Stepping up to the Boss Floor, Corvayne walked out ahead of the group onto what looked like a large grassy arena under bright blue skies. It was a vast plain ahead of him as he stepped up stone steps. There were pillars scattered on the flat surface, and he saw that the plateu was about a mile wide. There were pits in the grassy surface, so possibly a monster that could burrow, or something arial given the size of the arena.

Corvayne was sticking back with Bell to guard Dot and Preshe. That put Spears on point with Grunt, and of course whatever their other team mates were going to do. Ayame, the cyborg with a sharpshooter class, had her gun out and ready. It was an impressive looking weapon, with some clear arcane enhancements and a high tech scope that was plugged into her arm.

Buh'Bo on the other hand had touched a tattoo and summoned a silver blade, using it to stand while everyone was filing into place. Far in the distance, Corvayne saw two birds flapping in place. Probably about sixty feet across.

Leigue put a hand over his shades, clearly not enjoying the wide open space and bright light. The elf informant used his other hand to produce a cross bow. Likely a just in case weapon. “Do you want to give them a plus bump or two? Or three. Three our set up is still overkill.”

“That makes it harder? How do I do that.”

He gestured back to the orange door locking them in. In the symbols on the door Corvayne spotted what looked like a plus and minus in the floating spinning patterns, and touching it caused bars to appear.

“What exactly are the effects?”

“They level the boss up and at three sometimes introduce new complications.”

Corvayne popped them up one. “I don't want to lose our recruit by overestimating ourselves.”

Bell tapped Corvayne's shoulder. Buh'Bo started casting a spell, opening a gateway that a jewelled staff came out of. She touched the staff, then seemed to suck it into her hand.

Corvayne strode over as she started casting another spell, this time summoning a shield. Once complete, he cleared his throat.

“What?”

“I want to know what you are doing.”

“All right. My previous class summoned animated weapons made out of magic items. Pay attention now, the bound history of me and the weapon brings out it's spirit, letting me manifest it as a power I can add to my own. My jeweled staff is imbued with thunder, so I will blast anything I strike or what strikes me with terrible thunder. My shield makes me tough enough that on top of other talents I am nearly completely safe from low level enemies.”

“Okay. How well does it absorb falls?” Asked both as a question he was curious about and because he did not want to dive and try to lift what might be a very heavy young woman up a cliff in the middle of battle.

“I am not, that will not come up. I am an avatar of poise and grace. Also, I can do this!” She summoned what looked like a chandelier and applied something that made Corvayne's skin itch without burning it.

“You can give other people the effects then?”

“Well, I have one that is able to form one an aura via [Weapon Pact II]. I use its light to further enhance my rapier on impact.” She pulled on the sword handle and it shifted to be a silver Airfoil Rapier. She then cast one more summon, and a dagger popped out that she touched with her rapier then dismissed it.

“That lets me call a weapon and let it work as a dagger when I need to strike from behind or increase it's weakness to light and lightning with [Backstab] and [Light Stealer].”

Corvayne's mind quickly tagged that as an almost 100 percent combo with [Shadow Stealer] but stilled himself. He might not be able to do the variant without badly hurting himself.

“With higher summoning power I can, of course, pull stronger artifacts I don't own or enhance the ones I do, which is of course why I become so incredibly powerful using these tools.”

The Cyborg meanwhile had set up a tripod. “Let me know when we are going to pull.”

Corvayne nodded. “Countdown to five then open fire.”

He quickly used [[Agility]] to dash back to the area near the entrance where the non combatants were. The elder was parked in the back, stroking his beard.

Preshe was watching him, clearly concerned about what she was supposed to do, and Corvayne handed her the monocle he had gotten from Leigue. “Just watch the enemy, try to use mana sight and essence sight together, but just observe.”

Corvanye was watching as the sniper they hired activated a weapon skill that summoned what looked like four red hot streaks of crackling light around her gun, then drew them in and fired them in a spiraling burst at the bird. They connected and hit a wing, though the monster somehow managed to start spiraling down towards the platform. At the same time, Buh'Bo moved forward, casting a spell that called forth a spirit of air.

