by Prax Venter
The Dark Prism sank to her knees as tears leaked out of her gray eyes. Jack quickly moved next to her.
“Haylee,” he said softly. “Alt is perfectly okay.”
“I know,” she said, keeping her gaze on the lush grass of the spaceship floor. “Regardless, that is a situation I never want either of us to be in again. That attack would have killed me, and he sacrificed himself…”
Jack felt Alt’s visceral frustration for being helpless to console her himself.
“You can thank him yourself tomorrow morning, little one.”
She turned her large gray eyes up to meet his and nodded.
After taking a moment to let their hearts stop pounding, Lex used her song to heal Haylee while Jack looted the chest. What he saw there made the nightmare of Floor 35 fade a little.
Shoddy Leather Helm - [Head | Value 161]
| Def: 10 |
| Max HP +29 |
It wasn’t a rare find, and it didn’t seem all that great stat-wise, but it was the first Head slot item Jack had ever seen appear in the Tower.
After a very short discussion, their Defender and Bastion was now the proud owner of a faded brown leather helm that pushed her golden hair against her neck.
Jack thought she looked absolutely adorable.
He collected the rest of the unusable items to feed the Town, and with zero discussion on whether they should push to Floor 36, they all went home.
Ryea, Harrak, and Sol were waiting for them, as were the sea-salt smells of home. The instant they reappeared, Haylee silently walked up to her father and wrapped her arms around him.
The tall owlish man placed his hand on his daughter’s back and cast his eyes on Jack, their intensity demanding an explanation for this odd behavior.
He shrugged. “Rough day.”
After Jack deposited the loot into the Town Input Chest, he split off from everyone to check on Thymus’ ritual progress, and when he entered the strange building with its orbiting spheres, Jack found the Arcane Mage pacing back and forth.
“No, Jack,” the old Hero said when he saw him. “I am still missing one vital part of this accursed ritual, and please don’t start offering suggestions.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Jack offered, holding his hands out.
“Begone and let me work.”
With a deep sigh, Jack left the Wizard’s Athenaeum and headed for the Eye o’ the Storm.
“I wish I had more advice for him,” Alt said in his mind. “But this part of the code is hidden to me.”
Jack nodded as his thoughts turned to the final Floor of today’s climb and its Boss as he put one boot in front of the other. Alt continued to speak after a few steps of silence.
“That was good thinking earlier- with the Elvish Space Vampire transformation. Perhaps we should experiment more with the possibility that enemies in the Tower won’t attack one of their own.”
“I don’t know,” Jack said out loud, watching his boots tear up wide blades of wet grass. “That last Floor seemed… different. I’ve seen monsters talk before, but they are always talking at us. These guys were talking to us.”
Alt remained quiet, and they both turned to their own thoughts for the rest of the short trip to the Inn. After a hot meal and warm company, Jack was feeling a bit more like himself. A glance at the Dark Prism down at the other end of the table informed him that she too was still shaken from the last Floor of the Tower.
Ryea, on the other hand, had bounced back after the last few days and was her normal rambunctious self again. The Farmer grabbed Lex and went over to the bar where she and Demi made fun of her new hat. There was laughter and happy people all around him, but he couldn’t quite shake the strange feeling he got from today’s final Boss.
“Harrak,” he said, turning to the old Bygone Hero next to him, “you’ve seen much of the Tower. Do you remember any monsters or Bosses ever striking up a conversation?”
Lex’s father wrinkled his brow as he considered the question. “I’ve heard more than a few speak, sure enough. Why do you ask?”
Jack noticed Haylee’s gray eyes intently focused on this conversation, and her interest pulled her father’s as well.
“The Boss on the final Floor today- where we got Lex a nice new helm- it… he seemed different. He seemed more like a person and not a mindless monster like most of the bizarre nonsense we find in there.”
Harrak took a long pull of his mug before he answered.
“Look, Jack. Everything in there needs to be killed and looted. Never talk to your enemies, it’ll only end badly.”
