"Nice to meet you again, Eren Ilijah Idril. I hope you have settled your affairs outside. Because it's about to be a long ride. Hehe!"
Layla spoke in Eren's head. But he also heard the voice coming from behind him. He looked back to see a young woman waiting for him there with her hands behind her back, an innocent smile on her face.
Layla looked like a 13-year-old girl. She had dusky white hair that was borderline grey. Her skin was clear and supple with a light rosy tint on her cheeks.
Her eyes were a mix of blue and purple, like the colour of a periwinkle flower. Her slender build made her look even younger than her face suggested.
Most of Layla's hair was let loose. But she had a fishtail braid running through her volume of hair. The most eye-catching apparel she was wearing was her Kettle Brim style hat with an oversized, 360-degree visor. Furthermore, she was wearing a simple white shirt along with a minimal bowtie that matched the colour of her eyes.
The teenager-looking girl was also wearing a loose-fitting overcoat that became oversized towards the end of the sleeves. The peach-coloured skirt she was wearing boded well with the overall theme of her appearance.
Layla was sporting a pair of fancy shoes that were studded with a green gem at the top of their lace guards. She was also carrying a broomstick in her hand for some reason, which she made disappear as soon as Eren looked back.
"Out cleaning here?"
The butcher couldn't help passing comment as he caught a glimpse of Layla's broomstick. Laya puffed her cheeks after she heard the guy's remark and chided:
"This is how you greet me even though it's our first face to face meeting? Bad. I have a very bad impression of you now."
The butcher couldn't feel anything coming out of Layla's presence. If he didn't know any better, he would just assume that she was a rankless kid who had come here accidentally. He scratched his forehead and smiled awkwardly before replying in a consoling manner:
"I'm sorry, Layla. I didn't mean to offend you with my bad puns. Alright, what do I need to do? Let's get this thing started already."
The butcher was keen to begin the solo tower exploration. He was excited about the rewards he would get after clearing the floors. The dungeon rewards were already plenty lucrative. So he was hoping he would get ever better items and resources as rewards in the solo tower after each floor he cleared.
"What are you so eager for? People are hunting to kill you if you step outside now. Hehe! You sure like to make a mess wherever you go, don't you?"
Layla asked while flashing a cunning smile. The butcher wasn't surprised. He knew that she had referred to herself as the caretaker of this place. She must have had a mechanism set in place that would allow her to keep track of the Purgatory's participants.
"Whatever. They forced my hand so I just retaliated. Killing people isn't forbidden here, is it? Otherwise, those guys wouldn't have attacked me in the first place."
Layla laughed at the comment before replying amusingly:
"You are right, Eren. This is my master's place after all. It's only natural that blood gets spilt here whenever there are new potential candidates."
Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Layla's response. He threw the most obvious question that popped into his head at her:
"Who is the master of this place and you, Layla? And why did you ask if I had settled my affairs outside or not?"
Layla started walking towards him after she heard Eren's question. She closed in on him until she was only a few centimetres away from him. She tilted her head forward and observed him closely as if he were some kind of specimen.
"I'll tell you all about it in a while. But let me see what I'm seeing here. This is also not your true form, I feel. Though it is difficult for me to say at this point because of my current condition.
Why are you acting like a chameleon when there's nobody around? Do you find fun in making other appearances that are not your own?"
The butcher had a blank face after hearing Layla. But she verbally marched on before he could defend his stance:
"Aah! I got it. You must feel like you are not that good-looking. So you change your appearance with your half-blood powers to cope with being ugly. Am I right?
You have also increased your height with your transformation. Originally, you are tiny, aren't you?"
The butcher's blank expression soon turned grim when Layla gave it back to him for his opening comment. However, he didn't like to act on his temper and upset Purgatory's caretaker more than he had to.
"Tch! You are no fun, are you? I was expecting a small reaction from you, but maybe I overestimated you. That brooding face is not good for your health and looks, you know.
Alright. You will learn about my place's master soon enough."
'You might meet her too. If you survive the first floor that is.'
Layla thought to herself before explaining further:
"Anyway. Knowing about my master's is not relevant right now. I'm sure you wouldn't have heard of her even if I told you her name. What you want to focus on is how you can clear the tower's first floor.
I had asked you if you settled your outside affairs or not before coming here because there's a chance you might die here. Plus, the first floor is equipped with a time dilation array.
That means a few days inside the tower is akin to only a few hours outside. So it might be a while for you before you step outside even if you do survive. At least you'd feel that you've spent quite some time before you get out of the solo tower."
Layla said and retracted her head to her previous position. She then smiled menacingly:
"IF you survive that is."
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AN: A few readers wanted me to describe my characters in depth, which I often like to be brief about. I hope this style of writing is a welcome change.. Layla's visual profile will soon be uploaded on the Discord server and Instagram.