by Prax Venter
He was able to tag one of the remaining two before they made it to Alt’s shell where Lex was ready to challenge the violently flapping foes with a sharp Shout. Jack dodged a tail strike before both turned to focus on the Bastion, and her shield became a blur as she intercepted their venomous stingers. Without any interference this time, Jack was able to help the team finish their remaining foes quickly.
He turned to Lex, a huge grin on his face. “Nice! The extra instant damage is exactly what we need right now. Great idea, Lex.”
He saw the tops of her pointed ears blush a little, and she just nodded in response.
They swept the rest of the Floor using the same attack strategy, and Jack nailed every Double Omni Strike he attempted. The group of four wyverns gave them a bit more trouble, and everyone got hit by splash-damage from a magical fire attack, but they were victorious in the end.
The scale of this random Floor might be tiny, but the immense gothic structure in the center of this burning city still loomed over everything. It was right before this impending Boss fight on Floor 27 that Jack decided that they were going to go home when it was over. Lex and Jack had spent more MP than usual on this climb, and there was no reason to risk the push right now. They could stop at this Floor for a few days, farm better gear, and maybe give the Town the chance to spawn another Hero. His eyes fell to the softly pulsating globe that took them back to Blackmoor Cove.
“We ready?” he asked his team, forcing his eyes back up to the black-scaled monster that stood in their way.
They were, so Jack kicked off the Boss fight with a Double Omni Strike on a single target.
Floor 27 Boss -64 | 788/852
Floor 27 Boss -64 | 724/852
The larger foe turned its red eyes on Jack and dislodged from the central spire, its wings spreading much farther than he expected. Now that he had a better view, it looked more like a traditional four-legged dragon.
Jack pointed his blade upward toward the diving monster and blasted it in the chest with his Mining Laser.
Floor 27 Boss -92 | 632/852
Floor 27 Boss -92 | 540/852
Jack was able to hit it for two seconds before the creature changed direction and crunched its huge claws into the side of a castle wall. The black dragon decided to fight fire with fire and engulfed a huge area around them with a gout of searing magical flames. Jack tried to hide behind Alt’s shell, but it didn’t prevent any damage.
Jack -81 | 259/340
Lex -81 | 436/517
Alt -22 | 254/276
“Scatter!” Jack yelled, and both he and Lex ran in opposite directions away from the Divine Crab. He almost tripped over a tiny stone bridge stretching across a channel of water but was able to keep his feet. The fire lingered on Alt for one more application of its reduced arcane damage before the dragon snapped its mouth shut and tracked Jack’s movements.
The creature sucked in a huge breath, a sickly-green glow shining out between its scales, and Jack knew he was still the prime target.
He wasn’t wrong but was able to stay a step ahead of the roaring fire if he poured on all his speed. It would only be a matter of time before he stumbled on part of this burning city or ran out of stamina, but Lex had scaled up one of the walls to bring herself into shouting range.
The Bastion activated her ability, and Jack saw the translucent shockwave bubble out from her. The Floor Boss snapped its snout closed and leaped off the stone structure to answer Lex’s challenge.
Jack slid to a stop, his boots destroying a dozen homes and turned to see the massive creature attempt to snatch Lex up in its powerful maw. The moment the hulking beast attacked, he heard her mystical voice sing the triple tone associated with her invincible Aether form.
The rune-covered crab scrambled toward the fight while Jack dashed back into range and blasted the horned creature in its back with his red beam of death.
Floor 27 Boss -92 | 448/852
Floor 27 Boss Critical -152 | 296/852
Floor 27 Boss -92 | 204/852
The damage Jack was dishing out pulled the dragon’s focus despite Lex’s ability, and it turned away from her, flapping its massive leathery wings in an attempt to reach Jack in a last desperate act of vengeance, but Alt clamped his larger claw on the monster’s scaly leg.
Floor 27 Boss -36 | 168/852
The distraction was enough for Jack to melt it the rest of the way down, and the Boss exploded in a spectacular display against the night sky.
