I had slowed my steps as I walked through the crowd. I was making my way deeper into the market; the shouts rising from the stalls, the bargaining cries of pirates, the smell of rum mixed with the salty air—it was all starting to make my head spin. And then, suddenly...

  "Ah!"

  A bump from the right pushed my body slightly backward. A silhouette flew forward and hit the ground. I immediately looked down.

  In front of me, a woman had collapsed to the ground…

  But she was no ordinary person.

  Her red hair clung to her slightly damp forehead. Waves of it spilled down from her shoulders. Her eyes… a brilliant emerald green. Her pupils were slightly dilated, and her face bore both pain and panic. Her features were sharp yet delicate. A slender jawline, full lips, and eyes that glared fiercely beneath her brows… she was breathtaking.

  She wore a short, navy leather jacket that ended just below her chest. Underneath it was a fitted, off-white shirt with a few buttons missing. Her black, tight pants looked worn but still functional, with extra leather reinforcements on the knees. Around her waist was a belt loaded with interlocking pouches. Her boots were heavy, sailor-style, splattered with mud up to the cuffs.

  Around her neck hung something far more striking than her clothes.

  A bright, faintly glowing necklace.

  The blue stone at its center pulsed like a heartbeat. As I looked at it, time seemed to slow down for a moment.

  I knelt and reached out my hand.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, but she only stared at me.

  Right then, noise erupted from the far end of the crowd.

  "Over here! Get her!"

  She flinched instantly. Her eyes widened—tears had gathered but hadn’t fallen yet. Without taking my hand, she pushed herself up to her knees and stood on her own. I turned—looked toward the noise—and saw them.

  A group of men dressed in black was pushing through the crowd toward us. All of them were armed. Some carried swords; one had a short rifle slung over his shoulder. Others were circling around.

  The woman took a step back, turned to run, but… it was too late.

  We were already surrounded.

  The large man standing in front of us spoke with a dirty grin:

  “Did you really think you could get away, Lil? Seriously?”

  Then his eyes shifted to me. His brows furrowed.

  “So, this time our little friend found herself a new boyfriend, huh? How sweet.”

  Another one chimed in.

  “Did you think he could protect you from us? This show won’t last long.”

  The first man reached for his sword, and the sound of cold steel echoed in my ears.

  “Kill them both,”

  he said without hesitation.

  I furrowed my brows and raised my hands.

  “There must be some kind of misunderstanding. I'm not her boyfriend or anyth—”

  But before I could finish, the man lunged at me with his sword.

  I dodged the strike with ease and took a quick step back.

  “Hey! Listen!”

  The man growled with rage and came at me again.

  His attacks were sharp but wild. Each time, I either ducked or stepped aside, dodging cleanly.

  “Look, I was just passing by! And by the way, you might want to hold your sword tighter. The sword doesn't guide you—you guide it.”

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  He got even angrier. Turning to the others, he yelled:

  “What are you waiting for?! Kill them!”

  Suddenly, everyone drew their weapons.

  The crowd pulled back, creating an open space. The circle around us tightened.

  I sighed.

  “Ah, hell.”

  Turning to the woman, I grabbed her hand.

  “We’re leaving!”

  Her eyes widened in surprise, but this time, she didn’t hesitate.

  We started running.

  Footsteps and furious shouts followed behind us, getting closer with every passing second. As we plunged into the crowd, screams erupted—people scattered in panic. The woman beside me was out of breath but determined; narrow alleys, back passages of the market, the stunned gazes of vendors—all faded into blurs behind us.

  Just as we turned a corner, two large men appeared in front of us. From their looks, I could tell they were part of the group chasing us. One held a short, hooked blade; the other had bandaged fists and a shaved head. He stepped toward me, speaking with a low growl:

  “It’s over, friend.”

  But I didn’t think in that moment. Something inside me simply ignited.

  I clenched my left fist.

  Mana surged through my veins like a spark, flowing to the tips of my fingers.

  [SKILL: STRONG STRIKE – ACTIVE]

  I stepped forward hard with my right foot, twisted my body to the side, and put all my strength into my punch. When my fist collided with the first man's chest, the air itself seemed to shift.

  "HUFF!"

  The man couldn’t even scream before he was launched backward, crashing onto the man behind him. Both of them fell, toppling a nearby stall as they hit the ground.

  I didn’t stop.

  “Keep going!” I shouted to the girl.

