Chapter 20

Molten Cave (II)

Silence reigned around a flickering campfire perched on top of a rugged and wide boulder that loomed over a dried-up ravine, the darkness of the 'night' dousing the surrounding area in the impenetrable blackness. Exhaustion was evident on everyone's faces, their chirpy attitude from the morning having completely disappeared, their washed appearances now covered in dried blood, mud, and dirt.

Few had the mind to eat, and even fewer to drink as they feared whatever they took in, they’d spill out just a moment later. Though nobody was quite sure what tribulations and trials they’d undergo in the Tower, it appeared they were woefully unprepared.

Cain, however, did not think so. Rather, to him, this was akin to a victory. Though they were exhausted, slightly freaked out, and pensive over moving forward, none of them passed out even once today, for better or worse.

He sat removed from the group, smoking, dangling his legs over the edge of the boulder, staring at the barely-visible ravine down below. Shortly after Luxar graces the first floor in the future, this ravine will turn into a river of molten lava. The crux was that the lava could be harvested as it was one of the few things that could melt ores found inside the Tower. But the bigger crux was that thousands would end up dying in the process of figuring out just how to harvest it.

No, not this time, though he never viewed himself as the best of people, Cain wasn't willing to stubbornly hold onto the knowledge that could save the lives of countless others. While he could do little about the initial rush and the countless accidental and not-so-accidental deaths in the Towers, there were also quite a few tragic events he could prevent.

“... most of us have leveled up decently, a few even hitting level 10,” Rick walked up to him and sat down, his aged appearance further enhancing his exhaustion. “But damn... maybe we should have paced ourselves better?”

“... no, it’s fine,” Cain shook his head, reaching into the inventory and taking out nine pearies. “Consider it a training session. Here, hand them out. It should help with the tiredness. At least the physical one, anyway.”

“... how come you aren’t tired? I wager that your Stamina is likely lower than ours...” Rick protested with a grunt.

"Oh, much lower," Cain chuckled. "I just know how to pace myself. For instance, when we were fighting that bear thingy, each swing you took... you literally put all of your strength into it. Further, when you were blocking, for some stupid reason you met the beast head-on. Why? Move to the side slightly and let the attack graze your shield. Higher chance of making the creature lose its balance."

“... you could have mentioned that today, you know?”

“... it was cute, seeing you struggle,” Cain grinned faintly as Rick stood up, nine pearies lodged in his arms. “Have everyone go to sleep. Whatever else, it’s still the best way to rest. I’ll stand guard tonight and wake you guys first thing in the ‘morning’. We head out immediately after breakfast.”

“... fine.” Rick relented, sighing and walking away. Cain remained seated, drawing the last puff of the cigarette before tossing it away. It’s here again... he frowned, creases in his face enhanced by the limited light of the campfire. That unease...

His intuition told him there was danger, but little else besides it. No matter how hard he looked around, he saw nothing that stood out as potentially ‘dangerous’. Everything was in place, at least as far as his muddy memories could confirm. Yet, all the same, the feeling was still there. That something was off.

As with every other instance when he found himself in the Tower, he trusted that feeling far more than his eyes, ears, and nose. Of the millions and even billions of tiny segments that his mind has captured, unfiltered, inside his brain, it had noticed peculiarities that were out of place and was warning him. Goddamn, I wish there was a skill to make me able to understand fucking what it’s warning me about...

Sighing, he reached into the inventory and pulled out a bottle of water, drinking half of it in one go. Glancing back, he noted that everyone had listened to Rick and had laid out their sleeping bags, snuggling in for comfort. Three women lied further away from the forest on the other side, with the six guys perched there almost like guards.

Shaking his head with a chuckle, he silently stood up and stretched. Just before he was to move out to do some basic recon, his entire body froze and his face stiffened as a notification popped up in front of him, the likes of which he’d never seen before in his life.

//Congratulations, Cain Gregory!

You have been invited by Lord Eksha, Last of His Name, to the Molten City!

You cannot refuse!

You and Your Party will be placed at the City’s entrance.

You will have 2 hours of respite.

After 2 hours, the Challenge will begin.

Challenge: The Infernal Climb.

