Chapter 25

...

[Floor 3 – Day 18]

[Total Days in Trial: 100]

[Status]

Name: John

Attributes

Class: Disciple – Skills: 4/7

Titles:

Perks:

Strength:

15

-

Lesser Analysis

Dexterity:

14

Archery 12

Constitution:

23

Resist Poison 21

Intelligence:

10

-

Wisdom:

15 [+2]

Meditation 12

Lesser Heal 10 - (Miracle)

Wise man of the Mountains

Charisma:

11 [+0]

-

Ambitious [INACTIVE]

[Floor 3 - Minimum Clear Condition]

[Complete 20 E-Rank Quests: 17/20]

[Floor 3 – Secondary Conditions:] [Complete 10 D-Rank Quests: 1/10]

I had survived one hundred days in the [Trial]... and I was still only on Floor three. I'd almost expected the Menu to give me something for reaching the triple digits, considering how insane the past hundred days had been, but it appeared the [Trial] didn't really consider that time to be as significant as I personally did. Plus, I supposed I hadn't really made all that much progress, relatively speaking. My average Floor clear was over thirty days. Which was... well, probably pretty bad. At least when compared with RunnGunner- though they were likely an outlier compared to the average person who had been Selected.

While I wasn't really sure if my slow and steady approach when it came to clearing the Floors was a good thing or a bad thing, I felt that the fact that I was still alive and relatively well, had to count for something. From the numbers I could see, it was pretty clear a lot of others who had been Selected, were not nearly so lucky. Over half of the people Selected were unaccounted for. Which, in context of the [Trial] probably meant that they were dead. Which was horrifying, but then again: it was probably no worse than being back on Earth. In fact, I thought it might be a much better deal for some people, considering how bad Earth was when left it...

I filed that thought away as one more thing I could worry about later, though.

There was good news, after all: Progress had been achieved on all fronts. My Archery Skill, especially, was turning into a much more reliable ability than I had expected. In fact it was becoming by-far my favorite, as what had once been a hobby, was turning into a lethal weapon. One, which also happened to synergize with almost every other ability I'd gained.

I had found that I could focus on meditation, keep my breathing steady, and use the bow: all at the same time. This efficient method of training was working wonders, and it really made me feel like I was getting the hang of things.

It boggled my mind to think how I'd almost left the bow behind, back on the first Floor.

Guns were powerful from the get-go, there was no way I could deny that. A twelve gauge shotgun, was a lot more intimidating than a bow and arrow. Firearms could do far more damage to whatever they were pointed at. Those facts hadn't changed at all, and yet, with no sights or anything: if I wanted, I could now robinhood an arrow at thirty paces, so long as there wasn't much wind. Not to mention, I couldn't help but recognize how quickly I could now draw, aim, and release. The ability to throw an arrow at whatever target was in front of me, was now bordering on super-human.

And the Skill wasn't even that high.

Sitting at a measly 12 points, it had me wondering what Archery would be like once it got into the 20-30 range. I could only imagine the trick-shots that might be possible, if I managed to improve that much. I had to guess, I'd be on par with some of those Elves, from Lord of the Rings.

But all these improvements hadn't happened over night. Safe to say: I'd been busy.

Grinding down the third Floor's Minimum Clear Condition was a big time waster. As was continually dedicating my time to work on the Attributes I felt I safely could. And the rest of my time (what little was left of it) was also put to work. In the background of these critical things, I was also trying to explore what the third Floor had to offer.

See, there were lots of hidden details waiting for me to notice them, and they were surprisingly easy to overlook. Walking around the town of Greywalk, I had tried to make sure I spent at least an hour every day familiarizing myself with the people who lived there. Wandering around the streets, investigating things that seemed interesting. Making sure I didn't just fall into the habit of heading straight to sleep, once I'd gotten the important stuff I needed to accomplish out of the way. It had been a real puzzle, and one heck of a stretch, trying to fit everything I wanted to do into the time I had. But I felt there was no choice but to push myself to keep going.

Because the clock was ticking.

Health-wise, I'd seen better days. Compared to when I'd first landed on the third Floor, my time remaining was finally starting to wind down. My weight was dropping steadily, and I was feeling weak. While I hated to admit it, the Miracle just wasn't keeping up like I'd hoped it would. Not even as I worked to improve it, did this change. I just couldn't outrun the simple reality, that the healing effect upon clearing a Floor was still the only way I could really persist for the long-term. And as things stood, I was just reaching the edge of looking a little too lean for comfort. I guessed that, without any unexpected variables, I probably had another month or so before I started to look like a walking skeleton.

At that point, no matter what, I knew that I'd need to be ready to throw in the towel and move on from this Floor.

The problem was, I wasn't sure a month was going to be enough.

For Attributes alone, one month was plenty. I was sure I could make some solid gains in that time. Archery had been paving the way, on that front. The problem was, that I'd found something interesting, and I was now very curious to see where it took me.

It all started with a D-Ranked quest.

There were a bunch of these, posted in the Guild hall. In fact, they were all over the walls. But I'd looked at most of them, and they hadn't seemed like a great deal. Each one looked like it was going to be a huge investment of time and effort, and many seemed quite dangerous.

But, there was another option.

Caution, of course, recommended that I not. And logic, of course, said it probably wasn't worth it- and yet: As I walked past that Adventurer who called me a weed-picker each morning, one day I finally had enough. Instead of turning him down, I said the hell with it. With all the professional grace I could muster, I turned back around, shook his hand, and with just a "I knew you had it in you, weed-picker!" I was off to the races with my newfound friend.

