Prometheus nodded before leading the Allum and the family across the massive room. The doors on the opposite side of the hall swung open at their approach. Beyond the doorway was a gargantuan flat of land. They had been wondering why the previous room looked like it could hold a city’s worth of people. Now the answer was clear. This room was the size of a city. In the center, seemingly miles away, as a glowing blue whirlpool floating in the air, just above the ground. The family admired the view. It was incredibly…empty.
“Where are the houses?” Asked Lith. Anthropo was quick to answer.
“Houses will be established by the participants as they claim a lot. Participants that wish to share housing can join another willing participant’s home if there is enough room for expansion.”
“Where would the Masters like to make their home?” Asked Prometheus.
“Is that swirl of blue a portal to the first combat zone?” Fayde interjected.
“Yes. Very astute Master Fayde.” Prometheus responded.
“Should we make our home close to the portal?” She asked her family. They all responded with nods and agreements. “Prometheus, is there a faster way of getting closer to the portal, or do we have to walk all the way there?”
“Access to vehicles is generally restricted in First City, but for this purpose and circumstance, we are allowed access to a platform to the center of the city.”
All the Allum except Prometheus moved away for a moment and started tapping into the air. From the floor around them, a section of the floor rose and released itself. It began levitating. A waist high wall encapsuled the platform, leaving a section open for them to walk onto the floating platform. Small steps of floating metal created stairs. One by one the family stepped onto the platform. There were no seats, but protruding poles with handles on them in twelve places on the platform arranged three across and four deep, enough for the family and the Allum. The front center position had controls that reminded Lith of the pilot’s stick of aircraft. Prometheus took that position, flanked by Fayde and Lith, the others taking random positions onboard at their leisure. The Allum instructed them to hold onto the handles. They found that while their hands contacted the handles their feet were firmly rooted to the floor of the platform. With everyone secure on the platform, Prometheus manipulated the controls. The open side of the platform closed while it lifted upwards before moving forward at a pace they could not have matched at a full sprint.
“Why is this place called First City?”
“It is named so because this is the first city participants will have access to. Second City will be accessible once an individual has conquered the tenth floor.”
“And each city is named in sequence?”
“Yes Master Fayde.”
“Which city will let us use these platforms again?”
“Third City enables Allum to use the platforms for traversal with their Masters. Fifth City allows participants to apply for personal craft. It should be noted that use of platforms is restricted to the safe zones of the Tower and will not remain with participants when they leave the tower.”
“Are you allowed to tell us this information?”
“The information is to incentivize the participants to climb higher in the tower, so yes, it is allowed.” Prometheus said as it began to slow the platform.
They had already reached the center of the city. Before them was the swirling blue portal leading to the other floors of the tower. It was surrounded by silver fences, marking it as the only current semblance of civilization in the currently barren First City.
“Would the Masters Like to make their home here?” Prometheus asked as the platform came to a stop, still hovering in the air.
“This should be close enough to the portal.” Fayde said.
Prometheus started to lower the platform as he and the other Allum started tapping the air again. They had to be communicating with some kind of system interface with the tower. A green outline the size of a studio apartment appeared on the ground. As each of the Allum finished tapping in the air the green outline grew, doubling a first before the expansion of the lines became fractions of the previous addition. The metal floor began shifting upwards, forming a metal angled roof. The structure continued to grow from just a roof to a three-story home before coming to a hissing halt. A silvery gate similar to the one that was around the portal surrounded their home.
“Welcome to your new home.” The Allum said in unison to their bonded companion.
The family took a moment to look at each other, marveling at one another at the impressiveness of the technology present in the tower before walking through the gate to their new home. As they crossed the threshold the scenery changed. Inside of their gate it seemed to be late afternoon or early morning as the two suns sat upon the horizon. Instead of cold metal, the ground was lush and vibrant grass. Flower beds surrounded the porch of their house. The house itself was still three-stories tall and had distinct French and Spanish influences in the architecture, reminding them of homes in New Orleans, where they had all once lived before moving to Michigan. The air was comfortably humid and warm in their yard, which suited them well.
“Prometheus, how did the tower decide to make this our home?” Fayde asked.
“The Bond Pendants you all wear read your surface thoughts. As you thought of what home meant to you, the tower took notes of what you desired and created what you desired. You will find that the tower will regularly present things you desire and in increased effect as you ascend.”