“Do you consider Thymus your enemy?” Sol said, bluntly joining the conversation.
Harrak’s face instantly started to turn red.
Sol crossed his long arms and continued. “I know what it’s like to be angry all the time. You and I both know what life has been like for us in the past. You want to hold on to some of the anger because it’s all you think you have that keeps her memory burning. I know this. But now things are different. We’re different, Harrak. Everything around us is growing into something that I feel proud to be a part of, and this is only because my anger has been snuffed out. I didn’t know Emme well, but I do know she wouldn’t want you to treat that old fool as your enemy.”
Harrak’s huge fists were clenched so tight that his skin on the back was pure white. It looked as if he were going to punch Sol in the face, but the short, bearded man let out a slow sigh.
“Perhaps you’re right.”
“When is Sol ever wrong?” Jack added with a smile. “And Thymus could use some support right now.”
“Now?” Harrak said, one of his eyebrows lifting high. “Isn’t he busy doing wizardry and whatnot?”
“Yeah, but I think a visit from you would do wonders for his slipping sanity.”
Harrak nodded. “Very well. I hope I do not regret this.”
Lex’s father stood from the bench and left the Inn.
“Nice job, Sol,” Jack said. “I’ve been working to crack that nut for a long time.”
“It’s thanks to you that I remember what friendship can be worth, Jack.”
Lex eventually came back to join them at the table, and Sol asked for more details about the talking monster that had Jack so flustered. Haylee did most of the explaining, and she skillfully left out Alt by giving gory descriptions of how she had most of her blood removed by magic space elves.
“We’re going to take it nice and slow tomorrow,” Jack said when she was finished. “I think we should farm Floor 35 for a few days until we all have new Head Slot items.”
“I follow your lead,” Haylee said and then excused herself for bed. Jack and Lex went up to their room own shortly after.
The next morning, Jack found Thymus waiting for him at the bar in the common room. The old Arcane Mage looked like he’d been through another sleepless night, but his bloodshot eyes focused steadily on Jack as he approached.
“It’s ready,” was all he said, but the gray-haired man didn’t look happy about it.
“Talk to me, Thymus. What were you missing?”
“I need to give up being a Hero. As part of the ritual, I will lose all of my ability paths.”
Jack paused, trying to read Thymus’ face. “And… you’re okay with that?”
“Of course I am, Jack. I am just ashamed it took me so long to finally see what… I didn’t want to see. My turret was the only thing keeping me useful to Blackmoor and the people I care about. Now my legacy can live on forever, protecting this Town from invasion long after I am gone.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Jack said. “We still need to pull off this ritual, and you are far from gone, you old nutbag.”
That got a weary smile out of the elderly mage. “Nut… bag?” he repeated and then turned to Lex patiently standing nearby.
She shrugged. “He’s got the best words.”
Thymus walked up to Jack and grabbed one of his shoulders.
“If
we are going to pull it off, we should do it as soon as possible while I still remember all the incantations. I’ve already prepared the circle, we just need to deal the damage.”
Jack nodded and turned to Lex. “Would you be a darling and work with Demi on getting everyone to the Wall? We’ll head that way and have the Watchtower send out the signal.”
With their plan set, Jack walked with Thymus along the path toward the arch leading out of Town. They told Milin their plan on the way, and the young Guard blew out a unique signal that echoed around the cliffside community.
Everyone knew this day was coming. The guards lined up along the stones of the Wall while the Townsfolk lined up behind them. No one wanted to miss this grand spectacle they may never see again. Besides two or three of the newcomers, every single person in Blackmoor Cove was dedicated to seeing this through. Jack felt ridiculous asking people to attack the humongous stone barrier, but not one person questioned him, and he loved them for it.
The ritual circle was larger than Jack expected and drawn about thirty yards to the right of the main entrance, but he was surprised to see that it wasn’t touching the Wall itself. With a shake of his head, he left the arcane mysteries to the wizard who hopefully knew what he was doing.
