I cursed and kicked a nearby empty crate. It exploded into fragments. Sometimes I forget how much stronger I’ve become. The others watch me but say nothing. They wait for me to calm down, but I find it difficult.
I had him. Jason was right there. I could’ve ended this stupid race. Being taken away like that at the last moment was basically cheating. The golden boy who’d been handed a fleet of ships gets personally saved by the Officiator and for what? To prolong some distant god’s entertainment?
My crewmates were still staring, waiting to explain what had happened. I took a breath and then gave them a brief summary. None of them were happy to hear it. Sebastian’s face was a pulpy mess and Elise looked half-drowned in her torn clothes. Only Daisy looked the same as before, though a flicker of rage passed over her face when she heard the news.
Before there was time to ask about the next step, the Officiator gave an announcement to the entire floor.
[I know some of you may be disappointed with this outcome, but this is only the beginning. There are still several days left on the quest and I felt that it would be a shame to end things too early. That being said, this is the last time I’ll interfere directly on this floor. Those who were cheated out of victory will be compensated and those who lost will receive a penalty. The losers have been temporarily grounded for an undisclosed amount of time to give the winning side a head start.]
The Officiator is just doing that to continue his stupid race idea. Not to mention he only said he’d stop interfering directly. I wonder how much indirect interference we’ll have to put up with.
“What happened during the fight?” Daisy asked me. “I sensed you and Jason disappear into a shadow, but it felt different from my own abilities.”
I waved her question off. “We’ll have time to talk more later. Right now, we need to get moving. There’s no way of knowing how long our head start will last. Pete!” I called out.
The man popped his head up from below deck like an animal peering out of the hole. He looked around for signs of danger first before fully re-emerging.
I told him we had to do whatever it takes to get the ship moving. Pete nodded and began handing out orders, though he hesitated when he saw the state of our injured party members. Elise knew what to do. She chugged a health potion and then forced another into Sebastian’s hands. One stern look from her convinced him to drink it without complaint.
We then all rushed to follow Pete’s instructions. It helped that Elise had been on ships before and didn’t need the basics explained to her. Meanwhile, the rest of us barely knew the difference between starboard and portside. Pete was patient though, and eventually we were able to raise the anchor, hoist the sails, and get going.
Pete took command of the helm and I reluctantly gave him the map. Now that the ship was moving, the map had become even more complex and showed more islands off in the distance. I told Pete that the second he sees danger he should run to me and hand off the map, lest he become a target.
I was about to leave when he said, “do you really think that I can become a tower climber if we succeed with this quest?”
I frowned, thinking about all the answers that I could give. “It’s not easy,” I replied eventually. “Being a tower climber isn’t enough. Even with special abilities, you need a certain level of callousness to survive here.”
“Callousness?”
I shrugged. “Or maybe a lack of empathy? You have to be able to kill someone and then move on and not think about it. Most people can’t do that. But on the other hand, I’ve seen those with too little empathy become lone wolves that get devoured by larger groups. Ultimately, it requires a balance of not having too much or too little. In all honesty, you might be safer by declining the option.”
He didn’t know what to say to that and so I left him to think about it.
As soon as the other ships became a distant speck behind us, we received a new message.
*DING!* Class: [Blood Reaver] has reached level 58 – Experience Acquired.
*DING!* Class: [Blood Reaver] has reached level 59 – Experience Acquired.
*DING!* Class: [Blood Reaver] has reached level 60 – Experience Acquired.
*DING!* Class: [Blood Reaver] has reached level 61 – Experience Acquired.
Damn. A four level increase. I guess the Officiator really did think I would’ve won that fight.
*DING!* [Sanguine Projection] Increased to Level 3 – Two distinct blood shapes can now be held at the same time, and projection range has increased by ten feet.
Woah, that’s a decent upgrade. I wonder if discovering how to do it in my domain led to me permanently unlocking the ability.
*DING!* Achievement Unlocked: [Bold Explorer] – You’re the first person or group to venture out into unknown waters in search of treasure. As a reward, points of interest will be added to the map that contain additional treasures or quests. Note: only those with this achievement will be able to see the points of interest.
I asked the others, and they confirmed that they’d all received the same achievement, though Pete said that the map hadn’t changed. That wasn’t surprising. The next closest island was nearly a day's worth of sailing away. We also had to be careful about getting distracted. Unlocking the elevators and the Stairwell had to remain the top priority.
Once Pete said that we could take some time for ourselves, Daisy and Elise excused themselves to their quarters while Pete went back up to the helm. Only Sebastian remained, staring out at the sea with a familiar wooden box appeared in his hands.
“All I got was a loot box,” he said when I leaned against the railing beside him.
He sounded uncertain about whether he should open it or not, but the Viper Fang knife I still use to this day came from a loot box, so they weren’t all bad. I had to admit I was curious to see what he’d get. He pushed the red button, and a drumroll played before the lid sprang open with a burst of confetti.
