Chapter 2_Towerbound: Ascension

Chapter 2

Ethan hit the ground hard, his panicked reaction driving him straight into a bed of rocks strewn across the forest floor. The small stones tore at his skin, leaving his arms bloody and raw. Despite the pain, Ethan could not afford to dwell on the minor injury. Rolling over and pushing himself up, he faced his attacker.

The creature in front of him gnashed its sharpened teeth. Small and filthy were the two most apt words to describe the beast. Layers of dirt and muck marred its green skin, indicating its lack of interest in hygiene.

Only about a metre tall, the feral creature paced around as it feigned swings with its primitive knife. Its bloodshot, murky eyes scrutinised Ethan as it debated whether to continue its attack.

Adolescent Goblin (Level 3)

A stream of messages flooded Ethan's mind as he tucked them away for later, glimpsing a string of characters just above the Goblins head. Reacting instinctively to the threat, Ethan bolted. Not giving the Goblin a chance to pursue, the small creature let out an annoyed scream as Ethan fled. Ethan did feel a bit off about running from a child-sized enemy like that, but then he also remembered that getting a knife to the stomach is a lot less fun that it seems in the movies.

Running through the dense forest, memories hit Ethan like a tidal wave as he recalled his childhood, running away from his parents as they acted as the monster, chasing him along the various hiking trails. Though the current situation was much more dire, a defiant smile spread across Ethan's face. He was running again, and for the first time in months, he felt a semblance of normalcy return to his life.

The chase was short-lived as Ethan’s long legs continued pumping even as all sounds of his pursuer were lost. Standing tall and skinny, Ethan’s physique had once been honed from constant training for competition, but months in rehab had taken their toll. Taking a deep breath, Ethan tried to calm himself, his heart still pounding from the adrenaline of the chase.

Scanning his surroundings, nothing seemed out of place. The trees tinned out giving Ethan a clear line of sight of his surroundings. Keeping alert to make sure another Goblin didn’t get the jump on him; he brought up the messages which he had received earlier.

Welcome to the First Floor!

Objective: Reach the teleporter, providing access to the second floor.

Rewards: 50 Points, Class Selection

Time: 6 Days, 23 Hours, 52 Minutes

The first screen was quite simple, Ethan was just happy that the objective seemed quite easy. As he dismissed the screen, a cold sensation hit his hand. Once again, an item had magically appeared, but this time around it was a plain looking compass. The item differed from regular compasses however as it did not have any cardinal directions labelled on it, rather it just had a singular red arrow that was permanently pointing in one direction. Curious about the item, a string of text appeared above the compass just like earlier with the Goblin.

Enchanted Compass (Common)

- Crafted for the specific use on the first floor of the Tutorial, this compass is tuned to always point towards the designated teleporter.

- Item returns to the system upon exiting the first floor.

Well that certainly makes things a bit easier. Content with not having to wander around for days trying to complete the objective, Ethan tucked the compass in his pockets for safe keeping. His comfortable sweatpants were already looking filthy and had small tears thanks to his scramble through the bushes. Reading through the second pop-up message, Ethan’s gamer mind took over momentarily. As a teen brought up in the 21st century, it was obvious that Ethan had played a variety of games, and the following message tickled that portion of his mind.

Status

Name: Ethan Porter

Level: 1

Class: (N/A)

Title: (N/A)

Attribute: Undiscovered

Stats

Strength: 4

Agility: 5

Endurance: 4

Vitality: 6

Constitution: 5

Wisdom: 6

Intelligence: 5

Perception: 5

Skills

Identification (Common) – A basic skill granted to all under the System’s guidance. Allows the user to identify items of interest or scan enemies.

Linguists Gift (EX)- Allows the bearer to understand and communicate in all languages.

Titles (Unequipped)

Blessings

System’s Blessing (EX)

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- A blessing provided to all races under the System’s guidance, granting a variety of boons that allow world to prosper in unity.

It was one thing for Ethan to acknowledge his own lack of fitness, but it was a separate thing entirely seeing it quantified in hard values. Ethan was not content with these stats, it seemed quite clear that a stat value of five was average, so seeing both strength and endurance sitting at four felt like a blow to his pride.