Once the battle was behind them, Jack looted the chest and found a minor pants upgrade for himself.
Slick Sealion Pants - [Legs | Value: 120]
| Def: 50 |
| Max HP +57 |
| Dodge +26 |
He replaced his current item immediately to find that his new shiny black pants were much tighter than his previous pair.
He gazed up to notice Lex staring at him. She caught his eye, then brazenly shifted her focus downward again.
“Okay, enough meat gazing,” Jack said. “We’re packing up and heading home for the day.”
“Meat gazing?” Lex said, an eyebrow raised.
Jack slapped one of his tightly wrapped thighs. “You know what you were doing.”
The Bastion shook her head as she sauntered over to the Exit orb.
“You say the oddest things, Jack,” she said, a smile in her voice.
Before Jack followed her, he asked Alt to start setting aside some of the better drops for each weapon type. Especially any of the lower-level ones. If he had billions of slots, it made sense at this point to start storing up at least a few good presents for new Heroes.
His eyes went to the current value he held from items intended for feeding to the Town.
Inventory Value: 12,861
Even with some items removed, this was way more than the two of them should be hauling out of the Tower. They could stop at Floor 27 for a long time before the Town would stabilize its growth.
Jack nodded to the Divine Crab watching him and then slapped the Exit Orb.
The smell of home filled his nose, and he opened his eyes to see half the Town standing out in front of the Inn. It sounded like Sol was yelling.
He shot a look to Lex, and they both began to trot up to the commotion.
Sol was easy to spot as his owlish head loomed over everyone, and he was really worked up about something. Demi and Haylee were there, and so were Pan, Harrak, and a few of the armored guards. Jack hastened his strides, wondering what would bring both reclusive men out like his.
“…don’t get to have a say in this!” Sol yelled as the two Heroes made it to the group.
“What’s going on here?” Jack asked, looking for Demi’s side first, but Harrak was the one who answered.
“There was a Demon Spawn attack this afternoon-”
“Where’s Ryea?” Lex asked, her golden eyes searching. Jack felt a rush of cold water down his spine when he realized she hadn’t been waiting for them.
Demi answered quickly, “She’s helping search the Town for the moment.”
“Yes, and perhaps fewer people should be playing with bizarre one-eyed birds and more people should be walking the Wall,” Sol said with an arrogant voice that grew in volume.
Jack wanted to punch the man in the face, but he was saved from making the decision when Harrak spoke again.
“It was because of Haylee’s ability that we lost no one.” Lex’s father turned to glance at the quiet Lumberjack. Pan lowered his head and tried to make himself look as small as possible. Then everyone’s attention snapped to Sol as he began yelling at his daughter in public.
“And that’s the last second you spend alone in the woods with that… man. It’s not safe, and not-”
“No!” the girl in the burgundy dress shouted as she stepped away from her looming father. “If you want to take away my only friend in this world, then I’m climbing the Tower by myself, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
Everyone stood silent, shocked, and Jack was still
trying to catch up with what was happening here, much less step in and defuse whatever this was. He had never heard her speak this much at one time, and now that he knew what to look for, he could see a frighteningly potent quiet wisdom behind the eyes of this child.
Haylee thrust one of her small fingers toward Jack before she continued.
“Inspect our Heroes.” She paused, her intense eyes scanning the crowd of gathered Townsfolk. “They are still Level 28, which means they need a bigger party. It is my destiny to fight.”
Sol had finally found the words to speak, his dark eyebrows lifting high on his head.
“Your destiny?” he yelled and then turned to Jack. “This otherworldly invader has poisoned your mind with his destiny talk, and I forbid-”
“Wrong!” Demi stepped forward and pointed her finger at Sol. “You can try and bend truths until they fit into your selfish mind, but like it or not, Haylee is a Hero. It truly is her destiny to fight and to climb.”
Harrak crossed his thick arms and quietly tried to calm the situation. “Listen, it’s hard watching your family put themselves in danger for the wellbeing of others, I know that more than most-”
“And look what happened,” Sol interrupted with a sneer. “You lost your wife.”
