I'm home!

Ellis was in the center of a well-lit room, underneath him was the teleportation circle and in front of him, there was an open doorway that led to a hallway. To the left, there was a staircase and on the other side of the hall in front of him was another open doorway. From what he could see it was some sort of shop with a beautiful long blue-haired woman standing behind a counter. The woman tilted her head and smiled at Ellis beckoning him to come to her. He approached the woman cautiously. When he got to the counter the woman gave him a slight bow before introducing herself.

"Hello, I am Eliora, one of the Tower's shopkeepers. If you give me your TowerCard, I can give you your payout for the first floor and you can spend it all here."

Eliora had a voice like a sweet poison that Ellis couldn't resist. Her voice penetrated his soul and sent him into a trance. Without realizing it he had pulled out his TowerCard and was handing it over to her.

"Am I out of the Tower?"

After regaining his senses and asked her the main question on his mind. Without looking up from Ellis's TowerCard she responded to him in a mockingly enthusiastic voice.

"Yes! You are! You're one of the few who made it out alive! Excellent job! That said, you are a born natural at Zenith's game, aren't you?"

Eliora peeled her eyes off Ellis's TowerCard and looked up at him.

"I rarely meet someone with a record as amazing as yours on floor one. You've outdone yourself, haven't you?"

She smiled at Ellis before sliding his TowerCard into a carved-out shape on the counter that resembled the silhouette of his TowerCard.

"Usually, the average for clearing the first floor is between ten and twenty lumis, but…"

Ellis's TowerCard flashed as the beautiful woman let it slip into the slot. When the light subsided, there were 12 neat stacks of small faintly glowing rectangular blue coins situated in the center of a teleportation circle etched into the top of the counter.

"You made one hundred and thirteen lumis"

Eliora said as she gestured toward the stacks of blue coins.

"I have lots of potions and equipment if you would like to purchase anything."

She said pointing at the walls lined with various arms, armor, and other items.

"Would you like a purse for your coins? It can hold all these coins without weighing you down at all."

Her eyes smiled cunningly at Ellis as she pulled out a small tan bag with a golden symbol etched into it.

"Uh, sure."

Ellis responded to her, speechless from all the information he'd just received.

"Okay! That will be ten lumis!"

Eliora said as she took an entire stack of lumis from the pile of coins and shoveled the rest of the coins into the coin purse for him without giving him a chance to respond to her.

What a calculating woman.

Ellis reached out and took the bag of blue coins from the woman.

It's not as heavy as I thought it would be, so I guess she didn't lie about it reducing the weight of the coins.

Ellis tied the bag of coins to his belt securely before looking back up at the crafty merchant with a million questions going through his mind.

"What is the Tower and who is this Zenith guy? What's the point of the Tower?"

Ellis launched a series of rapid-fire questions at the merchant.

"One lumis, please."

Eliora gave him a devilish glance.

Ellis frowned in discontent and handed over one lumis to her. She grinned and then began talking.

"The Tower is a place where everyone with talent can gain glory and power beyond imagination. As for Zenith and any more specific information on the Tower, the farther you climb the more you'll learn. So, continue to climb and spend your money here!"

Eliora dodged most of his questions leaving him still confused but he knew he would get nowhere continuing to ask her questions. Ellis turned around to browse the shop and process everything that had happened thus far.

She said I was one of the few who made it out of the Tower so there must be some who came out before me. I hope Arya made it out okay.

As Ellis thought he looked at the weapons the shop had to offer. There were hundreds of different weapons but not very many of them looked to be as good as his halberd. The ones that looked to be about the same quality of his halberd were way out of his budget. The most expensive weapon was a huge black and purple sword with all sorts of fancy designs on it. The price on the weapon almost made Ellis choke when he first saw it.

1,300,000 lumis?! I would have to clear the first floor thousands of times if I wanted to buy that sword!

Ellis clenched his jaw at the thought of going through the first floor again. After looking around at the various weapons, armors, and other equipment, Ellis found his way to the potion section of the shop. There were all sorts of potions from speed and strength potions to love potions. After scanning the rows upon rows of potions Ellis's eyes stopped on the dark red and blue potions.

These potions look like the ones I used in the Tower.

Upon further inspection, he saw that they were health and anima potions. Ellis noticed that the potions came in four different sizes and two different tiers. The sizes were vial, small, medium, and large. The two tiers were petty and lesser. Ellis picked up one of the medium lesser health potions and compared it to the empty bottle he had in his satchel. The bottles were about the same size, but his empty potion bottle was more ornate than the simple-looking bottle he'd picked up from the shelf. He looked down at the price for the potion in his hand. 50,000 lumis. Ellis gasped as he saw the price.

