Tower Climber 3 (A LitRPG Adventure)

by Jakob Tanner

“Remember,” said Blake. “We don’t even have to kill them all; even if we slow them down for a minute or two, that edges us closer to victory.”

  “Got it,” said Casey.

  They were getting closer to an area of the map where they’d run into the Caesarians and they quickly took cover against a half destroyed wall of a former bank.

  Blake closed his eyes and Casey could tell the B-ranker was triggering mana sense.

  His eyes bulged wide a second later.

  “What!?” said Casey. “What did you see!?”

  “I can’t sense any mana at all. They’ve gone completely invisible.”

  Tiberius rushed through the ruined capital on his own.

  The squad had spread out across the map.

  They’d take full advantage of their capabilities to crush the human team.

  They had infrared, communication devices, and they’d all been trained in advanced Elestrian mana techniques as well.

  There was no way the humans would embarrass them again like they had in that first round.

  Tiberius spoke quickly into their cross-communication device.

  “Okay team, I spot two of them,” said Tiberius. “Looks like they were running a split team distraction strategy like we expected. You have my consent to take out the other squad.”

  Tiberius then rushed through the streets, gliding through the alleys like a shark, hunting down his prey.

  He saw the two heat signatures of the humans in the distance.

  They were hiding, but they didn’t know where the threat was coming from.

  He was behind the human B-ranker before they even noticed.

  Tiberius watched with satisfaction as the simulated blood from his mana blade sliced right through the human B-rankers stomach and splashed onto the C-rank human girl.

  Before she could even overcome the shock, he decapitated her too.

  Their bodies shattered out of the simulation.

  Tiberius grinned at the success of his strategy. He knew that the red-haired kid was a fool and he exploited it to maximum effect.

  The Caesarian team leader knew they were starting at a disadvantage. The humans would know exactly where they were starting and use that to make the bomb-planting objective easier.

  But by recognizing Caesarian’s own disadvantage, Tiberius could use that to predict their opponent’s strategy.

  He flipped their disadvantage on its head and turned it into a winning strategy.

  Standing right where two human corpses would have lay cold and dormant had this been real life and not a simulation, Tiberius checked in with his team.

  “The human offensive squad is taken out,” said Tiberius.

  “Got it, boss,” said Hadriana. “We took the bomb squad out as well. Heading to their starting location to farm their respawn zone now.”

  “Perfect,” said Tiberius. “The round is ours.”

  Max blinked and found himself in an empty white space.

  He scrambled and felt a huge sense of panic when he heard a familiar voice.

  “Relax,” said Harold. “We’re in the respawn zone. The place where dead challengers go before returning to the map.”

  Max looked around and saw the rest of the team was there with him in the endless white space.

  Everyone had a forlorn and dejected look on their face.

  “Damn,” sighed Max. “They saw through our strategy. My strategy.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up too hard, kid,” said Harold. “The bomb-planters have a harder task than the anti-bomb squad do.”

  “He’s right,” said Blake. “The defusers just need to pretty much wipe out the bomb-planters before they plant the bomb and they have a good chance of victory. In some ways, they have a slightly easier victory goal.”

  “Or—it’s a victory goal that suits our strengths better than being the bomb-planters,” Harold explained.

  “Well, then we’re in luck, right?” said Sarah. “We’ll be the bomb-defusers next round, right?”

  “Not necessarily,” sighed Harold.

  “There’s always a catch,” Casey muttered.

  “If we were automatically guaranteed the bomb-defusers again,” said Harold. “It would be considered unfair. In an asymmetrical challenge, the third round match up is always determined with a coin toss.”

  “What’s our plan then?” said Max. “Keep respawning and dying until this round is over.”

  Harold shook his head.

  “Let’s not put ourselves through that,” said the old man. “It would be bad for morale. If you check your retina, you’ll see a prompt to forfeit. If all five of us select it, this current round will end early, and the next round will begin.”

  “Got it,” everyone said.

  “Ready?” asked the old man.

  Max felt his heart racing.

  It all came down to the next round.

  If they lost, they were out of the tournament. Their defeat would mean Zestiris continuing to descend into further economic and social ruin. Now more than ever—especially since the two sides of Zestiris had combined into one city—their need for resources and capital was more important than ever.

  They couldn’t just rely on putting on a good respectable show for everyone.

  They needed to win.

  51

  In a blink of an eye, Max was back in the ruined city.

  The surrounding area was so familiar to him that he didn’t even have to see the challenge prompt for his stomach to sink.

  They were the bomb-planters this round.

  They had the harder victory goal to achieve.

  “Aw, crap,” said Casey, reading her retina. “This is what I call a lame-sauce salad provided by lame-jerk cooks.”

  “I’m not quite following you,” said Sarah. “But I agree, this doesn’t look good.”

  They looked to Blake and Harold for comforting words and their pale faces did not inspire confidence.

