by Prax Venter
Thymus’ mouth fell open, and Lex narrowed her eyes trying to grasp the ramifications of what he was saying. Jack continued.
“There are some compelling reasons to do it, but I have a lot of questions myself before we even think of using it.” He turned to the giant blue bird with huge eyelashes. “For instance, The Tower is unpredictable. Could one of us randomly die with everything being determined by the roll of the dice?”
Everyone turned to Alt, who blinked a few times before answering.
“Technically, but with your current equipment, party configuration, and Hero Levels, the chance of such an occurrence on say, the first 10 Floors, is about equal to Jack spontaneously growing a second head.”
Lex crossed her arms. “No matter the chance, I do not like the idea of losing control like that.”
Jack turned to Thymus and found the old mage simply staring at nothing.
“Thymus?” he asked.
“What? No. I-I might not be comfortable… Perceiving enemy hit points and limitless inventory space is fantastical but… this… As it is, I’ve already lost much of my precious time. Would we age during this- er, Floor skipping?”
“Yes. That is one rule I can never break.”
Alt shifted his thick, scaly bird legs primarily used for brutal kick attacks before continuing.
“I understand everyone’s apprehension. The new ability is entirely optional, but I believe you’ll find when you need to fully sweep fifty, seventy, even one hundred Floors, every day, you might reconsider this as a useful option.”
Jack took a deep breath. “Okay. We all agree that we won’t use this new Elevator Alt ability today, and probably not for a while. He’s right, though. It’ll be there, and maybe one day we’ll want to skip the easy first Floors. For now, we climb this Tower ourselves.”
He finished his speech and pointed ahead of them into the dimly lit sewage tunnels. Wordlessly, the party shuffled forward through the dried leaves and dust that ran along the bottom. While everyone was lost in their own thoughts, Jack looked down at his decorative scabbard and noticed that it had gained some major embellishments. It now had gold-and-silver metalwork arranged in intricate designs accompanied by several cut jewels. With a simple twist of intention, Jack pulled up his Main-Hand weapon’s stats.
ARV Alternis - [Sword | Value: 0/250,000]
| Dmg: 60 |
| Def: 16 |
| Hit Chance +0.10 |
| Crit Chance +0.20 |
| Max HP + 25 |
| Max MP + 55 |
| Dodge + 8 |
| Magic Power + 7 |
| 25% chance to heal 1 HP on kill |
| +1 Sneak |
The damage went up, and so did a lot of the other stats like HP and MP, and that was nice, but the next tier seemed extremely far off.
Alt spoke in his mind as the party silently moved to clear the rest of Floor 12.
“At our current pace, the final blade for the next tier is around Floor 67 or so.”
Jack sent back an affirmative, his mind wandering back to skipping Floors, but Alt had more to mentally convey.
“With this new complexity, I can see more of the code and rulesets that govern the System Sana simulation. In addition to the controversial Floor warping ability, I’ve also gained some more functionality outside the Tower. For instance, I can now facilitate moving Townsfolk to any job you wish, at will.”
Jack felt a surge of excitement. That was going to be huge in streamlining Blackmoor Cove’s growth.
“Oh, there’s even more,” Alt continued in his mind. “I can glimpse some of the algorithms around the arrival and spawning of new Townsfolk, but more interestingly, the Townsfolk-to-Hero functions. I can’t see everything, and I can affect very little, but I can tell you that when you Exit, you will find that during the seven-hour gap, someone from Blackmoor Cove will have been promoted from Townsfolk to Hero.”
Jack almost stopped walking again, but his temporary stumble was covered by the detritus around his boots. An uncontrollable smile spread across his face. They were going to get another team member!
He sent back a question of who, along with a presumption that it was Pan- or one of the more capable guards- Oh! Or Reno? The new guy was infatuated with climbing the mysterious Tower. He wanted to be a Hero more than anything.
