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That was the box that all new climbers received once they entered one of the towers of the guardians. The last time I saw the message was eight years ago, that’s when it was no longer viable to live outside the tower. Now eight years later, I and the rest of the human race camped at what we think is the door to the final room of the tower. The 40 foot stone doors have the engraving of [100-X], so we were pretty confident that this was the final boss, all boss floors had an X symbolizing ten or death, I never honestly figured that out.
We had no idea if it was the last floor, but the wiser of our group assured us that the scripture of the guardians has a big thing about the number 100. I, however, had more significant concerns at the moment, finding my team in a sea of 10 thousand people. That’s all that was left ten thousand and some change, out of 8 billion people on earth, 10 thousand humans remained, and we weren't even on Earth anymore. Earth was lost to us the monsters that the towers spawned started to become too high for us, and we had to abandon it. As I grew closer to the area that I thought my guildmates where I thought back to the meeting, I had just left.
Our brave leader Alistar, the guild leader of the [Pegasus] guild, had called a guild master meeting. In it, Alistar laid out his battle plan; his guild would lead the charge, while the other guilds play support and control role. To tell the truth, it wasn’t a poor plan except that it didn’t play to the strengths of the people involved, Alistar didn’t think they would lose, so he wanted to be known as the man that saved the human race so instead of putting the strongest people in the roles he wanted them to play second fiddle. Yes [Pegasus] had some strong people like Tenchi the blade master, but he didn’t compare to Master Chi from the [Emerald Dragon] guild. Even Alistar himself wasn’t the most powerful Tank but who could say no to the white knight himself. Max thought it was bullshit, but he didn’t have a voice at the table, out of the 40 guild masters, max had the smallest guild consisting of 5 members.
We were the social outcast the trouble makers the class clowns, the infamous [Hold my Beer] guild not notorious for crimes or being evil, no because we were the idiots the laughing stocks of the human race. So max just sat there while people praised the idea and celebrated the infinite wisdom and heroics of the white knight. Though we had a bad reputation didn’t mean [Hold my Beer] was terrible; actually, we were a good guild that took in all sorts the ones cast out for being too weak or being socially awkward or too annoying to be around. But as the humans fell in numbers, the guild slowly lost members from death to abandoning us for other guilds that offered better protection and gear.
So it was down to the final members funny enough it was also the founders of the guild too. The guild consisted of 1 squad, Will the Blademaster, and the all-round most annoying person you would meet; I still didn’t know how will could yammer away for hours on end, even in the middle of battle his mouth was moving more than his blade. Daren, the Scottish redneck, known as Dwarf, and he was a dwarf got a rare race change that turned him into the mythical race. It gave him increased strength and constitution. However, his outer appearance didn’t change, yup he had the nickname before the race change, Will swears he got taller after the race change though. Then there was J, now J never spoke out of the 15 years I've known him I heard him say two words Shut and Up both directed at Will. J was a wizard probably the most powerful wizard. Still, he never went full power always using just enough to get the job done, no more no less, so we never had a full gage of his skills. Then, Alice, She was our thief and healer, she had a weird Shadow magic that allowed her to heal and stealth, she also like whips and leather and Punishing Will whenever he crossed a line. Lastly is me their fearless leader, the man with the constant headache Max or Maxwell or Mister Hunt, I was a spell slinger I use guns and magic a rare class that I had only heard of 3 others having it. As I approached the campsite that I could make out Will's constant Voice as he talked about anything everything all the time I pulled up my status.
Status: Maxwell Hunt
Race: Human
Class: Spell Slinger
Level: [432]
Floors accessible: [1-1] … [100-9]
Health: [378,470/378,470] Mana: [878,540/878,540] Stamina: [657,460/657,460]
Attributes.
Strength: 686
Dexterity: 1,453
Consitution: 498
Intelligence: 1,154
Charisma: 682
Luck: ???
