The Ruby Magician - 1.35
John slammed his sword into his sheath before leaning back against a tree. He groaned and wiped the building sweat off his forehead with a lazy arm. The sun was beating down in various patches within the jungle and the foliage only served to contain the warmed air instead of cooling it off.
“I can't express how badly I want to get out of this jungle,” John said. He drained his waterskin before throwing it back into his backpack. “And now I'm out of water. Perfect.”
Marcy stood beside him on the tree also leaning against it. “You need to get some magical armor. That gambeson isn't helping cool you at all. I don't know how you're functioning in that.”
“I know. But chainmail is a bit too heavy for me to use comfortably and leather armor is too light. I think I'd rather have new armor at this point than my new sword. If we can just progress to the next floor, hopefully we can get out of this hotbox.”
Marcy laughed. “I have a feeling the next floor will also be hot, so you'll need to rethink that strategy.”
John groaned even louder than before, then sat on the ground to rest. “Great. You're probably right! But what in the hells is taking them so long?”
“Wyn! Tasha! Hurry up!” Marcy yelled into the forest. She also took a long drink from her own waterskin before offering it to John. “Here. It's enchanted to refill over time and stay cold.”
John's eyes lit up as he graciously took the leather waterskin. He drank a seemingly endless amount and poured some over his head when his mouth had had enough.
“Almost done!” Tasha yelled back from behind a large bush. She reached down and plucked a large flower while shielding her face from the flower's heat. They felt like miniature torches without giving off a flame. Her back was hot and sweaty from the other flowers she stored in her backpack. “I think this was the last one! Wyn, did you get all of yours?”
Wyn put away his waterskin after both quenching his thirst and cooling his head. He had removed his helmet hours ago, though his hair was still wet from both sweat and water where he had attempted to cool himself off not long ago.
Despite John and Marcy's desire to finish the floor quickly, Wyn and Tasha convinced them to complete the side quest of gathering Sun Spirals before they fought the final lizard enemies. Their curiosity about the rewards gained from finishing the side quest was just too great, and the heat and energy expenditure of clearing thick brush finally broke down both John and Marcy to take an extended break. John and Marcy were also wondering about finishing the quest but their desire to escape the heat far exceeded their interest in flowers that were named after the sun.
Wyn was searching through thick brush with Tasha just outside the clearing that they determined held the final enemies before the floor's portal. Both of them wanted one final opportunity to find the flowers, and they were elated to find a patch of several of them this late in the floor. Wyn was developing a theory that they were more abundant deeper into the floor and jungle overall, and would see if he was right if the second floor was still jungle terrain and held more flowers.
After what felt like hours in the heat, Wyn spotted the eighth and final flower he needed to fulfill the quest in a matter of minutes. "I see my last one! I'm nearly finished!" Just as he had been doing, he used his helmet to block his face from the intense heat of the Sun Spiral before plucking it and adding it to his backpack. He was ready to dispose of them so his back would cool off, though the thought that each of them were potentially worth more coins helped convince himself to deal with the heat they exuded.
Either way he was happy to be finished, and rejoined Tasha with the others with a full but hot pack.
"Finally!" John said, throwing his hands in the air in celebration. "Can we get through the floor already? I don't even think I want to climb again today. I just want a cold bath and a cold drink."
"Yes, we can finish now," Wyn said. "Even though you aren't the one holding the little fires like me and Tasha. I can barely stand it."
"I know," Tasha agreed. "I'm going to be mad if the reward is puny."
"I have a hunch it'll be worth it," Wyn said. "But John's right, let's finish out. I'm curious to see what the reward will be, too."
The group readied themselves before quickly entering the final clearing. Just like yesterday, they immediately spotted two of the large lizard monsters that separated them from the portal that would take them back to the base. Unlike yesterday, there was no group already engaged with them to make the fight even more complicated.
“Just like before?” Tasha asked. She held her staff with more confidence and a steadier hand than her last two climbs.
