Kelford was cold and sore when he woke up. Crusted blood cracked all along his body as he shifted.

“Ow” Kelford stretched but found that all the aches only got worse when he stretched, “ Who would have thought that sleeping on hard stone would suck this much.”

“ I would” T.U.I appeared as a ball of white light from his chest, “ And you were asleep for 4 standard earth hours, much longer than you indicated.”

Kelford swallowed a groan as he pushed himself to his feet, “ I didn’t expect to be that tired. Besides, you wanna give a guy some slack? I just went through two brutal fights back to back.” Kelford rolled his shoulders before wincing again. “ Really with what I’ve gone through i'm surprised that I’m still alive…” the thought of the knives sent shivers down his spine. It just reinforced the question , how was he still alive?

“ Well with the influx of essence within you it is a wonder you haven’t noticed the full extent of your changes” T.U.I was floating around him, almost like she was inspecting him.

“What do you mean T.U.I?”

“ Essence has a marked effect on organisms from life essence, according to the Myriad Index your current essence production is…”

“ In english please”

T.U.I stopped, “ That was english”

“I meant just dumb it down” Kelford sighed, “ I just got stabbed a bunch of times and i'm not in the mood to be listening to technical jargon. Just give it to me in a way I can understand.” It may have been the pain, the bloodloss, or the corpses but Kelford was swiftly losing his patience.

“ Well in that case, you should have noticed improvements in many aspects of your biology and psychology.” T.U.I had floated back into eye sight, “ It’s the reason you have been able to fight multiple opponents despite your lacking physic, your mind is not breaking from the slaughter of humanoid creatures, and you haven’t died from the blood loss. For your first attempt at the Tower I would have presumed you would not have gone into a minor depression if you hadn't died so soon after experiencing such life changing events. I believe that after this attempt you will show remarkable improvements in your reaction to these events.”

Kelford didn’t know how to react. It was true that he wasn’t exactly the most athletic right now, he hadn’t even considered just what he’d done even this soon into the Tower. It had only been 2 rooms.

“And already I’ve killed 13 times.”

“ 15 if you count the first gnoblar in your initial run and you killed another on that run without realizing” T.U.I’s reply only proceeded to make Kelford’s veins run cold. He hadn’t even realized he’d killed someone. The worst part was he found it hard to care. Those things were monsters, they were in some magical place where they were designed to be killed as some kind of test.

“ Are these things actually alive?” Kelford gestured weakly at the bloody corpses, “ Or are they just really life like clones or something?”

“Would the answer make you feel better?”

Kelford just stared at T.U.I as her reply rang in his mind. He didn’t know and worst he feared that he already knew what his answer would be.

“ Let’s…forget about it for now” His sword was clean despite the grimey condition of his own clothes, it still had a warmth that felt good on his clammy skin. “ Do I get a Relic Orb for completing this room?”

“ No, Relic Orbs are only for completing floors and as prizes in special rooms” T.U.I floated

beside him as he began leaving, “ Though I can not give you any additional information about special rooms I can tell you this. After the next room, you will have a special room option! Isn’t that exciting ?”

“ Yea T.U.I” Kelford said as he dragged himself further into the Tower, “ That’s very exciting. I

wonder what I’ll get next.”

“ Oh the options are limitless!” T.U.I’s excitement caused Kelford to chuckle.

The passage now had a definite upward tilt, causing Kelford’s already tired legs to burn as he pushed himself step by step upward. The rock was no longer jagged and black, now softer and mixed with lighter stone. The feeling of the earth above his head seemed to become less overbearing, though Kelford admitted to himself it could have been in his head. The darkness was kept at bay with the occasional torch, and his enchanted sword. T.U.I continued to talk, speaking about the boundless treasures and knowledge he could gain from the Tower. How she was excited to show him the additional interface requests he had unlocked due to climbing past the first floor.

“Wait?” Kelford paused as her words finally registered, “ What do you mean additional interface requests?”

“Well, you’ll find out when you get back”T.U.I said ,” It’s a special reward for pushing past your melasse and making it to the second floor. It’s a safeguard that the Myriad Index has put in place to reward those who keep trying and dissuade sapients from using the Tower as a handout.”

“ I didn’t have any prompt about this,” Kelford said, “I thought that the whole point was to show how to improve? If you’re hiding this then what else is the Tower hiding?”

“ Don’t think of this as part of the quests, but as a small bonus for a job well done.” T.U.I voice was still cheerful, “ Also you’re close to the next room. If you want to see your gift from the Tower for pushing your limits then die here and you’ll see!”

“ I’m not planning to die in this room. I still want to get out of here.”

