Couzart, the Shadow Reaper, did not stay longer after he officially promoted the Proven. He gave a few words of encouragement and disappeared within a swirling vortex of shadows.
“He is good,” Ziplocke observed.
Jeze agreed. She did not see the Elite use glyphs or a Channeling tool. He tapped into the Darkness aspect innately, like a Goblin. After Couzart’s departure, the Proven was congratulated by a wave of guild members. Some were fellow Adventurer ranks that welcomed them into the fold. This included Swordslayer and Rainbow. Jeze talked with her friends while the rest of her team celebrated with the other Frostsworn. The tall warriors were loud and drank from horns. Jeze wondered if Helga’s laughter alone could be heard all the way on the 10th floor of the Spire.
“I’m impressed, kid. You advanced pretty fast. Not as fast as me, but still pretty fast,” Swordslayer stated.
The Sanguine Arts fighter wore his blood-red armor with his swords hanging at his hips. Jeze scowled at him and retorted, “Yeah, right. You are way older than me!”
Swordslayer huffed and responded, “No, I’m not!”
Rainbow leaned close and added, “We are at least 10 years older than you.” The multi-colored haired adventurer added with a gentle smile, “I’m proud of you.”
The two ladies hugged while Swordslayer scoffed. Jeze’s face became serious, and she turned toward the sword fighter.
“We met Ozun.”
Swordslayer’s smile disappeared. “You did?”
Jeze nodded and continued, “We witnessed him murder two Guild members.”
“I’m sure they deserved it,” Swordslayer responded and crossed his arms.
The teenager shook her head. “They pleaded for mercy and were ignored.”
“Where was this?” Rainbow asked.
“The first floor,” Jeze answered.
“With the Imps?”
Jeze saw where Rainbow’s line of questioning was going, and she shook her head. “The adventurers were not Afflicted.”
“How do you know? Newly made Thralls can be very deceptive,” Swordslayer asked.
“They weren’t!” Jeze snapped. Tears were forming in her eyes.
“What’s the matter with you?” Swordslayer asked.
Rainbow rubbed the young girl’s shoulders.
Jeze went to the point. “You both practice the same style. What if you are consumed by the Bloodlust? Like Ozun?”
Swordslayer looked at her with his dark, narrow eyes. His face was unreadable. Emotionless. Finally, he scoffed. “Ozun is weak. He won’t make it past Adventurer Rank.”
“He defeated me and my team,” Jeze said quietly.
Swordslayer laughed, “Of course. You are pups. Just because you made it to Adventurer rank does not make you seasoned. You are still noobs!”
“He wanted me to tell you that he was stronger,” Jeze said.
Swordslayer’s eyes narrowed, and he asked, “How did he know we knew each other?”
“I thought he was you! You two wear the same armor!” Jeze cried.
“He wants to be like me,” Swordslayer stated with a huff.
“I’m worried about you and this style you practice. Ozun was consumed by a Bloodlust and murdered two guild members!” Jeze exclaimed.
“He didn’t kill you,” Rainbow pointed out.
Swordslayer nodded in agreement and repeated, “I’m sure the ones he killed deserved it. Him sparing you and your team proves it.”
“How do you two know each other?” Jeze asked.
Swordslayer looked away. After a moment, he removed his helmet and shook out his long, dark hair. Finally, he answered with a shrug, “You know the style we trained in. Not many practice it.”
“Because the students are killed,” Jeze stated.
“Because they were weak!” Swordslayer snapped. It was so sudden that Jeze flinched.
Rainbow placed a gentle hand on Swordslayer’s chest and one on Jeze’s shoulder and changed the subject. “Adventurer rank is very deep. It takes a long while to make it to Adept.”
“We would be promoted if not for the politics of the Guild,” Swordslayer said with a snort. It was as if his previous outburst didn’t happen. This confused Jeze.
Rainbow shook her head. “We have a ways to go.”
“They don’t like that we are freedom fighters, and if we get promoted, it will give the Guild more headaches with the Empire,” Swordslayer retorted.
