Unconquered Tower

THIRTY-FOUR

“He didn’t need it,” Roan said, nodding his head over to the dead mob. The mayor chortled and stepped out of the shadows, walking silently until she stood close to him. She crossed her arms, her foot tapping the ground slowly in a way that Roan was starting to pick up was something her people did subconsciously.

“It’ll take me a year to reprogram the new mobs to work perfectly,” Hana complained.

“He made a decent steak,” Roan said, turning and flipping his own steaks over.

“There were more items you could have found. Would have found if the level was acting the way it normally does.”

“What do you mean?”

“This level has been more difficult than normal. Even the timer has been shortened. Normally you have twenty-five days with an attack coming every fifth day. Gives people a lot of time to learn and train.”

“So we got screwed?”

“Have you seen your bank account? Do you think the rewards would have been so fruitful if it wasn’t like this?” Roan paused and thought, letting his mind wander while his mouth watered. He flipped the steaks and decided he didn’t need to save all of them for later.

“How come you can tell me this? Isn’t it against the rules?”

“I’m not directly helping or hindering. And the tower is a bit busy right now,” Hana muttered the last part so quietly that Roan almost couldn’t hear her over the sizzling of his steaks.

“Do you know how to cook?” Hana asked, changing the subject.

“No. But I know how I want this steak,” Roan said, pulling it off while it was still bleeding and plating it one of the few unbroken plates. He sent the rest of the steaks into his broken spatial ring which was now stuffed.

“Would have been better if you’d cooked it in butter, few onions, mushrooms, bit of herbs,” Hana started to say, but died off as she watched Roan grab the steak and began gnawing on it. The flood of mana rich meat made him growl in pleasure as he tore at it.

“What did you…oh, interesting. I wouldn’t have suspected that,” Hana said, leaning in close enough to him that her nose nearly touched his shoulder. She sniffed once and leaned back nodding to herself.

“Purifiying a dragon core and using it to temper yourself. Imaginative and wildly outside of your skillset. Why aren’t you dead?” Her foot beat faster on the floor for a second before stilling completely.

“Ohhh, the old man outside. How interesting.”

“You know Bao?”

“No, never heard of him. But there’s an old man out there cashing in quest rewards and I’ve read the analysis of him and snippets of his fights. The ones we’ve been able to observe, which by itself is a massive feat.”

“And?”

“He’s very skilled.” The two of them looked at each other, Roan’s face covered in juices as he tore at the steaming hot steak. Hana just smiled softly.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“So, why’d you come and slum it here with me?” Roan decided to change the subject before she figured out about the Passenger. His memories were foggy, but there was a distinct blankness when he thought of the Passenger and Bao together. One that confirmed more than it obscured.

“My village is destroyed for the most part and I overheard you’re plans.”

“How good is your hearing?”

“Too good. Many of your compatriots enjoyed the showers a little too much,” Hana grumbled. Roan grunted as he choked on a piece of steak that wasn’t quite chewed well enough.

“And?” Roan decided he wasn’t going to visit that subject.

“You need numbers and there’s still some defensive mobs left.”

“Can I have them?” Roan asked. He finished off the steak and wiped his hands on his dirty robes. He’d need to buy new gear soon enough, at least a breastplate of some type. The hobs really seemed to enjoy the splitting people in half move.

“No. You can earn them though.”

“Why are you making me jump through these hoops? How do I earn them?” Roan asked with a sigh. He turned from her and started opening drawers and taking everything that wasn’t nailed down. He’d search them later to see if they were worth anything.

“If the Mayor is killed the mobs become hostile to the killer if the killer isn’t the Sheriff.”

“You’re the Mayor and the Sheriff,” Roan reminded her as he emptied a cutlery drawer into his last available bag. He’d have to find a way to transport everything, but that was a problem for later.

“I’m just holding the title of Sheriff. If you take this badge, you become the Sheriff,” Hana said, pulling a round badge out of nowhere.

“This a storyline that got lost because of the time constraints?”

“Not a storyline, but quest mechanics. Like I said, the difficulty vastly increased the awards you’ve earned, but has reduced your flexibility to clear the level.”

“Alright. You’re still the Mayor. Nothing on this level can kill you.”

“Oh, Roan. Nothing on the next three floors could kill me,” Hana said with a fake smile.

“Alright, so how do I kill the Mayor and take the mobs if you’re the Mayor.” Roan reached over and took the badge from her, pinning it to his shirt.

YOU ARE NOW THE SHERIFF OF VILLAGE 3

YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF THE DEFENSES OF VILLAGE 3

DEFENSIVE INFRASTRUCTURE: 32%

GUARDS: 26%

“Stab me,” Hana said. Roan stopped and raised an eyebrow at her.

“With the polearm, that might actually cut me,” Hana said.

“Alright, and then what happens?”

“I take a small bit of damage and leave the level, in effect dying to you. You’re the Sheriff and can take command of the remaining guards.”

“That easy?”

“We’re skipping a few steps and I’m helping you out.”

“Why?” Roan asked suspiciously. People just didn’t help you out. They wanted things in return and when someone as powerful as Ved Buul-Hana wanted something from him, it set off every alarm he had.

“That I can’t tell you. But I need you to reach the upper floors. Now, cut me before the tower starts paying attention,” Hana ordered. One of the rings on her finger had started to glow and she spoke in a rush.

Roan picked up his polearm and looked at her outstretched arm. She was a muscular rabbit-kin, but her flesh still looked normal. The sharp blade of the axe glittered as he brought it down and across her arm in a careful cut.

“Really?” Hana asked as the blade hit her arm and slid down without even marking her. Roan grimaced, reset, and slammed the axe down on her forearm. His fears of breaking anything were unfounded as the polearm bounced off her arm as if he’d hit a solid rock wall.

Heat exploded out of the spear tip, the metal turning white hot instantly. Roan remembered Jerry’s words about quenching it if it grew too hot and shoved it in the sink, throwing the water faucet on.

“You managed to get a drop of blood out of me. Congrats. I’ll depart now and I’ll be taking your trainers with me. Stay alive on the next floor. I’ll see you later. Oh and it was a good idea grabbing that food.” Before Roan could respond she disappeared. One moment from the next she simply stopped existing.

“What the fuck was that?” Roan asked the empty room.