“Then I can’t wait to show you the special rooms!”

Kelford growled in his throat before pushing forward. There was no winning here! His angry steps lead to a bend in the tunnel and as he turned the corner he could see the next room before him. The tunnel exited above the majority of the room giving Kelford the perfect spot to survey everything. It was huge. Bigger than the starter area, it was at least as long as a football field. Rock formations broke up the space, with layers of dust and grime covering the entire space. Kelford barely noticed as the giant group of gnoblars too up his full attention. They had… made an actual camp.

“More a shanty town then a camp” Kelford whispered

The camp seemed to take up the entirety of the cavern, with the closest density being right in the center around a large fire. Some kind of wood and cloth made up the shelters. Really it made up the trash piles too, as the entire place had seen better days. The cloth was ragged and had large holes everywhere Kelford could see, Piles of broken shelters dotted the landscape. The dust coated all the outer shelters in a dull grey, showing that most of the shelters weren’t in use. Probably hadn’t been for some time.Worst, there were gnoblars crawling all along the center. A party seemed to be in full swing as over a dozen gnoblars surrounded a large cooking fire. There was some ramshackle spit with something cooking on it. Whatever it was they sure seemed excited about it. Kelford looked beyond them to see large tunnels that held glowing runes above their entrances. A prompt soon followed.

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Floor 2 Room 2

Gain Access to The Third Floor By Any Means Necessary

“Well that makes some things easier” Kelford may have been able to kill 8 gnoblars in the previous room but he had no delusions that he was good enough to kill dozens of the little monsters at once. Heck the 8 he killed were mostly by surprise. That was without the numerous wounds he’d gotten from the fight as well. His fingers were still tingling from the slinger’s rock not to mention the knife wounds. He may be able to endure more trauma if what T.U.I said was true, but he could still die. Maybe it was time to try stealth this time around.

“Worst case scenario I get stabbed to death again” Kelford forced himself to chuckle at the joke. This wasn’t going to be pretty but if he made it through this he’d get another Relic. That represented a significant gain to his climb and maybe one of these “special rooms” could help with his injuries. After that…well he’d figure it all out. Still he was still a bit tired, maybe he needed to think this through…

“ Okay now I’m just stalling” Kelford checked around the entrance to see if any gnoblars were around before picking his way down to the edges of the gnoblar town.

It took a few minutes to find an easy path but eventually Kelford found his way down without too much trouble. He stashed the sword into his inventory much to his chagrin. His mission was to be stealthy at this point and a giant glowing sword wasn’t exactly the best when it came to stealth.

“Besides, one wrong turn and this place is definitely going up in flames” The dust and dried wood would definitely qualify as the mother of all fire hazards. No wonder the only fires he saw had plenty of space from the buildings. Kelford crept forward, making his way through the dark, cramped walkways between shacks. It seemed mostly empty, but he didn’t want to leave anything to chance. He took it slow, checking every dilapidated building for occupants before moving on. He’d been surprised by gnoblars twice now, he wasn't planning on it turning into a third time. He aimed to skirt along the edges, trying to stay as far away from the main gathering as possible. Rock formations, and giant heaps of trash made that a dying hope. Maybe if he wasn’t trying to be stealthy or have multiple knife wounds he could have made it. So with multiple dead ends, he eventually started to make his way to the occupied section of the cave.

It was easy to realize when he crossed over. Bones began to litter the ground, and the smell of sweat and cooked meat became overpowering. The only difference to the buildings was that they weren’t as covered in dust. Now Kelford had to take it slow. He crossed behind a stretch of leather, just a moment before two gnoblars scampered past. They were everywhere. Most of them were not even alone. His estimate of a little over a dozen was way off. There had to be at least 30 of the monsters stumbling around here! Kelford took a shuddering breath as he ducked into a building. Its owner wasn’t home, but by the smell, had only left recently. Kelford checked the corners before finding a mostly clean area to rest in. He’d been crouched and ducking close calls for at least an hour. His wounds were acting up and he needed to give his nerves a rest. Taking a deep breath, Kelford allowed himself a minute to get his head on straight. 30 seconds in a deep roar sounded through the camp sending his heart racing. Multiple gnoblars scampered past baying like dogs in their excitement. Kelford stayed still, not daring to breathe until he was pretty sure most of the monsters had gone. He poked his head out before getting back on the move.

