Time: April 22, 2032. 05:00 AM.
Location: The deepest part of 4th Tower. "Below Zero Floor."
Above, in the Penthouse, the celebration continued.
Grom (Berserk) was pouring beer into Tanaka's expensive Ming Dynasty porcelain vase and drinking it, Kaito was playing "darts" with his daggers on the billiard table. Laylo was trying to manage this "zoo" while ordering pizza.
Kenji, tired of the noise, went downstairs.
But he didn't exit to the street. He entered the elevator and entered a hidden code on the panel.
The elevator rumbled and began descending—to a floor that wasn't on the map.
[Depth: -500 meters]
When the elevator doors opened, a familiar smell hit Kenji's nose.
It was the smell of dampness, rust and... rotting flesh.
This place didn't resemble a "server room." It resembled the internal organ of a living organism. The walls pulsated (beating thump-thump), and cables writhed like blood vessels.
In the center of the hall stood a huge, 10-meter glass flask.
Inside was... the Core.
This wasn't the beautiful crystal we know. This was—a massive, purple-colored mixture of Living Flesh and Metal, with eyes and mouths appearing and disappearing on it.
Kenji, chewing a half-eaten piece of pizza in his hand, approached the Core.
"Well," he said with his mouth full. "So this is the source of 'Red Dragon's' power. A bit... uglier. Did the designers go on strike?"
The Core suddenly glowed.
A low but brain-piercing sound echoed through the room. This sound was heard not through the ears but directly in the brain.
"You... Who are you..?"
The voice sounded like thousands of people whispering.
"You don't have... the smell of System. You have... the smell of Death. You are an Error."
Kenji swallowed the pizza and wiped his hand on his pants.
"Hello, 'Error.' My name is Kenji. But you can call me 'Master.' Or 'Admin.' Your choice."
The Core became angry. The liquid inside the flask began to boil.
"Arrogant ant! I am—the 4th Pillar of 'Eternity'! I am the anchor connecting worlds! I am..."
"You're a talkative 'Server Processor,'" Kenji cut him off. "Listen, 'Pillar.' I'm not like your previous master Tanaka. I can read your code."
Kenji placed his hand on the glass flask.
He didn't use magic. He used the hidden ability of the "World Walker" title: "Communication with System."
Information about the Core flowed before Kenji's eyes.
But this information was corrupted, encrypted and... in a foreign language.
This wasn't human language.
Kenji's head began to ache. Blood flowed from his nose.
"Damn," he thought. "This isn't ordinary game code. This is... this is a star map."
One could think the Core was laughing (if it had a mouth).
"See? Your brain can't handle it. We are not just a game. We are—a Gateway. And the Gateway is opening..."
Kenji wiped the blood from his nose and smiled. This smile had something the Core didn't expect: Boredom.
"The Gateway is opening?" Kenji said with sarcasm. "You know, for 80 years I've been dealing with shoving back whatever came through 'Opened Gateways.' You can't scare me."
Kenji took out a small flash drive from his pocket (Kaito had found it, containing all of Tanaka's secret codes) and plugged it into a port at the Core's base.
"I didn't come to listen to your philosophy. I came to Format you."
"What?! Stop! If you shut me down, this Tower will collapse! The city will be destroyed!" The Core panicked.
"No," Kenji said calmly. "I won't shut you down. I'll switch you to 'Offline' mode. You won't send signals to the Government or 'Game Creators' anymore. You'll only work for me."
Kenji played his fingers on a virtual keyboard.
His 80 years of experience was useful not only in battle but also in understanding System architecture. He found the Core's "Communication Module" and cut it off.
The Core screamed. It was a mental scream.
"You... You're breaking System Laws! They will come! The Watchers will come!"
"Let them come," Kenji said, pressing "Enter." "I'll order them pizza too."
The Core calmed down. Its color changed from purple to calm blue.
Now it wasn't a wild creature but an obedient machine.
[SYSTEM: NEW ADMINISTRATOR APPOINTED FOR 4TH TOWER]
[ADMINISTRATOR: KENJI]
[STATUS: AUTONOMOUS (DISCONNECTED FROM GOVERNMENT)]
Kenji took a deep breath. His mana reserves filled again.
This Tower had now become his personal "Mana factory."
But what the Core said... "Watchers." This word made Kenji think.
"So those who created the game... they're not just ordinary programmer people. They're something bigger," he analyzed.
Kenji returned to the elevator.
As the door was closing, the Core whispered once more, in a very low voice:
"Be careful, Thief... You stole time. But Time will still demand its due. Your sister... she also has the smell of Gateway."
Kenji froze.
Laylo?
What's in her?
The elevator rose. Kenji's mood dropped.
"The pizza must be cold by now," he thought, distracting himself. "I'll investigate the secret in Laylo later."
Penthouse. Half an Hour Later.
When Kenji entered the room, Laylo ran to him.
"Big brother! Where have you been? The pizza froze! And... you have a guest."
Sato (White Tiger leader) sat on the sofa. His face was very serious.
"Kenji," Sato said, standing up. "There's a problem. A big problem."
"Did the pizza run out?" Kenji joked.
"No. The government didn't declare you 'Enemy of the People.' That's good news."
"But the bad news is... they've announced a **'Hunters Tournament'** against you."
"In 1 week. At the 'National Arena.' The government's 7 strongest guilds are demanding a 'Guild Battle' against your new 'Neutron' guild."
Kenji took a cold piece from the pizza box and bit into it.
"7 guilds against us? In 1 week?"
"Yes. If you lose, you have to surrender the 4th Tower and all your weapons. If you refuse, they'll storm in with the army. This is a trap, Kenji."
Kenji swallowed the pizza he was chewing and smiled.
There was no fear in this smile.
"A trap, they say. They think they've cornered me."
Kenji looked at Grom, Kaito, and the other 120 "wolves." They were drunk, happy, but fire burned in their eyes.
"Sato," Kenji said. "They'll come with 7 guilds? Wonderful."
"I'll go against them with only 5 people."
Sato froze in amazement.
"What?! Are you crazy? This is an official battle! At least 50 people are needed!"
"5 people are enough," Kenji said firmly. "Me, Kaito, Grom, Laylo and... you."
"Me?!" Sato pointed at himself. "I'm the leader of another guild!"
"You're my old tank, 'IronBarrel.' We'll form a 'Party' again. Like in the old days. We'll put on a show in front of all Japan."
Kenji winked.
"And in this Tournament, I won't just win. I'll show the whole world 'how the Game is played.'"