For a while, Nathan faded in and out of consciousness, disturbing dreams giving way to ravenous hunger. His mind was muddled by exhaustion and panic, hellfire and gunshots, long-dead friends and vengeful enemies plaguing every moment of his time. The whole experience felt surreal and when he fully awoke he was not sure which parts happened in the waking world and which had been conjured by his subconsciousness.
Sitting up, Nathan found himself in a circle of devastation. All plants in his immediate surroundings were gone, while even the trees at the edge of the clearing seemed sickly, shedding their leaves and some of them in the process of dying. What had been a paradise of life before the fight was now filled with nothing but dry earth, not a single blade of grass still alive.
In front of him was the decomposing corpse of the guardian, chunks of it ripped out. Nathan's hands were still bloody and the taste of raw flesh lingered in his mouth. Compared to the majesty it had displayed in life, the guardian was nothing than more fertilizer for the forest now. Guess that's the circle of life, isn't it?
Grimacing, Nathan felt dried blood cracking on his face. I got hit with wild nature aspected magic, he concluded. Being uncontrollably hungry was one of the better outcomes.
Nature magic promoted uncontrolled growth in organisms – if there was no way for the organism to grow organically, cancer cells would form. And growth was never free, the magic would not actually fuel the process but only initiate it. The plants had not been able to endure the strain the magic put on them, withering away in the end.
Looking down on himself, Nathan found all of his hard-earned muscles gone. His ribs were visible through his skin and his arms were thin as twigs. All of the wounds he had sustained during the fight were gone however, not even scars remained.
I guess I was lucky that I was so hurt. At least it gave the magic something to do with my body.
He remembered seeing system messages right after the fight ended and finally took the time to read them.
Congratulations, Nathan Andrews
You have vanquished the Guardian of the 2nd Floor
Any climber may now ascend to the third floor for a month
You have gained the perk Fount of Nature
You have levelled up
His eyebrows rose in astonishment as a soft exclamation escaped him. “Oh.”
Perks were rare in the tower and tended to be just as much a blessing as they were a curse. While there were no perks that outright killed the user, they often came with heavy costs and were always in effect – unable to be controlled in the slightest.
I didn't expect that to give me a perk. I just hope it's more useful than Lone Wolf. Show me the gains then, Status.
Name: Nathan Andrews
Title:
Survivor [Equipped] – You recovered from unquestionably lethal wounds while unconscious and without outside help. Gain a 10% boost in regeneration while this title is equipped.
Class: Spearman – Swiftness [11]
Stats:
Con: 22
Per: 16
Reg: 12
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Ref: 21
Free Points: 1
General Skills [4/5]:
Identify – Scan a target to gain information about their race, class, and level. Target may be aware of the attempt.
Inspect– Scan an item to gain information about its name, grade, and effect. Inspect may not be able to reveal all available information.
Purge – Use a variable amount of stamina to expel any poisons, curses, or hexes from your body. Overuse can cause exhaustion and death.
Ripples in the Water – Where reality is malleable, desires hold power. Focus on what you wish for and what you’re willing to sacrifice. Perhaps something is listening?
Class Skills:
Art of the Spear – The spear is more than just a weapon in your hands. When wielding a spear, your movements become more refined, your mind quicker, and your strikes more precise.
Swift Footwork – Positioning is the essence of combat. When wielding a spear, your steps are faster without losing precision.
Fast Mind - You react before your opponent even moves, countering and attacking with a fluidity that leaves onlookers in awe. Use a variable and sustained amount of stamina to speed up your reaction time and thought process.
Perks:
Lone Wolf – The user can no longer form or join any parties, clans, or organizations. Stats are reduced by 50% if not alone in combat. Upon death, the user’s soul is erased from all timelines.
Fount of Nature – Your whole body has been suffused in an overwhelming amount of nature-aspected magic, prompting your cells to take on some of its properties. Your wounds will heal faster, but a large amount of calories will be consumed in the process.
Nathan was burning with desire to test the regeneration speed of his new perk right away, but that could very well prove dangerous in his current condition.
It's probably nothing too amazing, slightly accelerated healing that takes a lot of my energy. Just sucks that there's no way to ever turn it off. I guess in general it's positive, I didn't have any kind of healing before, but I have to be careful from now on. I could technically starve to death if I stub my toe too many times in the future.
He had no way to check the time since his fight with the guardian, but by his estimate, no more than a few days had passed. I'll take a week to get some of my muscles back and ascend to the third floor then. Not like it would be hard to get food on that one. Ah, and my free point should go to perception again.
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Flexing his arms, Nathan let out a defeated sigh. He had never been overly muscular, preferring a lean build. No use in being so buff that you can't reach your own back.
Compared to a week ago, however, he looked incredibly weak. He no longer seemed like he was actively starving, but it would take a while longer for him to regain most of his mass. His stats made him stronger than ever before, but they worked on the baseline of his body. Even with all the progress he had made, Nathan was currently only about as capable as when he first entered the tower. I can't exactly delay for a month just to get back in form, though. I'll be able to do all that just as well on the third floor.
Setting sight onto the staircase that had formed in the middle of the clearing, he took his first step.
When the sensation of being teleported gripped him this time, he felt not nearly as bad as the last two times, his higher stats shielding him.
This time, Nathan found himself not in the wilderness, but rather in a dark alleyway, houses that reached towards the sky rising on both sides. Even from here, he could hear countless conversations - hawkers selling their wares, beggars crying for attention and a thousand people just going through their daily lives. The energy in the air seemed to beat to a consistent rhythm and the thrum of magi-tech devices echoed all around.
Looking upwards, Nathan found the sky obscured by a veil of smoke, its poisonous stink filling the surroundings. Good thing I've got Purge.
With measured steps, he walked out onto the street and was greeted by a scene that seemed straight out of a modern metropolis. Hundreds of people moved just in his immediate surroundings, vehicles flashing by and just narrowly avoiding collisions.
The air was filled with nervous energy as everyone sped to their destinations, the relaxed atmosphere he had felt in other tower-cities nowhere to be found. Technology and magic seemed to a substantial role in daily life here, Nathan could hardly spot anyone that did not carry at least rudimentary magi-tech devices.
Perhaps the most surprising thing he noticed was the sheer diversity of the people – dwarfs and elves were selling wares to humans and orcs, beastkin were using their superior dexterity to move along the rooftops. The whole situation seemed like a confusing mess, with uncountable unspoken exchanges happening every second to allow the mass of people to progress without the whole bustle coming to a standstill.
Stopping for just a moment to take it all in, Nathan was almost bowled over by a passing dwarf, receiving a rude remark in passing.
The third floor in all its glory, he thought. Welcome to the mega-city of Avelencia.
On the edge of his vision, he saw a boy that had been begging just a moment ago spot him, before showing a surprised expression. Nathan started moving toward him, but the boy promptly stood up and vanished into the mass of people.
Guess I've been noticed by someone. I do stand out a fair bit, with my weird clothes and obvious gawking but as long as I behave correctly from here on out I should be fine.
Nathan let himself be swept away by the current of people, starting his exploration of the city that housed countless millions.