Chapter 34: Reunion at Knifepoint (Patreon)

An uneasy feeling settled into me when I got back to town. I’d killed Harold and gained what was probably a decent sum of upgrade points, yet I didn’t feel good about it. I thought I’d be happy to see him die, but instead I found the whole thing rather sad. The poison from my Viper fang had been more brutal than I’d realized. Reading that it suffocated people was one thing, but seeing it in reality was another.

Not that I would stop using it though. Its muscle paralysis effect was simply too useful to ignore for future fights.

I reviewed what to do now. I needed to get a health potion for Damian and then Hugo and I had to sit down to discuss how we’d spend the treasure trove of upgrade points we’d gained from clearing floor 97. Provided he hadn’t rushed ahead to allocate them already. I also needed to figure out a better way in and out of the clock tower or stop using it entirely. Seeing how riled up Martin had gotten the mob over a card holder made it too dangerous to casually use.

The apothecary was in the next street over, so I chose a shortcut through an alleyway. I made it about halfway before I realized there was someone behind me, closing in fast. I whirled around to see a man dressed in mottled grey robes. His face was covered by a matching headscarf with only his eyes left visible as he fast approached me. At the same moment that I drew my knife, he pulled his gun. We both froze. Me with my viper fang at his throat and him with his pistol pointed straight at my head.

I stared at the gun for a moment. It was an odd design. It looked like a type of revolver from the late 1800s, except that this one had six barrels.

He wasn’t faster than me, but at this range, I doubted he’d miss. I was about to ask who he was when a System message told me.

*Player Identified* [Earnest Johnson, Class: Marksman, Level: ???]

I guess since we’re no longer in the same party, the System would hold information back.

“You’re alive,” I said, moving my knife away, but I frowned when he chose not to lower his gun. “It’s me Lucas,” I explained.

“I can see that,” he said tersely.

“I thought you were dead. I tried contacting you on party chat, but it wouldn’t connect.”

Earnest frowned. “Are you saying you aren’t with that little psychopath?”

“Martin? Of course not. He tried to feed me to his dog. I had to go into the Stairwell to escape and walk down to the next floor.”

“And you survived that place at level 2?” he asked, sounding dubious.

I snorted. “Barely. I got lucky and probably would’ve died if not for my healing ability. It’s not something I’d recommend to others lightly. Now,” my eyes hardened, “you wanna get that gun out of my face, or are we going to have a problem?”

Earnest lowered his gun and put it in the holster on his hip. “Sorry,” he said. “But after Martin said he was a friend of yours, he ambushed me on floor 99 with that dog of his. We were on some sort of challenge floor and the golden elevator was already open, so I made a run for it. Lost my gun in the process, but I managed to get away.”

“Seems like you found a new one.”

“It wasn’t easy. My marksman ability gave me higher strength and accuracy with projectiles. I spent the first day throwing rocks at creatures until I got this in a loot box,” he said, patting the gun at his side. He then looked appraisingly at my knives and cloak. “Though it looks like you’ve gained some items as well.”

“I’ve been busy. Just cleared floor 97 with another party member. He’s injured, so I was on my way to the apothecary to buy a health potion for him.”

“Health potions? Why didn’t you say so? Here, take one of mine.”

He held out his hand and a glass vial of what looked like green water appeared. I made a face at it.

“It’s clean,” he assured me. “I had to drink one after the dog bite on my arm became infected.”

I took it gratefully.

*Item Identified!* [Lesser Wellspring Health Potion (common: F-Grade)]

“Lesser?” I asked.

“It’s called that because it’s used to treat lower-level players. Trust me, it’ll bring your friend back to normal. Once you’ve done that, come meet me in O’Shanahans. I’ve got a lead on who the town founder might be and before you say it, no, it’s not Martin.”

I rolled my eyes at the name. “O’Shanahans? Seriously?”

He grimaced. “I know. It’s a good bar though, at least where the drinks are concerned. Where are you staying?”

Earnest was a fellow card holder, which meant that he was keeping a low profile and was probably renting a room in town to keep up appearances. I decided to be honest with him.

“The clock tower,” I said. “It’s got a silver elevator in it which makes it useful, but I’m having trouble getting in and out of the place without drawing attention.”

“An elevator, you say?” he asked, rubbing his chin. “Come with me.”

I assumed we’d be heading out of town, but instead he took me deeper into the western side through smaller side streets until we ended up standing next to a pair of cellar doors. Earnest threw both of them open and walked down into what appeared to be a basement.

I looked up at the building it was sitting under to see what kind of establishment it was.

“Don’t worry, the building above is empty,” Earnest said. “Maybe some new alien will teleport in with a business later? Until then, the important thing is that.” He pointed at the silver elevator door standing in the middle of the basement.

I didn’t understand why he was treating this like a big deal. “Okay, so there’s more than one silver elevator in town. So what?”

“The silver elevators aren’t just for switching floors. You can use them to reach other silvers on the same floor if you’ve discovered them. All you have to do is picture the place in your mind and you’ll go there once you press the button.”

“How did you figure this out?”

“Well, after I ran from Martin, the elevator randomly deposited me here. Then I went into the woods to hunt and discovered a second elevator. After that, I stumbled upon it through experimentation. Like did you also know that audibly complaining about the elevator music causes the volume to increase?”

“No, but I can believe the System would do something like that to amuse itself.”

I approached the elevator and pushed the button for the doors to open.

“Now I’m trusting you with this because you’re a card holder,” said Earnest. “But it’s important that we keep this elevator a secret. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone else about it.”

“Thanks, I won’t. But you know Martin has a card too. If he shares his with the others, then we might start running into more people around here.”

Earnest shook his head. “All of Martin’s crowd have discovered the elevator in the town square. When you first enter the floor, the elevator spits you out randomly. But after that, it’ll take you to one you already know about.”

That wasn’t what happened to me. The System purposely changed the rules and put me in the clock tower. It wanted me to have it for some reason. Maybe it’s more fun if I’m in more danger or maybe there’s more to it that I’m not seeing.

“You know the System likely hid this elevator here specifically for us,” I said.

He nodded. “The announcement message about card holders painted a target on our backs, but it's giving us a fighting chance too.”

Or more likely, it realized how boring it would be if everyone just waited in the town square while card holders refused to go to a higher floor.

“Thank you,” I said, and I meant it too. This discovery would make a big difference navigating this larger, foundational floor.

“Just remember to come to O’Shanahans when you’re done,” he said.

I nodded, got in the elevator, and pushed the button for floor 98 while picturing the clock tower.