  “We’re in a bit of a pickle, that’s for sure,” said Blake. “The Caesarians have powerful communication tech and a whole arsenal of capabilities that can really screw us over. All of their skills, talents, and equipment are meant for this exact type of challenge.”

  Everyone sighed.

  Max could tell tensions were high, that the team was beginning to really freak out.

  Damn, Max thought to himself.

  The round had just started and it already felt like they were on the back foot.

  Like they’d already lost.

  Max clenched his fists.

  But that wasn’t the case.

  They hadn’t lost.

  And Max wasn’t going to let his unique strategizing style be the downfall of their team.

  No.

  It was going to lead them to victory.

  “If the Caesarians can communicate across large distances,” said Max. “It means they can separate much more easily than we can. They can retain team cohesion from a large distance. That’s where we went wrong last round. If they’re more powerful when splitting up, we need to stick together.”

  Max then explained his plan to the rest of the team.

  “That sounds a bit batshit, mate,” said Blake.

  “Do you have a better idea?” asked Max.

  “Nope.”

  “Well, then that settles it,” said Max. “Are we ready?”

  Everyone nodded and they started moving across the ruined city towards the bombsite.

  Tiberius stood on the top floor of one of the few not destroyed buildings in the dilapidated city.

  Right below him on the ground was a red circle spray painted in the ground.

  The bombsite.

  “We’ve secured the surrounding area,” said Marcellus. “I’m on the building opposite ready to snipe them out if they get close.”

  Tiberius grinned. There were many different ways to win this type of game; but one crucial pattern seemed to emerge in every victory. It was controlling the important spaces on the map, be it the spawn zo
ne of the opponent’s team, or in the case of the bomb-defusal squad, arriving at the bombsite before the bomb-planters had a chance to arrive.

  You’ve as good as lost little humans, Tiberius snickered to himself.

  The Caesarian A-ranker couldn’t wait to see the look on Regulus’ face after their victory.

  He would show every damn Caesarian the truth of the soldier class.

  He refused to let those horrible people who called his parents chattel be proven right.

  Victory is so close, Tiberius thought, I can almost taste it.

  52

  Regulus and Hermia watched the third round with bated breath.

  Regulus felt goosebumps forming on his arms as he watched his personal mana screen.

  “What are the humans doing?” asked Hermia. “I don’t understand?”

  Regulus didn’t have an answer for his colleague. He was equally perplexed by the human team’s strategy; or perhaps more precisely, the seemingly lack of strategy whatsoever.

  In the first round, their strategy had been incredibly simple: but the speed and shock factor made it brilliant.

  Now, in this third round they were operating again with a simple strategy, but they didn’t have speed or shock tactics on their side.

  Regulus continued watching the humans and saw them hurry down the urban street in a squad formation.

  “Aren’t they more vulnerable by sticking so closely together like that?” asked Hermia.

  “I don’t know what to make of it,” said Regulus. “It’s like they’re throwing the match away.”

  “Well, they could just forfeit in that case,” sighed Hermia. “It feels like they’ve as good as lost already considering the Caesarians current position on the map.”

  Regulus pointedly felt Sabriel behind him, not engaging in their conversation in the slightest.

  The tower god’s silence made Regulus think there might be something to the human strategy that he was missing.

  The fact that he couldn’t see it unnerved him.

  He worried for the Caesarian team.

  But he couldn’t explain why.

  That made him worry more.

  Max and the rest of the team were rushing down the streets of the ruined city.

  They were all silent as they focused on the goal ahead of them.

  “Stick to the plan, guys,” said Max, trying to reassure everyone. “We’re almost there.”

  Everyone nodded.

  The flashing red dot of the bombsite location flashed in their retina maps as they got closer.

  Harold led the pack of them and kept his eyes locked on the road ahead.

  Casey and Blake covered the rear.

  Casey was silent which was slightly unnerving, just as much as the fact that Blake wasn’t smoking.

  But the person who looked most nervous of all was Sarah running in the middle of the squad formation as they’d done during the capture the flag challenge.

  So this is it, Max thought to himself. It all comes down to this plan.

  There were no do-overs.

  There was no flexibility.

  It had to work or they lost the match.

  Oliver and Will of the Elestrian team sat in the stands of the arena, watching the match.

  Their arms were crossed as they observed the ensuing battle with perplexity on their faces.

  “Do you understand what the humans are doing?” Will asked his fellow teammate.

  “Not at all,” said Oliver.

  Will kept his arms crossed.

  What is the human team up to?

  From Will’s perspective, the human’s current strategy seemed like madness.

  The murmurs across the stands of the arena pretty much summed up that most onlookers were thinking the same thing.

  The humans were heading straight for a defeat.

  Will’s eyebrows furrowed as he watched his personal mana screen with even more intensity than before.

  What are the humans thinking?

  Tiberius stood in the bombsite with three other members of his team.

