by Prax Venter
“Hey!” Jack said, and her golden eyes snapped to his. “I’m not as beefy as Kron, but I will do what I can to help you out, Lex.” He pounded his fist against the leather strap on his chest and earned another smile.
“What a silly word for a person. Beefy?” Lex tried out her new word, her smile reaching her large eyes. Jack started to laugh at the beautifully petite woman sitting across from him repeating the word ‘beefy’ to herself.
“Beefy!” Jack hit her with it again using his deepest voice and flexing his biceps. The moment he heard the woman laugh, it was all over. It was becoming undeniably clear to Jack that he found her irresistible.
“Lex, you keep talking like I have to do this alone, why don’t we go in together?” The brightness instantly left her eyes again, and the corners of her mouth slowly relaxed back to a resting position on her face. He stammered, trying to take it back once he saw her reaction. “I -uh. Or not. It’s okay.”
“Jack, it’ll be a challenge for you just to survive the first Floor, much less follow me higher.”
“Hey, no problem,” he said, waving the topic away. “So how do I get stronger? I don’t seem to have experience points, but I do have a level.”
“Equip better items,” she said, shrugging. “Higher Floors have better ones. Your Hero Level reflects the highest point you’ve opened in a Tower. Defeat Floor Boss 1, and you become a Level 2 Hero, and so on.”
Jack’s brow furrowed. “Does a Hero Level serve any other purpose than high score?”
Lex bent her forehead to her hand and looked deep into the grains of the table.
“I have to keep reminding myself that you don’t know anything about this world.” She sat back and crossed her arms over the simple green tunic she had changed into, and he could tell that she thought he was going to die in there- with how little he knew. She took a deep breath, gathered her thoughts and continued.
“You can only equip items from the highest Floor you’ve opened. It’s why I can’t just hand you a higher-value weapon. Speaking of which- make sure you look for all the chests hidden on a Floor. Wandering monsters can also drop items when you destroy them. Take all the time you need and be thorough because you could use the upgrades. And, as you should know by now, the goal is to bring as many items back to Town as possible. Inventory space is limited, so you might eventually have to choose to leave behind some lower-value ones. But you won’t run into that issue for a while though.”
Jack quickly opened his inventory menu again, he knew he had seen something-
Free Slots: -2,147,483,648 / 16
He didn’t quite know how to interpret this. It might mean he had space for 16 items, billions... or none. Wouldn’t that be funny. He could go in but never carry anything out.
“Wait, that can’t be right,” he mumbled to himself.
“What can’t be right?” Lex asked, tilting her head suspiciously. Jack had an idea how to test this. He split the display between his Character interface and his Inventory. He looked at his ‘Fished-up Boots’ and moved them from the equipment slot to the empty Inventory. Then he checked again.
Free Slots: -2,147,483,647 / 16
The negative number incremented toward zero by one. Could he really hold over two billion items?
“What is it!” Lex said, leaning forward.
Jack quickly focused on his boots and moved them back into his foot equipment slot.
“Well, let’s just say I think you don’t know how right you are about having to worry about inventory space for a while.” Lex just furrowed her dark eyebrows. He didn’t want to get into it until he knew for sure. “Anyway, how long does it normally take to clear a Floor?”
“That depends on your skill, the layout, your equipment, the monsters, the Floor Boss- It’s an infinite twisting mess in there. I can usually clear whatever Floor 1 throws at me in about ten minutes. Floor 5 can take two hours maybe- or more. I don’t really know. You lose all sense of time in there.”
“I heard you always come out at the same time. ‘Exit time’ I guess it’s called, right?”
“Yes, Jack.” She nodded. “You could find yourself outmatched in ten minutes and reaching for an Exit orb. You’ll still come out seven hours later in the real world.”
