by Prax Venter
Everyone drew their weapons at that, knowing it was time for action. He set his gaze on the quivering beast through his own small window within the barrier of indestructible items as Haylee called out its weakness.
“Its underbelly,” she said as she drew her bow. Without an accessible sweet spot, she fired her first Blue Shifted Light Ray into its bulbous, porcine head through her own arrow slit.
Floor 49 Boss -751 | HP 2,269/3,020
The putrid thing of half flesh raised its dripping pink snout into the air and let out a burbling squeal as it turned to face the barrier. The Boss Chamber was a well-defined open space at the far end of a boring cave network, and the squealing creature galloped toward their custom fortification blocking the only entrance.
It still wasn’t in range for either Alt’s eyebeams or Jack’s sword laser when it stopped and opened its terrible mouth way too wide. Jack’s heart spasmed once in his chest when he saw the purple energy arcs building in its maw.
“Get down!” he called, then pushed away from the barrier as a bolt of ghostly energy burst outward and hit his whole team no matter where they were or what they were behind.
Jack -350 | HP 1.1K/1.4K
Lex -350 | HP 1.4K/1.7K
Haylee -350 | HP 351/701
Cabe -350 | HP 818/1.1K
Alt -350 | HP 232/582
He saw the Dark Prism sprint back into the caves with Alt hovering close to her side as the three remaining ripped apart the carefully crafted barrier of items by rapidly summoning the parts into their inventories.
Cabe was the first through as he used his jump-enhancing shoes to hop the gap, and Lex was right after him. The bug pig Boss screamed with rage as its attackers surged forward, and Jack drew his blade across its fleshy face twice in a row from thirty yards away.
Floor 49 Boss -225 | HP 2,044/3,020
Floor 49 Boss -225 | HP 1,819/3,020
The monstrosity tried to hide in its shell as the huge melee martial master closed the distance, but the Party’s Bastion Shouted as she circled to the left, pulling it not only out of its shell, but turning it so the next energy attack only hit her. She raised her shield but it did no good.
Lex -350 | HP 1K/1.7K
She countered with a short sword jabbed into the loose skin of its throat as Cabe blasted it in the face with a brutal right hook.
Floor 49 Boss -122 | HP 1,697/3,020
Floor 49 Boss -912 | HP 785/3,020
Cabe +46 | HP 864/1.1K
Jack tagged it with Mining Laser as he approached, but the higher-level juggernaut that was Cabe just needed to get close to do some serious damage- if he could land hits without taking his own too fast to out-heal.
With a final uppercut to the snout, the Sun Striker destroyed the Boss, leaving the way clear to their final Floor of the day.
Their healer brought everyone to short of that last 75 HP they’d get from the Tier Two Rest Bonus while Jack looted the chest and checked the drops. Since the three of them had run Floor 49 at least a dozen times already, no one got an upgrade, but he did summon one of the items to his hand.
“Pigskin Casings!” he said, flopping the stretchy Legs-Slot drop around in their faces.
- 20 -
The party traded back all of Jack’s gear to free their inventory of their ineffective fortification, and he sent a prayer into the dreaming insane cluster of code that generated random Tower layouts for a good roll of the die as he clasped the iron ring on the door to Floor 50.
Both his surroundings and his body position shifted as all five of them vanished from the quiet of the cooled volcanic cave and reappeared inside a strange wooden room with two benches and door. It only took Jack a moment to recognize this as the inside of a medieval horse-drawn carriage.
Lex sat across from him with Cabe stuffed into the corner on his right and the constant motion told him they were being taken somewhere, but the frosted windows only let in filtered sunlight.
“I do not like what is happening,” Cabe said, his fist pressing into the ceiling as if he could hold the world still.
“We’re being taken for a ride in a carriage,” Jack said. “I think we are, at least. Who knows?”
“He’s right,” said the ball of fire hovering in the middle of everything and if his flames weren’t merely a visual effect, the whole place would be ablaze by now. “We are in a wooden box on wheels being pulled by traditional horses- judging by the sounds ahead.”
