Hearing the boss’s crazed laugh outside the cabin made Wyn think back to the witch that gave him the very lantern that hung on his belt. Of how they weren’t a witch at all, but the Avatar of Alistair taking the form of a lesser floor boss to meet with him. He knew deep within himself that this boss wasn’t the Avatar, but he still felt a chill run down his spine when making the mental connection.

  Still, years of training and a year of being a Climber afforded him enough experience to not stand still and lose focus when confronted with a threat. He moved alongside John, ready to rush the witch boss and take it down.

  Clearing the distance was easy, though Wyn stayed by John’s side to keep his Saint Aura active on himself and to make sure he didn’t leave John. That decision proved to be a good one as multiple creatures sprouted from the earth under their feet, cutting them off from directly attacking the witch.

  The monsters were dirt-covered globs with what could barely be considered appendages making two arms and two legs. Five of them grew from the soil and looked to be more ground than magic as pieces of dirt and grass fell from their shambling bodies. They were the size of an average person though a bit more bulbous, and carried no weapons. In fact, their hands and feet looked to be clumps of dirt and their faces twisted with leaves and twigs making the simplest facial features.

  John smashed into one with his sword, cutting it cleanly in two from the side of its head down to the bottom of its torso. He then moved to the next one that slowly hobbled forward, cutting it in half at the waist.

  Wyn didn’t hesitate and cast Drain on himself. Thanks to Overcharge from his equipment set, the spell engulfed him and matched the intense aura already coating him from John. The dirt monster in front of him visibly shrunk from the boosted effect of his spell, and he cut it in half with his glaive. Not nearly as easily as John made it look, but the enemies were weak and he was enhanced with multiple effects. Quickly stepping to the last two, he saw they were clumped together and activated Frostsnap.

  The spell was an ice-element spell that he added to his list to help activate its detrimental effect. Since his upgraded class of Ruby Tactician, all spells had secondary effects. Drain was still his most used spell, and its secondary effect was that enemies under the spell’s effect were weakened both physically and magically. Frostsnap, like other ice-element spells, had a slowing effect that caused frost to physically build up and slow the creature effected. It was also a mid-range spell that activated in a wide arc, allowing multiple monsters to be hit at once.

  Previously Wyn focused more on support for the team and himself, but the past several months and everyone’s class upgrades being more flexible allowed him to take a slightly different climbing approach.

  And, it also helped that he loved using magic to coincide with his physical ability to manage the battlefield.

  The two dirt monsters were blasted with the spell that was heightened from Wyn’s other effects. A plume of frost rushed out of him as it washed over the two monsters like a miniature blizzard, tearing off appendages and freezing them in magical ice at the same time.

  They wouldn’t be threatening any time soon, and likely the rest of the fight.

  Wyn looked to the witch but she wasn’t there. A clash off to the side of the cabin pulled his focus, and he looked to see the boss protecting itself with a green webbed dome of crackling energy. Cedric’s lightning was streaking into the magical barrier, causing small arcs to jump around the area. It wasn’t one of his strongest attacks, but it wasn’t weak, either.

  Was the boss just that strong? It was just the fourth floor, though. Maybe Cedric was holding back so they could see the witch’s abilities?

  More dirt monsters rose around the witch, though they were quickly met with arrows. One was sliced from the sharp talons of Marcy’s summoned deathhawk, and another was cleaved in two by John who moved to help.

  Wyn started to move to help but then paused. The dirt creatures John killed started to rumble and move, and he realized they weren’t completely dead. He waited to see what would happen as the rest of his team continued to handle the boss.

  In seconds the monsters were formed again, whole and complete as though they were never killed. Looking back to the monsters he froze, they were still coated in ice and unmoving.

  That was interesting. And presented a possible approach the next time they fought. If the minions regenerated themselves after being killed, then restraining them was likely a solid approach while the boss was dealt with.

