บท 54: Undercurrents
Scribble scribble~
Scribble scribble~
A dimly lit room, illuminated only by a singular light over a desk, housed a male humanoid. In his hand lied a feather pen of which he made use of by writing away on a notebook that was opened up before him.
The man wrote with patience and thought, stopping occasionally to take a good look at the contents he had completed before nodding along and writing the next passage.
There was silence in the room. The only sound was of controlled breathing and the scribbling of pen on paper.
An unknown amount of time passed as the man closed the notebook. As he leaned back into the comfortable chair, his face finally, came into the light.
It was Theolis Clear, the newly passed regular from the floor of tests, now climbing the tower in hopes of becoming a ranker.
It had been some time since he passed from the 2nd floor. He was on the 4th floor now, climbing on with a team of somewhat competent people. Although they weren't too great, they took care of each other's weak points. And Theolis in particular, who was blessed with a strong physique since birth was the strongest fighter in their group, a fisherman that lead the team in battle.
He stared at the ceiling for a moment, contemplating the thoughts of the strange man he had met. The one that changed his fate and allowed him to climb the tower.
The way to get to the test floor was... strange. It was anything but safe, even bizarre in the types of sceneries and creatures he had seen and heard while on the journey.
But by far the most eerie thing he had seen in his life was Samuel. The silver dwarf was heartless, yet he was childish. His way of speech was extremely polite, to the point that you would skim over the speech that left his mouth only to realize he was talking about brutally skinning someone while they were alive and then slash out brain to feed it to a shinheuh.
It was somewhat absurd, his situation. It wasn't until he was in far too deep into the path that he realized there wasn't truly a chance to turn back.
If he had refused at that point, Samuel might have left him there to die or killed him outright. And so, the only chance for him was in moving forward and dealing with anything that might trouble him in the future. He had to help the strange man no matter what.
Regardless, there was a small part of Theolis that wished he didn't come back. The tower was expansive. Maybe they would never run into each other again.
But the chance of that was slim. For a silver dwarf who could see paths, there was no chance he would lose his way to never find him.
His eyes inexplicably turned towards a small bag that was on the bed. The contents of the bag were unknown, but the sight of the bag brought a look of contemplation to his face.
Theolis sighed, feeling tired. He leaned forward and closed the notebook, his journal that he was writing.
"Boo." Suddenly a voice sounded behind him and a shadow loomed over his head.
"Aah!" Theolis screamed, his chair tipping over and falling to the back. However, he quickly got up and backed off towards the wall, adopting a boxing stance.
"Who goes there?!" He yelled before observing the figure that had invaded his room.
And as he laid eyes upon the man, his blood instantly chilled.
The figure put it's hands up, appearing harmless.
"Now now, I don't wish to fight. After all, we are now partners. Don't you say?"
Theolis sighed, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart.
"Hello, Mr. Samuel."
"Please. I feel that we're beyond referring to each other with such pleasantries right? Just call me Samuel." The 7 foot man admitted with a compassionate smile. He walked over to the bed and sat down.
Theolis straightened his posture and cleared his throat before speaking.
"Ahem! What brings you here?" He asked.
Samuel's eyes were clear and focused as he replied to the inquiry. At that point, Theolis noticed a missing part of his attire. He wasn't carrying the suitcase he always had with him. As a matter of fact, all of his clothes seemed to be different, appearing new and of different, slightly lighter colours.
"There has been a change of plans. I am especially pleased to announce that I have located the anomaly."
Theolis' eyes widened just a tiny bit.
"So soon?"
"Why? Did you think it would take time?"
"No. That's not what I meant." Theolis tried to explain.
Seeing his flustered state, Samuel chuckled.
"To tell you the truth, the way I found the perpetrator was less that ideal. It almost resulted in my demise. However, I was able to escape." Samuel flashed a brilliant smile.
Hearing his words, Theolis felt a chill travel up his spine. They were going against someone stronger than this dwarf before him. That alone made him feel an oppressive and foreboding feeling.
He was clearly not up to par for it.
"What happened?"
"Let's say I got stabbed and burnt. I also lost one of my companions but that's not important."
"And your suitcase."
"Let's call it collateral damage."
"What of the others you chose?"
Samuel shook his head, his smile faltering and turning into a small frown.
"The results so far have been disappointing. Out of the hundreds that I approached and led to the tower, only 3 made it out of the 2nd floor. And of those three, only you managed to get past the 3rd."
