17

Standing in the doorway was a cute and little girl that looked a lot like Ashley. John guessed that she was Ashley's sister, for the resemblance was striking. They had the same facial features, with only minor differences here and there. However, there was something very attractive about her as John watched on. She was definitely prettier than Ashley, and more graceful too. She was also sexually more appealing than Ashley. Something very awkward happened then. John felt very strongly attracted to her. Other than her lovely face, there was a certain elegance in her manner that attracted John. She was just too cute to resist, much more than Ashley had been when John had first seen her.

John was surprised that Ashley hadn't mentioned that she had a little sister as well. John was about to say hello to her when Judie said something shocking before he could speak.

"Kyle, where have you been?" said Judie.

"Kyle?" thought John, "but that is a boy's name!"

"I was looking all over for you before coming in here to check up on John," said Judie, as she pointed at John, "Can't you do anything about those silly girls blocking our door? It's about time something was done to make them go away!"

In his confusion, John forgot to say hello and began to scratch his head. He didn't know if it was appropriate to say that the girl had a boy's name.

"Yes, that will definitely be rude," he thought. But then Ashley said something that confused him even further.

"Hi, Big Brother, I see your fan club is particularly loud today," said Ashley as she looked over at John. She knew the confusion he was experiencing, for a wicked smile crossed her face. John knew how much Ashley enjoyed whenever he was confused.

"Hello, John, it's nice to finally meet you," said Kyle, her or his voice was that of a girl, "I hope you are feeling better now?"

Instead of answering, John continued to scratch his head, not knowing what to say. Ashley laughed very hard, slapping her thigh as she looked at John's confused expression. Walking forward, she stood next to the bed.

"Anything bothering you, John?" she asked, mischief shining in her purple eyes. Meanwhile, Judie went over to talk to Kyle in private; they appeared to be having an argument.

"Yes, why are you calling your sister Kyle? Isn't that a boy's name? Also, why did you call her Big Brother?" he asked, making sure no one else could hear him.

"That's because Kyle is my elder brother, John. He may appear as a girl, but he is actually a boy," said Ashley, giggling. John felt extremely embarrassed, to think that he had been attracted to a boy!

"Really? How did she…I mean how did he get to look like a girl?" asked John. Ashley shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes.

"I really don't know, John. But he has looked that way ever since we entered the Tower. It is kind of like a curse, we have tried various things, but nothing worked. Kyle's girly appearance just won't go away," said Ashley. Judie and Kyle were having an argument near the doorway.

"What are they arguing about?" asked John, making Ashley giggle again.

"Well, you see, part of Kyle's curse is the need for contact with other girls. That is how he gets his energy," said Ashley.

"What do you mean by contact?" asked John.

"You know, silly! Contact like sexual relations with girls," said Ashley, as she broke into laughter. John felt his cheeks getting hot as he looked away. But at the same time, he felt sorry for Kyle, who was suffering such a curse.

"Well, there happens to be a fan club of girls outside our house all the time," Ashley continued.

"Whose fan club?" asked John.

"Kyle's, since he is so cute, and not to mention wealthy, there are a lot of girls that want to be with him. Mom is getting sick of them blocking our main door all day long. They have brought tents with them as well, so they never leave," Ashley told John.

"Alright, enough chit chat," said Judie to Ashley. Apparently, they had stopped arguing. Kyle walked over to shake John's hand, who still found his girly appearance a bit weird.

"John, are you feeling well enough for a tour of the house? I would especially like for you to see our backyard stable," asked Kyle.

"Yes, of course," said John as he took off the bandages on his arm, which was completely healed by now.

"Why don't you join us, Colvo?" John asked the green-masked administrator, who had been brooding all this time.

"As much as I would love to, dear John, I think I better take off," said Colvo.

"Come on, Colvo. At least you can accompany us for the tour," said John, who had started to like Colvo.

"Well…of course, if you insist," said Colvo, appearing to be a little cheerful.

