The Ruby Magician

Wyn took a deep breath, thankful his boots were once again on dry land. He had wondered before if practicing this floor and being forced to navigate the river would help alleviate his fear of the water, but he found himself just as afraid and nervous as ever.

The other Climbers - even Tasha and Maven - all had caught on to his discomfort and teased him in some form, though it was nothing he couldn’t take. His soldiers gave far worse insults. He was simply grateful his boat never flipped. They hadn’t seen any Lacerts, either, which Wyn thought was suspicious, but he quickly remembered it was the afternoon and the floor had likely been cleared and thinned of enemies throughout the day. He assumed that was the reason, at least.

Knowing that, he also made the assumption that hardly any other Climber was gathering the Sun Spirals as the group was easily finding them left and right. In fact, they were having a harder time finding enemies to fight than flowers to pick. Apparently the Climbers either didn’t realize the secondary quest was available or the ones who had had already moved on to other floors to climb. The first floor truly did seem easy in hindsight with only a few encounters before the boss. That thought made Wyn want to climb further.

The group was nearing the end of the floor in less than an hour after navigating the river, and they had completely filled their quota of Sun Spirals to both complete their quest and for Cara, too.

“I feel like this is cheating,” Devon said. “I haven’t even found a track of an enemy since the beginning of the floor. And we’re nearly done, I think.”

“No, we are,” Wyn said. “We’re nearing the end. It wasn’t far after the river that the large enemies guarded the portal. It’s so strange how little Lacerts there are.”

William was inspecting a large tree, craning his head to see the top. “So that’s what they’re called, huh? Lacerts. I’ve never heard of that word.”

“It was what the guild official called the components we earned,” John said. “But don’t keep your guard down. You never know what’s around the corner.”

Devon suddenly shot up from his crouched position while trying to find more tracks. A sword-wielding Lacert shot through the jungle thicket with impressive speed, slashing at him in a surprise attack.

The Rogue nimbly sidestepped the swipe at the last second. “Help!” He yelled, unsure of what else to say in the moment.

John and Wyn both rushed to cut off the creature from Devon, hoping to intervene without issue. This Lacert was wearing leather armor that covered his body in addition to its scaly hide, along with bracers and thigh guards. They immediately recognized it was a stronger enemy and that more were likely not far behind.

“Tasha, protection!” Wyn yelled, organizing his group. They had rehearsed scenarios in the war room for various situations during their day off before the season started, and this one was one of their more basic strategies. It was simple but effective.

Without hesitation, Tasha raised her staff and pointed it at John while remaining behind the closer ranged fighters. “Arcane Aura!” She said, casting her protective spell. The white magical aura enveloped him in the familiar glow as the new layer of armor protected him.

John simultaneously activated his Resolve skill to increase his power and defense. The red aura radiated around him under the white magical armor, and he breathed in deep before exhaling loud in a crouch.

Devon stepped back, surprised by the Fighter’s sudden change. John looked like a bull breathing heavily while covered in a magical aura, and his presence took on a new feel. It was as though the surrounding air was more dense, magical energy accumulating heavily around the Fighter. He immediately engaged with the Lacert.

Wyn took note of the surrounding, finding two more similarly equipped Lacerts behind the brush ready to attack, one on either side. It seemed as though they planned to pin the Climbers. They looked identical, all holding swords though no other weapon or shield. “Speed Up,” he said, mostly to himself and not loud enough for others to hear. The soft red glow enveloped him like John though to a smaller degree. He felt new power surge through him, knowing the mana fused into the skill was fueling a newfound speed.

Their strategy was straightforward. John would distract and fight the strongest enemy while Wyn and Marcy would handle the weaker and more numerous ones. John could easily handle himself, and Wyn was more suited to literally running around while Marcy could choose her targets easily. Tasha stayed in the middle of the group to be able to intervene anywhere, keeping her eyes and ears open to heal or support where she could. Unfortunately they’d have to deal without Marcy being around, but Wyn felt confident they could handle it.

