Chapter 63
Chapter 63
Max sat next to Miranna, both of their feet dangling out of his dimensional space. Beside her, Shale Spark and Rakonath sat as well, the two dragons both in their humanoid form.
“You two need to think about what you’re seeing and the truth of what it means,” Max said, pointing at the vastness of space above them. There was no moon out tonight, and the stars above felt so close, one might be able to reach out and grab one.
Two dragons had flown up here, each with a rider on their back, until Shale Spark and Miranna couldn’t handle the cold and thin air. Max then opened his dimensional space, allowing the two to climb inside. Rakonath continued climbing higher until they reached an altitude that prevented them from going further.
It was there that Max reopened his space, and they joined the two women.
“Look below,” Rakonath said, his finger tracing a path before them. “There is so much of the world that is dark and empty, and yet you see those small areas that have lights. Just like the sky above, there are small places where lights shine.”
“You two need to find a way to see beyond the darkness and aim for those small areas,” Max added. “What’s coming next is going to be hard. Cordellia already shared with you both what it took for her to overcome the fears she once had.”
Both women nodded, the pair of them still silent as their eyes scanned the heavens and the earth.
“Is it worth it?” Shale Spark asked. “I mean… being a god?”
Max chuckled as Rakonath let out a louder laugh. “Is it worth it?” the silver dragon replied. “That’s a question you’ll have to answer in time, but I believe it is. While I enjoy the power, it’s not because of the power itself, but because of the relationships I have. How many humans, dwarves, and elves have already died due to old age? We don’t suffer that problem as dragons, but if you do not defeat the tower, eventually Miranna may become old, feeble and pass away. Would you prefer to have that problem or find a way to solve it forever?”
“I want to solve it,” Shale Spark said immediately. “And that’s the only way?”
“It is,” Rakonath replied.
“So if you hadn’t defeated the tower, would you have outlived Mom?” Miranna asked.
“I would have,” Max answered, frowning a little bit. “For so long, she was afraid of how quickly I would die as a human. Having that kind of relationship isn’t easy. I know you feel it with Hana.”
Miranna winced and nodded.
“She’s not gone yet,” Max said, “and you should enjoy the time you have with her, but something I realized is that her spark carries on through her children and now grandchildren. So much of me wishes I could have interacted with my sister’s grandkids. To watch them play, laugh, and enjoy each other. I’ll never get that, and while it’s a little saddening, I’m still grateful that I get a chance to be a part of every life in this world. In some ways… they’re all my children.”
His daughter sighed and leaned against his arm. “I’m sorry again, for… all of that.”
“You don’t have to keep apologizing,” Max replied. “We admit our mistakes and move on. You’ve done the first part. Now we do the second part. You and Shale need to decide who will be the ones to join you in the tower now.”
“And remember, you’ll have to help them grow,” Rakonath said. “They are only on the thirty-first floor. “You’ll be able to lend a hand and wisdom. They’ll need you both to look past their weakness.”
“I think we both know who we want,” Shale Spark stated. “Kurrar the dwarf would make a great healer. His temperament reminds me of Batrire but with less glaring.”
Max chuckled and nodded.
“Agluur, the demon, is a fine mage. I think her demonic magic abilities and natural talents would be an asset compared to a standard elemental caster,” Miranna said. “Which leaves the hard decision… who to choose for the last spot.”
“Is there a reason why it is so hard?” Rakonath asked. “Each of the candidates is a competent warrior. Each carries a spark.”
“For different reasons, yes,” Miranna said, her eyes fixed on the world below. “Shale and I talked about it… with those choices made, we’re choosing what race from here might get a chance to become a god and which one won’t. It’s hard deciding on that.”
“Who cares which race becomes a god?” Max asked. “Why not choose based on the warrior and not their race?”
“Because they’re all equal as a tank,” Shale Spark said. “Sure, one’s a little bigger, another has a few more hit points, and one might be a little faster, but in the end, their skills are basically the same, and none of them are so outside the norm that it’s an obvious choice. Mir and I liked the fact that our… original team… all felt equal. Each race was given a spot. Now there aren’t any elves, and if we don’t pick Sabon, there won’t be a human to defeat the tower with us.”
“And that’s a problem?” Max asked.
Miranna shrugged, glancing at her friend. “Kinda… the whole point of us all being picked was to be champions who represented our world and our people. Now it feels like we’re something else.”
A low grunt came from Rakonath who picked up the empty cup on the floor of the dimensional space beside him and tossed it into the night sky. “What did I just do?” he asked.
“Uh… litter?” Shale said.
“Perhaps,” Rakonath replied. “But what else? Did I make a wrong choice by throwing that out and letting it plummet to the ground below? Will it injure anyone or anything? Does my choice matter if no one gets hurt? The answer is I won’t know until I travel to the place it lands and see what happened because of my action.”
Max smiled as his dragon faced the two young women.
