The Craftsman and The Girl

The emergence of Lovikalen's Tower of Babel ten years ago devastated the city's infrastructure.

Entire buildings toppled when that thing started rising from the ground, and the shifting earth caused the buildings to act like a tsunami on other nearby structures.

Dozens of people died that day as a result.

Ten years after that fateful day, there were no buildings within a 500-meter radius of Lovikalen's Tower of Babel.

It was impossible to tell if the Tower would one day grow taller or sink back into the ground, so not building anything around it became a precaution against another major disaster.

Instead of residential buildings as before, there were now only merchants in wooden stalls advertising their wares to anyone who passed by.

"Come closer, come closer and try the best squid skewers in the entire Southeast!"

"Need new clothes, Climbers?! How about some light armor?! I, the craftsman Zoka, can help you with that!"

"First floor maps! Anyone want first floor maps?"

Obviously, the biggest audience for these merchants were the Climbers themselves—those who dared to attempt to climb the Tower of Babel. Unsurprisingly, Climbers were also in the majority in this area.

How did I know that? Well, I wasn't the only one who thought that comfortable clothing was worth much more than elegance and beauty inside the Tower of Babel.

Throughout Lovikalen, people dressed in clothes that were normal for the time, but most Climbers wore clothes that resembled those of beggars if they were on the city's main avenues.

Baggy pants, dirty boots, leather gloves, and flowing cloaks faded with time.

The climate inside the Tower of Babel varied from one region to another, even on the same floor, so everyone had to be prepared for anything from the extreme cold of a mountain range to the heat of a desert.

However, Climbers were almost never mistaken for beggars because, unlike beggars, Climbers carried weapons. And these were not modern weapons such as pistols or rifles, but swords, daggers, bows, and other weapons used for cutting and tearing.

For some mysterious reason, almost no mechanism, no matter how simple, worked inside the Tower of Babel. Gears mysteriously jammed, electricity did not work as it should, and gunpowder could ignite unpredictably.

Basically, firearms such as muskets were not reliable enough to be carried unless they were enchanted by a very skilled craftsman.

Most people couldn't afford to pay craftsmen, so they resorted to using common bladed weapons that would never fail them in life-or-death situations.

As I crossed the square filled with merchants, I decided to check the price of a sword at a random stall.

"I used my Skeleton Soldier's weapon inside the Lovikalen Library, but I can't always rely on that," I thought.

But when I laid eyes on the price tag of a simple sword, my eyes widened in surprise.

That steel sword, which didn't even look new, was priced at a whopping 7 silver coins!

That amount was the same as my father earned in a month working at the port and coming home after dinner every day.

"Have prices always been this high? I guess I got a little spoiled because Hunter Ruse always bought weapons with dozens of gold coins..."

Even so, I couldn't enter the Tower of Babel without a weapon.

The craftsman at the stall I was looking at soon noticed me, smiled broadly, and opened his arms as he greeted me happily.

"Hello, dear customer! I see I've caught your attention... May I show you some of my work?"

I raised my head and looked at him. The craftsman in question was a man with a large beard and an even larger belly, with soot from the early morning's forging still clinging to his sweaty skin.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have much money," I replied, turning to head toward the entrance line of the tower.

"Wait, wait!" exclaimed the craftsman. "I also have inexpensive items that aren't here on display. I just need to know your budget."

I turned back to the craftsman's stall and put my hand into my side pocket to pull out a silver coin.

As the faint sunlight made the dirty silver metal of the coin glisten, a slightly bitter smile spread across the old craftsman's face. A silver coin was as little as I had imagined.

"Well, I'll be going then..."

"Wait, wait! I think I can help you with that anyway!"

I was a little surprised. Artisans were known in The Journey to the Beyond for being proud and for overvaluing their own creations, so it was unusual for one to agree to sell something for a mere silver coin.

"I have a box downstairs with my worst creations that can still be used. I believe there is something in there that can help you."

At that moment, I almost smiled. In several novels, it was in boxes and barrels of discarded weapons that the protagonists found truly legendary weapons. Could it finally be my time?!

And I couldn't have been more wrong... When the craftsman placed the heavy box on the counter, there were maces, clubs, arrows, and daggers, but no legendary sword that was just a little dirty. It was clear that something as powerful as a weapon would not escape the eyes of a craftsman and present itself to me so easily. That would be ridiculous.

I ended up buying a dagger with a slightly serrated blade, and since it looked quite old, I even managed to haggle for a small sheath to go with it.

The sheath was simple, just enough to attach to the belt loop of my pants.

I took a deep breath and continued on my way, shoulders slumped from being broke.

"Being low level and broke is much harder than I imagined it would be."

With no reason to wander around the market any longer, I headed straight for the entrance line to the Tower of Babel.

As I approached, I noticed how huge the Tower's door was. It was easily over fifteen meters high and wide enough for three electric trams to pass side by side.

"Phew! It's even bigger than I thought!" I said, still admiring the door while standing in a long line — the entrance was obviously controlled by a platoon of police officers.

