I am just an NPC ,but I rewrite the story-Chapter 71: [70] The Dragon-Fruit Incident

"I’ll see what I can do, Red. I’ll see what I can do," I repeated, leaning my back against the cold, vibrating door of the stainless steel fridge.

The Dimension Room felt smaller now with three people and a four-headed, smoke-legged hound taking up the floor space. The sterile white light was starting to give me a headache, or maybe that was just the lingering effects of the high-voltage "Neon Jungle" we’d just sprinted through. My boots were still damp, and every time I shifted my weight, I could feel the silver line on my rusty knife humming against my hip.

Red was sitting on the edge of my cot, kicking her legs back and forth. She’d managed to find a container of something called "Dragon-Fruit Yogurt" in the back of the fridge. It was a neon pink color that looked like it could double as glow-in-the-dark paint.

"You know, for a place that’s supposed to grant your heart’s desire, the catering really sucks," she said, peeling back the foil lid. She sniffed it and made a face. "It smells like a wet dog that rolled in sugar. Hey, Cerberus, want a lick?"

The dog’s four heads fanned out like a bouquet of black fur. The middle-right head, the one with the floppy ear, leaned in, took one sniff, and let out a sneeze that sounded like a small steam explosion.

"See? Even the monster-dog thinks it’s poison," Red laughed, though she took a cautious spoonful anyway. "Ugh. Tangy. So, Ren, Rank 2? Really? You had to go and paint a giant ’Kick Me’ sign on our backs?"

"It wasn’t intentional," I said, sliding down the fridge until I was sitting on the floor. I pulled up the system screen, the blue light washing over the room. "The Signal Hub was the mission objective. How was I supposed to know the Tower would use it to broadcast our stats to the entire multiverse?"

"It’s the narrative, Ren," Mia said softly. She was sitting cross-legged in the corner, staring at her hands. She looked more grounded than she had in the Void, but that azure shimmer in her eyes was permanent now. "The Tower wants a show. It’s bored. It wants to see what happens when the ’Bakers of Oakhaven’ meet the ’Gods of Tech.’"

I looked at her. "You’re getting too good at reading this place, Mia. You okay? You leveled up twice while we were climbing that building."

[Mia: Level 6]

[Status: Stabilized]

"I’m fine," she said, offering a small, tired smile. "But the ’Superintendent’ guy... the one with the mustache? He felt different. He wasn’t like Valen. Valen was a hole in the world. That man... he felt like the ink."

"He said he was just the guy who keeps the lights on," I muttered, thinking about the lawn chair and the newspaper. "And he warned me about Zero. Red, if what he said is true, Zero isn’t here for a wish. He wants to hit the reset button. Completely. Not a ’Valen-style’ rewrite, but an actual factory reset. Deleting the Tower, the worlds, the whole thing."

Red stopped mid-bite, her spoon hovering near her mouth. "Wait. If the Tower gets deleted while we’re inside... what happens to us?"

"I don’t think ’happens’ is the right word," I said grimly. "’Ceasing to have ever existed’ is more like it."

"Well, that’s a great motivator," Red said, tossing the half-finished yogurt into the small recycler bin that had appeared next to the fridge. "I was already planning on stabbing him for being arrogant, but now I’ve got professional reasons too. Twenty-four hours, Ren. That’s how long the cooldown is on my Room-Breacher. I can’t go get Kaelen or Lysandra until then."

"We can’t wait twenty-four hours," I said, tapping the chat icon. "The rankings are updated every floor. If we sit here, someone else will overtake us, or worse, someone will track us to our Dimension Rooms. Jace said the ’Bleed Zones’ are becoming more frequent."

I checked the chat logs.

Tybalt: REN! I cleared Floor 2! The ’Flour Desert’ is over! I’m Level 6 now! The rewards gave me a ’Bag of Infinite Salt.’

Red: Infinite salt? That’s it?

Tybalt: It’s very high-quality salt, Red! And I found a Memory Core! That makes 6/5 for the Guild Contract! Does that give us bonus points?

