Aaron gasped and struggled against the strange magic he was caught in and could barely move. His arms and legs were pulled with a force beyond his imagination as the young blonde man calmed down and started chuckling nervously.

"Well, that was close Plane." he said and with shaking fingers he straightened out his clothes.

Plane? How did this man know his last name? He did not think he had given it to anyone in this world. There had been no reason for it. So how could this random mage know this? But then when the young blonde man smirked, he recognized him. He knew that smirk, that smug look of superiority.

"Agent Walter." Aaron said and scoffed.

"Here we are in a new world and you still try to catch me."

While talking Aaron frantically went through his options, tried to think of a way out. This spell was like nothing he had ever faced before. It was beyond his ability to contest with brute strength. So what could he do? What options did he have?

"You are still the same, Plane. Still a monster. What? Did you think you would get away scot-free? That you could murder people without an issue just because you ingratiated yourself with the red-light district?!"

Horace trembling subsided as his fury took over and he reached out and held one arm up and aimed at Aaron's chest like a weapon as he cradled the armband around his wrist. That was probably the one enchanted with the electric bolt. Nothing in this ambush had gone right. The man's shield had broken and had sent him careening back before he could launch another attack and when he did, another shield had taken his hits and this strange spell had him in his grasp before he could do anything. Frantically Aaron thought about any options he had to deal with this, when he remembered that he had begged Mortag, the master artificer and weapon master and one of the thirteen Cultivation prisoners, to make him a magic breaker. Aaron had never used it before. There had been no need. The spell the kids had used on him had been largely ineffective and he had never been stuck by magic like this. Aaron had forgotten he even had it. He had stopped wearing the ring and had put it in his purse. He remembered it now because he had seen it when he had almost emptied his purse to pay for his night with Ella.

"Well, no need to drag this out. Time to die, Plane." Agent Walter said and Aaron contorted, he ducked and pulled himself into a little ball as all of his strength strained against the chains of magic. He could not reach the magic breaker in his purse, any other way. The searing bolt of lightning passed over his head, searing the wall the next building over and Aaron barely got his purse snagged with the fingers of his left hand, before he was drawn back and his arms shot back into the air. This time much tighter and more painful. Aaron groaned. But he had gotten his purse. His fingers dug into the leather as he sought the ring.

"Stay fucking still and die." Walter snarled and waited for the cooldown of his armband to vanish, before he shot again. Aaron was way too busy trying to get to the magic breaker out of that damned purse to dodge this time. He strained against the chains of magic, but was only able to throw off the mages aim by a bit. Instead of his chest, the searing bolt of lightning burned into his shoulder.

The pain was like nothing he had ever experienced. With his heightened senses the pain overwhelmed him. His fists tightened, his fingers ripping the purse apart, his whole body in a spasm as the electricity locked him up for a moment. His whole world was pain. He could not think. He needed to make it stop. Tears streamed down his face as he groaned in pain. But then he became aware of the edges of a sharp metallic ring digging into the palm of his hand. With the last vestiges of his consciousness he pushed Qi into the ring and activated it by sheer will.

The magic around Aaron faded away like it had never existed. The chains vanished and even Horace's shield disappeared in Aarons magic sense, although he had no time to ponder what that meant or to capitalize on the opening. The pain was all he could think about. He noticed the mages arm come down again for another attack and dove aside. But there was no need. As soon as the spell came within the vicinity of Aaron it just faded into nothingness. Aaron groaned in pain and fumbled for one of the potions on his belt. He uncorked it with his teeth, as his left arm was entirely useless and then finally poured it over the wound. The grizzly burn closed as flesh knit together fueled by magic and Qi. Within seconds it scabbed over and stopped bleeding, the health potion working in tandem with Aaron's natural regeneration. The pain in his shoulder was slowly fading away and it was the greatest feeling in the world, but that did not help his current situation.

When Aaron came to his senses, he realized Agent Walter had gone. He panicked only for a moment before he focused on his hearing. There, just around the corner of the next street he could hear him running away. Something cold and calculating took over Aaron as he left the remainders of his purse spread all over the ground and leapt into the air with a Wind Steps empowered jump. He ricocheted off a nearby house and dove forward, jumping from wall to wall until he had caught up with the man. He was just turning into one of the more populated streets when Aaron dove down and crashed into his back, mirroring their first contact.