“I can’t actually see who it is for a few complicated reasons, but also it hasn’t happened yet. You see, time is technically paused out in the Overworld while the Heroes climb Towers. It’s like this everywhere. Then, everything that happens in the Towns resolves instantly at Exit. Of course, it doesn’t seem like that to anyone, but that’s what happens behind the scenes.”
Jack wondered if Alt could do anything to affect the promotion, maybe force it to be a specific person?
“Hmm, no… I’m looking now, and there is a lot of convoluted code here. This world was formed from many different gaming systems working together to create something intentionally complex. But, wait. There is a data page here with a list of potential candidates. I can’t see names, but I can alter the weights so one is more likely to be chosen over the others.”
Jack sent a clear message of him pushing the one that had the most potential, and that it was an obvious no-brainer.
“Well, when I said potential, I meant likelihood of being chosen, not something as in combat prowess or high damage output. That is way too subjective for any… conclusive… Hmm, now that I’m thinking about it, I suppose I could draft a function that sorts these candidates by esoteric concepts like unique abilities and power projections … yes. I could even propagate tables based on your current party configuration to increase the chance that whoever it is will fill a useful combat role. Give me some time. I’ll throw something together by the time we Exit. I still won’t have any idea who it is until the system chooses the individual Townsfolk, but if I do this right, they’ll be potentially the most powerful Hero out of everyone currently residing in Blackmoor Cove.”
Jack nodded as they came upon another jet-black salamander person wielding a bright blue staff of glowing energy. Its three thick fingers expertly spun the ethereal weapon as the creature dashed forward to attack his team. He pulled his sword and activated his Mining Laser, its wild plasma beam illuminating the wide sewer with a flickering orange glow- but only for a single second.
Goddess Devotee -87 | Defeated
After it vanished, Jack heard a faint yet pleasant-sounding ding noise.
“Did anyone else hear that?” Lex asked, looking over at Jack.
“It was like a muffled bell,” Thymus added.
Bird Alt provided the answer. “I added that tonal alert so you all would know when a dropped item appears in Jack’s inventory. No good?”
Jack reached over and ruffled the feathers on the summoned creature’s head.
“No, buddy. That’ll work just fine.”
- 6 -
Floor 27 had been one of the most nightmarish yet- as far as unsettling layouts were concerned. It was a sprawling crop field, but instead of vegetables, naked humans sprouted from the moist dirt. Their red-rimmed eyes were all open, and they were all breathing, but the 12-foot human crops just stood buried up to their knees in neat rows, silently waiting to be harvested. Jack had tried to hit one with his death ray when they first arrived, but they only served as the “walls” of the Floor and were not targetable monsters. The haggard wheezing of the human crops nearby drew his attention upward, and he felt another wave of revulsion as he watched green-tinged mucus dribble out of its nose and down the unfortunate thing’s chest. Was this one sick?
Movement between the rows of vacant-eyed people caught Jack’s attention, and he held up a fist, signaling his party to stop.
There it was again- a flash of orange and blue. They had learned the best way to fight the actual monsters on this Floor was to wait and make sure there were no others around. Looking behind him, the blonde Bastion gave him a nod, signaling that they were still clear behind.
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br /> Then the foe he’d seen moving among the rows stepped out into the open path ahead of them. The thing was a massive living carrot. Its bottom half was encased in a traditional farmer’s blue-jean overalls that cut into its bulbous upper half. The creature had no neck, but its relatively tiny, human-like face twisted into an angry snarl as it hoisted a three-tined pitchfork and lurched forward.
Over the last two days, Jack and his Team had become much better at functioning as a cohesive team. Lex dashed past Jack into the center of the rows and set her shield, waiting for the towering vegetable creature to close the distance before kicking off her Shout.
Then Jack, Thymus, and Angry Sun Alt all attacked at once.
Vegetable Farmer -65 | HP 271/336
Vegetable Farmer -61 | HP 210/336
Vegetable Farmer -130 | HP 80/336
It was serious damage, but these monsters had some sort of armor that cut their attacks to about 75% effectiveness.
