Talking with Lucky hadn’t gone as well as Joe had hoped. Andras’ charisma charm still hung in the air like a toxic fog. Joe had suspected that slippery bastard was up to something, and he was right.
Like Joe, the dark elf knew about Lucky’s scavenger’s luck racial trait. The crystal Joe had seen in Andras’ hand earlier was indeed a time crystal. Andras had convinced Lucky to hand it over for "safekeeping," claiming others would kill him for it and that he couldn’t afford to die again.
“Don’t you have a storage device of your own?” Joe asked, gesturing to Lucky's backpack.
“I do, but Andras said—”
“If he says that again…” TJ growled, slamming his fist on the table. “Fuck Andras. Don’t listen to a word that asshole says.”
Dawn nodded in agreement.
Lucky’s eyes went wide like a deer caught in the headlights while Rose raised an eyebrow, tilting her head as if deciding whether TJ was speaking literally this time. Although the system translated their words into a common tongue that they could all understand, the slang phrases between worlds were not always the same.
Lucky rubbed his temple, the movement pulling taut at a thin line of wrinkles. If ratfolk could visibly sweat, Lucky would have been drenched.
Joe placed a calming hand on his shoulder. “What TJ means is just be careful. Don’t count on Andras to protect you. Your storage device is safe from prying eyes, no matter what he tells you.”
“Andras said there’s a rumor of a time hacker who can see everything.”
“Time hacker?” Joe leaned forward, wondering if this was another of Andras' lies to keep the ratfolk in check.
Lucky covered his mouth, his shoulders sagging as his hand dropped to his side. Looking down at his boots, he sighed. “It’s a rumor. I don’t know any more, and I’m not supposed to talk about it. Please don’t say a word…”
“We won’t tell anyone, Lucky. I promise. Scout’s honor,” Joe said, raising his hand. Now was the perfect time to change to a lighter topic. “We have time crystals too after killing the Titan, and some loot—not to mention flex points to attribute. How about you?”
The tension left Lucky, and he grinned. “I found agaric fungi, but I need a proper alchemist to extract them. I’m a Druid, and we have similar ones in our world, but the identification was a bare minimum, so I’m only guessing at the properties.”
“May I have a look?” Brian asked, his tone barely concealing his curiosity.
Lucky nodded and handed over the magic red and white striped mushrooms.
Brian's eyes took on a silvery glow as he examined them, a smile forming on his lips as he inhaled from a vape pen. When he finished, he handed them back to Lucky. “You’re right, they are tageticolor gilled mushrooms. But there’s more intriguing details that I identified.” He puffed smoke from his lips. “Upon consumption, the illusionary effect takes twenty minutes, but if broken down into powder form and consumed in a drink, it is immediate. How much do you have?”
“I picked one hundred of them in the shade of a walking palm tree before we encountered those scary spores on the first floor and Andras decided against tackling Greensnare. That’s when we came across you guys.”
“If you’re interested in trading, I’ll give you five years per twenty mushrooms and a bottle of finished potion if you trade me half.”
Lucky didn’t hesitate. They shook hands, and the time currency transaction took place.
“Pleasure doing business with you,” Brian said, smoothing his goatee.
“Thank you. I much prefer gaining time this way.” Lucky tapped his palm on the table.
Joe felt a pang of the harsh truth behind those words. The little guy hated fighting and didn’t have the street smarts for the battlebox. By trading this way, it didn’t feel like charity; it felt like a fair deal.
Joe smiled. “Any time you have items to trade, we’re interested. Can you find us using your scavenger’s luck?”
Lucky bit his lip, his whiskers twitching. “I… I… I better get back.” His brow furrowed as if it pained him to speak. He stepped back on shaky legs and stared at Joe like he was facing death.
The smile vanished from Joe’s face.
“Lucky, I’m sorry if I said the wrong thing. I didn’t mean to pry,” Joe said, about to stand until Lucky motioned him back with a wave of his hands.
“Not at all, Joe. I must go. It’s been great talking to you. See you soon.” He scampered back to Andras with his little rat tail between his legs.
“What the hell was that about?” Dawn asked, her eyes narrowing as she watched Lucky leave.
TJ drained his drink dry and placed the fancy glass down with exaggerated care, as if fearing it might shatter. “You’d think you asked him to jump on the table and dance naked.”
“Once you mentioned his scavenger trait, he disappeared faster than green grass through a goose,” Rose said with a smirk.