There was a slight buzz as another shield vanished under the might of the magic breaker embedded in Aaron's fists. Then he was bringing the man down in a tackle.

"Heelp!" the man screamed before Aaron punched him in the back of the head, sending his forehead bouncing off the cobblestones. Aaron hit him a second time and the man stopped moving. When Aaron looked up he was surrounded by people staring at him. Bloodied, his clothes burned, his face visible to all. Damn. He found the red armband he had tucked into his waistband at some point and threw it out onto the street in front of him.

"District Business." he declared. "Nothing to see here."

Then Aaron hoisted the man up and over his shoulder, before taking him away. The people looked unsure. But were frozen in the moment. Nobody acted and Aaron walked the way he had come from, with the unconscious mage slung over his shoulders. In the distance he could hear someone call for the guards. Damn. This would be a pain in his ass, if he was identified again. Damn Walter and his revenge streak. Why could the man not leave him alone?

Aaron hurried down the empty street and nobody followed him. But his senses told him that a guard patrol was on the way. Aaron came around the corner and spotted a few kids picking up the remnants of his purse off the ground.

"Hey!" he called and the kids looked up and ran away frantically. Aaron cursed and threw Walter on the ground next to the remnants of his purse. He took Walters purse and strapped it to his belt, before he scooped up everything he had lost. But he quickly realized he was missing two memory cores. The damned kids had taken them! Aaron cursed his luck and grabbed Walter again, before he leapt up into the sky, clearing the street and landing with him on a rooftop. The guard patrol was closing in and he did not want to get spotted. With a few big leaps he was back at the mote and then past it and into the forest.

Aaron had no eye for the beauty of the forest anymore as he took Walter deeper into the forest and ran quickly a good distance into the depths of the forest. There he finally allowed himself to stop and pause. He knocked Walter to the ground and the prone, bleeding form of the mage crumpled and groaned in pain. Aaron knelt down and stripped the mage off all of his trinkets to disarm him, before he tied his arms and feet together behind his back with his belt.

With Walter tied up, Aaron took stock. His shoulder still stung from the remnants of that searing bolt of lightning, but besides that he was okay. Almost reverently Aaron took the magic breaker and slipped it on one of his fingers. He could never leave this behind again. He had to have this in reach at all times to be ready for things exactly like this ambush. Aaron had gotten careless and he had almost paid the ultimate price for it. He had to remember to be always ready. That his professional paranoia was not a disadvantage in this damned tower, but a necessity not to die horribly because of his own stupidity.

After berating himself for long minutes he came to think about the next steps. There were three problems he could see right now. One, Walter was still alive and Aaron had to kill him and dispose of his body. There was no leniency for a man like Walter who would never stop chasing him. Second less immediate problem but much more dangerous potentially was that he had been seen. There was a decent chance nothing would come of it, but he still had to take precautions. He had to send Mars a message and let Iris know to bring his stuff somewhere else outside of the Town, because for now he did not plan to return to it for a while. Better not tempt fate.

The third problem was the kids taking his memory cores. He quickly checked them over and he had lost Mei's core and the Rejuvenating Fist core. Could be worse, since he was most proficient with both techniques and he did not want anyone exposed to the memory core of the demon. He did not even know if anyone could activate them and what that meant. But he needed them back. But with him potentially being a wanted man, again, he had to give this task to someone else. This absolutely sucked. Finding two trinkets like that from kids would be almost impossible. What could he do?

Iris came to mind. She needed to know his instructions and he could meet her quickly and have her make preparations and search for the cores. But that was a lot of trust to put in the woman. Granted the woman had always done exactly or even better than he had asked, so this was his first real challenge to her. He did not want to ask anyone of Roger's group, simply because their loyalty really did lie with Mars and the district. Iris on the other hand Aaron felt like could be willing to take a chance and keep quiet about some things.

Nodding to himself as he made his decision, he heard Walter wake up. Aaron walked over to the man and looked down on him. The young blonde man rolled on his side, groaning in pain. When he looked around he was panicked, surprised and then fearful.

