Madness.
Heavy sentiments and the snapping of long-strained tensions flared out of those inside the coliseum. Scathing screams and angry shouts blasted back and forth from two divided groups of Climbers.
Cracks formed between the class of newbies, separating those who originated inside the Tower and those who came from outside. The earlier arguments between Dylan of the Fortuna Guild and Vice Guild Master Liam of the Adonis Guild put an intense spotlight on the fragile and hidden hatred long building between the factions of Climbers.
More panic and unrest overtook the already high-tension environment as Ms. Maribell and Vice Guild Master Liam argued back and forth.
“Why didn’t you stop those two idiots the moment they started fighting, Liam!? Especially Duncan! You know he always tries something underhanded because of the backing of his father and Fortuna!”
“And start a guild war, Anna?! You know Fortuna and Adonis already do not see eye to eye! After the anniversary of the founding of the Lazar Kingdom, we still have the annual Towers Tournament! I cannot weaken the power of our kingdom before the get-together of our neighbors and their Towers by instigating a civil war!”
“So you will let an innocent newbie’s summon die at the hands of that twisted and corrupt kid instead?!”
“No, that is not true! I came and stopped them before anything like that happened! You know we're only to step in when necessary during feuds of the lower ranks!”
“It doesn’t mean you wait till the last minute when all the damage has already been done! It wouldn’t have escalated to this extent if you stepped up earlier! What are you even doing, Liam?!”
“Like I said! I have to also think of the big picture! You saw how Dylan immediately reacted when I made a move! No matter what I do, this would have been the same result! Even more innocent bystanders would have been caught in our dispute! You saw how that coward used his large area of effect skill! He was out to harm everyone who was not a Climber from within the Tower!”
Unable to completely refute Liam’s claim irked Ms. Maribell even more. Those arguing around her also annoyed her. She glared at her divided class of newbie Climbers and took out more than just her frustrations at their hatred towards each other.
“Everyone! Shut the hell up! I will not allow this nonsensical discrimination to happen in my class. Duncan will be punished if he dares to show up again. The same goes for the rest of you! We are Tower Climbers! But most of all, we are all humans who are all trying to survive in our invaded world! There is no difference between the lot of you!”
Liam chimed in, “That is right! Why the hell are you all fighting amongst yourselves?! We all have only one enemy! The Dungeons and their Heathens!”
A Climber from those who came from outside the Tower shouted out in response, “Then tell those damn stuck-ups, who think they’re better than everyone else, to shove it up themselves! My parents worked hard to feed them while we lived outside and next to danger!”
An angry bellow responded from the group of Climbers across from them who came from within the Tower. “That’s all you outsiders are worth! If you’re not accepted by the Tower then that’s your own fault! No one asked you to be a farmer! Go hunt in the Wilds if you dare! Hypocrites!”
“Oh, the irony! So say the people biting the hands that feed them!”
“No one asked you to do so! You all can’t even do that much without needing to grumble and complain when you did it of your own volition! Your actions only prove it!”
“You attacked us unprovoked! Your dumb leader nearly killed that guy’s new summon! Bastards! Every damn one of you! Twisting the truth!”
Deep lines formed on Ms. Maribell’s forehead, and she screeched, “ENOUGH!”
She held nothing back and fully unleashed her aura. An immense pressure slammed everyone into the ground. Even Vice Guild Leader Liam collapsed onto one knee.
“I will have no more of this. Discrimination is unwelcome in my class. I am training Climbers to fight the Dungeons, not ourselves. If you cannot abide by that simple ideology then leave. There is no correct side because WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME SIDE! We are human. Period! Go home and think about what I said. If you don’t agree then do not come back tomorrow. Dismissed!”
Many huffed and grunted in response, still glaring back at their polar opposites in the opposing Climber faction. Ms. Maribell looked around, searching for Thane, who was attacked by Duncan and his viper summon. However, she actually didn’t see the attack on Beta and didn’t know who was attacked. She glanced back and glared at Liam.
