It was close to midday before the party left the eleventh floor’s hub. Bunty wasn’t too concerned. Hina claimed the days were thirty-six hours long. Even though they started late, they had only lost five and a half hours of daylight. Koki had scouted the hub’s immediate surroundings already and found the ravine from where the three marked paths to the shrine diverged. They didn’t know yet which of them were safe but would figure it out with time.

Instead of following other Climber’s downhill to the green expanses below the snowed-over rock, they travelled along the cliff upon which it sat, moving towards the crevasse in a straight line. It would take several days off their journey. There were no paths for them to follow, and the hard, needly bushes had never been trimmed back. Bunty and Koki walked ahead of the women, using their bladed weapons to hack at the shrubbery in their way.

“I don’t think you need to worry about Yuki,” Bunty said. “It doesn’t look like anyone has travelled this way in a long time. Do you think they can continue the pilgrimage without a map? Don’t you think they’d give up?”

Hina shrugged. “Yuki has been on the pilgrimage before. She was still young and inexperienced when it came to combat and turned back because the fourth interval proved too intense for her party. I’m not sure how far she got, but she’s visited every shrine up to the fifteenth. If Yuki remembers the path they used last time, she could still find the shrine.”

“It doesn’t mean we’ll run into them, though. Even if we do, it would be four to two. Mei’s power-level is the same as ours. If either of them takes up arms, one of us can disable her, while the other takes down Yuki.”

“Her spirit is thrice upgraded, and she’s had years to master the spells that come with it,” Hina said. “I’ve seen her fighting for real. Underestimating her will get you killed, believe me.” She and Koki exchanged a concerned look. “The only reason we’re risking the path is because you’re with us. If we didn’t have you, Koki and I would wait a while longer.”

“Do you fear Yuki that much?” Gwyneth asked.

“I do.” Hina sighed. “I get the feeling that Yuki kept us around to act as meat shields. Our claims on the Cores and hide was getting to her. We faked our deaths and escaped because we suspected that she was planning on killing us instead of letting the beasts do it. Despite our agreement, Yuki refused to pay me my due. I found the perfect Core among the seventh floor’s dunes, but she wouldn’t let me use it. Yuki insisted I wait until the tenth floor. She said it was so I didn’t rush into the decision, but Koki knew better.”

Koki added a couple of lines. Hina nodded to him before continuing.

“We were on the eighth floor when he heard Yuki and Mei whispering to one another. They planned on cutting me out so they wouldn’t have to pay her. If they were willing to get rid of me without compensation, Koki was sure they’d do the same to him not long after. Yuki had left both of us to die several times by then. We didn’t want to wait until she took matters out of Gaia’s hands and into her own. After seeing how brutally she ripped apart creatures that got too close to Mei, we didn’t want to take any risks.”

The party demonstrated their spirits to one another. Once Bunty and Gwyneth were done, Hina summoned her spirit. It had changed since Bunty last saw it. The top half looked like a fist-sized sphere of unrefined cotton. Unlike normal dandelion fluffs, the stalk within was barely visible. Instead, it was a dense white mass dotted with flecks of red. A dark blue stem peeked out from within it before turning into a long triangular claw. It manifested in a small cloud of fluff and sharpness.

Hina displayed the weight altering abilities first. During a short break away from the tower, she had visited a Japanese physics professor regarding the theory of gravity. He often advised Climbers from his homeland on better use of unusual spirits. Following his instruction, she had come up with several visualisation exercises which increased the speed at which she could make things heavier or lighter.

The fluff followed Hina as she walked. When they came upon a thick tree-trunk, she drew her mace to show off the base spell. Bunty had initially assumed the tiny spikes hanging from her mace’s hilt were decoration. Now that he got a closer look, he realised it was the puff. Hina had wrapped the fluff bit around the handle while the claws stuck half an inch out from the bottom. They appeared to have fused into a spiky ring that could shred a soft target if stabbed with the pommel.

Hina’s recently summoned spirit gathered around the mace’s weighted end. The cotton-ball-like fluff intertwined, forming a ring and attaching themselves to the weapon. Meanwhile, the claws grew out the top like a silver crown atop the black metal. Even though the mace was almost as long a Hina’s forearm, she waved it around like it weighed nothing at all. When she swung the weapon downwards, it accelerated at an alarming rate. It broke a monstrous chunk out of the boulder she struck, and the flanges left ugly grooves in the stone.