Joe sighed, rubbing his temples. “Andras must have some spell preventing Lucky from talking about it. He’s using Lucky to his benefit, earning time crystals without lifting a finger. He'll keep Lucky around as long as he’s useful. What do you guys think about this time hacker rumor? Think it's real?”
Rose shrugged.
“I haven’t heard any rumors, but I’ll keep my eyes and ears open,” Brian said.
Maybe we could ask Poppy about it,” Joe suggested, though he wasn’t hopeful. The little kaiju might have information, but even if she did, she wouldn’t share it without risking the lich's wrath.
If the rumors about the time hacker were true, was he just another part of this sick, twisted game, or something else? Joe would have to pay real close attention to the lich and Poppy’s reactions when they asked about the time hacker.
Finishing his tea, Joe motioned to the others to listen closely. “If you haven’t checked them already, now’s the time to go over your reward notifications and skill level-ups. If you need any advice on assigning flex points, we can talk about it.”
They nodded one by one, and it lifted Joe’s spirits to see the trust growing among them. Focusing inward, Joe pulled up his stats.
[Ascender #: 69
Race: Human
Class: Rogue
QRL: Bronze Rank, QRL 12
Ascender Status: Orange
Health Points (HP): 140/140
Mana Particles (MP): 202/184
Stamina: 140/140]
[Levels gained! You have reached Quantum Resonance Level 12, Bronze Rank Ascender.]
[Eight unassigned flex points remain; expires in 18 hours.]
[Eternal Honor achieved: Scaler-Increases strength by 10% when scaling objects.]
His brows rose in pleasant surprise at his new title: Scaler. He wanted to pump his fists and yell out but kept his emotions in check, knowing that while Andras wasn’t within earshot, he would notice any reaction.
Excitement bubbled in his chest as he saw he’d also gained a level in Shadow Step.
Dawn nudged him, robbing him of any notion he’d made good at his attempt at a poker face. “You look mighty satisfied with yourself.”
Keeping his voice low, he gave a subtle nod. “Gained a level in Shadow Step. Now I’m not just quieter but also less noticeable to those around me. One of my favorite rogue skills.”
“I could’ve used that back in my home world. Nobody wants attention when it’s the wrong kind.” There was a wistful look tinged with sorrow in her tone. It disappeared as soon as it appeared, making Joe question whether it was just his imagination.
She straightened and snapped her fingers, a blazing spark flying like a mini firework. “Here, I use attention to show people not to fuck with me.” The light show grabbed the attention of the ascenders enthralled by Andras for a fleeting moment.
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“With the way my skill tree’s going, I could have the power of a god at my fingertips.” Her voice turned menacing, eyes glowing golden, her changeling skin the color of ice aflame and her fiery mane like a halo of immense power.
A bead of sweat tickled Joe’s brow. It was almost painful to hold her gaze. He looked away, and the creeping dread lifted.
Dawn blinked, and the light faded, her form shrinking back to normal. She winced in pain. “Shit, sorry. I lost control there. The divine skill’s called Hard Stare. Only supposed to use it on pricks who deserve it. And you, Joe, are not a prick.” She winced. “Now I feel like someone stabbed me in the head with an icepick.”
“Here, take this,” Brian said, handing her a potion. “It should take the edge off the pain, even one caused by a god.”
“Let’s talk flex points,” Joe said as soon as Dawn was feeling better. “They expire in eighteen hours, so we can’t afford to lose them.” He gave a pointed look at TJ, who just snorted.
“Don’t look at me like that. I checked my stats and notifications. All my rampaging paid off. I died a legendary hero three times over.” He tapped his collarbone. “I’m a QRL 14 with a new berserker skill and leveled up my BK machete.”
“You're a legend TJ.” Rose raised a brow. “All we need is a bard to sing praises of how you laid that titan out.”
Brian chuckled. “No need for a bard, TJ loves singing his own praises. Before you punch me, I’ll add that this time your praise is well earned.”
“Alright everyone,” Joe said, taking out a time crystal to refocus the group. “Go ahead and use your time crystal loot.” He demonstrated how to absorb the time crystals so everyone could increase their ascender number. He smiled as his ascender number rose to 84.
The system hadn’t recognized time stored in a crystal; that’s how Andras kept his ascender number the same when he stored the time directly from the injured ascender back on floor one.
Joe still didn’t know why he didn’t absorb the crystal to improve his ascender number. Banking time in that crystal was risky, especially if it was stolen. He stood to lose a great deal, so it must’ve been worth the risk. Joe wanted to know why.
