Chương 183: Spooling

I didn't want to wait as the Dupes squabbled. I also knew if I nominated myself to be the leader, it wouldn't go over without debate, and we didn't have time for that. Instead, I stepped forward and said, "Yesman has climbed back to the top of the leaderboard. He and his squad should lead." That would, hopefully, be a worthwhile explanation, and it would cut down on any arguments. At the same time, I knew I was operating on instincts from Earth. It would be bad if I didn't look humble.

Here, things were slightly different. People didn't seem as intent on humility. If I proclaimed myself leader and could back it up, maybe it would work. They respected strength. Still, there was no instant way to make it obvious that I deserved to lead from strength alone. My tier, though higher than theirs, didn't mean as much when I'd proven that a Titanium could punch up against a Silver. The ranking, however, they did respect.

The Drillmaster stepped back, holding a quill and a sheet of parchment, watching us discuss. This had to be a test, and I didn't want to lose ranking because of this. Maybe me not immediately taking charge would be a stain on my record, but I was playing the long game. If I set up a precedent that the Dupe who had the highest ranking would automatically lead, then it would put me in a position to lead once I took the top spot. That was, however, only in the activities where we had to work together.

Either way, I wanted to position myself to take charge without looking too ambitious in the present. Yesman gave me a nod and stepped forward, raising his axe. Instead of putting it to a vote or even leaving room for negotiation, he said, "Everyone, with me. You'll stick close. We'll all clump together, and each squad will carry one spool. When we arrive, we make straight for the center. Since not everyone is equipped or ready to delve to the second level, we'll be leaving you to help pull up the dish."

"For the squads who don't make it all the way," I added, "we will gather extra loot for you. We'll split a portion of any of the Imperial Steel we gather, which you can use to get better equipment." Aside from endearing myself to them, we needed to lift up everyone as much as we could. They could strike harder and help fight our real enemies better if they had better gear. Besides, with how much regular scrap we'd accumulated last year, I imagined we'd also have an excess of scrap up here.

Yesman nodded, then said, "No more dawdling. Grab your spools and move." We set off through the Labyrinth, following Yesman's usual descent route. My squad was second, and we put Habit's squad in the very rear to make sure the weaker squads didn't fall behind. It was an unfamiliar route, but like most, it was safe and clear of monsters. All the traps had been marked out with chalk, so even if the Labyrinth Keepers had repaired them, we didn't have to worry about accidentally triggering them.

When we reached the spiral stairway down to the second level, we all filled up the stairway and passed the spools of rope down to the very end. I squished to the very end of the stairs with Yesman, pressing my back against the wall, careful not to step onto the falling dish. Sure enough, the Labyrinth Keepers had repaired it. It sat in its usual spot, supported by juts of weak stone, which would crumble away at the slightest pressure and imbalance, letting the dish fall down to its station below.

I finally got a good look at the contraption that would've once held it up. There was a larger docking station here once, and judging by the shattered and rough supports hanging from the roof nearby, it would've once been made out of stone. Someone definitely had a way of manipulating the Labyrinth Keepers. Otherwise, how would they have set this test for us? Regardless, a set of metal winches—which were intact—hung from the roof, and another set connected to the dish.

Six winches sat at even intervals around the circle.

"We'll need a way to get across to the other side and rig up a winch over there at the same time as we rig up the winch right below us," Yesman told me.

"Otherwise, it won't support us at all."

"And without touching the dish," I said.

"Can your druid's golem handle the task?"

"Sage?" I called.

"Can Morph make a platform? Or reach his arms across to the other side?" Using her own viney legs to walk, Sage pressed her back against the cramped stairwell wall and inched past Yesman's squad, moving to join us. Morph followed right behind her, his branches thwacking off the Dupes' helmets. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"It should be possible," Sage said.

"Morph?" The golem chittered, then extended his arms. He melted into a stool, then just a lump of vines clinging to the edge of the platform, supporting a lattice of wood stretching overtop the dish.

"You're doing well with your legs," I whispered. It didn't really matter; everyone here had a high enough perception to pick up on my voice, no matter how quietly I spoke.

"And you're using them more often."

"Brawl has been an excellent assistant, with how he helped me practice," she replied.

"However, it still drains my Presence. It has to be a last resort." She paused, then glanced at the other soldiers, then at me.

"Like right now. I wouldn't have fit down here without help, dustbrain."

"Right," I said. Once Morph secured himself to the other side of the dish, Yesman tapped the wooden lattice with his boot.

"It's not strong enough to hold more than one person."