“Where’s the kid whose summon got attacked?”
“Jeez, Anna. We’re actually on the same side with this issue. Why are you taking out your anger from dealing with Dylan on me?”
“You’re not innocent in this matter, Liam. You know you should have stepped in sooner. Redeem yourself. Come with me and help out the kid. Give him a token.”
“A whole token?!”
“Healing his summon in time for the founding festival and the academy competition is important. This mess will delay his growth and put him behind the others. All the guild recruiters will be there as well. Besides, didn’t you mention the bigger picture with the great Towers Tournament? Sounded like you needed all Ivory Tower Climbers to be at their best, right? One token won’t make you go broke, Vice Guild Master Liam.”
“It’s a lot for a newbie! And nowadays the Tower is giving them newbies two to start off with!”
“And now you will give him another. Let’s go.”
Ms. Maribell made a snappy turn and walked off but stopped. “Who was it again?”
“Ugh. So like you, Anna. Acting before knowing completely. Over there.” Liam pointed to the crestfallen Thane, who was being consoled by Bradley and Horacio. “The young man is quite unlucky. He lost his father during the Dungeon attack a few days ago.”
Ms. Maribell stopped in her tracks and looked back wide-eyed at Liam, trying to confirm if what he said was the truth. She saw no lies, only pity in Liam’s eyes.
No wonder. Thane was dead set on never becoming a Climber. I even thought of him being in the academy was a waste of time. Now I sound like those assholes. What a hypocrite you are, Anna.
Liam and Ms. Maribell walked over to Thane and his friends.
“Hey, kid. We meet again,” Liam awkwardly stated, and Ms. Maribell gave him the side-eye.
Thane weakly looked over, and rage flooded into his viens upon sight of the familiar large stout nose on Liam’s face.
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“You! You bastard! You stopped me and knocked me out! I couldn’t try to save my father because of what you did!”
Bradley looked up at the silent vice guild master with shock, understanding more of what happened that tragic day with Thane and his father.
“Thane, I am so sorry for your loss,” Ms. Maribell said, lowering her head.
She felt guilty for her long-standing opinion of Thane wasting space at the academy when he was not even going to become a Climber. She now understood his change of mind. However, Thane and the others did not know her thoughts and were taken aback by their teacher’s odd display.
“There was nothing you could have done for your father then, but maybe you can now. Here, kid. Take this,” Liam nonchalantly stated while handing Thane a Tower Token.
“I’m not a kid, and I don’t want your pity,” Thane hissed back.
“See, Anna! The kid didn’t even want it! Fine by me, brat! But if you’re not a kid, be a man and take the token. It’s not only my pity. Anna was right. I was at fault. I should have stepped in sooner to stop Duncan, even if it would have caused more chaos from Dylan. I know it’s not something I can apologize for. My lack of judgment nearly killed your new summon, and my inability to come faster to save your father caused you grief.”
Thane momentarily went silent. He looked at Vice Guild Master Liam and saw sad eyes that wished to have been able to do more.
“It’s not your fault. I was not strong enough. Fine,” Thane said, taking the token from Liam’s hand.
He already knew he was given a second chance. He needed to fulfill the agreement to help the entity that contracted Beta to him. His parents would be returned to him in perfect condition, but to do so, he needed Beta and himself to become strong. Liam’s token would help him reach his goal even faster.
Liam faked a cough. “Ahem. You didn’t hear it from me. Fighting will likely be prohibited for now. However, it won’t be during the academy competition at the end of the month. Revenge would be perfect in front of a crowd, in my opinion.”
Ms. Maribell sharply elbowed Liam’s stomach, knocking the breath out of his lungs. He exhaled all the air while curling his burly upper body into a ball.
“Stop saying such things! You’re a leader of Adonis, Liam!” She looked back at Thane and said, “Remember, Thane. We are on the same side. However, sometimes people need to be put in their place.”
Liam snapped back and gasped for air before responding, “The heck, Maribell! You elbowed me and went on to say that? The injustice to my stomach!”
