The smell of death and decay hung heavy in the air as Elijah crouched in the cell where he’d defeated the Warden. The corpses of the troll, dark elf, and ogres were a long way from decomposition, but to Elijah, they still smelled of rot.

Perhaps that was just his imagination.

Or given the things he’d seen in the other cells, maybe not. Either way, he was eager to leave it all behind for more pleasant environs. However, before he could do that, he had a few tasks before him. The first concerned the fact that, by virtue of killing the Warden and the troll he’d temporarily saved, he’d finally reached level thirty-five. And that advancement had come with a host of advantages.

As always, he’d gained another point in each of his attributes, enhancing his already-impressive status further past the human standard:

Name

Elijah Hart

Level

35

Archetype

Druid

Class

Animist

Specialization

N/A

Alignment

N/A

Strength

36

Dexterity

45 (35)

Constitution

46 (36)

Ethera

44

Regeneration

58 (38)

Attunement

Nature

Cultivation Stage: Cultivator

Body

Core

Mind

Soul

Wood

Hatchling

Quartz

Neophyte

Of course, his attributes didn’t tell the full story of his advancement. Due to both One with Nature and his cultivation, his attributes all meant much more than the numbers might suggest. He still wasn’t certain exactly how much those factors affected him, but he knew that it was significant.

And if he managed to advance the rest of his cultivation, the gap between his apparent and effective attributes would only grow wider. However, to his annoyance, he still wasn’t entirely sure how to go about furthering his cultivation. He’d tried variations on the methods he’d used to take the first step in each category, but those had so far yielded no results. He supposed he just needed to keep at it, and maybe he would unlock the secret.

But in the back of his mind, he hoped that, eventually, Nerthus would be able to tell him more. Or perhaps he could purchase a guide from a more advanced Branch of the World Tree. Either way, he suspected that continuing to progress his cultivation would be a difficult road. If it was easy, then everyone would have done it. And though he couldn’t be certain, he didn’t think anyone in Ironshore had made strides in that department, supporting the notion that it would take more than a few lucky guesses to break through to the next cultivation stages.

Still, there was hope.

After all, he’d already reached the second stage in the cultivation of his Mind. That was proof that he could do the same with the other components of cultivation.

Even so, his attributes were still progressing nicely, especially when he was under the influence of his various enhancements. He shuddered to think of where he would be without them.

“Dead,” he muttered to himself. “I would be dead.”

Ironically, the enhancement that had probably served him best during battle didn’t even show up in his status. Essence of the Wolf had proven itself a vital component of his toolkit on so many occasions that he knew that, without a shadow of a doubt, he would have died dozens of times over without it. Not only did it increase his movement speed – which was incredibly valuable, as he’d proven in the Primordial Maze as well as many other times since then – but it also gave him an easily understood indicator of when he entered and dropped out of combat. That was precisely the information he needed in order to properly time the use of Guise of the Unseen.

For what felt like the thousandth time, he found himself grateful that he’d been granted the druid archetype. Otherwise, there was no way he would have survived even a few weeks on the island, much less everything that had happened since then.

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Two-and-a-half years.

At times, it certainly didn’t seem like it had been that long. But at others, it felt like an eternity had passed since he’d been on a plane and dying of cancer. He wasn’t just a different person, now. He felt like an entirely different species. However, it was at times like these that he found himself glancing at the power ladder and wondering about his family.

Carmen’s name was still on there, giving him comfort. Sure, he knew that Carmen Rodriguez wasn’t a terribly uncommon name. There were probably thousands of women bearing that moniker. But Elijah knew in his gut that the one on the ladder was his sister-in-law.

“Or maybe it’s all just wishful thinking,” he acknowledged aloud. After all, he needed to believe that Alyssa and Miguel were okay, and clinging to the notion of Carmen’s survival as an indicator that they were still alive satisfied that need in a way no self-assurance could. It was something tangible that he could point to as evidence, and until he discovered otherwise, he would choose to believe that everyone he loved was still out there living their lives in the transformed world.

A pretty fantasy, perhaps, but it was one he needed to believe.

Idly, he wondered if they’d thought the same thing when seeing his name. Maybe they’d thrown a party when he’d popped onto the ladder. Or perhaps they hadn’t noticed at all. Surely they had their own problems to deal with, and Elijah was well aware that everyone wouldn’t be quite as obsessed with that ladder as he’d become.

Whatever the case, he couldn’t afford to dwell on it. Instead, he had a tower to conquer, and before he did that, he needed to examine his latest spell:

Spell:

Shield of Brambles

Shelter beneath nature’s embrace, protecting yourself and damaging any who attack you.

The description was a little ambiguous for Elijah’s taste, but he could sense a few things about the spell. First, it was an enhancement not unlike Essence of the Boar or Monkey, meaning that it would take up one of his three slots. That alone soured him on it a little. He liked his extra attributes, and now that he could use all the relevant spells to enhance them, he was loathe to give them up.

Second, he could sense that there were two benefits to the spell. For one, it would shield him from some degree of damage. How much was yet to be seen, but any extra protection would be welcome. He hadn’t forgotten how easily that magical sword had slid through his scales, after all. And that had been in his Guardian form, which increased his Constitution by a fair amount.