The gathering of gnoblars had only grown, Kelford could see all of them making their way to the camp center emptying the streets. Whatever had been cooking, seemed to have finished.The screeches and talking had reached a feverish peek as even from his hiding place Kelford could see gnoblars drooling as they ran. Kelford could care less. He started to hurry down the side streets and between the makeshift houses. He didn’t know how long he had but this was an opportunity he couldn’t afford to lose. He stole between ramshackle buildings as the noise behind him only got louder. It seemed like he had just found away past the center before in his excitement he tripped over a dirty pile of rags. He cursed under his breath as he caught himself before he realized that he wasn’t the only one pissed. The rags shuffled as another gnoblar, this one dirtier than most, came up snarling only to freeze as it made eye contact. Kelford was on it in a flash. His sword materialized in a flash before biting deep into the gaping gnoblar. It fell dead with a wheeze just as Kelford put his axe away. That was a close one. He checked his surroundings before he hid again.

“ Just a little farther” He whispered to himself.

Now that he wasn’t hurrying he could see that not all of the gnoblars were rushing to their impromptu feast. Some of the more downtrodden were laying everywhere. Either to hurt or seemingly out of favor to join. The few wretches seemed to be slinking in from the outskirts for scraps, though a few crawled into empty tents to steal scraps. Maybe even to surprise the original owners. With the window of his escape closing ever faster there weren’t many options left for Kelford. He started moving as quickly as he dared. He avoided as many as he could, killing the few that were too close to avoid. His progress was slowly stalling, not only from the mounting pressure, but from his own exhaustion. He was in line with the center, a clearing of buildings not giving him any easy way to cross without taking a risk. He hid behind a few destroyed barrels and boxes. The gnoblars were in a frenzy, their shadows dancing in the fire light as they danced around their cooking food. Kelford’s gaze watched the scene in morbid fascination.

A fiat gnoblar stepped from the crowd, it stood almost as tall as Kelford. It’s pale skin was noticeably healthier than the rest of its kind, with fat and muscle pushing against the confines of flesh. Even from his hiding place Kelford could feel the atmosphere change as it entered the area. Thick furs draped it, with a large club in one hand and a sharp stone knife in the other. The gnoblars were silent, watching their hulking leader approach the roasting meat. With one swift motion the gnoblar chief ripped away a chunk with it’s implement before wolfing it down. It licked it’s lips with a satisfied look before roaring into the air. The others joined it as they pushed against each other as they formed a line. The giant monster stayed where it was, watching them with a self satisfied smile. Kelford almost didn’t notice when golden words appeared above its brow.

Gnoblar Gorger

Description:

As gnoblars eat they begin to grow in intelligence and size.

Gorgers have achieved the second part of their life cycle, having secured consistent sources of food. Usually if no other challengers have arisen they will rule over other gnoblars, growing their small population in strength and securing even more food for it to consume.

The gorger occasionally barked at its lesser brethren when they had gotten too rowdy, making sure all of the favored were able to secure at least a chunk of the leg. Kelford watched it before his attention fell to those that had eaten. Did they seem slightly healthier now? One gnoblar began to gobble down the food it had gotten, and Kelford watched as its muscles rippled slightly. Now that Kelford was watching he could see it. With each bite the gnoblars were getting stronger. He had to get out of here while he still had the chance. Kelford backed away, preparing himself to sprint past the clearing when he realized that it was already too late. A gnoblar had crawled out of the tent behind him. just at the right angle to see him but not immediately be visible. Their eyes met and Kelford could see the moment it decided to run. It turned, voice already raised to scream for the alarm. There was only one thing to do. Kelford sprinted after the monster, sword already being summoned from his Inventory. The gnoblar screamed just a moment from alerting the entire camp. The familiar weight of the Flamberge finally dropped in his hand. Kelford leaped forward with a brutal ,overhand chop cutting through the gnoblars chest. He skidded forward in a whirl of heat and dying flames. Eyes closed Kelford listened for any indication that the gnoblar horde had heard anything. No baying of his blood or roars of rage. Only the crackling of the fire. He’d done it.

The gasp of relief almost took Kelford from his feet as he opened his eyes and stood to his full height. That’s when he made eye contact with at least 2 dozen monsters watching him in complete shock. Even the gorger had its mouth open and bulging as it tried to comprehend what had just happened. It would almost be funny if Kelford wasn’t so terrified. His mind raced as he tried to find some way of spinning the situation to his advantage. Then he smelled the burning. He turned to his right only to see a small flame slowly growing along one of the shacks. In his desperation to kill the gnoblar it seemed that he had been less than careful with his flaming sword. With how bad the integrity of the structure had been, the flame was too much. It collapsed spreading embers and flame in every direction. That was when the roars began. The gorger roared, stabbing it’s club at the shocked human. The horde of gnoblars bolted forward. Kelford turned tail and ran. His sword clipped dried wood and leather, spreading flames behind him and filling the air with fire.