If this system had come just six months earlier, Ethan was certain that these stats would be vastly different. Training to compete as a professional Iron Man required unwavering dedication and months of gruelling workouts. All that effort, all that sacrifice, now seemed wasted. His frustration simmered as he thought about the lost opportunity and potential.

On the bright side of things, his other stats were looking quite decent. Moreover, he had already acquired two skills, albeit they weren’t going to suddenly make him overpowered. With the annoying messages all checked, Ethan took a moment to inspect his arms, which remained bloody and raw. The scrapes themselves weren’t too bad but it felt risky to leave an open wound untreated, Ethan was no medical expert, but the thought of infection scared him. Without any way to treat it currently, he jotted ‘medical treatment’ down on a mental list.

Distracting him from his thoughts, a rustling sound came from the direction Ethan had escaped from. Ready to bolt at any second, he watched with apprehension as a dishevelled figure stumbled out.

A woman, clad in a torn white wedding dress stained with dirt and blood, collapsed to her knees a few dozen metres away. Ethan's heart sank as he observed her distress, her features obscured by streaks of mascara running down her face as she dissolved into tears. Without hesitation Ethan moved to support her, a mixture of sympathy and concern washing over him. Could the goblins have brought her to such a state?

Ethan's movements were stopped by motion behind the woman, obscured by the foliage, something was making its way closer to the clearing. Hearing the intruder behind her, a look of abject terror covered her face as she tried to get up in a desperate struggle. Crumpling to her knees, the woman remained rooted still as she finally noticed Ethan.

“HELPPP M—!” Her scream pierced the air, shocking Ethan to his core. Before he could react, a sudden impact struck her body, causing her to convulse in agony. With one final plea for help, her form dissolved into a stream of ethereal light. The swarm of dim particles hovered for a moment before vanishing into the ground. All that remained in her place was a bloody knife, clattering to the ground.

Ethan stood frozen in distress at the harrowing scene before him. His shock was quickly interrupted by the sound of foliage being roughly pushed aside as a lumbering figure entered the clearing.

Orc Hunter (Level ???)

Seeing the figure labelled as an orc, Ethan got a good look at the woman’s attacker as it faced upwards, sniffing the air. The Orc was tall, towering over Ethan it stood at around 8 feet tall. Rolls of fat bloated the creature’s entire body as it shook disgustingly with even the slightest movements. A pig like face sat on the Orc’s head, its eyes nearly obscured by the fat, explaining why the creature was shuffling around, struggling to find its knife.

Disgust churned in Ethan’s stomach at the sight of the gluttonous creature. Every inch of its body seemed to exude an aura of repulsion.

After a few moments of struggle, the Orc managed to find its knife and greedily licked it clean. Looking for more, the creature also lapped at the ground, not letting even a single drop of blood go to waste. The Orc desperately searched for any other remains as it suddenly stopped and started smelling the air with a renewed vigour.

Clearly catching something, the Orc turned its body to face directly towards Ethan, prompting him to remember the blood caked over his arms. Attention on the creature in front of him he watched the Orc lean back before hurtling its knife towards him. Like a missile, the knife came within inches of skewering Ethan, leaving a thin trail of blood dripping down his cheek. A solid KATHUNK rang out as the knife embedded itself deeply into a tree, but Ethan paid it no mind as he had already started bolting away from the homicidal Orc.

Running in a zigzag, Ethan checked behind him periodically as the hulking figure of the Orc became smaller and smaller. Still, he ran on in hopes of creating as much distance between the two of them as possible. For an unknown amount of time, he continued running as he slowed down, eventually forced to a stop. Panting with his hands over his head, he desperately scanned the area around him, convinced a knife was about to come for him when his back was turned. As minutes passed just like that, Ethan’s mind was slowly set at peace as nothing emerged from the bushed around him.

