'Mister, not Mister' Leigue was leading Corvayne and Lady Blood Claw deep into the Inn's mercenaries. The elf they had hired was now going to be doing some extra work in exchange for a secret that would likely spread far and wide sooner or later regarding stat points. Corvayne also had to consider he had some 'Skill Points' banked, something he didn't know existed. That the system quantified skills one had in different things shouldn't have surprised him: He had watched videos of experts using weapons they were good with to perform weapon skills, but there had been no videos of some kid with a broom handle using some incredible high level staff skill.

He really wanted to have their elf give him his own stat screen, but the man had said that pulling more then he did was exhaustive, and Corvayne wanted it to be the last thing they worked on. The elf was perfectly willing to work with them now that he was able to see unspent points. From what Corvayne figured, the man was moving his finger through a pile of his profiles, flipping them down, then seeing again and again they had not touched their stat points.

Corvayne and Lady Blood Claw, he was pretty sure, were likely the only profiles sitting on zero.

Leigue stopped. “I found one other person who spent them. He was a prince from a kingdom on floor 65, getting fed essence from his Tier 7 parents.”

Lady Blood Claw looked pleased. “And would they share their secret or kill you for knowing it?”

The man put a cigarette to his mouth. “I have 162 unspent stat points. I would kill me. Is your backer going to find me and kill me for knowing?”

Lady Blood Claw stopped and thought about it. “We can ask him if your concerned. It's a walk. Maybe give us some highlights as we go.”

She pivoted and they went deep into the bar, the wood changing color to include gray purple iridescence. Their hired help slowed as they neared the first ring of tables to where they were going, which last time Corvayne had pegged as temptation. Some of the tables were certainly different. He tried not to stare at unfamiliar faces in alluring costumes sizing him up. On table had a woman at least thirty feet long lounging sideways, assets just barely in her dress.

Corvayne fully averted his eyes when he saw familiar faces. As often as he saw aquatic forms writhing and beckoning, he too saw women who looked like the Spears he had hunted with. There were tables where other versions of Bell were regal, and others where she looked like a street walker, oddly with the former meek and the later defiant.

Now and then he'd see twins of Wick or Hari, even a Seru with curled horns, lounging topless while playing with her phone. In another booth he saw a glittering female golem, not quite Diamond but perhaps tugging from what he thought she might look like if she was carved out of her glittering moon.

As those doppelgangers faded out, he passed a single table where a tall woman in a breezy white dress with silver hair and shifting skin looked up at him, and just smiled softly at him while turning pink with pure joy, then he was past temptation. Lady Blood Claw wavered between dark yellow and a blue with teal spots that Corvayne didn't think was embarrassment. Leigue's hands were shaking. Corvayne saw a sheen of sweat on his forehead and that he was smoking two cigarettes at once.

“Mister and Misses, what the hell was that?”

Lady Blood Claw shook her head. “The first layer of the deep bar.”

He opened his mouth a little, cigarette dangling, then closed it. “There is no such thing as the deep bar. You think of who you want to find, walk, you find them.”

“The Dust Man operates past the second layer. I think there's more...”

Corvayne kept going. The wood became a dull green, warped and forgotten. Around them where tables with shadowy figures. Corvayne had wondered last time if they were ghosts. He had an urge to ask Leigue about what his powers were telling him, but turning around he saw that the elf informant had gone white as a sheet.

“First the erotic, then the macabre. Are we going through the layers of hell? I saw faces I knew, ones who were long gone.”

Lady Blood Claw nodded. “You won't die if you sit down, but... they have nothing to say. I also tried once to see if the alternate versions extended to people I knew passed, but it slowly diverted me here.”

Corvayne didn't ask LBC what she saw in the previous section, or this one. It was odd to him that they saw people they knew, and most of what he was was vapor, wisps that didn't look like anyone or anything. Maybe because his memory was poor. Or because the people he cared for were in the present, and rarely in the past.

They then went through a space where the bar was empty. The wood of the floor became gray, and while Corvayne saw walls it felt like they were hazy in the distance, with tables flowing by devoid of anything.

