Chapter 159: Learning Experience

Jason Salazar

Prophet of the End Level 36

72 Strength

144+22 Resistance

36+7 Kinesthetics

108+12 Acuity

180+17 Focus

Charges: 116/197

Primary Abilities: Hand of Fate, Withering repudiation**

Secondary Abilities: Made Manifest, Flagbearer, Relic Seed

Tertiary Abilities: Scales of Ouroboros

5 Primary Upgrades available!

Non-stat Item Abilities: +15% Charm Archetype potency,+15% footing, Concentration, +15% Damage Reduction, Holdout.

Jason’s kit wasn’t very…good.

He was like the youngest kid in the family, who everyone gave their hand-me-down clothes.

Literally, in this case, Jason thought, plucking at the hem of Loth’s Shirt of Protection.

Shirt of Protection

+10 resistance

15% all damage mitigation.

Loth had found something else that synergized with her Build and swapped it out months ago. The shirt had been just collecting dust in their warchest until Jason came along.

Same thing with the Holdout Dagger on his waist, and the Swamp Stompers.

The rest was just junk they’d found that had marginally correct stats for him. They kept telling him that ‘synergies were everywhere’ and he just needed to keep his eyes open, keep his Build in mind, and be creative, but how do you do that when everybody else snaps up the good stuff, or looks at your proposed soft-set and shakes their head, heaving a sigh of disappointment?

Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter that much. I’m awesome.

Except against slimes, golems and undead. Jason hastily corrected.

Who could’ve known he’d be completely useless on the last dozen Floors?

Everybody else in the Party had already been through the first 6 Floors, and didn’t need his help at all. On the 7^th Floor, they treated him like a liability and kept him in the caravan and barely let him go out hunting with the other Climbers.

Then the 8^th floor he couldn’t do anything.

This is it. I’m gonna show everyone how awesome I am. Easy win.

Boom!

“Gah!” Jason gave a reflexive shout and jumped in place as a humanoid body was jettisoned out of a concealed hatch, slamming into the wall with enough force to shake the stone he was standing on.

Alright, first thing’s first. Gotta compose a list of things I don’t like about this guy.

Jason had found that Withering Repudiation worked a bit better when Jason took a little time in advance to create a list of things to complain about.

His pants are stupid tight. Make his butt look big. Hair’s long, all tangled up and shit like an idiot. No muscle on the arms like a total wuss…and…it’s a girl. Shit.

Umm… Jason desperately tried to reframe his insults in a fraction of a second.

The fae groaned, standing up, holding her head. For a brief instant they locked eyes.

No time!

Withering Repudiation

116->115 Charge remaining.

You’re a short-limbed, underfed, moron wearing poorly cured leather that doesn’t even function for it’s intended purpose. Your hair is the color of piss, and probably smells like it too.

The fae stiffened and slumped over as Withering Repudiation paralyzed her while she took psychic damage over time.

After the first few rocky seconds, Jason was able to chain the insults together fluidly and get the attack off the ground.

About six seconds into Jason’s unstoppable attack, a pitiful sob cut through Jason’s concentration, causing the Ability to snap off.

“Eh?”

“Please.” The fae mumbled into the ground. When she raised her head to look at Jason, there was the strange animalistic element in her face, but there was also anguish.

“I don’t want to fight,” She mewled, tears streaking down her face.

“Uuummmm…” Jason said, taking a half-step forward. Except for the weird cheekbones, she looked almost exactly like a young woman in distress. Like that one time Muse had cried in her room for an entire day when Ron went to the pond with Kaya.

“…Are you, um, okay?” Jason asked.

 

***William Oh***

“No, you dumb-!” Will shouted, shaking his head as he observed through the Phantom Eye.

“You know for somebody who is supposed to be really good with people, Jason sure sucks at killing them in cold blood.” Will groused, crossing his arms beside Alicia as he watched the farce continue.

“You don’t think those two could be related?” The glowing-eyed archer asked, glancing at Will.

