Zeke’s mace crashed into the flesh golem’s stomach with such force that the undead behemoth burst apart like a water balloon, albeit one filled with rotted entrails, congealed blood, and ragged chunks of flesh. Zeke was showered with the various forms of viscera as the bits of flesh golem slapped against his armor with a series of wet squelches. He did his best to ignore the disturbing sounds as he pivoted and caught a reaper’s descending scythe on the haft of his mace. Shoving it aside, he aimed a vicious front kick at the fluttering monster, and when it landed, he was rewarded with the crunch of the creature’s bones. A mighty overhand strike ended it a moment later, and Zeke moved on to the next target.

There were plenty to choose from. Surrounded on all sides by a tide of undead monsters, Zeke could scarcely swing his mace without hitting a zombified human or monster, let alone the other, more dangerous undead like the flesh golems and reapers. There were other types as well, but they were mostly congregated in the outer bands of the undead horde. The others could deal with them easily enough while Zeke continued his assault on the inner ranks.

For most, the tactic would’ve been dangerous. But Zeke’s power had progressed to the point where he felt no fear when confronting a few thousand monsters. And without a true threat like Abdul Rumas to fight, his lack of fear was well-founded. In fact, the battle felt more like training than an actual life-or-death struggle. Or perhaps it was just an extermination. Either way, it was a means to an end, and with every kill, Zeke drew closer to his goal.

It felt as if he and his companions had been fighting non-stop for weeks, which wasn’t far off from the truth. For ten days, they’d gone from one undead horde to the next, killing them indiscriminately. Already, Abby and Talia had progressed to level twenty-four, which was a testament to just how many monsters they’d collectively killed. However, the distance between the penultimate level and the plane’s pinnacle was as wide as any four levels combined. And because of the combination of Zeke’s monstrous constitution as well as his bond with both Pudge and the tower, his own progress had slowed to a crawl. Still, though, he’d made some headway. Soon, he expected the experience he’d earned to push him over the edge. When it did, he would be faced with yet another decision regarding his skills before, at last, heading to Salvation to research ascension to the next plane.

But first, he needed to finish the job before him.

So, he continued along, sweeping through the undead horde with workmanlike efficiency. It took hours, but eventually, when there was only a pocket of the creatures remaining, he finally reached his destination. Energy burst forth from his core, cascading through his body like a tidal wave until, finally, it all settled. At last, he’d reached level twenty-five.

After killing a few more undead, he noticed that the experience he’d usually have gotten, just washed over him, unabsorbed, to dissipate into the air. That answered one of the questions he’d had; it seemed that, now that he was level twenty-five, he wouldn’t be able to bank experience for when he finally ascended. So, with that in mind, he backed away and allowed his companions to finish the rest of the horde off. Pudge, whose level was tied to Zeke’s, joined him.

It took them almost another hour, but between Talia and Abby, they had no difficulties taking care of the remaining zombies and other assorted undead, and when they finally finished, they found their way to where Zeke was waiting.

“You got it,” Abby said, jogging up to him. She wore a broad smile, and a brief [Inspect] told Zeke that she was still level twenty-four. “I’m close, too.”

“We’re still a couple of days away from Salvation,” Zeke stated, looking out at the horizon. The forests had thinned into rocky and rolling hills reminiscent of the Irish coast back on Earth. It made for a treacherous battlefield, but that didn’t affect Zeke or his friends. The undead weren’t so lucky, and they often stumbled on the uneven ground. Once, Talia had even discovered a hundred or so zombies who’d become mired in a peat bog. “And Talia said that she saw another big group of zombies on the way.”

“At least two-thousand,” said Talia, suddenly appearing next to Pudge, who’d already dropped to the ground where he was busy gnawing on a wyrm bone Zeke had given him while they were waiting. “Perhaps half-again as many.”

“Think that’ll be enough?” Zeke asked, glancing at Abby.

“For me? Yes,” she said. “I’m not sure about Talia.”

“It will be sufficient,” Talia stated.

“Good,” Zeke said, looking up at the sun. It was already descending toward the horizon, which meant that night would soon fall. “I say we move a couple of miles, then settle down for the night.”

“You just want to look at your available skills,” Abby teased, nudging him with her shoulder.

He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Maybe,” he admitted. “Nothing wrong with that, though. It’s probably the last skill I’ll get for a while, and I’m kind of excited about what might be available.”

“That is understandable,” said Talia. Pudge, for his part, just snorted. He was still trying to learn how to talk, but he often resorted to the same combination of snorts, growls, and chuffs he’d always used.