If this potion is 50,000 lumis then how much was my potion worth?

Eliora saw him comparing the potions and snuck up behind him.

"Potions are essential to survival in the Tower. They have many uses, but health potions are the most sought after. Petty potions can speed up the healing process causing small wounds to close up, but they have the least concentration of potion, so they have to be poured directly onto wounds. However, they can also be consumed to marginally improve a person's overall health and wellness. Lesser potions can do the same thing as petty potions but to a greater effect. Wounds lesser potions are poured over will close up quickly using significantly less liquid than petty potions. Lesser potions can also increase enhance one's health as well as cure internal injuries when consumed."

Ellis looked down the bottles in his hand before looking back up at the woman and showing her his empty bottle.

"Do you sell any potions like this one?"

Eliora took the bottle from his hand and looked it over quickly.

"No, I'm afraid not. This potion was of a higher quality than any of the potions I sell here. If you want to buy potions like this one, then you'll have to climb higher up the Tower. Otherwise, you can rarely find high-quality potions on some floors of the Tower."

She smiled at Ellis as she handed his empty bottle back to him. Ellis took the empty bottle back as he thought about his mom. Maybe with these potions, he could cure her of her illness.

"Do these potions work outside of the tower? And on other people?"

Ellis asked as he looked up at the shopkeeper.

Eliora rubbed her fingers together as if gesturing for money and gave Ellis a devilish look.

"Information isn't free, dearie.

Ellis squinted his eyes in annoyance before he dug a single coin out of his pouch and dropped it into the shopkeepers already stretched out hand.

"Yes! They will work on any living being inside or outside the tower. Some of the highest-grade potions can even regrow lost limbs!"

Eliora chimed excitedly as she moved uncomfortably close to Ellis's face.

"I've even heard rumors of potions that can someone back from the dead, but you'll have to continue climbing the Tower to find if it's true or not."

Eliora exclaimed, smiling eerily at Ellis.

Ellis's eyes grew wide unconsciously as he thought of being able to bring someone back to life. Climbing the Tower was seeming more and more tempting despite the risks. Ellis looked at the potions once more. The best one that he could afford was a medium petty health potion that cost 100 Lumis. Ellis reached out and plucked the potion from the shelf. As he looked at it he thought about what it could potentially do for his mom.

"I'll get this potion, please."

Ellis said to the shopkeeper. Eliora's face grew into a wide foxy smile.

"Of course! That will be 100 Lumis."

She exclaimed as she extended her hand out to Ellis.

As much as I hate the idea of buying anything from this shrewd lady, I need to see if this potion can help my mom.

Ellis undid the purse that he had tied to his waist earlier and dumped all but one coin into her hand.

"Thank you for your patronage!"

Eliora's smiling eyes pierced right through Ellis and made him shiver.

"If you would like to continue up the Tower, please take the doorway to the left and go up the staircase."

She said as she pointed toward a doorway in the corner of the room.

"If you would like to leave the Tower, go down the stairs!"

She said in a pompous voice before turning away and walking back behind the counter leaving Ellis alone.

Well, I'm definitely not going back into the Tower. I need to go home and see what condition my mom is in. I've been in this place for at least four months.

Ellis walked to the doorway and turned to head down the stairs. He gazed at the potion still in his hand as he started down the stairs. If this potion works, I'll definitely come back to cure her. Who knows all of the secrets that this Tower holds.

The staircase spiraled inwards until he reached a large empty room. A large circle of white symbols covered the center of the room. Ellis reluctantly stepped into the circle. As soon as his whole body entered the circle it flashed and suddenly, he found himself in the main room of the Tower that he had been in before when he first entered the Tower. The room was eerily empty. Such a large room vacant room made Ellis anxious.

Why is there no one here? I thought for sure there would be tons of people investigating this place.

Ellis then noticed the entrance that he had come through was closed.

Shit. Am I locked in here?

Ellis thought as he frantically jogged toward the closed giant black doors. When he got near them, the doors began creaking open.

Ellis sighed in relief as he put his hand to his chest and slowed his pace.

By the time that Ellis was directly in front of the doors, they were completely open. A white light filled the area where the doors had been. Ellis puffed his chest eagerly and walked through the white light.

"I'M HOME!"