by Prax Venter
Jack wondered for a moment if he should tell the man where his daughter was, and who she was with… especially after all that business about respecting his wishes as her father, but it didn’t seem right. At least not at this moment, anyway.
The two Heroes thanked the Innkeeper and made ready for the Tower. He watched the love of his life enter first and then grabbed the door handle that never opened, following her in.
Blistering heat assaulted Jack, and his first thought was that Floor 1 was an oven. Scanning the area showed him that he and Lex were standing on a ledge on the inside of a volcano. On his right was a straight drop-off down into a pool glowing molten rock so hot that the air’s vertical currents ruffled his hair. Jack took in a deep sigh, and the dryness made his nose wrinkle. He summoned Alt and turned him into the giant crow Boss from yesterday. It turned out that in addition to good damage and maneuverability, the summoned monster kept a shorter-duration version of its disruption ability, but Alt didn’t think it would be as effective on monsters as it was on Heroes.
Eager to get out of the baking heat, the team swept the spiral path down the volcano swiftly. A giant head carved from stone emerged out of the lava when they hit the bottom but was instantly vaporized by Jack before it could do anything.
He hoped they’d run into a beautiful or interesting layout on their climb today and was even more disappointed when they hit Floor 2.
“Are these machines from your world?’ Lex asked, bringing a hand to her nose.
“No…” Jack said, scanning the dark, nightmarish factory in front of them. It was a convoluted tangle of constantly moving conveyor belts, grinders, vats, and other unknown contraptions, all of it made from metal and wood. There were no windows anywhere on the sprawling factory floor, and the smell of this layout was almost unbearable.
“Come on,” Jack said, moving forward into the forest of autonomously churning machines. “The sooner we’re out of here, the better.”
They moved past a chute where piles of equal parts rotten apples and writhing pink worms slid into horrendous grinding machines. The product appeared to be a putrid apple cider, and the smell was nauseating.
“No,” Jack repeated as he watched the brown liquid containing floating chunks get pumped into one glass bottle after another. “It’s similar to what I would call a factory, but this is a nightmare version of that.”
Eventually, overly hairy bats dropped from the ceiling and attempted to latch on with their fangs, but everything in this slimy, sticky, dripping factory was no match for the two Heroes, and they quickly made it to a twenty-foot earthworm coiled inside a huge, rundown warehouse. With a thought, Jack fried the worm with his laser and then moved them to Floor 3.
A sweet, warm breeze and the buzz of a distant waterfall filled Jack’s senses as they appeared on the next Floor. All around them were fluffy colorful trees, like cherry blossoms, but rainbow-hued. Directly ahead was a body of water surrounded by gentle slopes covered in lush green grass. Above them, floating rock islands provided a magical source of water as crystal clear ribbons of liquid poured into the pond. The landscape was breathtaking.
Jack took a few steps forward, his leather boots squishing into the lush grass. He caught movement near one of the banks of the pristine pond and noticed what appeared to be beautiful white swans with knives for heads. From his position up on a slope and looking down, he was able to see each and every one as they slowly drifted across the water.
His blade flashed out once, but six different enemies all vanished into static, and the pond was now devoid of life.
“Nice work,” Lex said, stepping up next to him. “That might have been the whole level in one attack. Now let’s find the Boss.”
There was something about the way clear water reflected the perfect blue sky above that made him hold his ground. Jack suddenly realized he wanted nothing more than to take a refreshing dip in these clear waters.
“You know what?” he said, turning to the Bastion. “I’m not ready to go yet.”
She wrinkled her brow, but before she could ask what he was talking about, Jack strode toward the pond, unequipping his gear as he moved.
He was down to just his cloth shirt, cloth pants, and sword belt by the time he reached the water’s edge. Lex was confused at first, but she was a smart girl and pieced together his intentions. Without looking, he knew that Alt had also read his intentions and had scuttled off to a distant part of the Floor. He sent his imaginary friend a quick thanks.
