Within the Pot n' Kettle, two different otherworlders met each other for the first time in this brand new world. They didn't know a thing about each other, including their behavior patterns or their intentions.

And in this world, trust was rarely given, and often it could rise into a violent fight between different opinions and beliefs.

Thankfully, these two had no qualms in that subject.

"So, Journeyman," The alchemist, Lyle, said with a hint of excitement in his eyes as he poured coffee into his cup from the counter. "How's that like?"

"Like eating Taco Bell, and it coming back in full blast from everywhere."

Lyle paused, his eyes widening, "...Everywhere?"

"Everywhere," Zeke replied easily.

The man visibly shook, either from horror, disgust, or the mixture of both. Once he poured the drink into another cup, he handed it to Zeke sitting down on the chair, with Lyle sitting across from him in another, a small table separating the men.

They were currently in the back of the alchemist shop, temporarily closed due to their chance meeting. It was extremely rare for people from the same world to see one another, so even Lyle took the chance to get as much information as he could.

Of course, Zeke did the same. And according to his eyes, he was right to suspect the man to still be in Expert stage.

Alchemist, Level 55.

He was right to consider he was nearing his peak, but Zeke felt something… more from him. But he didn't know what it was. It certainly feels like a lot, like how one only has a low level but carried a lot of potent skills or powerful equipment.

But now Zeke could figure out that it was also his connection to his partner, and apparently Lyle's partner still lived, which was a blessing.

When they found out about their origins, there was some tension between the two. However, Zeke learned his lesson after the last tower, and considering his position, he was entering into a private establishment of the otherworlder, in a stronger stage than him.

So he first swore that he will not do anything, and even willing to make an oath. Not a contract, as that felt too much to handle for the alchemist. But after listening to him, Lyle seemed to pick up on Zeke's non-aggression, and the two just sort of agreed to talk things out.

Even stranger for Zeke, Lyle seemed to have picked up his hesitance, agreeing to let him in the back to have some coffee. While he refused at first, Zeke realized Lyle's intentions of making things easier, so before he realized it, the two acted as though they returned back in the old world who have similar hobbies. The first thing Lyle wanted to talk was the Journeyman advancement, and Zeke readily replied with glee.

"So you need to have titles, skills of Rare rarity and above, and even Class Skills at max, huh?"

"Yep. Took us a whole year just for the Class skills. It's harder when you're a crafter, unfortunately."

"I'll say," Lyle let out a puff of air. "I can bet you went to some dungeons and stuff, but it's not easy gaining levels when you're reaching the peak of your stage."

"Because you don't have enough monsters to fight, right?"

"Yep," Lyle nodded. "And if you don't have monsters to fight, you can't really use your skills as often, so they lag behind. Kind of a shitty system, don't you think?"

"Tell me about it," Zeke shook his head. "You need money to buy a license to hunt monsters, and to get money, you need to get stronger. But to get stronger, you need to hunt monsters, and to hunt monsters, you need money."

"A vicious cycle," Lyle scoffed bitterly. "Not so different from our world, eh?"

Zeke festered in his thoughts, taking those words in stride. He figured it was about time to ask about his origin.

"...How long had you been stuck in the tower?" Zeke eventually asked.

Lyle looked as though he expected that question, and after setting the cup down to the table, he looked at Zeke straight in the eyes.

"Just so you know," Lyle said first hand. "I like to believe you're a good bloke. I mean, you didn't try to kill me, and in this world, that's really kind. But just remember I can't just blab out everything. For my own sake–and for my partner too. So I hope you'll forgive me for being vague on a few things."

Zeke nodded. "You don't have to tell me anything you're uncomfortable with. Like I said earlier–I have no intention of hurting your or your partner, or anyone else for that matter. I like for us to be friends."

Zeke was completely honest with that. Sure, Lyle seems to be a competent alchemist, and Eve Glade certainly needed one of them. But he didn't care.