Haylee spoke again, and although her words were soft and measured, the rage behind them was felt by everyone.
“And you lost yours because you are a horrible, vile person.”
The ex-Wharfmaster looked like he’d been physically struck, and after a silent stare, the young girl in the burgundy dress walked out of the ring of Townsfolk and entered the Inn.
There were a lot of glances in Sol’s direction, and the normal red rage Jack had seen glowing under his skin was now a worrisome purple. He was about to burst a blood vessel.
“I see how it is,” the owlish man said, his eyes on the ground, “The whole Town… conspires…”
Jack had never heard him at a loss for words. Sol’s jaw clenched, and without looking up, the tall man stalked away from the group in swift long strides.
Most everyone standing outside the Inn shook their heads in pity or disgust, but Lex was staring straight at her father. Jack clapped Harrak on the shoulder before stepping forward and speaking up.
“Although what everyone said is correct, Haylee is still a child and Sol’s daughter. I told him that if he forbids her from entering the Tower, I will respect his wishes until she is older. I’m going to go talk to him. He may be an ass, but he is part of this Town, and I will find a way to make him fit.”
The group of Townsfolk broke apart, going about their business now that the drama was over. Jack caught Lex’s eye, and as she stood next to her father, she gave him a warm smile.
“I’ll be back soon,” he told her before heading down the dirt path that led to the west, toward the Townsfolk homes. He caught a glimpse of Sol’s robes fluttering in the distance, and Jack figured Haylee’s father was headed down to the beach.
Much closer was the broad shoulders of Pan’s red shirt as he sulked back to his hut in the woods. The young Lumberjack was also part of this puzzle, and he needed to know how he truly fit, so Jack took the opportunity to Inspect him.
Pan - Townsfolk: Lumberjack | 87% Proficiency
[Health: 10/10]
Relationship -
[Disposition: Anxious]
He dismissed the window and quickened his strides until he caught up.
“First,” Jack said quietly, “I just want to say I know you are a good dude, er- person, and I will be talking to Sol on your behalf regarding your friendship with Haylee. Second,” he continued without a pause, “Blackmoor is going to get a lot more crowded soon- that is, if I have anything to say about it. You seem to know what you are doing, but we might need more people chopping down trees as the Town grows. Pan, I want you to please feel free to tell me if you would rather be assigned somewhere else, and I’ll see what I can do.”
Jack kept his eyes forward as he walked alongside the muscular Lumberjack. They were reaching a split in their paths when Pan paused in the road and rubbed the back of his head with one of his large hands.
“Thank you, Jack,” he said, his gray eyes meeting Jack’s for a half-second before turning back to the ground. Now that he’d heard his soft voice, and gotten a close look at his face, Jack realized that Pan was much younger than he’d originally thought. Probably only five years older than Haylee- or close to it.
“Any time, Pan.”
They went their separate ways, and Jack continued toward the stairs down to the cove. While he walked, he mentally asked Alt to show him Haylee’s Hero Paths.
“You got it,” the AI said a moment before a black panel appeared in his vision.
write.player_14(UI(Haylee.PATH_001))
PATH Vexer [1]
► Withering Stare - [Channeled | 3MP/30 Seconds | One target in sight Slowed by 50%]
~ How dare they…
write.player_14(UI(Haylee.PATH_002))
PATH Light Archer [1]
► Light Ray - [Passive | All Bows fire Light Rays instead of arrows | 1 Mana/shot | Dmg: Main Hand + Magic Power]
~ Your focused will creates beams of pure energy.
“Damn,” Jack said out loud as he moved down the stairs. A Dark Prism seemed powerful.
Alt filled him in on some further details.
“She can only equip bow-type weapons and is completely helpless if she runs out of mana. But otherwise, she has a very rare set of Paths. If it weren’t for my tinkering, the probability functions would never have chosen her for ascension to Hero status. Well, technically, it could have happened once in the course of a trillion days, but you get the idea.”