Jack added Kron to his party, and then Lex and Haylee when they came with the rest of the Town. Then the Heroes took their position around the Dark Prism, waiting for her to call out a weakness in the Wall, then all eyes turned to the gray-bearded old mage in the center of his intricately detailed circle of crushed black stone. Thymus shot a glance at his old friend Harrak standing with the other guards by the Wall, and the Combat Master gave him a confident nod.
“You should see some magical effects happen when I start,” the Arcane Mage shouted to everyone. “Perhaps some lightning. When that happens, you must attack the Wall with everything you have!”
When Thymus began chanting, and a bolt of lightning struck him from the clear azure skies above, Jack tried to ignore it and focused on reaching the damage threshold. He had to believe the old fool knew what he was doing.
“Attack!” Jack yelled.
Haylee was first up, and after she squinted her eyes at the length of stacked stone in front of her, she pointed at one particularly cracked boulder near the bottom.
“There!” she shouted and the heavily armored Kron immediately blitzed forward in a blur. His massive shield impacted a large hunk of stone, and Jack was surprised to see a damage notification.
Blackmoor Wall Critical! -320 HP | 24,680/25,000
“Only you, Lex and Haylee can see the text,” Alt whispered in his mind.
Jack nodded, focused on his job. Haylee shot her Blue-Shifted Light Ray with the strongest bow she had and shaved off a thousand points of damage with one attack. Lex and Kron hacked away at the boulder from melee range while Jack and Haylee used their ranged attacks over their heads. There were also 19 guards who repeatedly smashed their low-level swords against the structure, and the damage began to add up.
They seemed to be making good progress, and since Jack was simply pointing his death laser at a stationary rock, he glanced over to see Thymus babbling nonsense to the sky. Another bolt of lightning struck him as Jack watched, but he didn’t seem to be taking any damage or be in any pain.
“Not every hit is a critical,” Alt said in his mind, and Jack could feel his friend’s growing unease. “We’re at the halfway point, and there might not be enough damage output to accomplish our goal.”
Behind him the Townsfolk of Blackmoor began to clap and cheer, lending their voices to help in any way they could, and Jack wondered what would happen to morale if they failed at this final stage. Jack watched the guards along the Wall, each hammering on different stones and-
And then it hit him, and he felt like a fool.
Jack canceled his Mining Laser then took a few steps backward as he tried to hold as many individual boulders in his active perception at once.
With only seconds left before the ritual would fail, Jack activated a Double Omni Strike on over a hundred targets.
Blackmoor Wall -18,334 | Goal Reached
The entire length of the Wall was suddenly assaulted by constant lightning strikes from above while the epic damage notification faded from his vision. Blue and white energy cascaded down around the edges of Town, and the sight was beyond spectacular. The sky began to darken above as the ritual drew to its conclusion, and when Thymus yelled out the last part of his mystical incantations, the whole world became much too bright. Jack was forced to close his eyes as thunder vibrated his chest cavity and deafened his ears.
When he could see again, the first thing he noticed were two giant structures to either side of the entrance. They were delicate towers made of black stone and held a blue, spherical gem crowning their tops. Looking left and right, Jack saw many of the defensive towers fused with the stone Wall.
Thymus had done it. The whole Town began cheering, and Jack turned to congratulate the old, time-lost wizard. But his heart sank when he saw Thymus in a heap of blue robes on the ground.
Most everyone gathered joined Jack as they rushed past the burned and blackened grass where the crushed stone had been carefully laid out.
Jack expected the worst, but Demi was the first to him, and she helped the still-breathing wizard sit up. Jack Inspected him as soon as he could.
Thymus - Hero: Sage | Level 29
Ritual Research | 96% Proficiency
[Health: 19/260 | Mana: 0/520]
Relationship -
[Disposition: Respected]
“He has no ability paths,” Alt confirmed in Jack’s mind. “But he appears to have a new Class and higher proficiency for research. Interesting.”
