But not everything goes as he'd want

As Youngwoo finished some light training (after finding a clean spot, he wasn't going to stick around orc's stinking corpses), he made his way out of the floor. As the time was reaching about 16, he was in the park in Safe Zone, munching on a hotdog. He didn't really feel like doing anything for now. He had no job to go into, no people to meet (as he didn't want to bother Hilda or share much a talk with Valentine), and his daily training was done, so there was nothing to do really.

'Wait... but what about our rewards for 12th floor?' He thought momentarily. Hell, he was so occupied with Hilda and then Arthur that he actually forgot about the rewards. Sure enough, he did state his wish to Savi, but that was an additional reward. There was also one that him and Hilda would have to receive for finishing 12th floor main quest itself. 'I gotta get mine.'

He got up, and as he did a few light stretches, he started walking towards the Gate leisurely. There was a long line to the structure, but Youngwoo wasn't going to wait. It was time to try the functionality of the enhanced Gate.

"Transmit, floor 12." He said quietly, and disappeared nearly instantly despite being almost 50 metres from the Gate.

'Ah, it's really convenient.' He formed a tiny smirk as he started walking down a road. The atmosphere was much calmer than the day before. The walls of the estate were nearly unmanned, and hundreds of people were going about their business. Some of them were repairing damage done to buildings and walls throughout the duration of 12th floor quest (and 90% of them were Hunters), while others were going to fields, working in their shops, or doing other things (and there were far less Hunters there).

As he walked around for a few minutes, Youngwoo noticed Savi working hard with some Hunters, lifting heavy pieces of wood to recreate a small structure. Was is a storage room before? Not wanting to sound rude by just coming by and demanding rewards, Youngwoo decided to come around and help them. He had time, after all.

Seeing his arrival, Savi formed a smile, but said nothing at first. Only after they finished placing the main frame (which took about 30 minutes) did he walk up to him and said:

"Hello, Lee. A beautiful day, isn't it?" He smiled widely, wiping his dirty hands on his attire. Noble or not, he was walking around dirtier than farmers, and he didn't seem to care one bit. Indeed, just like scars were testament to Dulan's durability and trials, uncleanliness was testament to Savi's efforts to reinvigorate Issar.

"Hello. How're you doing, Savi?"

"Ah, never better. Please, let us have a walk." The blonde man signaled to a road that would lead them both to his estate.

As they started walking forward, Savi continued:

"You didn't receive your reward. I heard the three of you left at night. It was a little weird, but... well, I heard that things got tense for the three of you."

"Oh, don't worry about it. Hilda and Donnie had a small disagreement, is all."

"Is that so? I'm very sorry. I hope they work things out."

"So do I. But I'm sure it was just a bit of frustration. You know, Donnie was left out of our raid, so..."

"Ah, I see. He must've felt bad about it. I'm terribly sorry for him. Well then, let us wrap this up, shall we?" He asked, entering his estate. "What rank did you place, Lee?"

"Uh..." Youngwoo took out his card. "It says I placed 1st."

"1st? As expected of the great hero of Issar. Please, follow me."

Walking through a few rooms, the two of them soon entered a small room, barren of any decorations (just like the rest of the estate anyway). On a large table, there were 3 items, as well as a bag filled with something.

First was a large robe, which would be fitting for Hilda. It had a deep gray color, and while it seemed that it would be a little tight if she wore it, Youngwoo knew it would be no use for himself.

Second was a big sword, actually, it was a greatsword, nearly 1,6 metres long in total, its blade wide and imposing. Its surface was of sliver-green color, reminding Youngwoo of mint chocolate (god those were awful). It had a large guard in a shape of a golden cross, and its hilt was outfitted with some black material, presumably hardened leather. It seemed to be made quite recently, as not even dust had settled on it.

Third was a small necklace. It was made of silver, and it had a small ruby embedded in metal, hanging on its end. It was glistening in light that went into the room through, creating a nice reflection on a wall. Savi stood next to the table, awaiting Youngwoo to come over.

"Feel free to choose your reward, Lee." He said.

"Choose? Aren't you going to choose one for me?"

"Well, you did a lot for Issar. I think it's only fair that you can choose your reward. Unfortunately, the selection isn't big, since only you, Dragon Witch and Donnie hadn't collected your rewards." Replied Issar's overseer.

"...I see..." Youngwoo put a hand on his chin. "Do you mind if I take a closer look?"

"Be my guest, Lee." Savi nodded lightly, allowing him.