“I doubt I’d be able to put up with the strain if not for the mole Core’s tempering,” she said. “The second Core help too and let me push even harder.” More dandelion fluff manifested around her as she spoke. The cloud got so dense that Hina was barely visible within. Then an invisible force sucked them back towards Hina’s body. Following a maelstrom of white, blue, and silver, she became visible.

“Is that a self-designed summon?” Gwyneth asked, wide-eyed.

“Not quite. The second Core gave me the power to weave the fluff together, make the claws stick to all manners of surfaces, and increase the amount I can summon too.” Gwyneth twirled, her coat spun with her, looking like a single length of scale-mail armour. “It made the claws a good deal stronger and durable too.”

Hina bent her knees slightly hopped. Much to Bunty’s surprise, the force carried her several feet off the ground. She fell at an alarming speed and cracked the stone where she landed. Hina spun to the side, holding her mace out an arm’s length. She swung it into the closest tree trunk and ended up tearing through it.

“The coat fluff creates padding between my body and the armour and provides support to my joints too. Without it, I’d be screwed.”

“That’s pretty amazing for a twice-upgraded spirit,” Gwyneth stated. “Plant spirits are pretty damn amazing, aren’t they.”

“On the downside, prolonged use tires me out pretty damn quickly,” Hina replied.

The tree she had just struck fell, striking its neighbours on the way down. When the thuds and crunching stopped, a throaty growl sounded from within the foliage above. Hina retreated from the trees while the others fell into defensive stances. Koki’s limbs elongated all of a sudden, and his eyes turned orange. The pupils changed shape to resemble a frog’s as well.

A green and white ball of fur fell out of the foliage. It bounced off the tree trunks and nearby bushes before unfurling. Bunty recognised the creature from the guidebooks. Hina had pointed them out earlier in the day too, but it was his first instance of seeing it up close. The creature resembled a six-legged bear with stubby fingers that ended in short hook-like claws. The beast had a cute and cuddliness about him. It didn’t have a threatening aura about it until half a dozen more of them leapt off the surrounding trees and huddled around their friend. The creatures let out huffing and bellowing sounds.

“The guidebook said they were friendly,” Hina whispered as the beasts stood up on two legs and held their four remaining limbs out around them.

“Well, they’re now trying to make themselves look bigger and intimidate us,” Gwyneth replied. “I’m not ashamed to say that it’s working.”

“We must’ve gotten too close to one of their nests,” Bunty said, manifesting one of his gauntlets. According to the guidebook, tree bears were reasonably friendly creatures. They lived in strong family units among the fir trees and kept most local monsters at bay. The people in the hub got along with them swimmingly. “I doubt they really want to attack us.” Bunty returned his axe to his belt and stepped in front of Hina. “Just back away from them slowly and sheath your weapons.”

The party followed his instructions, and the bears didn’t advance. They stayed together with their arms out, letting out woofing sounds. If it came to a fight, Bunty was sure the four of them could defeat the beasts. However, it would tire them out and slow their journey. Besides, if the creatures were indeed friendly and helpful to human settlements, Bunty didn’t want to harm them.

Bunty watched from the corner of his eyes as Hina tucked her mace into her belt. She didn’t dispel the summoned dandelion puffs, though. Koki and Gwyneth sheathed their sword and dagger, respectively, but the latter kept her lamp out, floating over her shoulder.

The tree bears barked and growled at one another softly as the party edged away from them. Eventually, they lowered their arms, and Bunty glimpsed little beady eyes peeking out from behind the beasts. He was right. Hina’s actions had probably damaged their nest or scared the little ones. Eventually, they turned around and disappeared up the trees, and the party were free to continue their journey.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if people try to steal the children and raise them as pets,” Gwyneth commented. “They’re cute and intelligent. Once trained, you could probably feed them a Core and use them for guard duties.”

“I get it if the rest of the family died to a monster attack, or a cub gets rejected at birth,” Bunty said. “Otherwise, it would be cruel.”

“I wouldn’t mind a cuddly bear friend, to be honest.” Hina chuckled, hopping onto a boulder. Despite the load from the summoned claws and her mace, she floated between them without issue, staying several feet off the ground. “I’m sorry for causing that. Koki and I have been looking forward to sharing our gifts with you for some time now. We’re both here thanks to you, after all.”

“Well, you covered an entire interval with a murderous bitch. And you did it without my assistance.”

Hina translated Bunty’s words and got a laugh out of Koki. He hopped off the ground to a nearby tree and stuck to it using his hands and bare feet. His sandals hung from his pack.

