Tower of Endless: Death Granted Entry

Crossing his arms, Moon took a step back. Between Roran, Dorbish, and himself stood Liquid Mountain, still stabbed into the ground after Moon loosened his hands on the grip.

A little further away, a heavy battle-axe was laying flat after a long screech, dragged by the force of the throw and the hit it took.

Dorbish looked, studying the opponent he had no business dealing with, then at the problematic Roran. ”We are not friends by any means,” he declared flatly, his hands raised in front of his chest.

Roran looked with pleading eyes to Dorbish, who shifted his face away from him, only focusing on Moon, who was not convinced in the slightest.

Moon didn’t buy it. ”You don’t have to be shy.” He shook his head. ”It’s fine to be his friend...”

”It also is fine for me to take you both on at the same exact time,” Moon declared, opening his arms to both.

”There never was a reason for a fight to begin with,” Dorbish tried to defuse the rising tension.

”Hey, don’t mix things up. It was that friend of yours who picked a fight, and you jumped in.” Moon didn’t back down. ”I don’t go around attacking people for no reason.”

Moon wasn’t just trying to restart the fight; he also was trying to gain legitimacy and justification for whatever he does to their faces, and maybe their teeth later.

Roran spoke this time, ”I just wanted to make friends,” but Moon didn’t answer. He only glared... at the arm that he was eyeing since the beginning.

Dorbish rubbed his forehead. ”There must be a way to resolve this.”

Across from him, Roran nodded aggressively.

”There isn’t any.” Moon took a step forward.

”Fellow Ascender, this is a meaningless farce,” Dorbish declared. ”And for what reason would you choose to fight two against one? We have never met before, nor do we hold a grudge against one another.”

Dorbish was regretting blocking that punch for Roran. It was just a punch... It was fine to get beat every once in a while, especially if he was a problematic bastard.

A gust of wind passed by. Moon was already by where Liquid Mountain stabbed the ground. He extended one hand, extracting it from the ground, slowly sheathing it. His other hand ran through his long hair, bringing it away from his face.

Moon gave them a toothy grin. ”One, two, or a hundred... it doesn’t matter...”

Dorbish, on the other hand, was now even more troubled. The weapon he had used to intervene was his war-axe; it was something that required a great amount of strength to handle... but this guy standing before him had punched it.

Aside, he used a great deal of Echo to enforce the throw, but it was punched, and knocked off as well...

The one who did that didn’t even show the slightest hint of pain. Dorbish ran his eyes repeatedly across Moon’s fist, the one that punched the axe, for any sign of injury or a reaction... but what he saw was only Moon exposing it and waving it around, not even trying to hide... as if he was aware of his probing gaze.

If not for his Echo and his clan’s special techniques, the axe might have ended up crushing Roran’s face instead of defending him.

And now that person was flashing his perfectly healthy hands after doing that.

Was there a way to win if two against one? Dorbish tried to assess the situation in his mind, but he wasn’t sure. His opponent was dead-bent on fighting, and he seemed to be more familiar with fighting without any Echo or weapons than the two of them.

He wasn’t sure they could win, and if they did, it would be a bitter victory... He wasn’t willing.

His eyes fell on Roran, who had his eyes darting back and forth, and he knew, this guy wasn’t weak nor was he useless... but he was not someone who could fistfight, or survive with his combat arts.

No Echo, no weapon, Roran was dead weight to him. But maybe there was a way to play it around the pride of this opponent of his.

”Fellow Ascender, I see no reason for violence... You have managed to arrive before us. Though there isn’t a rule that states whoever arrives first is the strongest, most times it is usually the case...”

Dorbish tried to mediate the weird situation he had jumped off the rift to get himself stuck in.

On the other hand, Moon was also eyeing the well-spoken guy. His axe was definitely heavy. He wanted to test his fists against it again. But since he could, testing his fists against the owner of the axe wasn’t bad either. The stronger the better; he doesn’t enjoy bullying the weak anyway.

Moon also had a plan to hurt the pride of his slick-tongued opponent.

”So, where’s your warrior’s pride?” Moon taunted. ”Does a warrior ever run from battle? One man against another, at that?”

Moon entirely dismissed Roran at this point. He didn’t even look at him anymore, but Dorbish wasn’t done yet.

Seemingly expecting the answer, Dorbish eloquently justified himself. He glanced once at the still perplexed Roran; disdain flashed in his eyes for a moment.

Dorbish felt the urge to grit his teeth. He placed his hand on his mouth briefly... he recognized this was the only way out of this. ”Your words are commendable; this truly is the heart of a warrior.” He nodded once. ”But fellow Ascender, do you realize that, unlike you, we had a hard battle through a trial and have yet to get some rest?”

Roran’s eyes shone, but both Dorbish and Moon ignored him.

Moon instead questioned, turning his back completely on Roran, not sparing him a glance. ”What are you getting at?”

Dorbish explained, ”Maybe we can hold a battle at a later date, once we are finally well-rested, have healed our wounds, and are able to adapt to the requirements of this esteemed facility.”

Dorbish was sure that someone as proud and confident as Moon wouldn’t like the idea of fighting another who is not at his best condition.

So, he shamelessly decided to use this as his bargaining chip and his way out.

Moon shook his head. He had expected the seemingly brutish-looking guy to talk his way out. Though he looked brutish, he was far from it.

He was far more eloquent than he looked, and his wits were also commendable. He was witful, but it wasn’t the kind Moon admired.

Moon, for yet once again in the same night, felt his pride hurt.

So, instead of dwelling further or wasting time on these two, he turned around. ”A warrior never questions environment or circumstances.” He looked one last time at Dorbish, his gaze full of disappointment and even a hint of pity.

”You two are not worth fighting,” he said last before walking away.

Moon, for the first time since Roran started bothering him, through all his continuous attempts to pick fights to set the hierarchy right, was speaking genuinely.

Even Dorbish, who had played mediator and spoke with eloquence, was feeling the sting of it.

He pursed his lips, Dorbish felt like it’s regrettable, he thought for a split second, before calling Moon ”Fellow ascender, my name is Dorbish, may I know your name?”

”Moon” Leaving his name behind without looking back.

Sighing softly, Dorbish looked the other side, only to find the delightful face of Roran zooming in. ”Dorbish, my friend, thank you... I owe—”

”Who’s your friend, you bastard? Piss off.” Dorbish was finally letting out his pent-up frustration.

Dorbish, who was already stressed past his limit, was now fed up. His pride was hurt, and his eloquence was nowhere to be seen.

Whoooooosh~

Another gust of wind came. Along with it, a new rift opened.

There, the first female Ascender of this wave had finally arrived.