  Freezing the regenerated monsters with Frostsnap, he ran towards the witch to help the others. To his surprise, there were now three witches.

  “Multiple boss formation!” Wyn yelled.

  “No, it’s the same one,” Tasha replied.

  Wyn understood. So the Mirror Image spell effect. He moved closer to the fight and then realized that two of the witches were slightly glowing with a pulsing grey aura while the third had a much stronger, green and yellow aura. Studying them for a few seconds, he then realized the two odd copies were making spell gestures to no effect and mostly running around, while the one with the stronger, colored aura was actually creating spells.

  A smirk grew on his face as he realized his lantern revealed the copies.

  “Focus on the one with the stronger aura,” Wyn called. “It’s the original!”

  A ball of swirling orange and white light flew like an arrow to the witch and hit the barrier around it, shattering the magic in a cloud of radiance. The witch staggered for a moment before being pelted with attacks from Cedric and Marcy.

  It only took seconds for the dust to clear and show a large bellow of black smoke to waft in the air. A pile of treasure fell from the witch’s body to the ground under the disappearing essence.

  John swung his sword through air and stumbled forward as the unexpected disappearance of the dirt monster gave no resistance to his swing. He recovered quickly and dismissed his sword in a flash of magical light. “What in the hells? She’s already dead?”

  Marcy stowed her bow and patted him on the shoulder. “That’s usually what happens when fighting a first-tier boss with a third-tier team.”

  “But the buildup,” John said, surprise in his voice. “It was so spooky! With the monsters coming out of the ground and the cackling - it was all so creepy! I thought she’d be much harder!”

  “We’re experienced and strong,” Cedric said. “Any Climbers trying to reach the second tier this month will have a tough time. That witch was pure magic and fairly strong, which means a solid challenge.”

  “And yea, it was damn creepy,” Marcy added. “Someone with less mental resilience would be a liability rather than asset.”

  “I guess,” John said, slumping. He gasped as he looked at the treasure pile. “There’s an item!”

  “And he’s back,” Wyn said.

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  Tasha and Cedric joined John with the meager loot pile while Marcy and Wyn walked into the cabin. There were no identifying runes on the outside of the small hut, and they couldn’t see the floor portal. So, checking inside was their next step.

  Wyn froze the moment he walked into the cabin. Marcy took an extra step inside but paused noticing he didn’t join her. She looked back at his concerned face.

  “Are you alright?”

  Wyn focused on her. She was alert, worried, but not tense. Seeing her grounded him enough to speak.

  “This is familiar. Too familiar.”

  Marcy looked around. The clear floor portal floated in the middle of the cabin and there wasn’t anything special inside. Wyn’s lantern showed no runes on the walls, ceiling, or floor, and everything was just plain.

  “There’s nothing special. Why is it familiar?”

  Wyn walked over to a wall that was an empty bookshelf. He rubbed a finger along it. There was no dust, and the wood felt strange. Almost spongy. Looking closer around the interior, the room started to lose its familiarity and Wyn’s nerves calmed. “This doesn’t look the exact same, but it reminds me of the cabin where the Avatar met me. On first glance I thought I was back there.”

  “Well, it was in the form a witch, too. I can see how you’d be reminded. But it’s not then. The tower doesn’t reuse floors, remember?”

  “I’m not so sure that will be the case for much longer based on how much has changed the past year.”

  Marcy started to answer but stopped. Then she laughed. “Gods, I can’t imagine what that will look like if it does happen.”

  “Hey, the portal!” John said, stepping inside. “I guessed it would be in here.”

  “Did you find anything good?” Wyn asked.

  Tasha shook her head. “Not really befitting a fourth floor boss, no. Just two green rarity monster drops and a green rarity robe.”

  “Some coins and a single potion, too,” Cedric added. “But that’s it.”

  “Damn, that’s pretty pitiful,” Wyn said. “At least we completed the secondary quest. How about we go see what reward we got for that.”

