Chapter Eleven
“No. Again. You’re still too slow.”
Will sighed, rolling his shoulders and dropping the Spell. He took a sip of mana potion, and then raised a hand once more. He sank into a state of focus, visualising his own mana pool. According to Galliar, having initially perceived his mana pool as a balloon, he was stuck with that and had to work with it. Unfortunately, unlike the coal furnace that Galliar and his soldiers envisioned, the balloon wasn’t as receptive to the specific training techniques they used.
“Crippling Strikes.”
Saying the words out loud wasn’t necessary. There were only a handful of Skills and Spells that actually required it, even if most people defaulted to it instinctively. It helped fix the purpose in your mind, and acted sort of like a starter pistol to a sprinter. As the words left his mouth, Will tried to envision the path that the mana was taking out of the balloon in his core.
The veins in his chest and arm felt warm, and as he kept his thoughts fixed on their layout he watched the energy rush up to his shoulder and then down to his fingertips in his mind’s eye. An almost imperceptible vibration of his fingertips marked the Spell successfully casting, and he cast a hopeful glance at the swordswoman Galliar had roped in to be a training partner.
The tall, lightly armoured woman swung her blade at the dummy in front, and as the sword parted the fabric and caused the sand inside to begin spilling across the trampled grass of the training ground, Will saw the telltale frisson of reddish light run around the wound’s edges. He looked at Galliar, who nodded once.
“Better. You’ve reached an acceptable level of competence with the Spell, I suppose. Thank you.”
The last part of his sentence was directed at the swordswoman, who gave a stiff nod to both Galliar and Will before hurrying away to rejoin her unit. It still felt weird, interacting every day with dozens of people who were nothing but shadows, memories of the past given form so Galliar could train Climbers in a familiar environment. He wasn’t even sure how long he’d been here, in this strange section of the Tower with only the imposing Class Trainer for company.
“The training is almost complete. There is little more I can teach without granting you my Class, and I am forbidden from teaching that.”
Not for the first time, Galliar’s words contained a hint at his origins. Forbidden, not unable, not unwilling. Will noted it, as he always did, and calmly replied.
“Thank you for everything you have taught me so far. The gains I have made here have been substantial, even if I was forced to leave without the Class I came for.”
Galliar laughed once, a short sharp noise, and shook his head.
“You’ve been sufficiently hardworking and it has been good for me to teach again. If you are an indication of your species’ capabilities, then I look forward to seeing your Climb conclude. Now, enough small-talk. Do you still have those 2 Skill Points saved?”
Will nodded quickly. He’d been saving them for when he could access the War Enhancer Skill list, and it was no surprise Galliar had made note of it with how many times the man had looked at his full Sheet.
“The Skill you want is called Vanguard Enhancement [D]. It will take a portion of any buffs applied to you and automatically share them across allies within a certain distance. I cannot tell you how to improve it, but if you do then it can be quite potent. You do not fight as I do, and this Skill will help compensate for your tendency to lead from the front.”
Now that was an attractive proposition. One of the biggest sticking points, as Will had gone from battlefield scenario to training course to lecture, had been his impulse to break from the backline and get involved in the fighting. Part of it was his instincts from the first Climb, the need to be there to deflect and defend. The other part was less defensible, the subtle part of his soul that urged to compete and to succeed, to be the best. It was the same part that had tried to push him towards a different Class, a different approach. He could have gone full damage, full solo, and speedrun the first few Floors.
“You are probably anxious to return to your Clan. We may as well return now.”
Galliar’s words brought him back to reality, and the mention of his Clan brought a rough smile to Will’s face. That was why he hadn’t taken the solo route. Metrodora, Okembe, Daphne, Unk. Brunjar and Dane. Every single one of the people he’d recruited both personally and indirectly deserved better than that. Quickly, he hurried to follow the Class Trainer, who’d begun striding for the main camp on his long legs.
“You’re on the cusp of C Rank. No Spells or Skills below E, and all four of your primary Stats are at or just below 40. When you obtain the Class, you will be able to place two Free Points into your choice of Stat. I would recommend Mind Depth so that you can sustain your buffs longer. As you begin to work with larger groups, the mana drain will be your biggest foe.”
Will nodded, taking his Jungle Shaman’s Coronet [C] from Galliar and returning it to his head. He’d be the first to C Rank, unless something truly strange had occurred while he was gone. With nothing to do but train, and with neither of his mental Stats being sufficient for the Elite Class initially, he’d upgraded Tough Conditioning to Potent Conditioning [D] and even managed to improve his Soul Anchor to C Rank. Now he had his gear back, he was ready to reform the party and push for Floor 10 without stopping.
