Tatsu had a bad feeling from the start.He always trusted his bad feelings because they had never once been wrong in his entire twenty two years of extremely unlucky life.
The mysterious figure in the Sword Field approached slowly, each step surprisingly quiet for someone who was trying so hard to be intimidating. Tatsu hid slightly behind Fridge Sama. Not a full hide, just enough to imply that he was emotionally done with this day.
As the figure reached them, the swordsman from earlier forced himself into a shaky bow.
"Master," the swordsman said. "You have come."
Master.Tatsu blinked.
The figure lowered his hood and revealed a middle aged man with calm eyes and a heavy expression. He looked like he carried ten tons of stress and at least two failed mentorships.
"Jin," the master said to the swordsman. "You fought him."
"Yes," Jin replied. "I also lost in every possible way."
The master nodded, as if that was perfectly normal.He then looked directly at Fridge Sama.
"Cold wind," he said. "You showed up late."
Fridge Sama looked unimpressed."I did not know I had to schedule an arrival."
The master let out a sigh."You two need to follow me."
Tatsu raised his hand."Hold on. Who are you. Why are you calling him cold wind. Why did you appear like a horror antagonist. Why is my life constantly doing side quests without my permission."
The master ignored his questions with impressive skill.
He turned and began walking out of the Sword Field.
Jin bowed deeply and followed.
Fridge Sama looked at Tatsu.
"We go."
"You are just following random people now," Tatsu said.
"No," Fridge Sama said. "He is not random."
"You know him," Tatsu asked.
"No."
"Then he is random."
"Yes," Fridge Sama said, "but less random than most."
Tatsu groaned."That is not reassuring."
Yet he followed anyway because his survival instincts were unreliable and also because Fridge Sama was somehow more terrifying than the unknown master.
They walked through back alleys Tatsu had never seen, then down an old stone staircase that led beneath the city. The deeper they went, the colder it felt, and Tatsu did not like how Fridge Sama seemed perfectly comfortable in the dropping temperature.
Eventually they reached a metal door.The master stopped.He knocked twice.
Two knocks.A pause.One soft knock.
The door slid open.
A quiet corridor stretched ahead, lined with lanterns enchanted with a steady, faint glow. There were no signs, no guards, no instructions. Just a silent tunnel that gave Tatsu the strong urge to turn around and go back to his sad apartment.
The master walked ahead.Jin followed.Fridge Sama followed.
Tatsu followed because he was bad at peer pressure.
They reached a wooden desk placed right in the center of the hallway, where a guard sat slouched over a notebook, drawing doodles of what looked like unhappy chickens.
The guard looked up at them with the dead eyes of a man who had not slept since the last update patch of life."Oh," he said. "New ones."
Tatsu blinked. "New what."
The guard ignored him and pointed lazily at Fridge Sama and Tatsu.
"You two, names, age, any allergies."
Tatsu squinted."Allergies."
"Yes," the guard said. "This is official procedure. Some people are allergic to tower air. Or tower dust. Or tower disappointment. Standard stuff."
Tatsu stared."What tower."
The guard froze.He looked at the master.The master sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Recruiter," the master said. "You brought them here without explaining anything."
"I was going to explain," the swordsman said weakly.Tatsu looked at him with betrayal.
"You were," Tatsu said. "When."
Jin hesitated. "Eventually."
Fridge Sama glanced at Tatsu."You are surrounded by idiots."
"I am one of them," Tatsu whispered.
The guard tapped the desk."Alright. Time to be honest. This place is one of the secret entry points to the Tower of Trials."
Tatsu froze.His mind short circuited.
"The what," he asked.
"The Tower of Trials," the guard repeated."Big magical pillar that eats people and spits out either treasure or regret. Opens every few years. You know, the usual."
"I am not allowed inside the tower," Tatsu said slowly."I am not awakened. I am not strong. I am practically a human paperweight."
The guard shrugged."This entry is not for the general public. This is the recruiter line."
Tatsu blinked.He looked at Jin.Jin looked away.
"You are a recruiter," Tatsu asked loudly.
Jin flinched."Yes."
"And you did not tell me."
"I wanted to see your spirit," Jin mumbled.
"You fought me for seven hours," Tatsu shouted.
"That was the spirit test," Jin said.
"Unbelievable," Tatsu muttered.
Fridge Sama looked completely calm.
"We enter," he said.
Tatsu stared at him."You are actually okay with this."
"Yes."
"Why."
"I want grape soda," Fridge Sama said.
"That does not answer anything."
"It answers everything," Fridge Sama said.
The guard cleared his throat."Name."
"Fridge Sama," Fridge Sama said.
The guard wrote it down without blinking.
"Species."
"Cold."
"Okay," the guard said, writing cold under species, "sure, whatever."
He turned to Tatsu.
"And you, name."
"Tatsu."
"Species."
"Human."
The guard stared at him for two seconds.He looked at Fridge Sama.He looked back at Tatsu.
He wrote down probably human with a question mark.
Tatsu's eye twitched."Why the question mark."
"You walked in next to a talking fridge man," the guard said. "Forgive me if I leave myself room for doubt."
Tatsu inhaled slowly."This is the worst registration of my life."
The guard closed the notebook."All good. You are cleared. Welcome to the tower entrance checkpoint."
He reached for a lever on the side wall.It looked old.Very old.The type of lever that probably controlled something dangerous and also had a fifty percent chance of breaking.
Before he pulled it, he sighed.
"I just want to warn you two. The tower is not easy. People train their whole lives for this. They build teams, study strategies, and prepare mentally for months."
Fridge Sama blinked once."We have grocery money."
Tatsu held his face in his hands.
The guard stared at them for a long moment.Then he stood up, grabbed his coat, walked out of the room, and tossed the notebook over his shoulder.
"I quit," he said.
"What," Tatsu yelled. "You cannot quit now."
"Watch me," the guard said. "If I let you two in, I am not dealing with the aftermath. I am done. Goodbye. Good luck. I hope the tower eats you quickly."
He left the hallway entirely.
Silence.
Jin whispered, "Should we stop him."
Fridge Sama answered, "No. He has chosen freedom."
The master stepped forward and pulled the lever himself.With a loud rumble, the metal door at the end of the corridor slowly rose, revealing a dark chamber lined with faint runes.
Beyond it was another door carved with ancient patterns.
The air smelled old.Cold.Alive.
Tatsu's throat tightened.
"So this is really happening," he whispered.
Fridge Sama nodded."Yes."
"You are sure."
"Yes."
"Really sure."
"Yes."
Tatsu took a deep breath.
"Fine. But if I die, I am haunting you."
Fridge Sama looked at him with an expression that might have been amusement.
"You already haunt me."
Tatsu groaned."I hate you."
"Good," Fridge Sama said. "You will need that emotion."
They stepped through the doorway together.
The runes lit up.
And the Tower of Trials accepted them.