Chương 182: Chapter 299: Setting out to Seventeen

"Made you a couple presents," Loth said, handing Will two dense bricks of some sort wrapped in identical wax paper and twine. One was a bit softer than the other.

"Oh, what've we got?" Will mused aloud as he began unwrapping it the softer one.

"Well, I decided to take advantage of my new constitution, so I went over to Bree's shop and she helped me sample some things. It turns out I have a weakness for dense sweetbreads." Loth said as Will unwrapped the wax paper, revealing a dense, brick-shaped loaf of nut-bread.

"Cool, what's this other one? Will asked, taking a bite as Titan's grasp began unwrapping the other one for a greedy peek inside. Maybe something with filling or…it feels harder than the first one, maybe a shortbread with a hardened jelly filling? Will could probably identify exactly what it was if he gave it a single whiff, but that would be cheating given how good his senses were. Part of the joy of a gift was in the surprise.

"It's a pressed brick of spiders." Loth replied. Will stopped unwrapping as the almond-jelly filled shortbread dissolved into a swarm of spiders in his mind. Well, it was definitely a surprise.

"…Why do they look exactly the same?" Will asked, re-knotting the twine before summoning a piece of charcoal and scribbling a spider on the outside of the package.

"Because that was the only wax paper and twine I had?" Loth replied with studied innocence. A likely story, Will thought with narrowed eyes. Loth did nothing by accident. Will offered the package to The Tower, cycling through his Abilities. Funnel web Miasma Weaver Sacrifice for Map: Miasmatic structures are registered on the map. Funnel web Miasma Weaver Sacrifice for Phantom Hand: Phantom Hand may manifest lingering dimensional and physical effects based on it's internal storage and its armor.

Is that some kind of way to lay down webs with Phantom Hands? Will thought, moving on to the next. Funnel web Miasma Weaver Sacrifice for Aspect of the Immortal Serpent. Miasma sickness is added to the list of environmental resistances. Scales with Resistance.

"It doesn't do Miasma as a terrain," Will muttered. He suspected there would be some differences from what The Devourer of Worlds. A shame it was the Sacrifice effect he was most interested in. Then again, not having to worry about miasma sickness would be awesome, too.

"Oh!" Will snapped his fingers and changed the target. Funnel web Miasma Weaver Sacrifice for Titan's Grasp. Miasmatic Structures can be manipulated directly by Titan's Grasp. Damn, that's a tough choice.

'Miasma as a terrain' would have allowed Will's Map ability to read miasmatic structures, and his Aspect Ability to manipulate them. And there might have been a few knock-on effects. As it stood, Will could get the same effect by sacrificing some of these Devourer Knock-offs to both Map and Titan's Grasp. But which one was more important? If he sacrificed them to Titan's Grasp, he would become able to manipulate Miasma directly with higher speed and accuracy than Aspect would've allowed.

He would become able to create magic on the fly at unimaginable speed. On the other hand… If Will used the brick of spiders on his Map Ability, he would be able to map his own internal miasmatic Structures. He could study and decode the Class nestled inside his own brain. But his ability to manipulate it would still be rough, limited to just what he could do with his Classless left hand.

An amazing blueprint machine, and a rock to bash with, or an amazing tool that will do anything I want, without the ability to make a detailed blueprint of what I want to do beforehand? I need that blueprint. I need that tool, too. Damn. What a difficult choice.

"Any chance you could make more of these?" Will asked, hefting the waxed brick of spiders.

"Sure. Pay me." Loth replied.

"Pfft. Happily," Will scoffed. To Will, the brick of spiders in his hand was worth a significant portion of his Stronghold. The two of them were going to pick up Jorn on his day off. Will and Loth were confident in their Ability to Climb. They could probably make it to the 17 th Floor and back alive. They had the strength. Will could store enough food, and they also had a crystal bone wand that replicated Badur's preservation Ability, so they could make more in an emergency.

