Chương 23: Chapter Twenty-Three: A Glimpse of the Wider World

TWENTY-THREE"What does it look like? Those guardians were active when we made it to the saferoom entrance. We didn't have a hard hitter. Aside from me," Tyler started lifting up her injured arm.

"More and more of them activated the longer we fought. We got overwhelmed and retreated, those of us who were still alive. That's all that it took. We didn't have enough points to buy anything besides basic healing supplies and nobody was in good enough shape to fight." Tyler spoke with a tired fire of someone beat down and in pain.

"We cleared them easily enough. It does take a few times to get the rhythm of it right," Darren admitted.

"Well, what now Darren?" Tyler asked. Even tired she looked defiant and proud. Roan could respect that.

"We have started a group. The Tower Climber Association. It's a way to share resources and help each other survive. There is a fee to enter." Darren gave her a grim smile." He's more ruthless than I thought."

"In return you will get healing supplies and what we have discovered including a way to farm your own credits."

"We don't have credits to spare. Everything went to healing supplies and food," Tyler admitted.

"We can take credit," Darren said. Roan felt his brow furrow as he thought of the coffins outside of the new saferoom and how they would swell his own account.

"Then I agree. I obviously can't speak for everyone though," Tyler said. Her words were enough to get others to join in, though. Healing elixirs began to appear around Darren with small pops of air. He handed them to Tyler and she handed them out to everyone else in her party." She's important. Or Darren thinks she's important. Subtle signs of reinforcing hierarchy with her handing out the elixirs." Roan turned away from them and leaned toward Taoya, trying to keep his voice quiet.

"The coffins. You and me?" Taoya snorted and shook his head before attempting to whisper back.

"We need the credits for the association. Especially after this." Roan winced at the large man's voice, that even attempting to be subtle, was loud enough everyone heard him.

"You and I need the credits. The association still gets its ten percent," Roan argued.

"Ten percent and the association gets two full coffins. We each get four," Taoya said. Roan frowned as his greedy nature rejected giving up such a large chunk of change. Dragging a coffin by himself was out of the question though.

"We still have to kill the remaining guardians," Taoya reminded him as they turned around and started back toward the portal.

"There's still a team waiting there. They can fight a single guardian at a time. As long as multiple don't open up," Roan said. He wanted the points from killing the guardians himself. More greed, more desire to watch his bank account swell. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"I'm not fully rested. Might have one more big fight left in me," Taoya admitted as they stepped through the portal and back into the cul-de-sac. The sounds of fighting was muted, not the heavy battle of a guardian fight but the slow fighting against the weak skeletons.

"If you're that desperate for money, then hop into an alley and start clearing them out," Taoya said.

"It's inefficient and time consuming. Exhausting as well," Roan countered.

"It is all those things. And still it's a steady stream of credits. You're looking pretty energetic out there."" Of course he noticed. Darren probably did as well." Roan wasn't going to give up his newly acquired secret. Not when he needed the edge to outearn the bloodline fighters.

"My secret," Roan said, giving a little laugh to dull the retort.

"All that jewelry. Someone's going to figure it out fast enough. There's some smart cookies here," Taoya said as they set up right in front of the closest coffin. They were well trained now on how to work the coffins, dropping it down and dragging it out together with waddling steps.

"How do you all know each other? You're from different groups and colleges, right?" Roan asked. It was still a struggle to pull the heavy coffin, but it seemed easier than it had been earlier. Roan couldn't tell if it was the placebo effect or not.

"Most of us meet at competitions. Pseudo towers, we call them. The other twelve towers are well studied and mapped. War games are given with rewards offered for the best performers. Trivial items pulled free of the towers for the most part. Lots of socializing though." Taoya grunted as he pushed. It didn't take them long to pass from the tower and into the saferoom.

"First two of the coffins go to the group fund. We need to pay for all of the healing elixirs," Toaya said. Roan couldn't help but grimace at the loss of earnings but he wasn't in a position to say anything.

"What are those games like?" Roan asked.

"Mix of black-tie party and blood sports. People would wine and dine at night and then try to kill each other the next day. Sometimes they'd succeed. The best of them get private mentoring from the best of the climbers. Those who have done multiple towers."

"Multiple towers?" Roan asked as they left the saferoom again. Most of the survivors had simply been sitting around taking the elixirs and trying to recover. Tyler's eyes had followed them with keen interest, but she hadn't moved to follow them.

"This tower is rare in how it restricts those who enter. Anyone who has cleared a tower, or even attempted one, will have residual energy. This tower prevents anyone like that from entering."

"I knew that, just didn't realize that people scaled more than one tower." They started working on the next coffin, lowering it and starting the laborious process over again.

"Only the best do it. Most only manage to clear some of the lower levels before they retreat. This tower obviously doesn't allow that. Many make careers of clearing the lower levels of the easier towers. Greed kills plenty of them though. Climbing into levels they can't handle."

"Your master was one?" Roan asked.

"No. Our Sect master is though. My personal master is a professional climber, but has never cleared one."

"Someone as talented as you?" Roan asked, shocked. They started in on the third coffin.

"Oh, I am not as talented as you would think. Our sect masters do not sponsor anyone with true talent from entering this tower. They'd prefer they do non-suicidal runs, like the Sydney Tower or the Black Sea Tower."

"So, you're trash?" Roan asked slyly. Taoya laughed and shook his head.

"Far from it. But don't think I am the pinnacle of what the world holds. I could only ever really compete in the smallest of tournaments," Taoya admitted.

"Are any of those powerful fighters here? Did you see any before the door opened?" Roan asked. If there was anyone who was casually stronger than Taoya, he wanted to know who it was and be ready to be on guard.

"That woman you met there. Tyler. She's stronger than me. Just as ruthless as Darren. Might even be as skilled as you are." They sold the third coffin and started back for the fourth.

"Doubt she's as sneaky as you are though. You're not even breathing hard yet," Taoya said, and this time there was a sly grin on his face.