Ayame used a skill that made her glow green when reloading, then turned and aimed at the second bird's wings, blowing a hole in it with a weapon skill that blasted ice out in shards after hitting it. She used a power that made her glow blue.

“She's making more mana.” Preshe reported from beside them. Corvayne had his own gun out, but with the birds impacting the ground far away and wounded, He wouldn't shoot from the backline into his allies.

Buh'Bo basically ran at the bird, just taking a hit to connect with the Airfoil Rapier. The blade seemed to be a possible upgrade because it caused her to blur into multiple images as well. Two barrages of attacks with barely a scratch on her, and the bird fell in a heap. Corvayne saw why the System had tagged her. She had incredible defense and obviously had arms that would make wearing them down tough, but he was sure she'd lose if they fought. Poor footwork, didn't try to evade... well maybe she was showing off. Still, bad habits.

Ayame fired once more, this time with a shot that left what look like curling particles at the start and end of the shot. She started packing up her gun as Corvayne blinked and was falling through his Mindscape.

“Oh neat.”

It had been a while since he was here, though he didn't think it was a lack of power to spend. Like many things in the tower it felt fickle. Perhaps it was because he had been hemming and hawing about what to spend his next set of power on.

Hitting the stonework feet first for once, he stood and saw the towering lightning spirit rather then it sneaking up on him.

“SOON” it bellowed. What it was, or why it was in his mind was anyone's guess. He did check what the gateway that changed was, and saw it was magnifying glass again. Identify would have helped him out so much in the past, but he had his plan and was sticking to it.

Strolling up to Growl-Whine he waved. The hooded figure of the spider, somewhat humanoid but still marked by glowing red eyes under the hood waved back.

“Death did not stop you. I would say it was a stupid death, but the foolish woman you fought should have died a dozen times. Now, what do you seek?”

“How far can I create and raise [Essence]?”

The figure thought about it. “Twenty levels.”

“Give me 10. Can I make an Organization pact, then boost Unity to 10 and Growth to 7 then?”

It did what looked like Corvayne some counting on it's fingers. “You would be able to push growth to 9. The system likes round numbers more, but it is something.”

He stepped up the pillar that controlled his pacts, and touched it. The connection he felt seemed to strengthen, strands of something flinging out like a web for a moment, visible as a faint glow that brightened as the rest of his mindscape fell away.

He woke up aware of where everyone else in the party was and stood back up. Grunt had opened the chest for them and doled out items. Corvayne thought about clothes and fished in his ring for one of the maiden dresses, then did some quick tricks with Lythandies powers to shorten it a little before handing it to Preshe. Bell helped her put it on, as they hadn't been able to heal her arm.

There was a blue item, a slingshot that let the user fling ice balls. Corvayne collected some potions and money, then handed out crystals for the first leg of their trip.

“Anyone out?” He asked, and Dot shook her head, which was about how much feedback he actually wanted. He walked towards the end of the arena and saw a twisting stairway heading up into the clouds and one that started down to the ground. He started up to the next floor.

Floor six was a bustling city, full of people that seemed to almost be a lesser version of the Tower Folk. Corvayne tried to ask about stairs but just got a canned line from them about 'Welcome to floor 6'. Lady Blood Claw looked the man he was talking to up and down, and tried a different woman in a pink dress who stopped, turned mechanically, and said 'Greetings Hero!'. Most of the people said that, then continued walking the same walk following almost paths through the city.

The geometry of the buildings that lined twisting roads didn't make sense either, with almost everything being built out of stark reddish concrete. Curved shapes on some buildings contrasted almost brutalist sharp angles on others. Now and then vast walls of windows revealed clean white interiors full of abstract art. Getting around meant they sometimes had to zig zag back and forth on terraces and ramps and bridges. That looked like buildings but were just walls fooled Corvayne a few times before he started to see the signs of these false intruders on the stony skyline. Sometimes nonsense pillars of concrete formed bridges connecting to structures above that they couldn't possibly support. No obvious stairs or method to climb up presented itself, so perhaps there was an elevator. It was stark and the whistling of wind passing through buildings was not diminished by the quiet marching of the oblivious population.