  They’d turned the bombsite into an impenetrable fortress.

  There was no way the human team would be able to break through, let alone plant the bomb that was a requirement for their victory objective.

  The humans have as good as lost, Tiberius thought to himself.

  The one strategy that might work was if they attacked from above via the window, which was precisely why they had Marcellus stationed elsewhere with his mana sniper.

  But there was no word from Marcellus about them approaching via the nearby rooftops.

  C’mon little humans, Tiberius thought to himself. Come on out and make your play. We’re waiting to squash you.

  “I got a read on them, boss,” said Hadriana.

  Tiberius turned on his heat sensor and saw the five human’s via infra red approaching at the bottom of the bombsite building.

  “They’re walking right into our trap, sir,” said Cicero.

  Tiberius scowled.

  “I want to win,” he said, “but this is ridiculous. What the heck are the humans doing?”

  He watched as they entered the ground floor of the building and start rushing up the stairs.

  No way, Tiberius thought.

  This couldn’t be their strategy, could it!?

  As they entered the building and started moving up the stairs, Max said to his team, “Alright guys, this is it. Let’s go, NOW!”

  53

  Tiberius grimaced, taking position on the top floor of the building along with his comrades.

  Hadriana and Cicero stood on either side of the floor’s entranceway.

  “They’ll be here in ten seconds, boss,” said Hadriana. “We’ll make sure that they don’t last more than one step into this room.”

  Tiberius nodded.

  He still couldn’t believe the humans were so arrogant to try such a simple strategy of a full-frontal attack.

  The A-ranker must have been able to trigger mana sense and figure out that they were in the building and yet they were still charging full steam ahead anyway.

  It was madness.

  Utter madness!

  And that’s when Tiberius got the first shock of that round.

  A burst of smoke appeared right in the middle of the room and the red-haired climber materialized, with two sets of mana claws.

  What the—

  The kid went straight for the two members guarding the entrance, forcing them to focus on him, and right in that moment, the rest of the human team charged straight through into the bombsite.

  Hermia and Regulus both gasped.

  “They broke through,” she said with awe.

  “But will it be enough?” said Regulus. “It’s an impressive start to what still appears to be a sub-optimal strategy.”

  Regulus looked over his shoulder and saw Sabriel watching her personal mana screen with intense focus.

  “I’m impressed so far,” said Hermia. “But I agree this full frontal attack seems foolish to me too. But wow, what an entrance. First, from the C-rank human completely throwing the Caesarian’s defensive position off guard and then the stampede from the rest of the team.”

  “But look,” said Regulus, pointing to his screen.

  Cicero thrust his mana spear, scoring a direct hit on Casey.

  Blood burst out of the D-rank human’s stomach as she collapsed to the ground.

  Hadriana finished the girl off with her mana whips, while Cicero made quick work of Blake.

  “Max’s distraction wasn’t enough,” said Regulus. “Two members of the human team are already down for the count. As predicted, barging right in was not a good strategy. It’s put them into an incredibly precarious situation.”

  Regulus couldn’t help but think, the human team is absolutely done for.

  Tiberius scanned the battlefield with the eyes of a hawk.

  The human D-rank girl shattered and disappeared from the simulation in front of his eyes, short
ly followed by the human flamebringer.

  They were no match for Hadriana’s mana whip and Cicero’s mana spear.

  “Take the C-ranker now!” shouted Tiberius.

  The red-haired climber was being a huge annoyance, teleporting haphazardly across the bombsite.

  But Tiberius grinned inwardly: the odds were completely in their favor now that it was five on three.

  SLICE!

  The red-haired boy appeared behind Hadriana with his flame katana fully conjured and sliced the Caesarian C-ranker in half.

  Damn! thought Tiberius between gritted teeth. We’re losing our advantage!

  In seconds, the red-haired kid had overpowered Cicero, penetrating the Caesarian climber’s skull and brain matter with the flame sword.

  The man shattered out of existence just as his entire body lit on fire.

  There goes our advantage. Now it’s three on three.

  Things went from bad to worse with the arrival of the human team’s A-ranker.

  Tiberius rushed the man.

  “You won’t be able to beat me with your tricks,” said the old man, sliding out of the way of Tiberius’ lunge.

  He’s the fool, thought Tiberius.

  He rushed the old man once more and the foolish human moved right where he wanted him to.

  “Here’s the thing I learned about your temporal defense trait,” said Tiberius as his mana sword clashed with the powerful endurance and strength of the old human’s muscular bare arm. “It only works if you know the attack is coming.”

  A second earlier, Marcellus stationed across the way, triggered his mana sniper rifle and sent a bullet flying through the back of Harold’s head.

  The old man’s eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground and then shattered out of existence.

  Tiberius grinned.

  The biggest threat to their plan had always been the human team’s A-ranker. Half of their strategy had been made up of tactics to face him. Now that he was out of the picture, the round was as good as theirs.