Skills
Gunslinger Rank [Grand Master] Level [ 92/100]
Spellcraft Rank [Master] Level [59/100]
Spell Sling Rank [Master] Level [59/100]
Alchemy Rank [Master] Level [1/100]
Gunsmithing Rank [Master] Level [89/100]
Qi Cultivation Rank [Heavenly Knight] Level [7/9]
***
Spells
Fire shot Rank [expert] level [89/100]
Frost Shot Rank [expert] level [42/100]
Trap Shot Rank [Expert] Level [12/100]
Magic Shot Rank [Master] Level [1/100]
***
After nearly 18 years of climbing the tower, I had gathered a plethora of skills spells. While this seemed impressive to me, I was dwarfed by some of the elites like my gunslinger skill was grandmaster there was a pure gunslinger in the [climber union] who was a world master gunslinger and rumored to be close to the next rank god rank. Each rank had 100 levels, and while progressing the early levels were easy in each rank, the later 60 levels were a grind. But gaining a new rank would allow one to acquire a unique ability related to that skill, but they weren't all the same. For example, I had a rare ability for the gunslinger bullet-time; it allowed me to slow my perception of time for a total of 3 seconds, to me. However, it felt like 30 seconds. I received that ability at the rank of grandmaster. However, the [climber union] gunslinger had a different ability at grandmaster Dragon Cannon, and it was more powerful than anything I could do.
“And I'm telling you the [Valkyries Rest] ladies said that we could crash their party” Will's voice came over the general noise of the war camp.
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“and I just saying that if you go over there, you won't see the battle tomorrow because the Valkyries will kill you in a heartbeat” Alice’s voice of reason was soon to follow.
“Why would they hurt me? I'm positively charming,” Will continued. I shook my head and approached.
“oi listen up, Battle plans have been decided, so will before you go off and try to find a deaf Viking, shut up and listen. J put the book away for a second, Daren put the Bottle down no one is chanting chug,” I said, getting my guild to pay attention my Australian accent, which remained after all this time and I was proud of that.
“what about me boss,” Alice said innocently fluttering her eyes at me.
“cut the cutesy crap, Alice, it serious,” I said, looking at her; she was quite beautiful, but she loved will for whatever reason, and the idiot didn’t realize. Also, she might be the scariest woman in the tower. Clearing my throat “the guild masters, have agreed with Alistar's plans once again, [Pegasus] will lead and fight the boss while the rest of us are going to be playing support and fighting any of the add’s{additional monster in the boss fight}” I said with a grim tone, “where on left shoulder this time as well with the [Sun Empire] Guild”
“fuck me; he's just thinking about the glory right,” Daren exclaimed.
“yup so drink up find something to do, this might be the last night we live,” I said as I pulled out a dinted flask from my spatial ring. It was a magic flask, an uncommon item, but necessary for dealing with the last eight years, endless whiskey. “time of attack 10 am so don’t get too drunk” I took a sip of my flask and tossed it to will then retired to my tent to sleep.
The next day I was standing with the guild master of the [Sun Empire] Lou Tung as we prepared for the upcoming fight. “the scouts say its another Pit demon like the ones on this floor but 30 foot tall and with an extra set of arms” Lou said, in a concerned voice. Pit demons were ugly creatures with the head of a pig, a fat body and the legs of a spider, colossal health pools, and wield greatswords in each hand, which they already had four.
“adds?” I asked him, nodding my head.
“Just about everything fast and dangerous. Feral souls, Hell hounds, bone fiends, Wrath demons and Imps,” he replied.
“shit, this is going to be bad what direction they come from” I cursed
“every which way but where the pit demon is,” he said.
“so we have to hold off a horde, so the winged bastards attack a single enemy” I took off my Akubra and whipped my brow. Feral souls where a type of zombie they were easy to kill, but in hordes could easily take you out; Hell hounds are wolves with black skin and flames instead of hair, bone fiends are a nightmarish skeletal creature that likes to leap around, and skewer you with their claws. Wrath demons where skinny red-skinned warriors that love to strike hard and fast while imps where annoying wind babies with a pension for throwing fireballs and dodging nearly all attacks. “my squad will take the rear, your guild cover left flank?” I said to Lou, tossing out an idea.
“Yeah, sounds good; I know how you squad works should be fine, but ill also send Dallas’s squad to back you up.” He added,
“yup worked with him before, so no problem from me and his mages have greate AOE coverage.” I said, dusting off my jacket, putting my hat back on shaking his hand “hope to see you at the end of this, Lou, it been a pleasure to working with you.”
“the same max, don’t listen to what the others say, you guys have heart, and that’s all a guild needs,” he said with a simile. It wasn’t the first time working with the [sun empire] for the last five floors we've been stuck together at parts it was rocky, but eventually, they realized that even though we looked like a bunch of drunken idiots, we were good people, and comrades.
