by Jakob Tanner
It was none other than Blake Cedarwood, his former instructor from the climber academy.
“Sup,” he said, coolly.
Not that he had ever been the most conventional teacher in the world, but he was clearly not here for educational purposes.
Right beside him was an even more familiar face.
Casey.
She beamed a pretty smile his way and waved. Her cheeks were red, still flush from the challenges most likely. It only made her look more cute.
Max walked over to her.
“Glad to see you made it,” he said.
Casey scoffed. “I think I should be saying that to you, considering I got here before you did.”
Max raised his hands in the air like he’d been caught in some sort of criminal act.
“Too true,” he said. “I’m sure your paper crane and wind katana combo absolutely wrecked everyone in your way.”
“Pretty much,” she grinned. “And I imagine you were able to borrow an ability far beyond your own actual capabilities and crushed the original wielder?”
Max laughed. “Pretty much!”
Their laughter died down and Casey’s face turned more serious.
She spoke quietly so only Max could hear her.
“What do you think is really going on right now? I’ve never heard of climbers competing for mission slots before like this.”
Max was glad to hear he wasn’t the only one confused with the purpose of today’s challenges.
He looked to Harold and then Blake, both of whom seemed to be lost in their own thoughts.
Max knew for a fact that Blake was B-rank firebringer.
He wasn’t sure about Harold’s rank though. Before today, Max would have thought he would have been B- or C-rank, but by the fact that he was pulled out of retirement to do these challenges and take part in this mission seemed odd.
It made Max think the man must be of a higher rank.
A-rank perhaps.
Humanity didn’t have that many climbers that powerful. An A-ranker couldn’t just retire so easily.
So, Max took in the four of them. An A-ranker, a B-ranker, and two D-rankers.
It was an odd grouping of ranks.
If the mission was seriously dangerous, Sakura would have brought together as many high-ranking climbers as possible.
But the difference in ranks made for a very odd squad.
Max let out a sigh and shrugged at Casey.
“Honestly,” he said. “I have no idea.”
“I don’t think any of us do,” said Casey. “I tried speaking to Blake and that old man but they didn’t have any answers. They both said, ‘They had their suspicions,’ but they left it at that. What the heck does that mean?”
Max was about to ask a follow-up question when the swoosh and swirl of a portal forming in the gymnasium cut him off.
Both Harold and Blake perked up to see who would exit the portal this time.
“How many people do they need for this mission!?” asked Casey.
The portal swirled and a figure emerged.
It was a teenage girl, about a year or two younger than Max and Casey.
The girl had long black hair in a plaited ponytail and large rimless glasses.
Max’s heart skipped a beat.
“Who’s this chick?” said Casey. “Is she even old enough to be a climber?”
Max was at a loss for words.
It was like he was seeing a ghost.
An acquaintance from another life.
No, it was more than just an acquaintance.
A friend.
A dear friend.
“Sarah,” said Max, his voice cracking. “What are you doing here?”
9
“Max,” said the girl who had just stepped through the portal. “Is that you?”
Max blinked. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing right now.
“You two know each other?” said Casey, glancing back and forth between Max and the new girl.
Sarah had been Max’s only friend growing up. They’d both been orphans together at a horrible group home and allies in a treacherous high school environment.
When Max had unlocked his profile and trait and moved from the outer-rim to the tower-zone, he had to say goodbye to his friend.
He thought they would never see each other again.
They quietly walked towards each other and hugged tightly.
“I can’t believe I’m seeing you again,” said Max.
“Me too,” she said.
Max let go of her and took in his friend from the outer-rim.
“So, you’re a climber now?”
“Sort of,” she said. “Since Zestiris united, I was able to see whether I could unlock a profile and trait. Turns out I could. I’m supposed to start at the academy next month, but I’ve been training extra hard so that I do well.”
Max grinned.
Sarah had always been a straight-A student, so no surprise that she was working extra hard as a student climber.
It was also amazing to hear that people from the outer-rim were eligible to become climbers. That might help improve and increase humanity’s number of climbers exploring the tower.
Max shook his head in shock once more.
“I can’t believe it. There’s so much I want to ask you,” said Max.
“We’ll have time to catch up later,” said Sarah. “I’ve heard lots about you already since the city opened up. You saved the city from a coup attempt, you helped save a whole other country higher in the tower. That’s incredible, Max! You’ve gained quite the reputation. I’m so—”
Cough, cough.
Max turned to see that Casey was overlooking their conversation, arms crossed, and with a slightly odd expression on her face.
“Are you going to introduce me to your...friend, is it?”
“Casey, this is Sarah. We grew up together in the outer-rim. Our home had the warm and inviting government title of Group Home 12-C,” said Max. “Sarah, this is Casey. She actually played a big part in both those events you just mentioned. I couldn’t have done any of it without her.”
“That’s right,” said Casey, shaking Sarah’s hand. “We’ve gone on a lot of adventures together.”