“Eh, probably,” Will said with a sigh. “This’ll be a learning experience.”

 

***Jason Salazar***

“I’ll be okay,” She said, wiping the tears away from her cheeks. “I felt like I was going to feel so bad I would die there for a second.”

“Oh, um. Sorry.” Jason said, offering her a hand.

Her ear twitched a bit when Jason said ‘Sorry’, and Jason felt some kind of warmth settle in his chest as she took his hand and stood up.

He thought it was because he was being polite to a cute woman.

She was the same height as him, her body fully developed, just…small.

“My name’s Eve.” She said, her hand clasping Jason’s for a moment longer than strictly necessary, sending lightning up his spine. “And you are?”

“Jason. So are we supposed to fight or…”

“No!” She shouted shaking her head and backing away from Jason. “My uncle forced me to go on the Hunt, I don’t even like fighting. These brutes are always talking about the thrill of the brush with death, but it turns my stomach.” Eve said, shaking her head.

“So what, um, do we do instead?”

“We don’t have to do what the others are doing. We could just…talk,” Eve said, taking a step back and sitting against the wall, patting the ground in front of her.

“O-okay.” Jason said, moving to sit down.

There was a tiny voice of apprehension in the back of Jason’s head, but it was nearly entirely drowned out by Jason’s confusion at this strange turn of events, and the butterflies in his stomach.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

***William Oh***

“Oh, come on! Don’t sit down, just-“ Will made stabbing motions.

***Jason Salazar***

“You’re awfully young for a Climber. Younger than any I’ve ever seen.” Eve said as Jason settled down crosslegged in front of her.

“I’m probably the youngest Climber ever to make it here. It’s…kind of a long story.”

She gave a dry chuckle. “Mine too.”

“Oh?” Jason asked.

“Fae don’t really age, we just grow bigger and stronger over time until we get to about the size of an adult human. I’m one of the first generations of fae to enter the Court that didn’t witness the birth of the Floor. That’s why I’m so small.”

“So we’re both younger than everyone else.” Jason said, nodding along with a half-smile.

“Every thousand years or so, when the Coil collapses, a few of the older fae die off and create a gap in the courts.

I had the support of my uncle, but I still had to fight to join the court.” She said with a bitter expression. “It was awful. And the reward for joining the court? More death, and a Lord who exerts control over my every action. When I was young and weak, I was at least free.”

She wrapped her arms around her knees, staring into the distance with a haunted look.

“I’m…sorry. Is there anything I can do?” Jason said, his heart warming.

She twitched and glanced up at him for a moment before a thin smile flickered across her face.

“I wish, but no. I’m stuck here with chains of Debt that cannot be severed by the hands of a Climber. The only choice I have now is to continue climbing the ranks of the court until I die or become the new Lord.”

“That…sucks.”

“It is what it is,” Eve said with a tired shrug. A moment later, she perked up “But the limitations of my station don’t prevent me from helping you,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“When I bring your head back as a trophy, I can advocate that we spare the rest of your caravan. You are a very rare catch, after all. Would you like that? Safe passage for your caravan?”

“That’s a great idea!” Jason exclaimed. Something about that felt…off, but Jason couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Oh, thanks!” Jason said, giving Eve a big hug. Eve stiffened for a moment before hugging him back with one arm.

“It’s my pleasure,” Eve said, her chin over his shoulder. The faint sound of something sharp scraping against leather caught Jason’s ear, but he didn’t think anything of it.

“Man, Will’s gonna be stoked when he learns my head bought safe passage.” Something still felt wrong about that, but Jason couldn’t quite figure out exactly what it was. It was like there was an invisible wall in his mind that kept bouncing his thoughts off. He pondered if he should be concerned about that, and his thoughts bounced off of that, too.

Well, whatever.

Eve froze against Jason for a moment.

“…Will who? A friend of yours?” Eve asked, pushing him back to look him in the eye, her dagger resting flat against his shoulder.

“Will, the leader of the caravan?”