1st Floor
Chris was currently experiencing the worst and at the same time strangest day of his life.
It all started with the voice telling everyone that the Earth was going to die in a day and that everyone should seek refuge in the Tower. Then there was the novel-like screen that nobody else could see but the person himself, counting down the remaining seconds of our planet.
If suddenly losing your homeworld wasn't bad enough, there was also that psycho who tried to kill him. At first, Chris thought he was just a weirdo when he wanted to shake hands out of nowhere and wanted his full name, but then that crazy dude just pulled out a knife and stabbed him.
He barely managed to dodge a stab to the heart but the pain in his chest made him fall to the ground. In a desperate attempt to escape that maniac, he accepted the screen's invitation.
The next thing he knew was that he was floating somewhere near Earth, right on time for its end. From one moment to another, all colors suddenly lost their shine and the Earth turned into a depressing ball of grey and brown.
He could see the volcanos erupt and the ground split open. Then his home planet exploded in an explosion of energy, right in front of his eyes. It instantly vaporized the moon but before the wave of energy could reach him, it suddenly stopped and turned back like someone reversed time.
Only this time the massive energy didn't stop when it reached the size of Earth but kept on shrinking until it just disappeared.
Chris didn't know how long he blankly stared at the empty stop in space but when he returned to his senses, he was standing in the most beautiful grass field he had ever seen. If only there wasn't that annoying blue screen in his face, blocking the view.
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[You have entered the Tower for the first time]
[All injuries, diseases, and disabilities have been healed]
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Now that he saw it, he didn't feel any pain or blood running down his body. He did a quick check-up to see if he wasn't dreaming or missing any limbs, only to find himself awake and in perfect health, maybe even the best he had ever been. Seeing nothing wrong, Chris focused back on the other notifications on the screen.
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[Earth used its last bits of remaining power to awaken your Talent]
[Your fate and identity have been stolen, you are now Fateless and Nameless]
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What did that mean? He had a feeling that it had something to do with the madman from earlier. Somehow he was feeling an emptiness inside that was never there before, like a void in the soul, desperate to be filled with anything.
"But Earth, huh? I guess even in its final moments it blesses us, even after all we have done to it." the nameless young man said with sadness.
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[Since the awakening of your fated Talent failed, you will awaken your inner Talent]
[Awakening true self]
[You awakened the ???-rank Talent, Sage]
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"I don't get this fated and inner talent stuff but my talent sounds powerful. I might be imagining stuff but I feel smarter, if that makes any sense." he thought.
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[You are Nameless, please give yourself a name]
[You have entered the First Floor- Tutorial]
[Please complete the quest to climb to the next floor]
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"Ok, so it's like a game, got it. In that case, status." He analyzed the situation in his mind and as he expected, a familiar system-like hologram appeared in his field of vision.
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[Name: N/A]
[Talent: Sage (???-rank)]
[Race: Human]
[Class: none]
[Floor: 1]
[Health: 100%]
[Mana: 100]
[Strength: 2]
[Endurance: 2]
[Agility: 2]
[Mind: 5]
[Skills: none]
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"A good design but I still have questions. Let's start from the top." he said to the blue hologram.
"I should thank Jim, or is it Chris now? I never really empathized with my name, he can have it. Now what should my new name be?" He thought.
It took him almost half an hour to decide, after all, this was not a small choice.
"I decided. From now on my name shall be Orthis!" He liked the name, it sounded powerful, confident, and on top of all that, it wasn't cliché or eldritch.
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[Are you sure you want to set your True False name to Orthis? Think carefully, this choice is permanent]
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"True False name? That makes even less sense than anything you said before." He complained.
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[Your True name is forever gone. The name Orthis will take its place but it will always be a false name]
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"That makes kind of sense. Imagine being named Tim but everyone calls you Joe, if you somehow lose the name Tim, you will just be Joe, even if it's not your real name. It's a Ship of Theseus type of situation." he pondered.
"All right, do it!"