Sarah smiled and bowed her head slightly.
“Thank you so much for protecting Max.”
Casey’s eyebrow twitched, like she’d been expecting a more hostile retort from the new girl.
Switching gears, Casey grumbled with the hint of suspicion in her voice, “You’re... you’re...really nice.”
Max was staying very calm between his two female friends. He felt like a hostage negotiator and he didn’t want to set anyone off or let any lives be put at risk.
Thankfully, their conversation was cut off by the arrival of Sakura.
She clapped her hands as she stepped out from the stage of the gymnasium.
Blake looked up at her with large puppy eyes, not concealing his affection for the climber president in the slightest.
“Congratulations to you all,” said the climber president. “All of you have been chosen as the best climbers in your rank to compete in the United Floors Alliance Tournament on floor-30 on behalf of Zestiris. The real challenges have only just begun.”
Everyone—including Blake and Harold—stared at Sakura with disbelief.
An ominous silence and tension filled the room.
“What is—” Casey began before Sakura interrupted her.
“I’ll take questions at the end,” the climber president said quickly.
What is all this about? Max wondered.
The United Floors Alliance Tournament?
He’d never heard of such a thing before. He knew there was an alliance between the lower floors, but this was the first time he was hearing about any kind of tournament between the floors.
Max kept a particular eye on Harold.
He was grimacing, as if he had a semblance of where Sakura was going with all of this, and that
he was very much opposed.
“Blake and Harold,” Sakura began, “I know most of what I’m about to tell you will be familiar to you, but for the sake of the younger generation, please bear with me.”
“I mean, they’re not that much younger than me,” Blake mused.
Sakura glared at him and he immediately bowed and apologized.
“The United Floors Alliance is an alliance between floor-30 and all the floors below it,” Sakura explained. “The tower is a violent and deadly place. This is a truth that only becomes more apparent the further you ascend. The alliance was formed as a defensive precaution against even higher floors and a way of policing and mitigating violence on the lower floors.”
Harold noticeably coughed at Sakura’s final line.
The climber president glared at the old man and said, “Obviously, not everyone might agree with the alliance’s effectiveness, but it’s currently the best system we have.”
Sakura continued.
“And, beyond the defensive aspects, there’s a lot to gain from the alliances. Benefits to knowledge, technology, and economics, just to name a few. A lot of those benefits stem from the upcoming event you’ve all been nominated for. The United Floors Alliance Tournament. The event only happens every ten years, and humanity did not attend the previous one due to complications.”
Harold shivered and shook his head at that.
“Seeing that humanity last attended the event two decades ago, it’s crucial that we make a good showing this time around. The tournament functions as a meeting ground for powerful climbers and groups. Important information is shared and potential joint-alliance missions are formed. But most crucially, powerful tower dwellers—from rich and retired climbers, kings, queens, and even a few tower gods—attend this tournament and observe the power of the lower tower races. I cannot stress enough how important that fact is.”
Sakura gave a long look and nod to each and every one of them.
“The strength of one’s floor determines where missions flow to, both by the tower gods themselves and the wealthy and powerful who assign missions. A poor showing at the tournament could mean a drop in mission assignments. An entire floor’s climber economy could be weakened. I think you are beginning to see why this is so important.”
The climber president continued: “The grand prize for winning the tournament—beyond the economic benefits it would bring to our floor and people—is an S-rank astral monster core. It is one of the few rare means of ascending to S-rank. To add an S-rank climber to humanity’s roster is invaluable. Again—this is just another reason why this tournament should be taken very seriously.”
Questions raced through Max’s head. He was trying to keep them to the end as Sakura requested, but finally they began to stack in his head too much, that he ended up blurting one out.
“If the whole economy can be effected by the tournament, why are we still doing okay after missing the last one?”
Sakura’s face paled and she raised her eyebrows.
“Care to explain that one Ms. President,” said Harold, sharply.
“Due to the complications I mentioned earlier,” Sakura said. “The negative consequences of missing the tournament weren’t felt as strongly, but don’t get me wrong, they were felt. We can’t afford a poor showing this time around.”
“But—”
“No more questions,” Sakura said. “This might end up being one of the most important mission meetings of your entire tower climber career, so please let me continue.”
Max wasn’t going to argue with the climber president, but still he wondered: what is this complication that wouldn’t let them take part in the tournament last time?
“The tournament begins in just over a month,” Sakura explained. “You have three days to prepare before you’ll all set off. You have four weeks to make it to floor-30.”
A look of shock filled Casey and Sarah’s faces.
It had taken almost the same amount of time for Max and Casey to climb a mere handful of floors on their previous mission up to Elestria and now they were expected to climb twenty floors within the same time period.
“Both Blake and Harold here have traversed this part of the tower before and will be escorting you up,” Sakura explained. “All of you will be exempt from monster-waves and other missions until the tournament is completed.”
Silence hung in the room as Sakura finished speaking.