“The final step is to grant you the Class.”
As Galliar said those words, he reached under his chestplate and pulled out a small thin book. It didn’t look like a Class Guide, and had it not been for the small green gem socketed in the middle Will might have asked what it was. He took the slim leather volume and looked it over quickly before activating it.
“If there are other members of your Clan who you wish to send to me, I will train them. They must be Enhancers of at least mid-D Rank, and I will teach no more than 5 at a time. If you abuse this right, and send those who are unworthy, or if too many of your Clan members fail my trials, I will retract the offer.”
Will almost dropped the book. The War Enhancer Elite Class was hardly famous in the first timeline, not one associated with many A Rankers or any S Rankers, but a big part of the reason for that had been the difficult of acquiring it.
“Are you sure? I had expected you to tell me the opposite, that I should allow people to find or not find you of their own will.”
That was the policy in the first timeline, as far as Will knew. The few War Enhancers he’d known of had all claimed to have acquired the Class themselves through long searching. Even the fact it was on this Floor, tucked away in the region it was, had been something Will picked up from overhearing discussion and not proper information release. Maybe the War Enhancers in his time had been lying, to preserve the uniqueness and value of their own abilities.
“I’m certain. In your first day of training, I watched you have a breakthrough in the midst of a battle, and then turn around and fight till you were near-dead to protect the Tower’s fabrication of my soldiers. I thought then you might be a martyr, the sort that will throw himself uselessly into the grinder out of misguided heroism. You have convinced me otherwise, and I would hate to be disappointed.”
Heat rose in Will’s cheeks at the reminder. In the moment, he’d been unable to watch the soldiers die, even knowing that they weren’t real or sapient. It wasn’t his only mistake of that sort, honestly. Throwing himself against the Floor 1 Boss without a plan, almost dying trying to save Metrodora in the Drake Cave, drawing the occasional assassin or attacker away from his Clan to fight so as not to risk his allies’ health. Other than the Floor 1 Boss, he didn’t regret these actions as such, but the reminder that his death would help nobody and hurt many still caused embarrassment and guilt.
“Thank you, again, Galliar. Not just from me, but from the whole of my people. I will use what you have taught to ensure that we Clear this Tower, and you will be remembered.”
That managed to provoke a smile out of the Class Trainer. Despite his somewhat dry and prickly exterior, Galliar had formed a rapport with Will that had the younger man counting points whenever he earned praise or a mark of approval. Galliar waved his hands, as he often did when things got sentimental, and pointed at the book in Will’s hands.
“That’s my personal Class Guide. The original. It doesn’t have any special effects, I’m sorry to say, but I want you to have it. Clear the Tower, Will. Do what-nevermind. Just do what you can.”
He’d stumbled over his words at the end there, as though he’d been about to say something forbidden, but Will thought he got the message. Do what I couldn’t. While the full story of Galliar’s Climb was something Will had been unable to learn, the hints he’d obtained painted a tragic picture. A war-hero, a general, an icon amongst his people, forced to remain in the alien contraption that caused their downfall. Forced to assist others as they made the same mistakes, suffered the same failings. The idea of it scared Will more than he was willing to admit. The Coin of Second Chances had warned of more severe penalties for Humanity if Will failed to lead them successfully, and spending time with Galliar had provoked him to begin worrying about what that might entail.
He thanked Galliar once more, feeling kind of silly but not knowing a better way to convey the gratitude he felt, and then opened the Class Guide and let it take effect.
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“Elite Class Acquired – War Enhancer
Class Rewards
2 Free Points available.
Reduced cost to maintain buffing Spells on targets other than yourself.
Choice of Class Perk
1. Aegis of the Army – Moderate increase to power of all health and defence related buffing Spells
2. Spell Broadcaster – Moderate increase to effective range of buffing Spells
3. Spell Nexus – Extra mana costs associated with additional Spell targets reduced by a moderate amount”
He resisted the urge to ask Galliar for advice. He knew, as the man had already explained, that he couldn’t offer any more guidance once Will had obtained the Class. They’d discussed the available Perks before returning to the Tower proper anyway, though Galliar hadn’t been able to predict which 3 the Tower would offer Will.
Spell Nexus was the obvious choice, helping with the exponential increase in cost that each target added to a Spell. Even keeping it up over a dozen or so soldiers in Galliar’s training scenarios had been draining on a level Will could barely tolerate. He could reach Floor 10 with just himself and the other Chancers, but past there he’d need to bring at least two other parties for some of the Dungeons and Bosses that they’d face. Being able to assist them all, and not just his closest allies, would make a huge difference.