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[Name successfully changed to Orthis]
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"Guess this is my name from now on. Let's continue. Show me the rest." Orthis said.
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[Talent: Sage]
[Rank: ???]
[Description: A rare case of a personally awakened Talent, bringing out and enhancing the user's true self. An inner Talent doesn't have a rank and its power and growth are solely based on the user.
You are a seeker of knowledge and value wisdom, you are well aware of how powerful knowledge could be in the right hands.]
[Talent ability: Insight]
[Description: You are far more perceptive than others. Based on your strength and knowledge, there is a chance you can interact with pure knowledge to learn hidden things.]
[Talent ability: Sage's Mind]
[Description: You have the mind of a scholar. Your mind works exceptionally fast and has an astounding memory. You are also very resistant to foreign mind interference. (This ability can grow)]
[More Talent abilities can be unlocked as you grow more in tune with your Talent]
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"I think I understand, this talent indeed suits me perfectly. I have always been a bookworm and I did have an excellent memory. My thirst for knowledge wasn't just scientific, I never shied away from fantasy or romance books just because they were not realistic or girly, I would even say I enjoy them more than some biographies." He recalled.
"I guess the bringing out my inner self part is responsible for my increased memory, intellect, and Mind stat."
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[Race: Human]
[Description: A very weak and unintelligent race compared to the universal average. They have strong self-destructive tendencies and little to no room for growth. They tend to think of themselves as superior and shun and fear anyone who is even a little bit different.]
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"A bit offensive but nothing I can refute. From the wording, I can assume there will be other races in the tower. I can already feel a future headache incoming." Orthis groaned in annoyance.
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[Class: none]
[Description: You don't have a class. A class determines your future path and guides you on it. Classes will be available on higher floors.]
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"So, I need to keep climbing, got it. This is getting more and more like a game."
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[Floor: 1]
[Description: The highest floor you have been to is 1, also known as the Tutorial. On this floor you can't die.]
[Health: A combination of various factors like stats, skills, and race. You die when the bar reaches 0%]
[Mana: The most common form of energy used in the Tower, mainly used for magic. Mind x 20 (due to talent bonus, otherwise 10)]
[Strength: Increases pure power, also gives a minor increase in speed and durability. Average stat for a human: 2]
[Endurance: A combination of stamina, durability, regeneration, lifespan, and resistance against poison and similar things. Some of the before mentioned are heavily influenced by race and individual. Average stat for a human: 2]
[Agility: Increases dexterity, senses, balance, and speed. Gives a minor increase in thinking speed and body control. Average stat for a human: 2]
[Mind: Increases thinking speed, memory, and Mana. Gives a slight increase in Soul strength. Average stat for a human: 2]
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"Pretty obvious, I didn't think I needed an explanation for these but better safe than sorry. I won't even bother looking at my skill description as I don't even have a single one." He thought.
"Just show me the Quest."
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[Quest: Tutorial]
[Description: The first floor is designed to teach anyone the basics of surviving in the Tower.]
[Goal: kill (0/10) wild chicken, kill (0/1) mutated chicken, read (0/5) books, brew (0/5) potions, make (0/5) items of any kind and quality, and hit a training dummy (0/100) times with a weapon of your choice]
[Reward: Race advancement to Tower Human]
[Insight]
[Hidden Quest: kill (0/1000) wild chicken, kill (0/50) mutated chicken, read (0/100) books, brew (0/ 20) good quality potions, make (0/20) good quality items of any kind, destroy (0/1) training dummy with a weapon of your choice]
[Reward: A basic weapon, Tutorial potion, 10 silver]
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"First Quest and my talent is already proving itself useful. The requirements for the Hidden Quest seem a bit too high but considering that that is all training before it starts for real, it's best if I use it, especially if I can't die here."
The rewards weren't even that good, though it didn't escape him that only the hidden quest offered money and that by fantasy standards silver coins weren't the worst currency. There was even the possibility that the Tutorial potion had some amazing effect but that was a large gamble.
