Chapter 60

Jae eyed him for several seconds, as if weighing his choices. Finally, he shook his head.

"No, because I know you're even more stubborn than I am." He offered a smile. "I know that you don't see eye to eye on what we should be doing to keep the players safe, but I'm sure that after you've gone to a few meetings, you'll see things the way I do a little better."

Toyo thought it over. "Alright, I'll go to a meeting one of these days, but only if you promise not to train in the Labyrinth."

Jae opened his mouth in protest, but quickly closed it. He pointed at Toyo suspiciously.

"Come to the meeting tomorrow, and I'll accept your terms."

"Fine."

"Fine."

The two shook hands. Satisfied, Jae set off down the path again, quickly picking up the pace as he called out over his shoulder. "Come on, we need to get back inside Urbus. I don't want to have to use my teleport crystal to get to the meeting."

Breaking into a jog, they naturally stayed in step as they ran. They hadn't been exploring very far into the fields beyond the city that morning, so it wasn't long before they found themselves quickly approaching the gates again. Toyo had known the area would be the first place weaker players would set out once they teleported to Floor Two, so he had convinced Jae to stay in that vicinity with him. Now more than ever, the other players would be overly confident. Hearing glorious tales of the Assault Team's success against Floor One, they would be inspired to take on new enemies and challenges, beyond what they could handle. Toyo was determined to maintain his patrols around this region, to save as many lives as he could.

Striding into the gates, Toyo and Jae were both surprised at the surge of people now within the city. It seemed as though all of Floor One had emptied and moved to Urbus.

The place itself was nice, though not nearly as rich looking as the Town of Beginnings. Stout buildings, mostly made of stone, sprawled across the settlement. Houses, shops, banks, smithies, restaurants, all were shaped similarly and around the same height, making most of the place look rather unspectacular. The cobblestone streets were fewer in number than those back in the Town of Beginnings, but significantly wider, allowing for far more people to travel to and fro without causing traffic.

Reaching the courtyard in the center of the city, Jae was about to step over to the Portal when Toyo grabbed his sleeve.

"Dude, I have to go." Jae said, swatting Toyo's hand away.

"Naomi will be here any second now," Toyo replied. "At least say hi to her before you go."

Jae looked ready to say something, but as per usual he instead held his tongue. It annoyed Toyo how often his brother decided to keep quiet about things that were on his mind. More than that, it bewildered him. Toyo himself couldn't imagine retaining his thoughts or feelings, nor did he want to. Being brutally honest and always saying what was on his mind often got him into trouble, it was true. But it was definitely preferable to constantly withholding his feelings while others trampled on him, as seemed to be the case with Jae.

Crossing his arms, Jae had no difficulty expressing his impatience at that moment. But he didn't have to wait long.

Letting out a low humming sound, the Portal seemed to sparkle as Naomi suddenly appeared within it.

She was wearing a new light brown leather chestplate, together with some blue leggings that had no problems accentuating her feminine form. Her shield, a small metal buckler that Toyo had seen during the battle against the plant creatures, was now slung across her back. Toyo found himself nodding in appreciation at the intimidating look it gave her. At her hip she bore her stout and super rare hand axe, a faint golden glow emanating from the steel. All in all, Toyo quite liked what he saw.

Looking around, Naomi quickly caught sight of them and began walking over, her wavy brown hair flowing out behind her as a breeze picked up. Toyo waved at her.

"What's up badass hot girl? I mean Naomi."

Jae glared at him before waving at her in turn.

Not seeming to notice either of their greetings, Naomi marched purposefully forward, quickly closing the distance between herself and Toyo. Sighing as he saw the steely resolve on her, Toyo braced himself as he grinned mischievously.

"Looks like I'm in trouble."

Raising her hand, Naomi punched him in the gut. Hard.

Though every town was a safe zone and therefore no damage could be dealt there, the pain from the blows remained.

*****

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