Chapter 124 – Rank Nine
Jack sat on his very charred epic supply crate squinting at a little green goblin who was rampaging through the battle-torn camp with the ravenous frenzy of a thieving raccoon. Jack was 6’3, and most goblins he had run into came up to about mid-thigh/ waist level in height. Nutt was much, much smaller, reaching just below his kneecaps. His skin was more neon green than vomit green. His ears were satellite sized and his big black eyes took up half his face. Most goblins were wart covered vomit green creatures who seemed in a perpetual competition to be as disgusting as possible. Nutt however could only be described as ridiculously cute. He looked like a stuffed animal. Jack found it wildly unsettling.
He had set Nutt to the task of pilfering the remains of the camp while he went through all of his newly gained abilities, but he found himself distracted by the little goblin. Nutt could only be described as having severe ADHD, and Jack was wondering if the goblin was capable of getting the simple task done. He had set up nine different piles of seemingly completely random items and was in the process of creating a tenth. Every once in a while, he would stop his frantic search to grab two random items from different piles, mix them together in some sort of concoction, drink it, throw it up, taste the throw up, throw up again, and then return back to his frantic search for items.
Jack put the goblin and his madness out of mind and pulled out the first thing that was at the forefront of his thoughts. His gun.
The Sparrow’s Flintlock
Type: Weapon
Tier: Epic
Enchantment Slots: 8/8
[Enhancer - 8 Slots]
Greatly enhances the potency of any ammunition fired from this weapon.
*****
Product of Andurian
It was upgraded to Epic. When he had wrestled it out of that orc’s hands, he didn’t even think it was his gun at first. Not only was it Epic, its form had also changed. He inspected the weapon more closely this time. The materials were still much the same. A long black barrel of unknown material with indecipherable silver glyphs carved along its length. Bright steel plating with intricate, ornamental scrollwork engravings. A smooth handle that looked and felt like ivory. The biggest difference, aside from it being Epic--it was now joined by a second barrel and hammer.
He pulled out two spellshots and gave them a quick inspection before slotting them into the loading hatch on either side of the barrels.
Fireball Shot
Type: Spellshot
Tier: Uncommon
Enchantment Slots: 3/3
[Fireball - 3 Slots]
Shoot forth a ball of flames.
*****
Black powder infused with fire mana and condensed down into a bullet. Crafted to be used with a magic pistol.
He pointed the gun at the sky and cocked both hammers pulling back hard on the trigger. The silver runes along each barrel glowed white hot as the weapon roared to life. A spell circle sprung to life at the end of the barrel and the second the spellshots hit it, they morphed, enhanced into something greater. The two fireballs turned into miniature suns that spiraled around each other as they launched into the sky. Jack watched as the twin flames soared through the sky before arcing downwards and landing in an explosive volley a hundred yards away. He gave a satisfied nod as he inspected the weapon again. It was a lot stronger now.
“WHAT WAS THAT!” a voice full of shock squeaked at him. Jack glanced over at the goblin who was staring in awe at the explosion. He looked from the fire, to Jack, back to the fire, back to Jack. Then he stalked towards Jack with a deadly serious expression.
“Gimmie,” he demanded, holding pleading hands stretched out towards the gun.
“Answer some questions for me first,” Jack smirked at the awestruck goblin.
“Anything,” Nutt’s eyes were still laser focused on the gun.
“This thing used to be rare.” Jack held up the gun, grinning as the goblin’s eyes followed it as he waved it around. “Now it’s epic. Why?”
“Where was it made?”
“I got it on the first floor.”
“Yes, but was it actually made on the first floor?”
Jack squinted at the gun, remembering where he got it from.
“I mean, it was a reward for a completed quest I did on the first floor. Doesn’t that mean it was made on the first floor?”
“Obviously not,” Nutt said between breaths. At this point he was jumping up at the gun as Jack held it just out of reach. He stopped after several seconds and gave Jack an angry glare. “If it was made on a higher floor, as you ascend the Tower it will return to its former strength.”
Jack stared at the gun for several long seconds. He wondered just how strong it would become. He remembered it came with a user manual of sorts. Sam had it last he remembered. That darkened his mood a bit.
As soon as I find him, I’m going to give him the ass kicking of a lifetime for running away, Jack thought to himself. The kid felt responsible for getting them involved with Gideon and had set out for revenge. Jack rubbed at his temples and pushed the thoughts of Sam and Gideon to the back of his brain. Hannah was on the second floor now. She would find him sooner or later; Jack knew as much.
