“That’s weird.” I turn around and step close to the others. Miko was in the middle of wrapping a bandage around Burin’s leg. A lit torch was on the ground next to her illuminating our surroundings. “How’s your health?” I pulled out the pack that Mac provided and grabbed one of the health potions inside.

“It’s fine, once I gain a few drops of mana, I’ll be able to provide a bit o’ healing.” I looked over the dwarf. Heavy plate armour rested on his chest with chainmail peeking through gaps. His cuisse, or thigh armour, rested next to him along with his shield and weapon. It was a pickaxe on one side with a cubed hammer on the other. Burin was wearing a dark grey steel helmet, and had a braided beard that barely reached his chest. His eyes were a bright blue and looked very tired.

No part of the dwarf’s gear indicated he had any healing capabilities.

“I think you may have hit your head.” I knelt down and had a closer look at his eyes. I didn’t really know much about head trauma, but I did remember that eyes could be a bit funny after a bad bump. Burin eyes however, seemed normal to me. It’s better to be safe than sorry so I popped the cork on the health potion and placed it in Burin’s hand.

“Here drink this. Hopefully it will clear up any head injury you might have.”

Burin did not close his hand around the potion and instead pushed it back towards me.

“Ye be the one in need of healing. Ye body is half charcoal.”

Miko placed her hand on my shoulder and guided me to sit down next to the dwarf. She managed to move me with ease, which was concerning considering my strength should overwhelm her own. “He’s right. I have never heard of a first timer with your health. If that fire spell had hit anyone else… Well, they would be dead before they even hit the ground.”

Thoughts of Torva pushing me towards the fort entrance flashed through my mind. I reached over to touch my blackened shoulder but was stopped by Miko’s hand.

“Don’t touch it. Drink the potion. Burin might be able to help later. He summoned that ball of water before when you were on fire.”

I looked over to Burin. He was leaning back, resting his head against the wall with his eyes closed.

I drank down the potion which tasted like raspberries mixed with way too much salt. “You don’t look like much of a healer.”

Burin chuckled and opened one eye to look at me. “Now ain’t that the pot calling the kettle black. Looking at ye, no one would think you’d conjure up weapons. Aye, I can do a little healing but that’s not what my class focuses be.”

“Huh, would not have guessed it with the way you were outfitted.” I did remember Torva commenting something about my robe.

“Clan rules. We all have to wear heavy armour while in the tower. Makes it harder for hostile climbers to identify the healer, or so they say. Seem’s pretty identifiable with all the healing they be doin, to me..”

“So, you wer-” I didn’t want to assume we lost everyone. “are the healer of your group?”

“Nay, I fear ye may be right.” He took a breath. “I be a River Smith. I use water to forge and empower my spells. I can conjure water from thin air but it takes a lot of mana. If I’m near water though I can do quite a few nifty things. Well, once I’m higher level. For now, all I can do is throw it around, make it solid, or use it to heal minor injuries.”

“Think you two can walk?” Miko stood up and looked down the dark tunnel. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to stay here for long. We can make camp once we get to the next floor.”

Miko helped us both to our feet. First Burin, then myself. I felt tired, in pain and had a mix of emotions running through my head. Anger at myself for running away. Shame at not being able to prevent the probable deaths of the dwarven team. And a burning need for revenge, how dare someone push me around and injure me this badly.

I kicked a stone deeper into the dark tunnel and we all listened as it bounced into the distance.

Mark my words elven firefuck. You are the first on my shit list, and I’ll be hunting you down right after my epic progression montage.

A manic chuckle escaped my lips as I thought about all the ways I was going to destroy the elf.

“Uh. Are ye okay?” Burin asked.

“Just ignore it.” Miko took a few steps in front and started leading the way forward. “He always gives a creepy laugh after kicking something.”

I followed behind her. “You won’t be able to understand. It’s a man’s romance, right Burin?”

“Uh, no. Nothing romantic about kicking rocks. Might hurt someone.”

“It’s not… Never mind.”

The tunnel was wide enough for two people to walk comfortably side by side. Miko held a fire torch in front of her as we walked. After about five minutes the tunnel stopped at a wall that had an opening that seemed to lead downwards.

“Is that?” Burin asked.

“Looks like it.” Miko bent down to look inside. “Should be quick at least.”

“Aye, hopefully it will keep us together.”

“Shouldn’t be an issue. Especially if we slide close to each other.”

They were both peering into the dark passageway while talking. I tried to peer past them but there was no room. “Care to explain what you two are talking about?”

Miko stepped back and turned to me. “It’s a drop slide. This is my first time seeing one… also my first time in a Mazer hole, but I have heard stories.”

