Tower Story -- Chapter 14

Chapter 14

It was almost painful to have to match his speed to the Party that had “rescued” him, as it seemed so slow to Bax, but it also gave him a chance to practice adjusting to those who couldn’t move as fast as he could.  The last thing he wanted to do was arrive in town while pretending to be the Level 2 that the System displayed himself as and then do something that would give away the lie that it was.  As much as he didn’t necessarily want to deceive everyone, he knew it was likely better for everyone involved if he kept his secret at least a little bit longer.

While they crossed over rolling hills, forests, and grassy plains on their way toward the river and town in the distance, Bax thought about what his plan should actually be now that he was back among civilization again.  He’d spent more than a year with the singular goal of finishing his Tasks inside the Co-op and the Keepers’ Tower that his ideas of what to do after he actually accomplished his objective were a bit tenuous.  They had essentially been “get to a world, help them out a bit, then when the portals opened, travel to Earth, and then help the survivors of the System’s coming”.  He had accomplished the first part, obviously, but he hadn’t taken into account that, not only was he not in the same cycle anymore, but Earth was “compromised” and likely overrun with monsters, while the survivors of Humanity were on the current world.  He couldn’t go back in time – at least he didn’t believe he could – so there was no preventing what had already happened; all he could do now was look toward the future.

But what kind of future is that supposed to be?  And how do I ensure that happens?

It might sound arrogant to think that he would be influential toward making whatever future needed to occur happen, but given that he was undoubtedly the strongest person in this world, he likely had more influence than any one person or even small group of people.  He had no desire to become a leader, but after everything that had happened in the Co-op, he felt more than a little responsibility to ensure that the survivors of the disaster that he had inadvertently caused continued to not only survive, but to thrive with his help.

The problem was that he didn’t have enough information about the current state of the world or the other System worlds to know where to concentrate that help.  Sure, he could start rampaging across the world, killing monsters left and right, but would that necessarily be the best use of his time?  As powerful and quick as he was, he was only one person; could he be expected to run all over, solving all the crises himself, or should he look into some way of empowering the people so that they could handle most of it themselves?

Typically, at least according to the Archives, Adventurers throughout the cycle handled the day-to-day business of hunting down average monsters throughout the world, at least at first; once dungeons started to appear, they would then add clearing and closing the easiest of dungeons, while Keepers worried about Remnants, Aberrations, and the strongest dungeons threatening the people of the world they were responsible for.  Later in the cycle, Adventurers would be strong enough to handle roaming monsters and virtually all of the dungeons in the world, and potentially even help out in a tower or a monster horde when they were needed – while Keepers tackled the stronger monsters that might appear, as well as concentrating on towers to keep them from expelling monsters. 

But if there were no Keepers, which he suspected was the case, then the Adventurers would have to handle everything on their own.  According to the records, it was unlikely that they would be able to keep up with the steadily rising average Level of the monsters they faced over the years, which was what he suspected happened during the last cycle; he would have to find some sort of local library or Archive that might have more accurate and current information to tell for certain.

While they were walking, he once again looked at his Current Tasks section on his APPS, but just as it had been shortly after he arrived, it was empty.  He knew that Keepers were typically given Tasks by the System as threats were identified throughout the world by other people, but there was nothing yet – and was beginning to worry that there wouldn’t be.  There hadn’t been any records of future Guides also receiving these Tasks when they accompanied Keepers in their real-world training, but they also didn’t not say Guides received them.  He wasn’t sure if he was still classified as a future Guide or a Keeper at this point, so he would have to just wait and see what happened – at least in regard to Tasks.  As for what he wanted to do separate from Tasks… well, that all just went back to needing more information.

Unfortunately, the Party taking him to town were in a mood that he didn’t want to mess with, so he didn’t bother.  He figured he would be able to get better information from those in town, anyway, so he instead turned his attention to the area close to the river they were approaching – and the town in the distance.

Dozens of what appeared to be fishing boats were sailing up and down the river or docked in the riverside port that was connected to the town, which – now that he was closer – he was able to see was quite large.  Stretching nearly a mile in width on the side he could see, the overall rectangular shape of the thick stone walls were approximately 15 feet tall, which wasn’t that impressive when he thought about it, but it was the first time he’d seen walls surrounding anything before – so it was interesting to see in general. 

Even from across the river, he could see that the thickness of the walls was great enough to allow people to walk across it, and every 100 feet or so was an elevated platform, each of which held what appeared to be a massive crossbow emplacement.  Or is that a ballista?  Not sure what makes them different.  Instead of pointing downward, however, they were angled so that they were pointing into the sky; it took him a second to remember that monsters didn’t always stay on the land, so a threat from the sky was definitely a possibility.  A second look at the piers that stuck out into the river showed even more defensive emplacements, pointed downward this time, and a glance as some of the fishing boats showed that there were armed figures standing along the railings, staring down into the water as they moved along the river. 

They’ve really got every avenue covered, don’t they?