Titan's Grasp could deal with the day-to-day labor of setting camp and other necessities. Still… just two people meant that their combat power could be cut in half if a single one of them was disabled. Both Will and Loth were more specialized in killing other Climbers than killing monsters. This meant that while they were both pretty good at it, it still took a little bit of effort to slay monsters. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

That effort could build up over time and wear them down, especially dividing the labor between only two people. Jorn… his Build was specifically made to effortlessly kill huge amounts of monsters, filling a gap in their Party. With only three people, the supplies were still manageable, too. There were other reasons Will wanted to take Jorn. It would put Will's Stronghold into a vulnerable state, and invite Marksman to make a move.

It would also allow Will to get Jorn to a higher level, making his job easier and safer in the long run. If Jorn forever stayed at just level 50 on the 10 th floor, he might get unlucky someday if he was caught unprepared. If he was level seventy, that wouldn't be as much of a danger. Just need to make sure not to get the kid killed, Will thought. Was it risky to do it while being targeted by Marksman?

Abyss yes it was, but as a Lord, Will was always going to be targeted by someone, and withdrawing one of his best frontliners was a ballsy move that someone as cowardly as Marksman may read as a deliberate provocation. In other words: A trap. As long as Will was wearing Abby, he could get back down to the 10 th Floor from the 17th in a day, so the window wouldn't be wide enough for Marksman to make any big moves. … Hopefully.

Look at me trying to convince myself that this is a good move, Will thought as he approached Jorn's home, knocking on the door. Will heard the clattering of plates and the sound of Jorn's girlfriend Lily hiding behind the dividing wall separating the kitchen from the living room. A moment later, Jorn opened the door, and without the barrier, Will could hear Lily's heartbeat coming through the wall. On the table was a pair of clay plates with a hearty meat and potato lunch. Will suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

Fourteen years old and already… no that's about the right time, actually. They need a chaperone, though.

"What's up?" Jorn asked.

"First of all, having lunch with a girl isn't a punishable offence." Will said, ticking it off with his hand.

"Second, talk to Charnesa about the one thing you are not allowed to do." Saint Charnesa, the head priestess of Holdna in the Burned Stronghold, hated being the one in charge of sexual education, which was why Will found it amusing to send his younger Vassals her way.

"And third, pack your bags, because we're going Climbing for a couple weeks."

"W-with you?" Jorn asked, swallowing.

"And Loth." Will thumbed over his shoulder, prompting Loth to wave.

"Milord, no disrespect, but aren't you two… much better than me at Climbing?"

"Yes, but we've got our reasons for taking you with us," Will said.

"Hi, Lily."

"Hi Milord," Lily's voice came from the kitchen.

"We're not in trouble?"

"For having lunch?" Will asked incredulously.

"No. But we are going to borrow your friend for a couple weeks." The blonde girl peeked around the corner, and Will recognized her face as one of the farmer mages that Anna had recruited. Miss old-growth forest. The girls responsible for the recent influx of lumber, citrus and other fruits.

"Will he be okay?" Lily asked quietly.

"I'll make sure of it." Will said with all the false confidence he could muster. He knew as well as any veteran Climber that nothing was guaranteed, but worrying wouldn't help Lily one bit.

"…Okay." She said, bowing from behind the wall.

"Once you're done with lunch and packing, meet us at the east gate." Will said.

"Yes, milord." Jorn said, bowing. Loth and Will bid him farewell, then went and made their own preparations. They grabbed some spare Kit, salt, plenty of preserved meat, soup base, some water-creating Relics…and plenty of toilet paper. Never again, Will thought solemnly. The next stop was to inform Badur of his departure while Loth visited Laurence and purchased several dozen of his automatic crossbows along with plenty of ammunition and magazines.

"They're good trap components," Loth explained as they met near the center of town, a swarm of insects carrying her haul in a train behind her.

"I've been lamenting the limits of what can be achieved with simple mechanical force recently, so this has been a welcome addition to my kit." Loth gave a mischievous grin.

"I can't wait to tear it apart to see how it changes Charge into kinetic energy."

"Just don't cut yourself in half. Or me." Will said.

"Once was enough."