“Just like before,” John answered with a malicious grin. “I’m ready to -”
“Windstrike!” Marcy said, cutting John off. A series of runes appeared in the air in front of her arrow and she released the arrow as the spell was cast.
It flew with blinding speed between the group of Climbers as a small gust of wind rippled in the path of the arrow. All three of the rookies covered their faces from the aftermath but still tried to peek at the trajectory of the attack.
One of the large lizards faced them after hearing Marcy cast the spell, and right as it turned the arrow struck it directly in its chest. The impact caused a crater to form in its chest as though a huge rock was launched into it by a catapult. The wind element showed its power over the monster’s earth element, and it was knocked backwards onto the ground with a hole in its body so large it was nearly bisected.
It laid still, obviously dead from the Ranger’s attack.
The three Climbers slowly turned to look at Marcy, their eyes wide and mouths open in surprise.
Marcy furrowed her eyebrows. “What? I’m just as ready to be done as you! It’s too damn hot here!”
The others looked at each other with amazement. They still didn’t know the actual power Marcy possessed, and she kept letting small glimpses appear like this attack. It reinvigorated their drive to push on and advance, and they all pushed towards the lone giant standing before the portal.
Wyn had all of his mana remaining as they barely spent any of their resources on this climb, not to mention the recovery time from him and Tasha collecting the Sun Spirals. If only one more obstacle stood in their way, he figured he could be more liberal with his magical energy.
“John,” Wyn said. “Let’s see how quickly we can take the other one out!”
John smiled. “What do you propose?”
Wyn held his hand out towards John’s sword. “Magic Weapon,” he said, casting his spell. White light instantly began to glow from John’s mundane sword.
John simply nodded. “Focus,” he said, as a red aura enveloped his body. He breathed in deep, then out with a hefty force before launching himself towards the final enemy. His empowered body shot him forward with large steps that covered the distance much quicker than a normal person.
Wyn opted to let his friend take the lead in direct combat and would support him when possible with his spear. He didn’t want to get in John’s way or be a liability, and he could help survey both their fight and the battlefield as a whole by keeping a perceptive watch.
A loud thud interrupted Wyn’s thoughts as the other lizard monster fell, its lifeless body smacking the ground. He blinked a few times trying to process what happened, wondering if Marcy ended the fight early again.
John wildly yelled into the air in victory, pumping his magically radiating and bloody sword into the air over and over.
“What happened?” Wyn asked. “That took took no time at all!”
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“I feel invincible!” John replied, screaming into the air. “It was much easier with a proper magical weapon!”
“I don’t remember you taking care of the wolves and spiders so easily last week!”
John laughed. “I didn’t use skills then! Not to mention my style is more suited to big dumb beasts like this guy.”
The two large lizard bodies began to dissolve, though nothing was left from their corpses. The portal they guarded immediately turned grey, signaling their success yet again at completing the first floor.
“That was fast,” Tasha said. Her and Marcy joined them while John calmed down.
“Not as fast as me, but still impressive,” Marcy said. “You have a good technique.”
Wyn was happy for his friend and teammate at his success, but upset he missed the brief fight. He didn’t even know what techniques John used.
“I guess all my training paid off,” John said. He sheathed his sword and started walking towards the portal. “Though I’d like my sword already so I don’t have to rely on that spell. No offense, Wyn.”
“None taken,” Wyn replied. “If it’ll free up another spell for me to use I’m all for it. I’ve been thinking about some others to use for the second floor, anyway.”
John stopped walking and quickly turned around to Wyn. “Does that mean you’re open to going to the second floor already?”
Wyn looked at Tasha and Marcy, who both shrugged as though they had no say in the matter. “Well, that did go much better than planned, but I’d like a few more magical items before we climb the second floor. Or at least another key or two.”
“Like trading our one magical item we got on Faesday for our first climb?” Tasha asked. “Weren’t we going to go to the markets on Torday to trade them for something better?”
“Maybe we can go tomorrow morning instead and make that our day off,” Wyn said. “Or even this afternoon if we want. Test them, practice with them, then aim for the second floor on Faesday?”