“The real world...” Jack looked down and moved his hand over the rough surface of the table, his fingers tracing the wood grain. Everything in this virtual world felt real. He wondered what was happening to his real body, outside this simulation, or whatever it was. There were still so many unanswered questions, and it was entirely possible that he was dying in the real world. He made a fist, let it fall to the table, and looked up at the experienced Hero sitting across from him. “How do we win, Lex?”
“Win what?” she asked.
“Is the goal to get to the top of the Tower? Will that push back the corruption for good?”
“The goal is to survive, Jack. As far as I know, the corruption has always existed and will always exist. The Town holds the power to push it back, but that power only goes so far. I’ve been told there are places in the vast world other than Blackmoor Cove, though I’ve never seen them.” Her voice grew quiet as she continued. “I’ve heard tales of Towns that sprawl for miles across the land with hundreds of climbing parties pouring in enormous amounts of items, raising the Town level to near-utopian heights. And tales of yet others that have failed, their entire population either wiped out or fled. With no one filling a Town with any items from the Tower, the surrounding corruption will advance until it reaches the Tower itself. When that happens, it is said they are converted into ‘Dark Towers’. The stories say that the corruption feeds off the Tower, becoming a focal point of pure sorrow. The area will spawn powerful monsters to guard the Tower and legions more to spread across the land. No one has ever retaken a Dark Tower, that I know of.”
A sense of hopelessness washed over Jack. He was trying to convince himself that the only thing he could really do was play along for now when Lex started to sing softly.
“It comes- it comes to take us away.
We fight- the night to keep it at bay.”
Her voice was slow, deep and full of mourning. It was the most beautiful thing Jack had ever heard. The song rose in volume as she continued.
“Fountain and Tower, chest and Town.
This is our home, we plant our roots down.”
Jack was mesmerized. The air around them seemed to glow as the beautiful blonde in front of him continued to sing.
“Weapons and armor, life and death.
This is our home ‘til our dying breath.
We climb- we climb to take it away.
We fight- the night, and here we will stay.
Now come- now come and stomp out the blight!
Now run- now run you demons of night!”
Everyone in the inn had stopped to listen. When she finished, they began murmuring words of appreciation and pounding their cups on the tables. Jack felt charged up. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to plunge his sword into monsters for a chance at some valuable loot. He noticed a new status icon in the corner of his vision. It was a red music note on a white square. He focused on it to bring up a description.
Inspired - [+2 Dmg | +2 Magic Power | +5 HP | Immune to Fear Effects | 00:14:57]
~ Now go and take what’s yours
“That was amazing,” Jack said, awe in his voice.
“Thank you. Demi has been giving me lessons to be a better singer.”
“I think you should stop wasting your time...” Jack said with a smirk.
“What? Why-” she started, her dark eyebrows crashing down. But Jack held up his hand, cutting her off.
“...because I honestly can’t imagine anything better than what I just heard. I mean, that was literally magical!” he said. She searched his face for any hint of mockery and then let out a deep breath. Lex pushed off the table and stood up.
“Time for bed, Jack. Big day tomorrow,” she said, looking down at him.
/> He nodded and stood, taking a moment to check the Tower timer display.
00:02:19
The white arrow was still pointing downward, away from the white door. It was still Exit time, and he guessed the icon would change in just over two hours, but he put that puzzle away as he followed Lex up to the bar.
Lex waved to get Demi’s attention. “Thanks for the meal. Going to head to our rooms.”
“If I don’t see ya- good luck tomorrow, Jack!” Ryea waved and called out in a loud voice. Jack heard a “Hear-hear” from behind him and turned to see one of the Townsfolk guards who had watched him train earlier. Others around the inn added bits of encouragement too. He waved a hand to everyone, a big smile on his face as he followed Lex up the stairs to the left of the bar.
The stairs took them to a small hallway with two doors. Lex opened the one on the left and motioned for Jack to enter.
He walked past her and entered the small room. There was a straw bed, a chest of drawers, a table and a chair. It was cramped but looked cozy enough.