  We kept running. The chase had become even more frantic now. Shouts, curses, and the occasional arrows or spears flew past through the crowd. The woman vaulted over a barrel on the side of the street and veered into a narrow alley.

  I followed her.

  This time, the passage sloped upward—like a staircase.

  We were climbing onto the rooftops.

  Tiles slipped under our feet, birds burst into the sky in panic. Seeing the city from above was beautiful for a moment—until a spear slashed just past my ear, shattering that brief romanticism.

  “Left!” the girl shouted.

  Following her, we began leaping from rooftop to rooftop. With each jump, stones cracked, leaving a trail behind us. Three men were still on our tail. But we had gained some speed.

  We jumped down from one roof onto the canopy of a market stall. The fabric stretched but didn’t tear, cushioning our fall gently.

  The moment we landed, we ran again, this time into a larger plaza. Horses, carts, shouting merchants... The crowd had thickened.

  As I pushed through the masses, I spotted an opportunity:

  A moving supply cart.

  It was covered with straw mats and loaded with sacks.

  “There!” I shouted, grabbing the woman’s hand and pulling her toward the cart.

  We swiftly climbed onto the back. Inside were flour, rice, cloth, and vegetables. I quietly closed the lid, and we hid among the smelly sacks. The whole world went dark and silent. Only the clatter of hooves remained.

  I was breathless. I leaned forward with my hands on my knees, quietly catching my breath. I turned to the woman beside me.

  She looked back, sweat rolling down her forehead.

  “What... what the hell was that?” I whispered, but she only took a deep breath and nodded.

  My heart was still pounding like a drum in my chest.

  For a few minutes, we just hid. We listened to the sounds outside—rushing footsteps, angry cries of “Where did they go?”, and then the voices slowly faded away...

  Silence finally settled.

  Our cart was moving slowly, deeper into the island.

  Maybe this was the beginning of it all.

  But when I looked again at her necklace—the glowing blue gem—I realized it more clearly: I wasn’t just an ordinary person anymore.

  The inside of the cart was still quiet. We were rocking gently, wedged between sacks, but safe for now. I had caught my breath a little. The woman beside me remained silent, resting her head against one of the sacks, seemingly lost in thought. My eyes once again drifted to the glowing pendant on her neck. The blue gem shimmered softly like pale moonlight, even in the dimness.

  After a moment of silence, I turned slightly toward her.

  “Hey,” I said. “Why were those guys chasing you?”

  She didn’t answer. She looked away, biting her lip. Hesitating. Just staring ahead. But that silence... it was the kind of silence people used when they were used to danger.

  I lowered my voice.

  “You should talk now. I may not be like them, but... I’m not exactly a good guy either.”

  This time, our eyes met. After a few seconds of quiet tension, she finally spoke.

  “You must’ve noticed the necklace...” she said in a soft whisper. “They stole it from us. But

  this...” Her hand reached slowly for the pendant. “...this was the only thing left from my family.

  So… I took it back. And now, of course, they’re after me.”

  Her voice trembled, but she was resolute. The tears in her eyes were stubborn—the kind that refused to fall. There was both pain and fire in her gaze.

  In that moment, I understood: This wasn’t just a necklace. It was a symbol—of her past, her identity, her fight to survive.

  I nodded slowly.

  Quietly, I thought: “So this is just like the first floor... Everyone here—this woman too—must be native to this world, this floor.”

  Then she turned her head toward me. She looked like she was about to smile, but instead, just a soft expression appeared on her face.

  “Thanks for helping,” she said. “I’m Lily.”

  I paused for a second, then gave her a slight smile.

  “I’m Alex.”

  Lily narrowed her eyes slightly, examining me.

  “And you, Alex? You don’t seem like someone from around here.”

  I shrugged, my gaze briefly drifting to the top of the sacks.

  “I came from far away. Hard to explain.”

  Lily nodded, as if understanding something.

  “You must be one of the Strangers,” she said in a low voice.

  Her words etched themselves into my mind.

  Strangers...

  So that’s what they called outsiders on this floor.

  I thought to myself: “I guess on this floor, those who come from outside the tower are called Strangers.”

  Then I simply said, “Yeah. I guess I am.”

  The cart jolted slightly as its wheels hit the stones. But the panic from earlier had faded. Somehow, we had started to trust each other a little.

  In this foreign land, on this unfamiliar floor... maybe trust was exactly what we needed.