Chương 56: Climber

Burt found himself in a cave, deep underground. In fact, he even recognized the cave, as it was one he had visited himself repeatedly. He was tired of caves. Looking back, Burt realized that he had spent more of his life underground in dungeons than on the surface with his loved ones. That was not to say that he regretted his choice. He did not feel like he had neglected Hera or Elicia, and had given them plenty of himself.

It was just that Burt had had so much time, and only two people who truly mattered to him, that he had needed something to fill out his existence. Sure, he had trained youths and had helped protect the northern villages, but even that had been a drop in the bucket of all the time that Burt had had available to him.

He knew that he no longer had his former body, which was a bit odd for him, but the perception that permeated his surroundings was simply a magnified version of what he had already developed later on in life. As Burt examined his situation, he found that his system had changed slightly, as he could examine the creatures within his dungeon and access their information, just as he had previously been able to see his own. On top of that, there was a cluster of memories that had been sealed off.

He could easily open that seal and access them, but it seemed like they had been tucked away for a reason. There was even a message informing him that the memories would automatically become released if certain prerequisites were met. Burt could remember his visit with the core, though nothing at all after that.

He remembered that he had received an agreement from the core that he would be able to do as he wished with his dungeon, and even more importantly, Burt remembered the revelations that he had been exposed to while communicating with the core. He had learned of Concepts and Authorities, as well as the fact that the core had access to what were believed to be all of the Concepts. A flicker of excitement- That was very odd. Burt could feel his emotions, but they were somehow vague and distant without his body.

It was more that he was remembering his emotions than actually feeling them directly. That would certainly explain the core's limited emotional range that Burt had been able to sense. Regardless, Burt had a plan, and while it would be a lot of work, he was eager to get started. In a way, he felt much like he had when he had first started truly challenging himself in the dungeons; he knew he had a long way to go, but he could also see the path forward. He had been wandering around, lost, for far too long.

The core was eager to see what Burt had planned for his dungeon, but knew that it would be quite some time before there would be anything to really observe. Its direct interactions with Burt had been quite enlightening. There was something different about directly feeling a creature's emotions, rather than observing them solely through the creature's memories. Many of the humans' inexplicable behaviors could likely be explained with those emotions. It was…

intriguing, even if the core did not really want to suffer such powerful emotions itself. Such things seemed rather messy. However, there was something to be said for portions of what Burt had offered the core during their telepathic conversation. Several of its blindspots had been exposed, and for that alone, the core could see the potential benefit of further such interactions in the future. Even if that had been an uncomfortably vulnerable moment.

Only when it had seen Burt's memories had the core realized how much it had revealed to the human during their conversation. The core felt exposed in a manner that had nothing to do with how physically close to it Burt had gotten. That could not happen again. Safeguards and limits would need to be created before any similar communications happened.

Learning of two details that it had missed due to not checking how things had changed with new abilities and new Concepts was also quite disturbing, and the core felt that it would need to revisit every single project it had attempted or even contemplated, as well as conduct a thorough analysis of its dungeons and creatures. Ignoring an ongoing weakness like what had happened with Burt's soul was not something that should ever have happened.

The core understood that it was just as prone to having its perspective and knowledge limit what it believed to be possible as the biological creatures it had been observing and harvesting. After a brief moment of consideration, the core decided that it would purposely limit its conscious perception of Burt's dungeon away for some time. It would instead focus on itself and its systems and creatures.

Maybe by allowing Burt to develop on his own, the core would be introduced to another surprise that would enable further unexpected improvements. For the time being, the core needed to focus inwards. Only when it was satisfied that it was achieving its full potential would it again work on expanding.

Years passed as the core reviewed every last creature, Concept, and possibility it had considered throughout its existence. It allowed its systems to automatically handle things on each of the planets it had spread to. The only growth it experienced during this time was to fully envelop the planets that it had only partially claimed. While it had communicated with Burt on several occasions, all that had transpired was that Burt had requested access to the core's Concepts and free access to the core's mana.

The core felt a substantial drain, but nothing that it was not willing to pay for the potential benefits it expected to reap from Burt's efforts. The core was determined to only observe Burt's efforts after he was ready, but that ended up taking much more time than the core had anticipated. The core's review of all that it had done or considered had proceeded as far as its Concepts of time and space when Burt reached out and said that he was ready to open his gates. Gates?

The core shifted its attention and allowed itself to consciously observe what Burt had been working on, and as anticipated, the man had succeeded in once again catching the core completely off guard.

Bren's father had been a child when the tower had first appeared, gates closed and impossible to enter. Naturally, the empire had sent mages and soldiers to investigate what was clearly a fortress built in the empire's territory, yet no one had been able to breach the building. In the years since the tower's initial appearance, the empire had maintained a small detachment of soldiers to observe the anomaly, which had become one of the most coveted assignments available, especially for those native to the region.

