Irrelevant Jack

by Prax Venter

  “I know, Jack. That’s been obvious.”

  “Great, then you cannot be mad at me when I ask why your ears are different than everyone else’s.” He winced, hoping she didn’t become upset and storm out of his room.

  The golden-haired woman in front of him absentmindedly brought a hand up to one of the ears in question. He sensed her hesitation and felt compelled to blurt out more.

  “I mean- I think they’re beautiful, that you are… um.” He stopped when her hand dropped, and a red hue crept up her neck and filled her cheeks. He really hoped he hadn’t just made a serious mistake. “You don’t need to answer if-”

  “No, it’s fine,” she said, blinking away her fluster. “One in every thousand people are born with ears like mine. It’s said they are good luck and people like me are sought after for Climbing groups…” Suddenly her mood darkened considerably, and her golden eyes seemed to dim to a light brown. Lex looked deep into his soul before she continued.

  “I can tell you from personal experience that it’s not true- not in the slightest.”

  He nodded and regretted asking.

  “Good night, Jack,” she said, all the light gone from her voice. Then she turned and left his room.

  He got out, “Good night,” before she shut the door to his room behind her.

  - 12 -

  The next day started like the last, but last night’s storm had left the morning air much colder than Jack was comfortable with. He practiced swinging his upgraded sword under the gray sky for a while but quickly returned to the Eye o’ the Storm to wait for Lex and Demi. The Tower timer told him he had about an hour to wait before breakfast was served, and Jack used this time to mentally prepare for his next attempt at Floor 1.

  He opened his Character interface and scanned over his Equipment slots- they seemed to be the key to growing stronger.

  Main Hand: ARV Alternis - [Sword | Value: 4/10]

  | Dmg: 2 |

  | Hit Chance + 0.02 |

  Off-Hand:

  Chest: Simple Leather Harness - [Chest | Value: 3]

  | Def: 3 |

  Legs: Common Cloth Pants - [Legs | Value: 1]

  Feet: Fished-up Boots - [Feet | Value: 0]

  | Def: 1 |

  Hands:

  Head:

  Ring:

  Ring:

  Amulet:

  Decorative Shirt: Common Cloth Shirt - [Chest | Value: 1]

  Decorative Belt:

  Decorative Cloak:

  Decorative Hat:

  The dark blue curtain with the painted eye swished aside as Demi stepped out, but paused when she saw him.

  “An early riser, are we?” she said, crossing her long, thin arms over her apron.

  “Just getting my head in the… getting my head right.” He had almost referred to their lives as a game again- he needed to stop doing that. Even if it was, the people around him were not only good people that he didn’t want to hurt, but they might be the only ones capable of helping him to get out. Although, if Jack was being honest with himself- the concept of waking up became less and less important with each passing day.

  The door to the inn opened, and Jack looked over his shoulder to see a man he had never seen before. The guy was huge, easily seven feet tall, with a barrel of a chest and thick arms. He looked like Kron’s brother, minus the armor. When the grey eyes of the newcomer met Jack’s, he froze, shock on his face.

  “Pan, come on in,” Demi said with a soft voice. “This is Jack, Blackmoor’s newest Hero.”

  The brute called Pan stood motionless, his eyebrows raised, and Jack was getting the impression that this big fella might be a little slow.

  “Hi there,” Jack said with a smile. The man’s eyes went wide, and then he averted his gaze to the stone floor.

  “Pan works really hard to bring us lumber from the forest,” Demi added, filling the awkward silence. “He’s had it rough since we lost the Lumber Mill I take it that the firewood’s out back?”

  The muscular man nodded but kept his eyes on the floor.

  “Come and sit, your breakfast will be ready soon. Jack was just on his way up to his room.”

  The innkeeper shot Jack a pleading look, and he got the hint. There was more to this story, but he didn’t want to make things difficult or disrupt these people’s lives.

  With a quick nod to Demi, Jack slid off the barstool and waved once to the man standing motionless by the front door.

  “Nice to meet you, Pan.”

