A string of words flashed in the corner of my eye, buzzing like an annoying bee. I dismissed them and coughed. Pain seized my chest. My whole body felt battered and bruised. Anything more than shallow breathing hurt immensely. A quick scan with Body Mastery informed me that nothing was broken and there was no bleeding anywhere. I was just suffering from a ton of internal bruising.

  I tried to use Body Mastery to shut off the pain, but it didn’t work. Maybe I’d been using it too much? Wait, how did I get here?

  My head was foggy, and the memories were hazy. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes to try and orient myself.

  I was on the floor of the cage. Damian and Hugo stood nearby looking concerned while the rest of the cage was empty.

  “What the hell were you thinking!?” Hugo raged. “That was the dumbest thing you’ve ever done!”

  That’s when I suddenly remembered. I tried to stab what was basically an alien demi-god in the back with my cursed knife. After that, all I could remember was pain. Vhar must’ve hit me, though that still didn’t explain why I was here or why I did it.

  “Why am I still alive?” I asked them.

  “I think Vhar saw the attack as more pathetic than anything else,” said Damian. “He didn’t see the point in finishing you off and just left. Then all the other Climbers went down the stairs. But I concur with the bird. What the hell happened?”

  I frowned. “I’m not sure. Last thing I remember was standing behind Vhar. Being there felt important somehow.”

  “That still doesn’t explain the back stabbing part.”

  “I know, but I don’t remember it. One second I’m standing there, and the next I’m on the floor, passing out from the pain. It doesn’t even make sense. I mean, why would I risk everything to take a shot at Vhar, and then use a D-Grade weapon for it?”

  Damian looked me over again and chose his next words carefully. “So you’re saying it wasn’t you?”

  “Yes! I… I don’t know.”

  A pit formed in my stomach. A person losing control and having their body taken over? We’d seen that before on the other floor. Have I been infected with something this whole time?

  I looked down at my hand that carried the scar, then I closed my eyes. Body Mastery wasn’t just for turning off pain receptors or assessing basic damage. This time, I used it to scan my body from head to toe, looking beyond my current injuries. I didn’t know what I was looking for, but I felt like I’d know it when I saw it.

  It found nothing.

  I scanned five more times and even scrutinised my hand specifically, but it couldn’t find anything wrong with me. That didn’t make me feel better. If anything, it made me feel worse, because I was certain that I didn’t stab Vhar. That something or someone else influenced me to do it.

  The stairway leading down to the next floor was still open, and time was a factor. I wasn’t going to figure this thing out now, so we might as well keep progressing.

  I winced as I slowly got to my feet. My body wasn’t in great shape. I should probably fix this before we go down to the next floor.

  “Hey, so, not that I’m not grateful or anything,” I said. “But do you think I could get a little bit more health potion? My body feels like it got hit by a truck that then backed up over me a couple of times to leave a lasting impression.”

  Hugo and Damian exchanged a nervous glance.

  “What?” I asked.

  “We don’t have any more potions,” Hugo said. “We had to use everything we had to keep you alive.”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “Wait, seriously?”

  Damian nodded. “It was like your body was fighting to die. I even had to do chest compressions on you while Hugo had one of his minions scramble through his poorly organized backpack for his last health potion.”

  “Hey, show some respect!” Hugo said. “That wasn’t a minion. That was the spirit of my conquered foe. One of many! I might add.”

  Damian sighed. “No, you might not. And how bad of a shape are you in right now?” he asked me.

  I held up my hand. “I’ll let you know in a minute.”

  I pulled up my System menu to check that new message that had been flashing earlier.

  [Congratulations!]

  [You fought an S+ Grade enemy and lived! It has been many cycles since a D Grade Climber has achieved such a feat. Several rewards have been bestowed upon you for enduring such a heavy blow from superior combatant.]

