Babel Tower
Estes clan citadel; Rona, Rica, and Febrero are eating.
"How was it fighting him?" Rona asked Febrero.
"I need to train more; time will come and I will be able to beat him," Febrero answered.
"Why don't you train your martial arts skills in the Bolo clan? I think it is better to train there than here in the Estes clan. You can do a lot of sparring against any Bolo clan warriors to train your skills." Rica butted in.
Febrero nodded to Rica and said, "I think you're right; old man Bau told me that training in the bolo clan can make me achieve guardian level faster than training here in the estes clan. Besides, only a few estes clan members are actually training their martial art skills, and as of the moment I am actually the strongest fighter here."
Hearing this, Rona seemed worried that Febrero might leave their clan to train with the Bolo clan.
"Isn't that enough? In terms of fighting ability, you're already the strongest in our clan; why don't you just be satisfied with that?" Rona seemed upset.
"We've talked about it a lot, right? My main goal is to go to Iraq's Babel Tower and find my father," Febrero stated emphatically.
"It's been ten years and we haven't heard anything about him; what if he's already dead, and if you go there, the same thing will happen to you?" Rona exclaimed fiercely, and she appeared concerned.
"My father was one of the strongest fighters in the Bolo clan during his time; he's not dead; he might be on the upper floors, which is why we haven't heard anything from him," Febrero stated in a slightly higher tone.
Rica noticed that the two were already arguing and intervened, saying, "Guys, chill, let's talk about this calmly."
"What's going on? We heard your voices on the way back here," Old Man Bau asked as he and Jon Bane entered the cottage.
Nobody responded, until old man Bau spoke out again, asking, "Is this about the Babel Tower again?"
"Babel Tower? It's located in the country of Iraq, right? The strongest fighters from all over the world are fighting each other to climb up to the highest floor," Jon Bane remarked.
"Yeah, that's right, once I become a guardian-level martial artist and master the opening of each chakra point, Babel Tower will be my main goal," Febrero stated enthusiastically.
"If I get bored of exploring the cities around us, I might go there and fight the world's best fighters," Jon Bane continued.
"Alright! See you at the top then; just don't get in my way while climbing up, because that time I'll make sure I win," Febrero replied confidently.
Rona doesn't appear to want to hear any more about the Babel Tower, so she barges in and asks, "Are you guys finished eating? Because I still need to wash these plates."
"Oh, I'm done," Rica answered.
Febrero didn't say anything, he simply placed his plate closer to Rona.
Rona gathered all of their dishes and proceeded to the gushing water right outside their citadel.
"Old man Bau, I need to go now; I'll talk to Elder Ohmyvee and ask permission to leave our clan to train in the bolo clan," Febrero remarked as he walked out of the hut.
"Oh, can I accompany you? I'd like to meet your elder before leaving for the cities," Rica inquired of Febrero.
"Okay, come with me," Febrero said.
After the two of them had left, old man Bau glanced at Jon Bane and said, "The new generation doesn't care anymore about their lives, huh? Both of you wanted to go to Babel Tower without hesitation; do you really know how dangerous that place is?"
"Actually, all I know is that I will be able to fight stronger fighters in that place, and I don't want to spend my entire life staying in our clan; I want to explore the world," Jon Bane stated.
"They said once you reach the 1000th floor, you will be able to meet and battle a god. In your current condition right now, you will be no match to any of them; those gods can easily kill you in just a blink of an eye. Unless you train with me here, you might have a little bit of a chance of beating them." Old man Bau is still pursuing Jon Bane to stay and train with him.
"I will certainly train with you, but not right now; let me first explore the entire country of Ophir; after that, I promise you I will definitely return," Jon Bane said.
Febrero and Rica finally returned while they were conversing.
"Old man Bau!, our elder already gave me permission to train in the bolo clan, but with one condition," Febrero answered confidently.
"What is it?" old man Bau asked.
"She wants me to get a golden knuckle duster from Patal City, the nakukururu...," replied Febrero.
"You mean the nakkurudasuta?" old man Bau remarked.
"Yeah, that's it; is it really that important?" Febrero inquired.
"Actually, it's one of Tubalcain's 12 special weapons," old man Bau said.
"Tubalcain? You mean the very first elder of the Tubalcain clan?" Jon Bane interrupted.
"Yes! Those weapons are special to the point where normal people cannot properly use them to their full potential; the weapon should choose you as his master in order to unlock the hidden power of those weapons," Old Man Bau stated.
"According to elder Ohmyvee, his source told her that the golden knuckle duster is inside a museum owned by the MAOP (Martial Arts Association of Ophir), which is a martial arts association in the cities," Febrero continued.
"Do you already have a plan on how to get it?" Rica barged in.
"I will try to convince them first that they must give it to me; if they refuse, I will have to take it by force," Febrero replied.
"That's a terrible way to get it; why don't we just steal it? I can help you with that," Rica stated confidently.
"Don't get into any trouble while getting it; if you can get it without fighting the association, that's even better," old man Bau reprimanded them.
"We'll do our best to keep it as peaceful as possible," Febrero remarked, smirking slightly.
"Alright, let's go," Jon Bane said as he motioned them to move.
While they were walking just outside the citadel Rona spotted them.
"Febrero, where are you going?" Rona inquired from a distance.
"I'll go with them to Patal City because Elder Ohmyvee gave me a task," Febrero remarked.
"I'll be back in a couple of days; just be patient," Febrero continued.
Rona didn't say anything, and she still looked angry at Febrero.
After arriving at the base of Estes mountain, Rica gazed back as she spotted something peculiar.
"Hey! What is that mountain? I actually have a map here, and that mountain is not here." Rica looked perplexed as she pointed to a mountain adjacent to Fatidica mountain.
"Aah, that's the petra mountain; the petra clan or the clan of tikbalang lives there; they're a neutral clan; they said those tikbalang can cause hallucinations on people who enter their territory, so we shouldn't go there," Febrero explained.
"Why it isn't on my map?" Rica inquired.
"Perhaps because that mountain is mostly obscured by fog, you'll only see it clearly once a month, and whoever made that map, maybe he didn't see that mountain while making it," Febrero responded.
"Let's keep going; it's already 3 p.m.; we need to get to Patal City before nightfall," Jon Bane said.
After three hours, they finally arrived in Patal City.