"Plane, lets think about this!" he said visibly shaking.

"You can't kill me. If I die everyone will know you are not really dead! They will hunt you down! But...but if you let me go, I will stop hunting you. I will stop."

Aaron scoffed and chuckled.

"Right, the man who chased me in two worlds says he will stop. Don't be ridiculous, we both know you will never stop."

"I have important and influential friends in high places who can be of use for you. I am not a combat mage. I am a green mage. I grow things for a living. Please, I...I am harmless."

Aaron shook his head.

"You know, after all this time, I would not have expected you, of all people, to beg for your life. But I guess everyone does."

Walter's face turned cold and he snarled:

"Fuck you Plane. You will not get away with this!" he roared in his fury.

"I will." Aaron said calmly and lifted the man up by grabbing him by the scruff of his neck, holding him up first by his clothes and then by the belt tied around his limbs. Walter's head bumped against the floor when Aaron changed his grip and he got a face full of grass and mulch as Aaron dragged him away. He wanted to make sure Walter died, but he also wanted to make sure it was a believable story. So far everything that happened could be salvaged. But if he cut the mage's head off there might be some uncomfortable questions some people might ask. No, better let it look like an accident. Or at least let there be plausible deniability. Aaron leapt into the air and Walter yelled for help. But Aaron knew there was nobody remotely close enough to hear them. So he let him scream.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

After a few minutes Aaron had reached a small clearing that distinctly smelled like dog. A small pack of wolves had their burrow close by and the wolves were lazing around in the shade of a big tree, escaping the heat of the morning sun. They perked up when they heard Walter's screaming and smelled his scent. Aaron put Walter down on one of the big branches of the tree he had landed and the man shut his mouth and went white when he spotted the wolves, looking up at them from dangling upside down. Their haunches were pulled back as they growled up at Aaron and Horace.

"What...what are you doing?" Walter asked fearfully.

"The Wolves in the Tower are quite a conundrum. They act like normal animals most of the time. But they are not. As soon as they spot a human they go into full monster mode. Its quite fascinating really. They can't be exterminated either because they respawn out of nowhere when their population gets culled too much." Aaron explained conversationally.

"Hell if these kinds of wild animals had existed in our world, I would have never needed to dissolve bodies in chemicals. I could have just thrown them to the dogs." Aaron said with a dark chuckle.

"Now, Aaron...please. You don't have to do this."

"You are right. I don't have to. But I choose to. You made your choice, Agent Walter when you came after me again in this world. I would not have cared about your existence. But you stalked me and you tried to kill me. No, I won't let you poison the well. You have to go. But I am not a cruel man."

Horace snorted and laughed Aaron in the face.

"You? Not a cruel man? You are a mass murderer, Plane. A monster. You killed so many people for money that almost a hundred cold cases got solved because of your arrest. You are a vile, murderous psychopathic monster. And one day someone will punish you for that fact, even if its not me. Not this time at least." Horace said with a small satisfied smirk.

"Yeah, you killed me, after you had that kid fail to butcher me. How do you justify his death? Think about that."

Horace looked away at the mention of the kid and he closed his eyes.

"Do it already, Plane."

Aaron sighed and stepped behind the man, then he closed his hands around his throat and squeezed. His supernaturally strong grip did not just stop his breathing, but the flow of blood to his brain. It took less than a minute for the man to die. Aaron felt him struggle and spasm in his grip, his arms straining against the leather belt around his wrists. Then he stopped moving entirely. It had been so easy, so quick to kill this man. Aaron had been able to listen to his heart stop. Now the man was dead and silent. Aaron let go of his throat, untied him and checked the man thoroughly for anything he might have missed. But besides a bundle of keys, there was nothing of interest. Horace Walter's eyes stared into nothing and Aaron gently pushed him off the tree and let him fall to the ground.

The pack of wolves scrambled back at the unexpected movement, but then they surged forward growling, howling and then biting, tearing, eating. Aaron heard their teeth crunch bones, listen involuntarily to blood oozing out of fresh wounds and soon the wolves were tearing the man apart. Aaron turned away from the scene of carnage and leapt into the sky. Leaving behind the former mage, the former Agent who had killed him in another life.