There were fountains but no stores nor monsters on the outside. Dot tugged his sleeve at one point. “What's wrong with them?” She asked. Corvayne was sure he felt through [[Unity]] new emotions coming forward. A worry that she was like them.

“They are asleep. Someday, someone will wake them up.” He said while looking over the landscape he thought might lead them to a stairway, and nearly fell over from comfort flowing from her. He didn't think it was profound, but then caught himself. To a tower folk who spent most of their time in a library, it might have been the most vivid moment of being given wisdom they'd ever had.

Mister I walked over, silent master in tow. “You said there was a plan to get essence?”

“Yes. But we need a monster to eat.”

Corvayne was very proud of the monk that he didn't look innocently at the blank slate humans just wandering around. Eventually he gave in, using his compass to try to find the up stairs and finding a tall building with glass doors in the otherwise featureless concrete. The interior was full of armored crab-rhinos, slow beasts that tried to ignore attacks and corner and crush him. Aside from a close call of nearly getting pushed out of a building, they found a loose formation with Corvayne at the front let them kite and kill any number of the monsters. Likely the danger with them would be if a party didn't meticulously kill and clear them out, as he could imagine them crushing people like shambling moving walls.

Their purple blood meant that the party inadvertently trailed gore everywhere as they climbed the floors, entering fake offices that were empty carpet and triangular structures with glass. A few people were standing there, staring at nothing, alive and breathing but totally empty of anything but the most passive definition of life. The monsters in these twisting offices were something like razor toothed vacuum drones. Leigue informed them they were actually some form of mutated spider, and at a mere level 7 more startling then dangerous for the group. These were stealth predators too, able to find little inlets and shadowy corners to hide and try to strike.

Buh'Bo summoned weird glowing lights that lived to hit the monsters with a super bright spotlight, washing everything out and blinding the hissing creature so that someone else could stab them or shoot them.

Corvayne didn't think they looked edible without a crowbar, which would ruin what he was thinking. The chests on the floor were anemic, mostly containing credits and materials. Corvayne suspected that they had to probably find a way up to get better challenges and rewards, but he wanted a new set of monsters and sent them hiking upstairs, passing out crystals for his hired help. Leigue was the only one who refused it, though Preshe asked him how the crystals compared to copper. Bell stepped in and gave her some pocket change, letting her know the crystals went for more then a gold piece each. That worried the girl a moment but Bell used [[Unity]] and projected protective feelings, and the girl relaxed.

“Have you ever done that to me?”

Corvayne thought about the question. “In bed? Perhaps.”

Bell gave him a smile that she'd expect a demonstration, but Corvayne was thinking about people like Preshe trapped in one way Towers, or trapped because they didn't want to go home. Perhaps he'd start running with five and trying to take some of them up and out. That might explain what the Tier 8 who had helped them in Nel'Ferral's palace had been thinking.

The next floor was sunny and had red concrete, but instead of a huge infinite city, instead there were vertical tower towns between vast farms, bridged by huge monorails on concrete stilts that seemed to go off into infinity when they were not directed at the capstones of this floor 7: Large industrial and perhaps cultural buildings, marked by ornate windows near the top that must be miles tall that caught light going through the building.

The soldier used her gun as a binoculars on request, looking into the neat rows of tilled fields for signs of monsters.

“Found what looks like six legged cat-cows.”

“Are they monsters?” He asked, not that he was worried they couldn't give a farmer fair compensation.

“They are trampling rows of planted crops and one of them is eyeing the regular cows, so yes.”

“Beef. Perfect. Okay, lets see if we can get her essence sight or manipulation.”

