"Aren't you a good parrot," said the woman with a small smile. "You're correct. But what if you entered the Spire and didn't ascend — what if you descended?"
"Why would anyone do that? When you enter the Spire, you want to leave this hellhole, not descend to god knows where."
"You are right but you see people could not refrain, We awakeners are explorers at heart, we enter the Tower for power and riches, and every new such place could mean great reward." She paused. "But nothing is free. Most of those who have entered had their party wiped out, and even those who hadn't died and survived had failed miserably coming back empty-handed."
"The underground of the Spire was a place where most Awakeners didn't even know what monster it held. The only ones who did were people of great power and great backgrounds — and they had no intention of sharing information they had risked their lives and their comrades' lives to obtain.
"And looking at what was down there, it's no wonder they failed. A level-thirty monster in a place populated entirely by unranked individuals is insane. That's a D-rank creature where it has absolutely no business being."
"I understand a bit better now. But why is everyone in such an alert state? Is it always like this?"
She shook her head. "The guilds and clans are going insane trying to find out who it was."
"Why?"
"The accomplishment notifications went out simultaneously to every Awakener in the Basement — at the very least. Possibly to every individual in the Tower, Awakeners and Ascenders alike," she continued. "First kill and solo kill, back to back, on the Spire underground that the King of Swords and the Spear of Heaven apparently never managed to clear during their own time in the tutorial." She let out a short, disbelieving breath. "The top recruitment teams from every major guild are already here. They're pulling out everything trying to find this person before someone else does."
"The King of Swords," Daemon repeated carefully. "And the Spear of Heaven."
Two names he knew. Everyone knew them — the two strongest Ascenders currently active in the world, the former recognized as the strongest of all and the only surviving son of The Avenger.
Both were the cornerstones of their respective organizations and pillars of the world at large. The idea that he had done something in his first hours in the Tower that neither of them had managed during their own trials was difficult to hold in his head without it sliding straight back off.
"Do they know who it is?" he asked.
"Someone named Daemon," she said.
O shit, Daemon had a momentary blackout.
She paused, studying his face with undisguised curiosity. "Do you know something?"
"No," Daemon said simply. "Just thinking about what a strange name that is."
"Strange indeed, but who are we to judge? With an achievement like that, he could be called anything." She shrugged.
Daemon started to have a headache, he had enough of this bullshit "I see. Thank you for telling me all that. One last thing — do you know of an inn? I'm incredibly tired."
"Your welcome, and about the Inn, I do but it depends on your budget. The lower tier ones cost one to two Unranked Magic Stones, the medium tier is between three to five magic stones, the high tier is between six to seven. There are higher tiers above that, but I'd recommend staying away from those — they're not somewhere a new arrival should be spending his money, and they're packed with arrogant members of the big guilds."
Daemon took into consideration each tier, and he was certain he would not go with the lowest tier, he had enough his entire life taking the cheapest options available, and he was done with that. He wanted to pamper himself more with better food and decent accommodations, but taking the highest tier pained him for different reasons, so he had no choice then to go with the middle tier.
"The middle tier, please."
"Good choice, the middle tier is the best balance of price and service. But I've personally visited only two in the middle tier inns: the Goblin Den and the Hunter Dream."
"The Hunter Dream," said Daemon, without much thought.
"Quick to decide. Though you should know — the Hunter Dream is on the expensive end of middle tier. Three stones just to sleep, five if you want everything: food, accommodation, and hot water to bathe. The Goblin Den, by contrast, is cheaper three stones for the full package, and their alcohol is genuinely decent."
"No, thank you. I've had enough of goblins that I have no desire to be in any place associated with their name," said Daemon, his expression making his feelings on the subject abundantly clear.
The woman laughed. "So you were transported to the south side when you first entered — I was too. The Goblin Den does indeed attract a certain kind of fellows; you could easily mistake them for goblins, in terms of behavior."
She pointed him in the right direction. "Both the Goblin Den and the Hunter Dream are here on the south side of the city. The Goblin Den is closer from here, and the Hunter Dream is closer to the center. Walk ten kilometers in a straight line and you'll reach the general area, then ask around for the exact location."
"Ok…" Daemon's mouth twitched when he heard ten kilometers. But he would rather walk the extra distance.
He thanked her and moved on, letting the crowd swallow him as he walked deeper into the city.
Around him, clusters of Awakeners in armoress with different crests of guilds and clans he recognized from broadcasts moved with visible urgency.
Daemon kept walking, his expression unreadable.