The Lady of the Lost swung at him. Vivian threw himself back. I can’t dodge the blow, but I can lessen it—maybe—!
Claws tore his stomach open, and the force of her blow sent him flying. He hit the roses and rebounded, falling toward the vines. Like hungry snakes, they struck at him.
[HP: 2/10]
[HP: 1/10]
Hello, respawn. Goodbye, Checkpoint.
Having said that, it could be worse. I didn’t win, but I weakened Kors. I took away his defense wall and his support unit. He has to fight the Lady alone now. Even if he survives, he’ll survive in bad shape, and I can take advantage of that to finish him off. Classic Player-Killer tactics, really.
If the Lady wins… will she still attack me after I respawn? Aggression resets on respawn in games, but in the Tower… it’s not like I’ve respawned in the middle of a boss battle before. Death is death, usually. There’s nothing after 0 HP for a Player.
I guess I’ll find out.
[HP: 0/10]
--
Scrp …thmp. Scrp …thmp.
Vivian snapped to. He wore thick gloves, and dug quietly in the dirt by the side of the path, trowel in hand. Sitting back, he rubbed his forehead and looked around. How long has it been since I respawned? The whole momentary amnesia thing that happens sometimes sucks.
He looked at his hands, turning the tools over. But in return, I get tools, so I can’t complain too much.
The hand trowel he held spanned the length of his hand, its edge sharp enough to dig with and cut roots, but not sharp enough to do serious damage to a human. Better than his bare hands, but not as good as the clippers. He tossed it, giving the spade a quick spin. The balance isn’t bad. Once I defeat the Lady and Kors, I’ll have to take a moment and sharpen it up.
Turning to the hand claw, he tilted his head. This… His eyes lit up. He pushed the middle tong back so that only two tongs remained upright. Holding it up to his face, he lightly pressed the two remaining tongs against his face. Not quite wide enough. He pulled the two tongs apart a little, then checked it again. One more adjustment, and he nodded, satisfied, as the hooks tapped gently against his shut eyelids. Eye hooks. Not the most elegant weapon, but a weapon nonetheless.
He hung the newly-formed eye hooks on his hip. As he went to stand, the hole he’d been digging caught his eye. He paused and scanned the edge of the path yet again.
A plug of grass sat beside the hole. Vivian sighed, scooping it up and inspecting it more closely. Grass? I guess it’s too much to hope for something useful.
[Appraise Plants] SP: 1
Appraise any plant to learn more about it. Plants appraised: 2
[Ordinary Grass]
This plug is composed of ordinary grass. It’s very soft and green!
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
Vivian blinked. He looked at the plant again, then shrugged and put it in his Inventory with a flick of his hand. I guess it’s better than nothing. Still need to find that flower box…
A flower box that doesn’t drop when I respawn, ideally.
Where the hell can I find that?
Vivian paused, then rolled his eyes at himself. “I’m standing in the middle of it, idiot. The Garden of Lost Souls! I can grow things here until I move on to the next floor. They won’t be in danger of getting dropped, either, and what kind of Player messes with plants when they’re too busy fighting Lost Ones and the Lady?”
But wait, I already appraised a plant…? So why did I only get the skill now? Did the first one not count? Vivian frowned. “Show plant library?”
[Library]
Ghost Rose
Ordinary Grass
“Hey, System! How come I didn’t get the skill the first time I procc’d it?” Vivian shouted at the sky.
He took a deep breath, then shook his head. It didn’t cost me SP, either, so I can’t complain. Is it because the Ghost Roses had the old-fashioned text with that ‘adventurer’ bullshit that they didn’t proc the appraisal skill? Vivian frowned, then sighed. “That sounds way too much like the Tower…”
Or was it because the Tower was sneakily whispering directly into my brain?
Vivian clapped his cheeks. “I can be paranoid later. For now, let’s go wipe up the scraps from the Lady’s battle.”
He took a moment to orient himself, then headed back toward the battle at a jog.
I’m Level 1. Shit for stats, but nothing to lose. And when you’ve got a lot of bodies and not much else, it’s time to use human wave tactics!
“Status,” Vivian requested.
[Status]
HP: 10/10
SP: 5/5
STR: 5
MAG: 1
SKL: 7
SPD: 7
MDEF: 5
DEF: 5
Skills
[Gardener Tool Proficiency] [LOCKED] Lvl 1
[Dig] Lvl 1
[Claw] Lvl 1
[Appraise Plants] Lvl 1
Vivian twisted his lips. As expected, I’m back to level 1, and I’ve lost my Rare and Legendary skills. Damn. Oh well. Not beyond expectations.
Looking at what I have, though… [Claw] is more immediately useful than [Dig], though I’m more curious about [Dig] in the long run. What does Lvl 10 [Dig] look like? Instant earthworks? The ability to dig trip holes with a single swing? It’s the kind of skill that looks weak, but can totally change the battlefield.
I’ll have to regain that on future lives and try investing in it, see where it goes.
A Lost One hurtled past him, a blazing meteor in phosphorus. Vivian chased after it. A moment later, he heard the clash of battle. The Lady reared up over the hedges, the rose bobbling on her face. Kors leaped after her, teeth gritted, blood running down his limbs, his legs tainted with the purple of poison.
Vivian’s eyes widened. That’s right! I almost did a dumb! He ran back and forth on the path, quickly racking up a dozen laps. Is this not grassy enough…? Come on, proc!
[Tiptoe Through the Tulips] Lvl 1
Vivian grinned. Perfect.
He crouched, preparing to shimmy through the hole he’d clipped for Noah, then paused. “Hold up. Why am I taking part in this battle? I’m on the outside. No one knows I’m here, and no one’s aggro’d me yet. Why not practice the time-honored tradition of kill-stealing instead?”
Vivian glanced up at the battle. Looks fierce, but there’s still some time before either of them run out of HP. Swordsmen are good at dodging, and though he’s taking poison damage, he’s probably got an anti-poison skill of some description, something to slow or lessen that damage. The Lady of the Lost, on the other hand, is a hidden Boss. She’ll have a massive HP bar for a level twenty-five.
Reaching out from his crouch, Vivian ran his hands over the cobbles around him until he found a flattish one with some coarseness to it. He held his hand out, and the spade fell into it. Vivian ran the spade over the coarse stone in a circular motion. Every few passes, he lifted the spade and tested the edge, then returned to sharpening it on his makeshift whetstone. When he finished the left and right side of the outside edge, he pried up the stone. Turning it on its side, where the stone sloped away, he sharpened the inside edge of the spade.
Every so often, Vivian paused from sharpening the blade to check on the battle. Enormous luminescent petals drifted down as the Lady’s rose wilted. Blood stained the roses and yews red as she landed heavy blows on Kors.
At last, the blade sharpened, Vivian stood. He tossed it in his hand, memorizing the balance, then drew out the hand claw. He nodded to himself. “They should be low HP now. It’s time to make my move.”