"Isn't it?" I suddenly heard a voice behind me.

When I looked back, I saw a girl with long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a small green bow tied in her hair. Her smile was wide, and her eyes sparkled as she looked at the door. She appeared to be young, probably around my age or even the same age as me, and she wore a light green dress decorated with belts and blue crystals.

Her eyes dropped until they met mine, and she finally realized that we were complete strangers.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I spoke to you without introducing myself!" She put her hands together as if to pray and bowed her head in apology. "By the way, my name is Rosella Tynes," she said, smiling awkwardly as she scratched the side of her cheek.

"Tynes? Isn't that...?" I said, but suddenly felt Rosella's index finger pressing against my lips.

"Shhhh!"

Now, I had no doubts. Rosella Tynes was one of the main characters in Journey to the Beyond.

She was the female character with the greatest strength evolution curve in the entire work, going from a young, innocent girl who joined the Hunter Ruse Guild to one of the greatest archers in the story, capable of hitting an arrow over a kilometer away.

But the most entertaining fact about Rosella wasn't even that—she was the heir to a personal care and beauty empire called Beutynes, founded by the noble Tynes family of the Kingdom of Felsaria.

In other words, she was filthy rich and had a famous last name.

"Promise you won't tell anyone my name," she whispered.

"But you were the one who said your name out loud first," I replied, speaking normally but with my lips only slightly parted because of her finger.

The blush on her cheeks intensified. "It's d-different. I said it by accident!"

What she had in wealth and beauty, she also had in absentmindedness and innocence.

I raised both hands. "It's okay. I promise I won't tell."

She frowned and narrowed her eyes, locking them onto mine. As soon as she saw my sincerity, we both took a deep breath — each relieved for different reasons.

"Now, if you'll excuse me..." I looked ahead.

At that moment, the double doors of the Tower of Babel began to open. A deep dragging sound echoed, and the wind immediately became denser for some reason.

I leaned slightly to the side to get a direct view of the entrance. Behind the doors was a long corridor, and at its end shone an extremely bright, blinding light that prevented anyone outside from seeing beyond.

A group of about twenty Climbers passed through the doors and began walking down the corridor before the doors closed again.

I took the opportunity to count how many people were still ahead of me in line. About fifteen, which meant I might be in the next group.

When it was finally my turn, a police officer in a dark blue dress uniform identical to Mr. Donovan's asked,

"Climber's insignia, please." He held out his right hand, palm up.

I reached inside my shirt and took out a metal item the size of a cookie. It was shaped like a classic shield. On the front, a miniature tower was engraved; on the back were my name and rank.

"Brandon S. Oneal. Rank D... Are you a rookie, kid?" asked the cop. He had a thick mustache but still looked young, around twenty-five.

"Yes, sir. By the way, is Mr. Hawklight around? The letter said to look for him — I'm supposed to be on an initiation team."

The cop started stroking his mustache. "Mr. Hawlight? Hmm..."

Suddenly, a younger officer stepped forward from behind and whispered something into his ear.

"Oh, right. I remember hearing something about that earlier." He continued stroking his mustache. "Mr. Hawlight — and no one else from Team B — has arrived yet, far as I can tell. But you can wait over there for the others," said the officer, handing back my badge.

"Okay, thank you."

I did exactly as the officer said, waiting in a corner away from the line but still near the tower doors. I crossed my arms and closed my eyes, which made me unconsciously start paying attention to Rosella Tynes's conversation with the police officer.

"Are you Rosella Tynes?!" the police officer exclaimed, which made Rosella feel a little desperate and embarrassed because everyone behind him started whispering about her.

"I knew I recognized you from somewhere! You're on all the posters in women's stores from South to Southeast Durtch! Are you on Mr. Hawklight's team?! I sincerely apologize, but he hasn't arrived yet. Please wait a moment, and he'll be here soon," said the policeman, placing one hand on his chest and bowing.

For some reason, I felt a bit angry seeing the policeman treat her with such admiration. He treated me so normally that it felt strange to see someone right after me being treated so well. But that was the harsh reality of not having a noble family name.

Before I knew it, Rosella Tynes was standing next to me, waiting for the same instructor.

We were on the same team... and to me, that wasn't as good as it might seem.

Being around important people like Rosella meant trouble — lots of trouble.

After a few minutes of waiting, other members of our team arrived.

Among them was a boy a year older than me and Rosella, named Kyle Barlow. He was shorter than me and didn't look physically strong, but he carried a beautiful staff with a large purple crystal at its tip. That meant he was not only a wizard but also well off.

Besides Kyle, there was a blond boy who didn't introduce himself and a hooded woman who followed him like a shadow.

Minutes later, Mr. Hawklight himself finally appeared — and to my surprise, he was the exact same man who had been standing next to me on the cable car. Of course, he was now wearing much looser clothes than the tight outfit he had worn earlier, the one that had held his pocket watch.