Chapter 68: Advice From The Baron

Floor-wide Alert!

Arnold Ames has been spotted on Floor 5.

Arnold ‘Arms’ Ames is wanted dead for a staggering number criminal acts, primarily including Murder, Extortion, War Crimes, and Human Trafficking.

Bounty: 3000 gold, 20000XP, to be shared among the party that claims the bounty.

I guess they got the mask off him, Will thought, leaning against the wall of his prison cell.

It was a very nice prison cell, with a comfy bed, private restroom, miniature library and a plush recliner to read from…but the door locked from the outside, which was really the only criteria that mattered to Will.

He tensed for a moment, waiting for the follow up that revealed that someone had claimed the bounty, but…nothing.

I guess they’re interrogating them. Will thought. It made sense they would want to pry what information they could out of their unwelcome guests.

I’ll bet their prison cells aren’t as nice as this one. Even though Will was in a cell, there were different types of prison cell.

This one said: “I’ll get to you as soon as I can, thank you for your patience.”

Will was fairly sure the other two were in a cell on the other end of the spectrum that said: “You’ll never see the sun again.”

About an hour later, another message flooded the consciousness of every person on the 5th Floor.

Vincent Duncan has been spotted on Floor 5.

Vincent ‘Void’ Duncan is wanted dead for a staggering number criminal acts, primarily including Mass Murder, Crimes Against Nature, Human Trafficking, and Tax Evasion.

Bounty: 4500 gold, 60000XP, to be shared among the party that claims the bounty.

This is probably going to take a while, Will thought, picking up a book and starting to read. Loth had told him he should read more.

About two hours later, There was a knock at the door before a pair of high-level warriors dressed in the duke’s colors politely escorted Will down an ominous series of halls that culminated in an equally ominous wooden double door, which swung open to reveal the baron, sitting behind an oversized wooden desk.

The size and shininess of the desk harkened back to the one he’d seen in the Oilton castle. Something designed to make the person sitting behind it more important.

Maybe that was a good thing, because the Baron didn’t look much older than twenty, so gravitas was difficult to come by. Either his Body was outlandishly high, or he’d found some other way to halt the aging process.

I wonder if that’s a Lord thing or just this one.

“Welcome, take a seat.” Baron Akul said, motioning to the chair in front of him.

Will sat. Doing anything else didn’t really fit the vibe.

“William Oh, is it?” The Baron asked.

“Yessir.” Will said.

“You’re rather famous for a nobody.”

“That’s fair.”

Baron Akul’s brown eyes narrowed, and Will felt like a real big fish had noticed a waterbug on the surface of the water. Will was the bug.

“Did you want to become a Lord, William Oh?”

“Don’t all kids want to become Lords?” Will deflected.

“That’s just a lie parents feed their children to give them something to die for.” Baron Akul said, raising a hand. Will’s skin went cold. That hand could produce bolts of fire that could kill kaiju instantly.

“But you…” the Baron lowered his hand, pointing at Will. “You’re well on your way to becoming one.”

“…Thank you?” Will hazarded.

“You’ve assembled a talented Party. Secured sponsorship from two influential families. Funded a war chest that you could use to seed a Stronghold. All of these things are necessary steps.”

Will didn’t respond, hoping maybe the Baron would tell him what the next step was.

“In the interest of transparency, so you can understand my thought process…allow me to explain the situation you’re in.”

“Please do.” Will said.

“You, an orphan ostensibly born to Mary and Thomas Oh, two of the greatest Climbers of the modern era…have appeared in my city shortly after the church of Granesh began circulating word that you are a demonic changeling.”

Will broke into a cold sweat.

“My investigators have interviewed anyone who has so much as heard you speak, and based on your adventures, they tell me that you likely have the scout/Infiltrator archetypes, and have possession of a dimensional storage, and not only can you use it to steal other Climber’s Relics, you can treat the dimensional storage as an extra Slot.”

“You’re not unarmed even now, are you?” Baron Akul asked.

“I could do a bit.” Will admitted.

“I figured.” The Baron clasped his fingers together and gave Will a long, silent stare, seemingly weighing Will’s fate.

“My options are threefold.” The baron suddenly said. “First: I could kill you or deliver you to the Church. It would be a bit of a waste. Second: I could force you to become a Vassal. I would gain the service of a powerful rogue archetype.”

Neither of those sounded very good.

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

“Third…I could send you on your way with my blessing.”

“That last one sounds good to me.” Will hazarded speaking out of turn. The Baron didn’t acknowledge him.

“…The Tower needs more Lords. We’ve been whittling away at each other for decades, and there’s only a handful of us left now.” The Baron glanced off to the side thoughtfully.

“You’ve got most of what it takes to be become a Lord, but the most important thing, I haven’t got a clue.”

“What’s that?”

“The most important trait to become a Lord…is an Ability synergy so wildly unfair that normal Climbers, who specialize in fighting monsters, don’t dare cross us. In short, Lords are uncannily good at killing other Climbers.”

“You, boy, are not the best monster slayer. What Rogue archetype is? On the other hand, I’ve heard reports from Micheal’s ill-fated party and your ‘fixed’ underground matches. You have very strong mobility and an invisible attack that you use to take control of a fight regardless of how it started. That is Lord material.”

The Baron finally wound down his pontificating about Will’s Build and invited him to join the conversation.

“Were you going to join the ‘under 25’ tournament to secure opportunities for your Party?”

“Yessir.” Will said.

“I imagine you were going to conceal your Dimensional storage Ability and aim to hit the semifinals.”

“Something like that,” Will admitted. “I don’t want to reveal-“

Baron Akul broke into laughter.

“Sorry,” The Baron said, wheezing as he wiped tears out of his eyes. “I remember playing things close to the vest like you, many years ago. Let me tell you something I’ve learned.”

Free advice from one of the Tower’s most powerful combatants? Will was all for it.

“If you become a Lord, everyone who matters is going to know how your Ability works, whether you like it or not. There are even families who figured out what 99% of my Build is and have given their children the same starting point.”

Will thought about Mason for a moment, then nodded.

“I have a grandson.” The Baron said, giving Will whiplash with the topic change.