Ms. Maribell huffed and walked off.
“Hey! Anna! Anna Maribell! Jeez!” Liam grunted and turned to Thane, saying, “Spend those tokens wisely, I don’t know what your summon needs to recover quickly, but a search in the academy library and Marketplace may help.”
Thane nodded in understanding, and Liam rushed after Ms. Maribell. “This ain’t over yet, Maribell! You owe my stomach an apology!”
Thane looked at the token in hand before clenching his fist tightly. His fist shook with anger and determined revenge.
“I need to get stronger.”
“Yeah, we all do, Thane. Hey, how about we go to headquarters and do some brainstorming? Unless you want to go to the library like Vice Guild Master Liam suggested. Horacio, come with.” Bradley excitedly stated.
“Wow, you guys have a headquarters?!”
“Thane tilted his head. “We do?”
Bradley awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “Ah. Well, um, It is unofficial. Usually, we just meet at Thane’s house or mine.”
“Oh, that works too. So where are we going?” Horacio eagerly asked.
Thane smirked. “Yeah, where to, Guild Master Bradley of the New Hope Guild.”
“Whoa! Is that part of your plans?! I want in, too!”
“Sure! We can have two vice guild masters! My left and right hands! Bwahaha!”
Thane rolled his eyes but let out a weak chuckle.
“So, Thane. Library or your house?”
“My house? How about yours instead?”
“That’s fine too. So, did you want to check out the library to see what can help your summon?”
“No, it’s ok. I think I know. Beta already told me.”
“Beta? Told you?”
“Yeah, my summon. Can’t you guys communicate with your summons in your head?”
Horacio and Bradley looked at each other. Horacio shrugged, and Bradley shook his head.
“That is a no, Thane. Now, I am curious. What kind of summon is Beta? How does it talk to you like that, and how does it know what it needs?”
“I don’t know, but we’ll find out at your place. Or- Wait. You know what, maybe we should head over to my place. Beta’s a mess right now, and I don’t want to mess up your parent’s house.”
“Ok! Let’s go!”
The trio returned back to the locker room of the coliseum, heading back towards the portal hub and to the lobby area of the first floor of the Ivory Tower. Walking out of the Tower, Thane attempted to get to know Horacio a bit more.
“What part of the kingdom are you from, Horacio?”
“About one district away from the collapsed walls. How about you guys?”
Bradley shouted excitedly, “Me too! We might actually live in the same district! I am by the barracks of the Wall Guards.”
“Oh, yeah! I know where that is. I’m not too far from there too. Maybe like two blocks or so.”
“Really?! What a small world, and we have never met before. Dang.”
“Yeah, it would’ve been nice to know you guys sooner. We could have gotten into all sorts of mischievous.” Horacio said with a grin and eyes that looked for trouble. Fun trouble.
Thane sighed. “That’s just Brad. I don’t go looking for trouble. Bradley just like bringing them to me.”
“Hond was right, Thane. You are stiff and strict just like Strauf.”
“Unlike you, I don’t have a fetish for getting yelled at.”
“You know you like it. Remember that view from the walls?”
“...”
“You guys went up the walls and didn’t get into trouble?!”
“We did,” Thane corrected.
“But we still went,” Bradley smirked and added.
“Bring me next time, okay? How about you, Thane? Where do you live?”
Bradley looked uncomfortably at Horacio and tried winking at him to not ask Thane too directly. He worried Thane would get triggered or dampen his mood.
Thane looked at Bradley and let out a chuckle. “It’s OK, Brad. I’ve accepted my reality. I live next to the breached walls. I made it out, Horacio, but my dad didn’t.”
Horacio then understood why Bradley madly winked at him. “I’m sorry, Thane.”
“It’s okay. I’m gonna get stronger and reverse all of this.”
The mood darkened, but Thane did not seem so down, so the other two were not as bothered, and they continued chit-chatting all the way to Thane’s home. Thane unlocked his front door and led the two inside. Turning on the lights, he brought them to the dining table that had one too many chairs in the kitchen area.
