Chapter Twenty-Four: Changes

TWENTY-FOUR

“That’s unexpected,” Darren muttered. No one spoke to match his words as they all found themselves locked in the saferoom. Roan blinked slowly as he lowered his hammer, he had been in the middle of a fight with a poor-grade skeleton in the hallway when the world had inverted, a massive wave of nausea struck, and now he was back in Tyler’s saferoom.

FLOOR 1.01 CLEAR RATE: 50%

TIMED LOCK OUT: 59 MINUTES LEFT

“We’ve killed half of the guardians then?” Someone asked but Roan was setting his hammer down and slumping to the ground. If he had a forced hour break then he was going to be productive. The dwindling time left on the clock before the level closed was a continuous pressure, but there was nothing he could do about the dwindling time when he was locked down.

“Go over everything I earned. Buy some food and water. Even if I’m not tired then I still need to eat and drink. “

His earnings had been generous. Four coffins at two-twenty five a piece for nine hundred credits. Then there were the kills. He’d sent more skeletons to their eternal rest than he had thought.

POOR SKELETON (x33)

20 CREDITS

INFERIOR SKELETON (x26)

10 CREDITS

The fights with the guardians had netted him another three hundred flat. For a grand total of two thousand one hundred and twenty credits. Roan bought two inferior meals at a cost of a hundred and looked at his newest balance.

CURRENT BALANCE: 4033 CREDITS

“Man obsessed,” a woman’s voice startled Roan as he drank heavily from the flask of water that came with his meals. Tyler stood no more than a few feet away, eyes boring into him.

“You look better. Less about to die,” Roan said calmly, wishing he could stand up without it looking awkward. Taoya’s words about Tyler were firmly in his head about how she was one of the more dangerous bloodline users.

“Those healing elixirs do wonders. We have tower potions or similar enough at my sect. It’s one of the things we focus on actually, herbology, biology, and alchemy. Goes well with the dominant bloodlines,” Tyler said.

“Which is?” Roan asked, seeing if she would tell him.

“Bold, but it doesn’t matter. We’re not enemies, are we?” She paused and waited for Roan to say anything. He just shook his head and she continued on with the same blank face she had earlier.

“Bloodlines are strange and can express themselves in several ways. It would be more accurate to call them affinities. Until I have a mana core and fully awaken it, then it is only a useful tool at best. But my bloodline reacts in strange ways with mana infused concoctions.”

“Herbology, biology, and alchemy? Bloodline that works on enhancing potions or whatever they’re called? And she’s combat orientated? Definitely some type of assassin.” Roan kept that thought process locked down as he looked at the undamaged skin beneath her torn robes. Her forearm was completely healed.