Instantly, Youngwoo came closer and inspected necklace first.

[Ruby of Power

Rank: E

When worn: Increases your strength by 16% and attack of bare-handed attacks by 40%. However, all your skills' cooldown will be increased by 27%, and your stamina will deplete faster the longer you stay active.

Created by a young witch, this piece of jewelry was supposed to give her great strength at expense of her magic power.]

...he wasn't sure if it were good. Youngwoo was pretty confident in his stamina, and this necklace increased his strength. Since he had no active skills, the other negative effect didn't apply to him. However, all of this would change once he got Iris' Wardstone. 'It's a good item for me, but it might become poison if sword dances will have long cooldowns... It's a gamble...' Deep in thought, he decided to check the greatsword.

[Greatsword of Power

Rank: D

Attack power: +62

Increases your attack power by 28%, and reduces cooldown of all your skills by 7%. However, the imposing weight will decrease your attack speed by 10% and your movement speed by 17%.

Created by a skilled craftsman of Issar, this sword was designed to deliver **** with every strike. However, despite being made of mithril, its size and weight makes it difficult to use.]

'...this is even worse.' He thought. Pagma's Sword Dance was unaffected by attack speed, but it sword dances relied on his movement speed. Reducing that effectively negated the increase in power. While the reduction of cooldown was pretty nice and its attack power was great (Youngwoo's current longsword had only +16), the negative effects were horrible for him. No, he wouldn't take this sword in a thousand years if he wanted to have a new weapon.

However, as he was still thinking, he stole a glance at the robe.

[Robe of Entanglement

Rank: E

Defense power: 15

Increases all your defense while casting any spells by 8%, this will increase further if you cast multiple spells at once. Increases your magic power by 7%. However, as it will always wrap tightly around you, your movement speed is reduced by 11% at all times, and it will be somewhat uncomfortable to wear.

Created to ease inconvenience of dressing up by an old mage, it is one of failed tests.]

'...failed tests?' Thought Youngwoo as he removed his hand from his chin. This robe sure had a handicap of reduced movement speed and being somewhat constricting, but he was sure Hilda would overlook those. After all, if she learned to use EDA for transportation, it'd mitigate the first part. As for the second part, she had Calm Mind to ease her mind. It would still be tight, but he wouldn't complain. No, wait, since when was he thinking about her like that?

"I'll take the necklace." He said, coming closer and grabbing the item.

"So be it. I hope it'll be of use to you." Savi smiled.

"So do I." Youngwoo nodded in response. "Now, I think it's time to move. We got Issar to rebuild, right?"

They both walked out of the estate quickly, soon enough finding something do do. Youngwoo was capitalizing on the effect of the necklace, helping with some heavy lifting of wooden beams loads of bricks. As an hour passed by, he felt the fatigue catch up with him. Truly, the effect of him consuming more and more stamina was not something to scoff of at. He would need to learn to use this item wisely.

7 hours later

The night came to Issar. Youngwoo was finishing up last of his work with others. He got acquainted with a number of Hunters who had helped in defending the town. Some of them got hurt while fighting the bandits off, some others repaired walls, but nobody seemed to be in a bad mood. Everyone was thankful for the 12th floor to finish prematurely, even if some of them wanted to grasp some rewards. Better to receive a bad reward than die trying to get a better one - this was what Tower had showed them all.

Soon enough, everyone started going their separate ways. Youngwoo sat by a wall of a closest building. He sighed, getting a breather. He looked at his phone. He had about 90 minutes before the 13th floor would open. He intended to make most of this time.

"Transmit, floor 1." He said out loud, and appeared sitting by a building in Safe Zone.

Quickly getting up, he walked away. After reaching his apartment room, he went to wash himself and got in some fresh clothes. After he did that, he medidated for about an hour, wanting to rest his stamina to its fullest.

12 minutes. He went out when there were only 12 minutes left. He intended on getting to the floor as soon as he could. And he knew an easy way to do that.

"Transmit, floor 12."

He appeared in Issar again. There were a few Hunters around, waiting for floor 13 to open, but only a few. Youngwoo smiled, knowing that he secured an advantage.

10 minutes. He checked that his sword was fastened to his side, and Ruby of Power rested in a closed pocket of his pants. Yeah, he was most definitely ready.

[Transmit to floor 13 is now possible.]

He didn't even wait. In within next 5 seconds, he was standing on same square of Issar, but it was now day. He transmitted successfully. He breathed a sigh of relief and got a notification of a new quest. Well, he wanted to say he would read it, but he knew where he had to go. Without waiting, he started walking forward, his destination: Savi's estate.

