Tower of Avarice: A LitRPG story

The elevator's steel walls reflected the stark white light above them, creating a cold, almost sterile atmosphere. Greg could hear the faint hum of machinery that vibrated through the confined space. The air had a subtle, metallic scent and the sensation of movement pressed gently against the soles of his feet.

"Can I opt out? I would rather not go on a suicide mission." Greg commented dryly as he leaned against the wall, his rifle propped up against him. Healed and refreshed, the horrors of the last Floor were a distant memory now that he was far away from it.

"I didn't hear you complaining when we saved you." Alivia responded, and Greg couldn't help staring at her. No matter how much time he spent with her, he couldn't get enough of her. He had been in the Tower for centuries, maybe millenia, but he had never met anyone like her.

'Maybe it was love at first sight.' Greg thought as he tried to get his thoughts in order.

"I'm incredibly grateful for that, but I don't see how the three of us are going to pull something like this off." Greg replied, shaking his head.

When Mathew had told him what the Tower had planned for them, and why they needed to gather a party together, he had thought his friend was insane. Even if they had a thousand people, they couldn't complete the task the Tower had assigned them.

"We're not, we'll need a fourth." Mathew said as he lowered his arm, which had been raised, to read the message from the Tower that had appeared above his silver wristband.

Mathew had changed since the last time Greg had seen him. Appearance-wise, he was the same, but his attitude was completely different. Something about him had shifted in an intangible way. He carried himself with a quiet rigidity, his posture straighter and his movements more deliberate.

His eyes, which used to be more open and easier to read, now held a sharp edge and were distant and unreadable. There was a weight in the air around him, a force that kept others at a distance like an invisible wall had been erected between him and everyone else. He felt harder and colder, like someone who had gone through hell and come out the other side.

Greg could guess what it had been. He had experienced his fair share of hardships and close calls in his time in the Tower. No one could go through what they had and come out unscathed. Their bodies may not show the scars, but their minds and souls were a different story.

"A fourth? Do you have anyone in mind?" Alivia asked with curiosity. Mathew responded with a quick nod as they felt the elevator gradually slow around them.

Page Break

"I'm going to kill them all." Rehn, the Psion and former Amadan Princess grumbled in frustration.

She was standing on a balcony with the cool air brushing against her skin as she exhaled slowly in an attempt to shake off the intensity of the meeting behind her. The crisp night air carried the distant murmur of voices from the conference room, but out here, surrounded by the quiet, manicured gardens, the tension headache began to fade.

Rehn's dark hair lifted slightly in the breeze, and the silk of her dress shifted against her frame. Though the chill bit at her skin, she welcomed it as it helped to clear her mind. Her gaze drifted over the moonlit hedges, and she tried to focus on the flowers and trees instead of the bombardment of thoughts and emotions assaulting her from inside.

Her task on this Floor was to mediate between two bitter sides in a war that had been going on for centuries, worsened by the fact that this world had been split between two gods and neither wanted to lose their grip on the Aether it generated.

The Tower seemed confident that she could do it, but she had her doubts. Even now, the fighting was raging across the planet unabated despite the negotiations, and if she couldn't accomplish her goal, she would be forced to pick a side to assist.

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One way or another, the Tower wanted the conflict to end.

Rehn let out another sigh and was just about to turn around to re-enter the building when she saw something strange out of the corner of her eye.

A soft glow rose from the gardens and cast shifting shadows across the nearly trimmed hedges as the ground rumbled ever so slightly. Then, with a quiet hum, an elevator surfaced from beneath the earth. Its steel doors slid open with a whispered 'hiss.'

Rehn watched as a young man stepped out first, his movements quick and purposeful. He had a rifle cradled in his arms that shimmered with an unnatural light, and intricate runes glowed along its barrel. A young woman followed him a moment later, idly shuffling a deck of cards between her fingers.

Rehn stiffened at the sight. The air around them crackled with potent energy, something she could feel pressing against her skin. The tension they brought lingered, and just when she thought it would begin to fade, a wave of power swept over her, crushing her with its intensity.

She had never felt anything so powerful before, and her eyes widened as she located its source.

Mathew walked out of the elevator, and the doors closed behind him. Tall and handsome, he looked just as he had the last time she had seen him. Wearing jeans and a jacket, he appeared like a normal person.

But to a Psion, he glowed like the sun.

Mathew radiated a brilliance that was almost blinding. Light poured from him like a living thing, pulsing and shifting in waves of gold and white. He had a halo of raw power encircling his body, and the air shimmered with Aether, swirling around him in luminous currents that bent and coiled as it was drawn to him.

His presence was overwhelming and the sheer intensity of it pressed against the world, warping the space around him as if reality itself strained to contain him. To Rehn's eyes, he was no longer just a man but a force of nature that burned with an immeasurable vastness.

When he raised his eyes and looked at her, Rehn could barely remain upright, and her knees threatened to buckle.

And then, as quickly as it happened, the power around him retracted, and he was just a man again. Regaining her senses, Rehn rushed through the meeting room, ignoring the calls from those around her, and arrived in the garden just as Mathew and his companions were entering the building.

"Mathew, why are you here?" Rehn asked breathlessly. It had been years since she had seen him last, and she didn't think his sudden appearance here was a coincidence. She felt a chill descend down her spine.

"Rehn, it's good to see you again." Mathew replied. Keeping his response short, he introduced his companions and informed Rehn that they were gathering a party in order to deal with a particularly troublesome Floor that the Tower had assigned to them.

"But it looks like you have your hands full." Mathew commented, noticing the fatigue and stress on her face. Rehn let out a deep sigh and explained the situation to him.

This world was dominated by two groups: ones that believed in the god of Mechanical Dominance and the followers of the god of Perpetual Temperament. They were not entirely opposed to all things, and they had coexisted for millennia. But as their numbers swelled and, new technologies were introduced and new magics discovered, war had erupted.

"You're going to have a tough time bringing peace to people like that. They've been fighting for too long; it's all they know." Greg commented, shaking his head sadly.

"If I don't, the Tower will make us pick a side and forcefully end the conflict. I would like to avoid any more killing. There has been enough death in this world already." Rehn replied, her tone heavy with reluctance.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it." Mathew assured her. She was about to ask what he could do that she hadn't already attempted, but he was already walking toward the conference room behind them.

As he did so, Mathew began to change.

His essence was reshaped into something greater, something beyond mortal limits. Power coursed through him like a rushing tide, refining and perfecting him with every passing second. His features, already handsome, became something ethereal. His jawline sharpened, his kin was flawless, and his presence became too radiant to be real.

He exuded an overwhelming sense of majesty, a force that made it impossible to look at him without feeling small in comparison. His eyes burned with a brilliant, searing blue that seemed to pierce through anything to looked upon.

The air around him shimmered with an energy so potent that it was visible to the naked eye. A halo of light encircled him and pulsed with Aether and Mana, warping the room around him.

Even Rehn, with all of her abilities, felt the need to kneel and lower her head in reverence. She could barely resist it, and she couldn't help but make the comparison to a god who had chosen to descend and walk amongst the mortals below him.

When Mathew entered the conference room, all conversation ceased. Channelling even more mana into the abilities he gained from the Aether-Blood, he forced those inside to listen to him. In only moments, both sides had agreed to a ceasefire, and Rehn was shocked that they seemed to be on track to bring peace to this world.

After the treaty was signed, Mathew led his party to the remerged elevator, with Rehn as the newest member.