Lex crossed her arms and leaned in the doorframe. “Meet me downstairs by two hours to Close. I’ll go over some of the important things again before we go in.” Jack nodded in response. “Sleep well, Jack.”
“Sweet dreams, Lex.” She smiled and went across the hall to her own room. Their eyes met as she shut her door. Jack went over and closed his own door, then sat down on his bed and tried to think through everything again. He pulled off his boots and set them at the foot of the bed. Jack attempted to take off his armor the same way and was having a hard time when he remembered he should really be using menus to do this. He picked up his boots and deposited them right into his inventory, then unequipped everything but his cotton pants, sword, and scabbard. He tried again to mentally force the leather belt from his Main Hand slot but was unable to do so. The information panel he had seen before reappeared.
You cannot remove this item. Please increase complexity s%(null) for more options.
“Well that’s gonna suck,” he said to himself, hoping he didn’t stab himself with his new rusty sword while he slept.
He lay down and put his hands behind his head. He was warm and full, and he knew sleep would be coming for him soon- then a stray thought hit him, and he sat bolt upright in his bed.
Usually, he would go to the bathroom and relieve himself so he didn’t have to wake in the middle of the night to deal with waste that wanted out. Jack realized that he hadn’t needed to do so, not once, since arriving.
Taken by a sudden panic, he re-checked his crotch area. The first time he really looked was when he just regained consciousness, sitting in front of two strangers and out of his mind with everything that had happened.
He removed the cloth pants, and after a thorough reinvestigation, it seemed like everything was there. He was anatomically correct. More importantly, everything seemed to feel like it was supposed to.
Jack pressed his head back into his feather-stuffed pillow as he tossed more questions on top of the towering, unanswered pile in his mind.
- 10 -
Jack jolted awake. Like the day before, it took a moment to remember where he was. He checked the time, and the symbol had now turned into a green door with a green arrow pointing up toward it from below.
02:56:54
If he was reading it right, he had just under three hours to enter the Tower before it closed for the day, meaning he had about an hour to kill before meeting Lex for breakfast.
He checked the corners of his vision looking for the rest bonus he was supposed to get but didn’t see anything new. Maybe it had to do with breakfast. He shrugged to himself and stood, stretching his muscles. He then re-equipped everything and opened his door. Lex’s door was closed, so he headed down the stairs. When he exited into the common area, he could smell wood smoke, but he didn’t see anyone around, only the big blue curtain with the painted eye looking out over the empty tables and chairs. He walked across the stone floor, opened the door, and stepped outside.
The sun must have only recently come up behind the dirty, gray clouds, leaving it chilly outside but tolerable. The air was still- as if the ocean hadn’t woken up yet. A thin sheet of mist clung to the ground over the lush grass. The Tower stood before him, stabbing into the sky.
He took in a hearty lungful of crisp morning air and started to walk toward it. Jack practiced swinging his sword on the cliff overlooking the cove to kill some time. After all he had learned, Jack still didn’t really know what to expect inside the mysterious Tower. He also didn’t completely understand what death meant for him. Actually, for all he knew, dying in this game might trigger a log-out option. Still, that seemed like a “last resort”. He felt much more confident with the sword, though, after reminding his muscles how it felt to control it- how much it weighed, and how much strength it took to change its direction.
When it was time, he walked back into the inn. Lex and Demi were already at the bar, and both turned to see who was coming in.
“Morning, ladies,” Jack said with a smile.
“Morning, Jack,” Demi said, waving him over. “Come on over and get your complimentary breakfast.” She then spun behind the blue painted curtain behind her
Jack walked across the inn and stood next to Lex. She gave him a half smile.
“Be careful in there. Remember to get out if you lose half of your Hit Points. You can always try again tomorrow. Almost no one defeats the first Floor Boss, solo, on their first time. Watch for traps and monsters with special effects. Although you shouldn’t see anything like that on the first Floor... the Tower is unpredictable.”