“Great.” Said Matia. “More mind reading. As if Sum’s knowing our entire life history wasn’t enough.”
“The best counter to mind reading and mind controlling or altering affects is to increase your Will or an appropriate skill.” Maria informed.
“Excellent information to know Maria.” Lith said. “Are mind based powers common?”
“We are unaware of how common mental based classes are Master Lith.” Answered Anthropo. “We have no experience in the outside and you are the first to enter the Tower of Tumult since its creation.”
“That’s fair. Sorry to bring that up Anthropo.”
“It is of no concern Master Lith. We have a purpose and serve it gladly.”
“Shall we head inside?” offered Enki. “I’m not sure about all of you, but I am exhausted.”
A growl came from Guidry’s stomach. They all suddenly realized that they had not eaten dinner because of the system’s interruption of their special evening. One by one, all of their stomachs echoed in agreement. They needed to eat.
“Do you require help with preparing food Master Lith?” Asked Anthropo.
“Does your mind scanning allow you to predict what I need done while cooking?”
“Yes, and you will find that I am able to keep pace with you as well Master Lith.”
“Then let’s get started. Tonight is a special night after all.”
“Congratulations on your engagement Masters Fayde and Lith.” The Allum said in unison again, bowing deep to the newly engaged couple.
The interior of the house was nice. The bottom floor had a combined kitchen and dining room with an island large enough to seat the entire family. The living room was also on the bottom floor. There was no TV or game system. There were, however, seats and a coffee table with board games: chess, shogi, backgammon, go. The theme of the games was clear. They were all meant to train a mind to be more tactical. Fayde took the others to the living room and started teaching those that didn’t know how to play the games the rules of each before their Allums joined her in explanation. Before long all of them were playing against their bonded Allum.
Meanwhile, Lith and Anthropo took to the kitchen. The fridge, cabinets, and pantry were all well stocked with food stuffs. True to its word, Anthropo was adept at keeping up with Lith in the kitchen as they made sweet and sour chicken katsu, chicken fried steak, roasted vegetables, and riced potatoes. When they had finished cooking, the family all joined around the island while the Allum picked up the living room, Anthropo leaning the used cookware. They ate and talked about home, school, fond memories that they wished to hold onto. The peace that came before the system. This was their last night to enjoy life together before starting their journey to the top of the Tower of Tumult, and they would be damned if they weren’t going to enjoy the night.
In the morning, or what passed for morning in the tower, the family found themselves feeling well rested, surprising those of drinking age as they had forsaken their practice of abstaining from alcohol. Even the eldest and most susceptible to hangovers found they woke with a clear mind and unbothered stomach. Once by one they made their way downstairs, the exceptions being Lith and Fayde who came down together from their shared room. To their surprise, the Allum had made them breakfast. A decent spread of toast with butter and jams, eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, and pancakes. Fayde found that a cup of coffee was waiting for her when she had sat the night before, perfectly made just the way she liked it.
After breakfast, Lith and Guidry sat in the living room studying their respective books of spells. The first two pages of their books had formed their initial spells; Heal, Balm, Mana Bolt, and Mana Shield. While they were able to understand their own book’s esoteric writing, they couldn’t make sense of the others even if they scripts were similar. They had decided that the books were uniquely tied to their class, and that no one else could read their book to steal knowledge. Why create your own spell if you could steal a world ending spell from the book of a greater being?
Once Lith and Guidry felt comfortable enough with their understanding of their spells, they gathered with the rest of their family. Most of them had doffed their armor before dinner with the help of the Allum, who were now helping them to don their armor. The Allum even coached them on some basic moves for the melee classes, helping them to familiarize themselves with their skills. Gears was also teaching Enki how to properly wield his bow and utilize his skills. They practiced for two hours with their new weapons, coming up with formations and tactics with the assistance of their Allum, who utilized a combat training setting to give the younger members some advice and experience before heading into actual combat.
After their two-hour sparring session had passed, the family took some time to rehydrate before meeting back up in their front yard.
“Are the Masters ready journey to the first floor of the tower?” Prometheus asked.
