Chapter 153 - The Tower Store

Three humans, a goblin, and a vampire elf made for strange travel companions, judging from the looks they were getting as they left the small village and made their way towards Sector Two. It took them several hours to reach the Sector Two gate, and much like when Jack first arrived to the city, there was a large line outside the gate and a tent city set up right outside of it. They avoided it completely, taking a wide angle towards the wall and traveling another hour until they were out of anyone’s sight.

“I’m assuming everyone actually has their own means of making it up the wall?” Jack asked. The question was primarily directed at Devin and Karlisle. Nutt was already strapped to Jack’s back. Hannah pulled out her longbow and sat across it sidesaddle.

Devin formed an ethereal blade and stepped on top of the flat side like a floating snowboard. Everyone looked to Karlisle.

“I’ll manage.” He smiled.

“Takes me about thirty minutes. I don’t know how much mana that equates to.” Jack squinted at Hannah. “Don’t you have flaming wings you can use?”

“Ooh, I’d like to see that,” Karlisle commented.

“I’d rather not advertise to the entire world that we are scaling the wall. Plus, they cost a lot of mana to maintain.”

“Alright, then. See you guys up top.” Jack gave a mock salute and jumped into the air, springing off the wall back and forth, going higher and higher. Hannah and Devin weren’t moving as fast, but they seemed to be making an alright pace. Karlisle didn’t move for a long moment. Then he turned into blood-red mist and shot past everyone, racing past Jack to the top of the wall.

“Oh, we’ll see who’s faster, asshole,” Jack muttered.

“Oh no,” Nutt shrieked as Jack launched upward off the wall in a full-speed pursuit.

He made it up the wall in what was likely his fastest time yet, panting heavily as he crested the edge. Karlisle was there to greet him, alongside half a dozen arbiters. They were all kneeling before the vampire.

Jack panted heavily as he tried to catch his breath. “What’s… going on?” he asked.

“Looks like Morty has sent us a royal escort. He wants to make sure we don’t run into too much trouble when passing through Sector Two.”

“Perfect, they can take us to the Tower Store,” Jack said, taking a seat. The arbiters turned to look at him with hatred in their eyes. It looked like they were still pissed that he had been hunting them for sport, even if Mortimaxx had forgiven him.

“Our orders are to bring you straight to Mortimaxx,” the one in front hissed through gritted teeth.

“So long as it’s by way of the Tower Store, then sure.” Jack smiled.

The arbiter looked to Karlisle for support.

“Don’t look at me like that. He’s calling the shots.” His tone waxed pompous and royal. “If he wants to go to the Tower Store that is likely teeming with assassins trying to kill him and not allow himself to be safely escorted to Morty’s sanctuary, then that is what we will do.”

“Why are you really following us?” Jack asked.

“I told you, a debt is owed—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, the debt. I’m still not convinced. You said you’ve been to the twelfth floor. Certainly you don’t want to waste your time following me around? Why not just go straight to Andurian’s lab yourself?”

“While it’s true this would all be far more convenient and likely much faster if I did it all myself, try putting yourself in my shoes.” Karlisle walked over to the edge of the wall, peering down first and then taking a seat to let his feet dangle. “I awake from my millennia-long slumber to find a coreless human chasing after Andurian’s legacy. Not only that, but that humans seem to be somehow related to every single thing that is transpiring on the floor in one way or another. In addition, our goals are somewhat aligned, at least in terms of chasing after Andurian.

“I’ll admit,” he continued, “my first instincts were to kill you and your friends and be done with it. To be blunt, you’re an interesting human, and I already told you the Tower likely designed this in some way or other, fighting against things like this will likely end in our ruin.”

Jack just nodded. He supposed that was all he was going to get out of the vampire in terms of what his motives were. It seemed at least Karlisle was familiar with random Tower Bullshit it was so acquainted with throwing in his direction. Jack knew he couldn’t trust the vampire, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t use him.

The two waited for another forty-five minutes for Devin and Hannah to arrive, and Karlisle regaled him with tales of Andurian in the meantime.

“I’m not entirely sure what type of core he had. I’ve never actually seen him fight.”

“But he was powerful?”

