The horn dug into his chest sending him flying into the dilapidated house. Chest bruised Kelford barely found his feet before throwing himself to the side as the Ice Horned Ram smashed through the old stone sending everything into chaos. Kelford barely found his feet before realizing that his sword was nowhere to be found.

“ Great” he growled just as the ram recovered from its wild charge. With a bleat of rage the ram charged Kelford again, horns pulsing with its heartbeat. Kelford dodged again only for the ram to adjust at the last moment hitting him fully in the midsection. Kelford exploded from the house in a shower of rock and wood. Frost fell from his fur covered robes as he rolled to his knees with a groan before looking for the monster. Again it had found its feet and was racing towards him. Kelford finally had enough. Pulling on the reserves in his amulet Kelford coated his fist in essence. With a roar Kelford surged upward, smashing into the Rams chest.

Empowered Strike

The ram went flying, blood streaking from its screaming maw. Kelford sprinted after it before ending the fight with another devastating blow to the side of its head. Breathing heavily Kelford staggered back as he searched for more sheep. Seeing none he fell back onto the rocky grass as he nursed his thrice bruised chest. Kelford cursed softly, the fight had been rougher then he had hoped. Not because each of the sheep were particularly strong, though the three rams were tough, but due to their numbers. Kelford had to pull on both the thin shadow essence in the air but draw deep on his resources to cut the sheep down. With so many of them it became a significant problem that Kelford had been forced to start conserving some of his energy. At the very end he’d slipped up and the last of the sheep had caught him unawares. Fortunately he had gotten a new relic that had made the damage he’d gotten easier to manage.

Belt of Fortitude

Rare

Description:

Food is sacred to the lowest gnoblar and the mightest chief. To those few who wish to master the culinary arts in these lands must first have the stomach to handle it.

Grants the passive skill

[Enhanced Constitution]

Between the belt and the Ring of Shadow Flesh Kelford was tougher then he’d ever been. Checking his chest he could feel the tenderness of potential bruising but none of the flashes of pain that would point to potential internal injuries. Slightly amazed despite himself, Kelford only needed a few minutes before he was able to push himself to begin scrounging around for his sword.Losing it now would be a bit of a blow, especially since the only other weapon he had would draw on his limited access to essence.The vibrant purple was limited on this floor, only made more alarming as he checked his drained amulet. Kelford looked into the essence around to see despite the approaching storm shadow essence wasn’t increasing in the area. With a sigh he began gathering the sheep corpses while keeping an eye on the storm clouds consuming the distant forest.

“ Congratulations on the victory once again Kelford” T.U.I said materializing as Kelford gathered the last of the corpses.

“ Thanks,” Kelford said as he walked over towards the destroyed building, “ This room was harder than I thought it was going to be. These things are tough.”

“Many creatures here do indeed have increased strength and fortitude due to the nature of their world. “

Kelford only nodded in response as he walked around the area not seeing his sword. He sighed as we walked into the ruined house. The interior was littered with the remains of his fight from earlier, damaged furniture now completely broken. The interior was massive, with big stacks of stone making up the walls. Torn drapes and carpet were scattered everywhere alongside the dark wood of the chairs and table. Really it was a wonder the place hadn’t fallen apart.

“ Hey T.U.I can you help locate my sword, we need to get out of here soon if I want to keep ahead of the temperature drop.” At this rate he wasn’t sure if the 5th floor would be influenced by the cold of the storm but there was no point in risking it.

“ Of course Kelford,” T.U.I replied.

They both took different sides of the house, Kelford pushing aside furniture and debris as T.U.I floated along the far edges. It took a minute but finally after pushing over a large chunk of table Kelford found his sword. It had seen better days. Kelford picked it up while dusting off the stone dust as he observed his trusty weapon. Small scratches marred the face of the blade while little dents could be seen on the edge. It still felt fine but the wear of constantly going up against empowered foes seemed to be getting to it.

“ I guess that’s the cost of using it so heavily against magical monsters” Kelford muttered as he returned it to his Inventory . He hadn’t checked it after the fights on the 2nd floor but now he was considering that perhaps his next relic should be a weapon. He sighed before turning to leave only for something to catch his eye. Bending down he pushed discarded rock and dust out of the way to reveal the rest of the trap door beneath him. The door was almost as large as him, made of a dark wood that had survived the collapse of the rest of this place. Kelford glanced at T.U.I before pulling on the door handle.

“Geez this is heavy!” Kelford’s enhanced muscles strained at the door before slowly lifting the dark wood. With a gasp Kelford lifted the trap door all the way open, sending it crashing to the side in a shower of dust. Coughing and clearing the air Kelford was able to gaze down into the dark staircase below.

“ One of the secrets for this floor?”