“Okay. What do the stories say about.” I looked around Miko to the dark hole. “Drop slides?”

“They are not dangerous. Just they have another name.”

“Aye. The clan calls them party choppers.”

“Hold on.” I took a step away from the hole. “Party chopper sounds incredibly dangerous.”

“No.” Miko scratched one on her ears. “Well they are, but not like that.”

“Aye they chop up” Burin brought his hand down onto his open palm in a cutting action, “the party and drop people in random locations on the next floor.”

“Oh.” I let out a sigh. “So, they don’t lead to a series of spinning blades that turn people into mincemeat.”

Burin dropped his hands to his sides. “Nay. Though party chopper be a better name for what ye describing.”

“Burin, you sit just in front.” Miko helped Burin to sit with his legs hanging over the edge. “Reigner, sit behind him and grab on to his belt. I’ll be right behind you.”

I looked down at myself and realized I was mostly naked still. The only thing Miko would be able to hold on to was my underwear or belt. With her penchant for ripping off my clothing I could see what she would prefer to grab. “I should go last.”

Miko looked towards me with innocently and asked, “Why?”

Please, like I don’t know what you are thinking.

I looked between Burin and Miko. “Well, you are both wearing heavy armour. If I went between you both I would be squished if we collide with something.”

Miko was silent for a moment. She made a quick glance down my body before replying. “Fine, hold on tight, okay?”

I knew it. She has planned to destroy more of my clothing. I only had one set left which she probably knew all too well. I planned to wear it once we reached the next floor but maybe that is what she was aiming for. An opportunity to ruin my last set all in one go.

“Reigner, grab on.” I looked over to see both Burin and Miko looking towards me. When did they get ready? Shrugging I moved across and sat behind Miko, grabbing on to her belt.

“I’m putting away the torch. Then we go on the count of three.”

Without the torch the tunnel was pitch black. Miko counted off and I was dragged forward and then downwards by their combined weight. The initial drop made my stomach rise but was soon arrested as we landed on a smooth surface that was angled downwards.

The surface did not slow us down, if anything, I felt like we were traveling faster. Wind rushed past and Miko’s hair started whipping me across the face.

“By Kor’s beard I hate falling!” Burin’s yells echoed around us as we continued to move.

There was a sharp turn to the left followed by one to the right and in the next moment I was free falling and had lost my grip on Miko’s belt.

I fell for what felt like minutes until suddenly landing into something soft and bouncy.

I just lay there for a moment catching my breath. Once my heart calmed down, I opened my eyes and looked around. I appeared to be laying on a large cream coloured couch. The place looked like someone’s lounge room back on earth.

In front of me was an old TV show being projected on a large screen. An android was being taught how to lie by the sole living member of a deep space mining ship. To the left and right of the projection were posters of old movies. Some in English while others in hieroglyphics I couldn’t identify.

I stood up from the couch and looked to the wall on my right where stood several glass cabinets. Upon closer inspection they were filled with an assortment of items on display. Anime figures, cameras, laptops, a box of chocolates, and even a line of signed photos of famous actors.

A few metres behind the couch was a fifties styled bar with bottles of different beverages lining the back wall. Stools lined the front of the bar alternating between red and white.

The last wall held a collection of displayed weapons. At the centre of the collection was a sword that looked familiar to me. Before I could investigate further I realised I was not alone.

“Sweet digs, right?” I spun around to see a man, about my height, with golden hair, green eyes and no beard. Peeking through his hair on the left of his head was a single gold horn. He was wearing a black shirt and jeans. The shirt had the words “Red Dwarf” emblazoned on the front in white and red lettering. “Collected all of this as payment for teleportation.”

I felt a bit awkward standing nearly naked in front of some stranger in their home. “Erm. Who are you?”

“Ah, where are my manners. My name is Txranthelamanteli but you may call me Mr. T.” He gave a little chuckle at that and walked behind the bar. He placed his hands down and leaned forward, looking at me intensely. “I am the proprietor of this tower, but you should already know that. What I am interested in, is you. State your intentions, Champion.”

I had a feeling he was trying to appear intimidating, but it just felt surreal with him wearing an eighties sitcom t-shirt while behind a candy red and white pinstriped bar.

“Champion?”

“Don’t play dumb. You have the stench of a demigod on you. Why are you here?”

“I uh, fell.”

“Not here you fool. Why are you in my tower?”

Now things were starting to make sense. Mr. T could somehow detect that I slayed the tower guardian and might think I am here to do the same to him.

“Sorry. It has been an eventful evening.”

He looked over me, like he only just now noticed the condition I was in.

“I see.” He sighed. “Well why don’t you come sit over here and tell me what brought you here while I fix us up some drinks. Also, can you please put some pants on… You do wear pants, right?”