“Yes.” Fayde said as she looked over her family. For better or worse, they were as prepared as they could be. The tower wouldn’t wait on them forever to start climbing the floors, and nothing beat actual experience. They could train more during their downtime after clearing a few floors.
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“We eagerly await your return.” The Allum said as they bowed deeply.
The family left their gated front yard and were greeted by the brilliant glowing portal in its own gated area and the red tinted void city around them. The gate to the portal’s area opened as they approached. Their nerves heightened as they approached, the air cooled as they got closer to the portal. With determination, Fayde was the first to enter the portal. It was seemingly wet and cold as she stepped int a black void. She was quickly joined by the rest of her family, Lith being the second to enter, followed in descending order of age. A large screen appeared before them.
Welcome to the Tower of Tumult
Last Floor Cleared: --
Next Floor: 1
…
The three dots at the bottom of the screen were flashing, as if the Tower were thinking. Did it need time to think of where to send them? Just how many options did the tower have for the first floor?The three dots on the screen continued to flash for a few more seconds before revealing a new line of text.
Destination: Alabaster Fields
Quest: Slay 100 Alabaster Wolves
One hundred wolves? They had to kill a hundred wolves to complete the first floor? Fayde and Lith had no idea what they should be expecting, but to be thrown directly into the fire was not what they had in mind. Maybe they should have stayed in the yard and trained with the Allum for a few more days. The Tower didn’t give them an option to decline as the void materialized tall translucent white grass around them that reached to their hips. In the distance, hills covered in the alabaster grass rose in waves.
“Everyone on alert.” Said Lith as he moved to the rear and center of their formation. “Take note of the quest objective. The wolves should be adapted to the habitat. Look for any movement and make us aware of it immediately.”
They had to think fast. High ground would make them a target but would also make defense easier. If they could hold their ground and avoid being flanked or forced into a trap, they would be able to survive hopefully.
“Matia, take the front and head towards the nearest hill.” Fayde commanded.
Enki took position behind his sister followed by Guidry, Lith, Trevor, and Fayde bringing up the rear. They were about halfway to the hill before Enki saw movement to his right. It was approaching and fast.
“Movement, right!” Enki shouted, bringing the party to a momentary halt. With his recently practiced movement, Enki strung an arrow and pulled back. Kate had taught him that Archer’s Eye was essential the moments before he released the arrow. His vision focused on the form approaching, and he could see its candor favoring its right side. As soon as he released his arrow, the beast would dart right to avoid it. Enki made the adjustment and loosed his arrow. Sure enough, as the arrow flew, the creature in the grass darted left but was met with an arrow to the chest. Enki felt an endowment of energy enter his body, seeming to confirm the kill. The energy flooding into him was different from the red energy released from his body during refinement. It felt like his cells were greedily drinking it up, and they weren’t satisfied yet, but that would have to wait for the next kill.
Kate had informed him that Archer’s Eye drew on his stamina while it was active and having to claim the lives of a hundred wolves, he knew that he would have to conserve his stamina. Deactivating his skill, he noticed two more movements approaching from either side of the felled beast.
“Two more, eleven and one.”
“Matia, take rear guard. Prep or an ambush. Trevor, support your sister. Enki, I’ll run defense on your front.” Fayde instructed.
Lith crouched down and pulled Guidry onto his shoulder before standing back up.
“If you see something move on the flanks, I want you to hit it with a bolt.” Lith instructed his grandson, who nodded nervously.
Enki let loose another arrow, taking out another wolf as rustling was heard from the rear. With her shield already up, Matia was prepared for a block and bashed the semitranslucent wolf as it lunged at her. She followed it up by activating Mighty Swing and Taunting Roar simultaneously, nearly bisecting the wolf whose snout she had just crushed. Howls sounded from the fields around them. There were a lot of them.
“Movement, eleven to seven.” Guidry called out as he shot a bolt at three o’clock.
Lith and Fayde had instructed the Allum teach each of them how to callout enemies using a clock face as a reference. Wherever the front was would be twelve, and the numbers of the clock face determined the direction based on that. They had enemies from their front, right flank, and rear, with the hill to their left flank. They needed to crest the hill before the wolves could surround them and pounce on them from the top of the hill.
“Lith, we need to get to the hill.” Fayde said as she took out the wolf that was approaching them at one o’clock. It had gotten too close before Enki could take it out with an arrow. The damned things were fast. They really needed to move to the high ground.