“ Perhaps” T.U.I said as they made their way down the steps, “ You know I can’t answer these questions. With your permission levels you would need to figure this aspect all on your own.”

Kelford reached the bottom, his eyes already cutting through the gloom as he entered the rocky basement. It was warmer than upstairs, the stone and dirt acting as natural insulators. A pillar helped hold the weight of the house above. Vibrant purple essence dominated the space and Kelford gladly began refilling his amulet as he moved through the wreckage. Giant barrels and crates layed destroyed everywhere. The walls were marred with scratches and ripped furs. T.U.I was the only light source and as Kelford began to walk around her light illuminated more of the disturbing scene.

“ What happened here?” Kelford’s voice barely traveled as he spoke, “ I’d say this place was ransacked but it doesn’t seem like anything was taken. Just…destroyed.” Kelford paused as he saw something that made his heart leap in his chest. There was another room with a broken door that only barely hid what lay beyond. T.U.I’s faint radiance revealed dark stains that lead into the room. Kelford pulled his sword to his hand as he hesitantly walked closer to the door. T.U.I was strangely silent as she floated next to him only watching as he took his final steps. The dark stains were thick, the rock having been drenched in whatever liquid had splashed here. The stains were on the wooden threshold and walls. Kelford numbly noticed all of this as he pushed the door and watched as it fell away with a huge crash. He leapt back, essence pulled from the environment to his blade as he readied to strike whatever came through! Nothing. He edged forward till he could pear inside.

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The dark stains were thick everywhere here. The walls , the floor, even splattered against the ceiling. A pot big enough for Kelford to bathe in dominated the center, clean despite the state of everything else. Worse were the skeletons on the far side of the wall. Despite everything else having been touched by the passage of time, the two skeletons seemed frozen in time. One was a massive creature easily double Kelfords size. The forearms were thicker than his leg and each rib could easily be used as a club. The creature's arms were trapped in thick metal chains and sat against the corner. Its skeletal hands laid over on the head of what could only be the biggest ram Kelford had ever seen. At least twice the size of the sheep outside, it’s horns still glowed with magic. To Kelford’s surprise its skeleton was in pieces. Leg bones were scattered haphazardly alongside the entirety of the back half of the Ram! Yet still the first skeleton had the ram's head laying on it’s lap almost tenderly.

“ T.U.I what is this?” Kelford said eyes fixed on the scene.

“ The fate of those who don’t finish the Tower” Kelford turned sharply at her words.

“What does that mean!”

“I mean that this civilization could not handle the burden of their own potential. So clearly they were fated to die.” T.U.I’s voice was not cheerful, it was cold. Inflection neutral as if stating a fact that is neither interesting or important. “ This is a scene that Myriad Index came to consider important for the next civilization to see.”

“ Like a stage… it moved the skeleton so that someone could be pushed along in some sick game to learn some life lesson? What?!? That this place is messed up ! That there are aliens out there and I'm exploring their destroyed homes. Seeing the future of my planet in a hundred years where I'll die in some dark, dingy basement !” Kelford was yelling now and he hadn’t even realized it.

“ No, it is to show you the future of those who can not stand on the universal stage” T.U.I said, “ This is considerably a better fate than what many factions in the universe will bring to worlds that can not protect themselves. Even worlds that have something to offer have better outcomes than civilizations such as this.”

Kelford could only stare in horror. The callousness of it all to come from T.U.I hurt in a way he couldn’t quite put into words. She was his lifeline, the being that had pushed him to keep climbing , to improve. She sounded more…alien right now then she had ever sounded. A cold seeped up his spine as a billion other thoughts seemed to want to bubble to the surface. His chest seemed to squeeze, sending ripples of pain through him.

“ Is this really necessary” In so many ways the enormity of what he was dealing with became apparent once again, “ Is it really so much for all of this to happen… to cause so much pain.”

“ The Myriad Index has done the calculations and this is the most efficient way to test burgeoning civilizations. To end them before the arrival of the rest is a kindness. The wonders of the universe are only matched by the horror. The scale of the powers is beyond your comprehension and you should be thanking the Myriad Index for giving such mercy in the form of the Tower.” T.U.I stopped clearly expecting some kind of reply or answer to her words.

“ I… I guess” Kelford muttered as he walked closer to the two skeletons. It was too much to handle right now. He just needed to focus on what he could control, what he could deal with. Get stronger, climb the Tower, maybe get good enough to help avoid… whatever led to this.

