Third-person POV
Inside the Ruby Palace base of the Tower, Roxas registered for the first round of battles that will be taking place in the Tower. He did so, and both he and Anko are on their way to the first floor and round of battles with some random players in the game.
"Wow, this place is strange," Roxas commented as he gazed at the architecture of the interior.
They passed through what is now the Ruby Palace, and then, they swung by the Monument of Players. This monument registered every player that died in the game, including the dead 4,000, Sachi, and the recent ones like Anko himself.
Anko's username is Bicol18.
That explained his Bicol green pixels.
"Wait, why is your username Bicol?" Roxas traced the engraved username.
"I have a Filipino stepsister named Ylona," responded Anko, "and she and her mom are from Naga City, the Philippines."
"Oh…"
Roxas then gets a piece of paper lily he had folded last night from his inventory and placed it in front of the monument.
The HUD appeared with a completed secret, contracted players-only, achievement known as Discovering your Spirit Guardian's Username.
The reward? XPs to the next level.
"Wow…" Roxas was stunned.
He was now at Level 28
"By the way, Anko-kun," Roxas said, "whenever I see Fahrenheit 451, my blood boils hotter than the lava beneath Mount Mayon."
Anko chuckled at that
But then, a bit later, at the doors of the first floor, both encountered a man in a blue t-shirt and black pants looking at the battleground for duels against players. That person was Ashikaga Haruto, Roxas' homeroom teacher from his school. That teacher, who formerly worked as a disaster preparedness instructor, was protective of his students, loved ones, and those he cared for, and had a survival-style of thinking and mindset.
Roxas was surprised to see him. "Haruto-sensei?"
Haruto heard him and looked at him, only to be surprised to see him in the Tower. "Roxas-kun? What are you doing here?"
"I am here for a few rounds with the players of this game," replied Roxas back.
"What? Are you?" Haruto responded while being surprised.
"Yes."
"Are you sure about that? That sounds unsafe."
"Come on, sensei, I'll be fine. How about you? You're still an NPC?" Roxas asked back
"Well…" Haruto replied while thinking, "…I couldn't do anything much and I was placed in some sort of role that was fixed and couldn't be adjusted."
"That sounds you're still an NPC."
"What is that term?"
Then, Anko appeared before Haruto and answered back, "That stands for Non-Playable Character."
"Huh? Who are you?" Haruto saw him. "Did you just appeared out of nowhere?"
"Yes, my name is Tachibana Anko," Anko happily responded back, "and I am Roxas' spirit guardian."
"You are? You're dead?"
"Yes, and I am a dead player in this game."
Haruto couldn't believe his ears and eyes while Roxas was confident and explained to Haruto about the circumstances of Anko's death.
After that, the young foreign player explained to his teacher about how he had Anko as his spirit guardian in detail. Haruto was shocked to hear all those accounts from Roxas. "Wow, that was shocking, to be honest."
"Yes, it was," Anko replied back, "and we were close to each other very well."
After that, Roxas asked Haruto what he was doing in the Tower.
"I am here because some of my students are here allegedly," answered Haruto back.
"Is that so?" Anko responded back.
"Yes, maybe," Haruto said.
After that, Haruto warned Roxas not to go in, but Roxas assured him that he will be fine. Anko then added that that he can heal Roxas with his spirit power.
"Okay, good luck," Haruto decided to agree with them.