  The hour went by quickly as Jack laid on his bed with his hands behind his head. There were relationships and systems in place within the Town he wanted to get settled in his mind. Why did Sol own the fish? Why did Kron pay for the guards’ meals? How did he earn money to pay for their food? The economy of this place didn’t make much sense at the moment.

  He heard Lex’s door open and close out in the hallway and followed afterward back down into the common room.

  The blonde woman hopped up onto a stool as he came down the stairs.

  “Morning, Jack,” she said with a weak smile.

  “Morning, Lex. I’m ready to do this.”

  Before she could speak, Demi came spinning out from behind the curtain. She put her hands on her hips as she watched Jack take a seat next to Lex.

  “Thank you, Jack,” she began. “Pan is… fragile. He visits with me and has his breakfast alone in the early morning, then works to singlehandedly supply firewood for the whole Town- no small feat with the tools he has.”

  Jack nodded. “Is this a Town Level thing?”

  Lex answered. “Yes, it is. But he lost… his whole family to a spawn attack when he was a child. I try to give him his space and not come down to the bar until Two to Close.”

  “Got it,” Jack said. He must have just missed Pan the day before as he practiced with his sword out by the cliffs.

  The silver-haired innkeeper put her hand out, and a plate of the same seaweed-wrapped fish from yesterday appeared before him. While Jack and Lex ate in silence, his resolve hardened even further. These people had crappy, unfortunate lives. He was starting to understand why Lex was so hopeful when he landed on his ass outside the Tower.

  Jack scarfed down his food quickly, then stood as soon as his Rest Bonus kicked in.

  “Thank you again, Demi. And Lex, for paying.” They both watched him as he equipped his chest armor, then he continued, “Sorry to rush off like this, but I cannot wait any longer. See you at Exit, Lex.”

  The elfish woman regarded him with a soft expression, then nodded slowly. Jack gave both women a curt nod of goodbye and then proceeded straight for the Tower.

  He didn’t look up at its impossible height or anywhere else but the small wooden door embedded in its base. Pausing for a moment to take a deep breath, Jack cleared his head and then grabbed the iron ring bolted to the weather-beaten wood.

  Pure white light surrounded him. When he could see again, he was standing in the middle of a warm bamboo forest. Perfectly straight, green sticks shot up at least fifty feet into the bright teal sky above him where a sparse canopy of leaves layered everything below in weak, translucent shadows.

  Under his boots, he found a wide, dried bamboo walkway suspended a few feet above the waterlogged landscape with a railing to each side. The only sound was a deep gurgle of a single frog somewhere out in the dense emerald forest.

  Turning slowly, Jack noticed the Exit Orb pulsating softly behind him on its stone plinth. The dried bamboo path ended, complete with a railing, and left him with only one way to go.

  Jack drew his sword, the metal blade whispering against the leather of his cursed, glitchy sheath- he had a job to do. He crept forward for a good ten minutes before finding any kind of change. The path continued to slice right through the bamboo forest straight ahead, but he finally came upon an offshoot footpath to the right. It stretched for about fifteen yards over a still pool of water before opening up to what appeared to be a wider, circular platform.

  Jack tried not to l
et his boots clomp down too hard on the suspended bamboo bridge, and he slowly peeked between the thin trees, but there wasn’t any movement or anything else to indicate danger.

  Holding his sword out in front of him, Jack stepped onto the bamboo platform and found it devoid of anything interesting. The area was a perfect circle with short lengths of bamboo fashioned into a primitive railing around the entire edge. He spun around and saw nothing but bamboo in every direction but up. He cast his gaze into the vibrant teal sky and heaved a sigh.

  His arm was getting tired from constantly holding his sword, so he put it back in its sheath. The fatigue in his bicep was just another reminder that he still had much to learn, and he felt foolish for carrying the length of metal around for so long.

  Jack sat down in the center of the platform, taking some time to clear his head and to give his right arm a chance to relax. The environment was actually quite peaceful. There was no sun in the sky, yet he felt comfortably warm, and he allowed the silent emerald forest to spread tranquility through his mind and body.

