Sixteen years ago

  The first time Langa ever told his father’s stories to his niece was when he was eleven years old. It just so happened one night that his sister was stuck working the night shift at the hospital, and his brother-in-law, who was supposed to stay with them, was out. The three of them huddled in the boys' bedroom, Langa was watching over Khaya in the bottom bunk, and Neo was on the top one. There was a heavy storm outside, and the wind howled against the windows, making it hard to fall asleep.

  Khaya trembled in fear as she had always been scared of the rain.

  “Can you make her stop whimpering? It's just wind!” Neo finally snapped.

  “But I'm scared,” Khaya cried in a small voice as Langa held her close.

  “It's okay, Khaya, but I need you to be brave. The storm won't hurt you,” Langa told her.

  Khaya turned to him. “Brave?”

  “Yes, to be honest, storms used to scare me a little too. But my father once told me a story about brave children who stood up to the cunning Hlakanyana,” he said.

  “Was it one of his folktales?” Neo asked breathlessly from above. He probably remembered Sibusiso Zulu’s stories from the few times his parents had allowed him to sleep over with Langa a few years ago.

  “Yes,” Langa said quietly, his heart hurting like always when he thought about his father.

  “Tell us the story, Malume. Come on.” Khaya begged.

  Langa hesitated because when his father told him the story, it wasn't about the bravery of children, but about how important children were to society, and needed to be protected. He figured he could spin the folktale a little bit, making it appropriate for Khaya.

  “Kwasukasukela. Once upon a time,” he said, and Khaya looked up at him in anticipation. Langa leaned in closer to her, trying to make his voice mysterious. "From the crown of an old yellowood umsonti tree, a strange creature was born in a small, secluded village. It was small, like a dwarf, with the ears of a monkey, the feathers of a bird and the tail of a hare. All the villagers who saw it fled in fear that it was Hlakanyana.”

  Khaya snuggled deeper into her blankets, her attention fully on him. " What’s Hlakanyana?"

  Neo grinned, and began to tease her. “Hlakanyana is like a smart Tikoloshe. It's evil and snatches scared little children out of their beds.”

  This made Khaya whimper in fear again as a bolt of lightning flashed outside the window. “Will you stop? We’re trying to calm her down,” Langa snapped at his naughty nephew. “Hlakanyana is a trickster who likes to steal from people and deceive them. Anyway, since Hlakanyana’s arrival, the village’s goats and chickens started disappearing. It would also break into the villagers’ granaries, stealing their crops."

  Khaya frowned in surprise. Even as a child, she knew how important food was. "Oh no, the poor villagers… What did they do?"

  "The villagers were devastated. Misery and fear spread across the land. No one, not even the fastest man in the village, could catch Hlakanyana. It was just too quick for them and it always disappeared into the umsonti tree, hiding under its thick canopy of leaves," he told her.

  "Did they have a plan to stop Hlakanyana?" Khaya was hooked, and although he feigned nonchalance, Langa knew Neo was also listening.

  Langa nodded, his expression serious. "One day, after Hlakanyana had torn through the main granary of the village, depleting the maize they were planning to sell, the sangoma consulted the spirits of the village’s ancestors for guidance. The ancestors told him that since Hlakanyana was born from the tree, then cutting it down would kill it, and only the purest hands could do it.”

  "Really? They could kill something so fast just by cutting down a tree?" Neo asked sceptically, and Langa couldn’t tell if he was just curious or mocking him.

  Langa shook his head slowly, drawing out the suspense. "The next morning, the men picked up their axes and gathered under the umsonti tree. All that could be heard was the sound of axes cutting against wood and the tree shuddered. Suddenly, from inside the tree, Hlakanyana sang a sweet song that cut deep into the men’s hearts, and they sank to their knees, losing their will to fight."

  By now, Langa was sure Khaya's brown eyes were glowing with excitement as she looked up at him. "The trickster’s song was that powerful?"

  “Yeah,” Langa continued. "The sangoma was very angry when the men returned, unable to destroy the trickster. The next morning, he sent the women to cut down the tree. Just like before, though, Hlakanyana ensnared them with its song. They too lost their motivation."