“What floor do we unlock Legendary?” Jack asked.
“Second sector. So, the fifth floor.”
“Second sector?”
“The Tower is broken up into four sectors. Each sector has five floors. Epic is the highest you can reach in the first sector. Legendary is as high as you can go in the second. Ancient is the highest you can go in the third, and Celestial in the fourth sector.” Nutt looked at Jack as though he was an idiot, and this was common knowledge.
Jack had to admit, it was nice having someone from an established race within the Tower to ask questions. The goblin was a stockpile of information.
“Alright. Here.” Jack handed the goblin the gun and tossed him the void ring filled with spellshot. “If you aim it at me, I’m going to kill you.”
Nutt gave him an almost sinister smile as he stared down at the pistol that was nearly as big as he was. Jack watched as he pulled two shots out of the void ring and loaded it into the gun. The goblin fired off two large boulders. The kickback sent the little guy flying backwards across the camp with an excited screech.
Jack put the little maniac out of his mind and pulled up his new abilities.
Final Strike – Ability, Epic
Final Strike guarantees a killing blow on any target affected by the Mortal Wounds debuff. If the attack misses, or the target survives the Final Strike, then you receive the damage as a backlash with the opponent’s Vitality stat acting a force multiplier for the damage received.
*****
An Executioner’s final strike is their bond. Death has no patience for failure. It will collect what is owed one way or another.
Jack raised his eyes at the ability. Seemed like a fairly overpowered gamble. He wasn’t entirely sure how someone was meant to survive a killing blow, but he had survived a core self-destruct so he couldn’t fault someone for pulling off some bullshit like he had. It didn’t much matter though, because he couldn’t use it. He pulled up the Mortal Wounds passive that it was paired with.
Mortal Wounds – Passive, Rare
Each strike has a chance to inflict the enemy with a malevolent curse of blood and pain. Mortal Wounds transforms injuries into a nightmarish ordeal, amplifying bleeding, tormenting the mind with illusions of grievous harm, hindering healing and recovery of the wound, and triggering blood scent.
Jack stared at the ability with a deep frown. Rodeo had something very similar to this. Now Jack had it and that pissed him off to no end. He pulled up the last passive ability that he had gotten. So far it seemed as if everything was intertwined with each other, with one ability setting off or setting up the next.
Blood Scent – Passive, Rare
With every strike, blood drawn permeates the air granting the Executioner an innate connection with life force spilled in battle. Each strike has a chance to activate blood scent, allowing the Executioner to track their target through all conditions with a heightened speed.
Jack dismissed the description with a nod. Passives were an odd sort when you lacked a core. How the hell they worked was anyone’s guess. Jack was honestly surprised any of his passives seemed to work without a core. They were definitely amplified when he could use them in conjunction with mana, but they still absolutely worked without any.
Jack picked up his daggers which he had stuck into the ground near his feet and gave them an inspection. They were a long single edge blade with a gentle curve and no hilt. They felt just shy of being considered short swords when it came to length. One was pitch black with veins of red energy running through it, while the other was a deep crimson with veins of black energy.
The Corrupter
Type: Weapon
Tier: Rare
Enchantment Slots: 4/4
[Corrupting Blood – Natural Enchant]
Sets the blood ablaze with corruption, stopping all regenerative effects and slowly burning its way through the body.
[Blood Drinker – Natural Enchant]
This weapon feeds off the blood of its enemies, growing stronger the more it drinks.
[+4 Sharpness – 4 Slots]
Greatly increases the weapon’s sharpness, creating a slight aura around the weapon.
*****
Forged from the twisted essence of a Saintess' blood and the seething corruption of Xinnolath. The Corruptor hungers for virtuous hearts, its malevolence a chilling reminder of forbidden pacts.
The Nightmare
Type: Weapon
Tier: Rare
Enchantment Slots: 4/4
[Dread – Natural Enchant]
Chance to inflict the enemy with dread, overpowering one’s will and making them suffer immense despair as their mind falls into madness.
[Blood Drinker – Natural Enchant]
This weapon feeds off the blood of its enemies, growing stronger the more it drinks.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
[+4 Sharpness – 4 Slots]
Greatly increases the weapons sharpness, creating a slight aura around the weapon.
