Chapter 64

The lowest level of the tower consisted of a vertical wall with steel pipes protruding in a random pattern. The pipes were slightly thicker than the handle of a sweeping brush, some extended from the wall by a few inches, others by a few feet. Ascending this mishmash of handholds, considering their wide spacing, would have been very challenging to me without the suit, probably not quite impossible, but perilous and difficult. The strength of the suit made it theoretically easy, except that my wounded left hand, even assisted by the suit's fibrous inorganic muscles, would struggle.

I considered employing AGILITY. The level ended maybe 20 feet above us, a Griidlord could certainly make that leap, though I feared it was beyond a level 1 AGILITY such as I possessed. I also feared making a mistake during the leap, hurting myself further, or exposing myself to Lance or one of the others. I had, for now, just one option if I wanted to climb: I had to keep my sword sheathed.

Sheathed is the wrong word. I haven't explored the details with you, but the sword didn't fit into a scabbard. The sword could simply be placed against the suit and if you willed it, it would stay there, like the sword itself understood what it was supposed to do. This created some options, and as I imagined, should I need the sword, that reaching to my waist might be awkward, I shifted it from hip to back as I dashed, where I could hopefully reach it more easily if in an awkward moment.

I glanced at the other contestants. Lance was already making his move, scaling the wall with the determination of a predator. Gideon, Katya, and Lauren were also starting to ascend, each using their own strategies. The crowd's roar seemed distant, almost like a background hum as I focused on the challenge before me.

I raced forward myself. I took my time. I needed to get a sense of AGILITY now that I had a full level of it. I needed to test my hand. I didn't expect that the Tower itself would challenge us nearly as much as we would challenge each other. With that in mind, it made sense to tarry and let some space develop between myself and the rest.

My left hand groaned as I tried to use it. The suit's strength compensated for my injury but I could feel the entwining of suit and man. My weakness became the suit's, just as my strength became its strength also.

Still, with the strength of the suit, my body was more than able for the task. I moved up swiftly, using my left hand to balance myself and find steadying holds, my right was used for dragging and pulling my weight.

Without warning, a bright beam of energy shot past me, missing my head by inches. Lance was firing his BEAM at me, the deadly light slicing through the pipes. Some pipes deflected the shots, others shattered or melted into slag. I realized then how foolish it was to just dash up the tower without a plan. The climbing light-line was only very gradually ascending; I had time to think and strategize.

I watched as Katya nipped around the side of the tower, claiming an entire wall to herself. Smart. She'd avoid the immediate chaos and have a better chance to ascend. Lauren was right behind her, the two of them moving with an understanding that the competition was the competition, and they would lash at each other given the chance.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

I considered my options. Lauren and Katya to the left, and Gideon and Lance to the right. Lance was focusing his shots on me. Gideon's broad back presented just as fine a target as I did. But Lance continued firing BEAM at me, ignoring Gideon mostly. The pipes between Lance and I were blasted away by kinetic force. Others seemed to explode with heat, slag pouring down the tower, spattering on my suit, red hot and smoking.

I climbed awkwardly, barely using my left hand. I shifted to the left, aiming to move to the side that Katya and Lauren had rounded to. Each time Lance pulsed I leaped, and used my right hand to swing me laterally. He was a good shot, but the BEAM had a weakness at long range. The sword pulsed blue before each shot. It gave me time to time my maneuvers. At shorter range the attribute was more potent. Finally, I reached the edge of the face I was climbing. As I rounded the corner, a bolt from Lance's BEAM clipped my shoulder. The impact sent a searing pain through me. Smoke smoldered from my shoulder, obscuring my view of Lance. I gritted my teeth. Just a few more feet and I would have time to gather myself. Time to assess the damage.

I swung from the last pipe, another line of energy searing past me. With another swing, I was around the corner, to the next side, to safety.

The pipes on this side of the tower were undamaged. It made for easier climbing. I took a moment to catch my breath. My shoulder was damaged but not that badly. Katya and Lauren were above me. They climbed in tandem, staying reasonably close to each other.

Gideon and Lance were still on the other side. I could hear the sounds of BEAM and CUT clashing intermittently. The light-line was creeping upward below me.

I knew I had to be smart. It would be nice to bring the fight to Lance, to take him out. But the priority was surviving. The priority was just about making it to the top in time.

Katya and Lauren were climbing roughly even with each other, separated by maybe 20 feet. They weren’t firing at one another; in fact, they barely seemed to be paying attention to each other. A thought crossed my mind, perhaps an unworthy one: they had bonded that night in the bar. We had seen alliances before—Gideon and Lance had arranged to eliminate me, narrowing the field to just the two of them.

I had largely surpassed either of them, and Lance had certainly done so. Gideon was not terribly nuanced, but in direct combat, he was a titan. Had Katya and Lauren figured out that their best avenue to success was to ally, eliminate all others, and then guarantee that one of them would win the suit? Had they invited me that night to try and soften me, make it harder for me to move against them?

I pushed the thought aside. The tower had four walls. As far as I could tell, Lance and Gideon shared one, and Katya and Lauren shared another. There was no reason for me to be a third wheel on either side. I decided to climb across and round the next corner, claiming a wall for myself where no one could aim at me.

I stayed far back. I expected Lance to come hunting for me. I kept scanning the edges of the face I was climbing. I climbed at the pace of the creeping light line.

I could use this time to Flex my abilities. In two hours I probably couldn't change the world. But I could add to my arsenal.

Before my eyes, the 1.7 of BEAM became a 1.8. I considered the damage I could do if it reached a 2.0.

I smiled.

I had time enough for that at least.