  “The sangoma, now furious, wondered why the ancestors had led him astray. As he walked through the village, he saw the half-starved children playing in the streets, singing nursery rhymes. It was only then that he realised that they might be the answer. The next morning, the sangoma led the children of the village to the tree with the promise of giving them food if they succeeded. As soon as the children started cutting the tree, Hlakanyana appeared.”

  Khaya's face lit up with nervousness. "Did they succeed? Did they stop the trickster?"

  Langa nodded, his voice filled with pride. "Hlakanyana began to sing its disorienting song, but the children did not look up as they continued to chop the tree while singing nursery rhymes. Finally, the tree groaned, and cracks appeared on its trunk. Eventually, though, the trunk fell to the ground. As the ancestors' message had said, Hlakanyana fell with the tree and was crushed under it."

  Khaya's mouth dropped open. "The children really did it?”

  Langa smiled, enjoying the look of wonder on his niece’s face. "Yes, Khaya, the weak, overlooked children were able to accomplish something that adults failed to do. They were brave and focused on their task, saving the entire village."

  “Did they get the food they were promised?” Neo asked suspiciously, as if it would be Langa’s fault if they didn’t.

  "Indeed, they did," Langa replied, his voice warm. "That night, the sangoma declared a great feast to reward the children for what they had done. The village was filled with joy and celebration, and they managed to control themselves, not finishing all their food. The sangoma stood before everyone and informed them the ancestors informed him that children with their pure and innocent hearts were the future and safeguarding their well-being and protection was the duty of every villager.'"

  Khaya yawned as she tried to smile. "They must have been so proud of the children."

  "They were," Langa agreed, his voice gentle. "And the village learnt that sometimes, it's the youngest among us who have the greatest courage."

  Neo was already half asleep, and Khaya blinked, her eyelids heavy. "That was such a good story, malume." She sighed and snuggled up to Langa, all fear of the storm forgotten.

  Langa leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Khaya. I hope you dream of brave children."

  It was strange, but that was one of Langa’s favourite folktales and something he had always lived by, just as his father taught him. Children were innocent and brave, so they had to be protected at all costs.

  *

  Once Langa got out of the centre, he looked back at it. The building was a decrepit old house, surrounded by other similar-looking houses. They looked to be made out of marble. If he could count them, he guessed there were about a hundred of those marble old houses, with overgrown moss along the walls, showing no signs that anyone had lived here in years. The marble was also crumbling from lack of care, and thinking about the tutorial quest that said all sapient creatures in this world were kept in these cages, Langa wondered if there were no more sapient creatures.

  The thought of a world without humans in it made him shiver uncomfortably as he stealthily walked around the centres. This place seemed to be a large gated prison with no prisoners, only corrupted animals. He had no idea where to move as everywhere he turned was the same type of building, stretching on for kilometres, and it would be a massive waste of his time if he kept going around in circles. The ground was very rocky and hard to keep a stable pace on it, but Langa kept going, trying to get as far away from this place as he possibly could. The only living things he could see here were the corrupted foxes that he kept having to hide from. Was he alone here? He did not like that. Lady Mira had said that there would be people from blessed and natural worlds as well in this tutorial, but so far, all he had found was one dead man.

  Langa kept silently sneaking around the centres looking for a way out until he found something strange. He found one centre that was bigger than the others, and instead of the same drab lifeless colour, this one was white, and it looked pristine. He looked at the door into this building, considering if he should check it out, just to know what was going on, but he immediately squashed that idea when he saw a line of corrupted animals emerging from that large centre. They emerged from there and then scattered around, going into the other centres to search for signs of life. Langa held his breath, hiding behind the centre, until no more of them emerged.

  That was dangerous. If they had spotted him, he would have been overrun, without any ability to fight them all. It seemed like this was the command centre from which all the corrupted animals came. He had to get out of there and get to the safe zone as soon as possible. To accurately plan how to move, Langa once more checked the map. There was a gateway to the east of the centres, and from there, a narrow stretch of road leading to the safe zone.

  For some reason, on the map, the area within the gate, which contained all the centres, was marked in yellow, while the road leading to the safe zone was red, and the safe zone itself was green. It gave Langa a very bad premonition. He decided to stay vigilant and aware of his surroundings, and this saved his life.