“Probably. His strength was hard to gauge because he wasn’t one for a straightforward fight. In fact, it was commonly believed that, if you found yourself in a fight against him, you’d already lost. He was the type to set up a thousand and one traps and plans to ensure that you would be at your weakest and him at his strongest before the fight could even begin. His mind was his weapon.”

“So how’d he die, then?”

Andurian just scoffed. “I highly doubt he’s dead. But whatever happened to him happened after I was put to sleep, so I couldn’t tell you.”

Jack nodded, feeling a little bit like the wrong guy to be chasing after Andurian’s legacy. It was starting to sound like he was a brainiac, and if any future challenges involved one singular iota of him doing math or science shit, he was fucked.

“You guys all topped off and ready to go?” Jack asked Devin and Hannah after they rested a bit. Hannah gave him a thumbs up.

They didn’t immediately descend into Sector Two. Instead, they took the long way to the Tower Store by walking across the top of the wall until they were directly aligned with it and could jump down on top of it.

“We’ll go first and make sure no bugs are lurking in the shadows,” one of the arbiters said. Two jumped off the wall, and several minutes later, the remaining four arbiters with them gave the okay to head down.

The first things that came into view were the towering spires of twisted gothic cathedrals, with dark gray stone and black shingles. Large statues dotted the roads and buildings with a brutalist flourish, filling out the ranks between the cathedral-like buildings and mansions. The sector had a medieval grandeur to it. Every structure was imposing and violent. Angry stone gargoyles perched on every corner.

No one had mentioned gargoyles, but Jack suspected they might be more than simple statues. While it was all very grand, it still had the air of decay to it that was heavy throughout every sector. The statues and buildings weren’t nearly perfect, with wild cracks and crumbling brick running throughout everything. They landed on suspiciously empty streets, and Jack found himself holding onto his daggers in preparation.

“Lucky for us,” one of the arbiters said, “the auction house is being constructed on the far side. Most everyone is gathered there at the present.”

Hannah launched an arrow into the shadows, and Devin followed up with three shimmering blades. Two bodies fell forward, centipede cloaks wrapped around their necks.

“Impressive!” Karlisle clapped.

“Where’s the Tower Store?” Jack asked.

The arbiter simply pointed behind him. Jack looked back at the building and wondered how he didn’t spot it immediately. Crammed between two of the eerie, gothic mansions was a building that looked like it got torn straight off of Fifth Avenue. It was a small skyscraper with the classic Art Deco architecture tourists would find all over Manhattan. There was even a sign that read “Tower Store” hanging above a large glass revolving door, next to a display window with weapons and a mannequin wearing armor.

“Huh,” was all Jack could muster. He went to push the revolving door, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Ticket, remember?” Hanah said, waving hers in the air and walking past him. As she did, her ticket disappeared into thin air, and the door moved as she pushed it. Devin did the same.

Jack looked at Nutt, who looked like he was going to burst into tears.

“Didn’t get a ticket when you arrived to the floor?”

“Nooooo,” he whined.

Jack looked over at Karlisle. “I don’t suppose you have one, do you?”

“I was just going to buy one.” Karlisle shrugged. He walked towards the door and pressed his hand against a large diamond shape that was carved into the wall next to it. Two tickets appeared in his hand a moment later, and he handed one to Nutt with a smile.

“Yes!” Nutt screamed, snatching the ticket and sprinting through the door.

Jack pulled out his ticket and looked at it.

Second Floor Tower Store Entry Coupon

Type: Coupon

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Tier: Rare

Grants one-time access to the Second floor Tower Store.

“How much did that run you?” Jack asked.

“Not too much. Ten million AP a ticket.”

“Alright, mister moneybags. You gonna spot me ten million in there?”

“I normally don’t spend money at such low-tier stores,” Karlisle scoffed.

Jack rolled his eyes at the vampire and turned to walk inside.

“Be quick,” one of the arbiters called. “There will certainly be more coming to investigate the deaths.”

Jack waved over his shoulder as he and Karlisle entered the store.

It was like a fancy boutique inside with several glass display cases filled with weapons and armor or potions. The lighting was dim, and plush chairs and large couches dotted the floor. In one section, what looked like a slightly reinforced section of the store sported wooden testing dummies all lined up against the wall. The display cases were already dirtied with tiny handprints and goblin face smudges as Nutt ran around like a kid in a candy store. Devin was inspecting several swords hanging from the wall, and Hannah had somehow acquired what looked like a mimosa as she sorted through a rack of clothes.

