The instructor’s words stuck with Max. Only the most dedicated and well-vetted tower climbers visit such floors. It was as Sakura had told him before; of all the different types of climbers, becoming a tower climber was the most difficult. It was also the only branch of climber that would help him go up to the highest floors where he’d be able to find his sister.

The instructor stopped walking and so did the rest of the class.

The man held up his hand, signaling to the students to stop moving and to stay alert.

“Quiet down, everyone,” said the instructor. “There’s a monster nearby.”

Max knew they were going to encounter monsters on this floor, and yet he still felt surprised that they were about to battle one so soon.

The shadow of a creature emerged from between the trees. Its eyes glowed red. It then came into view.

It was a warthog-like creature with sharp horns protruding from either side of its lower jaw.

The creature started kicking its feet in the dirt as an intimidation tactic. It was going to attack any second now.

“We’re all going to die!” screamed one of the students at the back.

“Calm down,” said the instructor, pulling out a cigarette and putting it in his mouth.

Max didn’t understand what the instructor was doing. Now really didn’t seem like the time to be lighting up a cigarette.

The boar roared at us and started to charge at the instructor.

All the student climbers hurried backwards.

If someone didn’t step in soon, someone was going to get seriously injured.

The instructor stayed calm and flicked his fingers.

Balls of flame ignited on either side of his hands.

“He’s a firebringer,” shouted Casey, excitedly.

Wow, thought Max. This man had the power to wield flames. The boar didn’t stand a chance against power like that.

The instructor stretched out his arm and shot a blast of flames into the incoming forest hog.

The flames surrounded the hog, roasting its fur, until the whole creature was a blackened crisp on the ground.

The instructor hurried over to the blackened crisp and lit his cigarette from the ash and took a puff.

“And that kids is how you slay a monster,” he declared with casual coolness.

The burnt boar carcass behind him suddenly turned silver, and the creature melted away even further. In its place was a small copper stone and some coins.

The instructor went and picked up the copper stone.

“This right here is what’s called a monster core,” he said. “When you slay a monster, they leave them behind. This forest boar is one of the lowest ranked monsters and so why it left behind a copper monster core. Monsters all typically leave a few coins behind as well, but that’s usually less important than the monster core itself.”