"No promises," Loth said as they arrived at the east gate. A few minutes later, Jorn arrived, riding a massive goat.

"Where are the rest of the goats?" Will asked.

"I figured out how to not summon the smaller ones when I don't want them," Jorn said, vein-like protrusions in his skin detaching from the summoned goat as he dismounted. The goat was wearing some custom saddlebags made by the local leatherworkers, and Will could see some kind of Ability applied to make them sturdier. The miasma had the chain-link appearance of Resistance. Will dug through Jorn's bags to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything. It was a bit rude, but he was Will's Vassal and a rookie.

The young necromancer slash ranger had most of the things Will considered necessary for Climbing, except…

"Next time you go on a long trip, bring some books and games. There's surprisingly long stretches of boredom." Will said, poking through the food, clothes, and kit.

"I usually do when I'm clearing the outskirts, I just thought…Climbing would be more exciting?" Jorn said, his voice changing it to a question at the end.

"Most of the time it is," Will said.

"But every once in a while it gets awfully boring."

"Sixth Floor being a case in point," Loth added.

"Should I go back and-""No, it's not important. You've got all the right stuff packed." Will said.

"Biggest danger is you might get bored."

"I carve bones and ivory when I get bored," Jorn said, opening one of the bags to reveal a satchel full of bone, ivory and cutting tools gleaned from months of hunting. Will had assumed they were for his bone arrows. Jorn reached into the bag and pulled out a half-carved figurine of Will with his axe raised.

"Huh. Well, if you've got a hobby, then we're all good to go."

"Please milord, give me a week before you go!" Badur cried, sprinting out from the town hall and practically clinging to Will's ankle.

"An instant thirty percent rise in productivity with no plan to use it will be an enormous headache! I need you to provide direction!"

"I trust you," Will said, giving Badur a thumb's-up. The overworked Logistician's eye twitched.

"Try not to die, Will," Bree said, giving Will a hug.

"Sure you don't wanna come?" Will asked.

"I'm…done fighting monsters." Brianna said.

"I just wanna bake." Will could insist that she come with them, in order to have direct communication with his Stronghold, but… the weariness in Brianna's eyes stopped him. Will nodded. He disentangled himself from Badur and made his way to the gate. The three of them set off without incident, clearing the Key Site in a matter of minutes, and landing in the 11 th Floor. Since Steve exploded, there was floating chunks of snake everywhere and an entire ecosystem had sprung up around it, but it was manageable.

Jorn's flying mount had a hard time adjusting to a complete lack of gravity and Will wound up having to carry Jorn along until they got to the next Floor. The 12 th Floor was claustrophobic as usual, and Jorn seemed especially stressed, since the close quarters hindered his ability to spread his minions out and clear the area. His acuity wasn't quite as good as Will's, either so he had a harder time of noticing the enemies buried in the walls.

Sense Aggression kept him from getting swallowed up by surprise attacks through the floors and wall though, so he was fine… physically. Out of consideration for the kid, they made good time and only stopped to rest on the 13 th Floor, where the sight lines were nice and clear. While they rested, Jorn's summons cleared as much of the swamp as they could, in order to boost Jorn's level.

"There seem to be some monsters fighting each other over a den that way." Jorn said, pointing towards Nora and Aguillion's love nest.

"Should I flush them out?" Jorn's halo of bone arrows spun ominously as he spoke.

"…They're acquaintances of ours, so no." Will replied, Titan's Grasp setting up the tents, cleaning their gear and cooking dinner according to his will.

"And they're not fighting." Loth added, from where she and the Devourer of Knowledge were reading. The incorporeal being hadn't revealed itself to Jorn yet.

"What does that mean?" Jorn asked.

"Don't worry about it." Will said.

"Come help me taste-test the soup. Loth thinks I put too much salt in it."

"It's because you mammals are constantly sweating." Loth said. As the white sun set in the green sky, Jorn sat down in one of Loth's chairs and started carving on his current piece. The three of them spent the evening relaxing to the sound of Jorn's summons fighting across the swamp.