After another hour or two of grinding, we snuck our way back to the others and called it a night.
I managed to unlock some more skills and add to my current ones as well. We ran into some other goblins that expanded the skill tree, it seems there’s more than one type of goblin. Absorbing the other version connected the two skill trees, similar to how it did with the Shadow Prowler and Howler.
Collecting every type of race of monster might be the only way to make sure I can complete the tree.
It was the next morning and everyone had gotten up in correlation to the sun. Its warm rays of light filled my body and stopped my shivering. We finished the leftover meat that was secured last night for breakfast and prepared to continue exploring.
“Alright then, let’s head to the staircase.” Welm announced, picking the meat from his teeth.
As we turned North, two dishevelled men came barrelling down from further ahead. They came running down the hill from the exact direction we were headed.
They were dressed in average armour with a spear and shield on their backs but no bags or belongings between them. As they got closer I noticed the material from their pants and clothing beneath were torn up and their armour was badly damaged.
“Get out of the way- move!” One of them yelled.
Welm suddenly stopped the distressed young man, holding him by the arm so that he couldn't run away.
“Why don’t you slow down and explain what’s happening?”
He’s putting on that voice and smile again, the same way he did when he approached me at the fountain. The same nice-guy routine that he uses whenever he needs something from me.
“You don’t understand— let me go, it’s not going to stop!” He screamed.
“The kids delusional, probably saw a hob-goblin and went running! Ha-ha-ha-ha!” Jasper laughed.
“No…this thing isn't as simple as a goblin…” The man holding the spear's eyes went dark. A terrified expression overcame his face as his trembling hands clutched the sides of his sleeves.
“Didn’t you guys see where they were running from, they came down from the staircase.” Marcel added.
Jasper gawked at the terrified young men and placed his hand on their shoulders in a casual manner.
“If that’s true then why’re you guys shaking, monsters won’t follow you down to the lower floors.”
“Never safe…we can never be safe…it chased us from the caves and…”
“And?”
“It left the staircase. My consultant told me nothing could leave their floors, so why…why did it follow us down there?!” The young man’s eyes filled with tears as he asked Welm.
“Something on the sixth floor went through the staircase? That’s not possible unless it’s a…heh-heh-heh.” Jasper suddenly broke out into a silent cackle as he turned to his teammates.
The three regulars of the party nodded between themselves, laughing with menacing grins. The look in their eyes was making me shiver, you would have to be blind to not see that something terrible would follow.
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“It’s your lucky day, we’ll be happy to take care of that monster for you. So then kid, what monster was it?”
“What…there’s no way you could fight that thing—”
Welm grinned down at the terrified young man as the subtle confidence in his smile pierced through. Marcel stood beside them with his sword extended out at the man's throat.
“What, monster?” He asked again.
“What are you doing, he doesn’t want to talk to us.” I spoke out but Jasper blocked me from moving any closer.
The man holding the sword couldn't bare another second and blurted out,
“Rhaskan! It was a Rhaskan…now let us go.”
Welm released his grip and the two ran off.
“That’s going to be tricky…” Welm commented.
Marcel was quick to reply as he placed his hand over his head with a deep sigh behind it. “Damn, why did it have to be something with wings~”
“What’s a Rhaskan?” I muttered quietly.
Liv stepped to my side and kept her voice low as she spoke so that the others wouldn’t overhear us.
“It’s a bird species monster that spawns on the thirteenth floor. I’m surprised it’s still out there…” She trailed off.
“Have you heard about this before?”
“Uh? No I…uhm…I just thought that since it was coming from such a high floor that it must have been travelling for quite a long time.” She replied anxiously, slurring her words in between with a nervous finish.
“Oh yeah, maybe.”
She makes a good point though, what if this monster has been out there for a while? Could this possibly be the thing that the Titans Helm group was looking for the other day? It wouldn’t be too difficult for them to put together a team and with their resources I bet they knew about it long before now.
“How could something on the thirteenth floor be chasing people through the staircase, the only monsters that can do that are…I see now.”
A phenomenon that we still no frighteningly little about, it’s rare but in some cases, a monster from higher Floors will be seen appearing on lower floors. Ordinarily, monsters are locked to their floors and won’t be able to travel down but in the case where they do, we named it a ‘Wondering Boss’.
It’s hard enough having a monster stronger than the others on that floor around, creating a big fish in a small pond scenario but there’s something even worse about them. Wondering Bosses almost always have some unique ability which makes them deadlier or more powerful, it makes them harder to beat but more rewarding to kill.
A unique skill or rare item is usually found within the corpse of these monsters which is why they are so sought after and rare.
“What are we waiting for? That Boss is as good as ours!”
“I wonder what kind of rare items will drop from killing it? We can buy all the booz we want!”
“Don’t get cocky you bastard, we still haven't decided how we’re going to handle the loot.” Welm silenced them with a stern bark. Suddenly all three of them glared back at us, suddenly their enthusiasm had faded and instead left behind a heavy aura of bloodlust.
The way they’re glaring at us, they might as well be telling us to run off so they can have it all to themselves. It wouldn’t even be the worst idea to do just that, but that’s not an option at this point. I’m nowhere near strong enough to beat something that came from the thirteenth floor, even if I don’t like it I need them.
The Tower isn't something I can relax in, on my own I might die in a day or two. It’s the only reason I’ve come this far in the first place, besides it isn't just them in this group.
My eyes glanced over to Liv who didn’t have any reluctance to go further, she was definitely going to join them in finding it. Whatever her reasons were she was set on sticking with this group, I wouldn’t feel right leaving her with them. Not with that kind of look in their eyes.
“How about dividing up the loot when we beat it? We each get an equal share and all put in the same amount of work.” I offered.
Jasper stepped between Welm and I, with his head looking down on me, he was trying his best to intimidate me. Leaving barely any room between us he pointed his finger at my face and asked,
“Where’s the logic in that, you trying to steal from us?”
“It’s a good deal, I would take it if I were you.”
“Hmph, and why’s that?” Jasper snorted.
“Those two from earlier are guaranteed to share what happened with ASH, so pretty soon the entire city will hear about the Wondering Boss. If our party takes it out first, there’s sure to be some public interest.”
Jasper winced and took a step back, his mind must have caught up to what Liv was suggesting.
“I’m sure it would be difficult for the party who tried to steal the loot of a boss monster from two hired adventurers.” She added calmly, delivering the final blow.
“You brat…you can’t…” Jasper clenched a tight fist but ultimately had nothing more he could say and fell silent.
“Well then it seems like we have no choice but to continue under those new rules, we all want to avoid trouble after all.” Welm entered the conversation with his typical devilish smile. “I suppose we better get to it then, we have a bird to catch.”