"May your soul move on this time." he murmured to himself. He should have felt relieved, should have felt good for killing the man that had murdered him in his old life. But Aaron felt strangely detached from that life now. He was not sure when it happened, but he had accepted this new life of his in the Tower. Had left behind his past. He was not lying when he had said he would not have bothered with Agent Walter if the man had left him alone. The animosity he had felt once for the man was somehow gone. There was nothing left but disgust over a man stuck in his past.

Now he had to deal with the problems left behind by this debacle. First he had to give a message to Mars so that he could smooth things over. Maybe invent something like the district enforcing some gambling debts. Then while one of the districts enforcers had tried to make him pay up, the man had fled into the forest, where he had been ambushed by wolves and killed after the district had confiscated his magic items as part of his payment. That could work as a story. He just had to hope there would not be any people who recognized his face. Sure it had been quick and the manhunt was over, but there was still a bounty on his head. All it took was one man who was convinced it was him he had seen and then there would be more people hunting him again. It was time to wrap this up, go to the prison and then climb back up to the fifth floor to challenge himself.

An expedition up to the fifth floor would take him plenty of time and he planned a week at least of being away. By then he hoped the situation would have calmed down.

Aaron landed close to the construction site and sauntered in like he owned the place. Which he did technically. He turned to one of the workers.

"Excuse me, can you bring a message for me back to Town. I would like to talk to Iris about this little project here. Would you tell her to come out here at her earliest convenience?"

The man frowned, studied his rather disheveled appearance with a huge burned out hole in his shirt, before he directed him to one of the porters who brought equipment on the giant beetles. Aaron gave his message to that man, who let himself be convinced to do him the favor for a manastone. Then Aaron settled down to wait.

Frank Bohr came by to see if he wanted anything, but Aaron told him he was satisfied with his work and was just waiting for Iris to talk about the project on site. Which made the boss of the construction company leave him alone. For a good hour Aaron observed the construction site, talked to people and asked them some questions to seem busy. He learned some interesting things while he waited, by pure accident.

Most of the people working here were normal people and they did most of the work. True craftsmanship was still well paid and this type of labor was something Vessels did not really want to do. Except the highly specialized ones like the carpenter and stonemason who had crafting classes. When Aaron talked to them he was surprised to hear they both were former Climbers. Both men had taken one look at him and had guessed he was still an active Climber. Aaron just said he had a run in with some monsters on the second floor and both men had accepted the lie without blinking.

At the mention of the second floor one of the men frowned deeply and said grimly:

"I lost a friend during a climb on the second floor. Man got bitten by the wrong snake. He was dead before we could find the right antidote. I...I could not go back out there after that. So I found something to do with my hands. Did an apprenticeship and eventually my system gave me the option to change classes to a crafting related one."

"It just gave you the option?" Aaron asked surprised.

"Yeah, if you stop earning experience eventually the classes will change to what you can earn experience with. I am still warrior strong, but I lost a lot of my old skills and replaced them with useful ones. I am happy where I am now. Construction pays well as a Vessel."

Both men told him a bit about the crafting classes, how they were a fairly big faction in the Town, who were just satisfied living their lives. Having a family, being happy with staying on the first floor. Most had lost their ambition or their appetite for climbing. In some ways it felt like what his home country should have done for their Veterans, make them well paid members of society. But Aaron knew it was not really a fair comparison. Crafting Vessels could do things normal people could never achieve. Some skills were just not possible to replicate without an entire industry behind normal people to support them. So in a way it was a very positive thing for the Towns economy.

When Iris finally showed up, she looked hurried and Aaron gently pulled her aside and out of earshot of the rest of the construction crew to talk.

"Whats wrong?" she asked when they were alone, her eyes darting to his healed injuries with what Aaron thought was a look of worry.

"So, there has been a little incident. A mage attacked me, used a bunch of magic items to do it. I managed to fend him off and he fled afterwards. I caught him, but it was in public. I used the excuse of being just an Enforcer of the red-light district, before I fled with the mage in tow."

"You...you kidnapped a mage?!"

