Towerld Level 0018: The Lost Paradise of the Tricked, Dumped, and Downed

By Doctor Deicide

Ephemera, one of the wives of Hector_1304, is missing. If she is being kidnapped, who is the culprit behind the abduction? They form “Ephemera Rescue Squad” to find and rescue her.

What do the squad members encounter, after overcoming many obstacles? Thanks to the help from his friends, Hector_1304 manages to find what he is looking for. Are things not going way too easy?

As the secrets of Ephemera are being revealed, many things unravel and they crumble into pieces thoroughly. Who is behind this commotion? Why does this lead to the disastrous divorce? Is Hector_1304 becoming the prime target of the cunning plot that is gigantic enough to rock the world? Who is deceiving whom? That you-know-who seems to have been planting the seeds of schemes all along.

Man up, Hector_1304! You shall not remain being the cheated. Has the time for revenge come? Stand up and show them what the man being betrayed by woman can do.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jul 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9780359798179

Book preview

978-0-359-79817-9

Part One

--- 01 ---

It appears that this is going to be a long recovery mission.

Right now, I, known as Hector_1304, am walking up the bypass stairway that spirals around the Towerld axis (the diameter of 10 kilometers). There are 12 stairways in total that are coiled around the axis. Each spiral stairway is mainly used by able-bodied people, or it becomes one of the emergency passageways. Before serving as the court musician to the drug lord (Haloom Ghoude), Mary Teana Blockheart (also known as the Pluck Princess) must have descended one of these bypass stairways to reach the suite on the farm floor, while traveling with Gideon Yendrey Drahctrex (the forger). The inclination of the steps is far steeper than that for the barrier-free spiral slope, but its advantage is that it allows the users to gain the vertical distance without moving too much toward the traverse directions. The reason why the Barrier-free Brigade has to travel on the spiral slope slowly is that the wheeled vehicles belonging to the fleet cannot travel on the stairs.Then, why am I currently using the bypass stairway, to end up being ahead of the Barrier-free Brigade on its travel to the trade tier?

The reason is that Ephemera, one of my wives, is missing.

--- 02 ---

According to the eyewitnesses (members of the Barrier-free Brigade), Ephemera seems to have been abducted. A stranger, not known to anyone in the brigade, contacted Ephemera, who was being alone at that point of time. Then, the suspicious one led the unsuspecting wife of mine to places unknown. My wife is mentally challenged, and she probably could not think or make the decision of anything.

Whoever abducted her left a note. It says, If the marriage is making a transition from polygamy to monogamy, which of your brides would you rather discard and divorce? It is clear that the question is directed toward me. (I think I know who wrote the text. I should not suspect her without any solid evidence, though.)

Fortunately, Ephemera can easily be spotted, no matter where she goes. She is as gorgeous in appearance as any women can get, in the world (of tower) that is like a freak show of failures from other worlds.

We have to do whatever it takes to bring back Ephemera, no matter what the cost. Towbie Rhoentey Malgrokk, the Twisted Tyrant and the leader of the Barrier-free Brigade, has quickly organized a team, dubbed Ephemera Rescue Squad. (It is such a predictable, unoriginal, and overly straightforward name.)

Who are the members?

I am Ephemera’s husband, and automatically in. In a situation such as this one, a hubby of the damsel in distress has to stand up and step up. Those who cannot extend helping hands to their wives do not deserve being husbands of any sort.

Wendy, the other wife of mine, became one of the candidates to join the makeshift squad. She is very agile (despite the fact that she appears to have been losing the luster as of late), and possesses keen senses. She is cut out for missions to seek, search, and find the target. However, it has been decided that she is not going to join the squad. She is constantly wrapped in a raccoon suit, because it is the only way to look decent, after the forced painting on her face. Once she leaves the Barrier-free Brigade in that costume, she ends up being more conspicuous and losing the stealth that she needs for accomplishing the mission. Additionally, this raccoon girl is quite popular and famous, thanks to her taking over the main stage in the Raccoon Rescue Rally. She is going to be surrounded by people, no matter where she goes. (It is not easy being renowned.)

Besides, she has a major flaw, which is lack of muscular strength. Many fire doors are installed on the bypass stairways. (Towerld is designed on the assumption that there may be cases of fires, I guess.) Once those heavy fire doors are closed, weak Wendy cannot open them. She may end up being just a liability on the bypass stairways. In the end, the prisoner of the raccoon suit is left with no choice but to focus on her official duty of guarding Towbie and waiting for me to retrieve Ephemera.

Since the alleged abductor appears to be using the bypass stairway, the Stairway Shieldian (the most formidable fighter on steps, as far as I know) seems to be a naturally plausible choice. He is going to be a reliable ally, as long as the kidnapper remains on the steps. (What will happen, once the possible culprit steps out of the stairway? We have no time to worry about such details.)

--- 03 ---

At this point, there are only two members of Ephemera Rescue Squad, attempting to find Ephemera and her abductor proactively. I, Hector_1304, and the Stairway Shieldian, alone together, are walking up the bypass stairway.

We have ended up being on this stairway, after listening to the eyewitness accounts and tracing the possible track of the abduction. Why is the kidnapper trying to go up the stairway to take my wife to the upper floors?

I am reminded of the fact that Ephemera is a slave lady. At this point, she is officially my polygamous wife. Actually, she is planned to be sold as a slave on the trade tier. Whatever will happen to my marital status with her, once we reach the trade tier? Has Towbie, known as the wicked wheeler-dealer, planned ahead of the game, to the level that he is ready to take care of the marital business with no problem whatsoever? If I get the chance, I may want to ask him about the issue.

I wonder if the abductor is a potential purchaser of slave ladies. Perhaps, he has figured