  That was, until the lone frog let out another long croak. It seemed like he was getting closer to the little guy. He rested for a few minutes and recovered from the unnecessary strain on his arm, then was ready to continue his sweep of Floor 1.

  After returning to the suspended walkway through the bamboo forest, Jack came upon another offshoot. It was a mirror of the last one- a short path leading to an open area, but this time to the left, and his eye was drawn to movement on the open platform.

  It was hard to tell at this distance, but it appeared to be a slowly moving white shell. Sure enough, as Jack crept closer there was no mistaking it, the creature was a four-foot snail. Its body was black and brown, and it had two probing, wet antennae protruding from its… head. With no discernable eyes, he wondered if the thing would even be able to see him. Its shell was a bright white spiral with a hint of pink iridescence when it reflected the light in just the right way. The creature seemed to be aimlessly slinking its blob-like body around on the dried bamboo platform, scrunching and lengthening as it moved.

  Jack pulled his sword and considered his options. His first instinct was to just run in and stab it in its sightless face, but right before he did, he realized that he had no idea if this was the Floor Boss or not. After what happened last time, he was not going to take any chances.

  Quietly, he approached the platform with the snail and tried to locate the presence of a second Exit Orb. The oversized creature rotated away from him, and Jack embraced the opportunity. While its back was turned, he took a few brisk steps forward to get a better view of the open area.

  After a quick sweep of the circular railing that fenced in the platform, Jack was relatively certain that this was not the Floor Boss. Confident he could take out the slow-moving, squishy snail, he approached the giant creature with the intent to slice it open.

  When he got within about ten feet, the snail’s roving antennae both angled toward him, and its body turned to follow.

  He could walk faster than this thing was moving, but just to be safe, Jack took a few steps backward.

  It didn’t matter. The creature let out a quiet hissing noise, and he noticed a green cloud of gas spreading out from under its shell. He covered his mouth with his free hand and stopped breathing, but as soon as one particle of the foul substance touched his skin, another status alert flashed into existence near his Rest Bonus.

  The instant nausea he felt made it clear that this was bad, but a quick glance up to the green cloud icon sitting in a black box cleared up any doubt.

  Noxious Gas -

  -50% chance to hit.

  1 damage / 60 seconds

  If that wasn’t enough, the giant snail’s head split open to reveal circular rows of dagger-like teeth, and it reminded Jack of a leech’s mouth. Although the creature was slow, the combination of the gas and the mucous-filled maw of sharp points were enough to cast doubts in Jack’s mind.

  His back hit the railing, and he considered making a quick dash back out to the straight path, but Lex’s big golden eyes swam to the front of his mind. He was not going to let her down again.

  With a battle cry, Jack lunged forward and slashed at the creature before him- but his sword suddenly felt unwieldy, as if it had a mind of its own.

  The slice angled to the side at the last moment and whiffed through open air instead. The slimy creature made a lunge for Jack’s chest, but he dove under the attack and tried to roll away.

  Jack realized that he needed to tuck his sword close to his chest as he performed the evasive maneuver and almost lost his weapon in the process. He stood up, coughing out a lungful of the green gas that filled the platform and took pride in the fact that he didn’t disembowel himself during the improvised acrobatics.

  The creature needed a few seconds to turn its body, and Jack took the opening. He lunged forward with the tip of his blade and aimed downward for its soft “foot”. The moment he was about to impale its slimy black flesh, his arm jerked upward, and the blow rang off the creature’s rock-hard shell instead.

  The sword vibrated up his hand and made his arm feel a bit numb, but he clenched his teeth and struck again. This time, he drew blood.

  Jack’s sharp blade sliced into the creature’s front, just above where it squeezed out from under its spiral mobile home, and a green oozing substance began to leak from the disgusting sack this thing called a body.

  He danced away and made the creature continue to turn as it sought to sink its sharp teeth into him.