"That means it's strong enough for one," I said with a smirk.

"Think positively. And let's get Squirrel on it. He's light on his feet." ~ ~ ~ For the next hour, we set up a system of pulleys. We sent Squirrel across the gap, holding a spool of rope, while a team of us fed the winch on this side. We pushed rope in on one side and wound it down in a loop, then dragged it back up the spiral stairway, where we left it in the hands of the squads who were staying behind. Once again, I promised them a share of the metal we retrieved.

Since we were putting our lives in their hands, I wanted them to have as much investment in getting us up and down safely as they could. As soon as we had two winches set up, with the ropes locked in place and supporting the dish, we could work faster to finish the last six winches. Morph transformed back into his regular golem shape, and Sage said, "I'm down to a quarter of my Presence from that. Don't get yourselves hurt too badly, or I won't have the Presence to fix you up properly."

I nodded, then turned to Yesman.

"We'll go down first," I said.

"If the winch system doesn't hold, we can still save ourselves. No one else can."

"Agreed," Yesman said.

"I'll supervise your belayers and make sure they do things properly. If you need to come back up, give the closest rope three tugs."

"Got it." I motioned to my squad, then said, "Let's head down again. We won't have as long in the Labyrinth today, so let's make it count. We'll find one thing, at least." We jumped onto the dish with shaky legs. I still half expected it to crumble beneath me and fall, but nothing happened. The ropes creaked and the dish swayed to the side. The stone supports cracked, but we didn't free-fall this time. I gave Yesman a thumbs up. He shook his head, then said, "Remember, sir, we don't do that here."

"But you know what it means," I countered. I'd taught them all what it meant when I gave them a thumbs up, just in case I did it as a force of habit.

"When you reach the bottom, give two tugs to let us know you arrived," Yesman said.

"We'll haul it back up and send the next squad." A call travelled up the stairs, and slowly, they lowered the ropes down.

"You can go a little faster!" I shouted back. It took us about five minutes to reach the bottom. The ropes groaned and the winches squeaked, but we arrived. We probably could have gone faster, but for a first try, I'd rather be safe than sorry. When we arrived, I jumped off, shield and spear ready. The elevator port was still empty.

"Head north until we find something worth killing," I said.

"Any idea how we're supposed to find any fancier, better enchanted weapons?"

"The stronger weapons create stronger maegen fields," Sage said.

"They attract more monsters. They're usually too dustbrained to use the weapons, but they still bask in the maegen fields."

"I don't expect to get lucky today," I replied.

"But let's see what we can find." We set off down the hallway and left the elevator hub, then stepped out into the streets beyond. As planned, we headed north in a straight line until we hit something. Our first victim was a lone skeleton. Though it wasn't a challenge, I still made sure to use the Needle of Twere's portfolio of attacks. The skeleton, armed with a spear and tower shield of his own, lumbered forward unconsciously. I led the way, lunging first, then delivering a trio of fast jabs into its spear.

They were meant to keep it at a distance rather than defeat it, but each of my strikes still poked a hole in the shield. The shield wasn't strong, but my new spear was also helping. The burst of strength it gave me while holding it wasn't anything to scoff at. The skeleton staggered backward, bones clacking, then countered. Instead of blocking with my shield, as was my instinct, I swished my speartip in a tiny figure-eight, trapping my enemy's spear and deflecting it before it could even hit me.

It left me in the perfect position to drive my spear straight through its skull, so I did. It stumbled forward with its momentum, but Brawl smashed the remains of its body with his flail, crushing its ribcage to dust and causing the rest of its body to crumble away.

"That was a new fighting style…" Anchor remarked.

"You guys should try varying it up a little more," I advised.

"It'll give you more fodder Skills and make your eventual merges more concentrated."

"Ah, the soulstealer giving us advancement advice," Anchor teased.

"I'll consider it."

"For now, though, I think we can do better than that. Let's keep moving." We continued on in a straight line and picked up a few more straggling skeletons. None of them had Imperial Steel, and their remains weren't worth harvesting the Presence from. Besides, they didn't have any blood to trigger my siphon. But when we reached the next intersection—a diamond-shaped blend of streets—the ground rumbled.

"Ah, that's a good sign," I said.

"I dislike your sarcasm, brother," Brawl told me.

"He's not being sarcastic," Sage countered.

"He genuinely believes that."

"There." I pointed at the building across the street. Its front facade crumbled, pilasters glowing neon green, and a shadow burst out, lunging toward us.

"Our next challenger."