Then the warmth returned. They entered a place where Corvayne felt was fit with great warriors. He saw rippling muscles but also well put together men and women decked in artifacts. Many of them wore black jumpsuits that reminded him of Bearer-of-Burdens or the one Lady wore. Leigue slowed by a table that looked to be a woman with green feather wings and an worn green naval officers coat over her shoulder. Perhaps because she didn't seem to be quite as fancily dressed.

((System not compatible. Pulling closest information.))

Maiser Elsdragon, Queen of the Hornet Galaxy

Threat assessment: Delta Obsidian++++ – This being has several godslayer titles.

Self applied message: What did I get myself into this time?

Tier 10 – Warrior -> Warrior -> Warrior -> Warrior -> Warrior -> Divine Being -> Warrior → Empress → Warrior → Closest match (((Divine Power Star Goddess Blade Avenger)))

Notes: 9999+ unspent stat points.

Notes: 243 unspent skill points.

The woman looked over, almost lazily, and they all Froze. She was about the same height as him or Lady but it was like being under the gaze of a mountain, a thousand thousand miles of black obsidian behind her. Her red eyes looked at each of them, then smiled.

“Don't be rude Leigue Del' Coran.” She smiled at him, and Corvayne threw an arm out to help their hired man not crumple under what he suspected was focused intent.

The woman turned to face LBC then said. “((Her-Real-Name))” and Corvayne heard screeching like metal on metal with static. It felt like something clicking in his head, but the spoken name caused Lady Blood Claw to crumple to the floor, black thorns erupting from her. Corvayne rushed to put himself in front of LBC, but the woman stood and did something that felt almost like [Juxtapose] did but was as far apart from that as a match was to a star. As she did, the bouncer came screaming at her, but the woman did something and the manifestation stopped, for a moment looking something like a hundred foot black cloud with arms and steaming red eyes, then backed away, a faint bow before it faded.

The woman then bent over and gently helped the twitching Lady Blood Claw stand, gently pushing the thrashing black thorns off her.

“Hmm. Might have damaged this girl. Didn't know she had some true name issue... let me fix that real quick.”

She pulled out a leather purse that was the same brand as what Seru wore, an odd detail to notice while Lady Blood Claw was twitching, but she pulled out a gold potion and with a click on the bottom shot it into her mouth.

“Sorry about that kiddo. You guys can carry her for a while? She'll be right as rain in about five minutes.”

She turned to Corvayne and then paused. Her face was cloudy. “Oh of course I'd meet you here. It's the right one too. Nameless one, your mother is looking for you. What are you doing over here?”

Corvayne spoke up. “Who is she?”

She started to speak and paused, then put her hands on Corvayne's head. It was like being touched by a star, her hands ten billion degrees, but somehow the unimaginable heat didn't hurt. He was just aware that if whatever she did to hold back was broken, it would ignite everything in the Inn for miles.

“Shit. Kid, you are rigged like a bomb in there. You need to untangle that.”

Corvayne felt her scrutiny and it was distinctly uncomfortable. He had never had the feeling of being watched register in his colon before, but now he could. Even through all that, he felt a hint of annoyance at that statement.

His mouth, of course, was not frozen like a mouse, and he heard himself say. “Miss Goddess Maiser, I do not want to be rude given you are some form of divinity, but that is information I'm well aware of.”

“Yeah how couldn't you be? Listen, I SHOULD kidnap you right now and pack you back to... your mom, but this is your moment, and I'm not going to ruin it. You kids run along, and don't go scanning strangers, all right? Oh, and if she asks...”

The being, possibly packed with the power of a galaxy of stars all pumping energy through her, looked almost a little scared. “I never saw you, we never talked, and I didn't know you were here.”

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

Corvayne took Lady Blood Claw and put one of her arms around his shoulder. Her skin was locked in a sort of peach yellow and purple mix.

“Leigue take her other arm.”

The elf looked shaken as he complied. Corvayne was trying not to let himself get angry. The man probably had never even seen anything on that level. It was a mistake. This might be the universes equivalent of Mt. Olympus.

“No more scanning until we are out of these weird sections. We are alive because that woman is merciful.”

“She knew your mother, are you from...” His voice lowered in reverence. “Floor 100?”

“Probably not.” Corvayne said. “Keep her steady. We are almost there.”

