Chapter 12 – Floor 1: Part 4

Mathew took nearly a week to reach the Aether requirements to level up his Discipline.

The days and nights formed a continuous, monotonous cycle that left Mathew exhausted and half in a daze. During the day, he would gather brush and materials to burn, placing them along the sections of the trench that he had dug deeper and sloped further.

After a few hours of rest, the sun would set, and the undead horde would arrive. After a few hours of nerve-wracking and terrifying combat, he would consume all his gathered objects and a half dozen or more zombies.

Counting his Aether gains, he would wait on the wall for the sun to rise and drive the undead away once more. A few more hours rest, and he would be ready to repeat the cycle.

Mathew felt like a zombie himself, shuffling across the grassy field and through the forest in search of items to burn before returning to the safety of the walls. Even the constant ‘buzz’ from the other, higher-level people around him barely registered in his tired brain.

But it had all been worth it. He had gathered nearly twelve hundred Aether, enough for a level-up and some supplies from the shop.

The Temple walls, made of thick and sturdy stone, enclosed Mathew as he stepped into the silent and empty building.

It was early morning, and he had just come down off the wall. Most of the others would use the Temple services throughout the day. Only those who were excited about levelling up like Mathew would rush there as soon as they had gathered enough Aether.

The Temple was empty, save for a single statue at the front of the building. Split into two parts, the sculpture comprised two trees with their trucks intertwined. One was young and healthy, its boughs full of leaves, and Mathew could see stone birds nesting in its trunk.

The other was a barren husk, long dead and dry. Its limbs were crooked and twisted, giving it a sinister feel.

The statue represented the two domains of the gods that oversaw this floor: life and death. From Mathew’s reading of the floor summary and his discussions with the other people in town, they theorized that different gods administered each floor.

The administrating gods even affected the Blessings, Disciplines and Items available for sale in the Temple. Mathew had heard several people bemoan the fact and consider saving their Aether for levelling rather than buying unsuitable Blessings and Disciplines, despite the fact that you couldn’t level a Discipline past five without selecting a new one.

Shaking away the errant thoughts, Mathew stood in front of the strange statue and raised the silver wristband. The screen appeared, with the additional words ‘Shop’ and ‘Level up’ joining the ‘Status’ ‘Inventory’ and ‘Blessings.’

“Level up.” Mathew said, and the screen shifted.

Name: Mathew Larson

Discipline: Charlatan (Level 1) -> Charlatan (Level 2)

Level: 1 -> 2

Aether: 1179 -> 179

Attributes

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Body: 1.2 –> 1.3

Mind: 1.5 -> 1.7

Spirit: 0.3 – 0.3

Confirm?

“Confirm.” Mathew stated, and he felt a heat build within his body once again. It spread across his limbs and through his head before creeping down his spine and gathering above his heart once again. Ignoring the screen, Mathew tried to judge the changes he felt with his new level.

His thoughts felt clear, like a fog was lifting or a new energy was revitalizing his brain, driving away a lethargy he wasn’t aware of. It was strange. His memory seemed sharper. He could remember the details of his day that hadn’t been apparent at the time.

If asked, Mathew would find it difficult to describe. He didn’t feel more thoughtful or intelligent, but he knew there were changes. He would need to test it out further.

His body was much easier to assess. He felt fitter and in better shape. His muscles had instantly gained more tone. He punched the air quickly before hopping from one foot to the other. He seemed to be quicker on his feet.

“This is significantly better than going to the gym everyday.” Mathew mused. After a few more minutes of gauging his Mind and Body enhancements, he raised his wrist once more and went to the ‘Shop’ screen.

Most of the items were still ‘greyed out,’ with only a few available for purchase.

A single unit of rations, which included a day’s worth of food and a canteen of water, an item that would ‘clean’ his laundry that he hadn’t tried yet but had seen work, and a few odds and ends like playing cards, pens and notebooks were all he could afford.

Mathew bought enough rations to last him a week and a few of the cleaning items that looked like a laundry tab that directed him to ‘snap’ in half and his clothing would be cleaned by magic. Once he was finished, Mathew was as poor as he had been when he first arrived.

After a week of hard labour and burning undead, he reeked. Taking the laundry tab out of his inventory, he snapped it between his fingers. A surge of magic swept across his body, scouring the dirt and sweat from his clothing and leaving him feeling fresh and clean.

“The gods could make a killing introducing this to market.” Mathew observed. It had even removed the wrinkles and creases from his shirt and pants.

Closing the screen, he returned to the level-up portion of the wristband.

“I need…three thousand Aether for Level 3.:” Mathew read. He had expected it to increase. Maria said that as you gained levels, the price increased along with it.

Worse, the amount of Aether you gained from the undead decreased as you grew stronger. She assumed it was a way to motivate you to leave a floor and not spend years grinding. At level five, it was barely enough to survive, meaning most people would assault August City at that time.

“It took me a week to earn enough Aether for Level Two. That means I can assume it’s going to take another two weeks for the next. I’ll be here for months until I can get strong enough to leave. Will Emily do the same? Will she and her mother wait on the first floor before continuing?” Mathew asked himself, his voice barely a whisper.

That was assuming everyone went to a similar version of the first floor. For all he knew, there could be countless variations with different progression times.

He needed to get stronger fast.

“At least I’m no longer tired.” Mathew muttered. The level-up had refreshed him, leaving him feeling as good as new. Better yet, the minor scrapes and cuts he had on his hands from gathering timber and brush had healed, another miracle of gaining a level.

Looking around the Temple, Mathew pulled up the wristband information screen to review one final thing. Under the ‘Blessings’ tab, he found that there were no offerings for new Blessings from the gods. Either he hadn’t earned one yet, or there were none available for him on this floor.

But his existing ‘Create and Control Flames’ had an upgraded version.

Create and Control Flames II

Allows the user to summon two fires simultaneously while also increasing their size. Fuel consumption is halved, and the distance the user can summon flames is doubled. The duration of summoned flames is determined by the ‘Mind’ Attribute.

Cost: 5000 Aether.

Required Level: Two

“Pricey. But it is worth it if it reduces how much fuel it uses. Most of my days are spent lugging around timber.” Mathew observed. Closing the information screen, Mathew left the Temple.

He was no longer exhausted and needed to head out to the forest and gather materials for tonight’s fires. He was curious how his new level would affect his control. Maybe he could hold it for longer than a minute now?

Regardless, it looked to Mathew that he would be in this little town for another month at least. Despite his feeling that he needed to hurry, he didn’t want to rush too quickly. If there were nearly a thousand undead assaulting their walls every night, how many more were waiting for him in August City?