  They all started to walk through the portal, returning to the base in Alistair. Wyn looked around one more time before exiting. While the cabin truly was different, there was something that still felt familiar to him. If there was a secret room or something else hidden, though, hopefully their subsequent climbs would reveal it. He had a feeling they were going to repeat it more than once.

  *****

  The base of Alistair was bustling despite the late hour. It was well past the dinner hour, and normally the tower had far less Climbers going in and out so late in the day. The average Climber saw climbs like a shortened work day, choosing to climb a floor once or twice during the day and pocketing their rewards. Since the outcome was lucrative it was easy for people to justify it.

  But looking around, Wyn wondered why the sudden change.

  “Hello?” John asked again. “Can we get an attendant, please?”

  “Are there really that few people helping?” Tasha asked.

  Normally the tower attendants were immediately ready to give out floor rewards on completion, but now the few behind the large counters were being bombarded with multiple groups of Climbers. Chests were being brought out for rewards one after the other and sacks of coins were clanging onto the table constantly making a chaotic rhythm. Only two of the guild officials were here while there were at least six groups.

  An attendant stopped in front of Wyn, Tasha, and John who stood at the edge of the counter and raised a finger. “Please wait a minute, I have one more group ahead of you.” They rushed away as fast as they stopped.

  “This is crazy,” John said.

  Marcy stuck her head between John and Tasha. “What’s crazy?”

  John jumped in surprise while Tasha hugged her.

  “There are a lot of Climbers here,” Cedric said. He walked up on the other side of Wyn, leaning over the counter and looking around.

  “Do you happen to know why?” Wyn asked.

  Cedric shrugged. “Word got out about the fourth floor’s secondary quest and groups have been clearing it like mad. There’s a rumor that there will still be a guild trial this month, and apparently a part of it involves the quest.”

  “Makes sense,” Wyn said.

  The five of them first cleared the fourth floor the day before, and the rewards weren’t bad but definitely not as enticing as they had hoped. Wyn had the idea to try again with fewer of them, and he, John, and Tasha cleared it while Cedric and Marcy were busy elsewhere. They were waiting on their rewards, now, which they hoped made the trouble worth it.

  The floor, as they learned, was considerably harder with only the three of them. That was pretty normal, but it seemed as though the challenge actually adjusted to how many Climbers approached it. For their climb, there were two witches as bosses, and the dirt monsters were larger, faster, stronger, and more numerous than before, with the addition of flaming flying monsters that added to the difficulty. The traps were about the same leading in, at least.

  It was strange with the floor having the same difficulty as a floor in the second tier, but that seemed to be the challenge. Wyn immediately wondered how two of them would handle it, or even him going in by himself.

  A guild official stopped in front of them holding a small chest while taking deep breaths. She looked ragged as sweat dripped down her temples. Her hair was halfway falling out of a bun, and the pieces that fell were frizzy and wild.

  Wyn stared wide eyed at her approach, waiting for her to speak. He was afraid to say the wrong thing and annoy her.

  “You finally came!” John said.

  Wyn sighed. Apparently, John didn’t have the same reservation.

  The woman glared at John who gulped. Tasha cleared her throat. “Thank you for seeing us. Please excuse my teammate.”

  The woman’s face softened a bit, then the held out her hand. The three of them quickly gave her their parchments and she looked over them frantically.

  “You,” the woman said, pointing at John. “Go first. Here.” She pushed the small chest towards him while ignoring the pleas of another climbing group.

  John hesitated for only a moment before Marcy poked him in the side, causing him to move. He cleared his throat and then opened the chest. It lit up with the familiar orange glow, and he stuck his hand inside. A shocked look formed on his face as he pulled out a blue rarity poleaxe.

  “You’ve also earned 325 gold crowns,” the guild official said, sliding over a sack of coins. “Who’s next?”

  Tasha stepped forward to claim her prize, and when she reached inside she pulled out a helmet that was also blue rarity.