Jack glanced to his right to see a large, fuzzy spider sitting on top of one of the display cases. It was roughly the size of a chihuahua with four beady eyes that were staring directly at him. It looked like a jumping spider, if he had to guess.

Hello! a chipper voice greeted in his head.

“What the fuck,” Jack managed.

Welcome to the Tower Store. I’m Hopscotch. I apologize for the intrusion into your brain, but due to the fact that I lack appropriate vocal cords to speak with you, us spiders have developed telepathic communication. If this upsets or frightens you, please let me know, and alternate accommodations can be made, the voice in his head continued, talking as though he was a polite and cordial salesman. He was talking extremely fast, though, and it was a little hard to understand him.

“Huh,” Jack said, staring at Hopscotch the spider salesmen.

Can you read my thoughts? Jack asked in his head. The spider didn’t move or respond. He squinted at the little bug. Either he couldn’t read minds, or he was about to get the shit hustled out of him by a jumping spider.

Jack had two coupons and quickly pulled them out to inspect them.

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.

A free item and a half-off item. He glanced at Hopscotch, flashing him the coupons.

“I trust these won’t be an issue?”

Coupons, how lovely. I would be more than happy to redeem them both for you. Might you have an idea of what you want?

“Sort of? What are my options? I think I want to take a look at throwing knives first.”

Wonderful. I’ve actually just consulted with the Tower on your progress thus far, and they have suggested some interesting items, if you would like to see them.

“Wait, what do you mean consulted with the Tower?”

This is the Tower Store, sir, the spider replied, stressing the Tower part.

“Sure, show me what the Tower thinks I need,” Jack said dryly. He glanced back at Karlisle, who was lounging on the sofa, somehow also with a blood orange mimosa in his hand. “Can I trust this place?”

Karlisle took a sip of his drink and gave a nonchalant shrug.

Jack turned back to the spider, who hadn’t moved, yet beside him was a pair of large, dark, blue-gray leather bracers and a blue rock crackling with lightning.

These are the items I’ve selected for you, sir. Please take a look and let me know what you think. In the meantime, can I fetch you a beverage?

“Sure…” Jack said, unsure how the spider even got these items. Before he could even move, a champagne flute filled with mimosa appeared next to the spider. Jack squinted at Hopscotch. He wasn’t sure if the spider was summoning the items, moving so fast he couldn’t catch it, or flat-out teleporting.

“Hannah…” Jack started.

“He’s just jumping really fast, I think,” she answered the unspoken question.

Bravo! I pride myself on my jumping speed. Very few can keep up with it, Hopscotch said excitedly.

“Hopscotch, would you mind letting me take a look at one of these swords?” Devin called out. Finally, Jack saw the spider move as it turned to look at Devin then turned back to Jack.

I’ll be attending Sir Devin now. If you need anything from me, please don’t hesitate to ask. Should you like to try out the weapons, the practice room is just there in the corner. Please don’t use the items on the showroom floor. I will be forced to ban you from the premises if you do. With that, Hopscotch disappeared to help Devin.

Jack turned his attention towards the items on the table. He reached out to grab the crackling stone and inspect it. Before he could though, Wiggleworm detached herself and lunged at the rock. She ate it in one swift gulp, then turned her head to look at Jack.

“Wiggle, I swear to God, if that didn’t just give you superpowers, I’m going to turn you into a belt.”

Quite so. Hopscotch said in his head, reappearing next to him once more. Familiar food, that is. The rock type was called Thunder and is imbued with concentrated lightning. It’s meant to enhance your familiar’s abilities in alignment with your aspects, although I can’t detect a hint of any one type of mana in your soul, so I can’t imagine what the Tower was thinking in suggesting that item for you.

Jack just stared at Wiggleworm, grinding his teeth. The centipede didn’t even look the slightest bit ashamed at what she had done.

“And how much did that just cost me?”

With your half-off coupon, fifty million achievement points.

“That’s half-off? So that thing was a hundred million points? I feel like I should be using the free item coupon.”

