*DING!* Quest Completed – Congratulations! You managed to fulfill Earnest’s desire. Here, have a common loot box to display my full gratitude.
*Item Acquired!* [Common Loot Box F-Grade]
*New Quest Unlocked* [Daredevil or dumbass] – You’ve entered the Stairwell despite being severely underleveled. You’re either very daring or very stupid. I’m leaning towards the latter, but hey, if you make it back onto a floor, then a new shiny reward awaits!
As with other parts of the building, the Stairwell had been altered too. It was much wider for one thing and the walls were made of stone, like you’d see in a castle. The stairs were set up like those of a medieval tower too, only with no way to look outside. There was a set leading up to what presumably used to be the roof and a set leading down. Electric bulbs had been replaced by lit torches attached to the walls. The only thing that still looked modern was the door I’d just been forced through.
As soon as the goblin in front of me pulled out a knife, an identification message popped up.
*Enemy Identified* [Junior Goblin, Class: Houndsman, Level: 3]
This must be the one who let the dogs loose on my floor. But they couldn’t have all originated here. Earnest’s had appeared in his apartment instead of breaking the door down. The System must be operating on some kind of logic, like where there’s hunting dogs there are owners.
I assumed the goblin would be just as aggressive as its dog had been and so I took a defensive stance with my katana. Strangely, the goblin remained where he was. I’m assuming it’s a he from the voice and face, though it was hard to be a hundred percent certain.
The goblin gave me a strange smile before letting out a screeching howl that echoed off the walls. I winced at the sound and wondered if it was some sort of battle cry. But when the noise had died down, I realized I should just kill the creature and get it over with. A level three also sounded like a promising number of upgrade points.
Using my newly enhanced dexterity, I struck out with my sword and sliced across his throat. The goblin clutched feebly at his throat as his blood spilled out before falling dead a few seconds later.
Wow, that was anticlimactic. Kinda expected more of a fight there.
*DING!* You have slain [Junior Goblin, Houndsman, Level: 3] – Experience Points Acquired
*Achievement unlocked* [Blood Reaver Swordsman 1] - Your Primary weapon has finally tasted blood. Let it not be the last. Don’t stop until it has drunk an ocean’s worth. Every kill will increase your proficiency, making your cuts more precise and deadly as you advance.
I sighed. And the edgy narration just keeps rolling on. Still, using the katana felt really nice now that it had been sharpened up. It cut through that goblin like it was nothing. So easy and yet so satisfying.
Now that I was safe for the moment, my next thought was to warn Earnest about Martin. Hopefully, there was still time.
[ERROR!]
[Party chat cannot be used to communicate between the Stairwell and uncontested floors]
That was disappointing to hear. I was starting to like Earnest, but I had to believe that unless Martin tried another surprise attack like he did with me, that he could handle himself. He’d been in the military. He must know something about looking out for threats. Plus, wouldn’t the message have said something like you can’t communicate with dead players? Instead, it mentioned uncontested floors, which means there’s a good chance that he took the golden elevator down to the next floor. I just have to get down there using the stairs and the party chat should work again.
A faint noise from further down the stairs stopped me. It sounded like hissing and footsteps. A lot of footsteps.
The sounds grew louder until the source of them was revealed. Six goblins were marching up towards me. Each of whom wore boiled leather chest armor and a leather helmet. Four of them carried short swords and the final two had crossbows.
Before I’d even had a chance to react, they’d fired their crossbows. Two bolts flew at the speed of a bullet. One went wide and missed, while the other hit my shoulder. I shrieked as it cut into me and looked down, but no, it hadn’t just hit my shoulder. It had gone all the way through and out the other side of me. I thought crossbow bolts were meant to stick in you like arrows were supposed to?! Hollywood lied to me. There’s nothing to pull out. I just have a large hole of searing shoulder pain that renders that arm unusable. This is far more painful and damaging.
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I had to get goblin blood, but the ones with swords were rushing towards me and the crossbow ones were reloading. Even with my higher dexterity, I’d never get past them in time and the bolts flew too fast for me to dodge. They might as well have been reloading guns.
I did the only sensible thing. I turned and fled up the stairs. Martin had mentioned a roof earlier and since there were stairs going up past the hundredth floor, I had to assume some version of it remained. New jolts of pain hit my shoulder every time one of my feet hit a step. Couldn’t slow down though. If the goblins catch up to me in this condition, then it’s over.