“Alright,” Zeke said. “Let’s go, then.”

“Not going to loot?” Abby asked.

“No real point,” he answered. “Look at them. They won’t give us anything worth taking.”

“If you say so,” she said. Indeed, the horde of undead looked even more ragged than usual.

After that, the group of four companions set off on a southerly course, eventually reaching the road that ran between Beacon and Salvation. It was predictably deserted; trade had come to a halt due to the undead invasion, and given what Zeke knew, he didn’t expect it to ever resume. Finally, after an hour, when the sun had begun to dip below the horizon, he summoned his tower. It materialized, straddling the road and knocking down trees along the way. When it finished, it extended over two-hundred feet into the sky and covered a diameter of at least sixty yards.

“It keeps getting bigger,” Abby said, looking up at their home.

“I know,” he said. “I have no idea what all that space is supposed to be for, though. It’s already mostly empty.”

She pushed a stray blond lock behind her ear, saying, “Maybe it’s supposed to end up being a city or something.”

“It’s big, but not that big,” Zeke stated. “And it feels like its growth is slowing down. I can’t really describe it, but I just get that feeling.”

“Wishful thinking, maybe.”

“Maybe,” he acknowledged.

With that, they led everyone inside. The first floor, which Zeke thought of as the tower’s lobby, was unchanged since the last he’d seen it. Of course, the most recent addition was the statue commemorating the battle against the wyrm queen. When Zeke looked at it, he didn’t feel a sense of pride, though. Instead, he only felt regret and guilt. Because of his hubris, Carlos was dead. However, it did serve to remind him never to make the same mistakes again.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Abby said, knowing precisely what he was thinking when he looked at the statue.

“Agree to disagree,” he muttered. They’d talked about it more than a few times, and though Abby tried to assuage his guilt with various perfectly logical arguments, he knew the truth. Carlos was dead because of him, and he would carry that guilt with him for the rest of his life.

In any case, he quickly walked toward the spiraling staircase that led to the upper levels, mounting them and climbing toward the apartments he shared with Abby. Before long, he was removing his armor. He hadn’t bothered using [Heart of the Berserker] because it wasn’t necessary, so, while he was fatigued, he wasn’t nearly as exhausted as he would’ve been if he’d used the skill.

Abby retreated into the bathroom to shower while Zeke cleaned his armor. The tower had recognized his needs and recently grown a new room with an industrial sized sink meant for that purpose. In addition, there was a bear-sized shower on the level Pudge had claimed, proving that the tower was reading their requirements and providing what they needed.

It took a while to remove all the bits of rotted flesh and dried blood, but, by now, caring for his equipment had become an almost meditative experience, during which he assessed his performance in the day’s battle. He’d made plenty of mistakes along the way, but because of his monstrous constitution and overpowered [Life Scythe], he had never been in any real danger. Still, there was always room for improvement, and as he cleaned his armor, he explored all the ways he could have done better.

Eventually, Abby finished in the shower, and, once his armor was clean, he took his turn. While he would’ve loved to join her, there was nothing attractive about cleaning blood and rotted viscera from your body. Besides, there would be plenty of time for those sorts of activities during the coming night.

It didn’t take Zeke long to shower, mostly because his armor had kept most of the blood and gore from reaching his body, but he still took a few extra minutes to luxuriate under the steaming hot stream of water. By the time he finished, he felt centered, refreshed, and ready for his impending decision. After drying off with one of the fluffy, white towels Abby had bought in Jariq, he left the bathroom. Then, he dressed in a pair of loose, comfortable pants and sat on the edge of the bed.

Abby sat in one of the room’s chairs, her legs crossed as she perused a book. Without looking up, she asked, “Do you want my help?”

“Eventually,” he said. “But I want to look things over first.”

“Fair enough,” she stated, flipping one of the pages. “Just let me know.”

Zeke nodded, then laid back. Once he was comfortable, he allowed himself to look at his notifications.

Congratulations! You have reached Level 25!

That notification was entirely expected, so he quickly moved on to the next one. Predictably, he was confronted with five skill choices. The first was:

[The Weight of Two Worlds] (F) – You stand astride two separate worlds. You belong to both, and neither. Harness your unique position to manipulate gravity in a defined space. Upgradeable.

Zeke read the description a couple of times, and he had to admit, the skill appealed to him. As it was tied to his nature as a cambion, it seemed to be a unique skill. And given that it was already at F-Rank, it would undoubtedly be powerful. However, the same could likely be said for any of his options. So, he moved on to the next choice.

