35 – Idyllic times

>NEW WORLD QUEST
>Asteroid Maintenance. The asteroid is dying. Or, more precisely, the half on this side of the Ring is. The core of the asteroid is flooded, and more water is rushing in from the open floodgates scattered all across its surface.
>Task: Reset the automated floodgates that control the flow of water on this side of the Ring. 1/112
>Reward: 45’000 Runes, Floor skip.

Julian read through the Quest Cal had received, going over the text a few times. There were a few thoughts that came to mind as he did, but he kept them for himself. Instead, he decided to express the one big problem he had with the quest.

“Is this fucking nuts? 112 floodgates?”

“But we can save the Habitat!”

“You have any idea how much time that’s going to take?”

“Think about the floor skip.”

“I… I don’t have infinite time, you know?” he paced around. “No no no, you’re completely nuts if you think I’m gonna do it.”

But he did do it. Cal insisted and he reluctantly accepted, at least at first, and then it turned out that he actually liked the time they spent here on the asteroid. The system had provided Cal with very handy waypoints to signal where the repairs needed to be done, and in-between their duties the two spent a lot of time camping, resting, practicing their skills and chatting. Gradually the incessant thought of his sisters faded from Julian’s mind, and as the skill held without showing signs of problems, he found that he wasn’t in such a hurry anymore. Bit by bit they saw the habitat heal and come back to life, the brown and grey forest returning to its lush greens and bountiful life as they restored the natural flow of water. They even met other adventurers on a similar quest, and for a while they ventured together, sharing food and stories like they were on a camping trip, all of the hardships of the tower seemingly forgotten. Julian had time to study the various mechanisms of the asteroid, all so different from each other, and built a great stash of technology and magical items in his Oasis.

Then they were alone again, most of the other people had moved on, and they got closer. Spending the night in the Oasis became their favorite moment, when after a long day of work they went to bathe in the crystalline waters and sleep together under the desert stars.

They cleared the floodgates one every day, and for a few months Julian was finally happy. He was living a life that he liked, and it seemed harder and harder to leave it behind. Perhaps he was not cut to be a tower climber, to join the multiverse. Perhaps he could just stay here with Cal on this asteroid. When all the other climbers will finally be gone, it was going to be just the two of them. And they had been growing ever closer in the time they spent together, and were feeling right at home with each other, in the sweet honeymoon way that makes the world look nice and friendly.

But, alas, all good things come to an end. Julian began to feel it as the Quest counter approached its final number of 112/112 and when it did, he knew the peaceful times were over. The universe called to him, and while this was a nice break of pace to regain a sort of sense of who he was and what he wanted to do… he couldn’t stay here anymore. Breaking the news to Cal was heartbreaking, but he understood. He didn’t feel the same call, but for Julian, he would do it.

They entered a tunnel for the last time, after having a good meal in the shade. The forest was almost healed by now, and it was pleasant and idyllic. The meal was nothing too fancy, but they savored it, and its taste seemed out of this world. The sizzling meat had notes of oranges and rosemary, smelling of old times long forgotten that now lived only in memory. Every bite the taste pervaded their mouths and thoughts, and it was bittersweet and sad. Both of them were thinking of the good peaceful times coming to an end.

The tunnel seemed darker than it was, more silent and ominous. The walls were rusty and overgrown, but it was a good sign that life had found a way to survive even here. Now, all that was left to do was to find the control room and figure out how to restart the mechanism.

“Alright,” Julian said after they pulled the last lever. “Did the quest mark as completed?”

Cal nodded solemnly.

“Then do it. Activate the skip.”

Cal disappeared. Julian’s eyes did not leave the empty space where he was just a moment before, and he stared in horror as the realization hit him. The room echoed with the distant sound of dripping water, and the moist and hot air suffocated him. The room began to spin and the machines seemed whirr to life with malignity. The sudden separation happened without warning and for a moment Julian was lost without Cal, he didn’t know what to think or what to do.

What happened here? The rational part of his brain asked, attempting to cut through the avalanche of emotions. The skip. It was not for the both of us, was it? It only worked on him!

Julian rushed out of the tunnel and back into the forest. The small campfire was still smoking, its last few embers slowly losing their shine as they cooled. The air still smelled of grilled meat, and his eyes lingered on the two split logs they used as seats, one next to the other. They were angled towards each other too, in the cutely fashion people in love did when they had to be separated but didn’t want to.

He took a deep breath as he sat and tried to calm down. Things didn’t go according to plan, but it wasn’t a bad situation. Cal had skipped the problematic floor, and he was the problem, because Julian could just try to blitz through the enemies waiting for him and in the worst case scenario he would just die and try again. Maybe he wasn’t even going to find enemies the second time, because they have no idea that he can respawn, so once they killed him they were going to go away to report the news to their boss.

It’s fine. I did tell Cal to wait for me where it’s safe in case we ever get separated. He can take care of himself.

Despite that, he moved with hurry. Most of the necessary preparations to engage with a large group of hostiles were already done, waiting in the Oasis and in his rings for weeks while he completed the floodgates quest. The last thing to do before moving out was to assign his three skill points. He pulled up the menu with rapid movements but stained by melancholy, after such a long time not even using the system, and read the three choices.

“Yes. Confirm.” He said tiredly.

“…yes.”

He nodded, and the system complied.

Now it was only a matter of reorganizing his inventory and he was ready to set out towards the elevator, which he had found during his roaming. He pushed the button and waited for the doors to hiss open, and in the meantime he went over his strategy one more time.

“Might as well go ham and see what happens. Worst case scenario I can just respawn.” He said, but he didn’t want to respawn. Too much time wasted, and who knew what Cal was doing on floor 5.

The door slid open and he walked in without hesitation. With a focused look on his face, he was ready to fight. The elevator slowly came to a halt, and the doors opened.

>>Atmos Arcadia Tower Complex – FLOOR 4 – Warring Kingdoms (F+)<<

He burst out of the doors while they were still moving, rolling on the ground to avoid the opening salvo and deployed his explosives. They detonated violently, surpassing everything he had built in terms of destructiveness, but even counting the increased power of the explosives, the lack of response was worrying. As the dust settled, Julian finally understood why.

There was nobody here.