"The Hidden Quest doesn't even look that hard, it's just the 1000 chickens that will take a while to kill. Let's start with reading one hundred books, followed by making potions and items. If I want to kill the chickens as fast as possible, I need good equipment." Orthis made up his mind and walked to the nearby building that had the word LIBRARY written over its door,
The Library had books about almost anything as long as it was considered basic. From knowledge about the Tower, monsters, crafting, herbs, and brewing to survival, farming, cooking, painting, and many more. Orthis truly enjoyed reading all these books, with his newfound mind he could now read at a speed many times as fast as before, reading over ten books each day.
He had long changed from his ripped and bloodied clothes to a fresh pair of line clothes. The Tutorial provided him with everything he needed, clothes, a bed, and a kitchen with infinite food, it almost made him want to stay here forever.
Orthis spent four days in the library, reading every book it had and far surpassing the requirements for the hidden quest. For him, knowledge was more important than a few days or some rewards. He even gained some Talent abilities for his efforts.
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[Talent ability: Speed reading]
[Description: You have mastered the art of speed reading. Your pace of reading is just abnormal and it will only continue to grow from here on out.]
[Talent ability: Practical application]
[Description: You don't just read, you also know how to put it to use. As long as you have the necessary knowledge, you will find it very easy to put your knowledge into action.]
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"[Speed reading] is a nice support ability but the really good thing is [Practical application]. It makes the task of brewing and crafting a lot easier. I wonder if it can bypass talent, that would be broken. No one is talented at everything." Orthis thought.
"Next I should brew a few potions, poison would be very useful for killing the 1000 chickens."
Making potions proved to be a lot easier than he thought, mainly due to [Practical application] and [Insight]. While [Practical application] allowed him to easily brew several basic potions, [Insight] gave him tips and tricks that weren't recorded in the books.
The huge amount of infinitely restocking herbs made the lab a perfect place for practice. In just two days, Orthis created hair growth potions, beauty potions, pain relieving potions, and many more. He also succeeded in creating the poison he wanted.
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[Item: Unnamed poison]
[Description: An extraordinary liquid poison considering that it was made using common plants and herbs. It can easily kill a human male in a few seconds.]
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He was even rewarded for his efforts with his first skill.
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[You gained the Skill: Crafting]
[Proficiency: 2%]]
[Sub-skill: Cooking, level 3]
[Sub-skill: Brewing, level 3]
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The real jackpot however was something Orthis didn't expect. The lab provided him with countless basic herbs, even some that according to the books he read, should be extinct.
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[Item: Pure Awakening Potion]
[Description: A potion that should be impossible to brew. Its ingredients went extinct long ago and its recipe was forgotten. The potion purifies and rebuilds the body. It sorts out genetic defects and awakens dormant traits. Has a chance to awaken dormant bloodlines and purify existing ones.]
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Honest, making this potion would have been impossible if Orthis hadn't read every single book in the library and had [Insight] to help him figure out the recipe.
"That's surprising. I guess there are opportunities hidden in plain sight. I should be more observant from now on, just in case. But from what I understand, this potion is truly amazing. It rids a person of all weak and useless DNA and brings out the best traits from previous generations. This is amazing."
Despite what people liked to believe, no one was born equal, everyone living in the Tower would learn that eventually. Some people were born with great eyesight, and some with natural strength, speed, or stamina. This potion brought out these traits from previous generations.
Orthis didn't know how his body would react to the potions, so just in case it would be painful, he bit down on a piece of wood and lay down on his bed before downing the potion.
The transformation was not immediate and he only started to feel an itching sensation in his whole body after waiting for several minutes. The itch slowly turned from annoying, to unbearable, and finally to a numb tingling, like when your hands or feet get numb.
That sensation was better than the itching but feeling this numb tingling in your entire body was not very pleasant either. At some point, he started to sweat buckets, not black sludge like in a cultivation novel, just regular smelly sweat.