He had to figure out a way to get Sol to let Haylee climb with them. Judging from the short amount of time Jack had interacted with her, she seemed like she could keep her cool under pressure. Was there some socially accepted age limit on Heroes, like buying cigarettes?
Soft sand shifted under his boots as he stepped out onto the beach, and Jack took in a deep breath of sharp sea air. He watched the waves crashed into the distant dark boulders that cradled the cove for a moment before he scanned the beach for the ex-Wharfmaster. Jack looked toward the wharf first but didn’t see a tall man wearing black silk robes. The other direction was a dead-end of rocks, and Jack didn’t expect to see Sol there, but there he was, just looking out over the infinite purple ocean. The sun was setting over that way, but a wall of rich dirt, verdant grass, and smooth black boulders that blocked everything but the red-orange crests out on the surface of the inconceivably vast body of water.
Jack walked up to the motionless Sol standing by a long-dead tree still clinging to a slowly eroding patch of stony land.
“Can I join you?” he asked from a distance, and Sol turned his head. In this light, the angry man with a beaklike nose appeared to be part owl more than ever before. He opened his mouth to say something but sighed instead and turned away. Jack took that as permission and hopped up onto the smooth rock lodged into the cliff.
After a few steps, Jack found that the angle was perfect to see the river that ran through the forest as it spilled out into the ocean in a beautiful stream. It was about 50 yards away and appeared to be a sparkling cascade of mist in front of the setting blood-orange sun. The spot was amazing, and Jack was surprised that Sol was the one to lead him to it.
“We’re seeing a lot of each other these days, Jack,” Sol said quietly.
“I care about you,” Jack said.
Sol snapped his head to look at him. “Why? Why do you when no one else seems to?”
A lot of quippy responses ran through Jack’s mind, but the goal was to get Sol to see the light and, ultimately, he really wanted to get Haylee in the Tower. That was the only win here, not hitting this cornered, angry man with a zinger.
Jack chose to answer with a question.
“What happened with your wife?”
Sol’s face melted, and his V-like brows inverted
again. The other man’s large dark eyes looked deep into Jack’s, and with the height advantage, he could appear absolutely predatory. When he didn’t find any ridicule or judgment there, his features softened again. Sol clasped his hands behind his back and resumed gazing out over the sea.
“I was the proprietor of the general store in a Town called Zengal, in the marshes far to the west. My wife, Yan, was a Hero. A climber. We had Haylee when we were young and thought we knew what we both wanted out of life. We fought. A lot. And her sharp tongue cut like a whip ending in razors. The Town was failing much like this one was, and she wanted to flee while the roads were still open. But we both agreed that Haylee was too young to travel.”
Sol paused, and Jack waited for him to continue. The silence stretched on so long that the red sun was halfway into the ocean before he spoke again. He turned to Jack, his normally animated face numb and devoid of all emotion.
“She just left one day. Yan didn’t come home at Exit, and I understandably thought the worst… for days. But I eventually learned from a Guard that she had simply left one morning.
“My daughter and I held out in Zengal for a few years, and the Town held out too… but I didn’t want to live there anymore. We came to Blackmoor Cove expecting new opportunities for profit and a new life, but it was clearly the wrong investment. This pathetic seaside Town became surrounded by Corruption days after our arrival.”
That was the end of his tale, yet Jack remained quiet for a while. He was glad he knew this, and it explained some of why this man pushed everyone way. Eventually, Jack spoke.
“Sol, I saw Haylee laughing and playing with Pan on my circuit around the Town this morning. If you won’t let me help make her stronger by leveling her in the Tower, I would like to vouch for the young Lumberjack. You’re her father, and I still think it’s your call, but she looked dead serious about entering alone if you take her one friend away.”
Sol didn’t say anything, so Jack continued.
“They didn’t know I was there… this morning, when I saw them playing in the woods. They seem good for each other. When was the last time you heard your daughter laugh?”
“It’s time for you to leave,” Sol said, turning back to the water.