*****
In the forging of The Nightmare, the lifeblood of a Saintess, the corruption of Xinnolath, and the malevolent essence of an evil unnamed heart converged. Its malefic form radiates an aura of dread, a chilling testament to the unholy trinity that brought forth its sinister power.
Jack hated both the weapons. Despite their effectiveness, it felt like wielding pure evil. They creeped him out. When he got the horns, he immediately tossed them. Hannah had taken it upon herself to turn them into weapons. He glared at the item description of The Nightmare.
“and the malevolent essence of an evil unnamed heart”
If that didn’t mean Rodeo’s soul was hiding somewhere in this damn weapon, then Jack would eat his hat. The Dread enchantment was surprisingly difficult to trigger. It seemed to only work when his opponent was terrified of him. He did some testing of his own with the weapon and when he managed to trigger it on himself, he was almost positive it was Rodeo cackling maniacally and whispering in his ear trying to drive him insane.
Still though, between his creepy ass cloak, his new passive abilities, and his evil fucking weapons, it all seemed to bleed together seamlessly to make him a terrifying carnival of blood and horror. He had inflicted Dread on almost every remaining orc at the tail end of the fight. Jack missed his lightning. It was at least cool and flashy.
He glanced down at the centipede tattoo, Wiggleworm. The little monster had gone completely dormant once the fight ended. He wanted to test it a bit more but the creature seemed to be resting, and no amount of poking and prodding could get it to wake up.
Jack stood up and turned around, glancing down at the chest he was sitting on with the number 9 emblazoned across the top.
He had originally misunderstood his ranking. Nutt gave another excited squeal as he flew across the camp from firing off the gun again.
“Nutt. Get over here. I’m opening the crate.”
“Finally!” he screamed, tossing the gun to the ground and running towards Jack.
“Hey, pick that up asshole.” Nutt stopped in his tracks and looked at the gun he had just discarded as though he had forgotten it existed. He dragged it back over to Jack who slid it into his waistband.
“Explain to me what getting ranks nine means exactly?” Jack had apparently misunderstood what the ranking was. If the orcs were to be believed it meant he had achieved rank nine among all the humans to ever climb the Tower. Not just currently active.
“Out of all the humans to ever climb the Tower, you reached rank nine among them. At least for the first floor,” Nutt confirmed, some awe in his voice as he stared at Jack.
Jack just nodded, doubly annoyed the Tower bumped him down two ranks for being petty. He placed his hand on the chest and the number 9 disappeared, reappearing on the back of his fist in a gold emblazon. Jack pulled his hand away and squinted at the number nine.
“What the fuck is this?”
“A badge of sorts. Let’s you prove you’re the real deal. A high ranker.”
“You got one also?” Jack asked, staring at the goblin.
“No. Only the top ten get a supply crate and a badge to prove it.” He frowned.
Jack just nodded and stared back at the chest as it gave a light clicking noise. He kicked it open and looked inside.
He was initially disappointed with the contents. Jack had thought it would be packed to the brim. Instead it was only filled up about halfway.
Nutt had to climb up the chest to peer inside. He immediately fell inside, and Jack grimaced as he heard something definitely break.
“It’s just a health potion!” The goblin immediately started screaming “I can make you a new one!”
Jack grabbed the goblin by his shirt and sent him flying over his shoulder. His items were now all covered in a glowing red liquid. He grabbed another of the same liquid just to confirm and let out a breath of relief when it did appear just to be a health potion. Although upon inspection it appeared to be an extremely good health potion.
Panacea Health Potion
Type: Potion
Tier: Epic
An epic health potion designed to cure any ailment and restore the body to full.
*****
Product of the Tower
Jack glanced back and forth between the shattered health potion and the one in his hand. Then he spotted Nutt peering over the edge again, trying to climb back in. He grabbed the goblin and hurdled him across the camp a second time over, venting some of his frustrations. He grabbed another potion that was glowing white hot with a milky substance inside.
Greater All Stat Potion
Type: Elixir
Tier: Epic
+5 permanent points to all stats.
*****
Product of the Tower
Jack immediately chugged the contents of the Elixir and chucked the vial to the ground upon draining its contents. He let out a satisfied sigh as he felt his body respond and grow in response to the potions effects.
“What was that?” Nutt squeaked returning to his side and picking up the vial, giving it several tentative sniffs before sticking his tongue inside and licking the rim.