The giant, pants-wearing carrot reared back and hurled its pitchfork at the group with terrible strength, but Lex was good at her combat role and shifted left to intercept it.
With a deafening impact that sent the Bastion’s boots sliding backward in the dirt, she deflected the oversized farming implement while her teammates brought it to 0 HP.
“Nice work,” Jack said as the tone sounded indicating that he’d received a new item.
“That was number eleven,” Lex said, rolling her shoulder. “That has to be the last one.”
Jack didn’t answer as he scanned the rows of mindless human crops. The Tower would do what it damn well pleased, he thought, but when they all saw the enormous black wings of what appeared to be a house-sized crow in the sky, they knew something had changed.
“Gotta be the Boss!” Jack shouted, going off instinct. They had seen Floor behavior like this once before- in the red ruby caves. The giant worm Boss had spawned only after all the larva monsters had been dispatched.
The giant black-feathered bird landed ahead of them and quickly snapped its sharp yellow beak around one of the crop-people. After a loud crunch, the creature lifted its head back to toss the hearty meal down its gullet. Jack’s eyes snapped down to see a ragged pair of legs ripped off just above the knee, spilling bright-red blood into the soil.
The display of gory madness shifted to the furthest thing from his mind when the crow let out a terrible, concussive “CAW!” in their direction. Visible sound waves depicted as curling wisps of white energy passed all around the party, and Jack noticed a new status icon in his peripheral vision. It was a black bird on an orange background.
Call of Disruption - [Cannot use Activated or Channeled Abilities | 00:00:29]
~ Fight or flight.
Jack was stunned for a moment. He’d never seen something like this. A shiver ran down his spine- they were helpless.
“Melee!” Lex shouted as she ran toward the creature.
Watching her sprint out to meet the giant bird snapped Jack out of his stupor, and he turned to the ball of fire floating next to him.
With a flicker of a thought, he intended to shift him into a Mecha Dire Wolf, but an icy shock hit him when he remembered that even Alter Alt’s overpowered ability was an activated skill.
“Damn it!” Jack yelled. “Alt, burn it and fall back. Draw Threat but try and stay alive!” Jack issued his command and turned to run after the sprinting Bastion. Behind her loomed the three-story crow, its bright-yellow beak opening for this juicy new morsel.
Jack spared a glance at Thymus whose helpless wide eyes held that look of madness he didn’t like seeing. At least he was staying put near the crop-people while waiting to rejoin the fight.
Beams of white energy with eerie, vibrant black outlines erupted from the Angry Sun behind him and impacted the bird’s pure-black eye the moment before Lex slammed her sword down on the crow’s relatively thin talon.
Floor 27 Boss -174 | HP 688/862
Floor 27 Boss -45 | HP 643/862
The crow held up a wing to block Alt’s attack and ducked down to try and peck at Lex. Jack arrived just in time to see the Bastion swing her teardrop shield up to meet it. She knocked its sharp maw aside as Alt repositioned himself to get a clear shot.
Floor 27 Boss -44 | HP 599/862
Jack used the shield-bash distraction to slice his blade into its other foot, doing full damage.
Floor 27 Boss -61 | HP 538/862
The new source of pain drew the giant bird’s attention, and it reached out to grab Jack with one of its scaly talons, but he was able to dive roll out of its grasp. The move gave Alt an opening, and he poured on the damage again.
Floor 27 Boss -174 | HP 364/862
The crow had had enough. With a terrible screech, it launched into the air, both of its enormous wings knocking Jack and Lex to the ground.
Lex -43 | HP 449/492
Jack -52 | HP 288/340
Jack scrambled to his feet and saw Lex lunge forward after the giant creature. Up ahead, Alt floated backward between the rows of crops so he could lure the bird as far as possible and give the disruption timer a chance to run out.
If he’d been paying attention, Jack would have just realized he’d expertly sheathed his blade for the first time without looking before he sprinted after the Bastion. Unarmed and with his movement boost, he was able to pass Lex as they ran past the cowering mage.
Jack was glad he was still staying out of trouble and flicked his eyes up to the negative status effect.