Though [[Unity]] he could feel the other man was agitated, perhaps knowing he was close to death. He also felt respect and a little bit of calculation.

The wall that looked nearest veered into booths, and between what looked like a phoenix the size of a starship having tea with a spider made of fruit and a booth where two beings both made of screaming souls wrapped into black jagged forms were playing checkers, the Dust Man sat, waving as if he just looked up and found expected guests.

“Well Nameless One! A surprise. Is your friend perhaps drunk?”

Corvayne looked over to Leigue and saw that he was frozen in time. Meanwhile, Lady Blood Claw was breathing softly while leaning on him. [[Unity]] told him she was dreaming, perhaps a good one from the soft feelings that drifted from her.

“Our hired ally had a request to scan people, and he tried to do so in this part of the bar.” Corvayne said.

“Oh, well then your all lucky to be alive. Whom did you upset?” He started to drink his lemonade, which was an odd gesture because Corvayne would think anything wet would destroy the dust that formed him, but he was also halfway sure given the last experience that this was, in fact, a god, and likely Falenti himself avoiding putting his name out. A little sugar, lemon, and water was unlikely to harm him.

“Maiser Elsdragon?”

The dusty figure stopped drinking for a second and gave him a look. “Mom's here? Huh. I should let her know I'm alive again. Do you mind waiting a bit? My friends can chit chat.”

He vanished, but didn't animate Leigue so Corvayne was stuck in the booth with Lady Blood Claw leaning on him, and the shadowy figures across the booth sort of, well, he couldn't tell where they were looking.

“Hello. My name is Corvayne. Sorry to impose.”

All of the shades whispered, all at once. He felt there might have been five of them? Corvayne heard.

Hey bro/No need to be so formal/Hello Corvayne. It is a pleasure to meet you./(Away)/Hmmf. Another cocky adept.

He got a sense then of the size of the shadows. They felt bigger then him, but more like three story houses instead of looking up to a mountain.

“Did F- Did the Dustman freeze my hired help?”

Yep! He wont keep them that way./He has an annoying habit of doing things like that/Yes, sorry for our rude host./(Away)/Of course he did. The jerk thinks it's funny to show off!

Corvayne started to sort the voices out. The first made him think of a girl. Hylals age? The second sounded a little more world weary, a man. The third was a woman, and reserved. Perhaps a noble lady? Nothing from the fourth shade aside from it being away. The last seemed to be... what did Gary call them? Angry and Lovey-Dovey? No, it was snappier.

“Oh. Well, I'm mostly just here to ask if I can share how to apply stat points.”

I bet he wouldn't be mad if you just did./The guy is like an illusionist who keeps pulling out ways to get stronger./You are right to ask. He might have told you to give you an advantage./(Away)/Hah! Just applying stat points? Here I'd think you'd be on our level, I bet you don't even have feats or talent points assigned!

Corvayne felt something in his skull tighten, as if it was a suitcase that had already been full that someone had stuffed a few extra pairs of socks into.

“It's my fault, but be really careful about telling me anything more about systems. It seems like there's information that's literally dangerous to me.”

Well, everyone in your universe is infected with Class/Subjob, so we can talk about that! Our classes might be different though/That's her dumb ass fault./I am sorry about our foolish companion/(Away)/It's not my fault you didn't know about them, Idiot! Stupid!

What a pain in the ass she must be. Corvayne thought as a waitress came with a refill for the absent god, and three fresh lemonades for them. She had some trouble getting around the frozen Leigue, so Corvayne leaned over to help her.

“Thank you.” The woman bowed, stepped away, then re-appeared a moment later with three plates of spaghetti and meatballs.

Corvayne helped pass the plates over, and was about to say thanks but the waitress vanished. She probably was another fixture of the space. More and more Corvayne was sure that it was all sort of a skin over something like the collective unconscious, but he had Spaces-Torn-Asunder tell him that there were lots of things where it was better to just accept you knew that A lead to C and not worry about B. Of course, given how Spaces-Torn-Asunder operated, it was never about science and always about his wives.

The Dust Man slid back into the booth. “Sorry. Back. Hope my party wasn't too unruly. So, what can I do for you?”