He reached it after a few minutes. He was pleased to see that the building was somewhat renewed now; unlike its appearance on 12th floor, it now had no cracks in the walls. Still, all other buildings also looked much better than before. Weren't some of them a bit taller? How long has passed between the floors? Was it another 6 years? Oh well, he'll figure that out soon enough.

He approached the door, and was surprised to see Johnathan open it for him. The look the servant gave him was warm and welcoming. He didn't look much different from before.

"Mister Lee. It's been a while." He started, going to side of the door.

"Well, time flies. I'm glad to see you're doing fine, Johnathan." Youngwoo nodded towards him. "Is Savi around?"

"Yes, lord Mahoney is in his room. Should I fetch him?"

"That'd be much appreciated."

"I'll go then. Please, make yourself comfortable." Johnathan pointed towards the main room. Now, unlike on 12th floor, there was a nice, somewhat large, round table, as well as 14 chairs around it.

Not wanting to take a seat, Youngwoo decided to stand around. He looked around the place, and was greeted with same, barren walls as on 12th floor. However, on this floor, they were clearly pained with a new layer of bright paint (was it gray or light gray? He couldn't pick). Windows were still the same, but they were polished. The doors also clearly saw some love, as their dark brown surface was glistening lightly.

Still, there was something weird in here. As Youngwoo listened for a long moment, he could hear something. It was... some kind of a buzzing sound. He checked his phone, but it wasn't it. Suddenly, he realized.

'Ah, they got machinations in lumberjacks.' He was certain of it. He knew machines fueled with magic were derived from those used on floors, so it was natural that there would be some around. They weren't on previous floors because they were expensive. Yes, that made sense.

"Ah, Lee!" Savi came running down the stairs. His blonde hair, disheveled as per usual, were a little bit longer than Youngwoo remembered. However, overall, he didn't change much. He was wearing some kind of working outfit, that despite being clean had a few permanent stains on it. The man bowed his head. "It's so good to see you!" He suddenly lunged forward and got Youngwoo in a bear hug.

Well... that was unexpected. Shaking out of his surprise, Youngwoo patted Savi on his back a little.

"It's good to see you too, Savi. How have you been?"

"Busy, busy." Replied the man, but his smile didn't diminish. "It's been very busy 6 months. And how are you? You don't seem to have changed at all, my friend."

"Ah, you know. Been here, done that. Adventuring is unpredictable, after all."

"Haha, I see. Well then, I suppose you'll be happy when you hear that I got what you asked me to find last time we met."

"...that amethyst?" Youngwoo's heart thumped strongly. Up until this point, it felt like this quest was only theoretically possible to be cleared. And now, would be finished.

"Yes... it's waiting for you in my room. Do you want to get it?"

Youngwoo stared blankly at Savi for some long seconds. Suddenly, he chuckled, no, laughed for a moment. Noticing man's questioning look, he said:

"I was worried whether you'd be able to find it... Thank you, thank you, Savi. Yes, let's get it."

The two of them quickly made their way upstairs. As they walked into a room, Savi quickly made his way towards a large bookcase. Opening the door, he grabbed a small box sitting in its corner. After he opened it slightly and ensured that what he wanted was inside, he turned around to Youngwoo.

"I believe this is what you wished for, Lee. Please check it to make sure."

"Of course." Youngwoo reached out to grab the box.

With a little shaky hands, he held it for a second before he took a deep breath. 'Here goes nothing.' He got hold of the lid and opened it. Inside, on a small cushion, sat an amethyst, about 2 cm in diameter. Immediately, a notification popped up.

[You finished the quest 'Iris' Wardstone.]
[You obtained Iris' Wardstone as your own.]

[You may obtain special effects by binding the stone to yourself. Would you like to do it?]

"T-Thank you... Savi." 'Now we can get started. For real, this time.'

"I'm pleased to see you're happy with the results, Lee. I... wait. What-" Savi didn't get to finish his sentence as a few gunshots rang though the room.

'What?' Youngwoo wanted to turn around, but suddenly felt pain in his hand. His arm was pierced through with a magic bullet, and he lost grip on Iris' Wardstone. Before he realized what happened, Savi dropped to the floor in shock, having received two bullets to his stomach. 'What?! Who-' Youngwoo didn't finish his thought as he got hit with something in his head. Instantly, he lost consciousness.