Ifirit discovered a great many things in the short time they had spent in the tower so far. Firstly, he came to the realization that his body was like an inept child. Not only was it almost completely and entirely incapable of conveying any remotely meaningful thoughts, but it also had an instinctual drive to stay near Tay. That would have been fine with Ifirit if it wasn't for the very same instinct dripping into his mind during combat. He almost got himself killed because of it.
Secondly, his body lost mana when the shell containing the roiling flames was damaged. He lost around one-eighth of all his small reserve when he was only nicked by one of the Fey's claws. Thirdly, and quite interestingly, he discovered that his summoner was embroiled in one of the city's crime rings. He found that quite funny, actually. Tay's life was starting to remind him of his own. In all the bad ways, too.
With that in mind, Ifirit was actually growing to like his life. It surely had its regrettable downsides, but it was almost exactly what he was wishing for in the spirit realm. Adventure, mortality, fighting. He couldn't ask for more. Well...maybe a summoner that didn't almost let him die.
They managed to get to the fourth floor in a reasonably short time---as long as you didn't count the three hours his summoner was lying on the floor inside his soul. Since their first encounter, things were going smoothly. Aside from a few scrapes and cuts, there had been nothing comparable to the gash on Tay's leg. One thing Ifirit noticed about Tay was that he wasn't particularly good with team dynamics. He liked to split away from the support Ifirit could provide, and instead fight the monsters in a one-on-five head-on battle.
Ifirit could understand pushing oneself, but doing so without the possible intervention of backup was dangerous, bordering on stupid. When he and Tay were shopping for supplies for this mission, Tay was lightly confronted about that very thing. When asked, he said, more or less, that he didn't want to. Ifirits connection allowed him to see deeper than the facade the words threw up. Although, because of his body, it was still the surface.
Tay emanated a distrust for anyone who called themselves "comrades." He felt, in some way, that regardless of the what or the why, he couldn't trust anyone. It was to the point that Ifirit was surprised by the way Tay treated him. Perhaps it had something to do with his unphysical-looking body, or maybe the connection of summoner and familiar.
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So far, the only monster they had in countered was the Fey at the first evolution, level 1. It made for quick progress through the tower, but it didn't do much for progressing the duo. When a monster dies ---or any living being with mana, their magic is transformed into what is called "essence." That essence then feeds the soul of the one, or many that either killed or assisted in killing the being.
A level 1 monster such as the Fey they'd seen only gave them a minuscule amount. They could evolve solely from just the little 4-foot-tall monsters, but it would be laughably inefficient. Really, the lower-level monsters of a tower only served to slightly impede adventures, and give unevolved beings the chance to fight monsters still within their capabilities to defeat.
Luckily for Tay and Ifirit, the fourth floor proved much more fruitful.
Towers normally had an average of 30 floors, and those thirty floors were usually split into three sections. The first, or the "White sector" was the weakest creature form. For Gholroc, that's level 1 monsters. You'll know you're getting closer to the next sector, or "red" when you start to see monsters of one level higher. You've reached the red sector when there is only that "next" level of monsters. And it's the same for the final sector, "black." The black sector is where the strongest beings reside. Sometimes there are dozens of these monsters, and it takes weeks to completely clear them out. Other times, there's only one, and it only takes one long, bloody fight.
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They saw the first monster in the second evolutionary stage after exploring a large ravine on the fourth floor. The creature was vaguely reminiscent of its predecessor form. It had the same crown of flailing tentacles from before, and what was left of its face was still featureless. The differences lay in their scale; the 20 tentacles were now equal to Tay's arms in width and muscle as they tried to grab at anything producing mana. Its mouth had migrated to the top of its form and was biting Wildly. The rest of its body was inflated. The legs were comically small and appeared to only keep itself upright, and its arms were nothing more them nubs.
Every creature's evolution was different regardless of race. An Oltian's horns could go back into their skulls, or just as likely, their facial marking could become artistic and form beautiful patterns. A human could develop eyes that glowed like the sun or scales like those of the indestructible Veridion race. This was true for magic too. Two beings with wind magic who did everything together could develop drastically different spell sets. Physical evolutions, however, unlike spells, were not always seen as "good." These Fey were perfect examples of just that.
They didn't even resemble humanoid beings anymore and rather were more akin to some sort of carnivorous plant. Evolution was undoubtedly exciting, but also nerve-racking. Even Ifirit himself was unsure what his form would become three levels down the line. He could resemble anything, really. Unlike naturally born creatures, spirits had no such thing as "DNA" that dictated their basic outline. Even if a human could become something almost inhuman, they would still, at the very least, resemble what they had once been.
Spirits didn't have that. Ifirit was lucky when he became a spirit king. He grew a form that suited his taste rather well. But here? Who knew what he would become. One's evolution is most heavily influenced by a person's nature, beliefs, and experiences. Ifirit wondered what that meant for him...
Fighting the level 2 monster, the aptly named "sentry Fey," was a big ask for Ifirit and his summoner. It was, in every measurable way, stronger than them. Every swing of its appendages was deadly and would either shove them into the fifty-foot ravine or entangle and eat them. They had to be systematic in fighting it. Ifirit would need to distract it, using as much mana as possible to grab its attention, and Tay would need to cut each one of the tentacles off, one by one.
That only worked if both parties were working together. It seemed like Tay still didn't understand the value of teamwork as he charged the monster. Ifirit charged as well, trying to still use his plan, if a little more simplistic.
With "eruption", he began searing the Feys grey flesh, his output of mana noticeable in his gradually shrinking form. Tay slashed wildly at the monster, his blade alight with heat as he poured his magic into it. He caught one of the appendages and it fell to the ground, still twitching. Ifirit whirled around to the other side of the monster, drawing its attention away from Tay. The tentacles were like a swarm of bees, darting so fast they were almost hard to see.
Ifirit felt Tay imbuing more mana into his sword and felt the drain on Tay's small reserve. He still wasn't giving him a constant feed of mana, so Ifirit's form was dwindling.
Not all of the whip-like tentacles targeted him, however. Some turned away and slammed into Tay, who had started hacking at the monster's body. His summoner did his best to dodge, but he was slower and bigger than Ifirit and the tentacles were unrelenting.
Tay was flung to the ground like a sack of wheat, his body sliding across the small cliff they were fighting on. He let out a cry as his arm managed to get a solid hold on the uneven jagged surface. The act left him wheezing in pain as he hung over the edge, dangling above the ravine.
Ifirit let out a wild burst of fire, covering the monster in red and orange. The large volume of magic disrupted its mana detection, drawing it away from the helpless Tay, and began blocking Ifirits attack. With an almost invisible attack, it lashed out and caught part of Ifirit's form. The attack sent him twirling down, flame flowing from the hole created by the monster like a broken cup.
It stopped blocking and its tentacles slowly crawled towards him, the blue glowing gems at their ends allowing it to see him as well as he could see it. Ifirit couldn't move, his body refused to follow his commands as it grew smaller. Tay was trying to climb up, but the attack had hurt more than he thought.
Suddenly, the Fey stopped. Its tentacles twitched and then fell limp. Its legs gave out, but the main body stayed up with its disproportionate mass. Ifirit watched as what looked like a tall human, covered in a light-grey suit of armor knelt down and extended a hand to Tay.