Chapter 26 – Floor 2: Part 8
Mathew spent the next four weeks staying at the Mayor’s house, sitting on the balcony of his room and enjoying the culinary expertise of the household Chef and the collection of fine wine that the Mayor had amassed over the years.
Four boring weeks were spent watching the Tower that had appeared in the center of Bellmare immediately after he had struck a deal with the three remaining Houses.
It was eerie, seeing the Tower again in a strange city. Mathew was currently inside the Tower, but here he was again, seeing it from the outside.
Was this a new Tower or a reflection of the same one he had entered in his world?
The doors to the Tower were closed. They wouldn’t open until after the ritual during the Harvest Moon, meaning he couldn’t re-enter it and try to receive answers to the questions he had.
The city was filled with excitement, and people were already planning to enter their gods' service. Despite Mathew’s warnings, he expected tens of thousands of people to rush through the doors as soon as the ritual was over.
The longer Mathew spent on this floor, the less he cared about the people here. They wouldn’t listen and he couldn’t help them, so what was the point?
Draining another bottle, he placed it on the table beside him. A servant would periodically take the empties and leave full ones in their place. For his service to Bellmare, the Mayor was more than happy to cater to Mathew’s every need.
Apparently, Mathew’s efforts were a smashing success, ensuring the city would continue to thrive. He thought he had done very little, but who was he to argue at this point?
Finally, the night of the ritual came.
It was a cloudless evening; the sun had sunken below the horizon, and a brilliantly bright full moon hung in the sky above them. To Mathew, it seemed bigger than the moon of Earth, filling half of the heavens beyond.
Thousands of people were gathered outside the city walls in a space cleared for their use. The priests had set up six pedestals in a circle, with the head priest at the very center. His hands were held up high, and he was leading a chant.
Standing beside the Mayor, Mathew just wanted it to be over so he could leave. The affair had a creepy atmosphere, made worse by the knowledge that the six crystals he was about to offer were filled with the life energy obtained from living people.
“Champion, please bring forth the Crystals!” The priest shouted, and the crowd cheered. Letting out a huff of air, Mathew pulled the crystals from his inventory. Placing them one at a time on each pedestal, they lit the night with their radiance.
As he placed the last crystal on its stand, he heard a loud ‘Ding!’ from around him, and his wristband began to vibrate. A pulse of mana swept over the landscape, soaking into the ground. Mathew could see the crops visibly growing giant and more ripe before his eyes.
Floor 2 Complete!
You have successfully gathered the Six Crystals needed for the ritual and have delivered them in time for the Harvest Moon. You have earned the gratitude of the people of Bellmare.
Completion Bonus: None. You have given your bonus to the destitute people of Bellmare.
Please Proceed to Floor 3.
Mathew lowered his wrist, looking around quickly. He spotted the elevator doors outside the gathering of people. Ignoring the Mayor and everyone as they tried to speak with him, Mathew pushed his way to the doors.
He didn’t relax until they were closed.
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The elevator began to move, and Mathew settled down onto the floor of the lift to wait. The last time, he had been too exhausted to do anything, but he had the opposite problem this time. He had spent weeks doing nothing.
“Status.” Mathew muttered, pulling up his status.
Name: Mathew Larson
Discipline: Coward (Level 2)
Charlatan (Level 5)
Level: 7
Aether Required For next Level: 28000
Aether: 4212
Attributes
Body: 2.1
Mind: 2.7
Spirit: 0.3
Blessing
Create and Control Flames III (Max Tier)
The Coward’s Brand (Tier 1)
“Blessings.” Mathew switched to a new tab and reviewed the requirements for Tier 2 of ‘The Coward’s Brand.’
The Coward’s Brand (Tier 2)
Cost: 40000 Aether
Summary: Adds ‘Piercing’ resistance to the Brand.
“Judgement.”
As it had when he completed floor 1, the ‘judgement’ tab was back. And, like the last time he had viewed it, it appeared the gods had mixed opinions of his performance in Bellmare.
The gods of the Harvest Demesne are pleased with your actions. They have not offered you a boon.
The god of Unprovoked Murder is disgusted with you. They have prohibited other gods from granting you a boon.
The god of Charitable Equality is delighted in your actions. Their boon has been denied.
“Thanks. Real helpful. I suppose if I had simply murdered my way through Bellmare, charging the crystals with my victims, you would have been delighted.” Mathew scoffed, shaking his head at the comments.
The lady at the start of the Tower had been right; they couldn’t directly influence him, but they could make life more complicated. But the counterpoint to that was, although one god was disgusted with him, others were happy that he had helped.
Hopefully, it all balanced itself out.
Closing the wristband, Mathew didn’t bother looking at the shop. He didn’t have much Aether, and he didn’t really need anything. Most of the magical items were locked behind level 10, and he didn’t need mundane things like food, clothing or random objects.
He had just closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall of the elevator when he heard it ‘ding’ again.
“That was quick.” Mathew murmured. The last time, he had slept for what felt like hours. Was this floor closer, or had it been giving him a break before?
Climbing to his feet, he adjusted his clothing and waited patiently for the doors to open.
The screaming was the first thing Mathew heard when the doors silently slid open. They were loud enough that even in the bare stone room that he found himself in, he could hear them echoing.
Joining the screams was the clash of metal on metal, the shouts of anger and loud crashes that shook the room.
Stepping out of the elevator, Mathew looked around for a moment.
He was in a Temple, and the familiar feeling of its atmosphere was instantly recognizable. Made of bare stone, it only had a single door. His wristband was still not offering him any insights on what he was supposed to do on the third floor.
Opening the door, he walked out into a large Temple hall that was filled with people cowering and huddling together. Wearing clothing similar to the inhabitants of Bellmare, Mathew already knew that he was likely in another Medieval-era world.
Strangely, no one commented on his appearance or his strange arrival. They ignored him as if they had seen his type before.
Walking through the long, stone hall that lacked any decorations or even symbols of the gods, Mathew exited the Temple to a scene of chaos.
It was nighttime, and the city in front of him was burning. Buildings were crumbling, and streaks of fire soared through the air from outside a tall stone wall. Each would strike inside, sending up a pillar of debris and flames as they crashed into buildings.
Mathew could see people running down the streets toward a set of massive, wooden gates that were half open, splintered from a force colliding against them. He could see that they were ‘players’ like him, even from where he stood.
Wearing out-of-place clothing and equipment, they were gathered in groups as they rushed to the gates. They stood out from the locals, who were wearing old-fashioned outfits and lacked weapons.
Standing outside, with the air thick with smoke and the deafening sound of battle and screams of the fearful and the dying, Mathew’s wristband began to vibrate. Fiery words appeared in the air in front of him.
Floor 3 – Under Siege!
Goblins have amassed an army and launched an annihilation campaign against their hated enemy, humanity. Falling back to the frontier city of Averatha, the armies of humankind have been broken and, in their desperation, have beseeched the gods for intervention.
Objective: Destroy the Goblin army and protect the city of Averatha.
Lifting his eyes from the burning words, Mathew stared at the devastation around him. Through the broken gates, small creatures streamed inside. Welding sharp knives, swords and spears, the short Goblins launched themselves at the defenders.
Hundreds of people were fighting back, and destructive magic was unleashed by both sides. Hooded Goblins hurled fire and rays of energy at the human defenders.
“What are you standing there for!? Come one!” Someone shouted as a group of ‘players’ pushed past him. Caught in their midst, Mathew was dragged toward the gates by the tide of people.