He didn’t want to think about the damage it would have done if he’d been in his human form. So, he couldn’t dismiss the spell altogether, especially when it had a secondary function, which would somehow inflict damage on anyone who attacked him. He had no idea what form that would take or how severely it would injure his attackers, and the only way he was going to find out was to test it.

So, without further ado, Elijah cancelled Essence of the Monkey, then cast Shield of Brambles. As he did so, he looked at his arm, and what he saw was simultaneously awe-inspiring as well as troubling. His skin turned slightly green, taking on the texture of bark. At the same time, tiny thorns – maybe a quarter of an inch long – sprouted all over his body. Strangely enough, they positioned themselves atop his clothes, which made for an odd sight.

Extending his index finger to one of the thorns, he was disappointed to find that it passed right through the protrusion. But then again, that shouldn’t have been terribly surprising. The spell’s description had specified that it only damaged those who attacked him, so it stood to reason that it would only become material in that event.

Which was more than a little frustrating. In a tower, he didn’t have much chance to test a new ability. The margins for error were so thin that he just couldn’t afford to use a suboptimal enhancement. Perhaps that would change. Maybe he would find a good opportunity to find its limitations. But for now, he would keep going with the same approach he’d used since the beginning of the tower.

So, he canceled Shield of Brambles, then reapplied Essence of the Monkey.

After ensuring that his other enhancements were active, he took the opportunity to explore the rest of the dungeon, paying close attention to the torture room. The giant goblin was exactly where Elijah had last seen it – which was to say that it was hanging from a torture rack – but it had already surrendered to death.

The room itself was a grotesquerie of torture equipment. Hooks, knives, and various other tools abounded; there was even something that looked suspiciously like an iron maiden in the corner. Despite the fact that some of the implements had the potential of being somewhat useful, Elijah declined to take them with him. He told himself that they were all too bulky and that they would take up too much room in his pack. But in the back of his mind, he knew the real reason lay in their intended purpose.

However, he did find a small chest containing a few gems, a handful of etherium – both copper and silver – and a shiny dagger with a ruby embedded in the pommel. Like the sword he’d taken from the Warden, it felt magical, though Elijah had no idea what form that magic might take.

Perhaps he could get one of those tablets that Mari, the Tailor back in Ironshore, had used to inspect his staff. She’d said something about it utilizing her techniques, so he suspected he wouldn’t be able to use it.

Either way, he hoped to find someone who could help him out by identifying the weapons he’d looted. Maybe he could even sell them for a decent number of coins. He wasn’t hurting for money or anything, but he’d seen the price of some of those guides. More, he wanted to be in position to buy things he might need in the future, and from his experience, one could never have enough money. That was true in the old world, and he suspected it would be the same moving forward.

In any case, he finished his perusal of whatever the torture room had to offer, then left it behind as quickly as possible. Soon enough, he found himself standing before the gate leading up to the citadel above. He had no idea what to expect up there, but he knew it would tax his abilities.

So, he took a deep breath, then used one of the keys from the Warden’s keychain to unlock the gate. It swung open with an ominous creak, but as horror movie-esque as the sound was, nothing jumped out at him.

Now that the need for thumbs had been obviated, he replaced the keychain in his pack, took his staff in hand, and shifted into the Shape of the Predator. Then, after embracing Guise of the Unseen, he padded forward. The moment he passed through the gate, he felt himself shift slightly. It only lasted an instant, and when it passed, the stairwell beyond the gate looked no different than it had from the other side. Yet, he knew that he’d passed into the next level of the tower.

Hammering that home was a simple, silver box that had suddenly appeared before him. Almost as soon as he noticed his reward for defeating the previous floor, a notification flashed before his eyes:

Congratluations! You have completed Level One of Reaver Citadel. Grade: B

To progress further, complete the Task before you and reach the Throne Room.

His grade was a little disappointing, especially after he’d gone to such lengths to complete the optional Task. However, when he thought about it, Elijah could guess why he hadn’t gotten full marks. After all, he’d only killed a few of the monsters himself. That had to have counted against him. In any case, he moved on to the next notification that appeared before his inner eye:

Task: Defeat the Five Lieutenants.

That certainly didn’t sound promising. If the five lieutenants were anything like the Warden, he had his work cut out for him. And this time, he didn’t think he’d have the benefit of a semi-friendly troll to act as a distraction. Still, he’d gotten this far, and he had to believe he had what it took to conquer the tower.

Hopefully, his reward would help with that. So, he quickly shifted back to human form, then bent down and unlatched the small chest. Inside was a simple red strip of cloth.

Reward for completing Level One of Reaver Citadel:

Sash of the Whirlwind

Elijah reached in and retrieved the strip of cloth. It was a little more than three feet long, so it could easily wrap it around his slim waist. But when he put it on, tying it in place, he immediately felt the item’s effect.

A wide smile spread across his face. He couldn’t deny the utility of his previous rewards. The Ring of Anonymity and the Ring of Aquatic Travel had both served him well enough. Though, by his own admission, the latter had proved far more useful than the former so far. The jury was still out on the Shard of the World Tree he’d given to Nerthus, but given the tree spirit’s reaction, it was probably the most valuable of his rewards.

However, based on his initial impressions, the Sash of the Whirlwind would be even more immediately impactful.