Demi came back with two plates of what looked like sushi and placed them on the bar. It was raw fish wrapped in- seaweed? He watched Lex take one off her plate with her fingers and pop it into her mouth. She looked half-lidded at Jack with a raised eyebrow while she chomped on her food. Her cheek bulged out like she really crammed a lot in there. Jack shrugged and picked up one of his own fish rolls and popped it in whole. He took a moment to contemplate and savor the salty slab of meat in his mouth.
“Mmm, you are so talented,” Jack said, looking at Demi through his own chomping. “It’s amazing what you can do with just a few ingredients.” It was like the softest, most tender fish jerky imaginable wrapped in a buttery seaweed floss that melted in his mouth.
“I’ve had a lot of practice with these few ingredients,” she replied, dryly.
Jack and Lex finished their light meal with little conversation. It was really happening. Jack felt like he was about to take a test he really didn’t know anything about. After he had swallowed the last fish roll, he noticed another status icon appear. It was a white eye on a blue square.
Rest Bonus - [+10 Health | +10 Mana | Gain 1 Mana per kill | Duration: Exit]
~ Start your climb off right.
“Hey, wow! My health just doubled.”
“Mmhmm,” Lex responded, unimpressed, through her chewing.
After they both had finished, they thanked Demi for breakfast and headed out of the inn. He found himself walking next to Lex, headed directly toward the impossible Tower disappearing into the vibrant, cobalt sky, far above. Looking all the way up its length always made him feel like up flipped places with down.
“Well, good luck, Jack.” She held out her hand. Black leather wrapped her tan skin to her knuckle, leaving the tips of her fingers exposed. Jack reached out and squeezed her warm hand firmly.
“You too.”
She held his gaze for a moment then let go. “You go in first, I’ll be right behind you.”
Jack cast a glance at the door ahead of him before taking a step. The ratty wooden door had seen too many storms. He reached out his hand to grab the handle, but stopped and turned to Lex.
“Did you do it on your first try alone? Beat the first boss?”
She stood with her eyes on his, motionless for a few heartbeats before speaking. In the right light, her eyes were a luminous gold, but right now they
seemed to dim again.
“It’s an irrelevant question, Jack. I’ll tell you about it later. Now get in there, and don’t take any risks.”
He nodded, then turned and grabbed the iron handle roughly bolted into the wood. Jack intended to yank it open, but he never got that far.
A blinding flash enveloped his being, and Jack instantly found himself staring at a large crystal outcropping. He spun around trying to figure out what just happened. The first thing to catch his attention was the sky. It was now night, but it was much different from Blackmoor Cove- or anything he had seen on Earth. Actually, what it looked like was outer space. Shining nebulae of brilliant colors stretched across the sky above him, and a deep blue moon illuminated the massive clusters of crystals surrounding him.
The dense forest of sharp crystal rose to different heights and continued as far as he could see in every direction. The ground was covered by crushed crystal gravel that looked like millions of rough-cut jewels. Bursts of light sparkled everywhere he turned his eyes. The place was dazzling.
Behind him, emerging from the pulverized crystal bits, was a pedestal with an appearance similar to a stone birdbath with a white sphere resting snugly in its basin. The orb gave off a faint, throbbing glow.
“Must be the Exit Orb,” Jack muttered.
So, this is what the inside of the Tower looked like. Lex was right about the possibility of it being beautiful. He reached down and picked up a stone thinking he might have stepped into a diamond mine, but the object didn’t have any info panel, and he couldn’t will the clear gemstone into his inventory, so he tossed it over his shoulder.
The twinkling gravel crunched beneath his boots as he carefully searched around the area for any clue about what he should do next. Approaching one of the clusters of crystals, Jack reached out his hand to touch it. It was smooth as glass but cloudy in parts. Jack noticed black spots deep beneath the surface, slowly moving and flowing down, almost like thousands of tadpoles in a shallow puddle. Jack backed away; what he saw there made him uneasy.