Wyn ignored the noise of metal clashing between the monster and John and pushed to the jungle’s edge right as the Lacerts stepped into their small clearing. He took the first one by surprise with his speed and weapon, slashing down in an arc at a safe distance away before the Lacert could even raise its weapon. The slash cut deep, the element showing its superiority by opening an even greater gash that Wyn didn’t expect. He followed the strike with a quick stab to the chest, his skill increasing his follow up speed to a degree that still surprised him.

The spear went straight through the creature and he pulled his weapon out before the body fell to the ground. He sidestepped around John towards the third monster, giving him information as he passed by. “One left!”

John parried a sword attack easily with his shield before striking back with a forceful swing of his sword. He had held back the entire fight, performing his role of drawing out the engagement with ease. The sword came crashing down through the lizard-like monster, all but ignoring the leather armor it donned and cleaved its arm off at the shoulder. The Lacert screamed though was cut short with another strike from the Fighter that killed it with relative ease.

Wyn, still rushing to the third and final Lacert, had to cover more ground as the enemy ignored the two front line combatants and charged at the rest of the group. The three new Climbers simply stood by, remembering that Wyn asked them to only watch but were also paralyzed by fear of the enemies.

Tasha stood her ground, though, holding her staff in front of her as though she would thwack the creature the instant it came close. Instead, Wyn cut it off, his heightened speed giving him more than enough time to intervene.

Before the creature even stepped into its sword range to attack Tasha, Wyn was beside it. He swept its legs with his spear and cut them both off at the knees. The monster screamed, a blood curdling sound that made the Climbers standing by recoil. The monster fell to the ground, dropping its sword and clawing at the jungle floor with its hands to crawl to the closest Climber, relentless in its pursuit.

Wyn promptly stabbed it in the back. The creature lay still, ceasing it’s advance.

For a few seconds it was only silence in the clearing where everyone stood before the sound of John sheathing his sword broke the lull.

“That was pretty good even without Marcy,” Tasha said, tapping the dead Lacert in front of her. Its body began to dissolve back into the tower leaving no trace of its existence.

“I definitely learned even the champions are probably a bit of a pushover now,” John said, wiping some blood off his padded armor. “It’s actually easier to fight these monsters than the pack of wolves from last season!”

“We haven’t been overrun, yet,” Wyn said, taking deep breaths. He mentally cancelled his skill, the red glowing aura dissipating around him. The increased sense of speed withered, too. “There haven’t been packs of enemies here like before. Which is odd, but I’m not complaining.”

The other Climbers all stood unmoving, shocked at the display. Devon and William looked at each other, and the Mage simply shook his head side to side.

“How in the hells can you lot do that,” Devon said. “That was… something else.”

“There’s no way you’re new Climbers,” Maven added. “Surely you’ve climbed into the second tier already. You made that look far too easy.”

John laughed, and Tasha hit him in the arm in response. “What?” The Fighter asked, still laughing. Tasha gave him a stern look. He sighed.

“This is our third day in the tower, but we’ve been planning a lot,” Tasha said, still staring daggers at her teammate. “I do believe we’re more than capable, though.”

Devon laughed this time. “You don’t say?”

Tasha nodded her head, accepting the compliment.

“So what do you think we could improve?” Wyn asked. He straightened his simple leather armor and wiped some dirt off his boots. “Any feedback would be helpful.”

The new Climbers looked at each other before Maven and William shrugged.

Devon walked further on the path, continuing deeper into the jungle and first floor. “Not a damn thing,” he said, as he walked by the Climbers.

John, Wyn, and Tasha all looked at each other, accepting the answer but not satisfied. They all continued their trek on the floor, one more patch of enemies dealt with.

Within the hour they all reached the familiar clearing that held the portal to the next floor and giant Lacerts that guarded it. Wyn checked his mark and saw that it was entirely grey. He was completely full of mana, only having used his skill once and barely spending any to use it at that. He knew he could be liberal in the coming fight if he wanted but thought that saving enough for a few spells on the second floor would be prudent - just in case.

“Should we form a plan?” William asked, whispering behind a bush. The entire group had stopped just outside the clearing and three large giant Lacerts stood guarding the portal. The six Climbers all hid behind the jungle foliage in order to not alert the giant monsters.