"Yes, kidnapped, killed and then I threw him to the wolves. Literally."

Iris paled and took a half step back, before she caught herself.

"But...but why?"

"The mage was a Summoned like me. He had a grudge from my previous life. I knew he would not let it go, so I killed him."

There was a long pause while Iris processed this with closed eyes. She took a deep breath, nodded and opened her eyes again.

"Okay, so you were seen doing that?"

"Just the kidnapping part, but yes."

"Do you think anyone recognized you?"

"Not sure. What I need you to do is tell Mars about it and have him deal with it. The story could be that the mage fled into the forest and was ambushed by wolves there. He was a non combat mage, a green mage actually. So he had no way of defending himself after I, or in the story the district took his magical items. Mars could say it was as repayment for gambling debts, that is not uncommon right? But Mars can spin the story however he wants to. Important is that he knows about it and acts."

Iris absorbed the information and nodded slowly.

"Okay, I can tell him that. So the mage is dead?"

"Yes and there should be no signs he was not killed by the wolves."

Iris hesitated for a moment, but then decided not to ask, which was probably a good thing.

"Okay, so I just tell Mars to deal with this problem?"

"Yes and oh, there is something else. Something I need you to do personally. First bring me my clothes, supplies etc. out here. I can't go back to the Town tonight in case the worst happens and people start another manhunt. If I vanish come tomorrow there is no target for anyone and nobody can do anything. So please bring me enough supplies for a two week Climb. I will vanish for a week at least, maybe a month and go training on the fifth floor. So I need supplies to do that. Got it?"

"Got it." Iris said with a nod.

"But that is only the first part. There is something I can only ask you to do.."

"What?" she asked surprised.

"During the fight with the mage my purse was destroyed and I lost some items that I want back. Some kids came and stole some of the manastones that were spread out all over the floor. I don't care about the manastones, but they also took one of these." Aaron pulled out a memory core from the new purse at his belt and showed it to her. Iris blinked and studied the intricately carved marble like memory core. Her eyes widened.

"This...what is this? Its beautiful."

"Lets call it a Cultivator training aid. I don't want it to fall into the wrong hands, but I can't risk going into the Town after what happened. So here is what I want you to do. Find the two missing marbles. The kids should live close to Arlix street, which is close to the red-light district, a bit more towards the moat. Don't tell the district though or Mars. This needs to stay between us, okay?"

Iris looked startled, but eventually she nodded and looked determined.

"I am trusting you here. So please, don't make me regret this." Aaron emphasized.

"I won't let you down, but I can't guarantee that I will find them quickly or at all."

"That is fine, just try. I think its just some kids picking up manastones on the ground and taking some things that are even more valuable to me. You can buy it from them or go to their parents. Whatever, just do it discreetly."

"Okay. Can I see it again?" Iris asked and Aaron handed her one of the memory cores. She carefully turned it over in her hand, before she asked.

"What is it?"

"That is not important. I am fairly sure nobody but me can even use it. But its still rare and I want it back."

"Right, okay. I will do my best."she said and handed the memory core back to Aaron.

"Was that all?"

"Yes, lets meet again here tomorrow, or do you think you will need more time?"

"I can bring the supplies and some of the clothes here tomorrow afternoon. But the marbles… I don't know…"

"That is fine. You have time to find them until I am back from my Climb, then I will take it into my own hands."

Iris straightened and gave him a smile.

"Alright that sounds fair. So what do I get for this little errand?"

"What do you want?" Aaron asked, more amused than annoyed over the woman's antics.

"How about a mid grade mana stone each for the two cores."

"Alright, but any bribes you pay come out of your own pocket then."

"Deal!" Iris said with a small smirk.

"Then if that is all, I will hurry back and get everything sorted."

"Good, please do. I am sure Mars will want to send a message as well, so you can deliver that too tomorrow."

Iris nodded, turned around and walked slowly back towards the path, her hips swaying quite invitingly. But Aaron was not in the mood to give her more than a look. He waited until she was gone and then leapt up into the sky. He skimmed the tree tops and took big arching jumps as he went towards the direction of the symbols embedded into the Wall of the first floor. Time to visit the Prisoners, pay them and give them an update.

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