Arthur_Inverse

Here are the results of Friday's Votes I was honestly surprised that going in alone won if only barely. Here is the chapter and I hope you enjoy. Please remember to vote for Friday's chapter! Cheers!

Silvas stood in silence as he watched the boy, Ash, rouse his friends. When Silvas was hit with a sudden urge to move.

No, it was more than an urge. It was an imperative. He had to move.

The orphans looked back to Silvas, each one having a face of expectancy on them save for Ash.

Ash’s brow rose as he looked back at Silvas from the other end of the alley. And then the young boy sighed as if knowing something Silvas was not aware of.

And then Silvas turned and left. His body almost moving on its own but it was also his will strangely, almost as if he was in a dream.

The feeling of which was pleasant if not euphoric.

Silvas pushed through the crowd with no concern for the shouts and yells that berated him as he made a line for the Large Crystal on the platform.

He placed his hand on the crystal and was consumed by bright white light. And for several seconds he was encased in the surrounding light, as he shook his head not sure what had just happened.

Silvas felt fine all things considered. He could feel this new pool of power or, ki inside of him was slowly regenerating,

Must be this mana they were talking about. Feels strange, like hearing my blood pulsating throughout my body without rest. It’s restless but not overwhelming. Silvas thought, uttering his last.

“This will take some getting used to.”

And with that the shell of white light disappeared in an instant. Where he found himself surrounded by a dimly lit expansive floor.

[Welcome to the 1st Floor of the Tower of Eternia. May you climb to the top, as the Gods are watching you expectantly]

[You have been bestowed a Climber License]

The surroundings were that of a cave. As Silvas looked around he saw jutting pieces of stone coming from the ceiling and floor, the faint sound of water dripping from the tips of the stone.

“That’s something I didn’t consider… What am I going to do for food?” Silvas thought aloud.

Next to him another flash of white light shimmered for a moment then vanished to reveal another person, then another and after it was finished four people stood side by side.

One wearing light leather armor like Ash had, another robes and one in heavier set armor, with a large claymore on his back. The last wore a backpack and had clothes similar to Silvas.

The large one with the heavier armor pointed a thumb in Silvas’s direction.

“Hey look at the newbie. Dumbass came here alone,” the tall man laughed.

The rest of the group chucked along as they walked forward. Only leaving the porter to give a sympathetic glance to Silvas before they followed as well.

Silvas clicked his tongue.

Tis only the first floor. It couldn’t be that difficult, I worry more for the lack of food and water more than an enemy.

Silvas looked around, seeing sparse flashes of light as well entering the cave. Each one walked forward down one of the shafts that darkened in the distance, leaving a thought for Silvas as he fished through his pockets. Pulling out a sleek feeling card.

“How would I go about leaving this place when I am finished…?”

Silvas stood at the entrance for a time going over some things. After finding his new [Climbers License] he had looked over the information on it.

Silvas D. Galanas

Level 1 Druid

Climber Rank: E

Current Floor: 1

Highest Floor: 1

Current Nickname: NA

Current Party Name: NA

Current Guild Name: NA

Boss Takedowns: None.

The card gave some repeat of information that Silvas knew, and some that gave insight to some things people had told him in passing.

So it lists parties and Guilds.. I assume a Guild is similar to what a Guild was in my world. A party then means just my current group? Why would the card list my Level though, personally I would wish to hide such vital information.

Silvas inspected some of the elements of the card like he had with his skills. All except one gave additional information.

Current Floor: 1

• Common Monsters: Dark Bat Lvls 1-3, Dark Imp Lvls 1-2, Dark Slug Lvls 1.

• Uncommon Monsters: Shade Lvls 3-4

• Boss Monster: Dark Goblin Lvl 5

Finally some solid and useful information I can use! Silvas grinned.

Slipping his card back into his pocket, Silvas pulled his dagger from his side, and gripped his staff in the other, walking forward.

The cave system was a maze to say the least. The walls so dimly lit by sparse torches embedded in the wall, that the small crevices in the wall could easily hide something or someone small.

He had tried to pull one from the wall, but was unable. The torch would not even break when Silvas tried. Putting his full weight on the piece of wood as he hung there, it not even creaking.

Moving on, Silvas had been walking for a few minutes now, and was surprised to not find a single other person or monster as of yet. That was to say, the maze of winding caves was huge, and Silvas was certainly lost.

“Shit,” he cursed, “Why did I run head first into the tower with no supplies, information or preparation in general?! I know better than that! I’ll survive no more than a few days without water in here.”

Silvas’s jaw clenched as he did his best to recover his reasoning but could not.

Clicking his tongue again, “Blasted Gods…” Silvas spat.