Jeze had more questions but decided not to press the matter of the Sanguine Blades. She had enough on her plate to worry about, and with a sad heart, she decided to heed Irvin’s advice. She most likely won’t travel with Swordslayer and Rainbow again. Swordslayer was on a dangerous path and Rainbow went along with him. But she can still talk with them from time to time. Unless Swordslayer is consumed by the Bloodlust. Jeze pushed that thought out of her mind, and she remembered something.
“Where is your team?” She asked.
Rainbow and Swordslayer glanced at each other. After a pause, Rainbow answered, “Just us two.”
“What? How far did you go?” Jeze asked, shocked. She traveled with a full team, and they struggled! Jeze realized that Rainbow was correct. The Adventurer rank was deep when comparing the skill levels between the Proven and the two before her now.
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“Floor six?” Swordslayer asked his colleague.
Rainbow snorted and rolled her eyes. “We made it to the fourth floor and were lucky enough to find the Exit portal. We decided to come back to camp to restock.”
“What are the next floors like?” Jeze asked. Any information she could get would be a tremendous help.
“The Fourth floor is cold!” Swordslayer exclaimed.
“That is why we had to return. We were not properly prepared,” Rainbow added.
There was no Safe Zone established on the fourth floor. So Jeze and her team would need to travel through the Third floor. “What about the Third floor?” She asked
“It’s a swamp,” Swordslayer replied.
“And?” Jeze inquired.
“And what? That is all to it. It’s a dirty, stinky swamp,” the sword fighter growled.
Rainbow rolled her eyes and answered Jeze, “It’s a marshland with bogs and trees. The thing you have to be concerned about is the Mist. It can make you go mad.”
“Like with the Imps and the Affliction aspect?” Jeze asked.
Rainbow nodded and said, “The Imps create the Mist.”
“It is strange how the Imps appeared on the first level when the third is their actual home,” Swordslayer said.
Jeze leaned close to her friends and quietly said, “There are people that are sabotaging the portals. They caused one to explode and killed one Safe Zone squad already, and they sabotaged the Second Level Floor portal to allow a Helldrake to come through.”
Tears welled in her eyes at the memory of seeing Jonah and his team dead.
“That will make things harder,” Swordslayer observed.
“Do you think it is Drake and the Empire tampering with the Floor portals? To keep the secret that the Emperor is not immortal?” Rainbow asked.
Jeze shrugged her shoulders and realized that she has not seen Drake in a while. He was not at the ceremony. Jeze replied, “It seems very risky for them to do this. The Spire is a big financial boom for the world economy, especially for the Empire.”
“Making it harder for Guild members to get to the top does not affect the flow of money. Plenty is earned from the lower levels,” Swordslayer observed. A rare moment of insight for the normally brash sword fighter.
“Speaking of money. Were you two able to access your funds from the Diamond Bank?” Jeze asked.
Swordslayer snorted and answered, “No, the blasted Empire is still holding on to it. It is a battle for the lawyers.”
“One of the reasons why we don’t have a full team. We are trying to earn as much coin as possible, and we earn more by splitting it two ways instead of five,” Rainbow added.
“Are the other reasons because no one can get along with Swordslayer?” Jeze joked with a playful elbow to the man’s side.
“That was funny. Almost as funny as your face,” Swordslayer teased back.
“Rumor had it that Miss Heng was a part of the assessment committee for your Adventurer Rank trial and that you and she went at it,” Rainbow said.
Jeze arched an eyebrow and asked, “Where did you hear that?”
“We have our ways,” Swordslayer responded.
“Are you spying on me?” Jeze asked.
“Don’t flatter yourself!” The man shot back.
“In our line of work, information is important. We keep our ears open and the big news of the day was that the Proven was being tested for Adventurer rank. That included the infamous Jeze Zanchi,” Rainbow explained.
Jeze snorted, “Yeah, right. I’m a nobody.”
“I wouldn’t say that. You traveled with us, and now people notice you,” Swordslayer said and slapped Jeze’s shoulder.
Rainbow chuckled and added, “You have accomplished a lot and have a lot of talent. That is why you are receiving the scrutiny.”
“I thought Miss Heng was going to fail me,” Jeze muttered. The praise made her uncomfortable, and she wanted to change the subject.
