Chapter 81

The four of us made our way slowly back to Climber’s Rest, taking time to browse shops along the way, our newly acquired wealth burning a hole in our pockets. It was hard to resist the gear in the shops, premade armors and weapons, along with an assortment of other bits and bobs. The potions, especially, were tempting, considering they had a variety of effects. Some were basic, restoring health or MP. Others, according to the shop keepers, could temporarily boost stats, though the cheapest of those was a gold a piece.

The mana and health potions, on the other hand, for the lowest quality, which would restore only 10 of either resource, was a single silver. Ones that replaced 50, were 5 silver, while the ones that replaced 100, were 10 silver. Interestingly, there were potions with the same purpose, though instead of restoring a number, they claimed to simple fully restore the missing stat. Those, were a whopping gold a piece. With others, mixing the healing capabilities, or granting a slow recovery over time, varied in price.

In short, all I realized by browsing the alchemical shops was how important a proper budget would be when it came to potions. Given the wide array of types available, not even going down the path of poisons, trap liquids, and such, a Climber could, in theory, ensure they were always properly prepared if they kept a good supply of the varying types. The right potion for the right job after all, would be key. But acquiring such a horde of potions was no small feat. I made a mental note to keep an eye out for alchemist jobs. Maybe spending a day gathering herbs and reagents for the Alchemist Guild would be more than worth it.

Past those shops, we made the mistake of taking a peek inside an Enchanters shop. Unlike the various other shops, which seemed to specialize in potions, or weapons, or armor, scrolls, and so forth, the Enchanter’s shop was a catch all. They had weapons, they had armor, they had jewels, jewelry, and anything else you could imagine. The only thing left to the imagination, inside of that particular shop, was the question of how in the name of the Tower you’d be able to afford ANYTHING in the shop.

The cheapest item in the shop, a pair of boots that made the user immune to poison, cost 5 gold. Five. Gold. Even if the four of us pooled our money together, we couldn’t afford those boots. And, honestly, was poison protection really worth it? There had been an antidote potion at the alchemist shop for 25 silver that could cure all poisons. It made me wonder, what inside of the Tower necessitated poison protection to that degree?

Another, similar item was a collection of pendants, gold in the shape of flames, with a small ruby in the center. These pendants offered fire protection, to a degree. And each of the little, well trinkets really, was 10 gold. I knew the tenth-floor boss was a Fire Salamander. Hans had worn a ring of fire resistance, according to Roxy, the assassin of Ryker’s party that had saved us from the D ranked climber. Had his ring cost that much? And had it been worth it? It had to be, if Hans had purchased one, right? That man, for all his aggressive and illogical bullying, didn’t seem the type to throw money away for nothing. Then again, nothing said he hadn’t just stolen it from another Climber, or something like that. That… seemed a bit more probable.

Either way, Enchanter’s Shop had simply taken our momentary feeling of wealth and pushed us back to feeling impoverished in the span of mere minutes. That had been the last shop we’d visited, before we made our way, with a bit less spring in our steps, to Climber’s Rest proper.

“Welcome back,” a smiling Alexandra greeted the four of us as we stepped to her counter. Her book was opened, the page already turned to ours. “I heard Jade had a successful trip into the Tower,” Alexandra looked from me to Alax. “And I trust you’ve all learned a valuable lesson today?” Her gaze never left Alax, even if her words were directed at all of us.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“I, er, yes ma’am.” Alax said softly, unable to hold Alexandra’s gaze, which sharpened when he uttered the final bit. It was apparent she really hated being called that.

“Good, good.” She closed the book with a loud snap. “I’ve cleared the four of you of the job. Marked as a completion if you were curious. Even though the job itself was cut short,” she smiled sweetly at us, “none of the Hunters fell, and overall, the Jungle Titan’s body itself was worth more to the Hunter’s Guild than any number of gorillas you could have helped them acquire in a single day. In short, all’s well that ends well.”

“I don’t think Quill would consider it a successful hunt,” I said sullenly, thinking back to the poor hunter. A month worth of work, out the window. Poor guy. “We cost him his shot at Master Hunter.”

“He cost himself his shot at Master Hunter.” Alexandra said, correcting me. “If he failed today, then it means he’d failed twice already before today’s hunt. Considering their need for 8 out of ten successful quota hunts. Do not place unreasonable burdens and expectations on yourselves,” she looked at me then, her tone almost motherly, “the only expectations you should live up to, are your own.”

She smiled then, and I saw the flash of sharpened teeth once more, the faint red light flickering for a slight moment in her eyes, so quickly it could have been imagined. “And mine.”

“Now then,” her tone was back to normal, the extra color in her eyes gone, her teeth, within expectations, “do you have any questions for me? Would you like to return your rented weapons, or hold onto them for another day? I’m here, as always, to ensure all your needs are taken care of. All you have to do, is ask.”

“I’ll purchase some potions for tomorrow, if that’s alright.” Nyle was the first to speak. He’d already told us he planned to purchase them from Alexandra. The price of her potions had been cheaper than the listed prices at the potion shop.”

“Certainly,” she said with a smile and a nod, “just tell me how many you need, and what type, and I’ll be happy to help.”

Nyle looked at us, pausing, and I took the opportunity to step in. We’d discussed this as well.

“Before that, we had a question.” I said slowly.

“Just one?” Alexandra asked with a wry smile on her face.

““It’s alright if we just climb and level tomorrow, right?”

“Of course it is.” She said with a chuckle. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Er,” I shifted uncertainly, thinking back to what Quill had said about Tower Sickness. He’d claimed Climbers didn’t have to worry about it, but, well, how would he know? He wasn’t a Climber.

“You’re wondering about Tower Sickness, aren’t you?” Alexandra offered, as if she’d read my mind. Could… could she read minds?”

“I’m not a mind reader,” she said with a laugh, “if you were wondering. I’ve just been at this job for a long, long time, and it’s the same, every year.” She smiled sweetly at me, which did absolutely nothing to alleviate my newfound worry that she could somehow tell what I was thinking. “As long as a Climber is spending ample time within the Tower, they do not have to worry about any negative repercussions like Tower Sickness. Completing jobs is important, and we have our ranking system in order to ensure Climber’s are completing tasks to benefit both themselves, and the other guilds. Obviously, a Climber is expected to take on jobs at given intervals, but days spent to just level and climb, are perfectly reasonable and allowed as well.” She tapped her closed book. “If you’re ever close to being in danger of falling prey to something like Tower Sickness, I’ll let you know. It’s my job, after all.”

“You keep saying like Tower Sickness,” Nyle cut in, “why?”

Alexandra shifted her gaze, almost hungrily, from me, to Nyle. “Because for Climbers, Tower Sickness isn’t a problem, but there is something…equivalent to it. Therefore, while I could easily just say you don’t have to worry about Tower Sickness, it would be unkind, in a sense, to not at least mention there are other things, similar to it, that could present a problem to you.”

“Such as?” Nyle pressed.

Her eyes twinkled, and she leaned forward, the low collar of her blouse revealing pale white flesh. She drew as close to Nyle as she could, and the rest of us leaned in as well, our focus fully fixed on Alexandra.

“It’s called Damnation,” she said quietly, her voice barely audible. “And I can promise you, it is far worse than anything those with Tower Sickness can experience.”