“I was going to ask for your permission to reveal to someone how to assign stat points.”

The Dust Man nodded. “It's not supposed to be a secret, but all the same I hope you traded it for something worthwhile.”

“I trust Lady Blood Claw.”

“I suppose the party member glued to his seat is the information person you hired. Very well.”

The Dust Man snapped his fingers and Leigue started to move, looking surprised. The elf didn't have much time to react as the being made of dust snapped his fingers, this time for attention rather then as part of some other effect.

“I am the Dust Man. A humble go-betweener. Might I know your name?”

“Leigue.” He started to reach for his lighter, fumbling for the first time that Corvayne had seen him. The gray man across the table held out a finger with a fire on it and sent it to the cigarette tip, lighting it. Corvayne was pretty sure that there was something profound in how the Dust Man was moving and creating fire, but it also might have been seeing a god perform a cantrip.

“Well, my helpers here are going to entrust you with a secret. I take it as a system explorer, you probably enjoy learning about these little side tricks. I'm looking for help. Perhaps you are interested in helping me find outstanding talents?”

The man shrank a little in his seat. “I... “

The Dust Man snapped his fingers and sighed. “Nameless One, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you and your friends. On the other hand, this guy is a free lancer. Any thoughts?”

Corvayne wished that Lady Blood Claw was awake. Both for advice and because she had gone from some sort of shock-coma to drooling on him.

“Getting stronger has a lot of moving parts that I possibly never saw or understood when I was training as a Watcher.”

The Dust Man nodded. “Take your time. It's relative out here anyway.”

“The system is sort of like a very complex vehicle. Almost anyone can sit down and flick on, push the pedal, and get somewhere. But it has thousands of things that you can do to pilot it better it seems. Or perhaps, there's ways to change it from a land vehicle to something that flies. But it needs infrastructure. You need to have the parts to build something that is exceptional. So, I need an organization. All my friends have different skills and strengths and weakness, but most of us are just fighters. We need... I guess things like a person who can dismantle creatures and get us meat, because that helps stats somehow. We need people who can identify items and people to sell them and buy more powerful stuff. Crafters to get us vehicles and homes and eventually new weapons. We should have done this entire run with hovercycles.”

The Dust Man Smiled and nodded. “Keep going.”

“I have a curse that's blocking experience, don't I? Then there's got to be ways that boost experience. Every time I go into my mindspace, there's different doors. Which ones do I need? How do I get a door I don't have to show up? Growl-Whine did it, she needed a mind control power and somehow got it the same run. I need a way to talk to her. I should see if there's a stat that improves what we find in chests. Or a class that just boosts how fast I can get more powers and pacts. Me and Wick got killed in ambushes. We need detection skills...”

Corvayne stopped. Where was it coming from? He wasn't a leader.

Snapping fingers. “Don't stop. Keep going. You have time.”

“We need to explore a planet that's extremely hostile. Lady Blood Claw tried and failed... we need more Classes, or people who can teach us and the ability to switch. All this stuff exists, doesn't it? I know that's a question you might charge me for, but I'll put some of that on Leigue in exchange for telling him how stats work. I could probably ditch all that and try to force my way though the pilgrimage to remove my curse but that Bride, who probably is attached to The Magus, she was trying to stop that from happening. I need this guy to recruit for me.”

Lady Blood Claw started to stir and put her head on his shoulder.

The Dust Man laughed, his voice having an element of electric tin to it. “Very good. So... what do you need?”

Corvayne found a pad and piece of paper, and ate while writing.

They needed specialists to get information. He needed someone he really trusted, which likely meant Hari and Undine. Leigue was better at the same job, but was an unknown and clearly had gotten his 'path' class to reverse engineer builds.

Better to hire the man to find them talent. Corvayne and their group had gotten good at training and protecting newbies. [[Unity]] was earmarked by the Dust-Man as important. Corvayne was starting to feel it might be the most powerful pact he had. He had a feeling it would help when he needed to form new bonds with quests, and to smooth the risks out.

Every person needed Essence. It was what raised levels. He was sure it had something to do with the god before him had told him they were doing a poor job of harvesting it from monsters. He also suspected that he could be helping with new pacts. [[Growth]] possibly helped with it, but he made a decision.