With that, I dragged my squad to the rear left of the 10 thousand man raid party, Dallas and his team wasn’t far behind they took the corner and the rest of the [sun empire] made up the back half of the left flank. I shook hands with Dallas said a few words shared some consumables between the squads, potions, buff foods, ammunition. Just because Alistar and his Winged ponies think this will be a walk in the park didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try and keep the people around me alive. I went over to the rear squad that was next to us. It was the [Valkyries Rest] guild an all-female guild that had the firm belief that females were just as great as warriors as the male warriors, and they were, maybe, better than a lot of the other guilds. Olga, a German woman was the squad leader for the squad next to us, and she was a mountain of a woman, she was taller and more muscular than me carrying a sword and shield decked in plate armor, she was terrifying but a lovely woman. We said our greetings and shared supplies and past on the word to the rest of the rear guards; soon, we had runners jogging up the back lines passing out spare potions and distributing buffs preparing for the fight. I had a thought the guilds in the rear even though we weren't the most prominent guilds or strongest [Sun Empire] [Valkyries Rest] [Talon Agency] [Finding wally] and Us [Hold my beer] if we were to die I would be proud to fight along people that actually had some brains. While we in the rear where preparing Alistar was giving a speech must have been good because the front liners were cheering, shouting war cries. And in all this will was quiet, everyone was grim and ready over the last three years we had become soldiers dangerous and accepting that fact that we could die every time we fought. But will have never broken, always talking or singing and smiling, I looked over, and he was just as serious as the rest of us. That would not do. “Will, Sing us a Song, will ya,” I said to him; he didn’t have a lousy voice just lousy taste in music.
Cough cough cough “♫… Love is a burnin’ thing …♫” Will started to sing I swear that guy had a singing skill or something because it broadcasted across the line “♫… And it makes a fiery ring … ♫” at least he picked a classic. And by the course, the line was singing the old johnny cash song as if that ring of fire was the hope and fear of what to come. “seeing as we all love fire lets do another” Will called out “♫ The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire ♫ Ouch what the fuck Alice!” that’s better I thought with a smile.
“The doors are opening prepare to move and be ready for a fight!” the line watch called out. And we all started marching towards the doors.
One minute into the raid.
“Hold the line guys, Ready weapons, once they're in killing range, KILL!” I called out to my squad the boss room was massive, with no walls blasted landscape and just darkness beyond, the pit demon was going into a monologue, bosses usually did that. But we were facing a littler swarm of creatures only on the border of the darkness. They hadn’t moved yet, and we weren't going to make them move. Then we heard the battle cry of [Pegasus] guild, and we all clenched our weapons a bit tighter because the horde cried back, and the raid was officially started.
Ten minutes into the raid.
“Alistar’s Dead,” J said, his words cutting threw the battle like a knife; it was the third and fourth word I had heard him speak.
“That doesn’t matter, just keep fighting we will survive this” I yelled this back as I shot another hell hound in the face that was leaping at Daren.
1 Hour 45 Minutes
“ALICE NOOO!” Will screamed as Alice got ripped to part by a trio of bone demons, “ILL Kill you ALL!” Will Screamed Red QI Streaming off him and his blade. He broke formation diving into the horde, and that’s the last I saw of him
2 Hours 30 Minutes
My guns had not stopped firing I was down to my last 100,000 mana no potions no heals, J was blasting and swearing his head off I saw the manic look in his eyes he had snapped, I didn’t see the wrath demon that shoved a long sword threw his spine.
2 Hours 45 Minutes
Daren and I were back to back. There were so many of them and so few of us. The line crushed I could see small squads fighting surrounded by the horde the Pit Demon boss was down to his last 30%, but there were so few [Pegasus] Fighting it now. “here” Daren said passing the flask into my hand “forgot to give it back.”
3 hours 2 minutes
Daren died, I don’t know how he was there then the horde was, I had switched to regular rounds in my gun instead of magic shots, and burning threw stamina I looked, and I knew I was not going to make it. The five wrath demons charged me.
“bullet time,” I activated my grandmaster's ability and managed to take 3 of the wrath demons down with three insanely quick headshots, then the last 2 skewed me with their swords.
Old Time Flask Upgraded
The Old Time flask has been upgraded. it is now a Legendary item
New ability unlocked
A Flask from the past
At the user's time of death, the flask, as well as the memories of the user, will be transported back to the moment of entering the tower.