John clapped his hands together. “I love it! Even though I won’t have my sword by then, I say we go for it!”
“About time we moved on!” Marcy added. “But let’s finish this back at the base. It’s still too damn hot.”
*****
John shook his parchment at the guild official like a banker trying to collect payment. He was itching to get the rewards for their climb, hoping that his performance at the final boss was enough to help get him a few more gold crowns. The official brought out their signature orange glowing chest that magically gave out the rewards from the tower. The others were waiting at the desk, too, eager for their own rewards but listening to John as his was brought out first.
“Alright, here you are, sir,” the woman said with a smile. She flipped open the chest and began reading John’s earnings from his parchment. “You earned 51 gold crowns, 36 silver cloaks, and 12 copper boots for coins. You found a Lacert Tooth and Lacert Claw, both green rarity crafting components. Congratulations!” She stood awkwardly beside the chest for a moment while the Climbers stared at her. “Oh, right!” Her cheeks flushed red as she reached into the chest to procure John’s coins for him.
John smiled. “That was more than last time and the climb was easier. This is great!” He rubbed his hands together while the official finished gathering his coins, eager to pocket them.
“Here you go,” another guild official said. He placed an identical orange glowing chest onto the desk in front of Tasha.
Wyn suddenly wondered how many chests the guild possessed to give out rewards to Climbers and if it took any special magic to open and pull items out of them, or if it was purely a business protocol that only guild officials could manage them. Regardless, the magical portals of coins and rewards opened for Tasha, and they were all surprised at the result. The most surprised, however, was the guild official.
He originally had a nearly blank stare and emotionless face, just there to do a job rather than having a passion for the work. When he read Tasha's parchment, though, his eyes shot open and he audibly gasped. The change of demeanor immediately caught the attention of the four Climbers, and they wondered what made him react like that.
"Is something wrong?" Tasha asked.
"No, ma'am," the guild official responded. "You just completed a secondary quest section and rewards! It's the first time I've actually seen it!"
"You're kidding!" John replied. "How is that possible? Are you a new employee?"
The official yanked his head towards John with a disgusted look. "I've worked here for nearly eight seasons, thank you very much. This was a new discovery this season and we are still as surprised as the Climbers to see it in person!"
"A new discovery? Like the class advancements a couple of years ago?" Marcy asked.
"Yes, exactly," the guild official responded. "We are noticing an increasing amount of new things Alistair is giving to us recently. It just so happens one of the top Climbers discovered the incident of these side quests on Solday, which were never part of the tower before. Now, though, more and more Climbers are finding out about them."
"Are they on every floor?" Tasha asked.
"Not that we've seen. But the rewards are impressive, even for the basic tasks like yours."
Tasha stood there shocked, a large smile quickly forming on her face. "Well, show me, then! What did I get?"
The guild official opened the chest on the desk and flattened her parchment beside it. "For completing the first floor, you are rewarded 38 gold crowns, 44 silver cloaks, and 8 copper boots. For completing the secondary quest, you are rewarded 25 gold crowns and 8 Sun Spirals, which are green rarity herbs. Congratulations!"
John's jaw dropped as Tasha yipped with excitement. "Wow!" Tasha said. "That's nearly as much as completing the floor itself!"
"I'll say," John said. "You were right. I'd say that was definitely worth it!"
Wyn was just as elated as Tasha. The reward was impressive, just as the guild official said. It wasn't quite as much as completing the floor, but accomplishing both was nearly as good as completing the floor twice in a day. The pay off for the amount of work needed was enormous, and it didn’t require him to risk his safety in combat. He instantly wondered about secondary quests on other floors and the rewards they offered.
It also solidified the fact that climbing higher would obviously yield more rewards for the effort and danger. Sure, anyone could stay on the first several floors and clear them several times each day for an impressive amount of coin that couldn't be guaranteed elsewhere in the world. That process, however, would be both boring and less efficient than climbing higher floors for better rewards. It would be safer, but Wyn couldn’t exactly afford the safest option.