“We absolutely should,” John said. “And that’s good that you realize that!”

“Well, the way you three handled the last fight seemed too easy,” William said. “Maybe this could be easy, too.”

“It definitely can be,” Wyn said. “Maven, do you have the Arcane Aura spell?”

Maven nodded her head yes, not taking her eyes off the giant guards.

“Good,” Wyn continued. “So you and Tasha cast one each on John and Devon before we rush in. The plan is to take them out one at a time. If we spread our focus over all three, it’ll take longer and leave more threats.”

The other Climbers nodded in agreement, letting Wyn instruct them. This was what felt more familiar to him than anything else, even in direct combat. He knew he was more than competent in a fight but he enjoyed the strategic aspect of a good plan more, and climbing in the tower afforded him many chances to exercise that strength.

“John, you focus on one like before. Devon, attack the same one as John, and don’t worry about holding back - just finish it as quickly as possible. You should have plenty of chances with both of you attacking it.”

“What about the rest of us?” William asked. “I can fight!”

“You’re joining me by being the distraction this time. We need to keep the other two off John and Devon, annoying the giants enough to try to attack us and not gang up on the fighters. Once John and Devon kill it, they’ll move on to the next one, and then we distract the last one. When there’s only one left, we just kill it, though don’t cast your spells at an enemy if there’s one of us fighting it. The chance of you hitting an ally is too high.”

“Do me and Tasha just stand there?” Maven asked. “You left us out.”

Wyn glanced back at the giant bosses. They were still unaware. “Do you have any spells to attack enemies or support us in the fight?”

Maven knitted her eyebrows together. “Not at the moment, no. Just the Shield spell, Arcane Aura, and more healing.”

“Look at it this way,” Tasha said. “We help setup the fight and provide healing if needed. If it’s not needed, then as a group we’re all the better for it.”

Maven sighed and held her staff close to her body in a hug. “That’s true, I guess.”

One of the giant Lacerts grunted and turned towards the group. It didn’t seem completely alert but suspicious at the noise.

“Maven, Tasha, now!” Wyn whispered. “William, stay on the left side of us a bit away, and aim your spells this time!” He grabbed his spear and fanned out to the right side in a slight jog, waving his spear around frantically hoping to pull the Lacert’s attention to him.

The move worked. All three giants turned and howled at Wyn, waving their weapons or fists at him.

The rest of the group set out in motion and began their advance. After gaining their sets of magical armor, Devon and John rushed straight into the clearing, immediately gaining the attention of two of the Lacerts. William mimicked Wyn and fanned out to his side, and though he was slower than the others he didn’t need to cover as much ground.

William planted himself at a distance he felt comfortable and pointed his staff at the left most Lacert while it was still advancing towards the melee Climbers. “Flamebolt!” He yelled, and the spell hit his target in the thigh. It was a well placed spell, and the Lacert giant yelled in anger before stopping and turning towards William.

William initially cheered at his success, but quickly realized the gravity of what was happening. He had a giant monster now running towards him and began to panic again. Keeping his staff pointed towards the beast, he immediately cast three more spells in quick succession. They all hit the giant in various places, and it stopped its advance to cover itself with its large arms from the onslaught of globs of flame. It began to retreat not long after, its leathery skin smoking and body missing pockets of flesh from being burned away.

William held his ground and tried to steady his growing heart rate. He didn't know if he should continue attacking it or wait, then realized he didn't need to decide at the moment.

Wyn, on the other side of the clearing, was slicing the large Lacert across its entire body, leaving relatively shallow gashes that opened up deeper from the magical wind element of his spear. He was doing his best to keep an eye on the other two giants at the same time and found it not too difficult - the large monster’s swings with its club were easily avoided. They were heavy and shook the ground when they fell, but their wind up and attack was predictable and obvious.

Wyn saw William fend off the attacking Lacert and smiled when it retreated. The middle one wasn’t faring much better, nearly dead already from Devon and John’s combined attacks. In less than a minute they had all performed their roles nicely, even better than Wyn had hoped.

