Chapter 145 - Returning Heroes

"Gwah–!!" I gasped for air.

My breathing was heavy and a cold sweat ran down the sides of my face as I gripped my chest. My heart raced, I needed to check if it was still inside me and hadn't fallen out.

"Those were Eshner's memories…how is that possible? That's never happened before, no, she's a demon so her soul may be different from other monsters." I held my head to stop myself from falling out of the bed.

The room spun so fast and my chest pounded away.

"If what I saw was her memories then that guy on the throne was real too…he's the one behind everything. The demon king…just what kind of monster was that?"

{New system feature has been unlocked through upgrade}

{Inventory feature is now available to User}

"It's just like the last time Uriel got an upgrade. Last time was the map feature and this time it's an inventory. What does an inventory skill do though?"

The screen was replaced by a larger one, and many open spaces appeared under the title, 'Inventory'.

{User may store items in inventory and access them at any time} 

{Storage space will increase along with the system affinity to the User}

"Hey now, that's just like the magic that Mei used! If it works the same way she did it…"

I reached for one of the claws I had rested on the floor beside my bed and held it in my palm. I looked at it hesitantly and then closed my hand over it. A purple mist consumed the fang and it vanished into my palm, a moment later one of the open spaces in the inventory blocks was filled. An icon that looked identical to the claw appeared in the block.

"Holy crap, I really can store items in here!" I opened my fist and the mist spat the fang back out.

It works through thought, just like when I activate my skills. With this, I can store my drops and other materials without needing to carry them around. If there's no limit to weight or size, I might even be able to store our gear in here too.

I extended out my hand over the room and sucked up the other materials and drops I had laying around. Slowly I watched my inventory space fill up and the amount of available spaces quickly lowered.

"Looks like I can save about twenty different items at a time for now. Though, that number should increase the more I level up, right?"

{Rei Alos Level: 22}

Strength – 92

Speed – 275 (+25%)

Vitality – 190

Mana – 320

Defence – 100 

My level increased quite a bit by killing Eshner, maybe because she was a demon. Even with the large amount of levels I received, didn't my mana go up quite a bit? My stats keep increasing as I level up, I'm not the same as I was before I had the system.

I examined my body and grinned, all the wounds I suffered were close to fully healed. I barely felt the pain I had before and the only real problem I felt was the built-up fatigue. After such a gruelling fight in the Tower, I had nearly fully recovered in a day.

I leaned back in my bed and stared at the screen of information. The shield and Hammer icons that hovered below mine caught my eye.

"Leveling up makes me stronger, to do so I need to fight and kill monsters…fighting in a party will lower the amount of experience I'm able to achieve." I lowered my head. "Sigh…if we're going to survive against those other demons then they'll need to get a lot stronger too."

***

My eyes followed the small shield icon displayed on the map floating in front of me. I had been tracking Veldor from that screen.

"He seems to be going to that spot a lot these days, where is that? The park?" I squinted my eyes closer to the screen and the details expanded out into a much clearer image. "The cemetery?"

I closed the map and made my way out of the room.

I see. I'll leave him to his privacy, there are other things to do anyway.

"With such a lovely day, it's a shame that Arga's sealed herself away in the smithy. I wonder if I should give her a visit?"

Mei told me that the rank-up ceremony would have normally been considered a failure since I didn't complete the mission but with such an unforeseen event, she decided to be lenient. Honestly, I never expected her to see that fight but I'm glad it ended well.

The streets had returned to their lively state, with the Tower still at an all-time low on numbers. Things hadn't fully recovered since Mister Ed had died, I felt it never would. 

Out of habit, I arrived at the fountains outside the Tower, unaware that I had been walking there.

To my surprise the entire area was filled with people, all gathered around the Tower doors in anticipation of something. The brimming expressions of children lined up in front of the doors created a path of smiles.

Guardsmen and other officials from ASH were stationed around the Towers entrance, holding everyone back. The crowd had grown to such a large mass that even the twenty-or-so guards struggled to hold them back.

"What's with the commotion, what's happening?" 

A blonde adventurer dressed in robes pushed against me from the crowd's sways and must have overheard me, "Someone inside the Tower said they saw them, they've finally returned!" he said excitedly.

"Saw who?"

"The highest-ranked guild in Istoria, they're finally back from their mission! It's Shared Sword!!"

"No way…" I looked out with widened eyes.

Heavy clacking flowed out of the Tower doors, behind its dark shadow was a row of figures. They walked shoulder to shoulder, the closer they came to the exit, the louder the cheers and excitement became.

It made sense how such a powerful uproar came to be in such a short time, even I was intrigued to see who would step out of those doors.

The pillars of Istoria were the highest-ranked guilds in the city, responsible for the leading sources of materials and drops from the Tower and other important roles. The thing they are most popular for above all though, is their adventurers.

Shared Sword was ranked first above all other guilds because of their unmatched attack power and their leader, Eren Gardner. I had never seen him before, much like most of the others gathered in the crowd.

"Is it true, have they really been gone for three years?" Someone asked.

"Of course it's true! What, have you been living under a rock or something?!" The boy standing closest to them replied angrily.

The figures emerged from the doors and the city stood still, not a sound was uttered.

Three years in the Tower trying to reach its final floors…how far could they have gotten? I only just got here and I'm even losing my mind waiting to see them!

A man dressed in silver armour walked forward from the row of emerged guildmates. His hair was messy, clearly unkempt from the long time away from home. Even so, its bright blue colour wasn't any shade duller than watery clear, if anything it looked rather healthy.

The guild master raised his gauntlet into the air and we collectively leaned forward, everyone on the edge of their seats.

His voice was clear and warm.

"From this day, let it be known…humanity has claimed forty-three floors!!"

The city lost its mind. Screams and teary chants erupted from every end of Istoria. The excited cries then quieted down into a symphony of claps as the guild continued their march.