Inside the box was a silver flask. He picked it up and then swore before reading the item description out loud.
“Congratulations climber, after reviewing your recent fight, you’ve been granted a Rare Unique item that will surely provide much comfort and support over the coming few days. Here I present to you The Flask of Eternal Refreshment. It contains an infinite amount of piña coladas. Drink up and enjoy one of earth’s classic beach cocktails while sailing the high seas. Note: tiny umbrellas are not included and must be sourced locally. The System is not responsible for any choking hazards that may ensue.”
Sebastian sneered and moved to throw the flask overboard. I grabbed his arm and said, “That might be useful.”
“Fine, then you take it,” he said, shoving at me before storming off.
I shrugged. I wasn’t about to turn down free loot and put the thing in my inventory.
Hugo was my next stop, but it turned out he was still asleep in the captain’s quarters. Jason had put him on the bed next to the portable shrine of Yakeshi.
My eyes lingered on the shrine. I thought about contacting him. I could shroud my aura well enough to conceal my memories from the god, but would he want to speak to me after I’d spent so much time with Samara?
I put the matter to one side and looked at my stats. It was time to see how many experience points I’d gotten for fighting with Jason.
Stats
Name: Lucas Hudson
Race: Human (Class F)
Class: Blood Reaver Level 61
Currency: 9371 coins
Strength: 1651
Vitality: 1054
Intelligence: 20
Constitution: 1635
Dexterity: 1851
Perception: 1305
Willpower: 17
Free points remaining: 825
It was interesting that the higher my level became, the harder it was to know if I was doing something wrong by keeping things like intelligence and willpower so low. Everything before had been such a desperate fight that I never felt comfortable wasting any stat points on potentially useless skills. Now that my stats were higher, I thought about leveling up those areas.
I put two hundred points each into willpower and intelligence and waited.
I didn’t feel any different.
The remaining points went into dexterity and vitality.
*DING!* New Class Evolution [Scarlet Beast (Rare)] Available - Blood is more than your power. It is your life. Your singular passion. Nothing and no one can keep you from it. You fight in a frenzied fervor using tooth and claw. Drinking blood now will not only increase your overall stats but temporarily doubles your toughness for a brief period after consumption. Throw away the silly little toy sword and become the beast that makes a mockery of this tower.
*DING!* New Ability [Lightfall (Uncommon)] Available – Darkness comes when light falls. With this ability, your control over shadow grows stronger. Every light casts a shadow and through this connection, light can be suppressed. Leave your enemies blind to their fates as you plunge them into the dark.
*DING!* New Ability [Blade Weaver (Uncommon)] Available – Bring magic and bladework together to form a more formidable weapon. This ability will allow you to infuse your weapons with different types of blood magic to enhance them.
[Note: you may only select one.]
The Scarlet Beast Class was concerning. What was it that Jason had said? That people like me were monsters in sheep’s clothing? I wonder if he’d been told about someone like that. The Class sounded a lot more feral than I was comfortable with, but it was an evolution of my current Class. Could I afford to ignore it if it makes me stronger? The Class seems to explicitly promote the drinking of blood. Yakeshi had warned me that those who followed that path often became mad.
A chill swept over me. Is this what Samara and Persephone want? To turn me into some ferocious dog?
The two other options appeared less powerful and represented the other parts of my nature in the tower. The shadows and the swordsman. Both had been neglected during my time with Samara. Shadows had been useful for me, but after seeing how well Daisy wielded them, I had my doubts about matching her in that arena.
Blade Weaver’s description was less colorful than the others, but the part about different types of blood magic had me curious. Jason’s armor had been difficult to cut through at first and I wasn’t sure if I could pierce somebody like Carina when her ability was active.
In the end, I chose Blade Weaver, since it would directly enhance my weapons. Though all the blood I still had stored in my cache felt the same. Discovering other blood magics would have to wait, though.
I picked up Yakeshi’s shrine and told the others that I’d be out of contact for a few minutes.
Sebastian: K.
Daisy: That’s foolish. You don’t know how long you could be gone for.
Lucas Hudson: I wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t important and it’ll only be for a short time. The last time I did this, I was only gone for two seconds because time works differently there.
Elise Evans: We can hold down the ship till you return.
I thanked her and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the shrine. After telling them how easy this was, I found myself reluctant to touch the shrine. My heart was pounding. I checked and rechecked to confirm that I was shrouding my aura. One slip up and Yakeshi would become my enemy and mark me for death. One who would be waiting outside the tower to execute me.
I was heading into dangerous territory, but I needed his guidance. I needed to know what Jason had been told about others like me. I had to know where the path that I was on was taking me.
I touched the shrine and felt my mind and spirit slip away to another world.
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