Chapter 21

With the appearance of Ryker, the five men who’d surrounded us left, grumbling curses and shooting us side eyes the whole way. Ryker waited for them to make their way to the entrance gate of the Farmer’s Guild, before he said anything.

“Not even a climber for a day, and already in trouble?” Ryker had a huge grin on his face as he looked me over. “I swear I taught you better than that.”

“You taught me a lot,” I responded, my smile matching his, “including a few dirty fighting tricks if I remember correctly, but I don’t recall a lesson on avoiding my fellow Climbers.”

Ryker looked at the group and sighed. “Yeah, I’d not really consider that lot Climbers.” He shook his head, and his armor clanked in the process. “They’re what’s commonly referred to as washouts.”

“Washouts?” I asked. Another term I’d never heard till today.

“Climber’s who can’t stomach the job.” Ryker said, his tone filled with disgust. “They claim they’re focused on just keeping the farmer’s safe,” he held up his gauntleted hands and flexed a few fingers in a mocking tone as he continued, “taking one for the team, to serve the city.” He spit on the ground, “really they’re just scared of having to fight monsters around their level. Only one of those five ever made it to the tenth floor, and after facing that floors boss, Lan, the one with the axe, called it quits. They’re stuck at D rank, and they’ll stay that way the rest of their lives.”

“Even still,” I pressed, “why would they come after us? What’s the point?”

Ryker opened his mouth to respond, but it was Nyle that cut it.

“Because it makes them feel strong.” He said sullenly. Nyle looked at the group, and his eyes held pity, not hate. “They must really loathe themselves quite a bit. So they pick on newbies, to try and make themselves feel special.”

“Pretty much.” Ryker confirmed. “They go after Coals, that is, new Climbers who have just completed the Reaping, because no offense, but most are easy targets. You’re all brand new, no gear, no idea of what all is actually going on, and only a single climb under your belt. Means you’re inexperienced, and don’t have the levels to fight back against people like Hans and his gang.” Ryker chuckled. “Course, that’s why some of us make sure we’re back in time for the Reaping.” He shot me a wink, “so we can watch over our old Mentees and show them the ropes.”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“They said you don’t normally take farming jobs.” I mentioned. “So how’d you know to be here?”

“Alex passed on where you went.” Ryker said. “I asked her yesterday to give me the heads up on what job you picked, so I could catch up with you. She was more than happy to help. I’ve a pretty good reputation with Climber’s Rest, after all.”

He beamed as he puffed out his plate covered chest a bit. The dark armor hungrily fed on the light around us, seeming to become an oily pool as I looked at it.

“What is that material?” I asked, transfixed by it. It was like looking into glass. Black glass.

“Obsidian.” Ryker said, beaming. “It’s a rare material, took me two months of nonstop work to gather enough for the full set. But, totally worth it.”

“Do you focus on material gathering requests then?” Nyle asked.

“Nah.” Ryker shook his head. “I’m part of a Climbing group. Me and a group of buddies formed it, there’s five of us total, and every day we try to climb a little higher in the Tower. Of course we snag jobs based around the floors we’re working on clearing, which is how we climbed to C Rank, but our main goals are always reaching the next boss, and finding the next rare drop.”

Nyle looked at me, a smirk on his face. “I see where you get it from.”

I shoved him playfully and laughed, turning back to Ryker. “What floor are you on?” I asked eagerly. “What other rare gear do you have? Is that all custom?”

Ryker held up a hand and chuckled. “Questions later Ash.” He nodded towards the doorway we’d originally been trying to enter, before the Washouts had accosted us. “Go check in with the Farm Overseer. I’ll be around all day to answer questions and keep an eye on you so those five don’t cause you any troubles. I’ve got to get back to climbing tomorrow, so I need to make sure you two get as much essence as possible today, to set you off on the right foot.”

A part of me was elated that Ryker was here, helping. We’d grown close during our year together, and he really had helped me grow over the time he was my mentor. He particularly favored a defensive style focused on using a shield and heavy blunt weapons, such as the Morningstar he currently wore, to weather his opponents attacks and punishing them when they grew tired. My constant sparring sessions with him had forced me to get creative, forced me to think on my feet to try and find openings against heavily armored foes.

The other part of me though, couldn’t help but feel the faintest bit of dismay. Spending the day watching over Nyle and I, was a day he wasn’t pushing the Tower. A day he wasn’t with his group of friends, doing what he wanted to. If there was one thing I never wanted to be, one thing I’d actually never even considered myself to be, it was a burden. But right now, in this moment, that’s exactly how I felt.

Ryker ruffled my hair, his armor-clad hand rough enough to make me wince. He smiled knowingly down at me. “Chase those thoughts aside Ash,” he said, “it’s alright to need help every now and then. True Climbers, look out for each other. Otherwise,” he glanced back at the washouts, his tone going quiet, sad, “the darkness will quickly take you.”