Chapter 3

I trudged through the woods, cursing the goblin for its attack on my knee. Shortly after I’d killed it, the goblin’s body and gear, as well as the fluffy carcass, both disappeared. I knew it was an aspect of the Tower. It was being ‘stored’ because this was the first climb. According to our instructors, after this climb, we’d be able to access everything stored at any time. For now, until the first climb was done, it would remain out of reach.

“Stupid mistake.” I grumbled to myself, my eyes darting around the wooden trunks. Here and there scampering animals, many small and furry, kicked up fallen leaves or broken branches. The sounds caused me to flinch, thinking another foe may be nearby. “Never let your guard down.” I said aloud, mimicking the Commander. “Within the Tower, one misstep, one ill-timed block or dodge, can equal death.”

I’d been lucky. Goblins were the weakest of all monsters in the Tower. If it had been something stronger, armed with more than just a wooden club so thin it was really just a large stick, I’d have more than just a bruised knee. It was a painful lesson. One I won’t forget any time soon.

“The first floor is home to goblins and wolves,” I whispered as I continued. They’d outlined the different types of basic monsters we’d find ranging from the first to fifth floor. Information compiled from climb after climb. Every climber, upon exiting the tower, was expected to record their ascent with the Cathedral. That information was then shared with all future climbers, allowing each climber the most valuable resource of all. Knowledge.

As recruits, we’d been given access only to the first five floors. In all the years of the Reaping, there were zero records of a recruit making it past the fifth floor. That Floor Boss, a creature named ‘The Goblin King’, was said to be impossible to take down on the first climb. I had no delusions about doing so. But at the very least, I wanted to see what he was like, firsthand. The more I could learn on this first climb, the more I could experience, the better prepared I would be for the climbs that followed.

Rustling caught my attention, and I saw the bent over form of another goblin. His back was to me, and I froze, watching the creature dig at the base of a tree. By his side, tiny morsels I recognized as mushrooms. They were a basic food gathered from the Tower and served as a staple of most meals. Readily available, with a meaty taste, they were cheap, and filling. Not only that, but they could also be prepared in a variety of ways and added to almost every dish possible. There were also craftsmen, those with the Alchemist jobs, who could turn the right types of mushrooms into magical elixirs.

I judged the distance between myself and the goblin. Its club was leaning against the tree, and it was using both of its clawed, grubby hands to dig out the fungi. With my knee, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to dash over to the creature in time to take it down. Luckily, there was another option.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I sheathed my sword as silently as possible, while keeping my shield out, just in case. Then, I held my hand down to my side, palm opened and focused. Every climber was gifted. That is, we all had the basic ability to use both arcane skills and holy skills. We started with two at our disposal, fireball, and heal. However, for the first climb casting heal was forbidden, though I didn’t know if that meant we shouldn’t, or couldn’t, cast it. A stipulation I wasn’t brave, nor stupid enough, to test if we could cast it or not.

Fireball, on the other hand, was a perfectly viable option. I focused on the magic within my body, the feeling of it responding to my call. Every recruit could cast a total of five of these basic spells, whether heal or fireball, in a single day. It was said after our first climb, that would change. For now though, I summoned my first of five Fireballs in my palm. The Tower mark on my right hand glowed red as the glowing orb of flame appeared. I cocked my arm back, shield still raised just in case, and took aim. Then, once I was certain of the distance, the spell little more than the size of a fist in my open palm, I lobbed the spell.

It soared in an arc towards the goblin and smashed against its back. The flames erupted outwards, burning the mushrooms on the ground. The goblin’s clothes caught fire, and the force of the impact slammed it forward. Its cries were buried as its face sunk into the soft dirt, and I rushed it, redrawing my sword as I moved. It seemed the spell wasn’t strong enough to kill it with a single blow. But it did what I needed it to do. Caught off guard, head buried in mud, and clothes on fire, the poor creature had no chance to defend itself against my attack. My sword plunged into its back, severing its spine, and ceasing its efforts. The creature slumped forward, unmoving, as the flames consumed its tattered clothing. I felt a moment of nausea, as the smell of burnt goblin flesh and hair assaulted my nostrils, but I fought it down.

Then, I stamped out the smoldering flames around the tree, watching as the goblin’s body, its club, and the burnt mushrooms all magically disappeared. Once again alone in the woods, I cleaned my blade off in a grassy patch nearby.

“Two down.” I said aloud to nobody in particular. Two goblins slain. They were pathetically weak, that was for sure. Yet still, I’d already taken a club to the knee, and used one of my five precious spells. “Many more to go.” I said confidently, resolving myself to not let it get to my head. Confidence, as Commander Kin always said, is the first step towards a quick death.

I looked further into the woods, past the tree with the mushrooms, searching for any sign of the portal to the next floor. I strained my ears, listening past the sounds of nature around me, for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing, save for what sounded like running water. With no other leads, and finding myself suddenly thirsty, I decided my next stop, would be whatever the source of that sound was. Outside of the Tower, our water source was a massive well, that led down to who knew what. It tasted of minerals and earth, but it was all we had. Still, I couldn’t help but lick my lips and wonder. What would the water within the Tower tase like?