On his last day on the First Floor, Ray checked up on the last few things he had left before heading out.
“Don’t think I’ve forgotten our deal, Ray,” Virko said.
Ray tutted. “I’m the one who called you in. Of course, I know you haven’t forgotten anything, Virko.”
“Just making sure.” The Halftyr merchant held out his stubby arm. “Are you ready to surrender it?”
With the Floor Lord dead and the Sylvans no longer the supreme ones on the First Floor, it would have made more sense if Virko had decided to chum up to the humans. After all, the Floor was theirs now. Not so. If anything, Virko had grown bolder and more businesslike, losing his former affability for a strict, professional demeanour.
Ray focused for a bit before the Tower Node of the Mentor appeared before him. “Here you go. One Tower Node, as promised.”
He didn’t mind letting that Tower Node go. Not only was the associated True Mana skill not one that was going to suit him, the actual ability of the Node—that of creating his own little training dungeon—wasn’t going to work long-term. Because the created dungeons would be capped to a certain Tier, which would inhibit his Essence gain.
Especially since the Second Floor would no doubt be filled with stronger dungeons. No, considering he hadn’t used the Mentor Tower Node’s function even once outside of setting up the farm, he really didn’t need it.
Ray had considered which Tower Node to give up for a while. His first choice had been that of the Songstress, but having a pocket dial to call up a gigantic monster wasn’t something he could dismiss so easily. Not when he could potentially obtain and channel Flight Mana thanks to the other Tower Node, that of the Abstractor.
Virko took the proffered Tower Node with clearly avaricious hands. He set it almost gingerly on his carpet full of wares. “And in return, I have all your—”
“I don’t want all those mana crystals,” Ray said.
Virko looked at him, a little stupefied. “You don’t want them? Any of them? There are a lot of them, you know.”
“I’m aware. But they won’t be that useful to me anymore. I’m heading up to the Second Floor soon and my class evolved so I don’t use regular Mana anymore. So, two things, Virko. One—do you have anything beyond crystals? Two—do you have anything specific for True Mana?”
“Hmm. I do have some shards. I suppose you’ll need those more on the Second Floor. For True Mana itself, I have nothing, I’m afraid. I don’t specialize in any specific variant of Mana.”
“Shame.”
Virko scowled, bushy eyebrows drawing down mightily. “You start collecting one specific type of Mana and next thing you know, you’ve got customers complaining why you don’t have their obscure type with you.”
“Glad I never got into the service industry. Anyway, I’ll take the equivalent amount of Mana shards for all the Mana crystals I gave you.”
Virko handed over the required number of shards. It turned out the shards were worth exactly twice as much as the crystals. So, Ray got half the total number of shards as he had given Virko crystals.
Since Ray couldn’t store Mana crystals and Mana shards in the same inventory pocket of his Bag of Holding, he purchased an even bigger Bag of Holding to store everything. Well, bigger in terms of inventory space. It cost him the majority of the Mana crystals he still had left. He was tempted to exchange the leftovers for more Mana shards, but he withheld himself.
It might prove useful to have some Mana crystals on him. Ater all, walking around with only hundred dollar bills made going about your day a bit less convenient than having some twenties and fives as well.
Virko looked at Ray a little suspiciously as they concluded their business. “You’re not going to ask me about the Second Floor?”
Ray raised an eyebrow. “Do you know much about the Second Floor?”
“Not really. But I’ll give you a free piece of advice, since you’ve been an excellent client so far. Don’t trust easily on the Second Floor. It’s going to be more chaotic up there, because you’ll have more Towers joining in, and that can create… complications. I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle it, so I picked the First Floor as my business.”
“Wait, hold on. What do you mean more Towers joining in?”
“They didn’t tell you?” Virko grimaced. “Your Tower of Forging is a higher-grade Tower than most nearby Towers. As such, Denizens who pass the First Floor in lower-grade Towers are allowed a one-time traversal opportunity to a higher-grade Tower.”
“So, people from other Towers who completed their First Floor can come into this Tower’s Second Floor? Is that what you’re basically saying?”
“Correct. Expect to meet more Denizens with a variety of experiences, though perhaps, most won’t be as strong as you.”