Theolis' eyes widened a bit.
"It can't be that exaggerated, can it?"
"Oh, but it is. The tower is such a place. The person's will, not only his body and mind is tested all the same. Blood sweeps along each floor and millions of regulars die every month to climb the tower. As I said, the others get culled out, only the special remain."
There was silence for a few seconds as he finished.
Then, Theolis said, "Which floor do I need to ascend to?"
Samuel raised an eyebrow.
"What's this? Feeling excited?"
Theolis shook his head in denial.
"No. It would just be better to have a goal to look forward to. I'd rather finish this business while the 'target' is still climbing the tower right?"
"You're not wrong about that. However, by your speed, the target will long surpass you. The gap as of now isn't large, but it will only grow.
"As for now, the target is on the 13th floor and preparing to get to the 14th. I suspect they would be on the 20th floor in a little less than 2 years."
Hearing his words, Theolis, somehow, felt a wave of relief wash over him. Maybe he didn't have to face the man.
However the next words that left Samuel's mouth crushed that thought.
"And so, I will personally join your team and train you for that time."
"Um... that's a bit much don't you think?"
"Not at all. I'd like to safe guard at least one of my investments."
"Well, I don't plan on dying either way. I feel that you can rest assured." Theolis said, trying to escape the situation.
Samuel laughed a bit. "No one plans on dying. Everyone always wants to survive. Aren't we all just fighting to survive another day? Waiting for another day to pass and witness the beginning of the next? That doesn't work out for the majority."
"Uh..." Theolis couldn't find any argument to refute his words.
And there began the bad days for Theolis. And as he would later write in his diary entries, the training was 'Like snatching a fish from the mouths of a white steel eel.' Whatever that meant was up for debate...
~~~
Samuel sat atop a large stone monolith that stood alone at the top of a building. The 4th floor was a peculiar floor. The main district where the regulars arrived at was filled with all sorts of Gothic architecture. Stone spires rose up from the ground, long and turning hallways alongside ancient looking Gothic buildings and manors.
But that too was mixed in with high technological advancements of the tower, making up for a particularly striking scenery.
Samuel looked up towards the overcast sky. The night was blanketed completely as a soft drizzle poured down to the ground.
Samuel could not help flash a smile as he looked on towards the far end of the clouds, where a whirlpool of sorts seemed to be forming.
"You still draw attention whenever you appear." He said suddenly, speaking to seemingly no one but the darkness.
Then, a humanoid figure walked out from the darkness. In front of the monolith that stood at a large height of 20 meters, the figure seemed tiny. Puny even.
The face of the figure couldn't be seen, thickly veiled by darkness.
"I can't help it. Being subtle and hidden isn't the best of my talents. And when you're as infamous as I am, that administrators needs to pay extra attention. They don't want anything to do with me."
Samuel laughed a bit at his reply.
"That is true."
"So, what are you planning this time?"
"Oh nothing. Just found something interesting."
"Imteresting? Something that interests you? That's new."
"New indeed. I haven't seen something like this for centuries."
"And what of that new companion you're raising?"
"That's just a pass time. New toys are always good to play around with."
"Play?"
"Play. Playing around in a large game. They aren't needed at all. Just spices in a dish. After all, food doesn't seem appetizing if there are no spices in it."
"And here you call me chaotic."
"I merely follow destiny. Even without my meddling, those people would not survive long. And even if they do, they wouldn't achieve anything. Isn't it better to be part of something big?"
"That's all it is to you? A big game?" The man shook his head, walking further into the dark.
"Not exactly no. I can change it, overwrite it, but why do that? Better to add to the pages of Fate."
The man chuckled.
"You're still just as sociopathic as ever. And yet you go on and on to talk all philosophical."
"Is that wrong?"
"I think you just want to appear smarter."
"Damn right I do."
The man laughed. Then, he turned to Samuel.
"I wished to see what the fuzz was all about. The thing that caused you to be active had to be good. But turns out, its just a farce." The man shook his head and his body began to blend into the darkness.
"I'll see you soon." And with the final words, he disappeared.
As the shadowy figure left, Samuel could not help but narrow his eyes.
"Not a farce, no. It is far more important than that." Again, he spoke to no one in particular.
"It is something that can change the tower forever."
~~~
A/N: Please take the time to donate some stones.
Also, tell me your thoughts until now. Anyway to improve my writing would be appreciated. Things like you to keep engagement throughout the story?
Cheers~~~
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