Cian: Actually, Tybalt, yes. It seems the Tower rewards ’over-completion.’ I just received a ’System Patch’ notification. Checking it now...

Lysandra: I am at the entrance to Floor 10. There is a gate. It is made of black iron and guarded by two mechs from Jace’s world. They won’t let anyone through until the ’Clash’ begins. I’m currently Level 10.

Kaelen: I’m Level 11. I’m standing right next to her. We found each other in a ’Joint Hallway’ between Floor 9 and 10.

Ren: Wait, you guys are together? How?

Kaelen: We both took a ’High-Risk’ mission on Floor 9 called ’The Shattered Mirror.’ It forced us into the same instance to fight a double-boss.

Lysandra: It was difficult, Ren. We almost lost the dog—the one in our instance, anyway. But we made it. We’re waiting for you.

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. "Kaelen and Lysandra are already at Level 10. They’re at the gate."

"And they’re together," Red said, her eyes narrowing. "Which means there are paths we haven’t found yet. ’High-Risk’ missions... that sounds like your kind of stupid, Ren."

"It’s the fastest way to bridge the level gap," I said, standing up. I felt a surge of energy—the Level 8 stats were settling in. My Strength was 15, my Agility 18. I felt faster, stronger, less like a ’scrawny kid’ and more like the guy who had dodged Wyvern fire. "Red, Mia, let’s go. We need two more levels to hit the cap for the group-up. I’m not going to Floor 10 without being able to look Zero in the eye."

"Right behind you," Red said, her daggers clicking into her hands.

We walked to the golden portal.

[Next Mission: The Primordial Marsh.]

[Objective: Hunt the Alpha.]

[Difficulty: High-Risk (Optional Group Encounter).]

"There it is," I said, pointing at the screen. "High-Risk. That’s our ticket."

"A marsh," Red groaned. "Again with the wet feet. My boots are never going to dry out."

"Just think of the XP, Red. And the better fridge."

"The fridge better have actual ham this time," she muttered.

We stepped through the portal.

The transition wasn’t a blur of light this time; it was a sudden, heavy drop into humid, stagnant air. The smell of rotting vegetation and ancient mud hit me instantly. I landed ankle-deep in black muck that felt like it was trying to suck my boots off.

We were in the Primordial Marsh.

The sky was a thick, pea-soup green, and the "trees" were massive, gnarled ferns that towered hundreds of feet into the air. The "whispering" from Floor 2 was back, but it was deeper here—a low, guttural croaking that seemed to come from the ground itself.

[Floor 7: The Primordial Marsh.]

[Mission: Hunt the Alpha.]

[Reward: +5000 Points, Tower Level 9.]

"Alpha? What kind of alpha?" Red asked, peering through the dense foliage.

"The big kind," I said, checking my [Analysis] skill. It had been upgraded with my Level 8 rank.

About a hundred yards ahead, the swamp water was bubbling. A massive shape was moving just beneath the surface—something at least thirty feet long, covered in thick, mossy scales.

[Target: Swamp-Stalker Alpha (Level 13)]

"Level 13," I whispered. "And look at the surroundings."

I wasn’t looking at the monsters. I was looking at the other participants.

Across the swamp, perched on a large, flat stone, were three figures. They weren’t from a tech world or a magic world. They were beast-people, but unlike the lion-man, these were wolves. They wore simple leather armor and carried spears tipped with glowing bone.

[Target: Gray-Fang Tribe (Sector-12)]

[Level: 10, 10, 11]

They were already engaged with the Swamp-Stalker. One of them—a large wolf with a scar over his eye—was holding the beast’s attention with a heavy shield made of a turtle shell, while the other two were circling for a flank.

"They’re higher level than us," Red noted. "Should we wait for them to finish it off and then ninja the loot?"

"No," I said. "Look at the beast. It’s not a normal mob."

The Swamp-Stalker Alpha didn’t just bite. As the wolf-men attacked, the beast’s scales began to glow with a sickly violet light. The mud around it started to rise, taking the shape of smaller, skeletal lizards.

[Skill Detected: Necrotic Resonance.]

