Black Online-Chapter 194: Tower Announcement

"...Let’s get the party started."

A man said with a wicked smile.

He then pulled out a box of matchsticks and lit one—then he brought it to the fuse of a dragon-shaped firework.

The fuse burned quickly.

And at that moment, the dragon firework started soaring through the air, and when it exploded, a dragon-shaped explosion lit up the night sky.

The dragon breathed fire, and its wings spread out majestically as it danced through the sky—it felt like it was an actual fire-breathing dragon.

"Whoah!"

"Amazing!"

Down below, the citizens of the 6th floor watched in amazement as the first firework was lit—signaling the start of the Sun Festival.

Toooot~ Toooot~ Toooot~

The sound of horns went off, and following that, a long parade of caravans, each more colorful and elaborate than the last, made its way through the city streets.

On top of caravans and platforms, there were people dancing and playing music to the beat of the horns.

And in the air, kites of phoenixes, dragons, wyverns, and anything that flew could be seen soaring gracefully among the buildings.

"...Sun Festival has begun!"

"...I need more drinks!"

"...The cheapest beers are available here. Come over!"

The streets were packed. It was impossible to find any place without bumping into someone.

A handsome man grabbed his girlfriend’s hand. Then twirled her around like she was a ballerina. And then they locked into a passionate kiss.

Elsewhere, kids with their families were laughing and eating cotton candy—some were even chasing after the parade.

"...It is as lively as I remember."

Della said with a smile.

She was walking alongside Rock, Fang Raon, and her mother, Elena, as they left St. Bella Village to check out the festivities.

"You’ve been to the Sun Festival before?"

Fang Raon asked curiously.

"Yep. This is my third time."

Della said with a smile.

"..."

Rock looked around the festivities with a heavy heart, as this was his second time here.

During his first year in Black Online, he visited the Sun Festival with Lady Diana, where their relationship eventually deepened.

After that, he didn’t dare to come back to the festival.

"Two flowers to two beautiful ladies!"

In that moment, a shirtless man in shorts came over and handed one flower to both Della and Elena.

He smiled with a flirtatious look, then left with the basket in hand and continued giving flowers to only beautiful women in the festival.

"A flower. Again..."

Della wryly smiled, and then she crushed the flower in her hand and dropped it to the ground.

"Young ones sure are bold."

Elena snapped the flower in half and tossed it aside.

"Giving flowers in the Sun Festival has a special meaning."

Rock whispered to Fang Raon, and he looked over with a raised eyebrow, as if he were asking, ’What kind of meaning?’ with his expression.

"It is a mating ritual of sorts. If you give a woman flowers, it means you are interested in her romantically. If the woman accepts the flower, then she is accepting your advances."

Rock said.

He honestly felt like beating up the shirtless man with his fists, but it wouldn’t have done any good.

’So that guy is just giving flowers to any beautiful woman he sees and hopes that they’ll accept his advances? Interesting strategy.’

Fang Raon wryly smiled.

"Thus, since we destroyed the flowers, it means that we are not interested."

Della said.

"You sounded like you’ve received flowers before."

Fang Raon said.

"...A couple of times during previous Sun Festivals. It is bothersome, in my opinion. I hate that kind of tradition.

"In my opinion, love should be something deeper. These guys in here are just giving flowers to any pretty girl they see."

Della said.

She sounded genuinely irritated, and she already saw that some guys were looking over to her, so she squinted her eyes.

In that moment, she had an idea.

She looked over to Fang Raon—then lowered her gaze. Her gaze landed at his hand, and she grabbed it.

"Hmm?"

Fang Raon felt the sudden softness of her hand and turned to look at her in surprise, and she was bashfully smiling.

"Mind helping me, Raon? If they notice that I am already with someone, they won’t try to approach. It is taboo to give a flower to a girl that is already taken."

Della said.

"Ah... Sure thing."

Fang Raon said with a smile.

It earned a genuine smile from Della, and they kept walking hand-in-hand, but since both of them were quite nervous, they were afraid that their palms would start sweating.

Crack~

Rock cracked his knuckles, about to punch Fang Raon in the face, but then Elena stopped him with a wry smile.