While the guild official took Wyn's parchment and began to tally his earned coins, he began to do some math in his head. If he cleared the first floor twice in a day and completed the secondary quest each time, he could net over 100 gold crowns easily. It would be monotonous but safe. If he did that every day, it would also be exhausting, and the risk of failing by getting hurt or dying goes up when a person is exhausted in this line of work. Doing that every day for a month? He'd make well over 3000 gold crowns, and anyone could find themselves rich doing that for a year if the other seasons had similar secondary quests.
It was nowhere near what he needed, though. Wyn knew he needed to clear nearly 13,000 gold crowns a month to pay back his family's debt by the year's end. He wasn't foolish enough to believe he could make that his first month, and hoped to find a way to submit some form of deposit or good will to his debtors initially before making up the sum later. At his current rate, he was looking at more of about half of that if he pushed himself and sold off some items.
Interrupting his thoughts, the guild official slid his earned coins across the desk, where Wyn promptly stashed them into his new coin pouch. It was obviously magical, and he was incredibly thankful for it - the stack of additional coins added no more weight or substance to it, as it held them inside a magical plane of existence. Or at least that's what the description on his parchment read, and he found out it was true when he was able to magically procure any coin he possessed by simply reaching into it and thinking of the coin he wanted. It didn’t have the ability to hold anything else, but it was still an impressive piece of equipment.
"So what now?" John asked. He hoisted his shield onto his back over his backpack and stretched at the new weight. "Are we wanting to go back into the tower this afternoon or something else?"
Marcy groaned, throwing her head back and slumping her shoulders. “I’m normally all for climbing the tower, but damn this first floor is rough. I don’t think I can go back unless we clear the first floor to move on to the second floor. It’s just too hot for me, even with my lighter gear.”
“This is really affecting you,” Wyn said. “Haven’t you had something like this in one of the other seasons you’ve climbed?”
“Not at all. I can stand colder weather - and my first season a few months ago had us literally climb a mountain in a cold climate - but this heat is frustrating me. I’m sorry.”
“My mentor mentioned something about enchanting your armor to be weather resistant. Do you have something that can ward off heat?”
Marcy smacked herself in the forehead. “By the gods - no, but I know Cedric does. I’ll see if he’ll let me borrow it. My mind has been everywhere lately.”
The group all looked at each other. “Will he let us see him?” Wyn asked.
Marcy sighed. “Not yet. He’s still pretty shaken up. If nothing else, he respects his privacy.”
“I understand. I don’t want to be disrespectful. If anything, I’d like to thank him and actually pay my respects.”
“I know. In fact, I’ll go see him this afternoon. I’ll ask about the cloak he has and if you all can come see him.”
The rookies all visibly brightened. They each wanted to see Cedric but Wyn had more personal reasons than the others. He did save the Wizard’s life, after all, even if it meant for Cedric to lose an arm.
“That leaves us three, then,” John said.
“Instead of climbing, why don’t we go finalize our gear?” Wyn asked. “We can try to trade the items we earned on Faesday and see if these Sun Spirals can get us anything, too. I’ve been wanting to see the trading district anyway.”
Tasha clapped her hands. “That’s a great idea! We might not have enough worth to trade but I’d like to try.”
“It’s definitely worth trying,” Wyn said. “If we can’t trade it, we’ll head to The Silver Step and see Benedict.”
“I like it,” John said. “Off to the markets for our first trade!”
Wyn smiled. He was told the trading district was a high energy and highly magical place as Climbers and merchants both tried to trade gear or advertise themselves. Getting better items could make the difference between giving them an edge over the lower floors as their basic items were rapidly becoming less useful. He had to sacrifice another climb or two in the meantime but that was a necessary sacrifice. Better equipment could mean a faster improvement in the tower and better rewards to boot.
Wyn had a new goal in his mind for him and his group. They’d succeed in the first tier and advance the entire five floor, ready to tackle the second tier for next month. It was fast progress but urgency still motivated him.
He’d get his gold as quickly as possible. Arabelle just had to survive.