"It’s a Blight-infected boss," I said, my heart sinking. "Valen’s rot didn’t just stay in our world. It’s here too. The Tower is absorbing the corruption."

One of the wolf-men let out a yelp as a skeletal lizard latched onto his arm. The violet light spread instantly, turning his fur grey and brittle.

"They’re going to die," Mia said, her voice shaking. "The swamp is eating them."

"Red, stay high!" I ordered. "Mia, use the gravity. Don’t let those skeletons reach the center. Cerberus! Help the wolf with the shield!"

The dog didn’t wait. He launched himself across the swamp, his four heads barking a discordant war-cry. He cleared the distance in three massive leaps, his smoky leg leaving a trail of steam on the water. He slammed into the pack of skeletal lizards, his jaws snapping through bone like it was dry kindling.

The lead wolf-man looked up, his eyes widening as a four-headed monster-dog saved his life. "What in the Great Mother’s name...?"

"He’s friendly!" I shouted, sprinting through the muck.

I reached the wolf-man just as the Swamp-Stalker Alpha lunged. The beast’s jaws were a cavern of needle-teeth.

I didn’t have a shield. I had the "Edge of Reality."

I drew my knife. The silver line on the blade flared. As the beast snapped, I didn’t dodge. I thrust the knife upward, meeting the violet-glowing teeth.

CHING.

The knife didn’t break. The "Edge of Reality" bypassed the necrotic shield around the beast’s mouth. I felt a jolt of energy travel up my arm as the knife sliced through a fang like it was made of butter.

The beast let out a gurgling roar, recoiling.

"You!" the wolf-man gasped, his voice a deep, gravelly growl. "You are the human from the rankings! Rank 2!"

"Names Ren," I panted, my stamina bar already dropping. "And we really need to kill this thing before it summons more friends."

"I am Garra," the wolf said, slamming his shell-shield into the ground. "My brothers are down. We fight together, human!"

[Notice: Temporary Alliance Formed: Ren & Garra.]

[Objective Shared: Hunt the Alpha.]

"Red! Now!" I yelled.

From the top of a giant fern, Red dropped like a stone. She didn’t use daggers. She’d bought a ’Shock-Net’ from the shop. She threw it mid-air, the mesh expanding and engulfing the Alpha’s head.

BZZZZZT.

The beast spasmed, the electricity reacting with the wet swamp water.

"Mia! Make it heavy!"

Mia raised her hands. The air around the Swamp-Stalker warped. "DOWN!" she screamed.

The beast was slammed into the mud by a ten-fold increase in gravity. The muck exploded outward, and the Alpha’s belly—the only part not covered in thick scales—was exposed.

"Garra! The heart!"

The wolf-man didn’t hesitate. He let out a howl, his spear glowing with a primal, green energy. He lunged, driving the bone-tip deep into the beast’s chest.

The Swamp-Stalker Alpha gave one final, violent shudder. The violet light in its eyes faded, replaced by a dull grey. It collapsed into the mud, a massive pool of black blood spreading through the water.

[Boss Defeated!]

[Experience Gained: +15,000]

[Tower Level 9 Reached!]

The skeletal lizards crumbled into dust. The green fog of the marsh began to lift, revealing a golden portal at the far end of the clearing.

I slumped against a fern, my heart pounding in my ears. "That... was... too close."

Garra walked over, limping slightly. He looked at me, then at the four-headed dog who was currently licking its paws. He bowed his head. "We owe you a life-debt, Ren of Eclipse. Sector-12 does not forget such things."

"Don’t worry about it," I said, wiping mud from my face. "Just get your brothers to the portal. They need a medic."

"We will," Garra said. He reached into a pouch and pulled out a jagged tooth—a trophy from the kill. He handed it to me. "A token. If we meet in the Clash... the Gray-Fangs will not raise a spear against you."

[Item Obtained: Alpha’s Tooth (Rank D).]

[Reputation with Sector-12: Friendly.]

They limped toward the portal and vanished.

Red walked over, looking at the tooth in my hand. "A life-debt from a werewolf. You’re really collecting the weirdest friends, Ren."

"It beats having them as enemies," I said.