"Don’t do that, father-in-law. Wanna hold hands with me? I also prefer not to get approached. I am far too old for that!"

Elena asked with a smile.

Rock grabbed her hand.

"Hah, too old? I am old! You look far younger than your age suggested, so some might think I am your grandfather!"

Rock said with a loud laugh.

"Giggle~"

Elena just giggled.

She didn’t think it was true at all, as Rock also seemed younger than his age suggested—it was the good genes of the Rose Family.

"Look!"

At that moment, Della pointed towards a vendor, who was selling interesting-looking yellow drinks and candy.

[Sun Drinks + Sun Snacks in here!]

"Sun Drinks and Sun Snacks... Those are very rare, and thus, they are only served during the Sun Festival. We better get some because we won’t have another chance to eat them in one whole year."

Rock said.

They went to the vendor, and they all got one Sun Drink and Sun Snack each—except Fang Raon.

"You aren’t getting any?"

Della asked curiously.

’How can I tell her that I am absolutely broke? I have zero coin!’

Fang Raon thought.

"Don’t tell me you are that picky about money. Fine, I’ll get you some, you stupid brat."

Rock grumbled and bought another Sun Drink and Sun Snack and shoved them into Fang Raon’s hands before he could refuse.

"...Thanks."

Fang Raon wryly smiled.

They then found a place to sit and arrived over at Sun Park—the famous dating location—and sat down on the benches over there.

"What’s up with you?"

Della asked curiously as she took a sip of the Sun Drink and felt the warmth of the drink rush through her body.

"What do you mean?"

Fang Raon asked curiously as he tasted the Sun Snack and thought that it was absolutely delicious.

"It didn’t look like you didn’t want to purchase, but more like you couldn’t."

Della said.

"...Well... I happened to lose all my money."

Fang Raon said with a sigh.

It was an embarrassing thing to admit.

"Huh? What the hell happened?"

Rock asked angrily.

"I encountered a guy called Kerr Gehram... In exchange for keeping my life... I had to give him all my money, so I did."

Fang Raon took a sip of the drink.

"...Kerr."

Rock squinted his eyes, as he was one of his former students and knew just how dangerous a person he was.

"He really let you live? He usually kills any player he comes in contact with. You are extremely lucky..."

Della said.

However, she felt like there was more to the story, as Kerr Gehram, the infamous Player Hunter, wouldn’t just let him live without a good reason.

"Well, he knows my brother, so he let me live because of it."

Fang Raon said.

"I don’t know whether you are insanely lucky or unlucky."

Rock said.

"Where did you meet him?"

Della asked with a frown.

"16th floor. I went there with Machary. I met him in Atlas City."

Fang Raon said.

"...That was very dangerous, but of course, it is impossible to know that you might encounter one of Dead Redemption members.

"While other guild members might not attack you since you’re part of Rose Records in fear of starting a guild war, Dead Redemption doesn’t care about it.

"They are far too strong to care."

Della said.

"I also thought that Dead Redemption was currently trying to clear the 55th floor. It is very surprising that Kerr was over on the 16th floor."

Rock said.

In that moment, as if the gods were playing with them, they noticed something appeared in the air, which wasn’t a firework.

[TOWER ANNOUNCEMENT: Guild Dead Redemption has First Cleared the 55th Floor!]

[CONGRATULATIONS: Leon D. Hardt, Rook Rose, Fang Raizen, Rasmus Seider, Xiao Yue, Kerr Gehram, Hermes Moon, Lock Manchester, Aria Rossie, and Seonwoo Kim!]

Every player—no matter what floor they were at—turned their gazes over at the sky and realized the insurmountable gap between them and Dead Redemption.

Dead Redemption didn’t need to be scared of conflict. They were the strongest. Everyone should be scared of them.

"With that, the 56th floor is now open, and Dead Redemption is one step closer to reaching the top of the tower..."

Rock whispered.

’Wait...’

In that moment, Fang Raon noticed a couple familiar names in the announcement.

There was, of course, his brother Fang Raizen and Kerr Gehram, but there was a third one that he recognized.

’Lock Manchester... This piece of shit...’

Fang Raon turned angrily towards Rock, who was sitting beside him, grinning slyly.

’He lied to me!’