Chapter Nineteen

“You’re getting quite popular online you know?”

Daphne was lounging back against the wall of the little safe hut they were using as a temporary base, flicking through the spellbook she’d acquired since Will last saw her. Unk was a few feet away in conversation with a female Chinese Climber who’d asked for information about the Zones, and Okembe sat in meditation with his eyes closed and a soft purple aura of Mana bubbling around his body.

“Yeah, that’s the point. You guys are the party, but I want more. A clan, a guild, you know? Like in an MMO? I want to see what’s at the top of this thing, and I reckon it’s going to take more than 5 of us to get there. The Tower will be public news soon enough, it’s already become a lot less secret recently, and when it does there will be other people having the same idea. I’m not rich, I’m not famous, I’m not even that powerful. What I do have is a desire to collaborate and share information, and I’m trying to build alliances based on that.”

He’d been through the spiel with everyone at least once, seeding the idea that once they’d accomplished their goal they’d begin trying to link with other groups, and they all seemed fairly agreeable to it.

“4 of us, at the minute. You sure the other’s going to show?”

Unk had returned from helping the newer Climber, and he gave Will a significant look as he asked.

“No, not really. She was...injured, when I met her. I’m hoping she’s able to push past it, but I’d understand if not.”

Okembe opened one eye and spoke in his soothing tone.

“The Tower is not for everybody. If it was not for your intervention, I may have endured a similar fate. Had I suffered more severely at Jackal’s hands, I may well have made the same choice.”

That got a general noise of agreement, and Will decided to run them through the basic plan for Zone 1 while they waited. They hadn’t been able to set a time to meet, thanks to the mismatch between the Floors and Earth, but the date would be constant and if Metrodora hadn’t arrived in an hour or so they’d assume she wasn’t coming.

“Zone 1 is the Tundra, so we’re looking at trudging through snow, sparse evergreen trees, and a lot of rocks and cliffs. Monsters, we’re talking Polar Bears, Wolves, Ice and Snow Elementals, and apparently there’s been reports of Yeti in the further parts of the Zone. That’s where we’re headed. I’ve been swapping info as much as possible over the last week, and I think I have an idea of where we can start looking for a hint of this Key.”

As ever, trying to select exactly what information he could get away with presenting had been a difficult task. The group nodded along with his words, as he ran through things they’d already been prepared for like the general layout of the environment in the Zone.

One blessing of their week long preparation was that another group had apparently recovered a “special reward” from a Hidden Boss in Zone 3 a few days ago, and though they’d been tight-lipped about what it was, the hints they dropped about the Boss and how they defeated it suggested it was that Zone’s Key Piece. While that might not initially seem beneficial, it meant that Will could use the group as justification for pursuing his plan of attempting to find a Hidden Boss in each Zone. Trying to figure out how to “accidentally” trigger their appearances would be more of a task, but he was confident that the group he’d picked were intelligent enough to get to it on their own without him needing to be obvious. Unless one of the changes he’d made butterflied in a truly exceptional way, he didn’t expect anyone else to unite all 4 pieces before his group could, even if he had to find an excuse for dropping the pretence and telling them what to do exactly.

The group sat and chatted, discussing theories about the Zone and sharing their stories and abilities to get an impression of how the team could work together. Eventually, Will heard a voice calling out from the Spawn Platform, and turned to see Metrodora stood waving with her good hand, a grin on her face.

“Hey, I was hoping you’d make it!” Will called in reply, and the others followed him to greet the final member of their group.

Daphne immediately jumped in and started talking about how cool the story of the explosive that Metrodora had made for the Denmother was, causing the taller woman to blush slightly. Unk and Okembe stuck to polite nods and introductions, while Will embraced Metrodora awkwardly in a side-hug. Thankfully, she went with it, and seemed happy to meet the rest of the party.

“Well, I just went over the basics but we can fill you in before we head out. You okay?”

Will pulled Metrodora away from the group once they’d returned to their temporary base, just to check up on her. Much more than the others, he wanted to make sure she was ready to dedicate herself to clearing the Floor. He wasn’t going to ask them all to go full-time yet, and planned to allow them days off if they wanted them, but with her injury he was particularly worried about Metrodora.

“Yeah. First few days were the worst, but I made up a story about a car crash for the family and they bought it okay. Mum was awful about it, but I’m feeling positive. You say you’re certain there’s a way to restore my arm in this Tower?”

Will nodded firmly.

“Definitely. Daphne can summon a living firebird, I can cut through an Earth oak tree and run fast enough to break every Olympic record in my sleep, and you can brew potions that heal smaller wounds already. You don’t have to search for it yourself though. We’d all understand if you wanted to stay here, brew and experiment, and let us do the dangerous stuff.”

