Chapter Sixteen

This was the first real opportunity to flex the upgrades he’d accumulated from the Drake cave and the farming afterwards. The monsters he’d faced on Floor 2 were mostly weak since he wasn’t raiding any Encounter locations or Spawns, but Verdant Panthers were some of the strongest monsters in this Zone. Extremely fast, and with a poison that meant getting even a flesh wound from their claws caused extreme pain and muscle cramps. They were the perfect opponent for Will, with his high agility build and speed-boosting Spell.

One panther lunged high while the other went low, but Will easily found a gap between them and dived through it. He rolled, turning to face the beasts as they landed and spun with frustrated roars. He darted forwards with the Fang of the Denmother and scored a deep piercing wound on one panther, his scimitar parrying the claws of the other in a deft motion. The dagger’s ability activated, sending a shot of burning flame into the wound and causing the panther to dash backwards into the jungle with a scream. Its’ partner attacked in frenzied rage, but Will’s Agility and Reflex had finally caught up with his other Stats, and he had more than enough Mana to ensure that every time he swung his sword it bit deeply into the grassy fur of the panther. He stepped back and his foot caught on a root, but he was able to twist and turn it into another attack which drove his dagger into the panther’s side.

The burned panther returned as Will stepped back to avoid a swipe that would have drawn poisoned gashes down his sword arm, and he grinned when it dived in heedless of his weapons. He’d really pissed it off, and that meant that he had an even easier time dodging to the right and bringing both of his blades to bear against the cat. Both hit, and the dagger passive triggered again despite the ¼ chance usually not being so consistent, and the panther went down with a pained screech. The other tried to swipe him, and managed to land a small scratch on his cloth-clad ankle which sent pain shooting through his body. He trusted in his Endurance to resist the minor poisoning, and turned to face his opponent as it lunged for another attack.

Now he wasn’t trying to split focus between two enemies, his high Reflex meant that he had enough time to react comfortably. He dropped the dagger and gripped his scimitar in both hands, focusing the power of Sharpen onto it with laser-like focus. The shimmering second edge of grey-white energy grew and thickened, seeming to become more opaque as Will sidestepped the panther’s charge and brought the blade down on its’ neck. Its’ head rolled away into the undergrowth as its’ body thumped to the floor, and he grinned to feel the Spell upgrade. He knew it was close from his time training on the 2nd while he waited for the Elixir to respawn, but he was pleasantly surprised to have it upgrade so early on in this Floor. Vigorous Sharpen [E] could be applied to both of his weapons now, and would increase their cutting power even further. Alacrity wouldn’t upgrade, but he was definitely more confident in handling its’ boosts and the success of the fight confirmed his rightness in choosing that Spell as the core of his new build.

Grimacing and kicking his leg a few times to shake the feeling of aching and muscle twitches that the panther’s poison caused, he reminded himself that there was still room to grow. He’d earned 30 Tower Coins from the two cats, which was a good start given the few minutes that the fight took.

Disabling his spells to let his mana regenerate, he bent down and used the edge of the Fang to carefully cut free a few of the panther’s flowers before they wilted. Grabbing a small jar from the miscellaneous supplies he’d purchased, he placed the flowers inside and stored them in his ring. A Christmas gift for Metrodora, since he assumed they’d have some alchemical use she could puzzle out.

As he’d hoped, the panther fight set the tone for his trek through the jungle. He was trying to path a wide arc around the entrance area, in hopes of catching a glimpse of Mira or someone who might be able to point him towards her. Though he’d had no success there, he had managed to farm over 200 more Coins and gather a few more ingredients for Metrodora. He was on the lookout for something he could gift Okembe too, but the man would be a little more difficult to “shop” for. Though the gains were good, the lack of other Climbers or hint of Mira did keep him from truly enjoying his time in the jungle. That and the hot, humid air and stinging insects too small to count for any rewards when he slapped them by the hundred. One reason Will had happily stayed in London and never wished to move to warmer climes was his dislike for overheating, and despite being useful protection the Ogre-Hide Leather Armour was not particularly well-insulated.

“Nice one, D! Watch your left!”

The voice came from up ahead, through a particularly dense patch of vines that had woven together into a near perfect barrier. He recognised it as the form that some of the spawn locations in this Zone took, similar to the Drake Cave from the last Floor, and stopped to listen for a second before charging in. It would be rude to interfere if the people in there weren’t having trouble, and reputation building was in full swing as far as Will was concerned.

He felt a swell of Mana from inside the closed off area, stepping closer instinctively at the feeling. That was a fairly powerful Spell, whatever it was, and it was met with the same voice as before giving a hearty cheer. Silence followed, and then the vine barrier was split open to reveal a man and a young girl, both sweaty but uninjured and holding gear packs that bulged slightly.

Will sheathed his weapons quickly and waved to the pair, watching surprise turn to guarded suspicion on their faces. The man stepped in front of the girl, though Will could tell from the fire Spell flickering in her palms that she was the real fighter in the pairing, and they stopped moving as he spoke.

“Hey there. You okay?”

His voice had a deep southern twang, and his tanned features and blonde hair agreed with the good-old boy American impression that gave off. He was wearing decent gear, from what Will could tell, and his hand gripped a mace tightly while the other arm wore a shield. Defender, then, or Soldier. The girl was probably a Sorcerer or something like that, and they looked like they might be a father-daughter pair.

“Yeah, don’t worry I’m no threat. Just overheard you fighting and was waiting to see if you might need help. Didn’t want to jump in and get in the way otherwise. You good?”

The man visibly relaxed, though the girl maintained her guarded face as the man stepped forwards and offered to shake Will’s hand. He took it gratefully, trying to broadcast good intentions towards the duo.