“I know of horse-pulled carts,” Haylee said. “But haven’t seen one since I was very small. Is this like the inside of a racecar?”
Jack tried the handle and was about to say ‘not quite’ when a knocking came from the wall behind Lex and Haylee.
“Now, Heroes,” a man’s voice shouted, muffled by the carriage between them. “Please keep that door a’shut until we reach our destination. Rider comfort and safety is topp’ns over all! Next stop, the cliffs of Cape Crestcoast.”
“Our driver?” Jack said to his team with a shrug.
The tension left Cabe’s body as he rested his huge hands on his knees. “The Tower is telling us to stay safe in this cart. I say we sit and see what happens.”
“I like it,” Jack said, flashing him a smile then tried to make eye contact with Lex and Haylee around Alt. “Take good notes, ladies. This carriage is close to what I want to build for mobile assaults, a bit less… furnished.”
“I see,” the Dark Prism said as she ran her hand along the wood. “This is pleasant in here, though. I like it, and I would travel the roads between Towns in such a box.”
“It is pretty,” Lex said, testing her cushion. “Luxurious, even.”
Jack waggled his brows. “Maybe a royal party wag-”
Was all he got out before the pleasantly furnished cabin bounced them hard and slammed to the left. The door flipped open and the mountainous Cabe smooshed Jack into the flower-patterned wallpaper.
“Ambush,” the driver yelled from outside. “Highway Bandits!”
That was their cue and the team dashed out of the carriage one by one. Lex was the first one out, and Jack could only see damage notifications.
Lex Critical! -320 | HP 1.4K/1.7K
Lex -150 | HP 1.3K/1.7K
He dove out right after her onto the dusty road into a roll that brought him up to this feet further way from the cabin. He noticed a red feathered arrow impale the ground where he was and followed its path to see a line of short bandits dressed in leather. Each of them stood at about half the size of a person on dry, cracked bird talons and their heads were that of a red-crested bird with black feathers around their beaks and throat.
Jack saw two females draw on him and ducked into another dive roll as their arrows whizzed just over his head. He came up with a Double Omni Strike for the six he could see spread out across the road.
Cardinal Highwayman -225 | HP 973/1,198
.. 748/1,198
.. x5
Movement caught Jack’s eye as he noticed Cabe had found his own way out through the door on the other side of the cabin and was unable to dodge the first arrow that came for him.
Cabe -170 | HP 998/1.1K
By now, Lex dashed close enough to Shout at three in the middle, pulling their focus on her while Haylee forced one targeting her to miss completely by making it look away with Rejecting Whispers. She followed-up with an unimbued Light Ray into its back as Angry Sun Alt hovered out bedside her to burst out an immediate eyebeam.
Cardinal Highwayman -376 | HP 372/1,198
Cardinal Highwayman -450 | Defeated
Cabe, Jack, and Lex closed the distance, and with their heavy hitting Martial Master still 7 Levels higher than these Floor 50 monsters, they practically exploded on contact with his fists.
“More!” Haylee shouted as she sent a Light Ray between the ancient trunks of a pine forest to the right side of the road.
Cardinal Raider -376 | HP 2.1K/2.4K
Jack turned in time to see the short bird bandit who looked identical to the
others, spin as it hopped in the air and sent back its own return arrow. Despite the flashy move, he nailed the Dark Prism in the neck before landing in a backward summersault, then the Tower monster turned to sprint deeper into the thick forest.
Haylee Critical! -380 | HP 321/701
Jack snarled as he Teleported behind the creature and detonated an instant Data Blast.
Cardinal Raider -675 | HP 1.4K/2.4K
Knocked off his talons, the small bird bandit slid to a stop in the pine-needles before rolling up onto an aggressive stance while Jack used that time to make sure he wasn’t surrounded. The others had run off and the two were alone.
Its black beady eyes narrowed as he pulled a pair of daggers, but the bird-man didn’t rush in like Jack expected. Instead, his sharp beak focused on different parts of Jack’s body. A moment later he felt a tingling on his neck.
