Chapter 35

His suspicion that the theme of the eighth floor was based on the Iliad was confirmed quickly by speaking to one of the white-eyed guard that was standing just outside the encampment that served as the party’s SafeZone. Eli wasn’t entirely familiar with the story, having only watched an old movie when he was younger about the matter, but fortunately John Sr., Erik, and Lucy the Seamstress were all more familiar with the various forms of the myth than he was.

So he listened carefully as they informed him how the myth was supposed to go. He’d heard the word ‘Trojan’ in regards to computer before, of course, but never imagined that it came from such an old story.

They spent some time discussing the matter, as well as adjusting to their new levels and examining their spoils from the last floor.

Eli pulled up his own stats as the others activated their armor tokens, which conjured physical sets of armor that mirrored the style of the Greeks soldiers surrounding them. Eli wondered whether the style was permanent or if the armor would change from floor to floor, but they wouldn’t find out until they delved deeper.

Name

Elias Mathews

Health

179/179

Age

15

Mana

356/356

Species

Human

Stamina

164/164

Class

Scholar

Strength

15

Level

18

Dexterity

17

Titles

Runekeeper

Agility

15

Party

Unnamed Party (Leader)

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Endurance

18

Guild

None

Constitution

20

Allegiance

None

Magic Power

25

He was level eighteen now, his stats steadily increasing, but at the same time he’d been expecting a greater increase after the massive boost from completing the puzzle of the previous floor.

Thinking of which, he pushed his status aside and examined the floor menu.

Welcome to Floor 8 SafeZone

Time until SafeZone Collapse: 119:53

Floor 8 objectives:

Kill 1000 Men in Honorable Combat

or

Kill Elite Boss

or

Solve Floor Puzzle

Or

Find Stairwell to Floor 9

Completion of any of these objectives will teleport your party to floor 9, regardless of where they are on the floor.

Return to SafeZone before Collapse if you wish to withdraw (Error: Sysadmin Intervention prevents withdrawal at this time)

Good luck!

He sighed. Yeah, it was as bad as he’d thought. He knew nothing about fighting like a soldier, and he was pretty sure that his magic wasn’t ready to take on a Greek shield wall, or whatever the strategy that their cohorts used in combat. He wasn’t an expert classical combat techniques.

Maybe it was the Romans he was thinking of regarding shield walls.

Regardless, he was pretty sure he was out of his depth. So he turned to the adults.

“Okay, I’m just going to lay it on the table. I don’t know what to do,” he admitted. “I mean, I have no idea how to solve this floor’s puzzle.”

Erik looked at him, surprised. “I think it’s pretty obvious. We just have to get the Trojans to open the gates. The Greek Army should take it from there. If this is a recreation of the Iliad, then we just need to follow the Homeric myth.”

“Yeah,” John Sr. agreed. “Let’s go see if we can find Odysseus, or maybe Agamemnon. Once we plant the idea of the Trojan Horse, it should be just a matter of time before they sack the city and complete the floor.”

Eli shrugged, looking around at the other party members. “I don’t have any better idea. Let’s go figure out who’s in charge.”

The party, minus Lucy the Seamstress and Jose the Cook who stayed behind to watch their belongings, left to speak with the guards in the encampment. They learned that they were in the encampment of Ajax. John Sr. got directions to Odysseus’s camp to try to prime him with the idea for the horse, and they marched out across the battlefield.

A small contingent of warriors insisted upon going with them, and that’s all that saved the party from a wipe.

They didn’t see the shimmer of magic until it was too late. The chariot came out of nowhere, it’s horses trampling the soldiers fighting with them and the bladed wheels cutting one man in two. The archers in the back of the chariot took aim and began firing.

Eli activated his clothing enchant, but the arrows were enhanced by Stamina, or magic, or something and they pierced through his defense, embedding deeply in his stomach. His mother screamed in rage and stood over him, calling out for Alaina to heal her son.

Unfortunately their healer had her own problems as she was forced to heal a concussion to Luke and pull out the arrow from his chest before his collapsed lung killed him at the same time.

Eli gasped in pain as the fighting around him came in and out of focus. He saw the soldiers in the back of another chariot pull up and engage in combat with the warriors from his party, including his mother.

A tall man with black hair and a trim beard did battle with Erik Estabon. He fought with confidence and precision, even as Erik fought with the illusory skills of his class. Even though Erik was never actually where he appeared to be, the man always met the teacher’s sword with his own.

“What is your name?” the man asked as they fought, not showing any signs of concern.

“Erik Estabon,” Erik said.

“Erik. Know that you had the honor of fighting Prince Hector of Troy,” the man declared. “Now retreat, or you will die with the rest of your soldiers.”

“You first,” Erik said, a grim smile on his face.

“Very well. I gave you the option,” the man said, and he stabbed the open air. Or at least it looked like he did. But it was really the place where Erik’s chest was, despite the man’s body appearing six inches to the left.

Erik coughed as his lung filled with blood. He fell to his knees, and Hector walked away from him, unconcerned.

Eli watched as the warrior walked to his mother.

“No,” he called out, and he tried to get to his feet, but his vision failed him and faded to black.

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