Requirements: Reach the summit of the Molten City within 14 days and challenge Lord Eksha and His Guardians.

Victory conditions: Lord Eksha is killed

Rewards: Every party member gains at minimum 5 levels, 1 item of C(+) quality, a (Rare) Skill unique to their Class, a (B-rank) Title, and an assortment of Potions

Bonus Rewards: Bonus Rewards will be distributed accordingly, by the level of contribution. They include extra levels, extra items of higher rank, extra Skills, and extra Titles!

Good Luck, and may you exit victorious!

“... what the fu--” space around Cain suddenly rippled as he felt a sensation of being dragged and pulled, not in any one particular direction, but in all of them, at the same time. His innards churned, eyesight darkening, as the familiar, terribly uncomfortable, reality sunk in.

The feeling was the exact same as when one would go between the floors of the Tower... just ever-so-slightly worse. He gave in to the feeling as he watched the others wake up only to be tossed in what they likely believed to be the worst nightmare of their lives. Sighing, he closed his eyes and waited patiently. In reality, the ‘transport’ lasted only a few seconds, at most, but it felt like tens of minutes if not even hours.

By the time he opened his eyes, he realized he was no longer perched on top of the boulder. The first hint was the soul-sucking temperature that nearly immediately doused him in sweat. Shit, he grumbled. It’s actually around 120?! What in the fuck’s fuck?!

Looking around, he realized that the air itself was being distorted due to the heat and that there was no life to speak of anywhere nearby, be it animal or plant one.

Right around then, he heard screams and cries of shock and terror echo out around him. Spinning around, he saw that everyone else had also arrived, sprawled uniquely on the floor, some shaking, some curled up in a fetal position, and some on the verge of weeping.

His eyes rapidly scouted around for any shade, finding a tiny bit lodged inside a nearby cliff. It wasn't terribly large, but it would suffice temporarily. As he slowly carried them one by one into the shade, he also paid a curious glance to the front, where impossibly large gates of iron stood blocking his view. He couldn't even quite estimate their size or the sheer amount of iron that went into building them, but it was irrelevant.

If the notifications were to be believed -- and regardless of everything else, they were perhaps the most trustworthy thing in the Tower -- the so-called Molten City was what awaited them past the gates. Unlike every other time before, however, where the rest were shocked or surprised and he was calm and collected, he was also freaking out at the moment -- albeit far less than the others.

After all, even if he had absolutely no clue what was going on, he’d picked up the ever-essential skill of adaptability that one needed to have if they wanted to survive in the Tower.

Maintaining his cool, he sat down next to the others that slowly began to recover somewhat, and looked over the notification window once again. It indicated that they were now at the ‘Molten City’s Gates’, and there was a counter next to it reading ‘1:57:33’, counting down.

“... w-what’s... what’s going on...”

“Jesus... why... is it so hot?”

“... I’m gonna throw up...”

Grumbling ensued quickly, but Cain barely registered it, forcing his mind into overdrive to think. Did I really forget something this crucial? No... no, impossible...

If him forgetting wasn’t the case, then the likeliest scenario is that the entire report on the Molten Cave was a fabrication. Why? Why hide something so monumental? No... it’s weird. Nobody ever reported on notifications like these. Was it some high-end secret or was I really just that fucking stupid not to figure it out?

No matter how hard he thought, answers didn’t arrive -- because they weren’t there.

“... C’,” Emma slowly managed to stumble up, her face pale, eyes shivering. “What’s... what’s happened?”

“... look for a notification screen,” Cain replied absentmindedly. “It should contain everything.”

“... notification... screen? Ah...” soon enough, everyone had spotted it, flying in front of their eyes.

The more they read, the paler their expressions became. This was especially the case for Emma and Rick who both noticed that Cain’s expression was also hardened, his lips dropping into a frown.

Though she knew she was supposed to stand up and lead, Diya found it impossible. Partly it was still the aftereffects of the transportation, and in part it was the heat, but largely... it was the fear. Fear of the completely unknown. Despite knowing she had to stand up and get everyone onto their feet... she sat slumped with the rest, emptily staring at the notification window.