[Demon’s Breath] (F) – You have proven your demonic strength, granting you access to Hellfire. Summon one of the most destructive forces in the universe and bend it to your will. Upgradeable.

That sounded a lot like the fire Pudge could breathe; if it was the same, then it was an incredibly destructive ability, and as such, Zeke couldn’t ignore it. Still, it seemed to lean a bit heavily on his demon side, which was more than a little troubling. However, Zeke couldn’t afford to ignore any source of potential power.

The next skill was even more troubling, though:

[Soul Shatter] (F) – You have experienced true soul-rending pain, which has given you insight into real agony. Use your mind to torment a sapient creature’s soul. Upgradeable.

Zeke knew that it was a powerful skill, and he could already think of a hundred ways he could use such an ability to his advantage. However, the memory of the assault visited upon his own soul at the hands of the succubus was enough to make him discard the possibility of taking the skill. He wouldn’t wish that kind of torture on even his worst enemies. So, he quickly went to the fourth option:

[Heroic Leap] (F) – Prone to leaping before you look, often in the defense of others, you know the value of leaving your feet. Leap into battle, resulting in a shockwave of unmatched force upon landing. Upgradeable.

He couldn’t help but chuckle, which got Abby’s attention. “What?” she asked, his laughter drawing a slight smile from her own features.

“Just one of my abilities,” Zeke answered. He then explained the way [Heroic Leap] would work, adding, “See? Even the Framework thinks my strategy is viable.”

She shook her head, and with a dramatically exasperated voice, said, “And now the Framework is encouraging you…”

“I’m not going to take it,” he said. “Just so you know. I just thought it was funny.”

“So you got some other good choices?” she asked.

“I did, but I still have one to look at,” was his response. “Once I’ve read them over, we’ll talk about it.”

“If that’s what you want,” she said. “But remember to listen to your instincts. You know yourself better than I do.”

“That’s debatable,” he said, but he moved on to the final option.

[Demonic Chains] (F) – You have experienced inescapable captivity. Channel that experience through your demonic nature to bind your enemies with hellish chains of fire and brimstone. Upgradeable.

“Damnit,” Zeke mumbled to himself, shaking his head. Three clearly demonic abilities, one based on his idiotic tendency to leap into situations he knew nothing about, and, finally, one that seemed founded on his hybrid nature. That his demonic side was better represented than anything else probably said something about the path he’d begun to tread.

“What’d you get?” Abby asked.

He explained the abilities, ending with, “I mean, I can’t pick the demon skills, can I?”

“I don’t see why not,” she stated. “Pudge has one of them, you said, right? The fire breath one. And he doesn’t seem affected.”

“Except that he grew horns,” Zeke pointed out. “And eventually, I’m going to have to choose a class. I have to think that what classes I’m offered will have something to do with my choices, right? What if I’m only given something like Demon Lord?”

“So? You’re not a demon. Your class doesn’t matter,” she said.

“But I think it does,” Zeke stated. “Oberon said that me taking [Leech Strike] could lead to some unsavory class choices. Chances are good that this is the same way.”

“They all seem really powerful, though!” she insisted.

“I don’t disagree,” he allowed. “But I think…I just need to think.”

Offensively speaking, both [Soul Shatter] and [Demonic Breath] would be amazing. By contrast, [Demonic Chains] and [The Weight of Two Worlds] seemed more like control skills. And [Heroic Leap] was a combination of utility and offense, probably leaning toward the former. So, if he looked at it like that, it made things a little easier.

That was assuming that his impressions were accurate. Both [Demonic Chains] and [The Weight of Two Worlds] could easily be offensive, too. And given the vague descriptions, he could be equally mistaken about the nature of the other skills as well. The only one he seemed sure of was [Demonic Breath], which appeared to be as purely offensive as any skill could be.

Sighing, he debated between the choices, but without more data, Zeke couldn’t really make an informed decision. So, after a while, he just decided to take Abby’s advice and trust his instincts. Finally, he made his choice, and [The Weight of Two Worlds] was added to his repertoire.

The mana in the air must have shifted, because Abby knew precisely when he’d made his choice. She asked, “What did you choose?”

He told her, explaining, “It just felt right.”

“Well, we’re hitting that group of undead tomorrow,” she said. “You’ll find out then, right? I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“I hope so,” he said.

Abby gave him a smile, then rose from the chair. Setting her book aside, “Now, we can get to the fun part…”

As she removed her top and joined him atop the bed, Zeke felt a grin spread across his face.