He couldn’t verify it but he knew something was amiss. He had been too impulsive for the amount of years of experience he had going into war. He would never make the mistake of not gathering information and have an adequate understanding of where he was going like he had done. It was simply not possible without something else going on.

That boy is going to feel the heel end of my boot when I find him. Silvas cursed as he looked down. But he hadn’t received boots, his naked toes wiggled in the dirt of the cave.

“Shit. I wish I saved some of that money to get boots now that I think about it.. Damned kids were always my soft spot,” Silvas sighed.

The boy Ash and the other Orphans had reminded him a lot of his own son and daughter. They had also reminded him of the hard times he had as a child himself.

Growing on the streets, running away from estranged parents who wished nothing but use him as an outlet for their frustrations or make him work for them to only take all of the wage he sweat for.

He had dealt with it all. That was until it became too much, and he ran, ran as far as he could until he was picked up off the streets by a military officer with a bone to pick. The officer forced him into a military orphanage where they frankly beat the shit out of Silvas until he was ready for the life of a soldier.

Silvas had met many lifelong friends and rivals in his time but he was reminiscing in nostalgia.

It’s fine. I can always make more money. He thought, as he slowly turned the corner, noticing a purple hued figure on the ceiling of the cave, illuminated faintly by the light of the torch on the wall.

Must be one of those bats the card mentioned.

Silvas licked his lips as he formed a plan in his head quickly. This is where he thrived. Battle, fighting, combat.

Silvas moved from the wall and felt the mana leave him as he chanted the only attack spell he knew.

“Nature Shock.”

The green energy formed around his staff, the point forming a ball in an instant as the energy shot forward and straight for the hanging bat.

Before it could even react it was struck, as it fell from its perch in a freefall from the ceiling for a moment, then unfurrowed its wings and hovered with a screech.

Silvas didn’t miss a beat and hurled his dagger with pinpoint accuracy, striking the bat in between its eyes, as the dagger carried the bat several feet backwards until gravity took its course, both falling to the ground below.

[Dark Bat Level 2 Killed] [Experience Earned]

A voice sounded in Silvas's head announcing the kill. The voice was pleasant to the ears and androgynous which made it all the more ethereal. 

“Ha! Still got it. Thank you Vamas for all those drunken days of knife throwing for coin. May you never win a game again,” Silvas said smiling as he strutted over to the fallen Bat.

Silvas looked down at the dagger, but there was no Bat. The dark inky blood that coated the dagger remained but the Bat he had killed had vanished, in its place a small crystal the size of his fingernail remained. A tooth of the same size alongside it.

“What’s this?” Silvas wondered as he raised his brow, but was quickly interrupted by a sharp pain in his shoulder.

Silvas jumped and rolled forward, careful not to roll onto his injured shoulder as he did.

Turning around he instantly chanted his healing spell, and looked his enemy over.

“Nature’s Breath,” he whispered, his eyes gauging the small creature.

It had purple balding hair over its gray skin, a small cloth around its hip, a makeshift tooth dagger in its hand. The tooth dripped in red as it bounced from one foot to the other gleefully.

Silvas scowled at the little monster, his temper rising.

Standing up from his haunches he pulled the dagger from the ground, twirling it into a forward grip as he walked forward towards the cretin, it still jumping.

“Thank you for the lesson. This world is still new to me, and it would seem that even small bastardized rats that look like sick filled babes can sneak up on me when I am distracted,” Silvas said, his eyes cold, “Death must have made me rusty.”

Silvas raised his staff, but not to cast his spell. He dashed forward, the small monster finally realizing how close Silvas was, and threw it’s hand forward to stab the lunging man.

But it’s reach was simply too short.

The small monster stood no chance against the fully grown man.

Silvas brought his staff down on the monster’s hand, knocking the tooth from its grip. Then followed up quickly with an upward thrust of his dagger, piercing through the lower jaw of the monster, it screeching in pain from the blow.

Silvas raised the beast to eye level, its purplish blood dripping down his dagger hand as it squirmed to release itself from the weapon.

But Silvas was merciless against it, his enemy, this foreign creature.

Slamming the monster to the ground by swinging his arm down, the creature slipped from the dagger and hit the floor, but was soon pinned to the floor by the same dagger as Silvas brought it swiftly down and through its chest as it squealed.

His eyes cold, Silvas remembered the battlefield once more. Every moment was a moment for a mistake that could cost him his life, he had somehow forgotten that in the triad of this new world and experience. But he would not forget it so quickly again.

“Thank you again. It was a good lesson.”

Silvas pointed the tip of his staff to the monster's head as he casted several spells, watching the monster vanish in a puff of smoke, leaving a crystal in its wake.

[Dark Imp Level 1 Killed] [Experience Earned]

*Ding*

[Increased to Level 2 Druid]