Call of Disruption - [Cannot use Activated or Channeled Abilities | 00:00:16]
~ Fight or flight.
It was only halfway over. He returned his focus on the Boss monster bird as it landed directly on Alt and the Angry Sun vanished under its giant talon.
Alt -156 | Defeated
Jack fought the urge to rush in and hack at the monster, but sacrificing Alt was part of the plan, and the intent was to buy time. He shortened his strides, allowing Lex to catch up. It would be a wiser move to let her get the first hit.
The bird hopped as it spun to intercept the two heroes, and stretched out its wings in a challenging gesture, the tips of its dark feathers getting lost in the huge human crops hemming in the path to either side. It lifted its head and let out another deafening screech up into the overcast sky, taking a moment to celebrate the defeat of the tiny thing that had caused it so much pain.
The two heroes slowed to a trot while the crow wasn’t looking, drawing out the encounter as long as possible. When the black beady eye of the final Boss for the day turned to focus on them again, Jack picked up the speed.
Both he and Lex stayed close, but when the bird attacked them with a wing strike, Jack dodged under it while Lex surged forward to slash its leg again.
Floor 27 Boss -45 | HP 319/862
The bird’s focus turned back on the Bastion and it brought its beak down at high velocity, intending to hammer her into the ground like a nail. Lex was a bit too slow in recovering from her own attack and the blow caught her off guard.
Lex -104 | HP 345/492
Losing Alt’s summoned form was no big deal as they could just bring him back tomorrow, but seeing Lex get hurt always set him off. Jack bared his teeth as he ran in and hacked at the monstrous crow’s talon with all his might.
Floor 27 Boss -61 | HP 258/862
The giant bird’s attention turned to Jack immediately afterward, and it sent out one of its feet to crush him in its grip. His anger-fueled attack left him vulnerable, and the powerful talon locked around his torso. The pain was instant and all-consuming.
Jack -72 HP | HP 216/340
The Boss wasn’t letting go, and Jack knew he was in serious trouble. As he tried to breathe through the pain, he noticed that the ability-restricting status effect was over. Jack attempted to ignite the monster’s vice-grip claw with his Mining Laser, but apparently, the fact that both arms were locked against his sides prevented him from doing anything. Pain lanced through him again as the Boss dealt another
round of damage.
Jack -72 HP | HP 144/340
Panic began to set in, and Jack was worried that this was finally going to be the end of his videogame world adventure when Lex simultaneously hacked the bird again while activating her taunting Shout ability.
Floor 27 Boss -45 | HP 213/862
The immense creature dropped Jack and focused all its attention on the Bastion. Jack barely had a second to suck in a shuddering breath of sweet air before lifting his blade and targeting the bird’s face.
“Burn,” he whispered as a burst of brilliant orange power poured out of his weapon.
Floor 27 Boss -87 | HP 126/862
The damage wasn’t enough to pull its ire from the Bastion, and she took one more peck to the head, but she instantly healed to full using her Aether Tone ability.
Lex -104 | HP 241/492
Lex +270 | HP 492/492
Still lying in the damp dirt, Jack finished off the fully distracted creature. The crow exploded in a dazzling shower of sparks, and both Heroes received a dose of mind-melting euphoria as they hit Level 28.
Jack stood, wiped himself off and turned to check on Thymus.
What he saw made his jaw clench.
The old mage was exactly where he started, near the row of human crops and hiding behind a silver Lightning Turret.
“What the f-” Jack began but was cut off when Lex grabbed his arm and sang her wordless healing melody. He froze, keeping his gaze locked on the blue-robed wizard while she tended to his wounds.
After a few throbbing heartbeats, he forced himself to take a breath and spend the time to think about what he was going to say to Thymus. The turret would have had virtually no effect where it was placed, and Jack knew that if their Arcane Mage had been engaged, the fight would have been over before he and Lex took all that massive damage towards the end.
Could they afford to keep a flakey powerhouse in their party when their lives depended on it?