Jack frowned. “Was that a find weakness ability?”
The Raider let out a series of quiet chirps as if he were insulting his foe in a language he knew wouldn’t be understood, and there was one of those moments where the concept of trying to communicate pushed out his aggression, yet the monster erased all that by rushing him.
They were a few yards apart, so Jack opened with a Mining Laser to the creature’s eyes.
Cardinal Raider -320 | HP 1.1K/2.4K
It was more damage than Jack expected, and he realized these things were weak to fire. With growing confidence, he sidestepped his foe’s half-blind thrust and hit the overextended bird with a pointblank blast from his red beam of death.
Cardinal Raider -320 | HP 859/2.4K
By now, he saw Haylee’s life filling back up from his Bastion’s soothing song and there was no way this monster was going to get away.
The Raider had other plans, however, and hurled one of his small daggers at Jack before sprinting off again.
Jack -110 | HP 1.3K/1.4K
The attack wasn’t enough to slow him down and his speed bonus kept him within range of the fleeing bird. After three seconds, Jack burned the Raider to nothing.
He sent a quick glance through the endless yellow pines in every direction. There was just endless silent forest in all directions, so Jack sheathed his blade and sprinted back to his team.
“Everyone okay?” he asked Cabe as he ran into the Sun Striker coming to lend support.
“Yes, even the Tower entity directing the cart was saved.”
The pair stepped out onto the road again to find a six-foot earthworm wearing a straw hat talking with Lex and Haylee with a human mouth.
“Of course that’s the driver,” Jack said as they approached the group.
“Glad all passengers are accounted for!” the slimy creature said with a relatively normal voice. “Wheel’s a’broken so that means no going.”
Their driver twisted back at the damaged part, and Jack followed the worm’s focus to see the Exit Orb attached to the rear of the carriage.
“We cannot reach our intended destination?” Cabe asked the worm as he crossed his huge arms.
“Oh sure,” the driver said, nodding his ‘head’ so hard that the pink flower tucked into the band on his hat almost flew out. “You have to choose, Heroes. Go that way…”
The Tower creature paused as he indicated a small dirt path opposite the forest as it crossed idyllic rolling hills before reaching a fantastical medieval metropolis so far in the distance Jack could barely make out the city through the haze of atmosphere between them. The worm continued.
“That way is the way to a new Wheel, it’s the easier choice. Only a few Bile Snakes in the prairie. Or you can choose to go clear out the Cardinal Flock Hideout in the woods. More challenging, tho there’s more reward in for a’those that do.”
“Can we choose both?’ Haylee asked, excited to find an interesting Floor 50.
“Er- no. We don’t have that kind’a time, miss. I’ll get the wheel if you hunt highwaymen so we can get back on the road, and the trail of those that ran will run cold if you choose to get the wheel. You’ll never find their hideout.”
Jack considered all the options as he turned back to scan the silent primal forest to the right.
“With Cabe here,” Lex began, “we should be able to take on the more challenging option.”
Jack agreed. “Yes, and we could try and split up with two us going with the driver, but after seeing that higher-stat Raider, that’s probably a bad idea.”
“They hit hard,” Haylee said. “That unique one was also skilled. I do not advise splitting our party on this high-level Floor. Although, if we were all closer to Hero Level 60, who knows? Maybe we could unlock three Boss Reward Chests.”
“Astounding,” Cabe said.
“Okay,” Jack said, clapping his hands. “Let’s clear out the bandits for a chance at more chests. I think this is the first non-monster Tower person… worm, that is outright telling us there’s an extra reward for doing something.”
As the group moved off the road and into the dry pine forest Alt started sharing some statistical information.
“I think Haylee is more correct than she intended when she implied we’d have more options if everyone were higher level. I’ve been watching the gear stat growth found on every new Floor, but over the last few days, Jack has exposed me to some high-level Heroes that wear drops from above where we’ve been. I believe that the growth in gear stats jumps to a new pattern with items found on Floor 51 or after. For example, items from Floor 49 are about 2% better than those found on 48 yet shift to around 10% better on 51 and up. Not to mention a higher frequency of special modifiers.”
