Let's see who Iris is

Youngwoo stared at the 6 skill cards in front of him. No, actually, he stared at the woman floating behind them. She seemed to be about 170, maybe 175 cm tall, and vast majority of her bodily features were hidden by a large, dark robe she wore. No, actually, wasn't that a toga? It covered the woman from her neck all the way to her feet, and was somewhat loose in some parts. Some golden thread was used here and there, creating nice decorations on the gown's sleeves and down part.

She had simple face features, but her hair of white color, paired with her slightly pink skin, gave her a somewhat angelic look, hanging to her waist and seemingly defying gravity as they slowly moved around randomly. Her violet eyes were fierce, and there was a glint of some kind of superiority emanating from them.

Iris wore a large necklace, hidden underneath her toga, but Youngwoo clearly saw that it was made of gold or the likes (presumably Magic Gold), and in both her hands there were small wands. The one in her right hand was made of dark wood and outfitted with greenish-looking caps on both ends. Wand in her left hand was a bit longer, and it had black caps outfitting silvery wood.

"..." He took a few seconds to take in her details.

"..." She simply looked at him, a mix of shock and annoyance on her face as she focused on the cards in front of her.

"Iris?"

"...?" She tilted her head towards him. "Who are you? What is this?"

"Um... where do I start...?" He half asked, rhetorically. "I'm Youngwoo. This is the place I go to whenever I die."

"Wait, 'whenever' you die? What do you mean?"

"I have a skill that lets me resurrect after I die."

Iris squinted her eyes for a moment. Then, she put a hand on her face, hiding both her wands somewhere (well, Youngwoo didn't even notice the motion). It seemed she was having a bit of a difficult time processing this situation. Suddenly, she puffed a bit of air.

"Che." She made a weird sound. "So, I assume that's why there are skill cards in here?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"...how did you know about me?"

Youngwoo started explaining the situation to Iris. Sentence after sentence, he told her all about the quest he got from TM, and what he was supposed to get from it. His ability, what it caused, what he gained by dying, and so on and so forth. Gradually, the woman's expression turned from shock to annoyance, and then to anger.

"And that's how we're here." Youngwoo finished his explanation after a few long minutes.

"..." Iris was seemingly fuming with anger. Her hands were clenched into fists and she bared her teeth a little. "...that motherfucker."

"???"

"Do you hear me, Giordi?!" She yelled into the air above them both. "First you stab me in the back, and now you **** me to babysit this guy?!"

"...who's Giordi?"

Suddenly, Youngwoo received a noticifaction.

[Tower's Master is trying to speak with Iris. However, in accordance to Tower's rules, he cannot do it unless he infiltrates your mind. Tower's Master has decided to ask you to be the mediator in his talk with Iris. "Mortal, please be my mouth in this talk."]

"Iris..." Started Youngwoo. "Tower's Master wants me to convey words between the two of you. Neither of you can hear the other unless they goes into my mind, and they decided against it."

"?" She looked at him momentarily. "So now he became a coward?! Bitch move, Giordi!" She looked like she wanted to pierce Youngwoo's heart with her gaze. "But so be it! Speak!" She commanded.

"I never stabbed you in the back. What happened on 90th floor happened by accident."

"Che. It was your idea." She crossed her hands, causing the fabric of her toga to hug her body closely. "It was a long shot, and you knew it!"

"But it was us all who made the decision. What happened in there was fault of all of us."

"..." She rolled her eyes with annoyance.

"Aren't you happy to be released from your seal? It's been 420 years. It's nice to have a reunion, wouldn't you say?"

"A reunion where I can't even go up to you and smack you on your stupid face. Che. I just hope you suffer daily for what you've done."

"I admit to my mistakes, and I repent for them every single day, Iris. But I can't turn back time. Someday, we all have to move on."

"..." She looked to her side for a long moment. "...so what do you want me to do?"

"This mortal piqued my interest. He uses interesting techniques. I wish for you to record all his movement when he'll present them to you, scribble down everything he'll say about them, and send them to me. Basing on your information, I'll create a new skill for the Tower."

"..." She half-closed her left eye, as if awaiting Giordi to say something more.

"I will guide you to other Wardstones you have created. They are spread across this Tower. Wouldn't you like to regain more than just your consciousness?"

