wiped out all the raids that had ever tried to get past it. No one had ever beaten it.

Until Jimmy came along.

Jimmy had realized in mere seconds that there was some kind of "gimmick" or another that had to be performed. Zach couldn't even remember what it was…something about attacking the right body part in the right order? Though Zach's memory of the combat strategy was a bit fuzzy, he nevertheless remembered quite clearly how stunningly fast the adventurers had managed to take the boss down. In fact, in a matter of just fifteen-or-so minutes, Jimmy and the others had not only killed the boss, but they'd also rolled on its loot. Afterwards, they'd swiftly proceeded to enter this very same structure on this very same island.

And that had been the last Zach had ever seen or heard from any of them.

The memory of the adventurers heading inside one by one, as viewed through a grainy feed on his phone, was the last one he had of his friends. Fast-forward to today, and eight months had passed since they'd all vanished inside this tower. It had been eight long, painful months since he'd seen his friends, his cat, or his therapist. What could have even happened to them? Had they wiped on a boss somewhere inside? Were any of them still alive and out there?

Zach felt his chest tightening as he reminded himself that the answer to that question was likely no. But even still, he would not let that deter him from discovering the truth for himself. And so, with a determination he hadn't felt in almost a year, he walked closer and closer to the tower, careful to avoid stepping on the disgusting, reeking remains of the boss that had died here.

I guess it doesn't respawn, he thought. Maybe nothing here does, and I'll have a nice, easy trip up to the top of this tower.

Once he was just at the base of the steps, Zach again placed his two suitcases down. Now, he extended his left hand high above his head, and for the first time in a long while, he retrieved his Sword of Light Amidst Darkness from Bank and Storage, along with the scabbard, which he secured to his back. But he didn't sheathe it just yet.

With the weapon held in both his hands, he adjusted his grip along the base of it, though it felt strange to hold, lacking the familiarity that he'd hoped would still be there. Assuming a defensive stance, Zach gave the sword a few brisk swings at the air in front of him, though he did so uncomfortably, which disturbed him. He tried to remind himself that this was normal and that it would all come back to him. Hopefully, he would quickly be able to handle the weapon just as well as he used to. He'd actually been pretty damn good with a sword—really good, actually.

But it sure has been a while, he thought. I'm so out of practice.

Sheathing the blade, Zach bent forward, once again picked up his two bags, and hurried the rest of the way up the steps, pausing in front of the entrance to this tower. As he did so, a nervous excitement filled his senses. He hadn't the slightest clue what would ultimately await him inside, but he knew that doing this solo was probably the craziest thing he'd ever attempted. Still, he was eager and hopeful even if he was unjustified in feeling so. After all, this might be the only way he could make himself strong again.

Readying himself, he slowly inched his way forward and into the tower. The moment he entered, he was struck by how ancient and strange it felt inside.

What is this place? Is this even a dungeon?

All around him was a sort of faded stone, including on the floor beneath his feet and the walls that ran all the way up to the very top of the structure. It seemed this tower was made up of various "floors" that wrapped around the outer edges of it before continuing upwards. The middle—a central atrium—was open, however, which meant he could see all the way up from the ground level to the rotating glass rooftop, which Zach believed was a glazed oculus.

How do I get up there, though?

Scanning the perimeter of the place, Zach noticed that there were stairs visible on some of the tower's levels, but there were sections that lacked any visible means of climbing, including none anywhere nearby on this level that he could see. It was also creepy and eerily quiet in here, too: all except for one repetitive, endlessly repeating sound.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Zach glanced upwards. About half the distance between where he stood and the highest floor was a very large, bronze, and constantly ticking clock face attached to the wall. And actually, now that he got a better look at the place, Zach realized that all the lighting in here came through the glass oculus that served as its roof; in other words, unlike other dungeons, where there was always either a natural or artificial source of light—except for areas intended to be dark—it seemed this tower would be well lit in the day and completely dark in the night.

"Interesting," he said aloud. "But also, kind of strange."

Entering further into the tower, he could hear the sound of his boots clicking down against the stone each time one of his footsteps happened to come during the intervening moments between tick-tocks from the clock.

Zach, proceeding slowly, searched carefully for any sign of danger, ready to drop his two packs and draw his sword at the first hint of trouble. So far, however, this place seemed mostly empty. There was little here in the way of furniture or décor. It was strange how much "nothing" there was here. The same went for mobs, too—at first.

Up ahead, there was a sort of partition that cut this ground level up into sections. Rather than a door, there were two slab-like pieces of rock that were flat, one that ran from the left side of the room to the middle, and the other that came from the right. But instead of meeting at the center, there was a narrow gap between them: one just large enough for a person to fit through. These two slabs were also a foot or two above the floor, which meant Zach could technically crawl beneath them if he wanted to. For now, he decided to keep on his feet.

"Looks like I have to go this way."

As Zach squeezed beyond the partition separating one half of the central atrium from the other, he came to a sudden halt as he spotted something in front of him: something that was sure to be very, very dangerous.

Oh boy.

Given the fact that the Gate Guardian was still dead eight months later, Zach had begun to believe that nothing in this place likely respawned. Whelp, that sure proved itself to be incorrect. Because, without a shadow of a doubt, that figure standing on the stone floor across from him was none other than an elite mob. And one he had no damn idea if he could actually handle.

Shit!

table class="chapter-table"

tbody

tr

td width="312"

pHP/p

/td

td width="312"

p3,110,000/3,110,000/p

/td

/tr

tr

td width="312"

pName/p

/td

td width="312"

pLegion Portal Guardian**/p

/td

/tr

tr

td width="312"

pLevel/p

/td

td width="312"

p60/p

/td

/tr

/tbody

/table