Corvayne readied his spear and dagger, leading the group to a tram service tower along the dirt road to the field.

“Preshe, you saw essence move from the bird, right?”

She nodded. “It looks like little specs flying over.”

“Okay. Wait here, see if you can spot the difference in essence transferred. Try to ignore any sounds.”

He pulled his pistol and crouched to use the short stone wall to steady his aim, then plinked two shots at the Cat-Cows. The creatures were sleek and fat at the same time, black and white fur covering muscles but contrasting with round faces and utters under them. The pair he had shot came running for him, hissing and mooing.

Corvayne moved away from the fence, and prepared his kill, using his spear to brain the first monster as it pounced. He had long learned to sidestep and hit heads when fighting cat or wolf like monsters. The second one... he used [Cross Skill: Thresh] to trip it, then steeled himself. It was trying to eat him. Fair was fair. He wasn't the Raven.

Corvayne removed the fur from a part of the monster's leg, using his boot to keep it from scratching him with it's hoof-claws. He pulled the fire breathing dagger and blasted one of the monster's legs. He drank a potion he hoped was actually fire resistance and not just COOL MINT HEAT GUARD energy drink, then grabbed the steaming leg and bit into the living creature.

Corvayne was glad that it was gross and painful, but forced himself to chew the only partially cooked monster and swallow. He checked to make sure Preshe was watching, then did it one more time before killing the creature. Mister I rushed over to him to treat his burns. Then past him, because of course with two dead cows, one already started, it was time to barbecue.

Preshe came up to him. “I saw a difference. The little chunks you took was brighter then the rest of the monster. It glowed stronger.”

Corvayne nodded. “Wait here, I'm going to get one more and want you to try something.”

He had to spend a few minutes to find a beast that hadn't been spooked by the shots. He clipped a leg, but the five others let it quickly move to try to catch him. This time he used [Cross Skill: Nerve Pinch] to knock it out. He grabbed some rope and tied it up, then motioned for Preshe to come over.

He leaned over it, and putting a hand on it's flank tried [[Essence]]. The glow she had been talking about overlapped his vision. He gently tugged at some of the cow-cat's essence, pulling from it's leg. He swore a few motes drifted into his hand as he willed them in, but they were sticky. Even concentrating he wouldn't be able to just drain the monster dry.

He thought about activating [[Essence]] and [[Unity]] together.

“I want you to try touching the monster and drawing that light in. If it wakes up, I'll pin it and finish it off.”

The girl nodded. When she neared, still trying to keep her balance while using her hand to pull the hem of the too large dress above the uneven gravel road, Corvayne felt through the bond she felt somewhat safe because so far his requests had been very reasonable. He felt a little guilty, as Mend and [[Unity]] probably were doing a lot of work. She was under mend and that tended to take the edge off negative emotions.

She slowed near the monster, and Corvayne put his spear over the monster's head. “Touch it's trussed legs. Try to draw them in.”

When she touched it, she actually first tried to pull her hand away. Corvayne knew that broke the connection, but she tried again while pressed on the monster's leg.

“Do it a few times, tell me when you get tired or draw in some motes.”

She was diligent, though she looked longingly at the cooking monsters just down the road once. “We'll be done by the time we are ready to eat.”

He felt his control of [[Unity]] and [[Essence]] straining a minute after that, and said. “Enough.” before dropping them. He wondered if they ran off mana, since he wasn't tired. “Were you able to move them?”

She nodded, eyes seeking approval. He wasn't sure if he could force the system to give her a skill in essence manipulation, but on the other hand he had done something that a system specialist had said was impossible by touching the strands in the first place. He owed the Dust-Man some lemonade it seemed. Sour Sprig? Sour Springs.

He smiled at his charge. “Great! Cmon. You need that beef more then Mister I does. Those big monsters taste like caramel steaks.”

She ran off and he killed the monster and started dragging it to the fire. Three might be too much, but Grunt could probably eat two on his own.