  “What in the hells?” Marcy asked. “So the reward for clearing it with three people is a blue rarity item?”

  “A guaranteed one from a fourth floor reward, too,” Cedric said. “That’s incredible!”

  Wyn was the last one to claim his item reward and he pulled out a pair of blue rarity boots. None of them needed the items as they had either set pieces or purple rarity items, now, but Cedric was right. It was an amazingly high reward for clearing a fourth floor challenge. Even if it was with only three people, that was still a huge benefit for their trade stock and overall wealth.

  “You all aren’t the only ones trying to exploit the fourth floor challenge,” the woman said. “At this rate, Alestead is going to be flooded with items. The market is going to be so saturated.”

  Wyn took a moment to process what she said. “Have you noticed any set pieces being pulled from the chests?”

  “Or higher rarities?” Cedric added.

  The woman looked at another group further down the counter as she answered. “The lowest number of Climbers in a group I’ve personally seen complete it has been three. Which is you. I heard about some guild clearing it with their top two members but I don’t know what the rewards were. Sorry.” She closed the chest and shoved a third sack of coins towards Wyn, then moved back down the counter.

  Wyn grabbed his coins and placed them in his backpack along with his boots. “It has to give better rewards. With the five of us clearing it we each got a green rarity. For three it was a blue rarity.”

  “And two might mean purple rarity,” John said. “But who would be crazy enough to try that with only two people? It was already somewhere in the seventh or eighth floor difficulty, and there were only three of us.”

  “Wyn, why do you have that look in your eyes?” Marcy asked.

  “Oh, gods, tell me you aren’t,” Tasha said.

  Wyn furrowed his eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”

  “You’re wanting to try it with only one other person!”

  “How did you guess that?”

  Tasha sighed. “We’ve known you long enough to tell. I’m not quite sure I want to be the one to try that with only one other person. That was a lot.”

  Wyn wanted to reply but stopped himself. There was still most of the month left, which gave plenty of time to convince her to change her mind. He wasn’t going to tell the others, but Tasha was his first choice. She was an incredibly strong Climber and the strongest support Climber he knew, plus she had more offensive capabilities since her class upgrade. It made sense for them to pair up.

  His next choice would likely say yes, and he looked to John for support. He gave him a look that was clear about his intentions.

  John scratched the back of his head and winced. “I… don’t know. At least not now. Can we revisit it in a week or so and see then?”

  Wyn sighed. “Of course we can. I wouldn’t pressure any of you to do something you didn’t want to do.”

  John relaxed and patted Wyn on the shoulder. “I appreciate that. Maybe if I can get something that lets me fly, I’ll reconsider.”

  Wyn chuckled. Then he thought of something. If Tasha or John didn’t want to, there was someone else who was nearly as strong as them. Someone who was always up for a challenge, and this would be a true challenge.

  “We’ll see what I get when I clear it with two people,” Wyn said. “You might get something like that, after all.”

  “No offense, Wyn, but I don’t think I’m going to want to try that with only two people,” Marcy said. “Three, sure. But even I’m not that crazy.”

  “And I’m not that kind of Climber to go in with only one other person,” Cedric added.

  Wyn smiled. “That’s okay. I never said it was any of you.”

  *****

  Wyn stared at the floor portal. He double checked his gear and backpack, though he knew he had everything he needed. It was a new day, and the rest of his team was taking the day off. Which was good with him, as he wanted the time to enter the fourth floor again.

  “Are you sure about this?” Arabelle asked. She fidgeted with the whip in her hands, never taking her eyes off the portal. “I’ve never gone inside with less than five people, and now you’re asking me to go in with just you?”

  Wyn smiled. “Trust me. If there were two Climbers who could face the floor alone, it's two Ruby Magicians. And you know as well as I do we aren't just two Ruby Magicians, either.”

  Arabelle took a deep breath and smirked. "Lead the way."

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