“I will give you some space Kelford. Do not forget to check the rest of this room.” With that T.U.I’s light disappeared leaving Kelford in darkness. Kelford sighed as he took the Rams skull and opened his sight to the essence around him . The horns gave off icey blue essence in waves, power concentrated into the massive horns that jutted from the skull. What was worse was the small waves of vibrant purple that also came from the skull. Kelford’s eyes widened as he saw this but as his eyes trailed to the skeleton behind against the wall he was floored. It radiated purple in long streams. Essence roiled out of it and mixed with the shadows all around him. So caught up in his fear and thoughts he hadn’t been keeping a close eye on the essence around him. The bones were the source of the higher motes of essence in the basement.None of the other countless corpses on the floors had been sources of shadow essence like this.It.. It was almost as if these were corrupted.Was this the secret? That the gnoblars had been right and there was more to his attunement then he’d thought? That shadow essence was corrupting somehow and he’d only noticed because of his ability to see essence?

It was a secret he would only have noticed if he had an attunement to shadow…

“ Or Boon of the Black Sun”

Kelford shivered as he turned his essence sight off. He pushed down the questions, the worries, the bubbling thoughts he’d kept locked in his mind. He would get to the safe room and then He’d get through the next set of floors before finally getting out of here. He’d get strong, strong enough not to have to worry about these issues. It was simple . It had to be simple or he might not be able to handle it all. He couldn’t be a hero but he could at least be stronger. Kelford deposited the ram's head in his Inventory and after a moment deposited the Ogre’s skeleton as well. It left him only one slot left if he kept his sword out. Afterward he walked around to see if there was anything else to find. Through the trash and destruction the only thing of interest was the massive pot.

Well Made Ogre Cooking Pot

Description:

Created for the express purpose of containing and enhancing the energies of Gut magic. Minor enhancements and well made steel make this a relic any ogre would be proud to have. A tribute made of this relic would appeal greatly to any ogre lord.

“ There goes the last slot I guess” Kelford muttered as he took his sword in hand and placed the massive pot into the Inventory. Kelford stood there in the dark for a few moments. His amulet was mostly full and now there didn’t seem to be anything of further use here. Yet he found himself standing in the dark for long moments before he finally got the courage to move.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The sound of the storm approaching filled his ears as he entered the 4th room of the 4th floor. Behind him the storm filled the valley with thick clouds as more began to climb the base of the mountain. His time contemplating the previous room had been a delay that had allowed the storm closer then he would have liked. Snow had already begun to fall as he trudged to the massive statue in the shadow of the fortress above. The destroyed town lay in shambles around him but Kelford didn’t dare look for more secrets.This run was supposed to be triumphant,a culmination of weeks spent dying over and over again. The time spent dying again and again to the point the nightmares scared him more than the deaths themselves. Kelford stepped up to the massive statue and read the notification he’d seen so many times before.

Choose

Sacrifice An Uncommon Relic or greater

Or

Defeat the Guardian

He placed the giant pot in front of the statue and waited. The monster's eyes flared with light and the giant pot disappeared. Kelford took a few steps back sword ready in case the sacrifice didn’t work. Moments later his patience was rewarded.

Sacrifice Accepted

The statue's glowing eyes kept glowing but the tension in Kelford’s shoulders eased. It was over. He’d climbed all this way on the first try. Four floors in record time. Kelford stepped past the statue and picked his way to the foot of the stairway. It was much the same as with every time he’d climbed it.Grey stone worn over untold ages, the shadow of the fortress defiant in the swiftly cooling air. Yet, this time it was different. Kelford could feel a smile steal across his face as he basked in the triumph he felt. He’d gotten to this point 5 times before. Each instance he’d climbed these stairs bloody, weak, and ready to die. This time was different. T.U.I didn’t appear but he was okay with that. They’d talk in the safe room after the next fight.

Kelford closed his eyes as he took in the entirety of his experience. Appearing here out of the blue, meeting T.U.I and dying soon after. Barely moving afterwards before T.U.I convinced him to climb. The monsters and deaths washed over him . So many times he’d died before reaching this threshold. Pain and darkness had been constant since he’d arrived in the Tower. He didn’t know what was going on really, the image of the skeletons in the previous room still filled him with dread. This wasn’t a world but a massive maze holding a piece of one. Whatever the Myriad Index was, it held power Kelford couldn’t even dream of having. It threatened to destroy everything he knew and revealed that perhaps there were even more dangerous things out there in the stars. It had apparently killed untold amounts of civilizations across the stars and now it was here for earth. The craziness of that fact threatened to send him spiraling. Despair that nipped at his heels even now.

Kelford took a long deep breath of the cold air and released in a huff as he released the worries. T.U.I had shown him this exercise for when the deaths and frustration became too much. It helped him realize that the worries didn’t matter. He didn’t need to be a hero or worry about what this Myriad Index wanted. He just needed to improve, to prove he was better than when he’d stumbled into the Tower. Better than the person he was outside this place.

Kelford opened his eyes and took the first step out of the 4th floor.