Past the town, he could see that the area around its walls for at least a few miles was relatively flat, which looked almost too perfect to be natural; he realized that the land had likely been altered – probably by something like Stone Shift or similar spells – and it was currently cultivated with large fields of growing food.  Numerous figures could be seen working the fields, and even at a distance he could see that many of them appeared to be Human, or possibly short Elves.  However, even though they seemed to be in the majority, he saw at least a single person from every other race – and they were working just as hard as the Humans. 

So, they definitely are here.  Working menial labor jobs, but at least they’re still alive.

Looking further as he took everything in, he noticed that there were an abnormal of what appeared to be Humans on the fishing boats and at least half of those he saw on the docks were, as well.  As for those positioned as guards or whatever they were in the boats, along the walls, and the defensive emplacements, he could only see those who definitely weren’t Human.  That didn’t mean there weren’t any, of course, but they didn’t seem to be prevalent enough to notice from a casual observation. 

A comment made earlier by the Dwarven healer in the escorting Party was starting to become more clear. 

“The Humans here have their own usefulness outside of fighting monsters; we wouldn’t be as far ahead as we are right now if it wasn’t for them, remember?”

It seemed as though the Humans, after encountering many other races that were naturally faster, stronger, and/or more magically inclined than them had fallen into roles that allowed them to contribute toward keeping things running in a town or a city rather than going out and killing monsters.  Like a stay at home parent that raised the kids while the other parent went out to make money, most of the Humans had likely seen it as their only option.  After personally seeing how pitiful his starting stats were compared to the other races while at the Co-op, he could certainly sympathize with this decision – and he had to admit that he’d probably have done the same if he was born into this world and saw how much of a disadvantage he was at just starting out.

At the same time, it was also mentioned that some Humans had managed to become powerful Adventurers in one way or another, so he supposed that Humans at least had a choice in what they wanted to do, even if it wasn’t as varied of a choice as other races. 

In the end, Bax wasn’t responsible for what the Humans or the other races chose to do.  If he found out that Humans were enslaved or something equally as heinous, he would probably make it a point to see if he could put a stop to that, but he wasn’t necessarily there to cause a social upheaval or anything as drastic; with his Levels, his training and knowledge, and his experience in the Keepers’ Tower, he was there to help the entire world against the monster threat – a world which just so happened to include Humans.  It was lofty goal, of course, but he was going to do his best to achieve it.

“Well, we’re here.  You can take one of those skiffs across,” the Vaneshta abruptly stated as they walked within range of the riverside, gesturing at a rickety-looking rowboat pulled up the rocky shore.  While he’d never actually been in a boat before, let alone a rowboat, Bax was fairly confident he could figure out how it all worked.  “The Deepspring River was clear when we left earlier, so you should be safe.”

As the Party turned away, apparently concluding that their job as escorts was done, he called out to them, “Thank you, again!”

None of them responded, and instead ran off at a much faster pace than when they were bringing him close to town.  Oh; they slowed down for me earlier.  He chuckled at that realization, as he’d had to do the same thing for them.

He wasted no time pushing the nearest wooden skiff into the water as he jumped into it.  Before too long, he found himself drifting downriver through the fast current, and he looked around for the oars that he’d seen in the others skiffs; instead of being inside of the little metal rings alongside the edges of the boat, where the others had been, he finally found them laying along the bottom, placed underneath the benches.  He struggled to get them out without breaking them, because they were positioned in such a way that he couldn’t slip them out; it took approximately 5 minutes of scratching for a solution and nearly giving up and snapping them in half before he realized the bench seats came up, easily allowing access to them.

Once he slipped them through the metal rings, which he’d seen done on some TV programs, he immediately discovered that he’d drifted so far downstream that he was now a few miles from town. Looking around, he saw a fishing boat further downstream, but otherwise it was just himself in a little wooden – and slowly leaking – rowboat along the side of the river.  He took a few seconds to become familiar with the way he needed to move the oars to get himself moving, before he deliberately took his time rowing himself across to the other side; the last thing he wanted to do, at least if he didn’t want to advertise his prodigious strength, was to row so powerfully that he pushed half the river away with each stroke.  Probably not that much, but I bet I could make it across in a few seconds if I really tried.  Though it would be more likely that I’d break the oars or the boat first.

Bax found himself enjoying the process of rowing across the river, the simple movement of the oars pushing against the water before lifting them up and placing them where they could propel him further along.  The boat itself leapt ahead in great lurches despite attempting to keep his strength to a minimum, and while the vessel and the oars creaked a bit under the strain, he found that they were robust enough to handle it – if just barely.  He decided to let up even further, trying to feel how he could scale back his strong movements even further, when he found himself passing the center of the river.

At first, he thought the slight bump below him was simply a result of him experimenting in his movements over the water.  It wasn’t until his next stroke of the oars hit only empty air that he realized the entire rowboat had been lifted violently out of the water, practically tossed up as if someone was playing catch with.  It tilted to the side as the boat reached the arc of its flight upwards, and he looked down to see the nightmarish visage of a monster awaiting his descent so that it could rip him apart and eat him.

