Chapter 53: Warden of the People (Patreon)

*Achievement Unlocked* [Warden of the people] – You’ve used your clock tower property to shelter the less fortunate. Congratulations on finally using the building for something useful. Though it shouldn’t have taken you this long to do something with it, so no loot box for you. Here, have some experience points instead.

*Experience Points Acquired*

I checked and found ten new free points on my stats page. I put all ten into dexterity and then addressed the group I’d brought with me into the clock tower.

“Everybody listen up. We’re safe from physical harm in here, but I can’t guarantee that we won’t be overheard. I need you all to make your way upstairs to the elevator and then I can grant each of you temporary guest status on the residential floor.”

“How come you get to be a cardholder?” asked an annoyed Sebastian.

“I didn’t get to be one,” I said. “I woke up as one. Look, when the System invaded, my apartment building was used as part of the tower’s construction. I didn’t get a choice in the matter. It just happened by accident.”

Some seemed to accept this, while others weren’t so sure.

“It’s true,” said Earnest, stepping forward. “Lucas and I were neighbors when it happened. We had no control over it. And just so we’re clear, both of us didn’t get a starter weapon when we selected our Classes. We had to scavenge what was left lying around our apartments. When I first saw Lucas, he was covered in blood after fighting off a goblin dog with a kitchen knife. That’s not to mention the fact that he just saved all of us. Now, I say we take his advice and head upstairs so we can recover and make a plan for our next steps.”

Everyone agreed, and it was clear that Earnest had earned their respect as a leader. I was still a stranger to a lot of them. They wouldn’t take my word on much right now, but it’s clear that we will need each other again. There will be another confrontation with Martin and his group. It’s just a matter of not if but when.

All of us piled into the elevator and went back up to the hundredth floor. Earnest and I stepped out first while the others were more hesitant. They looked around, expecting at any second for a trap or a monster to appear.

Earnest assured them that they were safe and led them back to his apartment while Hugo and I went to mine. The numbness in my arm from the spell Martin’s people had hit me with was fading. I sheathed my sword and made myself a cup of coffee.

Hugo was immediately interested in my new drink. “Can I…?”

“Not in a million years.”

“Hey! I just saved you. I deserve a reward,” moaned Hugo.

“There are fates worse than death and dealing with you while you’re overcaffeinated is definitely one of them.”

As a compromise, I opened a bag of pretzels and tossed it to the bird before I sat outside on the balcony.

Beyond the balcony was an eerie black void that surrounded the tower. At first, seeing it had freaked me out, but now it held a calming quality. It demonstrated how small everything was in the grand scheme of things. I stared into the blackness while drinking my coffee and wondered if I’d been going about things the wrong way.

After eating twice his bodyweight in salted snacks, Hugo came out to join me.

“How are your spirits doing?” I asked him.

Hugo ruffled his feathers in irritation. “Not good. I’ve got three healthy crows left, but the rest will need more time. I’ll have to perform a restoration ritual to bring them back, but it has to be done on holy ground.”

“Meaning you’d need to go to the church on floor 98.”

“Or the graveyard. On better news, I think I’ll be able to gain a new spirit box slot once I level up.”

“Just don’t take one of Earnest’s people if they die,” I cautioned. “It’s more trouble than it's worth to try to explain it. We’ll find you a worthy monster to take instead.”

“Good. As much as I like Archer and Norris, they’re still frozen at the level they were at when they died. Seeing how easily Martin’s goblin dog took them out made me realize I need to start getting some higher level spirit summons.”

I said that I’d help him do just that, but first we had to speak with Earnest and find out what their future plans are.

The group had twelve members who had positioned themselves around Earnest’s living room. I heard raised voices as I entered.

“Are we really just going to hide here?” asked one man who carried a bow.

“Why shouldn’t we?” retorted a woman in robes, holding a staff. “We’re safe here. Martin and his people can’t get to us.”

“That’s not true,” said Earnest. “We only said it was unlikely since this floor has also become a safe zone since the town was constructed.”