“No questions?” Sakura said, raising her eyebrows. “You were all so eager to interrupt beforehand.”
Harold kept his arms crossed and his eyes closed. He clearly found this whole meeting tedious and was waiting for it to end.
Casey and Sarah looked too overwhelmed by the weight of the mission, and Blake—looking at Sakura’s with lovey-dovey eyes—didn’t want to say anything that might upset the object of his unrequited love.
“Um,” said Max, raising his hand awkwardly. “If this is a tournament to showcase the strength of the different tower races, why are we sending only one A-ranker and one B-ranker? Shouldn’t we be sending all of our top-tier climbers?”
“Ah, good question,” Sakura smiled. “The tournament will include both squad-based and one-on-one matches. One of the rules is that each race can bring a team of up to five climbers, each with a different rank.”
“Okay,” said Max. “But then why do we not have any C-rankers with us? Both Casey and I are D-rank.”
Sakura nodded once more.
“You Max are going to be our C-rank nominee,” said the climber president.
Max shook his head and blinked.
He couldn’t be hearing that correctly.
Not only had he been nominated for the tower’s equivalent of the Olympics, but he was also expected to gain a full rank before the start of it.
Over a year ago when Max was still a disabled orphan living in the outer-rim, never in a million years would he have pictured himself being given such an important task.
“Hold on a minute,” said Max. “Not only do we have a month to get up to floor-30, but I also have to rank up during that time too.”
Sakura shook her head.
“The opening ceremonies are in roughly a month’s time,” Sakura explained. “But the first round of the tournament won’t be for another month after that. Don’t ask me the reasons for why the tournament is so protracted. It mainly comes down to money—the tournament is good for business. For all the floors, really. But to return to your question: you have two months to gain a rank.”
“Yeah, because that makes it sound so much easier,” scoffed Max.
“Don’t worry,” said Sakura. “Harold here will be assisting you with the training.”
Max looked at the old man and held back the urge to say: this old geezer who runs an antique shop is going to train me!?
Harold smirked at Max, as if he was reading the boy’s mind.
There was clearly more to Harold than the curmudgeonly shop owner one saw at first glance.
“Alright,” said Sakura. “You have three days to prepare for the journey ahead. Meeting adjourned.”
10
Old man Harold was the first to leave the gymnasium.
He gave a serious look to Sakura and then marched out.
“Don’t be bothered by his grumpiness, Sakura,” Blake said, trying to curry favor with the climber president.
Max tried to think over his previous conversations with Harold at his shop. He had let it slip that he had once been a climber, but never that he was a freaking A-ranker. That was incredible and the old man was going to be training him too.
Max couldn’t wait to get stronger.
Casey and Sarah began walking out of the gymnasium together and Max followed behind. Over his shoulder, he could hear Blake continue to talk with Sakura.
“Did you want to go get lunch?” said the flamebringer. “We can try that new ramen place you like?”
Sakura crossed her arms and turned away.
“I’m busy, Blake. How
many times do I have to tell you that!?”
“A climber president has to eat!”
“Stop asking me out, Blake! The climber president can’t go out with the climbers under her command.”
“But that leaves no one, Sakura,” said Blake, eyes watery. “You’ll end up all alone!”
“No!” said Sakura, fiercely. “A handsome prince on a higher floor might appear and at first we’ll get married for diplomatic reasons, but then slowly we’ll realize our true love!”
Blake’s eyes narrowed. “Wait—isn’t that the plot to the most recent Climber Romance book you were telling me about?”
Sakura blushed and then shouted, “I’M BUSY!”
The bickering climbers faded out of earshot as Max and his two friends stepped out into the hall.
Sarah held her hands behind her back and furtively glanced up at Max.
Casey just point blank stared at him.
They were waiting for him to say something.
“So,” said Max, buying a little more time. “Why don’t we all go for lunch together?”
Casey shook her head.
“You two must have a lot to catch up on. I don’t want to be a third wheel.”
“Oh, but you wouldn’t—”
“I have things to do anyway,” said Casey. “But listen. My parents asked if you’d come over for dinner tomorrow night. To repay you for everything you’ve done, for me and my family. You’ll come won’t you?”
Max was taken aback. He didn’t think Casey’s family owed him anything, but they must have felt indebted because he’d gotten the evil Hidden Viper Clan arrested and cleared them of their debts. He’d also saved Casey’s life a couple of times too, but she’d rescued him plenty of times as well.
“They don’t have to do that,” said Max. “But sure, of course, I’ll come.”
“Great. It’s a date,” said Casey, pointedly, looking at Sarah as she finished her sentence.
Max blushed as Casey said goodbye and hurried off down the hall.
“She’s...intense,” Sarah observed.
Over Sarah’s shoulder, Max saw Blake continue to plead with Sakura to go out for lunch together and the lady was practically barking at him to leave her alone.
“Yeah,” said Max. “You could say that about a lot of people around here.”