Chapter 47

By the time we got back to the area outside of Climber’s Rest, the first orb had gone dark, meaning we were an hour past Dusk already. Three hours to go, before I could get my new gear. If not for Ryker, I’d still be at the forge, watching every minute detail as the weapons were forged. Seeing the metal, the materials transform as Echo gave them life, was fascinating. Someday, I’d watch the process from start to finish. No doubt about it. But Ryker was right, for now, we had other things to do.

“Bout time you got here,” Flint pushed away from a structure that was part of the obstacle course on the training field. This massive expanse had it all. Obstacle courses, sparring areas, training dummies, targets. Everything Climbers needed to practice, hone their skills, and prepare for the next day. Or, to let some steam out, and handle some bets. Even during training, Nyle and I had definitely made bets on who could finish the obstacle course faster. I usually won.

“Had to make sure Echo was the one to craft Ash’s weapons.” Ryker said as he scanned the area. “Any luck tracking down Eb?”

“Yeah.” Flint pointed towards a set of targets. I could just make out a man sitting against one. He looked to be…juggling fireballs in his hands, the flames making his clothing, red robes tinged with orange, seem to glow, and flash as if they were on fire as well. “I told him about Nyle. He’s eager to teach a new up and coming magic user.”

“Right,” Ryker looked at Nyle, “I’ll take you over and introduce you to him, and make sure everything is taken care of for you.” He placed his hands on Nyle’s shoulders. “You’ll be in good hands. Eb’s a bit older than the rest of us, but I can assure you there isn’t a more reliable mage around. He could be at least B Rank, maybe A Rank, if he really wanted to.”

Ryker looked at Lyn and I. “I’ll leave the two of you with Flint then.”

I opened my mouth, and he stopped me.

“And don’t worry. We’ll get your daggers the moment they’re done. For now, listen to what Flint has to say, and maybe take the chance to grab a bite to eat and bathe, yeah?” He wrinkled his nose. “You smell horrible.”

I looked at my clothes. I’d already unequipped and re-equipped my Climber’s Regalia, repairing and cleaning it via the outfits magic. But that hadn’t washed the blood, grime and filth off of me from the battle against the goblins. And now that I took a moment to think about it, that mud pit I’d found myself in during the fight… maybe hadn’t all been mud.

“That’s, probably a good idea.” I said with a nod. Lyn laughed beside me.

“I told you you smelled like shit.” She laughed again and looked at Flint. “Should we let him bathe now, or after?”

“Later,” Flint said as he watched Ryker and Nyle leave, “you’re my final responsibility before I can kick back and relax. I’m not going to waste my free time letting him clean up. Besides,” Flint shrugged, “consider it part of the training. When you’re a couple weeks into a climb, everyone starts to smell, and there’s nothing you can do to make it go away.” He shuddered, “I had to practically scrub a layer of skin off last time once we cleared the 20th floor’s boss.”

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“What is the 20th floor boss anyways?” I asked. “I know you guys have defeated it. And Ryker mentioned Nyle’s mentor, Thalia, is currently trying to solo it.”

Flint grinned at the mention of Thalia. “Good old Thalia. You know they call her the Ivory Whip? She’s crazy with those things.” He scratched his chin. “If anyone is going to be able to solo that boss from last year’s group of Climbers, it’s her. She’s been solo climbing since day one. But it’s not a boss I’d recommend taking on alone.” He shook his head. “It’s called the Howling Blade. It’s a massive wolf, larger even than the Den Mother, made of shadows. It only materializes to be hit whenever it attacks you, or howls. There are tricks, of course, to make it materialize sooner, but all in all, it’s a nightmare to fight. Fast, hard to hit, a crap ton of HP, and a variety of attacks that are super hard to figure out and predict.”

He shook his head, “it wasn’t easy to beat, and we’ve no intention of fighting it ever again now that we have. Probably died to it a good half dozen times before finally beating that bastard. I think Thalia is on her seventh attempt. It’s hard too, since she’s maxed out her levels until she can beat it.”

“Maxed out her levels?” Lyn asked. “You can max out your levels?”

“More or less.” Flint said. “You stop gaining Tower Essence if you’re more than five levels higher than the monsters you’re killing. The twentieth-floor boss is level 60. Unfortunately, the monsters on the floor are level 40. Thalia is stuck at level 50, trying to kill the damn thing.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” I cut in. “Shouldn’t she be stuck at 46?” I was doing the math. “If the monsters are level 40, and you stop gaining experience…”

“The normal monsters are level 40.” Flint said with a smile, “but there are other things on the 20th floor, and all floors, that offer essence when you defeat them. Thalia’s exhausted not only the ability to gain essence from the monsters, but also, she’s managed to kill the mini bosses as well.”

“Then… that means the mini bosses are…” I started.

Flint’s smile widened. “Bingo.” He said. “And glad we were able to wrap this conversation back around. It’s almost like I planned it that way.” He ran a finger down his pointed goatee, obviously pleased with himself. “Mini bosses are higher leveled than the monsters of the floor they’re on. They’re also a lot more powerful and give more essence when you defeat them. They are the only way, short of bosses, to gain Tower Essence on a floor once you’ve grown too high of a level for the regular monsters. And even then, they have their limits.”

He held up a finger, cutting Lyn and I off. We’d both been about to ask questions.

“First,” he smirked, “as I mentioned previously, mini bosses reward a set amount of Essence, regardless of your level, the first time you kill them. After that, the amount diminishes, and only if you’re within the level range for it. For mini bosses, and bosses, you have to be ten levels higher than it, to stop receiving essence from it, unless you’ve killed it more than four times.”

“And second, and more importantly,” he pointed at the two of us, “mini bosses have stats that are much higher than they should be, compared to their level. A fact, honestly, that applies to all monsters in the Tower, but especially so for mini bosses, floor bosses, and a few other nasty surprises I’ve no intention of spoiling for you all.”

“When it comes to the Den Mother in particular,” Flint continued, leaving his reference to other things to hang ominously between us, “she’s level 10, but her strength and constitution are both at 11, and her dexterity is even higher. And, past that, her HP,” he shrugged, “well, that’s over 1000.”