After two whole hours, Orthis finally regained the ability to feel his body. During a quick shower to wash off the sweat, he thoroughly checked his body for any changes. He couldn't find any exterior changes, no sudden muscle growth, no spike in height, or eyes that he didn't already have before, but he felt different.
He felt stronger, faster, and his vision and hearing were better than ever before. A look at the status window confirmed that this was not just a hallucination.
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[Strength: 3]
[Endurance: 4]
[Agility: 3]
[Mind: 6]
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All stats increased by 1, except Endurance, which got 2.
"Maybe some of my ancestors ran the Iron Man." Orthis joked to himself.
"With this, killing the 1000 chickens would be even faster. All I need now is a decent weapon."
There were no extinct ores or hidden recipes when it came to crafting. Orthis simply used some hardwood, iron, string, and feathers to make a spear and a bow with arrows. Despite their simple components, they all qualified as good by the system's standards.
Apparently crafting 20 good-quality arrows would have been enough for the hidden quest but what use were they if he didn't have a bow? The spear was just in case he got into a melee fight, spears were the easiest to craft.
"All that's left is to destroy a training dummy, to kill 1000 chickens, and 50 mutated chickens. Hitting a dummy would be a good way to get a feeling for weapons."
The training area was an empty plot of land, near the outskirts of this strange one-man village. Just a few meters past it, the wilderness began where wild chickens roamed and attacked anything that could be seen as food.
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[You entered the Training Area]
[Chose a weapon]
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"Huh? Can't I just use the weapons I crafted?" he wondered as he looked at the screen depicting, sword, spear, axe, hammer, staff, and bow.
"Thinking about it, it does make sense, not everyone starts with crafting and will succeed in making a weapon that would survive a hundred hits, not to mention being capable of destroying a dummy."
Orthis clicked on the spear category and began choosing from the several types. He would have preferred to use a sword but destroying a dummy with it was too hard. A spear on the other hand could cut, stab, and its length gave it a leverage advantage.
"Why do I feel like I'm being forced to become a spear user? First I crafted a spear because it was the easiest and now I chose a spear because it was the easiest way to destroy a dummy." He thought with displeasure. Orthis didn't have anything against spears, he just didn't like being forced to do something, even if it was for convenience.
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[Item: Training Spear]
[Description: A perfect wooden spear made for training purposes. It will always have the perfect weight, balance, and shape for its user. Too bad it's just a simulation for training.]
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The moment Orthis held the spear in his hands, he only had one thought in mind.
"Perfection"
"I was already satisfied with the spear I crafted but now that I'm holding this, I feel just how lacking it is. This spear feels like an extension of my body like it was always a part of me." He marveled.
After swinging it around for a bit to get a better feeling for using the spear, he began hitting the training dummy. The dummy was just made of sticks and straws but it was very resistant to beatings, breaking the sticks with a wooden spear would take a while.
Orthis spent hours hitting on the dummy from all directions, yet it was still standing. Despite the several breaks he took, he was still exhausted and it was already getting dark. He decided to call it a day and continue tomorrow.
The next day began with a nice shower and a delicious breakfast before he went back to beating the shit out of the training dummy. Despite his frustration, he was feeling the improvement he made when it came to using the spear. His stance, slashes, and stabs were already looking completely different from when he started yesterday.
Finally, after four hours of almost desperate hitting, the dummy broke. Orthis fell to the ground exhausted but with a fulfilled smile on his face.
"Finally!"
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[You gained the skill: Spear Mastery]
[Weapon skill: Spear Mastery]
[Proficiency: 3%]
[Sub-skill: Cleave, level 6]
[Sub-skill: Pierce, level 2]
[Sub-skill: Throw, level 1]
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"Wow, looks like my struggle was rewarded again. The Tutorial really is meant to make us grow, the rewards are just a bonus. I thought this was just a hard requirement to make us earn the hidden reward."
"But why does the mastery skill have proficiency while the others have levels? I noticed it earlier but was too occupied with the potion."
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[Proficiency skills have an upper limit to growth, though there is a chance they can evolve into a stronger skill once at 100%.]