I checked the chat.

Tybalt: GUYS! I reached Level 8! I found a secret room on Floor 3! It was full of... I don’t know, glowing flour? I think I can make a ’Mana-Bread’ now!

Cian: I’m at Level 9. Just cleared a puzzle room involving floating platforms and lasers. I feel like a gymnast.

Red: We’re Level 9 too, Cian. One more floor and we hit the group-up.

Ren: Let’s not waste time. Floor 8 is next.

We walked toward the portal. But before we reached it, my system screen flickered. A message appeared, but it wasn’t in the chat box. It was a private ping.

[Sender: Zero (Rank 1)]

[Message: You are inefficient, Ren. You spend too much time on ’Allies.’ In the end, only the individual matters. I will see you at the gate. Don’t be late.]

I stared at the screen. The cold, clinical tone of the message made my skin crawl.

"What is it?" Red asked, noticing my expression.

"Nothing," I said, closing the window. "Just a guy who needs a hobby."

We stepped through the portal.

Floor 8 was a world of white marble and endless staircases that spiraled into a cloudless sky. It was beautiful, but there was a sense of utter loneliness about it.

[Floor 8: The Stairway of Silence.]

[Mission: Climb.]

"Climb?" Red asked, looking at the thousands of steps. "Just... climb?"

"Looks like it," I said.

We started walking. It was a quiet, contemplative floor. No monsters, no traps. Just the sound of our breathing and the rhythmic thump of Cerberus’s paws.

As we climbed, I looked at Red and Mia.

"You guys ever think about what you’ll wish for?" I asked. "If we actually reach the top?"

Red stayed quiet for a long time. She looked at her daggers, then at the distant horizon of the Tower. "I used to want gold. Enough to buy a palace and tell everyone to go to hell. But now?"

She looked at me and smiled. "I think I just want to make sure we get to open the bakery on Monday. I miss the smell of the cinnamon rolls."

"I want the garden back," Mia said softly. "The one where the birds don’t scream."

"I want a world where I don’t have to check the script," I said.

We reached the top of the staircase. A golden portal was waiting.

[Floor 8 Cleared!]

[Tower Level 10 Reached!]

[System Announcement: Participant Ren has reached the Level Cap for the Preliminary Phase.]

[Party Formation Enabled.]

[Dimension Room Hub: Unlocked.]

"Finally," I whispered.

The world dissolved into white.

When my eyes opened, I wasn’t in my small, sterile room.

I was in a massive, circular hall. The walls were lined with bookshelves, and a large stone fireplace was crackling in the center. There was a kitchen area that looked remarkably like Tybalt’s, a training area with wooden dummies, and five separate doors leading to private quarters.

And standing in the center of the room, looking at us with wide eyes, were Kaelen and Lysandra.

Tybalt and Cian were there too, having just popped in from their own portals.

"REN!" Tybalt screamed, launching himself at me and nearly knocking me over. "THERE ARE NO SANDWICHES HERE! IT’S A REAL KITCHEN!"

Kaelen walked over, his massive hand ruffling Mia’s hair. He looked at me and gave a sharp nod. "You made it."

"We all made it," I said, looking around at my team. The Baker, the Thief, the Knight, the Mage, the Hero, and the Key.

We were back together.

But the celebration was short-lived.

The floor beneath us vibrated. A holographic screen appeared in the center of the hub, visible to everyone.

[Clash Phase Initialized.]

[Floor 10: The Arena of the Apex.]

[Participants Remaining: 100.]

[Time until Entry: 10:00.]

I looked at the rankings one last time.

[Rank 1: Zero (Level 20)]

[Rank 2: Ren (Level 10)]

The level gap was huge. But as I looked at Kaelen’s black sword, Lysandra’s glowing shield, and Tybalt’s infinite bag of salt, I didn’t feel like an underdog.

"Alright, Eclipse," I said, my voice echoing in the new hub. "Check your gear. Buy whatever you need from the shop. We have ten minutes to figure out how to kill a guy in a silver suit."

"And after that?" Red asked, sharpening her daggers.

"After that," I said, "we take the Tower."