“You’re really going in there?” Lex asked, her hand on her hip and an amused look on her face.
“Yup,” Jack said, moving his scratchy woolen shirt from his equipment slot to his inventory. With her attention locked firmly on him, Jack faded out his permanent sword belt.
“Jack!” Lex said, her eyes going wide. “What-”
“New trick,” he said with a sly smirk and a shrug. The cotton pants Lex had given him on his first day was the only item he still had equipped as he turned away from the fully armored Bastion.
Jack hoped this was the right move for their relationship as he unequipped his last stitch of clothing before leaning forward and diving headfirst into the deep, clear pond.
The cool water on his bare skin was a shock at first, but by the time his head was back above the surface, he felt wonderful. It had been weeks since he’d taken a bath- not that he needed to. One of the great things about System Sana was how sanitary it kept itself.
Jack squinted at the blurry figure standing by the edge to see what she was doing, blinking away the water from his eyes. His heart almost stopped altogether when he saw the woman of his dreams unequip her last item and jump in after him.
They wrestled in the crystal-clear waters for a while and then moved onto the soft grass under the multi-hued, fluffy trees. Just as their passion reached its breaking point, a black-lacquer interface panel popped up in his face with two gem-like buttons.
Procreation Joint Selection
Attempt to spawn a child with Lex?
‘Accept’ ‘Decline’
Before Jack’s brain could process what he was seeing, the screen flashed red, and the words ‘Declined by Lex’ appeared before fading away with everything else.
“Your world is so weird,” he said before the blonde Bastion wrapped her legs around him, erasing all rational thought.
- 9 -
The white buzz from transitioning to Floor 27 faded from Jack’s senses, and he surveyed his surroundings. A burning medieval metropolis lay spread out before them, and either the brick and thatch buildings were tiny, or he was huge. Laying siege to the sprawling city were clumps of what looked like fire-breathing dragons with no front legs and scorpion stingers for tails. The three of them appeared on an open field just outside the city, and the nearby Exit Orb looked like a skyscraper next to the four-inch farmhouses scattered around their feet.
Jack looked further up the hillside and noticed a relatively huge castle near the center of the flame-drenched chaos. A winged shadow clung to the side of the highest spire as it roared a bellowing challenge into the midnight sky accompanied by a geyser of blue and green flames. Jack couldn’t make it out clearly through the smoke, but that single bellowing creature appeared larger than all the others, and he assumed it was Floor 27’s Boss.
“There are little people down there,” Lex said, pointing to a smattering of black dots scurrying away as if they were ants fleeing a damaged hive. The constant trickle of pea-sized escapees only held Jack’s attention for a moment before he turned his gaze back to the clumps of dangerous-looking monsters. Judging their size was difficult as some were flying around while others were wreaking havoc on the ground, but if he used the scale of the miniature smoldering city as a guide, the things were probably as tall as he was. Jack counted five separate groups of dragon monsters with at least three in each group. One of the loose clusters even had a fourth. The creatures themselves were using both physical and magical fire attacks, and Jack wondered-
“Arcane type,” said Alt from the mouth of an ape wearing golden plate armor. “80% affinity.”
“Arcane hates Divine…” Jack mumbled to himself as he considered their angle of attack.
“You thinking crab?” Lex asked.
“Yeah,” he said, mentally scanning through the ridiculous amount of summons at his disposal. The list of possibilities was already getting unwieldy, and it would only grow bigger.
Lex sighed, pulling Jack’s attention to her. He had to admit that it was harder without Thymus helping to rip through monsters. Everything near their level took longer to kill, and Lex ended up taking more damage today than she had been in the last few days.
Jack turned his attention back to this tiny version of reality that needed clearing and looting.
“Alright,” he said, shifting Alt into the haloed crustacean he’d captured long ago. “I’m going to Omni Strike that group then hide behind Alt. Let him take some hits while I dodge, then you pull them off with a Shout. I burn them down while Alt adds some close-range melee. Rinse and repeat for all groups.”
