Chapter 42

We each left the first floor with seven cows in our inventories. Between the twelve new Climbers, and the hundred cows, it had been a first come first serve race to take them down. And considering Nyle was just about tapped out with magic, and Lyn didn’t want to waste arrows, we’d been a tad slower than the others. Not to mention the time wasted with them making me kill the first few cows to ‘show them how it was done.’ All in all, we made up for it in chickens. So, I wasn’t too upset.

“I was starting to wonder if you guys had found the secret cow boss.” Ryker said as we stepped out of the Tower. All the gems but the last were glowing. It was nearly Dusk. If we’d taken much longer, we would have been stuck in the Tower all night.

“Secret cow boss?” I asked hesitantly. “Is that a real thing?”

Ryker grinned mysteriously, “who knows.”

That answer didn’t make me feel better.

“Now then,” Ryker clapped me on the shoulder and smiled at the others. “Let’s get you guys to the Cathedral for a quick level up, and then we’ve got things to do in town, yeah?”

“Chop chop kiddos.” Flint pushed away from the Tower’s smooth surface. He’d been there the whole time, I realized, waiting with Ryker. “Time is money.”

“Flint’s going to tag along.” Ryker said, as if to answer our immediate questions.

“Ain’t nothing else to do today.” Flint responded with a shrug. “And I did promise to give them some coaching on how to take out the Den Mother before the week is done.” He looked at Ryker, “Figured I’d give them some after climbing hours training back at Climber’s Rest once you’re done being a super star Mentor.”

“In that case,” Ryker glanced from Flint to Nyle, “think you can track down Eb for me? Nyle is planning to go mage, and I want Eb to show him the ropes.”

Flint looked at Nyle. “Straight mage, or spellsword?” He asked.

“Uh,” Nyle looked for help. I shrugged. I had no idea what Flint was on about.

“He doesn’t know what that is Flint,” Ryker sighed, “hence my request for you to get Eb.”

“Man, they really don’t teach shit about actually being a Climber, do they.” Flint chuckled and looked back our way. “I swear, you three have no idea how lucky you are Ryker seems to care about you all. It’s going to put you far above all of your peers.”

Ryker ruffled my hair with a grin. “Can’t leave my Mentee high and dry,” he said to Flint. “Besides, I’m just returning the favor. We were just as lucky.”

“I wouldn’t consider drawing Alex’s attention on the first day lucky.” Flint retorted. “Her training was a lot more… heavy handed than what you’re doing for these three.”

Ryker winced at some memory, “fair.” he said softly. “But still, without that, we’d not be the Climbers we are today. And we owe it to Alex to pass that knowledge along.”

“I’ll go on ahead then,” Flint began walking away, “make sure you pick me up something nice in town, yeah? Since you’re kicking me away before the shopping trip.”

“You know you could just do some shopping yourself while you track down Eb.” Ryker called.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“I could,” Flint looked back, grinning. “But that sounds like extra work. Consider it a trade. My time, for something nice.”

He left then, while Ryker shook his head and chuckled. “Lazy freaking sharpshooter.”

“Sharpshooter?” Lyn asked.

“Someone who specializes in the bow,” Ryker said as he began walking towards the Cathedral, motioning for us to follow. “Climbers have developed specialized names for the different types of classes and paths they go down. None are really official, mind you, but they’re used enough it becomes a way to identify ourselves quickly to others. It’s really helpful when multiple groups are coming together to take on a Floor Boss, or when people are recruiting members for higher level jobs.”

He pointed a gauntleted thumb at himself. “I’m considered a Tank. Short and simple. Sometimes my choice, focusing on strength and constitution, combined with heavy armor and a large shield, is seen as a Sentinel.” He paused. “You all met Roxy yeah?”

“Was she the one that took out Hans?” I asked, remembering Flint had mentioned that name.

“That was her. She’s an assassin. She specializes in fast movements and uses weapons like daggers and throwing knives. High dexterity, and a crazy knowledge of poisons. She’s a front-liner to use a term you all know from training, but chances are she’ll be slinking in the shadows and trying to get behind an enemy rather than standing beside me on the front line.”

“Flint, on the other hand, is a sharpshooter. Again, a lot of dexterity, but he focuses on precision shots with his bow from a long range. Then there’s Eb, our mage.” Ryker looked back at Nyle. My best friend’s face had perked up. “Eb is a pyromancer. He specializes in fire magic. There are a lot of different paths for magic focused individuals though, as well as a ton of different spells you can acquire down the road.”

“How do you get more spells?” Nyle interrupted.

“Depends on the type,” Ryker said slowly. “Donating to the Cathedral can see you being rewarded with Holy based spells. Other times you’ll find spells as dropped loot within the Tower. And spells can also be bought within the Tower at specific altars… though they require you to trade Tower Essence for them.” Ryker paused. “Actually, that’s another good lesson, though one you’ll get more details on later. You can spend Tower Essence within the Tower for gear, items, and the sorts, once you reach higher levels of the Tower.”

That had my interest. I could trade Tower Essence for gear? Sure, using it to level up seemed the most important. But if I had to leave the Tower or use a specific altar to level up anyways, perhaps spending some of the Tower Essence, if I didn’t have enough to level, would be better than holding onto it during a climb and risking losing half if I died. More and more options and possibilities seemed to be opening up regarding climbing the Tower, and I really couldn’t help but wonder why none of this had been taught to us over the past eight years.

“You’re drooling,” Nyle said with a laugh as he nudged me. “Stop dreaming of gear and keep listening.”

“healer,” Ryker was saying, I’d missed the start. “He’s collected quite a few powerful holy spells, some that heal us, others that can keep us protected from certain types of attacks, and more than a few that can enhance our stats temporarily in different ways. It really helps us keep a balanced party, and our balance is why we’ve been able to climb the ranks as fast as we can.”

“So, should we be looking for more teammates?” Lyn asked. I was still trying to recall if I’d heard the name Ryker had mentioned for their healer. If I had…my dreams of new gear had completely wiped it from my mind. Oops.

“Three’s a good starting point,” Ryker said, shaking his head from side to side as he spoke. “Build up your teamwork and focus on complimenting each other, and you’ll go far. As you learn more about yourselves, and the path’s you take, you’ll have a better guess on what types of members you need to look out for. Numbers alone mean little in the Tower.” Ryker’s tone grew slightly more serious. “If a person is a bad fit for the team, it can severely weaken a team and cause pointless deaths. Above all else, always remember that teamwork is key. You want people with you in the Tower you can trust, people you can rely on, and people who no matter what, people you can tolerate for days on end during stressful times. The last thing you need is to find out three days into a climb that one of your members is intolerable.” He shivered, “trust me, that’s worse than dying.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, looking at Ryker in a new light. He was only a year older than me, and yet, it was extremely clear he’d seen a lot. He’d been through a lot. Had it only been a year? He’d grown, he’d changed, so much. How much of that was due to the Tower? What would I be like in a year? What would Nyle be like? And Lyn? Would we still be a team? Would we have more members? The thoughts flowed, and a single one came to the top. The one that now seemed to haunt my every moment of free thought.

What type of Climber do you wish to be?