The fact that Lyle was a surviving otherworlder like Zeke, and wasn't a total piece of shit–that made him worthy enough to care and protect.

He doesn't really believe he can protect all of his otherworlder kin. But in truth, he wanted to try. What's the point of all this power if he can't protect himself and others?

Seeing the look in his eyes, Lyle smiled. "Right. Sorry about that. Being in Arcelot can sort of put you on edge. Lying here is like breathing for these people, y'know?"

"I understand," Zeke nodded. "I promise you–nothing here will leave this room if you don't want it to. I do, however, gotta tell you. My partner–she's gonna find out regardless."

Lyle let out a hearty chuckle. "So, you got a missus already? Sounds like a handful."

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"Oh, you wouldn't believe it," Zeke smiled. It was a genuine, warm smile.

Seeing that, Lyle smiled back. Then his eyes turned distant, a frown forming on his lips. "I woke up in the middle of nowhere–I'm guessing just like you did?"

Zeke only nodded. He stayed quiet as he continued.

"So I got up, found out I wasn't at my sweet condo taking a breather after pulling three nights of overtime at my work. You can believe I thought I was hallucinating. I worked at a compound pharmacy, you see. Pays good money, but it can be brutal there."

Zeke tilted his head. "That's why you're an alchemist?"

"It's practically fate," Lyle shrugged. "When I found out I wasn't going crazy, I saw that I was in some sort of cave. It was totally dark, and there were only small torches guiding me. I kept walking around, then I met my partner–who tried to strangle me and stab me between the eyes."

Zeke widened his eyes. Lyle chuckled, completely expecting that reaction.

"Yeah, not gonna lie–I didn't exactly make a manly sound," Lyle said with mirth in his tone. He looked back at that rather fondly despite the grim undertaking. "She was a pretty small girl too–almost half my height and everything. She saw me first and figured she could get the first strike in. When I explained myself, found out that we're both in the same situation–she just broke down and cried. She thought she was gonna have to kill me. I can expect that she didn't exactly have a safe past."

Zeke stayed quiet on the matter. Mikella herself was in the same boat, so to speak. She was running away from her parents with her sister, basically kidnapping her. It was for the better, of course, but it was still rough on the mind.

"Then we worked together to get the hell out of there. The cave got bigger, and it looked like a pyramid, like in those Mummy movies? Anyways, we got the system initialization–boy, that was a full-on whopper. Got levels, beat monsters, got stronger, and eventually reached the end."

"Did you have to face a giant boss at the end?" Zeke recalled the first time he found the Master of the tower, the giant knight that almost killed them. Considering how powerful those bosses were, he wasn't surprised that the two couldn't handle it.

"We did," Lyle nodded. Then a frown showed on his face. "It was… weird. It was gonna kill us, and we have no way out. I thought that was gonna be the last of us. But then… the boss started to turn 'wibbly-wobbly' and boom! A portal–right there in the center of its body. I don't know whether it was supposed to be some sort of plan or something, but the tower just started shaking like it was about to cave in on us. The boss just stopped, like it was snuffed out already. So me and Janet ran like hell into it. It's either be in a completely different place or get buried, y'know? Once we did… the tower just…"

"Boomed," Zeke answered, getting Lyle to nod. "Yeah, same experience...Did the boss ever try to get out of that tower?"

Lyle's eyes widened in alarm. "Thank god it didn't. I don't think my heart could've handled it back then. No, the tower just up and blew up. D…Did it happen to you?"

"Yeah," Zeke grimaced. "You didn't by chance have that really cryptic and scary message at the end, did you?"

"Oh, we got that," Lyle shook his head. "Been a while, but I can still remember that scene like it happened just seconds ago."

Zeke just slumped on his chair, crossing his arms. His cup of coffee was left on the table, half of the contents still steaming as he took the story to heart. From his periphery, he noticed Lyle shifting slightly, his expression becoming agitated as he put his elbows to the table, facing him directly.

