Chapter 123: Powerleveling

Jason blinked his eyes open, discovering a dimly lit ceiling above him.

I’m still alive? Or not?

“Am I dead?” Jason rasped, his voice coming out unexpectedly hoarse.

“I considered having someone to play that prank on you, but I resisted.” A familiar voice spoke beside him.

Jason glanced over and spotted Will and Loth seated at a table in the side of the room, a game board between them, lit by a flickering candle. Will had a cup, a bit of trash and some books beside him, indicating that they’d been camped out there a while.

He couldn’t turn his head very easily, and his whole body felt like it was made of lead and bruises.

“Why am I so weak?” He rasped, clearing his throat and smacking his lips, trying to get the moisture flowing through a mouth that must’ve been hanging open for hours.

“You got most of your blood sucked out by a-“

“WHERE IS SHE!?” Jason shouted as he sprang to a sitting position, scanning the room for the attackers. An instant later, his head was spinning and the room with it as he collapsed back into the bed.

“Dead.” Will said.

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“Oh, thank the gods.” Jason sighed.

“You know resurrection is a thing Graneshian priests can do, right?” Will asked.

“It’s not even that expensive for the higher-level Climbers.” Loth raspy voice added to Jason’s blooming panic.

“Why would you tell me that!?” Jason demanded.

“Don’t want you to get caught off guard if she ever shows up again, although…” Will frowned in thought.

“Unlikely,” Loth said.

“Why is it unlikely?” Jason asked.

“She was mean,” Loth said.

“And…?”

“And Loth was just telling me how Climbers above level fifty are rather polite to each other, for a handful of good reasons.” Will began, pointing to Loth.

“They don’t have the luxury of choosing their teams as freely as lower Climbers, since the population is so low, so they try and stay on each other’s good side and avoid friction. It’s a much smaller group, and they feel they’ve earned at least that much respect. Also, anyone above level fifty might be able to kill you by looking at you funny, so it’s best to avoid unpleasantness.” Loth continued.

“And finally,” Will said, holding up a finger, “If you make a good impression on other Advanced Climbers, and they find your corpse on a high Floor, they might just haul your corpse down and have you resurrected because they liked your attitude or you loaned them some of your dessert. It’s statistically the most common way to be rescued from the higher floors: Corpse brought down by someone who owes you a favor.”

“What does that have to do with her being mean?” Jason asked.

“She wasn’t a team player. Almost cut their ranger in half for getting in her way. They were treating her like disposable bait. I’m guessing that Paladin isn’t shedding a single tear over her, and certainly isn’t going to spend cash on a failure.” Will said.

“Caddock,” Loth said.

“Eh?” Will glanced over at Loth.

“His name is Caddock. I went through the rosters we took from the monks. The only one who matched his description is a retired level 65 Paladin.”

“Level sixty five!?” Will demanded. “How am I still alive!?”

“Apparently he never took any mobility Abilities, and you are pretty much composed entirely of mobility Abilities.”

“Huh, go figure,” Will shrugged, poking his drink with his straw before he seemed to notice Jason watching him.

“Chocolate milk?” Will asked, holding out the concoction, likely created by an Ability, and expensive as the finest wine that could be grown outside the Tower, pound for pound.

“Isn’t that…expensive?” Jason asked with a wince.

“It’s just like, eight silver.” Will said, glancing down and frowning at his drink, seemingly reevaluating his life. “Oh.”

Eight silver was good food for a MONTH, heck, five silver had bought him the Will Special for half a year.

“You get used to it.” Will said with a shrug, pressing the drink into Jason’s hand. “One of the benefits of almost dying a lot is the luxuries get cheaper. Anyway, drink up. Healing potion can’t fix hungry.”

Jason took a sip and was stunlocked for a moment by the sheer deliciousness of the drink, and took a moment for his brain to process what Will had said.

“…What?”

“Do you want to keep the Set?” Will asked.

“WHAT!?” Jason flinched backward, nearly spilling the drink before some invisible force grabbed the cup and guided it to the side, catching the spill mid-flight.

“You can have the Set if you want.” Will said with a shrug. “You almost died in it. I figure you’ve earned it if you want. Could be enough to become a Lord, if you wanna.”

Jason considered it for a long time as the silence stretched out between them.

“…I don’t think I want it,” he said, shaking his head.

“Why not?”

“Most pressingly, because it puts a huge freakin’ target on my back, and I’ve discovered that I’m not cut out for that kind of heat. I suck at fighting.”

“True. Will is much better at fighting than you.” Loth interjected.

“He just needs practice,” Will said.

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Jason wanted to grin at Will defending his honor, but the idea of ‘practicing’ people trying to kill him send a shiver of dread down his spine.

“The reason that motivates me more, though,” Jason said, “It’s just not me.”

“What do you mean?” Will asked, turning his attention back to Jason.

“I mean, sure it’s powerful, and maybe I’ll never get the opportunity to wear a Set like that again, but it…wasn’t my Build. The set was basically just stamping your Build overtop of mine. I want to…” Jason searched for the words to express how he felt.

“I want to discover how my Class works for myself, and what works for me, see how my Upgrades shake out, and make my own Build as I go.” Jason said.

Will seemed to consider for a moment before nodding. “That’s a good choice. A man’s choice.” He clapped a hand over Jason’s shoulder. “Let’s get some food in you, and head out as soon as you’re recovered. You’ve got your own personal bus.” Will motioned to the two of them.

Will patted himself down, seemingly searching for something.

“Who has the Ring of Regeneration anyway?” He asked, turning to the kobold.

“Reggie.”

“Damn. Makes sense.” Will turned his attention back to Jason. “Alright, so here’s the deal, Jason. Normally, I would want to let you take your time and make some friends, gain some levels, get some experience fighting monsters and Climbing in general, and catch up to us in your own time, but there’s a problem: We’ve got a handful of level sixties chasing us, and we need to make you as unkillable as possible over the next week or so.”

“Which means…?” Jason asked.

“Powerleveling!” Loth said.

“I’m so glad you decided to do it without using the Set,” Will said, nodding. “That would’ve made things too easy and you wouldn’t have learned anything. You gotta level yourself and your skill, am I right?” Will asked clapping Jason on the back.

“What? No, I like easy!” Jason protested. “If we’re gonna powerlevel, let me use the set. I’ll figure out my Build later!”

Loth cackled. “I told you!”

“Fiiine.” Will pouted, putting his tomahawk on the table and bending down to take off his shoes. “But don’t get used to it: once we get to the Fifth Floor, we’re gonna buy you some other gear.”

Once Jason no longer felt weak, he got up and began slipping on the Family Gathering set, frowning as he scanned the assembled Relics.

“Where’d the Amulet go?” Jason asked, wondering if the people that attacked them had stolen or broken it.