“Stat potion.” Jack offered, digging through the rest of the potions, and pocketing them in his void sack.
He had two of the remaining super health potions after Nutt broke one, and several Elixirs that did things like grant him temporary stone skin, or dramatically increase his strength and speed for a little bit.
“You should let me hold onto those. I’m an alchemist after all. I could potentially duplicate them. Or make them better.” Nutt said, a hungry look in his eyes.
“Maybe after you’ve earned your place. So far all you’ve done is almost blown us both up and broken my shit. You’ve got to prove yourself before I start handing over valuables for you to experiment with.”
The little goblin’s ears drooped at that and he gave Jack his best puppy dog eyes. Jack rolled his eyes and pulled out one of the stoneskin elixirs, handing it to the goblin who immediately perked up.
“Ooooh this is Tower grade,” he said with a wild smile, cradling the potion.
“What’s that mean?”
“The Tower made it. 100% pure. No bad ingredients or crummy quality. Guaranteed to work at full effectiveness.”
“Compared to what?”
The goblin gave him a blank look, and then snapped as though he suddenly remembered something.
“That’s right. You probably don’t know. Check the Tower store.”
Jack pulled up his status screen and tried to pull up the Tower store. Only to find it was no longer there.
“What the hell…”
“The Tower store becomes much more difficult to access once you’re off the first floor. No more unlimited health potions and supplies. Now you’ll have to find an alchemist who can brew and make you potions… If only you knew someone with such capabilities…” Nutt trailed off, trying to act nonchalant.
“Uh huh. Care to explain why those orcs were pink if you’re such a good alchemist?”
“That was due to lack of ingredients and improper equipment. Not Nutt’s fault!” he protested.
“Care to show me how good you are?”
Nutt scurried over to a travel pack that was twice his size with a smattering of pots and pans and lab equipment tied all around it. He pulled out a potion and tossed it to Jack.
Jack watched as it sailed past him and shattered on the ground.
“WHY!?” Nutt screamed.
“You break my shit. I break your shit. Show me another one.” Jack grinned.
Nutt pulled another small red health vial out of his backpack with an annoyed huff, cursing under his breath the entire time, and walked it over to Jack.
Jack took it from the goblin and gave it an inspection.
Minor Health Potion
Type: Potion
Tier: Common
Toxicity: 45%
Restores a small amount of damage.
*****
Product of Nutt.
He squinted at the potion. The toxicity was new information.
“What the hell is toxicity?”
“It’s toxic stuff...” Nutt said, almost unsure himself. “Just don’t hit 100% and you’ll be fine, takes about a day to get rid of that much toxicity out of your system” he shrugged.
“What happens when I hit 100%?”
Nutt just dragged his finger across his throat and stuck out his tongue, making a gagging noise as his eyes rolled into the back of his head.
“Got it. I die. Are all potions like this?”
“Pretty much. 45% toxicity is pretty good I’ll have you know. Won’t find another potion maker like me.” Nutt gave Jack a challenging glare, and he chose to believe the goblin. It looked like easy recovery from unlimited health potions was going to be a thing of the past. That changed things a lot for him. He would have to be more careful from now on. He still had a bunch of health potions stocked up from the first floor, but they seemed far less effective the stronger he got. It made sense he guessed that first floor health potions weren’t as good for him anymore.
“You said the Tower store becomes much more difficult to access. What did you mean exactly?
“The Tower store is an actual store now. You have to find it on the second floor if you want to shop there. Same for every floor going forward.”
“And what’s inside?”
“Perfectly made items and potions. Here, I think I saw some coupons…” Nutt mumbled, diving back into the chest. A moment later he popped back out with a handful of papers, handing them to Jack.
Second Floor Tower Store Entry Coupon
Type: Coupon
Tier: Rare
Grants one-time access to the Second floor Tower Store.
Second Floor Tower Store Half Off Coupon
Type: Coupon
Tier: Rare
Grants half off any item in the Second Floor Tower Store
Second Floor Free Item Tower Store Coupon
Type: Coupon
Tier: Epic
May be exchanged for any item within the Second Floor Tower Store.
Jack quickly pocketed the three coupons. Nutt was looking at them as though he might poison Jack in his sleep.
“You get in for free because you’re a ranker. So, you don’t need that entry coupon,” Nutt said, trying and failing to sound casual about it.
“Good to know. If my companions prove reliable I’ll be sure to give it to one of them.”