  *Ding!* You have gained new Abilities*

  *Ding!* [Cardinal Prosthesis] has been upgraded. [Cardinal Arm] is now [Cardinal Armor]

  *Ding! You have gained [Cardinal Armor (Rare)] - This ability allows you to mold your blood into a protective suit of armor. This armor comes with a ten percent constitution buff, a five percent strength buff, and five percent dexterity buff while worn. It does however, eat a moderate amount of your internal power to use, so choose wisely on when to deploy it.

  *Ding!* [Pugilist’s Blast (Uncommon)] has been upgraded to [Scarlet Strike (Rare)] - This ability enhances your strength by ten percent for one attack. Magic cost and internal damage cost to use is reduced while wearing Cardinal Armor.

  *Ding!* [Sanguine Projection (Uncommon)] has been upgraded to [Sanguine Command (Rare)] - Your command over the blood grows. As such, it will remember your mental control commands more easily. If you will the blood into a certain shape, it will remember to hold that shape for a period of time without you having to concentrate to hold it as such.

  *Ding* [Weak Blood ignition (Uncommon)] has been upgraded to [Strong Blood Ignition (Uncommon)] - The range and size of the fire you can create are still limited, but where this ability shines is in its intensity. This upgrade has tripled the damage your blood fire can cause, and can now be used to augment other attacks.

  Hugo hopped around impatiently. “So, did you get something or not?”

  “Yeah, you might say that,” I replied.

  None of the upgrades healed me, so I was just going to have to soldier on until I found an enemy that bleeds. That being said, it was hard to complain given what I’d received. Annoyingly, the health potions had healed all of my cuts and bones, but left a lot of internal bruising.

  I pulled out my knife and made a shallow cut across my arm. Despite the warnings about cost, I was in no shape to clear a floor in this condition, and there was no guarantee that the next enemies we fought had blood in them. So ss my blood started to flow, I activated Cardinal Armor. The blood moved swiftly, taking only two seconds to cover my body and harden into dark, burnt red pieces of metal.

  A wave of relief hit me as the pain vanished. I felt less tired and more alert, although the armor felt strange. I knew there was a helmet covering my head, but to me, it felt like it wasn’t even there. My vision was unimpeded. If anything, it felt like my eyes had gotten sharper while wearing the armor.

  I didn’t know what the armor looked like, but judging from their faces, it made an impression.

  “Well, that’s something,” Hugo said.

  “What?”

  “Your eyes are glowing red,” Damian said.

  “Didn't they do that before?”

  “Only in brief flashes. Now it’s a constant, which is a little unnerving.”

  I nodded. “Let’s hope the enemies on the next floor down feel the same way.”

  I trudged down the stairs with the others following close behind. Both seemed concerned about me, but didn’t want to voice it. They shouldn’t be. I could feel my power slowly diminishing from the cost of the armor, and that made me impatient. I needed blood, and I needed it now.

  The stairs led down to a stone chamber with eight wooden doors. Each one painted with a different esoteric symbol.

  [Companion Chat re-enabled]

  [God Chat disabled]

  [Welcome to Floor 44. Please select a door and enter. Note: only one Climber may enter a door from the party that has entered this room]

  “It wants us to split up,” I said and moved to grab the handle of the nearest door. “We’ll reconnect at the next elevator or stairwell, or baring that, the next floor down.”

  I opened the door.

  “Wait!” yelled Hugo. “Shouldn’t we analyze these symbols first and then carefully consider our options?”

  “There’s no time,” I said.

  There was no way of knowing who was still listening, and I wasn’t keen on advertising that I’d lost ten percent of my power reserves just by walking down the stairs in this armor. I updated Hugo with this information as I stepped on through and heard the door close behind me.

  Hugo: I’m not happy about this.

  Lucas: You’ll do fine.

  After seeing the other Climbers we’d just had for company, I knew that they would be able to handle themselves.

  Hugo sent me another message, but I dismissed the chat before reading it. I could reassure him later. Now it was time for me to hunt.