The Bastion nodded, and Jack crunched his boot down on a row of unburnt homes as he led them to the first patch of monsters near the edge of the medieval metropolis. The group of three draconic nightmares ahead darted their heads down into an alley, snarling viciously as they played with their helpless food.
Jack stopped when there was a manageable amount of acrid smoke and floating embers between his team and the first group of enemies, and he waited for the rune-covered Divine Crab to crawl into position just ahead of him. Then he checked with the Bastion by his side, her feet set, and her mind focused on her role in the fight ahead. She gave him a nod, signaling she was ready without taking her eyes off the monsters.
Jack drew his sword and lacerated all three flying lizards in one strike.
Pyre Wyvern -64 | HP 188/252
Pyre Wyvern -64 | HP 188/252
Pyre Wyvern -64 | HP 188/252
Their serpent-like necks snapped toward the source of the painful cuts and screeched as they leaped into the air. Jack pressed his back against the giant crab and resisted the urge to blast the ugly things with his Mining Laser. The goal was to get the Threat off him and onto the others. Any extra damage at this point would make that harder.
A flap of leathery wings covered the sky before a sharply hooked tail darted toward the center of his chest. Jack sunk down and tilted his face to the side an instant before the stinger whizzed past his ear and struck Alt’s shell.
Alt -15 | HP 252/267
A grin split Jack’s face as he rolled away from the combat, his shoulder demolishing a tiny wooden church. The wyverns were going to have just as hard of a time damaging the haloed crab as he did when he tried his Mining Laser.
He sprung to his feet, and both Alt and Lex got off hits as he was reassessing the situation.
Pyre Wyvern -45 | HP 143/252
Pyre Wyvern -48 | HP 140/252
One of the creatures continued past Jack’s team and opened its tooth-filled maw. He could tell the 6-foot lizard was about to blast him in the face with its strange-colored fire, so he dashed forward and activated Double Strike. His blade plunged deep between the thick scales on its throat- then plunged deeper, all in the same instant.
Pyre Wyvern -64 | HP 124/252
Pyre Wyvern -64 | HP 60/252
The brutal attack disrupted the monster’s fire attack, but its stinger was a blur as it countered, catching Jack in the shoulder. Pain burst through his veins like acid, and he took on a debilitating status effect.
Jack -42 | HP 298/340
Paralyze - [Hit Chance reduced to %10 | Movement Speed reduced to 10% | 00:00:19]
~ The venom won’t be what kills you
Black leathery wings beat in Jack’s face as the wyvern hovered backward before opening its mouth to drench its disabled prey in blue-green flames.
However, Jack only needed to angle the tip of his blade a few degrees before activating Mining Laser and erasing the flying lizard in a single blast.
Nearby, Lex and Alt were still engaged with theirs and doing a much better job of deflecting the creatures’ swift stingers.
The air felt like syrup, and Jack grunted as he inched his weapon toward the combat. He lasered one to static with his death ray before the Paralyze status icon faded from his vision and he could move freely again. Jack turned his focus on the final monster and disintegrated it right before it could belch out a jet of flames onto his team.
He checked the top row of his Inventory for upgrades, and a new blade caught his eye. He gave it a once over before he fed it to Alt.
Defender’s Rage - [Sword | Value: 140]
| Dmg: 56 |
| Def: 23 |
| Hit Chance +0.52 |
| Max Mana +90 |
| +3 Mana per kill |
~ Make them hate.
It was a rare item that was better than the legendary weapon Lex had been holding all this time. Jack waited for Lex to heal everyone to full before opening the trade window containing the recent drop. Her golden eyes narrowed as she read the item’s stats.
“I’ve had Morning’s Edge for a very, very long time,” Lex said, pulling her own short blade out. It was a rare drop that her father had held onto until his daughter was high enough level to use it. It occurred to Jack that they really should be holding a weapon for Haylee, but he had no idea what a Dark Prism would need.
“A bow would be ideal,” Alt answered in his head. “I can show you her Paths if you want.”