“That’s his upgrade from the frog Core,” Hina said. “It gave him sticky palms and soles along with the speed and agility. He’s still getting used to implementing lateral movements with his fighting technique. I’ve not been much help with training, but Koki was hoping you’d help him out on that front.”

“Of course!” Bunty exclaimed. “I need a sparring partner to test my summons against. What did he get from the plant monster’s Core, though?”

Hina asked Koki to demonstrate it. He nodded and released his augmentation. The frog spirit scrambled out of his jacket and hopped onto his shoulder. Koki held his hand up to the frog, and it spat a large amber pebble out of its mouth. He tossed the odd creation, and Bunty snatched it out of the air.

“It has the same properties as the plant monster’s sap,” Hina said. “It’s a little disgusting at first, but you get used to it. The pebble will wash away your fatigue and fill you with energy. Unfortunately, it melts after a couple of minutes, so we can’t just create a bunch and carry it around.”

“Koki can’t produce them during combat?” Bunty asked.

Hina shook her head. “He can only use the effects on himself while augmented. Summoning is the spirit’s minor focus. If we’re lucky, his next upgrade will increase the number of frogs he can produce.”

Bunty sniffed at the translucent amber pebble, and the smell reminded him of the plant monster’s sweet and spicy spell. Gwyneth recognised it too, having visited the site afterwards. She popped the tiny creation into her mouth without hesitation, and her eyes widened as she chewed it.

“Damn, that’s delicious!”

Koki nodded, smiling over his shoulder. Hina translated his explanation for the pair.

“He says not to rely on it too much. We’ve used it to keep pushing after a rough fight. It’s one of the reasons why we’ve been able to climb so quickly. Prolonged use makes him hungry, while we suffer diminishing returns from multiple uses in a day. It leaves you dehydrated too, and if you don’t get enough, prepare for hangover headaches the following morning.”

“Given the Core’s age, I expected more from it,” Bunty said.

“There is more, but Koki doesn’t get much use from it,” Hina replied. “Perhaps things would be different if Yuki didn’t push the frog’s Core on him. His little frog can summon a monstrously long tongue and spit a sticky goo in an enemy’s face. He’d rather use the augmentations, though.”

“I feel bad about taking the snake’s Core now. Ask Koki whether he’d be willing to check at least how it will interact with his spirit once we’re on the next floor? It might give him additional summons or maybe even a second head like the snake to use the tongue or spirit.”

“No,” Koki said, and none of them spoke up against him.

Bunty respected Koki’s sense of honour but considered it ridiculous at the same time. It sounded like the Core was highly compatible with his spirit. Hina suspected it was usable until the twentieth floor, and Bunty hoped to find better-suited candidates for the fountain pen. After getting Slimeskin, he hadn’t given the concept of corrosive ink much thought. He suspected it would require him to spray the inkwell’s contents at enemies, and he rarely had much to spare. Bunty hoped to wear Koki down or find better-suited Cores for the pen and then insist on a trade.

The rest of their journey to the crevasse proved swifter than expected. Koki’s augmentation let him traverse the unstable terrain with ease. Thanks to Hina’s weight changing abilities, he lowered her and Gwyneth down cliff faces with ease. When it was his turn to descend, he stuck a Slimeskin tentacle a rock, hung over the edge and willed it to extend. Unlike Gwyneth, he didn’t mind the controlled fall. Once at the bottom, they found themselves facing the three paths to the shrine.

The ambient temperature had risen following their descent. As a result, the surrounding foliage too had changed. Berry-laden bushes populated two of them, and thick-canopied trees leaned over them, enshrouding most of them in darkness. The third led down a steep slow into underground caverns populated with large bioluminescent mushrooms.

Bunty looked between the options, trying to figure out the best option. Gwyneth and Hina didn’t have much tracking experience. One used to be a scholar and the other a porter. On the other hand, Koki had experience in the wild. According to Hina, he belonged to a lesser branch of the Ito clan. They made their living protecting livestock from scavengers dropped off by Gaia’s leviathans. As a result, Bunty wondered whether Koki’s survival and combat skills rivalled his own.

The guidebook didn’t mention any subterranean beasts, so the party thought it best not to risk their safety in the caverns below. That left them with two possible paths. The pair spotted trampled shrubbery around one, though, and neither could tell whether it was a man or beast. That left one option, and the party started their journey to the shrine.