The Floor of Love

Adonisa was done addressing the climbers who had made it to the first floor, Goddess Venus' Floor of Love. Directing them to the known establishment that was large enough to provide them with a reasonable shelter over their heads at the most affordable prices.

…The Hearts Resort.

"That would be 5 DGs, sir."

[DGs : Divine Gems]

The young, beautiful lady behind the counter called out a price while pointing at the room which Daniel had inquired about as he approached her.

'5 DGs per night? That's a bit much for what is their cheapest room,' the climber pondered. However,  he had no choice but to go ahead and make the payment.

He didn't have a place to stay or rest his head within the Floor of Love and at the moment, the Hearts Resort was his best option. So like many of the other climbers before him, Daniel went ahead to pay for two weeks upfront.

"That would be a total cost of 70 DGs. Please sign here," the receptionist guided him with her finger.

Daniel sighed and with mana concentrated at the tip of his right index finger, he appended his signature and in the next instant, the notification of payment popped up before his eyes.

[-70 DGs. Accommodation acquired in the Hearts Resort]

"Thank you for your patronage, sir," the lady appreciated her customer with a deferent bow. "You will be shown to your room in a moment."

*********

Click–! Click–!

"Thank you," Daniel expressed gratitude to the young man who had escorted him to the third floor where his room was.

The man bowed his head and then turned and left.

Following the insertion of his key card and the punching in of some buttons on the door, it opened up and ushered Daniel into a luxurious room with a large bed and a generally comfy, cosy space.

"Hmm. It actually is better than I expected. I guess it's worth the 5 DGs after all."

The climber made his way straight to the inviting bed at the left side of the room, falling on it and enjoying the warmth of it as he took off the death god's mask, placing it by his side.

They had been given a date for their first floor test and that was in two weeks' time. So, following Adonisa's suggestion, the climbers sought to explore the Floor of Love before that day, just to understand the world of Heaven's Tower and see what it offered.

As Daniel laid on the bed, his hands supporting his head, he thought and critically considered what he would be doing for the next coming days before the test day. So, he made a mental list and the most important activity on that list as one would expect was to train.

He intended to train in order to understand the abilities he had better. He has used the gifts of the Divine Dragon's Legacy a few times but he was in no way a master of them, especially since he had to use them against weak people.

Daniel wanted to know his objective limit with the inherited legacy and until he could, he could not exactly gauge how strong he was.

'My guess is that the others also have unique abilities or inherited something also, just like I did, before they entered the tower,' he thought to himself as the faces of all the climbers who had survived Adonisa's mana wave came flashing through his mind.

Naturally, they also would be thinking in the same line. While Adonisa had used the wave of mana to maintain peace and quiet in the hall, these climbers used it as the first sign to note who was strong and who would be a problem to their ascension of the tower.

…And it was clear after the goddess' representative's technique who was.

Grumble–! Grumble–!

While he was thought in his realm of thoughts and calculations, his stomach grumbling pulled his consciousness back into the room as he raised his head slightly and glanced at the noisemaker, as if wanting to ask his tummy what was up.

He rubbed his belly as the noise continued. "Yeah… if I don't eat now, I might not be alive to figure this out later."

Within the next few minutes, Daniel left the room, making his way to the nearest place he could find some food.

*********

Daniel adjusted his mask as he made his way to what appeared to be a large cafeteria, after being directed by one of the resort's staff, only to meet a crowd already there, seated and eating different delicacies. Everyone seemed to be equally famished like himself.

He looked around for a bit, scouting for a free seat and checking how fast the line moved before deciding to join the one that seemed like the fastest. At first, it seemed like an all-you-can-eat as he saw several climbers placing heaps upon heaps of food on their plates, but as he drew closer, Daniel saw that it was not the case.

'They are giving us a crazy price of 1 DG for each meal?' he wondered, taking the information in with a pinch of salt. 'Either we are being fattened up for slaughter or the goddess of the floor is just that generous.'

"If it isn't the troublemaker," Cody uttered before tossing a portion of the bread in his hand into his mouth and his eyes fixed on Daniel from where he sat.

Ravan, who sat opposite the teenager, turned around to see who he was referring to and on seeing it was just Daniel, his level of interest dropped instantly and he turned back around and yawned before dropping his spoon beside the six plates he had devoured.

"Are you still eating?" he asked Cody, clearly disappointed at his associate's pace with his meal. "You start before me."

Cody pouted and shrugged his shoulders. "Some of us are not savages but well mannered at the table."

Ravan sighed and blew air from his mouth. "Pfft! Indeed."

*********

One after the other, the climbers went through the different varieties of food that were displayed, picking what they wanted and leaving and soon it was almost Daniel's turn.

Grumble–! Grumble–!

So far, about five minutes had passed and the little boy in front of him seemed to be indecisive with what he wanted to get and while others were complaining, Daniel said nothing.

"Excuse me, sir," the boy called the taller man's attention, pulling Daniel's shirt slightly.

Daniel glanced at the boy, wondering what his deal was.

"Can you help me pick?" the boy asked.

Daniel was clearly not in the mood for a random chit-chat and so, he proceeded forward and randomly pointed at different delicacies on instinct. The boy immediately took the food Daniel had chosen with excitement and paid. But before he left, he thanked the man who had helped.

The boy stepped aside for Daniel to serve himself, waiting for him to leave the queue before approaching him.

"Thank you, sir," he said.

Daniel nodded, without saying a word.

"Please what is your name?"

"Thanatos," the climber answered rather curtly.

The boy giggled and bounced his head from side to side. "Thank you once again, Mr Thanatos. My name is Eros…"

*********

Meanwhile, in a certain location on the Floor of Love, Adonisa made her way to make her report to Goddess Venus when she bumped into a teenage boy approaching her from the opposite side of the hallway.

She stopped and curtsied, paying her respect to the boy. "Lord Cupid," she greeted.

"Hello, Adonisa," Cupid greeted, twirling his fine blue hair around his finger as he spoke. "You are going to see mother?"

"Yes, Lord Cupid."

Cupid then sighed and approached the high priestess closely. "Have you seen my brother?" he asked.

Adonisa looked to her left and then to her right as if searching for listening ears before shaking her head in denial. "No, my lord. Not today."

"Thank you, Adonisa."

The young lord walked away, clenching his fist.

"Where did you run off to now, Eros?"