“We need to focus on reaching up higher,” Jack agreed. “Lex still has nothing in her Ring-slots and we could all use more of those. Clearing anything above Floor 65 will get us Amulets, and Tier 4 abilities unlock after clearing 74. We situate Angelshade into the Kingdom then perhaps we don’t take the next Tower right away. I really want to send that message to the NPCs in the region, though. That it can and should be done.”
“We will scout the landscape and the enemy force and then decide,” his royal advisor said as if the matter had been settled.
“Tracks,” Lex said after another handful of steps under the towering pines. He looked down to see the bird talon pattern as more of an absence of pine needles covering the thirsty, hard-packed dirt below.
The group got into a wedge behind their Bastion as they continued through the sun-streamed silent forest. The dry needles even muffled their footfalls washing everything in a comforting peace.
“Why is it always pines?” Jack said after several minutes of quiet strolling.
“What?” Lex asked, keeping her golden eyes on the forest ahead.
“I dunno.” He turned his face up into the water-starved yellow needles reaching up into the grayish brown sky. “Whenever we’re on a Floor with a forest, it’s almost always a pine forest. Isn’t it?”
“This is what’s called cognitive bias,” Alt said. “Jack often explored a pine forest near his home growing up, so he feels a connection every time he sees one. The actual data says you have seen more deciduous Floors than coniferous, and ‘utterly absurd’, such as those made of giant human arms or have tentacles for leaves, takes the lead with over 50%.”
“This does look like Pinefall back home,” Haylee said. “Maybe far into the future in a world where the land just dried up and withered with age.”
“Haylee,” Jack said, “have you ever considered writing a book?”
“Jack, have you forgotten about my Hero Guide? Now that I have this notepad, I can experiment with different layout and order of sections. It’s invaluable.”
“That’s not what I mean,” Jack said, chopping his hand through the air to obliterate that whole line of thinking. “I mean a new work of fiction. A story no one has heard that you make up and write down for others to enjoy.”
“Yes,” Lex said, turning to her. “I would read your story.”
“What about you?” Jack asked his wif
e. “I’d love to see you become a famous singer- Ooo, maybe we could put on shows of original compositions from our castle balcony, serenading an audience down in reclining beach chairs.”
“That’s… something to consider,” she said, then turned her eyes forward again. “It is a bit more ostentatious than I find comfortable, however I have thought about my note taking interface for the whole day’s climb, and I’ve decided to record events. Once I have enough that are worth preserving, I’ll produce a chronicle of what happened, and it will not be fiction. I do not hope to be the only Queen of Blackmoor, nor Jack the only King. Perhaps all future rulers will benefit in some way from this rolling memory of all that came before them.”
As soon as she finished and took one more step, a strange noise like an automatic sprinkler came from ahead. An eye blink later, damage notifications began popping from the Bastion.
Lex -102 | HP 1.6K/1.7K
Lex -102 | HP 1.5K/1.7K
Lex -102 | HP 1.4K/1.7K
She finally got her shield up as she grunted and took a few steps back. Everyone behind her froze as they searched for the target but there was only the still quiet of the pine forest with the faint echo of that sputtering noise fading out.
They all took a few steps back and waited a full thirty seconds before Lex moved forward again. The moment she stepped past where she’d been, the noise started up and she raised her shield to catch what appeared to be metal darts with red fletching. As soon as they hit, the tiny, pointed shafts spun away from the impact and then faded from existence.
Lex stepped back again.
“I can’t see it,” she said, still facing forward. “But this feels like a stationary turret firing at anything within range.”
“I can’t see it either,” Haylee said as she stepped up next to Lex, squinting. “Let me fire a few shots anyway.”
“Pot shots,” Lex said as she stayed close to the Dark Prism drawing her bow. “That’s what Jack calls them.”
“I call them unaimed,” Haylee muttered as she let loose a beam of pure white light between the pines.
There were no instant damage notifications after 15 shots and 15 spent Mana, so she lowered her bow and shook her head.