"Oh! That's a good question, I never really thought about it." Jarek replied, scratching his temple with a relaxed air. "Following the ranks of the Order, I would say at least floor -3. But given that I am one of the best Gold ranks on this floor, I would say that I can at least go up to floor -2. Finally, only if I use the power you just saw."

Sora frowned slightly at Jarek's answer. The floor -2... It didn't seem so high, but yet Sora understood in an instant that he should at least acquire this level of mastery or power to hope to reach this stage. But Sora also understood that Jarek was still hiding a higher power than this one and that he could climb even higher. "And if you used all your power, which floor could you reach?"

Jarek thought for a moment, his eyes wandering from right to left. "I honestly have no idea. Maybe floor 1 or even floor 0."

Floor 0... The floor that marked the difference between the lower and upper floors. But especially the floor that marked the beginning of an adventure for all climbers wishing to reach the top of this Tower. Thousands of people try to climb every year by rushing to floor 0 to start their adventures. But of the thousands who try, only a handful have the chance to reach their goals, and this after years of training and sacrifice, both physically and mentally.

"Anyway, it doesn't really matter. The important thing now is to return to the Order so that we can receive our reward." Added Jarek, while starting to take the way back.

Sora stood still for a moment, watching the silhouette of Jarek moving away with a slight step. His words still resonated in his head. Floor 0, the real gateway to the unknown. He clenched his fists, both excited and intimidated. This world was much larger and more ruthless than he had imagined, but it only sharpened his resolve.

"Hey, kid, are you dreaming or what?" said Jarek with a grin on his face. "Hurry up, or I'll leave you behind!"

Emerging from his thoughts, Sora nodded and pressed the step to catch up with his companion. The return to the Order was relatively silent, each immersed in his own reflections.

The darkness of the night had already settled in the city and the streets were much less animated than when they left. Apart from a few sounds coming out of some houses or taverns, the rest of the city was very quiet.

As they walked in silence since they left, Jarek addressed Sora with an almost friendly voice. "Well, we made it back alive. Well done boy, you did something that very few mercenaries on this floor will ever do. You have earned the reward that awaits us."

"It's only thanks to you that we're still here. I haven't done much." Replied Sora while continuing to follow him through the streets of Grimpoint.

Quickly blowing his nose, as if to show the evidence of what Sora had just said, he answered nothing more and opened the door of the Order where some lights were still on. "Oh, I think we were expected."

Behind his counter sorting and reading a stack of sheets laid in front of him, Kieran raised his head and saluted the two mercenaries when he heard them arrive. "I see you have returned alive."

While keeping his state nonchalant, Jarek laid the mission on the counter and did not bother to respond.

Kieran took a quick look at the leaf that Jarek had just dropped, then raised his head towards them with a wide grin. "I assume you have completed the mission and want your reward," he said, although the answer seemed obvious.

"Of course." Jarek replied in a flippant tone, holding out his hand as if he were immediately claiming his reward.

Amused, Kieran turned around and left in a room behind the many desks before returning with two purses. He gave them to Jarek before sitting down again. "Here are 1,950 ecus. You can count again if you wish, but the account is there."

"No need for that. It's not for me anyway," Jarek replied as he turned. He then handed the two bags to Sora and ordered him to take them both.

Sora opened his eyes, surprised by Jarek's gesture. "What? No, I can't accept that! It's your share!" he protested, raising his hands to refuse the scholarships.

Jarek shrugged, his expression still relaxed. "Listen, kid. I'm not a charity guy, so don't get any ideas. You need that money more than me, plus I told you not to come dressed like this, you look like a bum. Use it to buy new clothes, armor and some potions, you may need them."

Sora hesitated, the purse always tending towards him. "I'll take it, but only half of it, you need money too, especially since you did everything."

Raising his eyes to the sky, Jarek forced Sora to take both bags and replied. "Believe me, I'm not short of money, I earn about as much after each mission every day, so I can spend a day without any reward."

After having heard his explanations, Sora felt almost angry, he who had been struggling for more than a week to save some ecus, heard a speech that almost hurt him. But in return, he also knew that he could not refuse this money. 1,950 ecus was almost the equivalent of 100 rewards for the missions he performed, enough to shelter him for a while.

"All right, I'll take the money, but know that I will pay off my debt." He answered by taking the two bags which were much heavier than he would have thought. "Fuck, so that's being rich." He says to himself.

"If it pleases you... Well, I'll leave you, I'm hungry." Jarek announced as he headed out of the Order. But just before he left, he turned briefly towards Sora. "Kid, be on time tomorrow morning."

The door closed behind him and a pleasant silence settled for a few seconds.