He dumped the Free Points into Mind Depth, as Galliar had recommended, and then broke out into a silly grin when he saw his overall rank improve to C. He’d planned on reaching it soon, but clearly the focused work on his Skills and Spells had paid off more than expected.
“Unique Achivement: First to C Rank.
You are the first Climber to reach C Rank. Congratulations on being at the forefront of your species.
Choice of Reward
1. +10% All Stats.
2. Improved upgrade speed for Skills and Spells
Would you like to broadcast this Achievement? Y/N”
Will quickly selected the upgrade speed bonus and the Yes option, before pumping his fist in the air.
“Yes! Fuck you Arakan! Not this time!”
It might have been slightly petty, but Will was still annoyed at having let someone else beat him to D Rank. Arakan had, according to rumours, got a flat +2 All Stats from reaching it first, and seeing that Achievement broadcast across the Tower had put him in a bad mood for a full day. Now though, things were where they should be. He stood in the place he’d been aiming for, at the very top of the Climber population, and he could already see the membership of Towerfall increasing in his mind’s eye once news got out that he’d reached C Rank already.
Galliar had gone around the back of the hut to grab Will’s mount, and as he brought it around he gave Will a polite clap.
“You have reached C Rank before the rest of your people. This is good news.”
Will had to agree. Taking control of his mount back from Galliar, he found himself wondering how it had survived tied out back while they spent weeks in a demi-plane. Shrugging it off as part of the Tower’s weirdness, he swung himself on top and opened his Party Menu to see if any of the Chancers were within range.
No luck, unfortunately. He said his goodbyes, promising to visit Galliar when he had a chance – the man might not be able to give him any more training, but Will felt bad for him being alone with a portal to the fragments of his failed past. Kicking his mount into a gallop and enjoying the feel of the clean air rushing past his face, in contrast to the thick miasma of death and war that permeated the entirety of the training region, he activated his Clan Connection Ring to talk with Brunjar.
“Will! I saw the achievement, congratulations! You must have obtained your Class, then?”
The man’s enthusiasm was obvious, but there was a hint of something underlying the tone of his words that gave Will pause.
“Yeah, just finished. Things okay with you and the Clan? Are any of the Chancers still on Floor 6, or should I come down to Dunebed?”
“They’re all here. Things are okay, but there have been some developments you’ll want to hear about. The last month has been somewhat chaotic.”
“A month? Not as long as it felt like, then. That’s good. What sort of developments?”
The pause before Brunjar replied was worrying. Will trusted his Clan to handle themselves, but as Floor 5 filled up the potential for all sorts of trouble would have been building. He stopped his mount and stepped off, breaking the connection and allowing it to go free. No point wandering the Floor when he knew his place was below, and he didn’t actually know how to transport creatures Floor-to-Floor, despite having told his Clan that it was possible in the first place.
“Conflict between groups of Climbers and the Denizens. We think it’s the FCA.”
That clinched it, and Will didn’t even reply, just breaking the connection and focusing on his Recall Sigil. Appearing in the familiar desert of Eastern Floor 5, he broke into a sprint. He’d known something like this was coming, but he’d hoped to avoid it for a little while longer. He needed to go back to Earth to see Blanik, needed to reunite with the Chancers and push for Floor 10, and the disruption had him equal parts irritated and worried.
Dunebed became visible fairly quickly, thanks to the paths that had begun being laid by the Clan’s builders and the signs directing people on the fastest path from spawn to village. He could see that its walls had been expanded, both in height and thickness, and there were several archers wearing the red cloaks of Towerfall stood on top. Will took a final glance as his Sheet, dismissing the speculation and theorycrafting he’d been doing as he ran, and started waving to them while he drew closer.
William Sutton/Pioneer [C]
PARTY LEADER: Chancers – Okembe/Trucker_1972/Daphne/Metrodora
CLAN LEADER: Towerfall
Class: Fighter/Enhancer/War Enhancer
Strength: 35 (+3)
Endurance: 33 (+10)
Agility: 42 (+2)
Reflex: 40(+2)
Mind Power: 39 (+3)
Mind Depth: 40
Skills: Potent Conditioning [D], Ambidexterity [E], Empowered Buffs [D], Vanguard Enhancement [D]
Spells: Brutal Sharpen [D], Alacrity [C], Verten’s Vitality [C], Endure [D], Glacial Pace [D], Bleeding Strikes [D], Caster’s Reinforcement [E], Pain Ward [E], Crippling Strikes [D]
Active Effects:
Mark of the Snow Sentinel [C] – 50% Resistance to Cold and Cold damage
Boots of Jungle Serpent Swiftness [D] – 25% increased dodging and running speed
Class Perk:
Tower Coins: 1859