And so, Judie, Kyle, Ashley, Colvo, and John went for a tour of the house. From what John saw, he estimated that the whole place was a wealth-field. Everywhere he looked, there were objects randomly turning into items of gold, diamond, or pearls. Most of the potted plants were made of gold and diamonds, including the leaves! The corridors were filled with vases, sculptures, and various forms of artwork. As they walked along, Ashley started to tease Kyle.

"Hey, Kyle, will your fan club ever leave us alone?"

"Cut it out, Ashley!" said Kyle, a little angrily, "You know I can't tell them to go away because…because of my condition."

Kyle appeared a little ashamed to admit this out loud, while Judie and Colvo were a bit ahead of them, having a conversation.

"You know, John," Ashley whispered in his ear, "Kyle chooses one of the girls outside, from time to time, to get his energy."

"If I don't...don't do that with the girls, I would be falling into hell, Ashley!" exclaimed Kyle.

"Say what you will, I think it is a very immoral thing to do, having physical relations with different girls from time to time," said Ashley.

"There is nothing immoral about it, Ashley! Those girls are delighted with it because it is what they want. Besides, I always compensate them well afterward," said Kyle in his defense. Ashley and Kyle continued having their argument, John went ahead to join Colvo and Judie. He told her that he needed to use the bathroom.

"Oh, are you feeling unwell? Would you like to go back to bed, John?" she asked in concern.

"No, no, I feel fine! Just need to use the restroom to freshen up, that's all," said John.

Once they were in the next corridor, Judie pointed in the direction of the bathroom. John excused himself and went off to get refreshed. But before he could do anything, he found that there were no toilet papers inside. He immediately came out to ask for toilet papers.

"Oh, sorry, dear. But we can't use toilet paper in this house. You see, they keep turning into cash bills," said Judie.

"Okay," said John, not knowing what else to say.

And so they continued touring the house. In every room, the wealth field's effects could be seen as magazine covers, cushions, and other things transformed into gold. There were silk curtains through which sunlight came into the rooms, each dominated by a king-sized bed. The furniture was made of highly polished oak, with ornate fireplaces. The carpets looked quite expensive, from what John knew. Every inch of the rooms spoke of luxury and great wealth. Then, in one of the rooms, something strange happened. A girl climbed into the room through a window and screamed as she saw Kyle.

"Please, take me!" she said, before running forward and raining kisses on Kyle's face. John was surprised to witness this scene, but he also noticed that Kyle looked slightly energized right before his eyes.

"That is enough!" screamed Judie as she stepped forward and pulled the girl away from Kyle. Dragging her by the hair, she literally threw the girl out of the window and then locked it. Seconds later, the girl was on her feet, pressing her face against the glass. All of them quickly moved out of the room.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Kyle!" screamed Judie, "Don't ever switch off the invisible wall around the house!"

Kyle remained quiet. John guessed that he felt embarrassed.

"Well, that is enough of the rooms for now!" said Judie, as she angrily walked forward. Behind her, Ashley was having a hard time containing her laughter. John was not surprised, considering how cruel and mischievous she could be at times.

For their next stop, they went into the enormous dining hall. The ceiling rose high above them, with a chandelier decorating it. There was yet another surprise waiting inside for John. On the table, there was no sign of any cutlery.

"Ummm…Ashley, where do you keep your utensils and cutlery?" asked John, out of curiosity.

"Oh, no, we don't have any silverware because they keep turning into spoons. We just eat with our hands," said Ashley.

"Okay," said John, once again scratching his head, thinking how weird the house was. He felt thirsty as he saw a sink and tap in the dining hall. He went over and drank some water. It was quite normal at first, but then a strange taste in his mouth made him stop.

"Oh, I should have mentioned. The water usually turns into Coca Cola or Champagne," said Ashley, "Often happens to me when I am in the shower. One minute I am bathing in water, the other I have Cola raining over me."

Colvo laughed as he saw the look on John's face.

