While the government searched for my first recruit, I sat across from Alexia in a small coffee shop near Central Park.
I had unsummoned Emma before coming inside. Too many people had stared at her when we walked through the streets. Some had asked for pictures. Others had been worse, openly staring at her body as if she were some kind of exhibit.
Bunch of disgusting pigs.
For now, it was safer if she only came out inside the Tower.
"Why did you want to meet with me?" I asked.
Alexia’s eyes immediately drifted toward the sword resting against my chair.
"When we spoke in the SUV, I had an idea," she said. "What if I created a platform to sell Tower items?"
I raised an eyebrow.
She continued, "People will be desperate for weapons, armor, consumables, anything that can help them survive. The moment challengers begin returning with items, there will be demand. If I create a secure platform and take a small fee from every transaction..."
"You’ll make a fortune," I finished.
Alexia smiled. "Exactly. Something similar to Amazinc, except the products will be impossible to find anywhere else."
I could see where this was going immediately.
"There’s one problem. You need people to supply the items."
"At the beginning, yes." She leaned forward slightly. "That’s where you come in. You give me the items you don’t need from the Tower. I handle the business, security, delivery, advertising, and buyers."
"And what do I get?"
"Forty percent of the company."
I stared at her for a few seconds.
"In exchange," she continued, "you agree not to sell Tower items through a competing platform. I will be building the infrastructure around this from nothing. I need to know my first supplier won’t disappear the moment someone offers him more money."
She was smarter than I expected.
In my past life, Alexia’s Challenger’s Exchange had eventually become unavoidable. Every serious challenger used it. Rare equipment, monster materials, skill scrolls—everything passed through her hands eventually.
And she was offering me forty percent before the company even existed.
"You’re generous," I said.
"I’m practical," she corrected. "You have access to something no one else does. I have the ability to turn it into an empire."
I almost laughed.
She had no idea just how right she was.
"Fine," I said. "I agree. But there are conditions."
Her expression sharpened. "I’m listening."
"My name stays out of every transaction unless I approve it. My recruits get priority access to any useful item that appears on the platform. And if anyone tries to use your company to track, threaten, or target my guild, you tell me immediately."
Alexia didn’t hesitate for long.
"Agreed."
I pulled the [Dull Stone Sword] from my inventory and placed it on the table.
"I actually have an item for you. But it’s pretty terrible."
Alexia picked it up carefully, inspecting the chipped blade and rough stone edge.
"It’s not valuable because of its quality," I said. "Advertise it as the first Tower weapon ever sold publicly. Someone will pay for the history alone."
A small smile formed on her face.
"You really do understand people, don’t you?"
"No. I just understand greed."
Not long after, we went our separate ways.
The moment I stepped outside, my phone vibrated.
The government had found the person I had been looking for.
They had sent me an address only a few minutes away.
As I walked through the streets, I noticed people staring at me more than before. News channels had already begun replaying footage of my return from the Tower. They were talking about Hell Difficulty, monster waves, and the fight between Elena and me.
Soon enough, the government would make a new announcement regarding the Towers.
’I might get a few Hell Difficulty Challengers.’
Most people would still choose [Easy]. Everyone was afraid of death.
But they had seen me return from [Hell].
Some of them might believe it wasn’t impossible. The more people who entered [Hell], the better. Advancing in a small group would be far easier than climbing alone like I had in my past life.
I could give them tips.
I could keep them alive.
"I’m finally here."
The address led me away from the crowded streets and into a part of New York most people avoided looking at. Broken windows. Cracked pavement. Old buildings covered in graffiti and rust.
After a few minutes, I found her.
She looked absolutely nothing like she would in the future.
Leia had been one of the strongest duelists in the world. A woman who had never lost a fight. Even I had never defeated her. We had fought many times in my past life, but she was one of the few people who could always force a draw against me.
Yet the person standing before me now looked frail.
Thin. Tired. Bruised.
She wore an oversized jacket that barely hid the marks on her arms.
But her presence was the same.
The way she stood with her back close to the wall. The way her eyes moved across the alley without turning her head. The way her fingers rested near a broken bottle on the ground.
She had already noticed me.
’That was the main reason why she became such a terrifying assassin,’ I thought. ’Even before entering the Tower, she never let anyone get close without noticing.’
"Who are you?" she asked, her eyes sliding toward me. "Why are you looking for me?"
"I have an offer for you."
She let out a tired laugh.
"I’m not interested in being a prostitute. You can ask those girls over there. They’ll probably agree."
"Prostitute?" I frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Don’t act innocent." Her voice remained flat. "Every man who comes to this neighborhood comes for one thing and one thing only. Sex."
For a moment, I didn’t know what to say.
’Jesus... just what kind of life did she have before entering the Tower?’
The bruises on her body gave me enough of an answer.
Before I could respond, a rough voice echoed from deeper inside the alley.
"Where’s that useless girl...?"
Leia’s body stiffened.
"Ah, there she is. Leia, stand up. You have a customer to greet."
A large man stepped out from behind a dumpster. He was sweaty, unshaven, and smiling like he owned the entire street.
From the way he walked toward Leia, I already knew what he planned to do.
His hand reached for her black ponytail.
Leia moved first.
She twisted away from his grip with a speed that almost made me smile, but the man caught her shoulder before she could escape.
That was when I stepped in.
I grabbed his arm and locked it into place.
"Wait your turn," I said. "I was already talking to her."
Leia’s eyes widened slightly as she looked at me.
She was probably wondering why I was doing this.
So was I.
"Do you know who I am, boy?" the man growled.
I looked him up and down.
"A fat guy taking advantage of young women like her."
His face twisted in rage.
"You son of a bitch. You really want to die, don’t you?"
Without another word, he reached beneath his jacket and pulled out a handgun.
Leia immediately moved back, but her eyes never left the weapon.
"Scram before I actually shoot," the man said, aiming it directly at me.
I didn’t move.
Leia looked at me like I was insane.
Maybe I was.
After all, here I was risking my life for a girl I had only spoken to for a few minutes.
"I’m not leaving this place without her," I said. "I need her talent."
The man laughed.
Leia’s expression shifted.
Just slightly.
As if she finally understood that I wasn’t there for what she had assumed.
I reached toward her arm.
"WAIT!" She screamed.
—BAM!
A deafening sound tore through the alley.
The man had actually fired.
And the bullet was headed directly for my forehead.