“And there’s nothing for us to hunt here,” said Sebastian. “Every moment we sit here is more time for Martin and his followers to grow stronger. We have to take the fight to them.”

Some yelled in agreement, while others remained quiet. Earnest only frowned and thought about what was said.

Watching them argue back and forth like this had given me an epiphany.

“I know what we have to do,” I said.

The group turned to me, surprised that I was in the room. I guess they hadn’t heard me enter.

“Why should we listen to you?” asked the woman with the bow. “We had to save you because you recklessly ran off into the woods by yourself.”

“I know,” I replied. “And I’m grateful for it, but you have to listen to me now. I believe that everything relating to Martin and the town is a distraction. We have less than one year to clear this entire tower, and so far, many of us have only cleared an extra floor. The System said that it gets harder the further down that you go, which means it’ll take longer to grind experience in order to do so. We should ignore Martin and the town and focus on descending the tower.”

“There’s not a lot we can do about that right now,” said Sebastian. “The golden elevator only goes to floor 97 and most of us have cleared it already.”

That was good to know. I’d never really looked at the party information, but if that was true, then a lot of them should be of a decent level for what I was planning.

“I know that,” I said. “But I believe the golden elevator is another distraction. The System doesn’t care about us. If we let it dictate how we descend the tower, then it’ll hold us back until the very last moment for maximum impact.”

“How do you know this?” asked Rebecca.

“Because I spoke to some beings from other worlds who are watching us. They use these System integrations to train potential soldiers and servants. But think about it logically. Who is the System more likely to reward? The people who cautiously take the slow, safe route one step at a time? Or will it reward the aggressive, faster ones who seek out the danger?”

“It’s a risky strategy,” said Rebecca, frowning.

“But a profitable one,” I said. “Look, I’ve taken the stairs to clear 97 with just three other people. Trust me when I say our group is more than enough to handle the next floor down.”

A few of them looked to Earnest. “What do you think?” asked Rebecca.

Earnest mulled it over and then finally said, “it makes sense. Lower floors will have higher level monsters. It’s more risk but also more reward. I like it. Let Martin play at being a leader of floor 98 while the rest of us move on and descend the tower.”

With Earnest’s seal of approval, everyone gathered their weapons and went to the Stairwell door. Earnest and I, as the strongest members of the group, would take point with Sebastian and Elijah behind us. Then it would the ranged attackers and whatever it was that Hemi did, which I’ve never found the right time to ask him about.

“Okay, fair warning,” I began. “There’s a tentacle monster on the next few floors of the Stairwell that’s level 18. It’s a void spawn with spikes on the tentacles. It’s very fast and aggressive but easily distractable. If we destroy the appendage we see first and then work our way down, it should be manageable.”

Everyone nodded, and I opened the door.

The Stairwell had changed since I’d last used it. It had grown wider than last time, and the staircase floor was made of these black metal grates. There was also another goblin leaning against a railing. He was reading a magazine that had what I assumed was a female goblin on the cover. The goblin dog stood next to him, growled at the sight of us.

The goblin noticed us and sighed. He put down the magazine and clicked his fingers.

*Enemy Identified* [Junior Goblin, Class: Houndsman, Level: 3]

The dog snarled and sprinted towards us.

*Beast Identified* [Goblin Hunting Dog (common)] Level 3.

As it leapt, I casually moved aside and decapitated it with one sword swing.

*DING!* You have slain [Goblin Hunting Dog (common)] Level 3 – Experience Points Acquired

*DING!* [Sword Work Skill] Increased to level 7

The goblin’s mouth hung open in shock and he was too busy staring at me to notice the looming threat.

“High kick!” Hugo announced before slamming into the goblin. The creature fell over the railing, screaming as he plummeted. We waited, but there was no sound of him hitting the bottom. Just his screams echoing and then fading.

I watched Hugo then loot the magazine the goblin had dropped and shook my head in disgust.

“What?” asked Hugo. “Loot is loot,” he insisted.