  Jack swung and missed a few times, but a lucky wild attack lopped off one of the snail’s antennae. It reared its head up toward the sky and let out a silent scream as Jack reversed the momentum of the blade to follow up with a backhand slice.

  To his surprise, the attack cut deeply into its black flesh where its throat should be, and the monster vanished, taking the cloud of noxious gas with it. A small pile of coins appeared in the giant snail’s place and fell to the ground with a satisfying clatter.

  Jack put his hands on his knees and sucked in the sweet, clean air that permeated the bamboo forest. On a whim, he checked his vitals.

  20/20 HP

  30/30 MP

  He smiled. It must have been extremely close, but he managed to dispatch the thing before he took any damage from the gas.

  Still doubled over, Jack shuffled forward and willed the pile of gold into his inventory, then checked to see how much more than zero he had now.

  Coins: 13

  It was a start. He sheathed his sword and searched for anything of interest on the dead-end circular platform. He didn’t find anything, so he left the area and continued his journey along the main footpath.

  He sensed a pattern emerging when another path split off on the right. Peering ahead along the short bridge, he saw another circular open area crafted from more dried bamboo. There didn’t seem to be a snail that he could see, but a small bamboo box resting in the middle caught his attention.

  Carefully, Jack moved along the connecting path to the dead-end circular platform, but there was nothing here but the box. Still wary, he kept looking over his shoulder as he approached the possible loot stockpile, but nothing jumped out at him.

  He squatted down and held his hand out to the chest, willing its inventory interface to appear.

  Floor 1 - Chest

  Shredded Chain Vest - [Chest | Value: 2]

  | Def: 2 |

  Sacrificial Blade - [Dagger | Value: 2]

  | Dmg: 2 |

  Jack pulled the items into his own Inventory and focused for a moment on the dagger. It was short, but the painted image in his inventory gave him the impression that the blade was sharp. Mentally crossing his fingers, he dragged the sacrificial dagger over to his Main Hand slot.

  He forgot to close his eyes this time and cursed when the light flashed from the scabbard at his hip.

  “GOOD,” the ominous voice boomed from the sky.

  Jack ignored it and waited for
the afterimages burned into his retinas to fade. When his vision was clear enough, Jack focused on his Main Hand slot again.

  ARV Alternis - [Sword | Value: 6/10]

  | Dmg: 3 |

  | Hit Chance + 0.02 |

  He stood up and gave the sky a fist bump. “Whoo! Up to three damage, baby!”

  The frog in the distance croaked back a response.

  He couldn’t equip the chain vest, so Jack walked back out to the main elevated footpath through the swampy bamboo forest and continued forward through Floor 1.

  The pattern repeated, and before long he was faced with another dried bamboo bridge that led to an open area on the left. Jack could easily see the white shell of at least one giant farting snail from where he stood on the main footpath.

  He tried to formulate a plan as he crept forward toward the slinking creature. Staying away from the mouth and circling its shell was the obvious answer, but he wondered if he could get in and kill it before the cloud went off- or at least do some damage with his normal hit chance.

  Jack checked the area first and made sure there were no extra enemies or Exit Orbs on the platform before he did anything. Then as he waited for the aimlessly wandering monster to face away from him, he thought of a way to supercharge his plan.

  Crouched against the railing just outside the platform and slowly breathing in and out of his nose, Jack waited for his opportunity. When it came, he sprung- drawing his sword as he moved.

  As the giant snail turned its long body away from the entrance to the platform and slunk toward the back railing, Jack dashed forward and closed the distance quickly. He slashed his sword downward with as much force as he could muster. The moment before it made contact, Jack activated his Double Strike ability, and his sword became a blur as he sliced the living sack of goo in half.

  The monster faded away, and a pair of boots fell to the ground where it had been. He bent down to check the drop.

  Canvas Moccasins - [Feet | Value: 2]

  | Max Mana +2 |

  Jack rocked back to sit on the dried bamboo as he considered this interesting item. He could put on these new, flimsy shoes and have a bigger mana pool. However, that would mean giving up on some defense. He pulled up his character screen and focused on the boots he received from Garl.