Jack did want that very much- but not right now.
Lex swallowed hard and placed her sword in the trade menu. She locked her large eyes on his and nodded as she accepted the trade. Her side of the hovering panel lit up with a glowing green overlay.
“You sure?” Jack asked. “You can keep it, you know. Maybe mount it up on the wall or something.”
“No,” Lex said firmly. “By merging with this blade, Alt will grow stronger, and you will grow stronger. Fighting is its purpose, not waiting on some shelf.”
Jack gave her a half smile and accepted, switching their offered items. He inspected it one last time before adding the blade to his evolving weapon.
Morning’s Edge - [Sword | Value: 160]
| Dmg: 45 |
| Hit Chance +0.5 |
| Dodge +10% |
| Max Mana +110 |
| +15 Mana on Floor Transition |
~ A new day, another chance.
“This sword would be very lucky to find below Floor 30,” Alt said, and Jack could feel the AI’s anticipation. With a flick of his will, Jack merged the blades together then checked his weapon for changes.
ARV Alternis - [Sword | Value: 3374/250,000]
| Dmg: 64 |
| Def: 16 |
| Hit Chance +0.12 |
| Crit Chance +0.20 |
| HP +25 |
| MP +65 |
| Dodge +18 |
| Magic Power +7 |
| 25% chance to heal 1 HP on kill |
| +5 Mana on Floor Transition |
| +1 Sneak |
Jack razed his eyebrows. “Combining Morning’s Edge gave me +2 damage and a part of the MP on Floor Transition.”
He shot Lex a smile and found her staring into her own perfectly polished length of sharpened metal.
“That reminds me,” she said, sheathing her new blade. “I saw you use your Double Strike on that monster just a moment ago and wondered about your possible skill synergies. We were so focused on my Aether Tone/Shout combination, we never even considered a Double Omni Strike.”
Jack felt the shock of excitement rush through his veins. Would activating both abilities at the same time even work?
Alt responded in his head. “I’m not seeing any code that directly prevents you from activating both skills at the same time, but it might take you some practice to get your mind around the timing.”
“No shit…” Jack mumbled, then turned his eye
s to the blonde Bastion. “I’m impressed at your growing ability to see the system exploits, Lex.”
“You’ve been rubbing off on me.”
Jack’s mouth hung open, and he wondered if she even intended… what she said, but when he saw her slanted smile, he knew she had said exactly what she meant.
“Come on,” she added. “Let’s change the plan for the next group. If your new trick works, keep on the heat from your Mining Laser to see if you can finish one. I’ll shout immediately when the rest get to Alt, and you two should be able to clean them up quickly. Sound good?”
Jack nodded, searching for the next closest group. “Sounds great. If I can’t double-omni though, we simply revert to the original plan.”
The team maneuvered through the miniature city until they were in a good position to engage the next group. Jack clenched his fist around the thick cloth wrapped around the hilt of his blade and focused on the three wyverns fighting over a half-burning stable full of tiny horses.
Jack took a deep breath and held the monsters in his eye as he tried to hold both Dimensional Blade abilities in his mind. One allowed him to be everywhere in one instant and the other allowed him to attack twice in one instant. The obvious synergy was there, and Jack forced his mind to banish all doubts. He used a vision of Lex’s golden eyes to focus his mind, and with a confident grin, Jack attempted to activate both abilities at the same time.
ARV Alternis flashed through the air, slicing deep into the thick hides of three wyverns- and in the same instant, he gouged them even deeper. Six damage alerts flashed over the screeching creatures’ heads.
Pyre Wyvern -64 | HP 188/252
Pyre Wyvern -64 | HP 124/252
…
He quickly focused everything on aiming the tip of his blade to blast at least one out of the sky.
The creatures launched forward at the same moment Jack’s red beam of vibrant death impacted the lead wyvern’s head.
Pyre Wyvern -92 | HP 32/272
Pyre Wyvern -92 | Defeated