"...Nosy as always. 400 years and you didn't change, Giordi. You're a pain in my ass. Che. So be it."

"Thank you, Iris."

"..." She turned her head away. Her facial expression relaxed a little by now, but as Youngwoo conveyed last of Giordi's words, Iris seemed to feel some new anger surge in her. Still, she didn't respond.

["Mortal, with Iris's soul bound to yours, you have gained a very powerful companion, but she's not your ally just yet. She's a little grumpy person, and she probably doesn't like you much as you are affiliated with me. You have to work things out with her on your own. I hope to hear from you in the near future." Giordi sits down on his throne, awaiting Iris's message to him in the future.]

Youngwoo wiped his eyes. He barely could believe that he got to know Tower's Master's name. What was even more surprising was that apparently, Giordi and Iris knew each other from a very long time ago. On top of that, it seemed that the two of them had some strains between them.

"Who are you, Iris? How do you know Giordi?" He asked, not wanting to postpone asking important questions for later. At this time, Pagma's Sword Dance could wait a few minutes. He needed his answers.

"..." She focused her eyes on him. Slowly, she fixed her hair. "I guess there's no point not to tell you. I am Iris Pionstrife. 400 years ago, me and Giordi, as well as a few of our companions, cleared the 100th floor of Tower in our world."

"You cleared the Tower?" Youngwoo asked, dumbfounded. "It's actually possible to clear it?"

"Che. A child's mind. Of course it's possible." She scoffed at him, but the insult barely reached the man. "Yes, we did clear it. There, we were given a choice. We could leave the Tower, become administrators, or simply stay and live our days in it, going even further in. We thought that we all decided to leave that cursed place, but in last moment before we were transported out, Giordi changed his mind and became administrator. And now he oversees this Tower."

"...I see... but how come you are here? Did you enter the Tower again just to seal your soul?"

"...no." Replied Iris. "I fought against Tower's magic, and gave our friend enough time to cast a spell that sealed my soul in my necklace." She pulled out the accessory. It was a beautiful, golden chain with many small ornaments on it. Its main attraction, however, were 7 gemstones embedded in it. There was amethyst, opal, ruby, emerald, sapphire, topaz and diamond.

"So... Iris' Wardstone Giordi told me about is a part of your soul?"

"Correct. It contained a part of my power. I'm not sure why I landed in this Tower out of them all. Well, maybe it was his influence."

"But, you fought against Tower's magic? How in the world? Its power is off the scales!"

"And so was mine. I was known as the most powerful mage to ever appear in our Tower. When I trained enough, I could even go against laws of the Tower itself."

"WHAT?!" He almost shouted. Who in the world was this behemoth?

"Don't look at me like that." Iris rolled her eyes. "The Tower still outlasted me every time."

"..."

"Che." She put a little pout on her face. "Care to move on? Since I'm bound to you, we can talk more later."

"...right." Youngwoo shook his head a little, and turned his attention to the skill cards in front of himself. Then, he reached out to grab the A-ranked one.

"Stop!" Iris suddenly glared at him. "Aren't you at least going to read its description?"

"...I can't read it. They always face me with their backs."

"Che. Damnable Tower." Responded Iris. "I can read them, so let's assess the situation a bit."

"Wait, what? You can read them?"

"Well, they are in between me and you, no?" She looked at him momentarily, and seeing his shocked expression she put a hand on her face again. "Ugh. Who am I working with here... What is your class?"

"...what?"

"How do you fight?"

"I use a longsword, and evade as much as possible."

"...and?"

"And... that's all?" He shrugged lightly.

"Che. So you're a swordsman, and you know nothing more? How many skills do you have?"

"Uh... 4. But all of them are passive."

"...who am I working with here... How long have you been in the Tower?"

"9 years in total. But that was before I turned back time 3 years, so I guess it's only 6."

"And you received NO active skills in that time?! Not even a single sword strike?!" Iris looked half angry and half shocked. "How the hell did you survive for so long?!"

"...a mix of skill and luck?"

"...ugh. I guess." She shook her head a little. "So we basically start from scratch... alright, alright... Maybe it's for the better. With that kind of power... yes..."