It was my turn to sigh. I pulled out my last set of clothes and said a small prayer, in the hopes that these survive longer than a single day, before putting them on.

I sat down on one of the stools and watched him behind the bar. “Is that a soda fountain?”

He smiled as he pumped a green syrup into a glass. “You recognize this? You must be from earth then. A traveller had blueprints for this bar and a case full of sample flavours. Took me another decade for someone to come through with fizzy water.” I wondered if using the fountain to mix some drinks would allow me to summon them later with my spell. He placed a scoop of ice cream into a glass. “This is probably my favourite item to come from earth. Tied with DvD’s of course” He stopped what he was doing and focused on the projection for a few seconds before cracking up laughing. “I can’t tell if that feline is being sarcastic or is genuinely impressed.”

Mr. T had made two drinks and placed one in front of me before taking a sip from the second.

“Ahh that’s good. I put in a little something extra to help with your burns.”

I took a sip and I had to admit. It tasted great.

“So, Champion. What is your story.”

“The names Reigner, and well, it’s like this…” I figured there was no harm in sharing my tale. The city here was thriving and he did not seem the type to want mindless destruction.

I told him about my time on earth. Being summoned to the old world. My time in the tower and picking up the class tome.

Mr. T made the best audience. He gasped and cheered at moments and seemed enthralled by my experience. At some point he had mixed more drinks and I was surprised to discover it was Dr. Pepper.

After finishing Mr. T leaned back against the wall of bottled drinks and muttered to himself. “That’s why no one from earth has been summoned here for a century. Those smegheads blocked the path with their forced summon ritual.”

“Forced summon?”

He shook his head and stepped around the bar to sit next to me. “You are what we call a Descender. Normally you would be transferred from your world by some god. You would typically be summoned to a world like this, one that has enforced magical guides and rules set in place that help a person get used to their path.”

He took a sip from his drink. “You however were summoned to a higher world where a lot of the training wheels are removed. That caused an imbalance and caused Earth to be blocked to me- er, us for so long.”

I let out a sigh. “So, King Korath really did scam me out of magic.”

“He scammed you out of a lot of things. Descenders are quite common just never after killing the TGP.”

“The what?”

“Tower God’s Pet. Or Final Floor Guardian. Normally after defeating the TGP you would be given access to the next world by the tower owner. From what you told me, it sounds like the owner from your last world was long dead. You would have been selected to fill the position if you did not open the greater path book.”

“Yeah, I heard something similar from the tower knights. So, summoner is a greater class? That’s nice at least.”

He gave a laugh and stood up from the bar. “That book just unlocked your path. Summoner is what you saw on the cover. If a mage picked up the tome, they would acquire a greater class on the mage path and might read a completely different title and description.”

“Oh…” I wondered what Lilly saw before I opened the book. “So, hero is what they slapped me with when they forcibly summoned me.”

“Yup, exploitation at its finest.” Mr. T walked over to the wall of weapons and ran his hand over the sword that was the centrepiece.

“This must have been yours. I have to thank you. This has become the most powerful weapon I have ever laid eyes on.” He turned towards me holding the sword by the hilt and scabbard. “Must have been at least A grade before absorbing the energy of the TGP.”

He pulled the blade out of the scabbard by an inch and light flooded the room. He quickly sheathed the blade again and chuckled. “I am terrified of fully revealing the blade. I feel that just looking at it will cut me to ribbons” He placed my old weapon back on the wall.

“So…” He walked around the couch and sat down on of the cushions. “What’s your plan now you are here?”

Not sure on the answer of that myself I walked around and sat on the other end of the couch. “Well, I agreed to babysit some kids to the tenth floor in exchange for a spell book. After that I was thinking of exploring this world.”

“Don’t. Not yet at least. You should stay here and reach floor eighty at the minimum. That will insure you are strong enough to survive out there.” It’s strange that everyone seems to talk about floor eighty like its some important milestone here.”

“I can tell you are confused. Let me put it like this. Humans are not the only creatures that can gain levels.”

“What do you mean by that? Just what are towers?”

“Get to floor eighty and we will chat again.”

He smacked his hands together. “Well, since you are not the hero of some other tower. I’ll drop you off with your two friends. Oh, and keep our meeting to yourself. Less questions that way.”

“Hey uh, before I go. Can we make a little trade?”

“Reigner, I am not giving you the sword.”

I summoned a microwaved curry pack and offered it out to him. “Actually, I was hoping to trade for something else.”

“Is that...” He glanced towards the projected wall where his, I assumed, favourite earthen sci fi sitcom was playing.

“Yup. Chicken vindaloo.”