Chapter 3 - Ellios the Mage

A burst of blood-red flames shot out from Ellios' finger and lit up the room as if the sun had risen in that root-covered dome. Scorching flames moved together at a single point which into a long spear and pierced the Brancher's chest.

The spear of flames drove wedged itself into the centre of the Brancher's body and exploded into a pillar of fire that scorched the roof and floor.

The Brancher's darkened body flailed about as the massive hole in its chest crumbled larger until even its arms and head fell away into ash. In a matter of seconds, the devilish flames had nothing left in their grip except the steamy remains of a charred monster core.

Rei couldn't hold any longer, the only thing he could feel as he drifted off was the warm sensation of blood falling from his forehead and staining his hair. Not even the pain from his broken bones was strong enough to keep him conscious.

Ellios lowered his hand as steam still poured out from his palm, and observed the ring on his finger crack and shatter over his wrinkled finger.

"The very last of its strength has been exhausted… to think that I would have used it for a human."

Cough Cough

His violent coughs of blood shook him to his last ounce of strength. He tried standing but nothing came of it, he had nothing left to give.

After chuckling to himself Ellios reached out his shaking hand toward Rei,

"Order! Travel!" He commanded as another ring cracked away from around his fingers.

His body vanished into a burst of light and appeared standing beside Rei; he knew that if he sat down he would quite easily never be able to stand again.

"I've never been one for destiny but…this was quite the surprise. Although my time is over, a new adventure can come from it."

'He was willing to risk it all and die…for a monster no doubt. He might be brave or just downright a fool, but I have come to be fond of this fool. I feel this is what's best.' Ellios pondered as he stared over the fainted boy.

A powerful white ember appeared inside the palm of Ellios' hand that he placed over Rei's bloodied body. The bruises on Rei's skin began to fade away and restored his pearly complexion to normal. The blood around his mouth faded away and his ribs that were moments ago shattered mended themselves back to normal.

"It isn't from a goddess but I hope you'll accept this old man's gift as thanks. If you truly wish to be strong, however, then you cannot climb this Tower. You must devour it! Devour the enemies you slay, devour every last doubt and fear you have, and strive for victory. You must devour this ruthless Tower."

As his last breath left his body a stilling light emerged from the gaping wound at his chest, illuminating the room with a holy light.

Ellios' body was encompassed by the light and shifted as if it were made of fire, flickering in place with lively motions.

With a cheery smirk on his face, Ellios closed his eyes and his body faded away into the white flames that faded away as his fire was snuffed out.

…

{User Rei Alos has been registered}

-

I opened my eyes to a bright yellow light that spanned across the sky. Its beautiful open airs with faint fluffy clouds overhead had my crimson eyes drifting back before suddenly widening with a realization.

The sky?! I must be outside the dungeon then; I can feel the warmth of the sun pressing against my face. I'm lying on something soft and a little itchy.

I gripped a hand full of the soft substance beneath me and brought it into view over my face. I recognise that lush green texture; it was the soft grass of the first floor.

How did I end up outside of the dungeon, more importantly, where is Ellios?

I jolted upright from the ground and scanned around for the two trees that acted as a door to the dungeon but they were nowhere to be seen. I spun around in circles driving myself crazy looking for them but after a while, I had to accept that they were gone.

I'm definitely where I was before, I recognize the bushes and stones from before. The only thing missing is…Ellios.

It's weird but in my final moments before passing out I swear I could hear his voice shout from across the room before that crazy strong fire appeared. Maybe he defeated the Brancher and escaped?

That isn't true…I can't explain it but for whatever reason I can feel that he is gone.

I held my hand up to my chest and clenched tightly at the collar of my torn shirt. Suddenly my eyes jolted open and raced down to observe my legs and waist.

"My body doesn't hurt anymore, wait…are my wounds completely gone too? None of my ribs are broken anymore, was it some weird dream or something?!"

I patted myself all over trying to make sense of it all when I noticed the torn patches in my shirt as well as my missing sword.

"Oh yeah, it broke…ugh!"

I fell back into the grass on my butt with my head tilted up to the sky.

What am I going to do now, there shouldn't be too much risk getting back to the outside world since I know the routes with the least monsters but…

"That sword cost me so much!!" I cursed with a scream.

A pair of passing eyes suddenly locked on to me from across the open field where a group of young adventurers was fighting Funks.

Screaming out in the fields probably doesn't make me look all too sane…I should get out of here.

I quickly lowered my head and made a run for it, hoping nobody would recognize me later on.

After a bit of running, I finally reached my destination, a large cathedral doorway of ivory and oak that rested against a wall of shrubbery.

The doors always remained open because of how busy the entrance to the Tower usually is. The only times the door would close would be for an outbreak but that is a once-in-a-blue-moon event I'm yet to see.

A massive crowd of people was passing through the doors in two separate rows, forming a line going in and another on the other side going out of the Tower. All sorts of adventurers could be seen, from one simple look it was pretty easy to determine how strong someone was.

Directly in front of me were two men dressed in tunics with nothing else but a sword and spear between the two of them. They didn't look overly well-built either, not that I'm one to comment seeing as I have a rather skinny build myself.

Those guys are probably newbies like me, which places them in the rank of Rust. It's the system that Istoria's Adventurers Association came up with to rank adventurers based on their level of strength and abilities.

The lowest is Rust, followed by Silver, Gold, and Obsidian, and then the highest is Legendary. Although a legendary ranking has only ever been awarded to one individual in the past, making it a very exclusive title.

At least that's what I've heard.

My nose smashed into a solid wall, forcing back my entire body as I stumbled back onto the floor.

"Ow! What the hell…?" I looked up at a pair of shiny silver greaves standing over me.

A large man towered above me, covered in full silver armour and with a massive iron sword on his back. Every piece of equipment on him was so lavish that it felt wrong for me to even look at it.

"Watch where you're going kid, what are you blind?!" He barked.

His big angry scowl peaked through the slits of his helm as he glared down at me, then after a brief period of silence he scoffed and walked past.

"I don't have time for weaklings; if you're a weakling then you should know your place!"

I glanced over my shoulder behind me at the row of people heading out of the Tower, while all the people into it were in the opposite line.

"You bumped into me though…" I complained silently.

My disapproving complaints went unheard as the armoured jerk walked on without any care for those he was shoving aside.

That guy seemed solid; it felt like I walked into a brick wall or something. With expensive equipment and a build like that, he must be a Silver or Gold rank for sure.

Moving to a higher ranking doesn't just mean a cooler title, it means more opportunities. The higher rank you have the more options you have at quests in the Tower or parties. Since a party is formed with other adventurers you have to rely on others while you're fighting for your life.

It only makes sense that you wouldn't want to put your life in the hands of weaker adventurers. That's often the reason why Rust-ranked adventurers only form parties with other Rust ranks.

I traversed down the flight of stairs waiting past the Cathedral doors. It was only a couple of flights down before arriving at the exit doors, they weren't as big as the Cathedral doors found in the Tower but they were pretty big compared to a regular house door.

The moment I left the Tower I could feel the cool evening air cross my face that filled my nose with the scent of freshly cooked potatoes and meat.

A symphony of sweet and savoury sauces filled my senses as I walked further from the exit doors.

I'm finally out~

As I walked away I took one final look over my shoulder at the Tower from the outside, scanning over the doors to make sure nothing dangerous would come charging out behind me.

I knew it was a silly thought but after something like what I had just gone through it didn't seem so farfetched at the moment.

"I'm safe now…thank you Ellios."