  As he was walking past one centre on his way to the gate, two level 1 corrupted foxes leapt at him, and he was able to dodge quickly and throw the two daggers that he'd obtained from the dead player into one fox's eyes while impaling the other on his spear. After this encounter, he ran into a level 2 corrupted fox, and thankfully it was alone, otherwise, he might have been hurt. Seeing that being cautious was not really helping, Langa decided to allocate all his free attribute points from the level up into agility, and he ran towards the gate as fast as he could, to avoid fighting and get to the safe zone as soon as possible.

  The distant howls of foxes made Langa alert and he tightened his grip around his spear.

  Just as he was closing in on the gate, he heard a loud crash ahead of him. He checked the map, and to his surprise, there was a blinking black dot close by. Langa cautiously approached the area, intending to observe whoever was fighting.

  He heard a young and agitated voice cry out, “Stay back! Just stay-!” The voice cracked, clearly in fear and Langa broke into a sprint, finding the source of the commotion.

  A young boy, no older than sixteen, was frantically firing arrows from a bow. He stood pressed against a wall, his quiver nearly empty. Three foxes surrounded him, their eyes glowing blue as they focused on him. His face was pale, eyes wide with fear, and his hands trembled as he struggled to fire another arrow.

  Unfortunately, the arrow went wide, and the boy’s face clouded with panic. Langa could see his knees begin to shake beneath him.

  Hungry growls rose from the trio of foxes as they crept closer to him. There was a large level 3 fox and two level 2 foxes. One level 2 fox had an arrow sticking out of its side, the other had wounds on its legs and was limping while the level 3 fox seemed relatively unharmed.

  The boy stumbled backwards in fear, dropping his bow as he dodged the attack of one of the level two foxes.

  As this was the first living human that Langa had seen in this place, he immediately threw his two daggers at the corrupted creatures, one getting the level 3 fox straight in the eye as it leapt towards the boy, and the other dagger hitting the limping fox.

  Langa didn’t hesitate as he ran forward, his spear quickly impaling the limping fox through the side. It collapsed in pain, dead.

  Meanwhile, the boy scrambled for his bow once more but by the time he was ready to fire his arrow, Langa was wrestling two injured, but fierce and rabidly attacking foxes and in his panic, the boy missed the first shot.

  “Keep shooting!” Langa urged. “Just aim for the eyes!”

  “I can’t… I can’t!” The boy stammered, tears in his eyes. “They’re going to get me! I can’t do it!”

  “Yes, you can! Just focus!” Langa called out, thrusting his spear toward the closest fox. The weapon almost penetrated the fox's side, but it was fast enough to leap away.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  The level 3 fox completely ripped Langa’s jeans open, its claws digging deep into his legs, but he gritted his teeth, choosing instead to quickly finish off the second level 2 fox since it was more injured.

  Thankfully, the boy managed to hit the level 3 fox with his third arrow, as Langa cut through the neck of the other fox. Once one was down, it became easier for him to finish off the other one.

  The boy slid down the wall, holding his knees as he gasped for air, tears on his face. He was clutching his head as if trying to physically keep the panic inside him from exploding.

  “Listen to me,” Langa said, crouching down beside the trembling archer. “You are safe with me. We’re going to get out of here.”

  The boy’s breaths were shallow, and he shook his head frantically. He looked down, seemingly not able to look away from the blood pooling beneath the fallen foxes. His hands trembled violently, and his breaths were strangled gasps. “I can’t—what if they come for me? What if—”

  This was a child, and he was right to be shaking and panicking. Langa frowned, his thoughts turning unpleasant. The boy would have died if he hadn’t come here, and it made his heart ache to think that his niece, only nineteen herself, could find herself in such a situation.

  He knew he could be selfish at times, but he didn't like seeing children hurt. He normally did not care about people he had just met and always kept his distance to spare them from his curse, but if he saw a child in danger, he had to protect them. It was the way his father had raised him, and something close to his heart.

  Langa placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Just take your time to catch your breath. What’s your name?” he asked.

  The boy blinked, his unfocused eyes slowly finding Langa’s. “Makoto,” he whispered, wheezing. “Sato Makoto.”