Recruits: Essence Specialist. Pacts: [[Essence]] 10, [[Organization]] 5.

Levels gave them raw health. More stats. A naked high level fighter tied the entire group up.

They could base themselves out of Cascadia, and there were some advantages to that. They had Nel'Ferral close by and Bell made them a good ally. They could base it out of the Imperial capital, but he suspected it would find the same drawbacks that he thought being inside Cascadia might have: Too much interference from the powers that actually owned the area. The source was his second pick. It just was removed from modern convenience.

The third option he though of was the ruined manor above the containment facility that Spears was in. That was owned by Wick or Anastasia, depending on the day, but would give them access to potentially study the curse.

He would need to consult his friends on that. He did want to make sure they could get into the Tower, and ideally they'd be close to one of those waypoint totems that let them move.

He added 'Can we buy a waypoint totem?' to a list he marked as 'dumb questions.'

The next thing they needed were people who could get them treasures and raw materials for things like potions and the meat exchange that Mister I had been salivating about. They would need equipment to possibly get into places in the tower that were difficult or impossible for most people to reach, and to be able to escape trouble or survive long enough to get back to where a support party was that could kill anything trying to eat them.

[Treasure hunter/finder]

[Gatherer?]

[Butcher]

[Additional assistants for Mosh]

Back to pacts and powers. He had heard the Dust Man encouraging them to do quests. The system was pushing these tasks too. A lot of the tasks he was given involved finding things. Sooner or later too he and his allies would be looking for The Watchers. If not just for answers about his past, then because his experience with Spears and Diamond suggested that sooner or later they would find him.

He added an arrow up to the top of the paper and wrote Quest: Find Diamond.

He then backed down and wrote after the two pacts: [Upgrade Compass twice]. [Upgrade Gravity twice]. [Upgrade shadows twice.]

By the time he got to that, he suspected they might have someone or a few people who were able to boost their essence gains. He wanted to start driving [[Growth]] and [[Understanding]] and [[Unity]] up, but given that to raise them he needed to deal with the Tower itself... it might be time to dip into [[Tower]]. He wasn't sure he'd touch [[Love]].

Wick. The enterprises he was spinning still revolved around her, and whatever the feelings in his heart, she was friends with most of his friends. He had to trust Hari to handle whatever was going on with her soul. But he also needed to be sure that Tripic didn't send a group of assassins after them on Cascadia or in the tower. Or at least had time to actually escape.

[Shield specialist/Ship builder]

[Spy Master/Hacker]

Some of that could also possibly come into play for exploring the Tower itself. Leigue clearly had thought they were a part of some high powered group higher in the Tower. Corvayne didn't think that was just speculation at all. There were groups he had heard of. Wick was killed by Illuresi, and the inn keeper from floor 3 had named them as well. He wanted to be strong enough that nobody messed with them, but that meant he'd have to kill the big-big-big brother of bandits sooner or later.

[An expert who has fought and overcome other Tower groups trying to kill them]

[A group specialized in killing people who kill other tower explorers]

The Bride came to mind. Argyle had been one too. Gary and Seru had a term for what had happened based on the tabletop games they had in common. Threats that could kill an entire group on their own.

[A group specialized in neutralizing a TPK].

He scratched that out. Was he willing to lose a couple of friends to take out The Bride? The organization he wanted to make was going to abuse his pact power to make monsters. He looked up at the Dust Man, who had folded hands and was considering Corvayne. His eyes were electric slits, blurring and buzzing. No one could sit across from him and mistake the shifting particles as human. What would Corvayne be willing to become to keep his friends safe? When something on the level of the man across the table came for them? When a being like the Magus, who was able to twist Diamond into a becoming a moon aimed at an entire planet, decided it was time to destroy Cascadia? Or... that he wanted Lady Blood Claw dead?

A bit of black crystal formed from his leg, and he reached down to yank it out of the Jam Jammies. Looking down at the absolutely idiotic looking strawberry pants he was wearing, he started to laugh at himself. He did laugh as he pocketed what was a knife made of money. The answer was obvious wasn't it?

He would do whatever it took.

He wrote down [Become the TPK].