“Nah, Miss Heng, despite having a giant stick up her butt, is extremely by the book, almost like ole Irvin. She wouldn’t let personal feelings cloud her judgment,” Swordslayer said.
“But she is loyal to the Empire,” Jeze said.
“It is true that she was born in the Empire and proud of her nation. But, as far as we can tell, she does not work for the Emperor. Miss Heng is a pure Guild Official,” Rainbow explained.
“Not like Drake. That man is trouble. You be careful in the Spire. If you cross paths, he may make another move on you,” Swordslayer added.
The three remained quiet and lost in their thoughts for a moment. Jeze wondered if Drake still cared about her. Why would he? The information she took from the Pyramid was already shared by the Runic Research Division, and it didn’t cause a political upheaval. Unless Seb’s death was not an accident and the Guild Official was murdered. For a moment, fear gripped Jeze’s heart in a vice. The last couple of weeks were so frantically busy that she had forgotten the three attempts on her life. The first was at the Pyramid, where Raynor sacrificed himself. Jeze felt a sharp pang of sadness with that memory. The second was when Drake tried to lure her into the woods before the Monster Waves. The third was the crossbow attack on her during the Monster Waves.
Jeze shook those thoughts out of her head. She had more pressing things to worry about, such as the true purpose of the Spire. The Fiendish Lord was still at the top, and if he got free, the entire world would be in danger. Jeze needed to keep advancing in order to make it to the tenth floor where she could reinforce the Seals that the Ones from Before had put in place. The world depended upon it.
“What else can I expect from the Third Floor?” Jeze asked.
“Mainly Rovers that hide in the bog. Rovers and Madness is what you will have to contend with,” Rainbow answered.
“And those lizard monsters,” Swordslayer added.
“Oh right,” Rainbow said.
“Lizard monsters?” Jeze asked.
“They are Swamp Demons. They stand on two legs, armed with spears. Great at ambushes. Nothing your team can’t handle,” Swordslayer answered.
Rainbow interjected, “They are little more than that. They use tactics and can cast Rune magic. They operate like an adventuring team.”
Swordslayer batted his hand in the air, “Bah, we cut through them easy enough. Just the two of us.”
“That’s because my Nature aspect is strong in the swamp. Jeze, I suggest you and your team proceed carefully,” Rainbow stated.
“Did you two defeat the Floor Guardian?” Jeze asked.
Swordslayer shook his head. “No, we didn’t make it in time.”
“We really need a full team,” Rainbow added.
“Who defeated the Floor Guardian?” She asked.
Rainbow shrugged. “One of the adept teams, I suppose.”
“Probably Berserker Orn. I wonder how I would fare if we were to touch steel,” Swordslayer stated.
“There is no mystery there. You would be crushed,” Rainbow said.
Swordslayer snorted and crossed his arms.
“How come Couzart does not go in and clear out the floors?” Jeze wondered.
Swordslayer laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Jeze growled.
Swordslayer replied, “He has money, so he does not need to grind like us plebs. Once you hit Elite, you do not need to push your body to the limit anymore. So why risk the lower levels?”
“Why is that?” Jeze wondered.
“Their bodies become magical. They are basically no longer human,” Rainbow replied and explained, “Elites often wait until Floor eight before going in, and the only reason why is they hope to find rare mystical treasures that will help them gain power. Also, they believe if they defeat Floor Ten, they can break through to Hero rank.”
The gift of Immortality was a myth. Jeze recalled her brother’s words and the knowledge she gained from the Pyramid. Not even the Elites know this? How is that possible? Or maybe they know more? It was all a mystery to her.
“Now that you are Adventurer ranked, want to join us, kid?” Swordslayer asked.
Jeze gave a sad smile. “It was good seeing you two. I must return to my team.”
Swordslayer’s face turned impassive, and Rainbow gave a gentle smile.
“Be careful, now that you are a higher rank you will be allowed to access the 4th floor and higher. The Floor Portals and Exit Portals will be further apart, sometimes miles apart, and the monsters will be stronger,” the multi-colored haired adventurer stated.
Jeze nodded her thanks and left to join her team.