We left the village and made our way towards the fishermen's spot. The path consisted of interconnected skywalks, suspended from the base of the Tower above us.

"I thought about it the whole night, I am really thinking that we could try to convince a fisherman to fly us further away, to avoid being close to the Tower, and then find a way to raise altitude to reach over the floors controlled by the Emerrit. Only then could we return and land in a safer area," I explained as we carefully traversed the paths.

"That could work, but I doubt no one has tried it before," Carol replied.

"Once we arrive at the village, we should ask around and gather more information," I suggested.

"Yes, we'll see. Maybe it's a fuel iss--"

Before she could finish her sentence, a bullet ricocheted on the path near us. Quickly, we took cover behind a nearby metal sheet lining the skywalks.

"What the fuck!" Carol exclaimed.

I cautiously peeked over the barrier, only to have another shot fired in my direction.

"I can't see who it is," I reported as I quickly hid back.

The skywalk began to sway as people rushed in our direction.

"We're being attacked!" I exclaimed.

Two Watoo in reinforced suits emerged from one of the corners, wielding metal pipes. Carol swiftly stood up and swung her hammer towards the head of the Watoo in front, but to our surprise, he blocked the attack with his pipe.

As they engaged in a struggle for advantage, I slid on the ground and positioned myself in front of the tall woman. With a quick stab, I pierced the left foot of the attacker, causing him to lose his balance. Carol capitalized on the opportunity and pushed him over the skywalk, sending him plummeting to his death.

Suddenly, another shot rang out. Carol was launched towards the side of the walkway, then dropped to the ground. She had been hit in the shoulder, but fortunately, her newly upgraded armor absorbed most of the impact and stopped the bullet.

"Are you—" I began to ask.

Before I could finish, the second Watoo swung his pipe towards my head. I swiftly used my sword to block the attack, but he continued his momentum, attempting to reach me. He was much stronger than me, and I struggled to defend myself and push back.

While still taking cover, Carol slid her head between the Watoo's legs and forcefully stood up, flipping him over and causing him to crash violently onto the ground. Seizing my chance, I delivered a final blow, stabbing him in the head and ending his threat.

Another shot was fired, prompting us to quickly seek cover once more.

"They're strong," Carol observed.

"No, we're weak. We shouldn't even be here with our levels," I explained.

Glancing at my received XP for the kill, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount.

+1285 XP

"They give a lot of XP though," I noted.

Carol nodded. "Yes, I noticed. Hopefully, we can level up faster," she said.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"If we survive," I added.

She smiled.

"Alright, there's one left. What's the plan?" Carol asked.

"Did you see where he is?"

"Nope."

"This floor has people with guns. It's freaking nuts."

"At least they're not automatic weapons ... so far," Carol remarked.

I wondered if the technology would become more advanced the higher we climbed the Tower. It seemed to make sense in a gamey kind of way.

Suddenly, we heard movement, as someone was running along the metal paths.

"He's moving," I informed Carol.

She looked around and proposed a plan.

"My new armor seems capable of absorbing his bullets so far. I'm going to stand up and run in the direction of the footsteps. You take this opportunity to quickly peek while using your 'Hide & Seek' ability."

I shook my head :

"No, there's only one of them. We can take him. I'll peek, but without using the ability. It has a 12-hour cooldown, and I prefer to save it for when we really need it."

"Smart," she remarked.

As the footsteps drew nearer, Carol nodded at me, and I returned the gesture, signaling our agreement.

She swiftly stood up, covering her face with her arms, and ran towards the noise. I moved quickly to gain a better vantage point, peering down the paths.

BAM!

Another shot rang out, hitting Carol in the chest and causing her to fall backward.

"Putain de sa mère!" she shouted.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yes, but it's so painful, and it affects my health. I'm also having trouble breathing from the impact," she replied.

She glowed green as she used a health patch.

"Did you see him?" she questioned.

"Hmm... nope," I replied, grinning mischievously.

"I'm going to punch you," she said. "Alright, one more time, find him this time."

She quickly stood up again, and I focused my gaze, attempting to locate the source of the shots.

BAM!

This time, the bullet struck Carol's arms as she protected her head. She collided with the side metal sheet, falling to the ground once more, shouting in frustration.

"Enfoiré de sa mère de merde de fils de pute!" she exclaimed, clearly furious.

I had no idea what she just said, but she clearly was pissed.

"Are you... okay?" I asked softly.

"NO!" she shouted back at me. "Did you see him this time?"

"Yes," I said proudly.

"Alright, one more time. This time, take him out."

"I've got you," I replied.

She took a deep breath and stood up once again. As she did, I aimed my crossbow and shot just as the assailant was peeking to take another shot at Carol. My bolt struck him in the head, and he fell backward. However, he had time to fire and the Frenchie was hit once again, and for the third time in a row, she fell to the ground.

"I hate this guy," she muttered softly, surprising me for not shouting this time.

I stood up, quickly scanned the surroundings to ensure no one else remained, and then walked over to Carol, offering her a helping hand.

"I got him," I said, smiling.

"You better," she replied, grabbing my hand and rising to her feet.

Using FOCUS on the first Watoo I had killed, I obtained some information :

"Watoo Bandit Level 11; Mob

The Watoo bandits roam the walkways around Sky City on the first floor of the Tower. Violent and solely interested in gold, they are known for their surprise attacks and ambushes."

"Level 11, no wonder they were so strong," I remarked.

"We need to level up," she observed.

I nodded in agreement.

We looted the bodies of the two bandits still on the pathways. The shooter had a pistol, and using FOCUS, I gathered more details about it.

"Makeshift Chuchu Pistol, Category I Generic;

A subpar pistol typically owned by Watoo bandits. It can only be armed with one bullet and requires some time to reload."

I tossed the pistol and some bullets to Carol.

"You take it. I have a crossbow," I said.

"Okay," she replied as she inspected the pistol and learned how to reload it. "Okay, I think I've got it. It's like that thing kids have, where they throw rocks with."

"A slingshot?" I suggested.

"Yeah, that's it. But with a powered mechanism of some sort."

She added the pistol to her inventory. Apart from the pistol, the loot consisted of only gold.

"I'm close to leveling up again," she mentioned.

"Me too," I responded. "Knowing about the reloading time of the pistol can be useful."

"How so?" she asked.

"Well, now we know that it takes time to reload, which means if they shoot, we can quickly move," I explained.

"Oh, yeah," she replied simply.

Continuing on our path towards the fishermen's village, we encountered a "crossroad" of sorts, with a dozen different walkways interconnecting.

"What's this?" Carol inquired.

"If you look closely, you'll see that they actually connect back further down," I pointed out.

"Then why—"

Carol was abruptly shot in the chest, causing her to fall to the ground.

"FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK!" she shouted, lying on her back.