Chapter 2: Life Goals

“Well, that’s more exotic, for sure,” Ben mused as they looked down at the hunk of Lava Beetle.

The carefully preserved hunk of flesh must’ve come from climbers on the third floor. The Trial didn’t care that no aspirant could possibly get to the third floor and back.

“Whaddya think?” Ben asked. “Fire and Earth. Two of the most useful abilities for a spellslinger.”

“Also the most hotly contested Relics,” Will mused, rubbing his chin.

“For the love of—”

“Anything that grants full magic growth?” he asked, glancing up at the merchant.

“Here?” the merchant asked, motioning to the bazaar in general. “Nothing with strong growth or good abilities, anyways.”

“What about Uru Drake?” Will asked. “Where could I get—”

The leathery-faced traveler laughed in Will’s face. “If I had Uru Drake, I would sell it to a Lord’s son and live the rest of my life in ease.”

“That rare, huh?” Will asked, feigning disappointment.

“It’s not guaranteed, but a climber could get the Teleport ability from it. And even without that, it’s got strong growth and it blends seamlessly with nearly any Class, providing more powerful abilities than they might’ve otherwise gained. It’s worth more than everything and everyone else in this Bazaar combined.”

Will blinked. He hadn’t heard that.

Ben gave him a sidelong glance.

“Well, whaddya got anyway?” Will asked.

“You wanna be a Climber, eh? Charge focus? That’s a hard path, but you seem like the type that likes to aim high,” the leathery man asked, opening up a chest of preserved meat, usually retaining a portion of shell or distinctive feature of the monster’s original body, to prevent counterfeiting.

“Here’s what I got for Charge,” the merchant said as he peeled away a layer of waxed paper to reveal what he had on offer. Will’s eyes scanned through the hand-painted tags, confirming what he already knew.

Ethereal Hare

Adds movement and dodging abilities to an Aspirant’s Class. Favored by scouts and speed-oriented builds.

2 kinesthetics, 1 acuity

Spirit Turtle

Adds passive defense abilities to an Aspirant’s Class. Favored by Climbers who wish to survive grueling engagements.

2 resistance, 1 focus

Dreamcatcher

Adds Sleep and Plant abilities to an Aspirant’s Class. Favored by Charge-focused Support Climbers.

1 acu, 1 foc, 1 res

Will gasped, reaching out only for the merchant’s pipe to smack the back of his hand.

“This may be the most expensive piece I have, but the turtle’s a better choice for you,” the weathered man said, shifting his posture as he sat back again.

“But…” Will pointed at the Dreamcatcher, which grew both magic stats and Resistance. Plus, sleeping support abilities made one extremely valuable on the Climb, for both crowd control and morale, while Plant abilities were excellent logistics and utility. It would bolster the strength of abilities and the usage he could get from the Uru Drake, while still adding resistance.

“Listen, kid, the one thing that every climber who becomes a Lord has in common, is that they are alive when they do it. You hear stories about the likes of Baron Akul, or Lord Bakton, or the Rotwitch. You don’t hear stories about so-and-so who died ignominiously on the First Floor because they went all-in on offense with their build.”

“What do you mean?” Will asked, squinting.

“It’s about surviving long enough to—”

“No, what does ‘ignoramously’ mean?” Will clarified.

“He’s right, you know.” A familiar voice sounded behind Will and Ben.

They turned and saw the adventuring party from before.

“You’re not gonna find any Climbers above the Fifth Floor who don’t have a strong defense. It gives you the leeway to make mistakes and learn from them,” Kyle said, pointing to one of the scars over his eye. “Dropped my sword. Now I keep it on a lanyard.”

He traced a wicked scar just under his jaw. “Used to skimp on armor fittings. Exposed a bit of neck. Now I stand still for as long as the fitter tells me to.”

He lifted his shirt, revealing a jagged seam of puckered flesh across his midsection. “Shield strap broke. Bad luck.”

“Welp, I’m sold,” Will said, turning back to the merchant. “One spirit turtle Sacrifice, please.”

“Twenty silver,” the merchant said, holding out an expectant palm.

Will felt physically ill as he handed the cash over. It was more than half of what he’d earned from selling the tongue. Turned out you can’t get retail price unless you preserve it yourself and set up a shop to find people willing to pay.

Still, Will thought as he tucked the Sacrifice away in his satchel. Two thirds of the way there. On day one. Not bad.

“We stopped by on the way back from setting up base camp and were surprised to find someone else farming the wheat goblins,” Kyle said as Will turned away from the merchant.

Ben took Will’s spot, jingling his share of the silver in his hands as he scanned the preserved Sacrifices expectantly.

“He thought you were gonna kidnap us and sell us into slavery,” Ben called over his shoulder before returning to peruse the selection.

“Well, how do we know they didn’t kidnap Heath?” Will turned back to ask Ben.

“Hey, thanks for the advice, you guys,” Heath said as he lumbered by, clasping hands with Kyle for a quick shake.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“…How do we know that’s not someone using a Disguise Ability to make us lower our guards?” Will demanded as soon as he recovered from Heath’s sudden appearance.

“Later, pussy,” Heath directed at Will before lumbering on, his coin purse jingling with copious copper pieces from all the wheat gremlins he’d hunted, his giant two-hander slung over his shoulder.

The five stoic Climbers broke into gales of laughter as soon as Heath was out of earshot.

“I like the way your head works, kid. Paranoia serves a Climber well. Just not in this case,” Kyle said, wiping a tear out of his eye. “But relax. Just the ring on my finger is worth a dozen of you. With all the brutal honesty I can muster: Kid, you’re simply not worth the effort of taking advantage of.”

“Wow, that makes me feel better!” Will sassed.

“Good,” Kyle said, patting him on the shoulder with a calloused hand that felt hard as rock. “C’mon guys, let’s get a drink. Maybe there’s some Ganishans in town for The Hunt.”

“They do know how to party,” the bow-wielding man murmured as he followed.

The Climbers filed off, with the wand-wielding woman stopping to pinch his cheeks as she passed by.

Will tried to dislodge her, but her Strength made that a futile endeavor, and he was forced to endure the indignity. It must’ve only been a couple seconds, but it felt like an eternity before she let go and faded into the throngs of people among the bazaar.

“Check this out!” Ben said, showing him a copper ring with malachite studs.

Will’s nose wrinkled as he caught a whiff of an acrid scent that evaporated into nothing. “Eh?”