  “Okay, Makoto. You’re safe now. Breathe with me, alright?” Langa said making sure to inhale deeply, trying to guide Makoto. He needed him stable if they were going to get out of here. “You need to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.”

  Makoto tried to mimic him, but his breaths were uneven. They didn't have time, though. They needed to get out of there and reach the safe zone.

  The faint growl of another fox sounded from the centre, and Makoto flinched, his breathing speeding up again.

  “It won't hurt you.” Langa had done these breathing exercises before, and repetition was key. “You focus on breathing. One step at a time. We’re safe for now.”

  Slowly, Makoto’s breathing evened out, and the trembling in his hands lessened. He wiped at his face, looking up at Langa with both gratitude and fear.

  “Thank you,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Langa smiled. “Everyone has moments like this.”

  At this boy’s age, Langa knew he would have crashed out even harder than this if he’d suddenly been brought into this place. Hell, the only reason he was even able to function right now was because he’d pushed his fears away and locked them far into the depths of his mind.

  Makoto nodded, determination slowly replacing the panic in his eyes. He picked up the bow, his fingers trembling less now. “I didn’t think I could fight,” he admitted, looking up at Langa. “I…I don't like killing things.”

  “For now, just focus on slowing them down for me, okay? You're mean with that bow,” he said. “Can you please do that for me?” he asked.

  Makoto nodded and stood up. “Yes, but what the hell is happening? Do you know what’s going on, brother?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. And my name is Langa. Are you ready to move?” he said, in as soft a voice as he could muster. He had no idea how to talk to kids or offer them comfort. Khaya always teased him about it.

  “Yes,” Makoto said, drinking a health potion, still looking dazed. He pulled out his arrows from the dead foxes. “I… I was trying to get to the safe zone but… this is so screwed up, I…”

  “Okay, Makoto, listen to me, the noise would have attracted all the other foxes left in this area. We need to run to the safe zone. As fast as we can, then we’ll talk, okay?” Langa said, making a decision.

  The boy nodded bravely, and the two of them started to run out of the gate. Langa had a really bad feeling about passing through the red zone, but here was not safe either, and he did not know if they could make it to the safe zone on time if they got delayed here.

  So, they ran. As expected, Makoto was not nearly as fast as Langa, and he was afraid to leave him behind alone. He was worried that the red zone would be full of vicious monsters that would overrun them.

  But in truth, Langa need not have worried about that. After all, there was only one monster in the red zone, and it came barrelling straight at him as he was running. Naturally, Langa managed a quick sidestep and dodged the monster. Makoto quickly got behind him, nocking an arrow.

  Langa once again threw a dagger at the monster, but it swiftly evaded, leaping back. This monster was fast. Langa would be able to outrun it, but Makoto definitely wouldn’t. Moreover, his breath deflated when he checked the monster’s level.

  Corrupted Fox

  Level 5

  HP: 300/300

  "What do we do? It's too strong! I only just got to level 2," Makoto said helplessly. Langa analysed the situation. Its HP was higher than the two they'd just killed combined! His spear only dealt about 20 damage, and Makoto's arrows about 25 damage, and that was if he actually hit it, moreover, Makoto only had four arrows. He definitely could not throw his weapon in this instance, and he doubted whether the daggers he had left would help.

  "Shoot at its feet. Let's reduce its mobility," Langa told him, readying his spear.

  Langa and the fox both charged forward at the same time, and Makoto scored a lucky hit on the monster's left leg. It snarled, changing its target to him, but Langa thrust his spear forward, and it narrowly evaded, and he managed to graze its side. It only lost about 30HP in total from both attacks. While Makoto readied himself for another shot, Langa was forced to contend with the monster in close combat, and he thought to go for its neck, but the fox once again leapt up and this time its claws slashed Langa's chest.

  [-29 HP.]

  "Langa!" Makoto cried in panic.

  It hurt. Just one hit and Langa lost a quarter of his HP. He could feel the blood trickling down his chest. At that moment, the fox leapt back, to avoid another arrow.