Now surrounded again by a dense cluster of trees and tightly packed foliage, the Orc would struggle to manoeuvre in this maze of a forest. The goblins might not have as much trouble, but Ethan picked the lesser evil. Getting his breath back, Ethan checked the compass hoping that he had gotten lucky and stumbled closer to the exit, spoiler alert, he didn’t.

Facing the exact direction in which he came, Ethan realised to escape this cursed place he’d have to get past the Orc. Despite its lack of mobility and poor eyesight, the prospect of a knife coming at him that fast was terrifying. As his concerns spiralled, a splash of red amidst the sea of green attracted Ethan’s attention. At first, he mistook it for spilled blood, but getting closer a cluster of cherry-red berries revealed themselves.

Sootheberries

- A common fruit found in most mana-infused worlds, Sootheberries have a soothing and minor healing effect when consumed.

- Overconsumption may cause constipation.

Well ain’t that convenient…

Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, Ethan munched down on the red berries. Though hunger wasn’t his current concern, the satisfaction that washed over him as he ate was undeniable. The berries burst with juiciness, leaving a sweet taste flooding his mouth.

As he continued his feast, a weird but pleasant warmth spread from his mouth, travelling down his body, and resting on his arms. His arms began itching as the warmth worked its way into the cuts and scrapes. After a couple of minutes, his injuries seemed fully healed, though his arms were still stained with dried blood.

Hoping that eating just a handful of the berries wasn’t considered overconsumption, Ethan sat down with his back on a tree as he thought of his current priorities. Now that he had a moment to himself, the thought of leaving this floor as fast as possible felt less appealing. Sure, staying on this floor was dangerous but wouldn’t there also be more items just like the sootheberries?

On top of that it also made a lot of sense that he could earn more points by exploring the area, who knows, maybe Excalibur would be in a hidden cave just waiting to be pulled out.

The thought of playing it risky for more rewards became more and more appealing for Ethan, especially when he recalled what happened to the Lady. Seeing her turn into particles and disappearing led Ethan to believe that ‘dying’ was also the method of completing the Tutorial. The guide earlier mentioned that the objective is to reach as high as possible, not mentioning an end floor, so it was wholly possible that there wasn’t an end floor to begin with.

Gambling with his life, Ethan decided to try and stay on this floor for as long as possible. If people really went back to Earth with powers obtained here, then he refused to back empty handed. He had experienced being powerless once, and Ethan refused to go thought hat again. The thoughts of being able to protect both himself and his loved ones was the deciding factor. Committed to squeezing out every last benefit from this Tutorial, Ethan began his plotting.

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Some time passed as the sound of branches snapping filled the desolate clearing. Scrambling around the foliage, a small Goblin scurried out with its nose planted firmly to the ground. Looking for danger, the Goblin scanned the area as it followed the track its prey had left behind. Gloating in its own intelligence for being smart enough to ignore the strong looking creatures that had suddenly appeared, it had wisely hidden away, choosing to hunt down already injured prey instead.

Finding itself facing a large tree, the Goblin paid it no mind, it already had its prize. Holding the strange piece of fabric, the Goblin inhaled the piece of clothing, rearing its head back with a euphoric expression. The dried blood caking the fabric was like a divine ambrosia to the feral creature. With its eyesight now up towards the trees, the last thing the Goblin saw was a large shadow fall on its face before death consumed the Goblins last conscious thoughts.

[You have slain {Adolescent Goblin (Level 3)}]

[You have Levelled up! Level 1 -> Level 2]

[Stat points allocated!]

Falling from the branch he was perched on; Ethan fell right on top of the distracted Goblin before bashing its head in with a rock. With his first ambush being successful, Ethan reset the exceedingly simple yet effective trap, this time experimenting if the Goblins would also be attracted to their own blood. As Ethan begun his slow ascent to power, a smile found itself on his face as he waited for his next prey.

Status

Name: Ethan Porter

Level: 2

Class: (N/A)

Title: (N/A)

Attribute: Undiscovered

Stats

Strength: 5

Agility: 6

Endurance: 5

Vitality: 7

Constitution: 6

Wisdom: 7

Intelligence: 6

Perception: 6