Youngwoo looked at Iris with a little suspicion. The woman suddenly put a hand on her chin, and seemed to ignore him for some long seconds, putting on a thoughtful expression. He could've picked a card during that time, but decided against it. It seemed that she had some kind of plan forming in her mind, and honestly, she was someone who had cleared 100 floors of a Tower in her world (or at least had claimed to have done that). Didn't it make sense to listen to a plan she'd make?

1 minute... 2 minutes... 5... and suddenly, Iris snapped her fingers.

"Choose this one." She pointed at a C-rank card.

"...why? Don't you see those?" He pointed towards the single A-rank card and 2 B-ranks. "Wouldn't they be better?"

"Proper planning, boy. Card ranks are not important in all cases. Besides, almost all skills can level up." She pointed a finger at her temple. "Those 3 are useless to you as a swordsman. But this one could be a huge gain to you."

"What is it, then? What are the rest of them?"

"..." She looked at him for a long moment. There was a little annoyance in her gaze, but he saw a tiny bit, just a fraction, of understanding. "A-rank is simply a passive tinkering ability. B-ranks are Disassemble and Appraisal. But this C-rank is Enchant."

"...I'm not following? What good would Enchant be to me?"

"Che." Iris frowned. "You seemed smart at first, but I can see you are also quite dense. You can enchant your weapon with that skill!"

"Oh. OOH!" He gasped momentarily.

"Now, pick it." She sounded a little commanding as she pointed at the card.

Youngwoo looked at the bronze surface of the C-ranked card. For some reason, he wanted to listen to Iris's advice. But then again, how much certainty did he have that all Towers were the same? Hell, until just 5 minutes ago nobody in the world knew there were more Towers anywhere. Could he trust her words? On the other hand, would it really hurt him if he did?

In the end, he decided to heed her words. After all, he couldn't read descriptions of the cards in front of him, so it would be better if he listened to Iris. In the end of the day, it didn't seem like she wanted his harm. Perhaps it was because of Charismatic Leadership?

[You have picked a card. The skill engraved is 'Enchant'.]

[You made your selection. 'Enchant' is added to your skill list.]

[Rewinding time 24 hours back.]

[You are penalized. Your rank is E. Penalty severity is low.
Displaying trauma...]

Youngwoo opened his eyes, and saw a girl in the mirror. She had some bruises on her face and shoulders as she was washing dirt off her face. If he didn't know it was Ieva, he wouldn't be able to recognize her. She looked to be 9, maybe 10 at most. After she cleaned her face, she fixed her dress, and wiped tears off her face. After ensuring that her short (very short, in fact) hair won't look too disheveled, she made her way through the bathroom. But, before she managed to get to the door, it was opened from outside.

There were 3 girls that came in (quite possibly her classmates), but Youngwoo didn't have much time to even look at them. Ieva just barely dodged a fist that flew at her head, but immediately got hit by a followup. As she slammed on the floor, she heard some mumbling above her. What were they talking about? Well, it hardly mattered to her.

She shook her head a little, ringing being everything that was in her mind. There was something... off. No, actually, why did she feel so... numb? Was this always like this?

Ieva slowly got up, her vision completely blurred. The attackers looked at her, but didn't move closer. She backed off slightly, knowing there was not much room for her to move in anymore. However, she felt the backpack on her back. She shifted its weight on her right shoulder. She knew what to do, and honestly, she didn't feel particularly bad about it.

When the first of attacker got in range, she swung the pack with all her might, attempting to use her body as a counterweight. The backpack was flung through the air and it hit the girl in her side. Surprisingly, it boasted enough **** to slam the girl in the bathroom stall. She hit her head on the door and bounced to the ground. Suddenly, everyone in the room froze. The girl was bleeding from her head, and she was ****.

Ieva looked with terror at the scene before her. Long seconds ticked by, and suddenly, the laying girl started moving her fingers a little while she started crying. But, Ieva didn't care for that. Seeing the girl alive, she bolted out of the bathroom and started running away, as far away as she could.

[Recalling of trauma finished.]

[Due to effects of skill 'Calm Mind (passive)', strain on your mentality has been nullified.]

[A/N: 10k views and 200 likes. I honestly didn't expect this much. Wowsers. To everyone, I want to send my sincere gratitude. Thank you for liking this story! I bow my head to you all, and hope that the story keeps on entertaining more people! I know not all chapters were good, but I sincerely hope that I can do better in the future! Hope you all have a good day!]