“Formation! Quarter right! Move!” Lith commanded.
Matia moved right, leading the formation’s advance. Trevor remained on the new flank with Fayde mirroring her, remaining on the other. Enki also moved to the right, taking up position at the new temporary rear. His quiver was positioned over his right shoulder, so Lith gripped the left side of his leather backpiece. Lith could feel the strain under Enki’s armor as he strung another arrow and loosed it.
“Nine o’clock! Up the hill! Move!” Lith instructed.
His command was followed by yelps, yips, yells, and grunts. Arrows were loosed and blades met fangs, claws, and flesh. Howls and growls continued to be let out by the alabaster wolves as mana bolts struck wolf and earth. Thankfully, none of them seemed to be hurt yet, but all it took was one mistake or one lucky wolf to change that. Seconds stretched into minutes as they made their way up the hill. A couple of the wolves were making their way around them, rushing along their line of approach to get to Matia. She had used her taunting skill to draw the ire of the wolves to her. She could block her left and front with her shield but that left her right flank open. If too many fell upon her on the right, then her defenses would only hold for so long.
“Eyes on seven and eleven. Taunt is up.” Lith reminded the group.
Lith took note of their placement. They had started their defense three quarters of the way to the hill from where they had appeared in the Alabaster Fields. They had roughly a quarter of the way remaining until they reached the top of the hill. The most dangerous part of their movement was about to be upon them. If there were wolves on the other side of the hill there was no doubt some would be lying in ambush.
“Matia, eyes up as we ascend the hill.”
Enki sent another wolf scurrying back from the impact of a Power Shot enhanced arrow as Fayde and Trevor’s blades parried and cut the attacking wolves. They had each killed a few wolves by this point, except for Lith who was holding Guidry in his shoulder and guiding Enki as they moved backwards. Each blast of Guidry’s Mana Bolt created a blast of white smoke or a spray of red blood. Good to know that the creatures in the trials still bled red.
“Guidry, conserve your mana. Wait until you can see one clearly before firing off a bolt.”
Finally, they made it to the hill and began to climb it. The slant made their footwork uneven, but the wolves were conditioned to their habitat. Lith brought Guidry down from his shoulder after a few steps up the hill. It would be bad if he lost footing and collapsed with Guidry. His grandson would fall out of their formation, a death sentence at this point.
“Argh!” Trevor cried as a wolf managed to bite her ankle. She quickly retaliated, stabbing it in the throat and kicking it off her. Another wolf took advantage of the momentary lapse in their defense, rushing through the opening between Trevor and Enki. It leaped at the smallest of the group, as a predatory creature would, right at Guidry. Lith had his hand out towards Trevor, about to cast Heal, but his priority changed as he saw the wolf. He threw himself at the wolf, practically catching it mid-air and falling to the ground with it.
“Hold!” Said Guidry. “Grandpa! Let it go.”
Lith was wrestling with it on the ground. He had wrapped his legs around the lower half of the wolf, and its upper half in a head lock. The wolf was turning its head, trying to bite into his arms, succeeding in leaving a few scratches on his forearms. He couldn’t land a solid blow from the position that would end the creature, but Lith knew he could break the body. He gripped the back neck of the wolf near the base of the skull and pushed it away from him. At the same time, he opened his elbows outward, splaying the front legs of the wolf. He would have to do this quickly. His wingspan would allow the wolf to get its front legs free soon.
Being more confident of his right hand’s grip on the spine, Lith let go with his left hand and reached for the snout. Instead of coming directly from the left, Lith reached around the underside of the wolf’s mouth, his thumb resting on the bottom jaw while teasing the teeth and tongue with his pointer finger. His middle, ring, and pinky fingers were erect, waiting on the jaw to close so he could clamp his hand around the wolf’s snout. It fell for the bait, closing its jaw and turning towards the finger in its mouth. Quick as he could, he moved his finger, dragging it out of the wolf’s mouth along the bottom teeth. His other fingers were already curled, and as soon as they passed over the top jaw, Lith clenched his hand down over the now closed mouth of the wolf. Simultaneously, Lith held firm and pushed down with his right hand and twisted the skull of the wolf counterclockwise with his left hand. The wolf tried to resist and adjust the position of its head, but it was too late. It had played directly into Lith’s hand. With a pop, the wolf’s body went limp and Lith felt a surge of energy feed into his body.