  Makoto's arrow managed to at least give Langa some breathing room to create distance so that he could use the spear better. But the fox would not give him even a second to drink a health potion, and it came at him once more, and he could only dodge. Still, as it was close to him, he managed to sink the dagger into its uninjured foot as he dodged. At this moment, its already rabid blue eyes turned vicious as it howled, facing Langa. An arrow missed it, and it was advancing towards him once more, and all he could do was tighten his grip on his spear and not allow his fear to overcome him.

  At this dire moment, something unbelievable happened, and a misty black rope suddenly bound the fox's legs, and someone came flying at the fox, kicking it down. It turned its head to the newcomer, but before it could fully turn, he kicked it again, this time on the side, and although he did not send it flying, Langa swore he heard a bone crack. To his surprise and disbelief, just from these two attacks, the fox lost more than 50% of its HP. Another dark mist rope appeared again, this time around the fox's neck, causing it to whimper and thrash on the ground, belly up. Langa woke up from his stupor and thrust the spear right into the fox's belly, piercing it through, and taking the last of its HP.

  You have killed a level 5 corrupted fox

  +120 EXP

  +20 bonus EXP

  +7 karma

  +20 copper coins

  [Congratulations! Level Up!

  Level 3

  +3 karma

  +2STR, +2VIT, + 1AGI

  You have 3 free attribute points to distribute.]

  Langa plopped down on the ground in exhaustion. That was too much excitement for him. It was enough to last him four lifetimes. He needed to steady his heart because he could barely even breathe right now. Makoto was also sighing in relief that they made it. They actually managed to defeat a level 5 monster. Langa felt his body heal up and presumed that he had levelled up. Although he wanted to check the system messages as soon as he could, right now, there was a more pressing matter. Their saviours. There were two of them, the one who tied up the monster, and the one who dealt a lot of unbelievable damage to it.

  "Thankfully, we made it in time," the man said. And that was using the word man loosely.

  At 1.8 metres tall, Langa was at the average height for a man, and yet this person standing in front of him towered over him. He had to be over 2 metres tall. He was dressed in odd armour, a leather vest, and leather trousers with gauntlets on his arm. His belt had a sword sheathed neatly on it. His long blue hair flowed in the wind, his gait imposing as he fixed his eyes on Langa, one purple, one red, unnatural, yet completely in place for him, a stark contrast to his olive skin. There were also tiny scales running up his hands and arms.

  Yeah. He was definitely not human.

  “Are you guys good to go? You don’t want to miss the deadline for completing the quest, and these foxes respawn every five minutes,” one of the men who saved Langa and Makoto, said. He was human at least.

  He was a middle-aged man with dark hair and a rough beard and he wore a long dark red robe and was carrying a short staff.

  “Um, yeah. Thanks for saving us,” Langa said, picking up his weapons, with Makoto trailing behind him. “I’m Langa, and this is Makoto.”

  Besides thanking the two for saving him, Makoto did not say much and he only walked behind Langa, constantly casting glances at the other two people.

  “It’s not a problem. I’m Liv’Kungsadu, and that’s Sigurd,” the non-human gentleman answered him. “I would prefer it if you call me Liv.”

  "Yeah, that's fine," he said nodding. He wanted to ask Liv what race he was but thankfully, he kept his mouth shut. His curiosity might be offensive and he might seem like a racist in this new world. Curious if it would work, Langa scanned the two of them inquisitively, and sure enough, he saw their levels. Their names were written in yellow, but curiously, Makoto's name and information were written in green.

  Sigurd Magnarson

  Level 3

  Mage

  Liv’Kungsadu

  Level 4

  Fighter

  Langa looked around the red zone as the four of them started walking at a fast pace towards the safe zone. There was an uncomfortable stench in the air, and he recognised it as the smell of death. He could not explain why, but it made him extremely wary and hyper-alert. Here in the red zone, there was not a single tree in sight, just dead rocks and destroyed wooden buildings that looked like they may have been outposts once upon a time. The place they were walking on appeared to have been some kind of a road before it was torn apart by signs of fighting.

  This world, it seemed, had not known peace before it was destroyed. Was the damage done by the corrupted foxes? What corrupted them? Langa had so many questions, but since they were still not in a safe place, he decided to hold his curiosity for now.