Stepping to the side to avoid another club smash into the ground, Wyn saw Devon split away to begin attacking the burned giant Lacert. John was about to deliver a final blow on the monster that was a bloodied mess. Cuts and puncture wounds covered its legs and torso like a gruesome training dummy. The blood was seeping from the wounds at an alarming rate, and it seemed unnatural.

Wyn began to maneuver himself closer to John, drawing his giant to the middle of the clearing. A loud thud suddenly reverberated across the jungle as one giant Lacert fell to the ground dead. John immediately rushed to the next enemy and slashed the monster fighting Wyn in the back, causing it to roar in anger. The Fighter nodded to Wyn in confidence, and Wyn knew he could handle it from then on.

Wyn looked down at his mark, wondering about his mana. Of course it was nearly full as he had only used one skill and no spells. Their journey had been easy, and he was thankful they were able to manage with minimal resources. The tower was quickly appearing less and less intimidating, even if they had only traversed the first floor.

A crash into the soft jungle floor pulled Wyn from his thoughts. Devon laid on the ground not far from him, the magical armor around him gone. His sword was cast off to his side and he immediately coughed up blood. There weren’t any obvious injuries but Wyn knew he needed help fast.

The Lacert picked its heavy club back up to rest on a shoulder, now trying to close the distance between itself and the Climbers. It had knocked Devon back quite a bit, making solid contact with its attack that the Rogue was unable dodge.

“Regen,” Wyn said, the instant he was beside the still-coughing Rogue. A magical white glow enveloped him but he struggled to get up. His left arm was bent terribly but Wyn didn’t see any other obvious injuries. Everything must be internal.

Wyn pushed him to the ground and held him in place. “Don’t. Stay here.” He looked back at Tasha and Maven who were already rushing to their side. Tasha was nearly dragging Maven, both looking frantic though Tasha less so and for different reasons.

Knowing the White Mages would take care of Devon, Wyn needed to take this monster down. Another bolt of fire hit the Lacert again, William attacking from the side. He seemed confident and focused, a far cry to his demeanor the last time they were in this situation against the same enemies. At least his spells were hitting the intended target.

Wyn raised his spear and wanted to settle this fast. He swung it in a wide arc, casting the Wingbeat spell at the same time. A visible line of magic swept out and across the creature, slicing it across its chest and hip. It caused a deep gash to form and blood to pour, and several burned areas appeared to open up as well. It roared in pain before another bolt of fire silenced it, hitting it directly in the face.

“How’s Devon?” William asked. He trotted over to the Climbers, sweating. Wyn could’ve sworn he saw the Fire Mage shaking a bit.

“I’ll be fine,” Devon said. He was still glowing white though more pronounced now. “And that Regen spell of yours definitely helped.”

“I’m happy to hear that,” Wyn said. He smiled seeing the Rogue in better spirits.

Another thud interrupted them and they all turned to see John standing beside the last Lacert that just fell to the ground. The portal the monsters guarded was now open, as well.

The Fighter turned around and waved them on, not waiting to bask in the glory of their success. He then turned to face the portal and eyed it seriously.

Everyone gradually gathered together in front of the shimmering portal that taunted them with its clear swirls of magic. They silently stood there staring, knowing they weren’t heading back to the base but rather to the second floor. The only member in their party who had entered the portal to advance to the second floor was Wyn, and he had done so for very different reasons than purely scouting ahead.

Though they had been excited about seeing what mysteries beckoned them further into the tower, they hesitated. All it would take was a key to open a portal back to the base and they would safely return - but it was still a daunting thought of the harder, and more dangerous, floor of the tower that stood before them. This was their entire reason for being a Climber, though. Like that first trip into the portal, it would get easier in time. But the first time was always harder.

John turned his head and smiled at all of them. It wasn’t his usual confident, charming smile but rather a feigned appearance that betrayed his nerves. Wyn smiled back, strangely comforted by his friend’s hesitation.

Wyn then patted him on the shoulder in reassurance before stepping forward toward the portal. He mentally told himself he wanted to progress to the second floor, throwing his caution to the wind. Gripping his spear tighter and patting the key in his pocket, he continued his steps through the portal and felt the magical pull of the tower’s magic once again.