That was… definitely something for Ray to consider as he headed out to the Second Floor. Thanking Virko for the advice, and saying farewell for probably the last time, Ray left to meet with Kredevel.
“You’re also staying back?” Ray asked, a bit surprised.
“For only a short while,” the Sylvan said. “My class has evolved so I can get to the second Floor anytime I wish, but first, I will assist Maya with the other Sylvans before leaving.”
Ray nodded. That made sense. “How long do you think it’ll take?”
“I am not certain. Right now, Maya is busy with administration. The Sylvans are mostly being held captive in a generous manner. When she is ready, I will be there to assist.”
Ray also wanted to ask what exact plans Maya might have for the captured Sylvans, but that answer would come best from the woman herself. As such, he decided to go meet her personally.
No real farewells for Kredevel. He was coming up to the Second Floor soon enough. Ray promised the Sylvan they would meet up as soon as he had ascended.
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Last but definitely not least, Ray found out where Maya was. She was busy, of that there was no doubt. Taking care of the operations of the entire Floor was basically her duty now. Ray had to actually wait until she found a window of time where she wasn’t meeting people or drawing up maps or whatever else it was that people who led massive organizations did.
“I’m glad I don’t have your job,” Ray said, grinning to take the edge off his words.
Maya laughed softly. “The feeling is mutual.”
He supposed that was fair. Maya might be ready to fight in a pinch if needed, but it was clear she favoured the leader business more than the adventuring one.
“But to be honest,” Maya said. “I do kind of just want to take a break and hang out with my family.”
“You’ve been working hard!” Ray started walking, leading her to the throne room. “You deserve a break.”
“Says the guy who’s already starting on his next journey just two days after we won a battle.”
He threw back a grin at her.
They reached the throne room moments later. For all that the old palace was slowly being filled up with more and more people as Maya turned it into her headquarters, she made sure to keep people away from the throne room itself. The two guards there saluted at Maya as they approached.
“Tyler,” Ray said. “Is this supposed to be a demotion or a promotion for you?”
Tyler scrunched his face up like he couldn’t actually figure out if this was something bad. Then he glared at Ray. “What’s it to you? I’m doing what the Faction Leader said would be the best thing to do.”
“Oh, then that’s definitely a promotion. Congrats!”
He looked confused, but before Ray could capitalize on it, Maya pushed him into the throne room.
“I’m trying to maintain a fragile equilibrium here, thank you very much,” Maya said with an exasperated look as they neared the throne itself.
Ray grinned. “It’s fine. You won’t have to worry about me for long.”
“On the contrary, I’ll be even more worried now that you’re heading up.”
Ray considered that a fair assessment. He was starting to feel that slightly-faster-heartrate sort of excitement that accompanied major changes. Ascending to the Second Floor was nothing if not a major change.
“I can’t believe you’re trying to incorporate the Sylvans into your plan for the First Floor,” Ray said. “I’m not trying to say they’re all bad, of course. But most of their loyalty lies to their lords. Sure, the Floor Lord is dead, but they still answer to the Tower Lord.”
Maya had a complicated expression Ray couldn’t really decipher. Somewhere between troubled and thoughtful. “We’re being careful about it. They won’t be easy to deal with, and the contingency is that I can let any who don’t want to stay here leave for the Second Floor. But we’ll be safe, Ray.”
“I know you will. It’s why I don’t mind leaving it all up to you.”
“Me, and my admin team. I’ve found some people who are really good at this organizational stuff.”
“Apart from you?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, apart from me.”
“And the Wild Tides?” Ray asked. “What about them?”
“We’re trying to help them. Those that want help. Some of them are nothing more than criminals though, and we’re keeping those locked up.”
Ray nodded. It was interesting how they were basically forming a fully-functioning society on the First Floor. Actual settlements were popping up, they were figuring out a currency, establishing routes of travel and communication lines, the works.
There was something of a remarkable hope in how humans could band together and display enduring resilience as a group.
“We’ll have his place looking a little bit nicer when you come down and visit,” Maya said.
Ray eyed the throne. “Can’t wait to see what you guys get up to.”