“I’m Pioneer, just exploring through the area at the moment. Sounds like you two have been doing good yourselves, from what I heard though. D, I assume?”

He directed the last part at the girl, still half stood behind what he assumed to be her father with a few embers licking at her fingertips, and she gave a sharp nod. He noted that she wasn’t actually as young as she’d initially appeared, but rather the man was quite a bit larger than he’d realised, a bear of a man who fit the Defender mould perfectly. She actually looked to be an adult, which was a relief.

“Daphne. This is my uncle, Trucker_1972. We’re clearing a few spawns that we got the locations for off other Climbers. You not planning to attack us for our loot, are you?”

She actually said “underscore” when she gave her uncle’s pseudonym, and it contrasted so heavily with the suspicious expression, sharp tone and direct question that Will couldn’t suppress a laugh. That made the man wave an irritated hand at his niece and speak up again.

“Just call me Unk, it’s what she does. We had a few good-for-nothings try to take some stuff we got the other day, so we’re on a bit higher alert than usual. Nothing personal.”

Will grinned at the man and gestured back towards the barrier they’d just exited, which had already grown back to signify that it could be attacked again.

“So what should I expect if I decide to try that out myself?”

Daphne threw her hair back confidently as she answered, the flames finally dying on her hands which Will hoped meant he was no longer under suspicion of being a bandit. She spoke with a bold voice, while her uncle looked both proud and embarrassed by the girl-woman, he corrected, and her bragging.

“Oh nothing special, about a dozen of those panthers. Have you seen them? Big, fast, deadly poison dripping from their claws? Light work for us though, right Unk?”

The man gave a sheepish nod, voicing agreement with her words.

“Nothing special in terms of loot, unfortunately. We weren’t the first Clear, so we’ll probably end up selling it to the Store or trading it with other Climbers in the safe village. You’re a swordsman, I assume?”

“Yeah. Enhancer, actually, so I can cast buff Spells to increase my speed, things like that. I’m guessing Sorcerer and Defender, for you.”

Unk nodded, but Daphne shook her head with a grin and corrected him.

“Summoner, not Sorcerer. The fire you saw was from my Summon Firebird Spell. Earned that one from a Hidden Event on the 2nd Floor.”

Will was unfamiliar with the specific Spell, though its’ type were fairly common from what he knew. Still, to have had the requirements for Summoner this early meant that Daphne was fairly powerful for this point in time and for only a month of Climbing. Though she was clearly the damage of the pair, both Unk’s gear and build suggested he hadn’t been slacking either, and Will found himself wanting to know more about their story.

Before Will knew it, he’d walked the pair back to the gate that lead out of the Zone, deep in conversation with them. Unk was Daphne’s guardian, and they’d entered the Tower together by accident a month ago. Will had heard about people who just woke up in the Tower one day, though the stories were rare and mostly unverified, but apparently it really was possible. The two of them had been playing games together one evening, and after they’d both headed to bed they woke up on Floor 1 in the void. Daphne figured she was dreaming, and acted accordingly, picking a pseudonym she liked and a Class that offered magic. Unk had a similar idea, though he figured since it was something like a game he should use his usual gamertag. Once they’d explored and met other Climbers, realising the reality of the situation, he’d regretted that decision. Still, when they’d both agreed that it was too much fun to leave for good, a slightly unorthodox party composition of uncle/niece was formed.

“Good luck finding that woman you’re looking for, she sounds pretty dangerous. Don’t get hurt in the process, you seem like a good kid. That tip you passed on about the Hidden Event sounds like it’s going to be worth a try, so we’ll probably go after that tomorrow morning. If we do see each other again, we’ll let you know how it went!”

Unk gave Will another handshake as he spoke, and Daphne nodded her goodbye along with it. They hadn’t known anything about Mira, other than the rumours Will told them, but it had been worth asking. They were actually fairly knowledgeable about other Climbers on the Floor as well as Zone 2, which was the first one they had begun to explore. He’d repaid them for their information by giving them a tip about the method to pass a Hidden Event they’d discovered. He’d recognised the description from the first timeline, and knew that if he hadn’t warned them about its’ particular trick they may well have been unable to handle it. Of course, he’d camouflaged the tip by suggesting another Climber had told him a story about nearly dying in the Event, just to avoid questions about how he could know that when he’d newly reached this Floor that day.

“I’ll be okay, hopefully she can just be talked down. I get the feeling she wasn’t like she is now before the Tower, you know? I’m trying to help other people and not just myself, so it’s worth a shot. Thanks for the tip about that Dane guy, if I can find him that might be a big help. Good luck, and hopefully we meet again.”

That was enough for the pair to touch the gate and leave, and Will turned right back around to continue farming. Night was falling in the jungle, but there wasn’t any increase in spawns and he just spent a chunk of his Coins on a high-strength Night-Vision Elixir to compensate for the darkness. The pair had been quite friendly, once they were sure he wasn’t trying to rob them for their loot, and the Climber they’d directed him towards was apparently what passed for a veteran this early in the Tower’s lifespan. That meant he was probably the best shot Will had at finding information about his target and being able to stop Mira before she attacked the group on the 28th. The man was apparently exploring Zone 4 at the moment, but Will planned on trying to secure a meeting with him if he returned to the spawn area.

“Guess I may as well clear that spawn, since I know what to expect. Wonder if I can fight all 12 at the same time?”

He wasn’t actually going to try something that suicidal, but from the pair’s description he wasn’t particularly worried about the danger level of the fight. It would pass the time, earn some Coins, and it was a nice diversion from trying to find a needle in a haystack. Mira not only had a Subclass designed to let her hide effectively, but the Zone was too big for him to realistically hope to stumble over her by chance. He headed for the area where he’d met Unk and Daphne, figuring that he may as well keep training and sweeping the area, trying to find other Climbers like them to swap information with.