Azure: Gunner

The Essence you receive for your actions is accumulated, as if stored in some magical organ, until you have enough to manifest an item or increase in Level. Rather than a slow, steady growth, an invisible threshold must be crossed before a sudden increase in power.

The System refuses under any circumstances to elucidate your progress towards the next reward. Theories as to why this is abound. Perhaps it is an attempt to prevent optimization of strategies for Leveling. Perhaps it hides inconsistencies or irregularities within the System, or perhaps it is something else entirely.

- Rufus Veres, Level 37 Verbose Historian, A Brief History of the System

Gripping the rope tightly with both hands, I carefully turned around so I was hanging off the side of the cliff with my feet on the rock. Slowly, but with less jerking than I expected, Zaire lowered me down gradually, until I came to a sudden halt, perhaps eight or ten feet above the surface of the water below me.

<Hang on, the knot is caught on the spike!>

My heart rate started to increase as I hung, dangling from the rope over the deep, deadly lake. I felt the rope shiver as Zaire fumbled with the knot.

<Gunner, please try to hang onto the rock, I need your weight off the rope to free it, it’s stuck tight!>

Nervously, I searched for handholds on the sheer rock wall. I was only able to grab on with the tips of my fingers, putting most of my weight on my right foot which was resting on a very narrow ledge. I strained to support as much of my weight as possible and I felt the rope slacken just a bit.

<Hurry, I can barely hold on here!>

<Almost, I think I have - SHIT!>

Abruptly the rope went completely slack, and, startled, I lost my finger-tip hold on the wall and fell backwards. I definitely did not scream as I plunged down, jerked to a near stop by the rope wound around my thighs, and then free fell the rest of the way.

Splash! SPLASH!

I hit the water on my back, my eyes wide open in fright. Above me, I saw Zaire pulled over the edge of the cliff as he tried in vain to hold onto the rope, losing his balance and plummeting down. The force of the impact with the icy water hammered my barrier, and then I was plunging down, the water seeming to pull me in. Panicking, I thrashed, fighting to get back to the surface.

I was completely disoriented in moments, and when I opened my mouth to scream the cold water came pouring in, some of it reaching my lungs and I felt like I was choking on it. Desperately, I opened my eyes, finding the light above me. I started trying to pull myself through the water with my hands. As I kicked my feet with all my strength, my water-filled boots felt like they were dragging me back down. Finally, my head broke the surface and I immediately started coughing up the water I’d swallowed, still frantically trying to keep from slipping under.

<AZ, HELP!>

I heard Zaire scream over the Comms, and then I was suddenly pulled back under by a powerful tug on the rope that I was still tied to. I barely managed to close my mouth in time as I started thrashing the water again, desperately trying to pull myself back to the surface. The rope pulled taut, and I opened my eyes, seeing Zaire perhaps twenty feet away, and much deeper underwater, clinging to it.

To my left, the rock wall was taunting me, just out of reach. I tried to force myself towards it, but since I had no idea what I was doing and Zaire was still pulling on the rope I was barely able to stay where I was. Fuck, it’s just out of reach! Wait!

<ZAIRE, EARTH SPIKE, NOW! ON THE WALL!>

I tried to point, hoping he caught my meaning. A moment later, one of the thick columns of sharp rock exploded outward from the wall, then another a few feet above it. I caught the lower one with desperate strength and pulled, hauling myself closer until I could get both hands on it. From there, with Zaire’s weight still dragging on the rope, I managed to heave myself up to grab the upper spike.

My head broke the surface of the water and I gasped for breath.

<Hurry! I need… air!>

I clamped my left arm around the upper spike and started hauling the rope in with my right, wishing I had more points in Strength. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I felt Zaire’s hands clamp onto my wrist and I dragged him up out of the water next to me, holding onto him as he started gasping for air.

We stayed there, clinging to the slick spike of rock, hearts pounding and chests heaving, for several minutes before finally pulling ourselves together.

“What… - cough - happened?” I finally got out.

“The knot, it came undone when I tried to free it from the spike. I grabbed the rope, but it pulled me over the edge before I could stop your fall… I… I am sorry, Gunner Az, I nearly got us both killed.”

Zaire’s expressions were always hard to read but I was sure the grimace on his face was as much from embarrassment as the aching chill of the water around us. I looked him in the eye, his strange golden orbs glinting.

“It’s OK Zaire, I mean Mage Zaire. We made it, that’s the only thing that matters. And you saved us both with these spikes! I can’t believe you were able to focus enough to cast while almost drowning! That was incredible!”

“We are lucky my staff was already in my Inventory, if I had lost it in the fall I would have been unable to cast.”

I gripped his shoulder gently. “We made it, now we just have to touch the portal and we’re out of here and safe. Go,” I nudged him, “I’m the leader, I should be the last one out.”

Reluctantly, he pulled himself along the spike to the cliff, then started making his way over to the submerged portal. With a death grip on the small handholds of rock, I slowly followed him. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and pushed himself down. A moment later, he was gone. Looking down, I could see the strange void in the water below me.

You can do this, Az! If that shit Elin can do it, so can you! Inhaling deeply, I relaxed my arms, sinking further into the water until it reached my chest. Then, convulsively, I pushed, and drove myself down into the icy water. Just before I lost it and started panicking, I felt my feet hit something and a message appeared.

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