“You two are tossing a cup into the empty sky, and at the end of the day the only way you’ll know if the decision you made matters is when everything is over and you find out the results of that action,” Rakonath said. “No one is going to care if a human isn’t on your team. What they’re going to be focused on is whether you defeat the tower. They aren’t thinking about how it’s unfair. All they care about is the end result. And you two need to focus on that as well.”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“I’ll tell you what,” Max said, waiting till both Miranna and Shale Spark were looking at him. “Take a month with each warrior. See how they do with the other two. Then decide.”
“That seems… smart,” his daughter said, cocking an eyebrow. “Mom always said you were, but sometimes I wondered.”
He laughed and gave Miranna a gentle shove. “Careful. I might just push you out and see if you can fly.”
***
Max and the other gods stood outside the tower, looking at the empty spot the party had just vanished from.
“It feels weird,” Fowl said. “No pageantry or pomp. Just a goodbye wave and good luck.”
“I think it’s better this way,” Cordellia stated. “Less pressure on the five of them. All they need to do is focus on the task ahead.”
Max nodded and squeezed Tanila’s hand.
“You’re smiling a bit more than usual,” she whispered. “Why?”
“Why…” Sog said. “Perhaps it is because he made a wager with Rakonath on who they’d pick, and he won.”
“And you didn’t bet?” Batrire asked.
“Me? No!” Sog replied, shaking his head. “I’m letting Jazzjak handle all my wagering from this point on. No need for me to get knotted up inside over things like that.”
“I’m proud of you,” their dwarven healer stated. “Perhaps you can teach Fowl to mature a little bit faster also.”
“Gods, woman,” Fowl grunted. “I’m trying! It’s only been seventy plus years.”
Rakonath came over and held out a red gem. “You won. They picked Sabon like you said they would.”
Max took the thumb-sized gem and tossed it a few times in the air before storing it.
“You do realize why they picked him over the other two?” Max asked.
“’Cause he’s human?” Fowl asked.
Tanila groaned and shook her head. “No… It’s ’cause he’s bald.”
***
Max lost himself in the crafting of armor and weapons. All around him, the sounds of metal being struck, bellows causing coals to glow brighter, and men and women grunting as they worked filled his ears.
You’re going to need to watch that line. You’re going to run out of space for those enchantments.
You say that, but I didn’t run out last time. It was just tight .
And by tight, you mean you were a hair away from causing the entire armor to explode?
Perhaps. Still, I need to consider some of the things each of the new additions is going to need in the coming levels. We’re looking at a team, I think, that will easily pass the 59th floor.
Yet we both know that is when the actual tests begin. Are you still planning on leaving your book for each of them to read if they reach that point?
I think it’s the best way to ensure they make the right choices. I doubt their party will find a way to beat the times we set, but perhaps they can find a way to overcome the other challenges. Besides, there is no guarantee that those floors will even be the same.
That does cause an interesting question and dilemma if they have that knowledge before those floors begin.
If “Chromie” or whoever recognizes they have that knowledge?
How does the tower handle cheating? Is it worth giving them that kind of knowledge if it might make it harder on them? I’ve said it before, but we both know there will be a time when the tower truly tests the character and willpower of Miranna. I don’t believe she’ll get the same free pass we got.
I wouldn’t call what we got a free pass… there was a lot of suffering and pain.
Yet we both know the tower wanted and needed us to survive. It didn’t need anyone else to.
Max grunted to himself, his hands steady as magic poured from his body and into the armor he was crafting. There was a beauty to it, seeing the transformation of metal, scales, gems and runes all bonding together to create something useful.
I’d be foolish, to say I might speak my mind to the Archons the first time I meet them, but I really want to know why they allow such… suffering and pain.
Beyond the truth you already know?
Max grunted again, not answering the question Bob raised, and knowing the truth wasn’t something he liked about the system.
There… slow down, if you—
Max immediately stored the pair of boots he was working on as the magic contained erupted, almost causing an explosion at the workbench he was at.
He could sense the looks the others in the building he was in gave him, each of them close enough to see the blazing light that appeared for a second before Max stored the doomed item.
Welp… it looks like you were right… I guess I’ll need to take these later somewhere where the explosion doesn’t hurt anything.
That’s the fourth pair in the last month… you’re pushing this too far. Legendary skill or not, you cannot make items with that many effects.
Two pairs of boots in my inventory say I can.
Yes… Two, and how many have become worthless or done what almost happened? Eight.
So a twenty percent chance of success. I have the items, I have the mana, and the time. Ultimately, what else is there?
Avoid getting noticed by the system. I swear, sometimes you’re worse than me.
Yet you’ve been so good about keeping the system from bothering us. How is that skill you got from Chromie working out?
A chuckle echoed in Max’s head as Bob used the pound of flesh they had taken from the system’s copy of himself on the 100th floor.
Part of me still wonders if it was intentional or not. Giving me the skill [ System Access - Assistant ] shouldn’t have happened. Yet like your artifact… someone is helping us. The question is who.