Honestly, having an Alchemist in the safe area was about 75% as good as having one out in the Zone with them, as far as Will was concerned. It wasn’t that Metrodora – that Kat – was weak or couldn’t contribute, and in fact she was probably the most intelligent member of the group including Will which would be a great assist in locating and discovering the Hidden Bosses. It was just that she had minimal combat Spells and one arm, which wouldn’t stop her brewing and helping them plan but could put her at greater risk in a fight.

“No chance. You’ll all end up getting poisoned or something and I’ll need to brew the antidote. It’d be just my luck if I chickened out and the guy who saved me dies because of it, so nope. Coming with. Already made up my mind, made my excuses to the family, and booked the time off work.”

He grinned at that, seeing the fierceness that had first made him want to offer a place in his party. They went back to the group for the final preparations, and then set off for the first of the four Zones.

“Right, before we enter, last check. You all know how to work the Party Interface, right?”

Daphne and Unk both nodded immediately, having figured the system out for themselves long before they met Will. Okembe and Metrodora gave less confident nods, so he figured it was worth one more reminder.

“Okay, so if you navigate to it and concentrate on one of us, as long as we’re alive you can feel our direction and distance. It doesn’t show numbers or a map, but I reckon we can get it to do that somehow if we keep Climbing. We can also send messages, Brunjar says he thinks it’s about a mile distance. It costs some Mana to send the message though, not much but Unk it means you might want to stick close to one of us in case you run low.”

The full Party Interface, which would unlock along with the Clan Interface at Floor 5, had more options and utility but even this limited version could be a life-saver, so he sent a message to the group to demonstrate.

[You all receiving this? Will]

There was a pause, and then replies flicked into his mind as if echoing from afar. He thanked the Tower, not for the first time, for automatically appending their choice of callsign to the end of their messages. Given that the voices all spoke in the same robotic tone, it helped to distinguish between speakers.

[Yep. Unk.]

[Got you. Daph.]

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[Loud and clear! Met]

[Yes. Okembe]

Satisfied they could contact each other if they were separated, Will placed his hand on the gate and they followed. The wood rippled and they stepped through into a flurry of white flakes that immediately soaked their faces. The temperature dropped substantially, far quicker than it could have done without magic, and a bitter wind began to nip at their bones.

“Hope we do whatever it is we’re doing here quick! It’s cold!”

Daphne had already conjured her firebird and was having it sit on her hands to warm them, so she nodded emphatically at Unk’s words. Will started moving, pointing up a hill in the north and shouting to be heard over the wind.

“That’s why we bought the winter clothing, and that’s why Met’s going to be figuring out a potion to keep us warm as soon as possible. We’re heading up there. I reckon that whatever secrets are in this Zone, they’re not going to be near the entrance.”

Trudging up the hill, they began to make their way through the snow, stopping periodically to wipe snow from their faces and shift scarves, looking around, wary of ambush by the Floor’s monsters.

[Telepathy senses three non-sapient minds up ahead in the snow. Okembe]

Even though they’d all previously practised, Will saw Metrodora pause slightly and almost lose her footing at the words in her head. He shot out an arm and steadied her, getting a grateful smile as the group paused and looked towards Okembe. He was crouched low, staring into the whiteness ahead with a serious expression. He’d obviously decided to send the message so as to not disrupt his Spell, and his eyes moved to track invisible foes in the distance.

“Okay, this early in the Zone it’s probably low levelled Elementals or Wolves. Unk, you and me in front. Don’t worry about me, keep Met and Daph safe. Daph, whatever it is your firebird is our best weapon, so do what I know you love to do. Met, if you’ve got any fire, that’ll help otherwise just keep low and do what you can. Okembe, I want you on offense, forget the shield and focus on your sword. We want to wipe them out quick, before they wear us down. Don’t want to waste time this early.”

He’d never actually led a party in the first timeline, though he’d been second in command a few times and had to take over temporarily. Leadership wasn’t his strongest quality, but when it came to the Tower he was confident in his orders. Everybody else seemed to be too, as they all crept forwards as a unit.

The snow kept whipping, but as they moved closer the blur began to clarify and three distinct shapes appeared. As Will predicted, they were Glacial Wolves, and they lunged out of the screen of snow towards the group as soon as they got close. Unk did his job perfectly, stepping in front of the party and bashing the lead wolf aside with his shield. It bounced against the snow and darted around him to attack Will, who activated his Spells and drew the wolf aside to take it down. Daphne’s firebird swooped in and forced another of the wolves to abort its’ attempt to snap at Okembe, who was directing his sword to harass the central wolf and make thrusts at its’ neck. Will didn’t spare a moment to take pride in his chosen allies, but as he dodged a swipe of claws that trailed icy magic and would have had his skin frosting over, he pushed Whisper deep into the attacking wolf’s ribcage, not even removing it before he followed up with a heavy blow from Shout. Thanks to the bonuses to both forms of damage, the wolf was almost defeated from that alone, and as it darted back leaving blood trails in the snow for another charge he turned to check on the others.

