You need to retrieve this thing… You need a trophy… And then, you’ll head up to the third floor of the tower…

So far, your overconfident "escapade" (exploring this abandoned, dilapidated tower) hasn’t yielded anything of any real significance…

You can already picture your patrol commander dressing you down, your head hung low as you stand before the ranks of your fellow warriors.

"Unauthorized departure from your post, reckless insubordination that resulted in nothing but the loss of equipment..." - you can practically hear his stern voice, and a wave of preemptive shame washes over you.

"Damn! Why am I so unlucky?!" - you mutter, and with a groan of disgust, you begin to cut up a vile corpse of a creature that, only moments ago, was an aggressive monster hell-bent on chewing you up and devouring your flesh.

You’ve decided that you absolutely must have some kind of trophy…

Otherwise, you’d be far too ashamed to return and explain everything that happened to your patrol commander.

After ten minutes or so, you manage to extract the object from the stinking, slimy innards of the dead mimic…

Your hands are smeared with foul, viscous fluids, but… you’ve got it - your trophy.

It’s a small metal wand, crafted to resemble a slightly curved tree branch.

At one end, there’s an intricate design of intertwined leaves.

"Hmm… could this thing hold even a shred of magic? Doesn't look like it, though…" - you muse, tucking the item away into your pack.

With a weary sigh, you cast a glance around the room - the very place where you had fallen into the trap of a vile monster, which lured you in with an illusory vision of treasure hidden amidst the debris - and turn to leave.

You head toward the staircase that leads to the third floor of the tower…

Every step is uncomfortable, as your right foot is now bare, missing its boot.

This discomfort is compounded by sharp stabs of pain from various parts of your body - bruises and abrasions, the result of mimic mercilessly tossed about the room by the creature’s tentacles as it tried to stun you.

The stone steps are partially collapsed, making the ascent difficult…

Yet, you press on toward the third floor…

"Perhaps, on this level at least, I’ll manage to find something of value!" - you mutter, irritation coloring your voice.

And… the moment you arrive on the third floor, you are met with anything but a "warm welcome"!

A cacophony of hissing, chittering, and squeaking erupts - the sounds of a multitude of small creatures…

A large swarm of bats descends from the darkness, intent on inflicting as much harm as possible.

Sharp claws and fangs strike at you from every direction.

More and more wounds appear on your arms and face…

You lash out wildly with your sharp scimitar.

Alas, the curved, razor-edged blade proves largely ineffective; there are simply too many bats, and the death of three or four will do nothing to stop the onslaught.

Another sweep of your scimitar - stained with the blood of aggressive, nocturnal, flying creatures…

A couple more mangled, small bat carcasses fall to the stone floor…

Yet, dozens of these winged beasts continue their assault!

Blood trickles down your face…

In a panic, you scramble forward…

"Mwahahaha! You vile, paltry thief! Thought you’d catch me off guard, did you?! Tried to rob me, eh?! It won’t work, you bastard! Everything here belongs to me!" - a maniac, deranged laugh echoes from the far end of the long corridor.

Your sharp eyes manage to catch a blurred silhouette in the distance…

A hunched, bald human, draped in rags, with a hideous, unkempt beard.

"Batties! My little cuties-batties! They’ll eat you alive, you thief-scum! They’ll feast on your blood! Mwahahaha!" - in the creature’s hands, you spot a large staff topped with a cone-shaped crystal that emits a faint, silvery-grey glow.

"Disgusting human… It wouldn’t be surprising to encounter a wretch like this on the western frontier… But here? What the hell is this scum doing here?!" - you wonder, racing down the corridor while fending off the massive swarm of aggressive bats.

The bats are clearly behaving in an unnatural way - their attack is far too coordinated.

It seems this hideous, bearded human is using magic to manipulate the swarm and drive them to attack you.

You are determined to kill this mad spellcaster…

Alas, the end of the corridor is too far away…

You feel a growing weakness from blood loss and the pain of numerous wounds and bites…

The hunched, bearded human-scum (laughing like a madman) makes another move: he gestures with his staff, and a large shard of ice, sharp as a combat dart, shoots from its tip straight toward you.

You barely manage to leap aside - into one of the side rooms.

It is in complete disarray: piles of stone debris from the ceiling and walls, along with large cabinets that have toppled over (most of them covered in mold and moss).

You trip over a pile of rubble and fall onto your back, slamming your shoulder blade painfully against the floor.

A few more seconds, and a bloodthirsty swarm of bats will descend upon you - and you will surely perish, bleeding out…

But at the very last moment, you spot a small gap created by several large cabinets that have fallen onto one another.

You scramble into this "burrow".

Deeper, further in…

It turns out this "burrow" leads to another section of the room, cut off from the first by a massive pile of debris.

The swarm of bats has lost sight of you - there is no way dozens of those flying creatures could squeeze through such a narrow opening.

You gasp for air, realizing with horror that you were moments away from becoming a corpse—a meal for these small, nocturnal, winged predators. Your ears catch the fading sounds of many small, leathery wings…

It seems a flock of bats has just left the tower through one of the large breaches in the walls (you had noticed several such gaps on every floor).

Or is that just what you want to believe?

And what are you going to do about that mad human mage?

"Fuck… If I hadn't made so much noise on the second floor, that bastard wouldn't have been able to prepare so thoroughly…" - you think, slowly taking in the narrow space you’ve ended up in.

This part of the room is almost entirely buried under piles of stone rubble and other debris, partitioned off from the rest by a series of large cabinets that have toppled onto one another.

You lie on your back, breathing heavily…

You’ve sustained more wounds…

And the pain feels even more intense…

You wipe the sweat from your forehead and realize that your fingers come away stained not just with sweat, but with blood…

Suddenly, something catches your eye…

You reach out and touch it…

It looks like… a sculpture?

A sculpture of a completely naked woman…

The stone figure lies on the floor beside you; your fingers trace her graceful arm, which is outstretched in a gesture of utter despair.

Hmm… it’s hard to see how this might help you in your current, dire situation.

You try to reflect on your precarious predicament: "So… this room… there are a lot of large, shelved cabinets here… Could this have been a library, once upon a time? A mimic on the second floor… A deranged human mage on the third… Damn… Some serious magic-related shit was gone down (or is still going down) in this tower…"

You’ve always focused on honing your skills as a warrior, paying little heed to other fields of knowledge - even though your mentor tried to get you to at least learn some history and the basic concepts and principles of other disciplines.

Racking your brain, you recall that vile monsters like mimics often thrive in places where magical energy is overly concentrated. The presence of a mimic here is a clear sign that this tower is far too dangerous for a simple warrior like you, thanks to some intense disturbances in the "Magic Weave".

Well… this only goes to show just how reckless your decision to enter this tower really was…

Looks like coming here was a mistake…

"Kheh-heh-heh… I'm gonna find you... you pathetic, stinking thief... I’ll give you a taste of agonizing torment… Kheh-heh-heh…" - the vile, deranged voice of that human mage echoes from nearby, accompanied by the sound of his footsteps.

Right now, in this "den", you’re in a highly vulnerable position…

If that mad bastard figures out where you’re hiding and unleashes more of his magical tricks, it could very well be the last thing you ever see.

Suddenly, you feel a faint vibration coming from your backpack!

You reach inside and pull out the source…

A small metal wand, crafted to resemble a slightly curved tree branch…

A trophy you claimed after killing the mimic (and rummaging through its foul-smelling innards).

Right now, for some reason, the wand is vibrating and emitting a faint glow…

"Fuck… what the hell is this?!" - you think, terrified, fearing that all this might draw that crazy, hunched-over, bearded bastard to your hiding spot.