  There was a small, very dim sun that Langa could see in the sky, yet there was light in this place. The sky above them was blood red as if at any moment, blood would rain on them like water in this godsforsaken world. He looked up into the sky, and it truly cemented for him that he was in a different world now. It was quite jarring, and he had no idea what to think, but he knew that right now, there was nothing he could do but accept this as his new reality.

  He pushed away his fears and focused on the now. He knew he would have to deal with them soon, but that was something for future Langa to worry about. The important thing was for him to appear calm and unfazed, that way people were less likely to look down on him for not knowing more about the integration. Taking a deep breath, he calmed his mind and once more observed the world in front of him.

  As far as the eye could see, the land around this world was barren, the red sky completely overcast, and yet the temperature felt neither hot nor cold. No wind was blowing, and everywhere Langa looked, everything stood still. Every building that they passed by was half destroyed. Areas that looked like they were previously farmlands were scattered all over the place but were overgrown with weeds. Even though this wasn't Earth, Langa knew, having grown up in the rural areas, that it had been years since anyone tended to these farms. What on earth happened to this world? He wondered why it had been abandoned. It was desolate, no matter how far he looked as if there had never been a soul living here, and he did not like it one bit.

  He decided that what he needed most was information. He needed to know more about this world, the Tower, and his new companions. He was not sure if he could trust them, but they had saved his life, so he gave them the benefit of the doubt. They did not have to come out here to search for survivors, but they did, and he was grateful to them for that.

  They were getting closer to the safe zone when Langa asked, “Did your worlds also get integrated into the Tower? Does that mean that you guys are here for the tutorial too? Have you met up with any other people?” He wanted to ask if any of them saw any dead bodies, but there was a child here, so he held his tongue.

  "Yeah, of course, we're also here for the tutorial. I'm from the 40th Floor, and Sigurd said he's from the 32nd,” Liv said, looking at him with his unnatural-coloured eyes. "Besides the two of us, there are three other players in the safe zone. Sigurd and I were worried that there might be others still out here, so we decided to scout around. The next tutorial quest is gonna be a group effort, so the others are waiting for us at the town hall. Which Floor are you from?"

  Langa matched his step, "36th Floor, whatever that means." He could feel a headache coming on. Today was not going at all how he expected. He hated being behind, he liked to be in control of his life, and without knowledge of this world, that control was slipping. No, he wouldn't think about that. He would just pretend everything was fine as usual.

  Fuck, he needed a drink.

  Did they have wine in the Tower? Hell, he would even take a beer whatever they had as long as he could get some alcohol in his system. Langa could not believe that the first food he thought to ask for was alcohol and shook his head as Liv continued speaking.

  Liv gave him a sideways glance. “You don’t know? This tutorial is taking place because someone cleared the 30th floor of The Deiwos Tower, therefore, The Unrivalled has unlocked the next ten floors of the Tower for players who have cleared the 30th floor,” he explained. “That’s why inhabitants of the worlds that are set to be the 31st to the 40th floor were given a chance to become players and climb the Tower.”

  “How does that even work? I mean does it mean that while we’re out here, those players can just travel into our worlds as they see fit?” Langa asked, puzzled.

  “No,” Liv shook his head. “Only the 31st floor is open right now, and I don’t know how long the players who have made it up there will take to clear it before the 32nd floor opens up.”

  ”I see,” Langa said, though he didn’t get it. Something occurred to him as they continued to walk towards the safe zone. “How come you can understand IsiZulu? I’m pretty sure that’s not a language that they teach in your world. It’s not a language that’s even taught all that much outside of South Africa,” he asked.

  ”What are you talking about, brother Langa? I’m speaking Japanese right now,” Makoto said with a frown.

  Ah, what? This just confused Langa further until Sigurd explained. “The system translates all languages in the multiverse into Towerspeak, the universal language of the multiverse. You may not know it, but you’re speaking Towerspeak right now. You can even read it as naturally as if it were your native tongue. Even all the prompts and notifications from the system are in Towerspeak.”

  That was fucking weird. There was so much more that Langa wanted to ask, as this was a lot of information. However that would have to wait, and he suppressed all that as they finally reached the safe zone. He wanted to take a rest.