Kieran, who was still sitting behind his desk, sighed slightly before addressing Sora. "He is really special... You must have seen a lot today."

As he quickly thought back to his day, a slight smile appeared on Sora's face. When he realized it, he repressed him immediately. "That's what you said. I never know if this guy is serious or not. We were training this morning and the only thing he was thinking about was humiliating me and putting me down almost all the way. And every time I got more or less used to his training, he suddenly increased the cadence to humiliate me again..."

...

Without realizing it, Sora had spent more than 20 minutes telling Kieran about everything he had done with Jarek. Even though he had initially emphasized the passages where Jarek was haughty, the more his story progressed, the more objectively he described what he had seen. He had even honestly admitted that when he used his skill, it was the most stylish thing he had ever seen, he spoke of it as a fan would speak of the concert of his favorite artist.

Upon hearing this, Kieran uttered a slight involuntary laugh, which stopped Sora net in his seemingly endless momentum.

When he stopped, he said again. "Excuse me, Sora, I was only surprised to hear someone describe Jarek this way. Usually, other mercenaries see him only as haughty and disrespectful because he is not interested in others."

Realizing what he had just said, Sora tried to catch up as best he could. "You're kidding, I've been calling him arrogant and haughty all my life. You just don't listen."

Kieran looked at Sora with an intrigued smile, "You know, it's funny, but listening to you talk, it almost seems like you're really interested in him. Finally, a little."

Sora raised an eyebrow and shook his head, as if Kieran had just said something absurd. "I'm really interested in him? Seriously ? This guy spends his time mocking me and provoking me. Believe me, it's not interesting. It's just... annoying."

Kieran shrugged, amused. "Really? Yet you just spent a good 20 minutes talking about him. You have a knack for detail, so say."

Sora crossed his arms, a tearful sigh escaping from his lips. "I was just making a summary, nothing more. Don't worry, I'm not going to start writing his biography."

Kieran leaned slightly forward, looking falsely serious. "Oh, I'm not worried. But a summary, huh? A little too... complete, maybe?"

Sora frowned, clearly defensive. "You really have time to waste, Kieran. This guy is insufferable, arrogant, and likes to push me. End of story."

"Unbearable, arrogant and... efficient, fearsome guy?" replied Kieran, a smile in his face.

"Effective, perhaps, but it doesn't change his attitude." Sora shrugged, as if to close the subject for good. "Just because he knows how to fight doesn't make him a pleasant fellow."

Kieran, still amused, stepped back into his chair. "All right, all right, all right. But watch out, Sora. Sometimes that kind of person makes more of an impression than you'd like to admit."

Sora rolled his eyes and turned her heels. "You think too much, Kieran."

Kieran let out a small laugh, but he did not answer anything more.

"Here, as long as I'm thinking about it, I still owe 35 ecus for the meal and I'll have one tonight." Added Sora while leaving the exact count of ecus.

Scribbling something on a piece of paper, he then handed it to Sora and took in exchange the écus that were before him. "Here is your lunch voucher. Like last time, I recommend the special of the day, but you'd better hurry up, because I don't think there's much left."

Sora thanked him and left for the dining room. Inside, apart from two cooks, there were only two other mercenaries who talked together over a drink. They didn't seem to have noticed Sora, or didn't care about him, which made him strange, he had almost got used to feeling many glancing eyes.

...

When he had finished eating, he returned to Kieran to book a room so that he could wash and fall asleep to be ready for the training that awaited him the next day with Jarek.

But after getting ready to sleep, Sora spent what seemed like an hour thinking about the day he had just spent. Between the morning training and the quest, this day had been really difficult both physically and mentally, but strangely Sora had really enjoyed this day and was looking forward to the next day to be able to learn and see new things ever more incredible.

And so, repeating the day that he had just lived, Sora fell asleep.

...

When he opened his eyes, the first rays of the sun were barely on their nose. And even though he got up early, Sora was already in good shape, ready to face the day ahead. But before he even began to prepare, he took the last vial he had bought from Ideor on the small bedside table next to his bed to treat his arm.

He felt almost no more pain, but his arm was still an abnormal reddish color. When he had finished drinking it, he felt a stream of fresh air flow through his entire arm, passing from his shoulder and continuing to the tip of his fingers.

His skin, meanwhile, took an almost natural color. Sora could still see a slight difference between his two arms, but that didn't seem to be disturbing at the moment.

It was then when he took these clothes that he realized that he actually looked like a tramp. His shirt had traces of washed-out blood, dirt, dust and other traces with unknown origins; moreover, it was holed on both sides. As for the condition of his pants, it was not much better.

So Sora decided on his first mission of the day: to buy new clothes.

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