"Don't worry, John. You will soon learn that there are stranger things in the Tower of Mastery than water and silverware transformation," said Colvo.

"Yeah, like what?" he asked with curiosity as they exited the dining hall.

"Well, you do know about the elemental phenomenon, don't you?" asked Colvo.

"I am sorry, the elemental phenomenon?" inquired John.

"I should have known. Dear John, there are often random occurrences of an elemental phenomenon in certain places of the Tower. These are basic things like fire, water, electrical, time, etc. So, if you ever come across an elemental fire field," continued Colvo, "then that place's temperature would rise, and the landscape would transform to that of a desert."

"Fascinating," said John, amazed to hear what Colvo was telling him.

John was very excited as he thought about such elemental fields. He wondered if he had already come across such an Elemental phenomenon.

"It is fascinating indeed! As a matter of fact, you are standing in an elemental field right now!" exclaimed Colvo.

"We are? How?" asked John.

"You see, this house is a wealth field, as a result of which things randomly keep transforming into items of wealth," explained Colvo, confirming John's initial guess.

"As a matter of fact," continued Colvo, "The Paradis Public Park was also an elemental field. When you were inside, what did you feel?"

"I felt happy and cheerful!" said John, remembering the wonderful feeling of being in the park.

"Yes, so you see, that place was a Holy Energy field, which is yet another example of an elemental phenomenon," said Colvo.

As they were talking about this, a memory popped into John's head. It was a very dim memory because it had happened right after the black dog episode. John remembered seeing pink clouds drifting in the tent area before going to sleep in the tent. The entire place was like a setting of a dream. The next day, everything had gone back to normal. He wondered if this, too, was another elemental phenomenon. So, John told Colvo everything about that experience and asked him if he had been in another elementary field. But Colvo was quiet for a moment.

"I am sorry to say, John. But I have never heard of this. I don't know; it may have been a kind of elemental field that I am not aware of. You know, whenever you get your hands on some points, be sure to do a couple of things. For example, check out your abilities at the insight pillars. It will cost you some points, but you will gain some valuable information about yourself. Another worthwhile spending is on Gacha games. There are various abilities you can get as well as permanent entry permits into other zones."

"How does that work, Colvo?" asked John in curiosity. As they were having this conversation, Ashley moved forward to join them.

"Well, you get these entry permit missions assigned to you by drawing for Gacha games. Entry permits are rewards you get by successfully completing those missions," said Colvo.

"What do you have to do in these missions?" asked John.

"It depends and varies, dear John. Sometimes you need to run around an entire zone or maybe complete a certain number of normal missions," Colvo went on.

"You know," said Ashley, making John and Colvo turn their heads, "I am pretty damn good at arcade games!"

"Indeed, young lady?" asked Colvo, politely. John wondered why she was mentioning this.

'Yes! I never really liked arcade games that much, but once I played this game called "Dance Dance Revolution" as part of a permit mission. You know what, I beat the highest arcade score at the time! My score is still the highest, then I did the same for four other games and got addicted," she said, laughing, "those games were part of my entry permit missions. So, I was awarded with the permits!"

"But now, I spend all my time at the arcade, even without any mission," she concluded.

By this time, they were close to the house's backside since John could see an open area through a door. The restless noises of horses reached John's ears.

"What is that?" he asked.

"It's just the horses; they have been quite restless lately," said Kyle.

"Well, dear John, I think it is about time that I leave. Some business needs to be tended. It was a pleasure to have met you, and once again, thank you for all you did back in the park; I hope to meet you sometime soon," said Colvo.

"Ladies, my deepest gratitude for your hospitality," he said, bowing his mask at Judie and Ashley.

"It was a pleasure to have you over, Colvo. Please, let us see you out," said Judie.

"Kyle, you can show John around the stable while Ashley and I accompany Colvo. Better you stay away, don't want those girls crushing you!"

And so, Colvo, Ashley, and Judie went off, leaving John and Kyle alone in the house's backyard.