A peaceful job with no risk of battle or invasion close to home and family? It really could not get any better than that. Bren had been lucky to get a job working for those soldiers, washing clothes and preparing their food. While she had higher ambitions, she had to provide for mother and younger siblings. Ever since that drunk officer had gotten offended by Bren's father's height and had cut his legs out from under him, Bren had been forced to become the family's bread-winner.

Her mother helped with the soldier's laundry, Bren's three younger siblings, and her invalid father, which kept the woman from being able to hold a job of her own. Fortunately, Jackie was starting to be able to help with some tasks, and while Bren did not want her little sister anywhere near the soldiers, having another pair of hands that could help around the house or with the laundry Bren took home was making things a bit easier for the first time in two years.

Bren found it odd that the soldiers were tasked with observing the tower, and yet they had built their little, independent settlement so that the village sat between them and the tower. She found the enormous structure somehow reassuring. It was just a constant, invariable presence in her life, no matter how much everything else changed, and because of that, every day she made a point to walk the long way either to or from her work so that she could go past the tower's gates.

They were massive, at least fifty paces wide and twice that in height, and were made of some unknown material. Bren had touched them many times throughout her life, but she had never been able to determine if the gates were made of wood, metal, or even stone. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. As she made her way home with a massive bundle of laundry to be washed before the next day, she leaned a hand against the gates.

Their steadiness was just reassuring and it helped her get through her days. Silently, she again asked for strength to get through the next day. There was a flash of light, and Bren found herself in a room that was so filled with light that she could not see the walls, ceiling, or floor. All that she could see was a vaguely humanoid figure in front of her. Oh no! I fell asleep on my way home!

"No, you have entered the tower. Welcome, Aspirant. Climb the tower to gain what you seek. This is a place to gain knowledge and strength. Here, a price must be paid, but a corresponding reward will be gained. The higher the price you are willing to pay, the higher you will be allowed to climb, and the greater your rewards. Speak, child, what will you pay to the tower?" Bren was caught completely off guard. The tower? She had entered the tower? How? Not only that, what was she supposed to pay to the tower?

She had nothing!

"All possess something, child. The tower does not measure worth by others' standards, but by your own. What do you possess that you are willing to sacrifice to the tower to gain knowledge and power?" Bren scrambled to get control of her thoughts, still having not realized that this figure of light was somehow reading her mind. What did Bren own? Only her clothes and her own life. Everything else belonged to either her family or to the soldiers she worked for.

From what she understood, she needed to pay the tower with what belonged to her. Could I…?

"Child, that is the greatest price that one can pay, and you ask for nothing for yourself. Your offer is accepted, and your sister will be brought into the tower to reap the rewards you have paid for. As for you, your life is accepted by the tower. You will live out your days here, never to leave."

"Wait, you're not gonna kill me?"

"We have no need for your death, but for your life. You will live, though your life will be in service to the tower, and to those who enter it. You will join the others who are dedicated to the same cause."

In a small, decaying hut in the outskirts of the village that stood closest to the tower, a golden badge the size of a palm appeared on the table. A girl about ten years old was sitting there, shelling beans that would be used to prepare the soldiers' breakfast the next day. She saw the piece of gold, and while she did not know what the metal was, she did realize that it was clearly valuable, as well as the fact that it had magically appeared.

Hesitantly, she reached out to touch the most beautiful object she had ever seen. The moment her finger touched the badge, something appeared in front of the girl. Despite not having been taught to read, she somehow understood the message before her. Congratulations! You have been granted access to the tower. Another has paid the price for you, allowing you access to all of the tower's floors, though you will have to climb them yourself. Enter and gain knowledge and strength.

Climb to the top to gain all you desire. Enter the tower now? YES | NO The girl stared at the message floating in front of her, frozen and uncertain of how to react. Her mother entered with more beans from the garden that needed to be cleaned. She found her daughter frozen in place, her hand touching something that was clearly worth more than the rest of the entire village combined.

"Jackie! What is that?" The girl jumped so badly she knocked her stool over and sent the golden badge tumbling off of the table. Beans scattered everywhere, though fortunately, the basket of cleaned and sorted beans did not overturn.

"Ma! Yeh scared me!

"Look what just popped up. What is it?" The woman stared at the girl in growing concern as she pointed at the air in front of her face. It was clear that there was nothing there. Wait, could it be?

"What do yeh see, Jackie?"

"It's a box. Says somethin', and I can even read it! Why's it sayin' I can go in the tower?" The woman went stiff with terror. Just as she had feared, the system had somehow appeared for her daughter. It happened sometimes, but usually for those who visited dungeons or were capable of becoming mages. Even so, the system only ever appeared for those who were grown. Why had it appeared for a child? The tower? Why would she be allowed in the tower?