Rol Steelbeard was a man built like an whiskey barrel, only the barrel had arms, legs, a hammer, and a beard. The barrel also hated Goblins, and had a natural aversion to being sober. Which, in my opinion, made Steelbeard a prime example of what almost any Adventurer should aspire to one day become. As we treked out together past the walls and into the wilderness, I learned a great many things from him.

For example, I learned that under significant pressure, I can put an arrow into a goblin's eye from upwards of fifty paces. And then forty paces. And thirty. And twenty, ten, five- but sure as hell not three paces. No, things got real fucking messy at three paces.

It all worked out in the end, though. I found out that Leather armor can stop a wooden spear, that warhammers are not to be messed with, and that Goblin-made helmets do absolutely jack-shit for whoever happens to be stupid enough to bother wearing one the first place.

Steelbeard was a good sport about my screaming, too.

Apparently, my new friend knew my "mentor" Congrad pretty well, and had told him he'd make sure to keep me on the straight and narrow. Once I got Steelbeard talking, he just started rambling on about all sorts of things. Mostly drinking and Adventuring related, but also about the local history, and places of interest in and around town. And he did this all in a way that had seemed particularly normal, considering how odd my interactions with the other local residents had felt up until this point. The conversation flowed naturally, and soon enough, we headed back to town with a sack full of Goblin ears, laughing about our short adventure.

And that's when things got weird.

I'd been in and out of town every single day that I'd been on the third Floor, and I can tell you that nothing ever really changed. There was very little variation, and it was never anything important. The general pattern was always the same: The traders would be haggling, the Adventurers would be drinking, the guards were always joking, and the chipper Guild Attendants were always happily waiting to recieve proof of whatever quest I cleared.

But, not this time.

This time, I entered the Guild hall, and found shouting.

To set the picture, it reminded me a little bit of a cliche scene from a movie. You know the kind: where some angry, arrogant, stereotype, is yelling at someone (usually a woman) who has clearly done nothing wrong. As Steelbeard and I approached the counter, Lesser Analysis identified a [Gulther Velresand] as a D-Rank Adventurer. Listening in, it quickly became apparent that Gulther was deeply offended by Anna the Guild Attendant's refusal to allow them to take on a C-Ranked Quest without additional party members helping them. He was so deeply offended, in fact, that he was getting rowdy and threatening.

It was the perfect cliche.

Too perfect.

And as Anna looked towards me, wearing an expression that was clearly looking for help of any kind: it all clicked.

I was supposed to do something here! This was meant for me to run into, as the one possible variable in this town that seemed to be free to act however I pleased! This was no different from the starting "Scene" that had begun my time on this Floor.

So, I rolled with it. And I did what any brave, upstanding, sort-of-Adventurer, would do in this situation. After a brief argument where he insulted and threatened my favorite Guild Attendant, and all efforts at logically de-escalating the situation fails: I slugged the guy.

Right on the chin, hard as I could.

And man, I am way stronger than I thought. It was a rush from start to finish.

I'll tell you, the third Floor never seemed so genuinely real as it did in that moment. It was like, suddenly, everyone was so much more alive. Steelbeard freaking loved it. He dropped that bag of Goblin ears on the counter, grabbed Gulther Velresand by his D-Ranked scruff, and threw him out on the street. All while laughing like a maniac.

Anna the Guild Attendant went from the brink of tears, to extremely grateful. Thanking me for the help, she increased the reward for killing all those Goblins by an extra silver, and said my rented room upstairs was free of charge for another week. All the people who happened to stop in and witness these events, were cheering. And it was as if the entire town seemed to shift, no longer remaining quite the same. As the effects of this scene rippled out, there were more and more changes happening, and I realized that none of them were familiar.

And after leaving, I found the Menu had something to say about it too.

[Charisma + 1]

Charisma.

Like Intelligence, I'd never figured out how to improve that Attribute naturally. Sure, I'd tried talking to myself. On the first Floor I'd reciting random lines of poetry, wasted a few hours reading books out loud, and I'd come up with nothing. And yet, there it was. I'd been handed a reward for playing along with that scene that had been unfolding.

Which lead me to thinking.

If... and it really was still something of an "if" and not a solid fact- but if the entire town was always in some sort of loop-like condition where almost nothing changed: what had made today any different? Why today? And to that question, the only thing I could think of was my choice to go and take up Steelbeard on his offer to join him in hunting. That was the only thing I could say that seemed out of place, when compared to the normal routine.

Which, if I was correct, meant that while this Floor was stuck, when I interacted with specific people I could "unstick" it... Which meant that there was a hidden "Story" to be had. One that would likely reward me for pursuing it... Which meant that the Secondary Conditions... had been a hint, maybe?

I hadn't really known that going with Steelbeard would be a D-Rank quest, but I had seen the goblin-hunting paper on the board. So, if I'd been a bit more diligent, I probably could have figured that out ahead of time.

My head was spinning, and I felt a little like a detective all of a sudden. Not a particularly good detective, and probably one who was running on way too many assumptions, but it was already too late for me. I was hooked on this idea. That there was more to this Floor than there original seemed to be.

Was that why this Floor felt so weird?

Could I test this?

Were there other people, like Steelbeard? People who had odd events like this, that I could take part in and move things along?

I wasn't sure.

But I was going to find out.