I went up the last of the stone steps and found another door with a round crystal door handle like the others. The System had said one hundred floors and my apartment was on the one hundredth. If I was right, then the roof wasn’t considered a regular part of the tower, which might mean it’s either safer or riskier than trying to fight six goblins with an injured shoulder. My hand grasped the doorhandle to test my theory and when no warning message appeared, I opened it.
Complete darkness hit me for half a second before Nights Eye engaged to show me what appeared to be an unaltered, empty rooftop.
The goblins weren’t far behind and as soon as one of the crossbow goblins caught sight of me; it got too eager and blindly fired at me. The bolt hit the back of the open door, right next to where my head was.
Okay, that settles it.
I went out onto the roof and slammed the door shut behind me. The moment I did, one of the goblins started to open it again. I threw my weight against the door and held it closed. But the other goblins had caught up to their friend and were all shoving their smaller bodies against the door to try and force it open. I was heavy enough to hold them back for the moment, but I couldn’t keep it up forever. My shoulder injury was another concern. It wasn’t just the blinding pain anytime I lifted that arm, but the blood loss that was getting serious. I needed fresh blood soon or I’ll be too weak to fight.
The identification messages chose that moment to appear. I guess sometimes they don’t pop up immediately in case it interferes with a fight.
*Enemy Identified!* [Junior Goblin, Class: Squad Leader, level: 4]
*Enemy Identified!* [2 Junior Goblins, Class: Squire, level: 3]
*Enemy Identified!* [2 Junior Goblins, Class: Crossbowman, level: 3]
“I don’t suppose you have any food on you?” the voice of boy suddenly asked.
I panicked and looked around the open rooftop for the threat I’d missed. But there was no one. Was he behind the rooftop stair access?
“Yo, up here,” he said, sounding like he was about twelve.
I looked up and saw a crow perched on the edge of the door’s roof, looking down at me.
“No way,” I said.
The crow opened his beak and said, “way.”
“How is this possible?”
The bird did a little shrug. “Dunno. One minute I was up here chowing down on a delicious partially eaten cereal bar that some yoga mom had dumped into the trash outside the building, and the next, some deity or alien is proclaiming themselves overlord and starts messing with the fabric of reality. When it had finished, I could suddenly talk and think. So, about those snacks?”
The goblins began shoving together, and the door opened a fraction while I was distracted. I braced myself harder against it to push it closed.
“I don’t have any food?!” I snapped. “I’m just trying not to be goblin meat at the moment.”
“Want some help?” offered the crow. “There’s a guy on the eightieth floor who left martial arts movies running all the time. I used to perch on his balcony and watch them. I know all the moves, wi-cha!” he said, doing a little bird kick.
Frankly, I was skeptical of his fighting prowess, but if he managed to fly into a crossbow goblin’s face as a distraction, then it would help.
“Sure, let’s team up,” I said.
*New Feature Available* [Forming a bond with a companion] – This is not a casual connection like party chat. These bonds are not to be undertaken lightly and are not easily severed. Accepting a companion contract allows both parties to share abilities with one another. Abilities currently available for sharing: Nights Eye.
“What’s Nights Eye?” he asked.
“It lets me see better in the dark. It’s not perfect vision at night, but it's useful.”
“Yeah, that would be helpful, since I can’t see a thing right now.”
[Companion contract? Y/N]
We both selected yes.
*Accepted* [Lucas Hudson, Race: Human, Class: Blood Reaver, Level: 2]
*Accepted* [Hugo, Race: Corvus, Class: Psychopomp, Level: 1]
*Achievement Unlocked* [I’ve heard of crazy cat ladies before, but crazy bird man is a first for me] – Congratulations, you have partnered with an animal companion. Its victories are yours and vice versa, but so are its failures. One of you dying might not kill the other, but they’ll definitely feel it.
“Woah, I can see you now. Wait, what’s a Blood Reaver?” Hugo asked.
I almost asked what a Psychopomp was, but the goblins were really hammering away at the door. On the next coordinated shove, one of them stuck a sword in the crack to prevent me from fully closing it.
“Ready to fight?” I asked the bird.
“Yep! I’ve seen every movie Chase Storm has ever made.”
I frowned. “Who’s Chase Storm?”
Hugo chuckled. “Oh Lucas, so naïve. You’re about to witness a masterclass of his work.”
“Alright, well get ready.”
The goblins were shoving together in a specific rhythm. I waited for the right moment and as they were about to collide with the door, I flung it open.