“... how much water do we have?” seeing that everyone was now, at the very least, in a cognitive state, Cain spoke up, drawing attention toward himself. There was no other choice -- no matter how smart Diya may be, he can’t expect her to formulate a plan when she herself has no clue what’s going on.

“...” having finally been given directions, it felt as though they were doused in a bout of cold water, waking them up. Everyone scrambled to look into their inventories, reporting one after another.

“... two gallons...”

“One and a half gallons...”

“Three gallons...”

“Two...”

“One...”

"... alright," Cain nodded, noting that it was a bit on the lower end, but that it should suffice. "Hand everything to Diya. We need to start rationing it as we have no idea how long we'll be stuck here. Everyone gets a quarter of a gallon a day. What about the food?"

“...” everyone slowly started reporting on the food supplies as well as they began handing over bottles upon bottles of water to Diya.

“The temperature is in around 120 mark,” Cain continued. “So... pretty fucking hot. I’m sure you’ve read the notification by now; rest for the two hours, and do as little as possible as to not dehydrate yourselves. After that, we go in and see what’s what. Give each other as much space as possible, and have a small snack in the meantime.”

"..." as Diya glanced at him with gratitude and the faintest of smiles, Emma and Rick approached, dragging him a bit further away from the pack.

“... you know what’s happening?” Emma asked immediately, Rick eagerly anticipating the answer.

“Not-a-lick-of-an-idea!” Cain replied with a grin.

“C’!”

“I’m serious,” he sighed. “I honestly have no clue what’s going on either. Whatever it is, though, doesn’t change the reality all that much: we just kill whatever attacks us, and continue climbing.”

“... is that a smart idea?” Rick questioned. “Shouldn’t we turn around and try to find a way out?”

“No,” Cain shook his head. “Even if there was a way out, we’d die going through it. Trust the notifications, no matter how retarded-sounding they may be. If it says our way out is to beat lord-whatever-his-face-is, then that’s our way out.”

“... so... we’re really doing it?” Emma swallowed, glancing up at the gates that loomed over them. “Shit...”

“... what are you afraid of?” Cain grinned suddenly, slapping her back gently. “Aren’t I here with you? The awesomest guy in the whole world?”

“...” the two chuckled for a moment, shaking their heads.

“Though... I might need the rest of you to step up for this,” he added shortly after, dampening their spirits.

“Tsk, some awesome guy you are...” Emma grumbled.

“... how?” Rick asked.

“We practiced a decent amount,” Cain said. “It should be enough to maintain a formation. There’s a likelihood we’ll be facing tens of monsters at the same time, and I won’t be able to control them all. We’ll need to divide and conquer.”

"... then that's what we'll do," Rick said, taking a deep breath. "Besides, rewards are really enticing, the risk notwithstanding."

"We need to become superstar-level sandbags, Ricky," Emma said, stretching out. "We've got Diya and Lamia behind us. Short of our brains blowing up, they'll heal us. Take risks, create opportunities. Despite it being battling monsters... it's not all that different from any other 'fight'. While I was boxing in high school, my coach used to tell me that smacking your face into a fist was worth it if it meant you being able to dish out two in return. Let's go with that."

“... yeah,” Rick nodded. “Why am I not surprised that you used to box?”

“... she used to do everything,” Cain shrugged. “She even used to play underwater hockey...”

“... what the hell is that?” Rick quizzed.

“Exactly.” Cain replied with a sigh, causing Emma to frown.

“What? Is it so wrong to be active?! It was better than your sorry ass locking yourself into your room and wanking off like a fucking machine, all day, every day...”

“... hey, you weren’t complaining about that when--”

"Another word and I will fucking kill you." she interrupted rapidly, with a growl, her expression darkening. Cain swallowed, grinning innocently, as Emma glanced at him one last time before withdrawing to the rest of the party. Rick exchanged a few glances between the two, smiling faintly and following after Emma, leaving Cain alone.

Two hours seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, the notification quickly ringing like a bell as the earth beneath them began to quake. The gates shuddered, akin to the awakening of a giant, the roar escaping out into the sky.

“Alright, everyone,” Cain stood up, walking to the front and taking a deep breath. “Let’s go.”