Oh no, sir, you will definitely want to use it on this item right here.

Jack glanced at the bracers. “And how much do those cost?”

Based on your irritated state, I would rather not say until you’ve had a chance to calm down some.

“God damn it, tell me how much it—”

Excuse me, I must tend to the other customers now. Hopscotch disappeared once more.

Jack sighed, watching as Wiggle crawled over to the bracers, prodding at it with her pincers.

“If you eat those, you’d better pray to God you can turn into them,” Jack growled, picking one up and inspecting it.

Skyray Piercers

Type: Utility Weapon

Tier: Epic

Enchantment Slots: 8/8

[Skyray Stinger – Natural Enchantment]

Launches a skyray stinger that pierces through your target and anchors you to it. Thirty second recharge if pierce is unsuccessful.

[+5 Piercing – 5 Slots]

Greatly increases the weapon’s piercing potential.

[Advanced Self Repair – 3 Slots]

Provides much faster repair. As long as 50% of the item remains, it will pull on surrounding mana to repair any damage.

*****

The skyray swims through the skies, an elegant and deadly hunter. Channel the skyray’s predatory nature. These wrist-mounted harpoons fire a tethering projectile, mimicking the skyray’s deadly embrace and ensuring that your prey never escapes.

The bracers themselves were rigid, the full length of his forearm. Along their underside was a long, slender knife sitting atop an elaborate set of gearwork. Despite the machinery, it still somehow managed to maintain a slim and form factor profile. The armor was a type of leather, dark and smooth with a thin metal chain wrapped up and down it. Jack slipped on the bracers and they immediately tightened and adjusted to the size of his forearms.

“Alright, let’s go see why the Tower thinks I need these,” Jack mumbled to himself.

He walked towards the corner of the room, and Hannah dropped whatever she was looking at to follow.

“What did you find?” she asked.

“No clue. Harpoons or something.”

“This should be good.” She laughed.

Jack stepped up onto the platform that had the training dummies and immediately found himself in another room. It was a large, well-lit room with several stone platforms, a small obstacle course, and training dummies in all shapes in sizes hidden away in various spots. Some were even moving around, jumping back and forth through the sky.

Jack looked behind him; the store was still there. He took a step deeper into the training room.

“Well, that wasn’t disorienting,” Hannah said as she stepped in behind him.

Welcome to our testing room, where you can test out the weapons and armor safely without compromising yourself or the store, Hopscotch said, appearing between the two of them once more.

“How do these work?” Jack asked, inspecting the bracers once more for a trigger of some sort.

Simply point and think about firing off a harpoon. The bracers themselves are quite intuitive.

Jack did just that, aiming his hand at one of the training dummies hanging from a ledge. The blade attached to the underside of the bracers shot forward so fast Jack couldn’t see it, piercing straight through the dummy. There was a long, slender chain tethered to his wrist that led up to where the blade was piercing.

Now flick your wrist upwards, Hopscotch suggested.

Jack did so and was yanked unceremoniously upwards as the chain reeled itself in, slamming him into the dummy. Hannah started laughing somewhere below him.

Nicely done, Hopscotch said, appearing next to him once more. Alternatively, you can reel your target in to you, although that requires proper footing and can be far more difficult, depending on how much they fight back. The blade and chain can also break away, if need be, but that will earn you a five-minute recharge time to recover the blade.

Jack tried what Hopscotch said, firing the blade at another nearby practice dummy. He planted his feet and flicked his wrist downward, ripping the dummy free and pulling it towards him at impressive speeds. He slammed his foot into the dummy, kicking it free of the blade and sending it flying to the ground. Once more, he shot his other blade through a dummy, though this time, he didn’t reel in the chain. He wrapped his fist around the chain and yanked, flailing the dummy around.

“Is there a way to release just the blade?” Jack asked, but as he thought it, the blade seemed to release itself from the dummy, leaving him with a sort of whip-like dagger flail to swing around.

On closer inspection, after piercing through another dummy, the blade released two small hooks after piercing through the target, creating the grappling effect.

“God, I really hate that the Tower suggested something cool,” Jack complained.

“Hey, let us try them out,” Hannah called up.

Jack glanced down to see everyone staring at him sitting on the ledge. They all looked like they wanted a turn with his new toy.