“I’m your only companion.” Nutt said matter of fact.
“I’m not the one you have to win over bud. There’s a pretty solid chance Hannah is going to blow you up on site if you manage to survive that long.”
“Who’s Hannah? Blow me up!?” Nutt squeaked. Jack paid the goblin no mind as he continued his search through the chest. The last item were a large pair of silver hoops.
Zephyr Stride Bangles
Type: Equipment
Tier: Rare
Enchantment Slots: 4/4
[Wind Step – 4 Slots]
The wearer gains the ability to step upon the air as though it was made of solid ground. The user must touch actual solid ground between each jump to reset the effects.
*****
Braided together from the threads of the ancient winds, these enigmatic bangles contain the secrets to mastering the skies.
Jack stared at the bangles in awe, quickly running his hands around each hoop and unhitching the clasp. He wrapped the bangles around his ankles and jumped into the air. A grin spread across his face as he brought his foot down and felt the air go solid beneath his foot. He jumped up a second time, launching ten feet into the air. He somersaulted, pressing down with his other foot, again feeling the air solidify as he launched back down towards the earth.
This was a game changer, Jack grinned. His greatest strength was his mobility. This would open a whole new world for him. Even better, it seemed each bangle was on its own cool down, so provided he only used one foot at a time to jump he could get two jumps off while in the air.
“Let me try!” Nutt latched onto Jack’s ankle and pulled at the bangles.
“Wait your damn turn,” Jack kicked off the goblin, sending him once more soaring across the campgrounds. Jack pushed off the ground and jumped into the air, jumping twice more to catch the goblin at the height of the arc. Nutt bit him in response. Jack dropped the goblin and went back to playing with his new toy.
“Hey, can I have these?” Jack glanced over at the Goblin, who was inside the chest holding onto flowers and a large fang of sorts. Jack had spent the last thirty minutes drowning out the world as he set to testing out the limits of the bangles.
“What are they?” Jack asked, landing next to Nutt from twenty feet in the air.
“Reagents.”
Jack glanced at the bottom of the chest. It was filled with a bunch of shit he didn’t recognize. Plants, mushrooms, herbs, monster parts. Everything just popped as reagent, ranging from common to rare. That made him furrow his brows. This chest seemed uniquely catered to him for the most part. Why it was giving him reagents when he had no use for them was beyond him. Then he glanced at Nutt who was still taking inventory of the reagents, oohing and awing at each thing he picked up.
Had the Tower peered into fate and known he was going to run into a goblin alchemist? It seemed a little too coincidental for Jack's liking. So much so he almost wanted to close the lid shut on the goblin and just leave him here.
Still. The goblin seemed to have a better grasp of what was going on then he did. He would be useful for a while longer. At least until he could find Hannah.
“Alright. They’re yours,” Jack said, nodding at the reagents. Nutt gave an excited yip and started stuffing the reagents into his void sack. Even taking a bite out of some at the same time.
Next was spent gathering up anything useful from the decimated orc camp. From the looks of it, Nutt had mostly gathered up garbage, separating it into some sort of system known only to him. There hadn’t been very much AP to earn from the orc’s he killed. It seemed as though they had funneled everything into their fearless leader as he had the only worthwhile items. A pair of rare battleaxes enchanted with lava. Jack stuffed them into his void sack with hopes of selling them off.
The orc mage also seemed to have items that only Nutt found any interest in, more reagents helpful for his alchemy. Everything after that was mostly uncommon weapons and armor. The pair scoured the camp until nothing remained.
“So what the hell are we supposed to do now?” Jack asked the goblin.
“Head back to Broken Moon I guess,” Nutt shrugged.
“Broken Moon? What’s that?”
“The city. Right now we are in the moonlight desert. If you want to clear the second floor then you need to go to Broken Moon city.”
“What were the orcs doing all the way out here then?”
“A quest. You’ll understand once we reach the city.”
“Where is it exactly?”
Nutt pointed at the moon that hung in the sky. Jack glanced up at it. The giant rock in the sky felt all too close for comfort. Now that he was staring at it, he noticed the giant crack running through its center. Broken moon.
“The city is on the moon?”
“How would we go to the moon? Just follow the moon and you’ll reach the city.”
“Alright, let’s head out then.” Nutt nodded and followed along, hefting his travel sack that was twice his size onto his back and trailing after Jack as the two made their way towards Broken Moon City.