The gathered Townsfolk and guards all cheered once again, clapping as the Innkeeper brought the old mage to his feet.
“You did it!” Jack said, reaching for Thymus’ weak and frail hand.
“We did it,” the old man corrected.
- 27 -
It was hard for Jack to enter the Tower after such an exhilarating morning. He wanted to do nothing more than to just sit on the Wall and wait for some Demon Spawn to come and test their new and deadly toys. But, despite the new defenses, the Town still needed its loot or everything would quickly shrivel back to nothing.
It wasn’t until the next day that the attack Harrak had predicted finally came to Blackmoor. Jack was in the middle of an orb pheasant potpie when the alarm horn sounded from the Watchtower. Normally, everyone in Town would rush to hide at the Inn, but there was no stopping the stampede of Townsfolk from seeing the new lightning towers in action.
They didn’t need to wait long. By the time Jack reached the Watchtower, he saw the first luminous blast light up the night. The blue gems atop the defensive structures would glow brighter for about two seconds before discharging their potent payload of raw energy into the night. He expected tremendous claps of thunder to accompany the blasts, but the towers remained silent as they triggered again and again.
Jack looked over at Lex as they both ran toward the approaching army.
“Race ya!” he yelled.
She let out a gleeful burst of laughter, and they both sprinted faster.
Unfortunately, the entire attacking army had been decimated before they got there, and Jack was sorely disappointed that he didn’t get to see one of the things fry an enemy. Kron’s wide eyes conveyed volumes, however, and the horned man tried to explain how each lightning tower not only struck with mind-numbing devastation, but its glowing tendrils of power spread like a spiderweb to nearby targets.
Later, back at the Inn, Jack dumped a truckload of coin on Demi and said food and drinks were on him. It was a wonderful night that he would never forget.
Eventually, the Town settled back into its regular routines after a handful of quiet days. Haylee and Alt spent more time alone on the first few Floors each day, and Jack and Lex were happy to leave them to it. They pushed up to Floor 35 four more times, but th
ey had yet to find another leather hat for him. He was only somewhat disappointed by the bad drops but his mood turned right around when Alt informed them that the Town would level again after their climb tomorrow.
Lex was waiting for Jack to feed the Town when they heard an unusual signal from the Watchtower.
It was a quick series of short blasts, and Lex had to remind him what they meant.
People coming down the road.
They both made it to the Wall just as a pair of unique individuals stepped up to the main gate. One was a tall, slender man dressed in a white robe and the other was a woman with a pair of daggers tucked into sheaths strapped to her belt.
Jack’s eyes bounced around their gear and the realization of what they were almost knocked him on his ass.
“Hello!” he called out as he approached the travelers. “I’m Jack, Mayor of this little Town. Welcome, Heroes, to Blackmoor Cove!”
The newcomers stopped outside the Wall and shared a somber glance before the man in the robe spoke with a quiet, monotone voice.
“Farah and I are all that’s left of Emberstone,” he said as tears welled in his bloodshot blue eyes. “All the Townsfolk are dead and the entire mountain range south of here has been taken by the Corruption.”
“No…” Harrak wheezed the word as if he’d been punched in the gut. “Are you saying Emberstone’s Tower-”
“Yes,” the woman with the daggers answered in a smoky voice, her gaze locked on the ground between her boots. “We had already fled, but we saw it… happen, in the distance. The sour tendrils of Corruption spread up its length to the heavens before a wave of darkness settled across the land.” She turned her sorrow-soaked eyes up to Jack’s before continuing. “I’m grateful Blackmoor Cove still stands, Mayor, but your Town is now trapped between the Endless Sea and a fallen Tower.”
The End
Of
Irrelevant Jack II
Thank you so much for coming with me on this journey. If you enjoy the story of Jack and his destiny to save the multiverse, please leave a review on Amazon. Making noise to others you think will enjoy this book helps me continue to deliver increasing amounts of crunchy LitRPG/GameLit content! So please, go out there and tell the world what you think.