Right now, he focused on the important task of assigning flex points. Joe even split his into wisdom and intelligence, but added two to strength. The bonus title helped cover some of his weakness in strength, which allowed him to focus more on understanding everything about the lich’s game.
TJ wanted to put all of his into strength, but Brian immediately shut that down. “What happens when you can’t rely on physical strength and speed?” He tapped his temple. “There’s more than one reason you need intelligence and charisma. They are not dump stats, you know. If I were you, I’d place—”
“Let me stop you there,” TJ said, eager to argue the point. “I’d rather sit in a bath of acid and hammer nails into my head than rely on charisma.”
“I can see where both of you are coming from, but why don’t you consider slowly building up the ones you’d rather ignore,” Rose said between sips of tea.
Joe smiled, appreciating Rose’s diplomatic approach. TJ immediately agreed, and Brian shook his head in dismay.
Laughter erupted from the crowd surrounding Andras as he finished with a flourishing bow. Joe wondered if Andras leveled up his charisma so he could win over a crowd to lure them into battlebox challenges.
Glancing back at his friends, Joe slid the Titan core onto the table, keeping it hidden with his arms on either side. “Before he comes over, I wanted to show you this—the Greensnare core. Brian, can you use your handy skill on this core so we can learn as much about it as possible and use it to our full advantage?”
Brian focused on the core, his eyes turning to a silver glow. “You can pat me on the back later and tell me how wonderful I am. But I’ve just identified something that could be a game-changer for us.” His dramatic pause nearly killed TJ, who looked like he was about to die from impatience.
“Spill it before I spill your guts,” TJ said with a low growl.
“Threatening to kill me, barbarian? How cliché. Dying doesn’t scare me. When you’re dead, you don’t know you’re dead. It’s only painful for others.” Brian leveled TJ with a look. “The same applies when you’re ignorant.”
“Okay!” Joe cut in, “let’s move on. Brian, what can you do with that core now that we know what it can do?”
Brian looked around. “One moment.”
A new notification appeared.
[Ascender 66 has invited you to join Titan Slayer party chat.]
Brian gave him a gentle nod.
Great idea, especially since they were in a tower made from reanimated kaiju parts that literally could have eyes and ears.
[Accept: Yes/No]
Joe selected “Yes,” and a screen popped up in his vision. He adjusted it to the upper left as he had been used to back on Earth, so it didn’t obscure his view or make him look down.
He frowned at the ascender number next to Brian’s message. Hacking the system to bring back their identity would be one of the next things he’d add to his list. The lich couldn’t control everything. None of the Titan Slayers were going to be known as some random number, especially if a titan had a name.
Skimming the message, he kept a straight face.
[Reagent Name: Greensnare Guardian Titan Core
Description: This mana-forged heart of the Greensnare has many uses for earth and water affinities such as immunity and mana regeneration.
Purity Grade: B
Trade Value: 100 years]
[Using Artificer’s Eye, I’ve identified a few more options that we should consider. Basically, it boils down to a powder that benefits earth and water affinity users or I can elevate it by making a potion we can all use.]
Closing out the message, Joe thought things over. He knew if they chose the powder, only TJ, Brian, and himself would benefit. A smile crept onto his face, it was nice to see Brian was thinking of everyone’s needs and not only his own.
Joe looked up at his team, excitement and determination building inside him. It snuffed out as soon as Andras strutted over with a smug grin plastered on his face. Activating Shadow Step, Joe placed a hand on the beast core, slid it off the table and placed it on his lap.
"I’ve got three battlebox challenges lined up," the dark elf said loud enough, making sure everyone heard. "If you lot want to earn more time, you’d better gamble in the ring rather than hope for another titan kill."
“You saying it was a fluke?” TJ gripped the edge of the table like he wanted to throw it at the elf.
Andras nodded, his grin turning wicked.
“Don’t rise to the bait, TJ. That’s what he wants.” Joe clenched his fist under the table to hide his irritation. Typical Andras, always trying to manipulate the situation to his advantage. He locked eyes with the dark elf, refusing to be intimidated. "We’ll manage," Joe said coolly. "Too afraid to challenge us directly?"
Andras' smile widened, eyes gleaming with amusement. "Oh, I’m not afraid, I’ve beaten you all before. But that one over there," he pointed towards Gaia, "has it in for you." The implication hung in the air, and Joe couldn't help but glance at Gaia, who was glaring back at him with undisguised hostility.