[Level skills have no upper limit to their growth and new effects can be added at higher levels or through practice.]
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"Cool. Anyway, I'm gonna eat something and rest for a bit before I start hunting the chickens."
To his dismay, the Training Spear disappeared when he stepped out of the training area, leaving him no other choice but to use his self-crafted one to deal with the chickens.
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[Wild Chicken]
[Strength: 1]
[Endurance: 2]
[Agility: 2]
[Mind: 1]
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Despite his higher stats and a new understanding of the spear, Orthis was very cautious, covering the tip of his spear with the poison he made and sneaking up on an unsuspecting chicken that had separated itself from its group.
It all ended with one strike, not even giving the chicken the chance to react or for the poison to take effect. Since he didn't hold back in the strike, Orthis now had to look at a horribly mangled body.
The smell of blood and the sight of what he had just done overwhelmed his mind for a moment. Luckily he chose a good spot with no other chickens nearby, so he could recover from the shock without danger.
"I expected this would happen but I can't avoid looking at it, looking away from an enemy can be dangerous. At least I didn't throw up but I think I will skip the next meal." He said with a shaky voice.
The chicken had already turned into blue pixels like it was some video game, a game with ultra-realistic settings and no censor.
"So, it's a projection like the training spear. Good to know but it still doesn't make it easier."
The next seven chickens died in a similar fashion to the first one but Orthis was slowly getting used to taking lives and ignoring his disgust. His adaptability was even awarded.
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[Talent ability: Sage's Mind updated]
[Description: You have the mind of a scholar. Your mind works exceptionally fast and has an astounding memory. You are also very resistant to foreign mind interference. You can adapt to emotional distress and keep a calm head. (This ability can grow)]
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From then on, killing became much easier Orthis started getting bolder, now challenging several chickens at once. His Spear Mastery also grew slowly, no longer bashing their heads in but only leaving slight cuts on their bodies to poison them. This method was less exhausting and much faster.
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[Spear Mastery reached 7% Proficiency]
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However, he wasn't the only one growing bolder. Alone, chickens would try to escape when facing him but in groups they would attack him, resulting in some small wounds on his legs.
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[Sub-skill: Block added to Spear Mastery]
[Sub-skill: Block, level 1]
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By the end of the day, he killed almost a hundred chickens. It would have been much more if he didn't have to take a break to recover his stamina or treat his wounds.
It took him an entire week to kill the 1000 chickens, spending every day, from morning till dawn, killing chickens and he was growing sick of it. At this point it was just annoying, he gained a few levels in the Spear Mastery sub-skills but not a single percentage in the skill itself.
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[Weapon skill: Spear Mastery]
[Proficiency: 7%]
[Sub-skill: Cleave, level 9]
[Sub-skill: Pierce, level 7]
[Sub-skill: Throw, level 5]
[Sub-skill: Block, level 3]
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All that was left now was to kill 50 mutated chickens. They could be considered boss monsters with their triple-than-normal size and high stats.
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[Mutated Chicken]
[Strength: 2]
[Endurance: 3]
[Agility: 3]
[Mind: 1]
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Despite their higher stats, they still died after a few seconds of being exposed to the poison. It didn't even take an hour before he killed 50 of these ugly bastards.
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[You have completed the Hidden Mission, you will be teleported to the next floor]
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He already received a similar notification when he completed the standard quest but that time he could refuse, this time he couldn't.
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[You have completed the Quest]
[Reward: Race advancement to Tower Human]
[You have completed the Hidden Quest]
[Reward: A basic weapon, Tutorial potion, 10 silver]
[Rewards have been delivered to your Inventory, please go to sleep to proceed with the race advancement]
[Teleporting to the second floor]
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Orthis could see his body being covered by the same blue light that teleported him away from Earth, just this time it was bringing him to the next floor.
The next thing he knew was that he was standing on a large platform, surrounded by many other people who completed the Tutorial.
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[Welcome to the 2nd Floor, the Free Lands]
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