Daphne’s firebird was engaging one wolf, but its’ icy teeth were tearing it to pieces and forcing it to reform, which he could tell was draining her Mana. Unk and Okembe were easily handling the second, but neither could land a killing blow thanks to the high agility of the wolves and their ability to dive in and out of the snow to hide and escape. As he turned and cut a paw from the wolf that tried to bite out his throat, its’ other leg scratched his arm and even through the thick coat he’d purchased from the Store it drew blood and caused his elbow joint to stiffen.

“Unk!”

Daph shouted, and as Will dealt the finishing thrust of Whisper to the wolf, he turned and watched as the blackened, singed wolf came close to tearing a chunk from her torso. Unk was there with surprising speed for such a big man, thumping his shield onto the wolf’s back and driving it deep into the snow with a roar, and Daphne jumped back with her firebird swooping in to block her even further. This left Okembe exposed though, and without his shield he couldn’t block the lead wolf as it sank its’ teeth into his calf through his light robes.

Will darted to his ally, swords swinging for vital spots on the wolf. As he reached it and drove Whisper into its left shoulder, Okembe fell with a leg that was covered in a thick cast of ice and his sword dropped to the floor. Will turned back and saw Metrodora, vial in hand, running towards them and tried to draw the wolf away from Okembe so she could get in to heal. It snarled and dodged his swings, trying to finish the dark-skinned man off, and as Metrodora reached his side and tried to pour her potion onto the affected limb it swiped a claw that nearly took her eye out. Will’s Spell-enhanced speed stopped that, thrusting Shout in between and causing the wolf’s claws to scrape against the magical steel with an unpleasant sound.

Daphne and Unk had regained their footing against the other wolf, so he drove his opponent back from his injured party member with intent swings and movements. He cut off every attempt to dodge past him, pressed the wolf back into the snow and bled it with quick motions of his twin blades. It went for one last desperate lunge, but he simply stepped aside and drove Whisper into the wolf’s brain. By this point, he’d weakened enough that his Reflex allowed him to aim even as it leapt towards him.

Hearing the confirmatory “ping!” of the Coins being added to his Sheet, he turned and saw Okembe sat up thanking Metrodora as Unk hacked his broad sword into the final wolf. Daph gestured and the firebird exploded on the creature, melting the snow in a wide circle and causing her uncle to stumble back swearing. As he turned and shouted, the wolf took advantage of the opportunity and tried to topple him to the ground, and Will had to dash in and put it down before it could. Things went quiet for a moment at that, as everyone just breathed and looked at one another.

“Okay, not terrible for a first fight, generally. Okembe, you okay? Daph? Okay, we’ll talk about what went wrong once we’ve found somewhere to camp. Anyone need anything or any more time before we keep going, or are we all good?”

The harsh pace was a somewhat necessary element of Will’s plan. If he wanted to drive Humanity to the 51st, his party would be the lynchpin in a few Floors. He could grind and solo Clear his way to 6 or 7 without too much trouble, but past that he needed a strong team for support. If they couldn’t keep up and handle fights like this without taking a break after each one, he’d have to thank them and look for others, as much as he liked them as people. Luckily, his character judgement had been correct as they all just nodded and picked themselves up, drawing in closer and looking to him for his advice. Suppressing a grin, he directed Metrodora to harvest anything she found interesting from the wolves and started giving basic tips to the others. The party was going well, if he had to judge it this early.

William Sutton/Pioneer [E]

PARTY LEADER: Unnamed Party – Okembe/Trucker_1972/Daphne/Metrodora

Class: Fighter/Enhancer

Strength: 20 (+2)

Endurance: 21 (+7)

Agility: 21 (+2)

Reflex: 21 (+2)

Mind Power: 11

Mind Depth: 10

Skills: Tough Conditioning [E], Ambidexterity [E], Empowered Buffs [D]

Spells: Vigorous Sharpen [E], Alacrity [C], Verten’s Vitality [C]

Bonded Items: Oaken Helmet of the Dryad Slayer [D], Ogre-Hide Leather Chestpiece [E], Soul Anchor [D], Spatial Storage Ring [D], Weight Changing Charm [E], Whisper [E], Shout [E]

Tower Coins: 159