"I'm guessing you've been around longer than I did," Lyle mused with a wry smile. However, there was no hint of mirth behind it. "And from the looks of it… did you find other towers?"

"We did," Zeke nodded. "Each one was entirely different from another interior-wise, but they have the same rules, so to speak. We also met different otherworlders, but half of them were already dead, and one was pretty unhinged…"

"How so?"

"He tried to kill us all and make us into his zombies. He's a necromancer."

"Oh, that makes sense," Lyle let out a breath, instantly taking that last statement strangely fast. "Different towers and more otherworlders... What's the point of all this? Do you know anything?"

"It's… complicated to explain right now, but basically we have a mission," Zeke relayed, immediately catching Lyle's attention. "We need to be ready for the trials coming soon for us, and we have to reach Journeyman in two years."

Lyle paused for a moment, shaking his head. "Journeyman in two years? As far as I heard, it takes decades or some pretty expensive opportunities to reach that high. Not to mention, I can't even imagine reaching Journeyman in just a year and a half for us."

Zeke's eyes widened at the last comment. "How long ago did you clear your tower?"

"It's been about 6 months right now,"Lyle tilted his head. "Maybe a few weeks after that?"

Zeke's eyes became saucers at the new information. Lyle noticed that before Zeke continued for him. "Me and my partner got out of the tower almost two years ago."

"What?!" Lyle nearly shouted, mostly in shock rather in indignation. "Two years?! Wait–Does that mean you've been taken to the tower two years ago?"

Before Zeke could give an answer to that, his agitation got him to ask his own question. "Before you disappeared into the tower, did you hear any news regarding any disappearances in the old world?"

That took Lyle off for a moment, but he quickly picked up Zeke's meaning as he answered with a shake of his head. "No… I mean, we come from different countries, but that sort of thing might have spread. If you said you've been in different towers, and you even met otherworlders–good or not–that means more people should have disappeared… but we never got any news about that."

Zeke slumped back in his chair again, this time his mind was whirling at the new information.

"Does that mean time works differently while in the towers? Or considering that you've been here for half a year, while we were here for two… that means the disappearances started before, but only some have been in the towers."

Zeke stared at Lyle as he asked. "How long have you been in the tower?"

"About a few days," Lyle answered readily. "You?"

"About the same," Zeke shook his head. "This doesn't make any sense. What's the gap between the timelines here?"

"Mate, this is becoming some sci-fi fantasy shit…" Lyle shook his head along with Zeke. Hearing those words brought Zeke another nostalgic moment from the old world. "Man, I still don't know how in the world can we reach Journeyman in such a short time."

"Don't worry," Zeke assured him. "We'll do what we can to help you level up before then. Honestly, considering all of this–It doesn't seem like such a high hurdle."

"You can say that cuz' you've already reached Journeyman."

Lyle said, mostly out of instinct at least to Zeke's senses. Feeling what he said, Lyle shook his head.

"Sorry, I didn't mean that. I know you must have busted your balls to get to where you are. I guess it's just everything around me, you know?"

"I know," Zeke nodded. "But this time you'll get help. I'll make sure of it."

Lyle stared deep into Zeke's own, a frown showing on his face. "Just checking, but what are you getting out of this?"

"Nothing, really," Zeke shrugged. "I'm just glad you're not trying to kill me like the necromancer did."

That certainly got Lyle to laugh out loud, and since there wasn't much else to talk about without their perspective partners around, they got around to tell their stories about what had happened between them.

Normally, Zeke wouldn't be the type to divulge so much at the first meeting with a stranger, even if they share the same priorities. Still, there was something about Lyle that felt welcoming, something that reminded Zeke of a friendly retailer who recognized you by name and offered a friendly greeting every time you passed.

Eventually, the two just kept talking, not realizing that their partners were indeed about to approach them soon.

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