“Heal!” Lith said as he clenched his left hand, building up the required charge for the spell. He pushed the wolf body off of himself and outside of their tight formation before touching Trevor’s back, dispersing the healing energy into her. Her ankle quickly mended.
“Move!” Lith said as he grabbed the back on Enki’s armor again.
From atop the hill, a group of wolves jumped onto them. The first leaped straight for Matia who planted her feet and angled her shield to deflect the wolf to her right. She used the wolf’s momentum to skewer itself on her sword before pushing the body off oh her. A rush and breaking of energy confirmed her tenth kill and signified a change to her body. She felt stronger, and some of the fatigue from the fighting and wielding of her weapon and armor wore off of her. It was like catching a second wind.
However, as two of wolves came down the hill, they showed they had different targets in mind, Fayde and Trevor were firmly in their crosshairs. Fayde was already dealing with two wolves on her own side, just finishing cutting one down when the one from the hill pounced and bit her left shoulder. She let out a yell of pain but drew one of her Shashka along the belly of the beast, cutting it open deep. It fell to the ground as it released itself with a yelp of deep pain. It tried to stand back up using just its front paws but quickly fell to blood loss. Fayde felt the seventh and eighth flows of energy be absorbed by her body as she carved the neck of another wolf open. She left a pressure build inside of her body. It was not painful like the buildup of red from her body, but an empowering pressure, as if the anticipation of something good was just around the corner.
Trevor was anticipating an attack from the hill. She was ready for the incoming wolf. She thrust both of her short swords up into the chest of the wolf and maneuvered the momentum, so the wolf fell on top of one of its comrades. With a quickness, she removed on of the swords and stabbed into the other wolf, claiming her ninth kill. The pressure from the energy inside of her was reaching a breaking point. Just a little more and Trevor felt like she would burst. Not that she would explode, but that something inside of her would be unleashed.
Two more wolves, larger than any that came before jumped down from on top the hill. They were clearly experienced hunters as they had timed their jump just as Matia was distracted with the wolf that leaped at her. The two wolves jumped over her aiming for Guidry and Lith. Fayde and Trevor were busy dealing with wolves on their flanks, and Enki was shooting arrows at the ones who approached from the front of the formation, chasing them up the hill. Lith and Guidry would have to defend themselves.
Thankfully, they had been expecting an attack from above. Guidry, already holding a charged Mana Bolt, released at the wolf coming straight for him, exploding its head as the bolt enter its hungry mouth. Lith, with only moments to react, grabbed one of Enki’s arrows from the quiver. He turned and let the incoming wolf bite into his right forearm, turning his white robes red. With the arrow in his left hand, he stabbed into the neck of the wolf who quickly let go. It was now in the middle of their formation and Lith was not willing to let it go before claiming his second kill. The wolf too was unwilling to leave without taking at least one of their lives.
The wolf and Lith launched themselves at each other. Ready for the attack, Lith deflected the wolf over his left side, landing on top of it. He stabbed into its throat a few more times with his left hand as his right hand held the muzzle of the wolf to the ground. It was still kicking with its feet, letting out burbled growls and yips. Having weakened the skin on its neck with several mangled holes, Lith switched hands and ripped open the throat of the beast. A second rush of energy invigorated Lith’s body as he pulled his hand away from the open throat of the wolf. His right hand and robes were now stained with his own blood and the wolf’s.
“Heal!” He said as he poured a spell into Fayde for her shoulder. He didn’t have a lot of mana, maybe enough for four more Heal spells. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to spam the spell, and his mana regeneration was proof of that. The next four would have to be reserved for dire wounds, assuming he didn’t have to use Balm. The wolves so far showed no sign of being able to use venoms, so they should be safe from that on this level at least.
After the last of the five wolves jumped down from the hill, no more came down, but a deep bestial growl could be heard from atop it. As the last of the healing energy diffused itself into Fayde’s wound the movement in the grass started to move away from them. The wolves were retreating. But why now? Was it because their group had advanced too high up the hill, or because they had taken down the five that jumped down on them from the hills? Did the hills hold a special significance to the wolves? They would find out once they had reached the top of the hill.