"Let's talk to yer father and Bren. They might know a bit more, seein' they've both been 'round soldiers a bit more 'n us." Jackie nodded, though it was clear that she was still staring at the message that only she could see. As for the piece of gold, that needed to be hidden immediately. Sara swept the piece up and tucked it away. She was surprised by its weight, and realized that she would not be able to keep it hidden in her sash, as she had intended. However, there was a basket of beans right on the table.

Sara pushed Jackie to help finish cleaning the beans, but they were both terribly distracted. The two younger ones were with the other small children, playing somewhere they could be watched by some of the adults or older children. The sun started to set, and Sara set their work aside as she and Jackie started preparing a simple dinner of a thin gruel. As they worked, the two younger children returned, though Bren strangely remained absent.

Finally, just as dinner was done, several men's voices could be heard outside the hut. The door pushed open, and two men carried Sara's husband Eli into the hut. While the man no longer had legs to walk, he did his best with his mediocre carving skills, trying to help others in the village with woodworking tasks that could be done while sitting.

There was rarely much to be done, but it kept Eli from feeling completely useless, and the small bit of help that he offered the other households brought his family small bits of food or assistance from the other villagers."' Ere yeh go, Sara. Brought 'im back 'fore he could run off again. We'll be back for 'im in the mornin'."

"Thanks, Orin, Dan. See yeh in the mornin'. Say hi to Emma and Hanna."

"Course. Evenin'." It was a typical exchange, and was thankfully brief enough that neither man noticed Jackie's unusual behavior. The girl was still just staring into space, seemingly unaware of anything around her.

"Eli, we've got a problem. I wanted to talk to yeh and Bren 'bout it, but she still ain't back yet."

"Still? Do we need to ask Orin, Dan, 'n some of the others to go find her 'n walk her home?"

"Maybe in a bit. She's still got a bit of sun, 'n yeh know how she likes to go by the tower…" Sara's voice died off as her words caused her to consider a possible connection that she did not want to consider.

"What's the problem? Bren get in trouble with some of the soldiers? One of the kids get hurt?" Sara shook the disturbing thought from her head and pushed past the still frozen Jackie to shove her hand into the basket of beans and pull out the golden badge. She set it on the table in front of Eli.

"Jackie found this. More 'n that, she's got a message from the system tellin' her she can go inside the tower." The man stared at the badge in shock, but twitched quite badly as he heard his wife's report. His eyes darted to his second daughter, wondering if she was in some sort of danger.

"Jackie, come 'ere." Her father's voice and the gentle push of her mother's hand pulled the girl from her daze and back to reality. Eli wrapped his arms around his daughter, holding her close and protectively.

"Darlin', tell me what the message yeh got says. Tell us 'xactly what it says, alright?" The girl nodded and then shared exactly what the message said. By the second sentence, both of her parents were growing pale, and Sara sank into a chair, her hands and legs shaking so badly she could no longer remain upright. Eli absently muttered, "'Nother's paid the price?

'Nother? No, no she couldn't of. No, no. Not like this." Tears filled Sara's eyes, her thoughts following Eli's. Bren's habits and Jackie's message were too coincidental for the girls' parents to not make a connection between the two. After several minutes, Eli managed to pull himself together. He tried to think of what might happen next and how he should take care of his family. As much as he hated it, there was only one option. He and Sara could not feed three children.

Beyond that, if Bren was gone, as he feared, there was every chance that the soldiers would insist that Jackie take over Bren's work, despite her age. It was safest for her to leave as well. Eli looked over at his wife. The tears streaming down her face and the slight shake of her head told him that she had reached the same conclusion as him, and was just as reluctant to accept it.

"She's gotta, Sara. She can't stay 'ere now."

"I know, but I can't lose 'em both! Not like this!"

"It's gotta be 'fore mornin', Sara. We don't got no choice."

"I know, but they're my babies!" Jackie had no idea what her parents were talking about, or why her mother had suddenly grabbed her and was squeezing her so tight that it hurt, but this seemed important enough for Jackie to stay quiet and just wait.

"Sara, we don't know how long it might be, 'n it's best for her. Let her go." The woman shook her head, but the movement suddenly turned into a vigorous nod. She squeezed Jackie even tighter, and the girl found that she could not even breathe for a moment. After a moment, Eli spoke up again.

"Jackie, yeh need to tell that message yeh see yes. Go to the tower 'n get all yeh can there. Do yer best 'n come back to us when yer done, understand?" Jackie did not completely understand, but this felt like one of those times when grown-ups wanted to hear a yes, even if it was a lie, so she nodded to her father over her mother's shoulder.

"Go ahead. Say yes now. Yeh need to get goin'." Jackie was not entirely sure how she was supposed to tell the message yes, but her father pressed the pretty piece of metal into her hand, and as she reached up to try touching the message, Jackie mentally agreed to go to the tower. With that, the first climber entered.