Joe’s mind raced, weighing their options. The last thing he wanted was to play into Andras’ hands, but the dark elf’s words had sparked a competitive fire in his chest.
“Dawn, any idea why Gaia is staring daggers at me?” Joe looked around for Ryan or any other members of the Blanche Brigade, but there was no sign of them.
Dawn leaned in close. “When we first met, she went full murder hobo. I called her out, and it didn’t go down too well. She’s not just competitive—she’s a fucking psychopath if you ask me. She kept going on about deserving special treatment, being a goddess before she was killed by some god named Claude.”
“Sounds a bit cuckoo bananas to me,” Brian said, shaking his head.
“Don’t sweat it, Joe. Ignore her,” Dawn said. “I won’t even waste Hard Stare on her. She knows our party is a force to be reckoned with. Andras is just trying to intimidate you.”
“Someone should tell her it’s rude to stare,” Rose added with a soft sigh, more interested in running her hands over the etched patterns of her mug. “As for Andras, I’ve met his kind before. He’s just stirring up shit, serving it up on a plate, and hoping we’ll eat it.”
“Hey, pencil dick, eat shit,” TJ yelled at Andras, pointing to the screen where sickly-looking ascenders had been watching their game on replay. “The only fluke around here was your first win in the battlebox. Everyone can watch the replay of you cowering, looking like you were going to shit your pants right ‘til the end. Not what I call an honorable win, but others can judge for themselves.”
Brian placed an arm around TJ’s shoulder. “Color me impressed, that’s the most insightful thing you’ve said.”
Tapping his temple, TJ gave a proud smile. “Took both Rose’s and your advice and chucked a point into intelligence.”
Joe chuckled, feeling a bit of the tension ease. Andras stood there with barely disguised hatred, twisting his features.
The weight of the titan’s core on Joe’s lap grounded him and his smile tightened. “Run along Andras, for now the Titan Slayers are not interested in challenging you in the battlebox.”
Seeing that he was losing the interest of the ascenders around him, Andras turned to face the screen replaying their match. He rushed over, his voice growing more high-pitched and whiny with each step. “Don’t watch that! It’s badly edited! That’s not what happened, trust me!”
While Andras was busy trying to repair the damage to his pride and flawless image, Joe felt a tug, drawing his eyes down to the titan core in his lap. His chest tightened as the blue flame made its presence known.
Joe stood abruptly, shaking off his unease, and handed the core to Brian. “You know what to do.” The big guy gave him a sharp nod of acknowledgment, but his eyes were filled with concern.
“Anyone need a refill?” Joe asked, trying to shift the focus.
All eyes in the group mirrored Brian’s concern for him. Now wasn’t the time to explain when he knew so little himself. That was going to have to change.
Walking away to the bunks with his cup in hand, Joe called out to the blue flame in his mind. He was thankful the area was pretty much deserted, given everyone was well-rested and preparing for battlebox challenges or entry into the next floor.
“You promised me a bedtime story,” Joe said quietly. “I’ve survived long enough, don’t you think?”
Pfft, the flame responded. “A mere blink of an eye, young mortal. Compared to me, I was around at the beginning of time.”
Joe snorted. “I’ve only your word to go on.”
“Many great stories in your world to this day are about me and my kind.” The flame flickered brighter.
Joe blinked, making a sudden connection. “A Titan’s Core—is that about you? Did your soul get trapped in that cursed book? And somehow you’re connected to me since I died?”
“I’ll have you know A Titan’s Core is not a cursed item,” the flame said, pulsing a brilliant blue that burned Joe’s chest like heartburn. “You’d know if you’d ever encountered one, you silly child. Don’t run away with yourself thinking you’re like one of those gumshoe detectives from your world or that rather entertaining Sherlock fellow. Now, you get partial credit. I am connected to the book but not in the way you think, and I don’t believe your tiny mind can handle how our souls merged.”
Joe sensed uncertainty. “Stop making excuses. You don’t know either, do you? Perhaps you lost some of your memories, but I remember many things the moment I died. Unless you tell me otherwise, I think you’ve been stalling, recovering your energy, using vicious mockery like a bard.”
“I’m no dragon-humping bard! How insulting. Storytime is over for now until you apologize.”
Joe sighed, shaking his head. The flame was hiding something, but whatever it was, it would have to wait. He had bigger problems to deal with—like Andras and the upcoming challenges.