Maya stepped forward and brought out the Tower Node of the Adjudicator again. It had already begun glowing with the soft, lime-green light. One that mirrored the growing column of illumination spreading from the throne.
Ray took one last look around. Everything was daubed in the same colour now, but he took it all in all the same. The walls with their faded murals and etchings. Maya beaming at him. There, at the entryway to the throne room, Gritty looking on with an expectant expression. When had she arrived? And was that Kredevel walking into the room too?
Shaking his head with a little smile, Ray waved just as the light grew too bright and obscured everything.
Momentarily, there was a rushing sensation, like he was standing on a very fast elevator. Huh. So his impression when Mary Felds had ascended had been right. The light did move him straight upwards.
When Ray could see again, he was on top of the world. “Woah.”
His breath escaped him in a wondrous rush. There was no mistaking it. That light from the Tower Node of the Adjudicator had taken him straight to the top of the central spire.
Despite the cloudy haze, Ray could make out so much of the First Floor from his current position. The mountains to his right were eerily familiar. They had to be the ones that had Windbane Breeding Grounds dungeon. Far to his left was that canyon with the poisoned river. He could even make out the keep really far off.
What truly caught his attention, however—with a shocked hitch of his entire body—was the Eternal Guardian flying in closer and closer.
[Transmission to Floor II]
Congratulations on completing the First Floor, Denizen. Please wait patiently as you are transported to the Second Floor of the Tower of Forging.
Ray blinked at the notification. Quite the timing. In fact, he suspected the System had sent it out only now because he had been a second away from panicking. He got the sense the System was controlling the Eternal Guardian, that it was his means of reaching the actual Second Floor, for some strange reason.
Shuttering his response to react against the huge monster coming towards him, Ray waited until the Eternal Guardian reached his location. It floated before him, placid and nothing at all like when it had tried to crush the airship and everything within that dungeon.
“You want me to come in?” Ray asked as the monster cupped its huge hands in front of him to form a small pocket.
Surprisingly, the Eternal Guardian nodded. The gesture was unmistakable. It could understand him.
Or maybe, it had done this before and the typical experience was one of confusion and consternation. Just what Ray was feeling.
Swallowing, with most of the hair on his arms standing up straight, Ray stepped onto the huge hands. The palms were solider than he expected. He panicked a little bit when the hands closed around him some more, but they didn’t grip him and squeeze him to death. Instead, he got the impression the monster was shielding him.
And then it flew straight up.
“Take it easy!” Ray shouted.
The Eternal Guardian didn’t respond, only going straight into the sky at the speed of what felt like a rocket. Ray clung to its fingers, each of which was a bit taller and thicker than him. The haze grew denser and denser around them, the air bursting in through the gaps between the fingers. No wonder the monster was shielding him.
“How much longer?” Ray asked after the ascent continued for a while.
The monster didn’t respond. He couldn’t be too annoyed, because his sight was then arrested by the change in his surroundings. It should have become colder. It should have gotten harder to breathe. Ray was glad neither effect took place.
It let him appreciate the shift between Floors much better.
The Floors were disconnected. Ray wasn’t sure how he could tell, but he was positive that in between the First and Second Floor, the Eternal Guardian was rising through his old, original world.
Or the Tower’s walls were transparent in between Floors. That could be true too. Most likely, because he really ought to have been suffocating as he froze to death on actual Earth.
Right that moment though, Ray saw oceans. He witnessed their boundary against the continents. Snow-capped peaks of titanic mountains stabbed through the clouds. It was breathtaking. He could only stare agog. Was this what astronauts witnessed as they headed for the moon?
Distantly, Ray figured he should have recognized the sights. The Tower of Forging had risen up in Wisconsin. The Great Lakes, frosty Canada up north, forests and smaller lakes all around, plains to the far east and south—those where what he should have been seeing, right?
But by that point, Ray had seen enough to know that the Tower and the System worked in mysterious ways sometimes.
What he truly understood was the sense of scale. Of how far he had come. Both in terms of his own growth under the System, and literally, now that he was reaching a height that airplanes called home.
Without warning, the world went dark.
[Floor II]
Welcome, Denizen, to the Second Floor of the Tower of Forging.