Chapter 77
“She never fails to deliver.” Pren commented as the group moved towards Jade. The Hunters were in good spirits, and the other Climbers were all cheering and whooping in response to Jade’s impressive display. As for the Climber in question, she was grinning from ear to ear, leaning against one of the Jungle Titan’s massive, mud and fur covered feet.
“It sounds like you’ve seen her in action more than a few times.” Nyle commented, as we all made to follow the group towards Jade. The four of us, the Coals, were still processing what we’d just seen. Nothing in our training, nothing we’d seen yet, could have prepared us for Rank A Climber’s show of strength.
“Even on my days off, I usually spend my time at the Hunters Guild, hoping for someone foolish enough to accidently summon a Titan.” Pren said with a glance from Nyle, to Alax. “And I pray to the Tower that when they do, Jade’s around to slay the thing. No one does it quite as well as she does.” Her tone was more than just excited, there was something else there, a deeper admiration. “She’s truly a blessing to behold.”
“Is Jade around all that often?” I asked. She was Rank A. Surely, she spent a lot of time in the Tower, on much higher floors, handling much more difficult and demanding requests.
“No,” Pren said with a defeated sigh, before her tone changed shortly after, “which is why when she is, it’s just that much better.” Gone was the serious, responsible, knowledgeable Master Hunter. In its place, was, well… whatever this was.
“She’s got a bit of a crush on Jade,” Quill offered, likely noting the confusion on my face. “She worships her, like a demigod really.”
“I heard that,” Pren shot a look to Quill, “and you know I’ll remember that statement.”
Quill laughed. “But you didn’t refute it.” He ducked an incoming punch from Pren, laughing the whole time. The mood, now that the Jungle Titan had been slain, was relaxed. Too relaxed, all things considered, with how close they’d been to death.
“Life’s too short to lie to ourselves,” Pren said as she waved towards Jade. They were only about 50 feet away from the massive Climber, and Jade returned the wave with a smile and eager wave of her own. “You’ve got to cherish the moments and blessings when you can. In all shapes and sizes.”
The conversation ended as we reached Jade. The stench from the Jungle Titan was practically suffocating, and being this close to its feet, well, nearly made me vomit. Lyn wasn’t so lucky, nor was Nyle. If I had to guess, the only reason I didn’t, nor did Alax, was because we’d already experienced it once before. So, we knew what to expect.
“Figured I’d let you collect the Titan’s body,” Jade said to Pren, as everyone moved slightly away from my two retching friends. “Give you first pick of everything and such. Since I know your hunt’s over for the day.”
“You’re too kind,” Pren said as she moved closer to Jade. As Pren walked past the massive Climber, moving nearer to the foot of the Jungle Titan, she added. “You know you’re always welcome to whatever you want from helping us.”
“Oh, don’t you worry,” Jade’s hand moved quickly as she gently slapped Pren’s backside, causing the Hunter to let out a startled, extremely high-pitched yelp, her momentum carrying her the final few feet to her target. “I always feel like I’m properly repaid for my help here. Besides, I wouldn’t be much of a Titan Slayer if I didn’t, you know, slay titans.”
One hand rubbing her backside, her face glowing slightly red, Pren touched the foot of the Jungle Titan. The carcass, all three pieces of it, disappeared instantly, as she collected the body of the creature. All that remained was the massive imprint in the churned, muddy ground, that had been created by the massive collapsing form. That and the giant circle of darker ground in the crater caused by Jade’s attack, the aftereffects of her holy power.
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“So,” Jade began as Pren looked off into nothing, likely going through her inventory regarding what she’d just acquired. “Am I in luck this time?”
There was a momentary pause, before Pren smiled at Jade, refocusing on the world before her, and not the magical inventory system at her disposal. “I think so,” she said with a smile to Jade. “It looks like we’ll be able to get the whole chest and back in a single piece. And the quality should be at least Legendary in rating, maybe higher.” Her smile grew even larger. “On top of that, just like you promised, I’ll have an eye for Astra to enjoy tomorrow.”
Jade let out an excited whoop and clapped her hands together. “About time,” she said, her tone filled with joy, “I’ve been wanting to make my new armor for what, a good year now?” Jade rubbed her hands together, the motion making the seven-foot-tall woman, somehow, seem like an excited kid. “Thank the Tower for the Coals,” she turned looking away from Pren, towards the group of, well, obvious Coals. That is, myself and my group, the only four wearing Climber’s Regalia. “Which one of you was it again? Not that it matters,” she laughed. “While I hope you’ve learned your lesson about angering the Tower, really, I cannot thank you enough. And considering no one important died today, and I finally have the materials I need for my new armor,” the smile on her face was so large it looked inhuman, “this will probably be the best mistake you guys ever make. So, here, a little something from me, to the four of you.”
Gold flashed in the air, flying towards us. A single gold coin each. Considering we were hunting Gorilla’s for 25 copper per head, the gold coin was more than we could ever expect. A single gold coin, worth 100 silver coins, was the equivalent of 400 gorilla slain. And she’d given out four. That was 1,600 gorilla worth of coin, that she’d just given to us like it was nothing. And she wasn’t done.
“As for the rest of you lot,” a pouch appeared in her hand. She reached in, grabbed out a handful of coins, and tossed them into the air, “for doing your jobs properly and not summoning a Titan. Consider this your lucky day.” She beamed as everyone reached into the air, each grabbing a single golden coin deftly in their hands. “Treat yourselves to a good day, on me.” Jade said with a laugh, as she looked at Pren, and motioned back towards the Portal. “The good Master Hunter and I have a date with a couple different craftsman, to handle the remains of the Jungle Titan, and sorting out my armor. So, for those of you who can die, bugger off back to safety.” She looked at the Climbers then, and her gaze lingered on us. “For those of you who can’t. Well, I don’t really care.” She laughed again, the sound buried quickly in the cheers and laughter of the others. As if on cue, Jade and a beaming Pren began moving towards the Portal. They only got a few feet though, before they were stopped.
“Before you leave,” Alax had moved quickly towards Jade, his eyes focused purely on the mountain of a woman. “Please, if you can,” he glanced at me and my group, and a look of determination crossed his face, before he looked back at Pren. “Would you be willing to be my mentor?”
“Don’t you already have one?” Jade asked, “they’d only have been climbing for a year, considering you’re a proper coal. Too early to already be,” Jade cleared her throat, “I mean. Why do you want me as your mentor?” she said instead.
“I want to be strong,” Alax said firmly, “strong enough to not get hurt and,” he looked at me one last time, and then looked at Pren, Quill, and the other hunters, before returning his gaze to Jade. “And strong enough to protect others.”
“And” Jade pressed, “what of it? That’s pretty much just the standard of being a Climber.”
“And,” Alax faltered, before he dropped his gaze sheepishly, “I want to be able to use Holy skills like you did during that fight.” He looked at her then, looking extremely boyish, his eyes shining with admiration. “Will you tell me what stats I should level, in order to make that happen?”
“There's a better answer,” Jade laughed and slapped him on the shoulder with one of her massive hands. He stumbled forwards under the pressure of it, nearly dropping down to a knee. “No crazy convictions or moral high grounds. You just want to be strong and use the Tower’s powers, and that, I can most definitely, teach you.”
“Thank,” Alax started, but Jade wasn’t done.
“I’ll meet up with you at the Tower tonight, a couple hours after Dusk. Before then though,” she put an arm around Pren, “like I said, I’ve important errands to see to.”