Azure Bugeel

Level: 25

Highest Stat: Strength

Weaknesses: Blunt Weapons

Danger Assessment: Very High

The Azure Bugeel was something he’d seen before in the Keepers’ Tower, though it had been a higher Level and was larger, to boot.  It’s head looked like a cross between a crab and a shark, with gaping jaws filled with serrated teeth, beady eyes, and antennae on top; the rest of it looked more like an eel with a long, sinuous body, but with two eel-like appendages that acted like arms.  It was also a dark-blue color, which meant that it was able to camouflage fairly well in the river, and it as covered in matte scales which didn’t shine in the sun when it shone through the water. 

“This is not going to end the way you think it is,” he said as he descended, having let go of the oars from the boat when they weren’t doing him any good.  Instead, he had his hands free so that he could punch the crap out of the Bugeel when he landed on top of it.  Out of the corner of his eye, however, he noticed the relatively nearby fishing boat – and in particular the guards along the railing – had people pointing toward his location and he knew he didn’t want to be seen, as a Level 2, absolutely obliterating the aquatic monster more than 20 Levels above him with just his fists. 

With a sigh, he dramatically flailed his fists as if he was afraid for his life, letting himself fall into the maw of the Azure Bugeel.  While it wasn’t large enough to swallow him up, he landed in such a way that his torso was engulfed by its teeth, and he felt pressure even as his impact sent him and the monster a few feet underwater.  Unfortunately for the Bugeel, trying to bite him in half was impossible; it was the equivalent of a normal person attempting to bite through a 6-inch piece of steel with their teeth.

Bax made sure to keep his hands free as he landed within the monster’s mouth, so he was able to place his hands on both jaws and push them apart, freeing himself instantly.  He heard and felt something crack within the Bugeel’s head as he probably pushed a bit too hard, and it attempted to free itself from his grip.

He wasn’t having any of that, however.  With his hands full of toothy Bugeel mouth, he kicked downwards, dragging the monster down to the bottom of the surprisingly deep river.  With his stats, he’d discovered in the Keepers’ Tower that he could hold his breath for hours if he needed to, which had come in handy when one of the Floors had been largely aquatic in nature, and he’d also improved his admittedly lackluster swimming skills at the time out of necessity.

At what he estimated to be about 120 feet below the surface, he found the bottom of the river teeming with life – and not all of it was friendly.  Out of a dozen large caves dug into the riverbed came more Bugeels ranging from Level 15 to 24, and they seemed intent on sharing the meal that had just been delivered to them. 

Ripping apart the jaws he already had in his hands, Bax essentially tore the monster apart, before shoving the two halves toward the approaching Bugeels.  Something he’d discovered early on in his Tower climb was that monsters, while they tended to attack prey in groups, would occasionally frenzy at the sight and smell of blood – and it didn’t matter where it was from.  He wasn’t sure if the Bugeels would do the same, but he figured he might as well try.

They didn’t.

With a repressed sigh, given that he was underwater and holding his breath at the time, he quickly intercepted the incoming monsters and tore into them, his limbs moving so fast that the pressure waves he created with his punches actually doing a significant amount of damage in and of themselves, as well as the collapsing voids left as his fists passed through a section of water so fast that the crushing pressure was strong enough to snap the bones of a low-Level Human. 

Needless to say, the Bugeels didn’t stand a chance.  Within seconds of real-time, he had gone among them and obliterated their heads and brains, each strike deliberately targeting what he needed to kill them quickly and efficiently.  Before their bodies could float away to the surface and give away that he’d killed them, which he could see them starting to ascend almost immediately after death, Bax managed to grab them all and kept them in place while the System slowly absorbed their corpses.  A quick debate with himself as he waited form them to disappear was solved when he realized that emerging onto shore close to where he’d been pulled underwater would likely invite questions from the people on the nearby fishing boat if he was discovered unscathed, so he decided on another course of action.

He barely even looked at what was left behind in the monsters’ places as he stuck it all in his internal storage space and then swam away upstream, heading toward the town.  He could vaguely see some shapes in the darkened portion of the river this far down that seemed to stir at his presence, and while he wasn’t afraid of them, he didn’t feel like spending the next few hours killing everything nearby.

Moving extremely quickly through the water, now that he had access to his hands in addition to his feet, Bax found himself passing underneath more fishing boats far up above, and he eventually located the stone pilons that had been shoved into the shallower portion of the river, which stabilized the piers above.  Cautiously moving toward what appeared to be a wooden ladder descending into the water, likely to aid those who may have fallen off the docks.  Ascending above the water line, he looked upwards to see if anyone was looking at where he emerged; seeing no one obvious, he grasped the lower rungs of the ladder and started to pull himself up.  Dripping wet from the river, he finally reached the top and stood up—

—right in front of male Dwarf who looked at him like he was prepared to throw him back in.

“And just who are you?  More importantly, why are you dripping water all over my docks?”