“Brad, pull out another chair for yourself. Have a seat, Horacio. You two go ahead and start first. I’ll grab us some refreshments.”
Horacio curiously looked around Thane’s home. It was still orderly like the way Thane’s father left it, but there was a homey touch with repeatedly used kitchenware hanging or placed all around, giving a cozy feel.
Bradley started off their discussion. “So, these are my thoughts. There are a few things we can and should do, but first and foremost is maxing out our potential per level.”
Horacio tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
Thane walked over and handed them each a cup of iced tea and sweet snacks. “Well, Ms. Maribell taught us that the human potential for everyone is unique to themselves, meaning my maximum stats as a normal person are fixed. And so are yours. Once I reach my full potential, nothing else can be gained. It’s the upper ceiling that cannot be broken; the limits of mankind.”
Bradley continued where Thane left off.
“However, that is where the Tower System comes in, and also why Climbers are sometimes not seen as human any longer. Once you level up from level zero to level one, your upper limit that should not have been able to be broken is breached. You then have a new upper limit. Each level has a new upper limit. To maximize the potential, Ms. Maribell strongly advises us to max out our limit before leveling up through defeating monsters or by completing quests; which leads to the second part, actually leveling up.”
Bradley stuffed a cookie in his mouth before taking a sip and speaking while eating with a mouthful.
“Once our potentials are maxed out, I think we should then take on quests to level up and to obtain needed points and tokens to learn skills for our classes.”
“Bro, manners. Ignore Brad, Horacio. His parents are strict. He’s like this when he’s not at home.”
“Oh good! No worries! I hoped you guys wouldn’t mind,” Horacio said, imitating Bradley’s exact motions and eating and speaking with an open mouth. “Why wasn’t my class taught this? And couldn’t we just train more later to reach the increased upper limits?”
Thane sighed and caved in, following suit with a stuffed mouthful. “I think I know what you’re trying to say, Horacio. However, according to Ms. Maribell. If you don’t max out your potential from your previous level, your max ceiling on the next level is lower than what it could have been.”
“I see.”
Bradley munched and added, “The Tower System technically has this all planned out. The Towers creates a cycle and a sort of economy for us and them. I am sure they gain more out of this than we do, but we still gain more than a normal human would. Climbers become superhuman once they start leveling up. This plan applies to the three of us, but you have extra work at hand, Thane.”
Thane gritted his teeth and nodded. “That damn Duncan. But I guess it’s actually a blessing disguised as a disaster.”
“What do you mean?” Horacio asked.
“I think Beta was asleep most of the fight, even while being kicked away. It wasn’t until the devastating bite from Duncan’s viper summon that woke it up.”
“Is that really a blessing though? You now have a badly banged-up summon, Thane.” Bradley said with concern.
“I thought so too, but-” Thane stopped his sentence and sighed. “Here. It would be easier to just show you. Come forth, Beta!”
A black fissure cracked in the middle of the air in the kitchen, and Beta, with its fragments, dropped down onto the wood flooring with a heavy thud and clanking. Multiple holes, still slightly making a burning noise from corrosion, littered Beta’s outer metal shell along with coagulated silver blood and glued-on grime and feathers from Sir Lancelot, Sepharath of the First Order.
“Dude, Thane. Your summon is in really bad shape.” Bradley said, standing up and wanting to somehow help.
“Yeah, but watch,” Thane said but without the same level of worry as his other two guests.
Thane took out the Tower Token gifted to him by Vice Guild Master Liam and placed it touching Beta’s metallic hull.
“You sure about this, right Beta?” Thane asked while Bradly and Horacio looked at each other with confusion.
Yes, Master. Please order the use of my skill, Assimilate.
Beta spoke to Thane telepathically. It was like hearing a weak robotic voice whisper in his ear.
“Assimilate, Beta,” Thane commanded, and the strangest sight occurred and frightened the three of them in the room.