“Well, it’s been fun,” Lysette says. Already her and Mirae’s forms are starting to turn translucent, a sign that their return to their home world is imminent. “I wish you all the best with the tribulations that still lie before you.”
“I have enjoyed this as well,” Mirae says. “Should you find yourself in our world somehow, please, do let us know. We’ll have some lemon custard and…” Mirae glances at Lysette. “Hopefully, Lady Lysette will not eat all of it before you arrive.”
“I make no promises,” Lysette says. “I know a guy who makes the absolute best lemon custard in all of creation. It’s to kill for.”
I don’t feel relieved at all with the way she said those words. I get the distinct feeling that she has, in fact, killed people over those lemon custards. Probably more than once. Either they really are that good, or she’s far more sadistic even than she let on. I shudder to think which would be worse.
I wave to the strange couple of deities, still marveling in my new Skill and the surge of power I’m feeling, only to watch as they finally vanish, gone whence they came. The scenery also shifts, the bright skies dimming, the grass dissipating into the Ether, the forest and trees and embers all vanishing. A brief wave of vertigo sets in as my vision starts to spin, gradually settling on one of the most awe-inspiring views I’ve ever had.
We are back at the top of the Tower Gauntlet, in some sort of skyview penthouse. From here, as I look at the window, I see the entire city way down below, the downtown buildings looking like miniatures from this colossal height. Despite the already mind-boggling apparent height of the Tower when viewed from the outside world— nearly thirty-five hundred feet— here, it looks far taller still. The sky above is a bit darker than that below and nearer to the horizon. Maybe an illusion created by the System, but it really does feel at least like we’re on the periphery of near-Earth space.
And it’s not the only Tower I can see. In fact, I can clearly see three more Towers around the panorama. One a bit east of due north; I think this one is the largest. One due southwest— the nearest of the three by a good bit. And one a bit south of due east, which I think is also the smallest, just barely creeping up above the horizon.
“We did it,” Chloe says.
“We did it,” I respond.
“Indeed,” Nicholas chimes in. “And while the view is certainly breathtaking, I have to ask: Doesn’t the reward seem a little anticlimactic after everything it took to get this far? I can certainly appreciate the strategic value of such a vantage point, but I would have expected a more tangible reward, be it in the form of items or stat points or Experience or however else the System would see fit to allocate such compensation.”
“It is a bit strange,” I admit. “I would have expected the same. Perhaps we need to find and activate some sort of switch or other device here on the top floor before it counts as a successful dungeon clear?”
“Perhaps,” Nicholas says. “I do believe we’ve been at this quite long enough. Even with my [Vitality], some stimulants, and the couple of hours of sleep I got in the middle of your fight, I believe forty-odd hours without a good night’s rest is going to be detrimental to my future productivity.”
Chloe and I both yawn. It doesn’t feel like it’s been quite that long, but it has been long enough that it might as well. Those hours of climbing up that grand staircase with Mirae comprise an experience I’m not keen on reliving.
We head through the only door before us, one that leads to a small cylindrical room in the center of the skyview. Sure enough, there’s a glowing blue sphere. It looks like one of those radioactive death cores, although I feel no worse for being in its presence and see no status abnormalities popping up in my System notifications. Nothing other than the [Exhaustion (Stage II)] debuff that I’ve had ever since I awoke after the fight with Lysette.
Feeling foolish, maybe even a little daft, but recognizing that it’s our best chance of getting out of here alive and in one piece, I touch the thing.
Nothing happens. Nicholas and Chloe join in as well, the former remarking about ‘having nothing to lose and everything to gain’ over the alternative of being trapped in here. As they do, the core lights up, filling us up with a glow that is cool and comforting. And then, the System notifications begin piling up.
[You have overcome the Trial of the Godslayer. You have gained a boosted 300,000 Experience. (Experience has been significantly reduced due to assistance. Experience has been further reduced due to use of [̷S̶e̸r̷a̷p̷h̵i̴n̴a̵ ̸O̶v̸e̶r̸l̸i̴m̷i̴t̸]̸.)]
[You have gained enough Experience to reach Level 63 (From 61). [Strength] +2, [Speed] +2, [Vitality] +2, [Mind] +2. Please assign free stat points (Remaining: 8).]
Seeing no reason to prioritize one stat over another, I go ahead and assign them evenly once more. After doing the little ‘trick’ for gaining a couple of extra points of [Health] and [Ether], of course.
[Maximum Health increases by [Vitality] x 2 + Current Level + Rand[1,3] = (305, 308)]
[Maximum Ether increases by [Mind] + Current Level + Rand[0,2] = (231, 235)]
[Level: 63; Experience: 4,963,370; To Next: 256,925]
[Your [Intermediate Glyph Manifestation (Rank X)] has upgraded to [Intermediate Glyph Manifestation (Rank XIII)].]
[Your [Multidimensional Glyphcasting (Rank II)] has upgraded to [Multidimensional Glyphcasting (Rank IV)].]
[Your [Archangel’s Gaze (Rank XV)] has upgraded to [Archangel’s Gaze (Rank XVI)].]
[Your [Elemental Ether Strike (Rank VI)] has upgraded to [Elemental Ether Strike (Rank VIII)].]
[Your [Etheric Armor (Rank VI)] has upgraded to [Etheric Armor (Rank VII)].]
But before the notifications can finish, I see additional ones pop up, overriding the expected display for my current stats.
[Party of [Seraphina Mortensen], [Chloe Jacobs], and [Nicholas Richardson] has successfully cleared Tower Gauntlet 36121N-96000W. The aforementioned party is the first to successfully clear this Gauntlet. Additional rewards will be distributed. Calculating rewards… Calculating. Each party member’s combat parameters will be increased by +4. Maximum [Health] and [Ether] will each increase by +250.]
The sensation is no less strange than it was when I consumed that [Experience Pouch] a few weeks back. I feel my muscles and mind each shifting and growing stronger, new combat frameworks and the knowledge of how to utilize this unnatural increase to my fighting capabilities seamlessly interwoven with the experience I’ve already gained to this point.
I flex my biceps, feeling that little bit of additional firmness. From the way Chloe looks at me as I do, I can tell she approves as well. Nicholas, meanwhile, looks in utter disbelief. And considering that the System can do things like that, I’m not surprised. Just one more— no, many, many more— things to take into consideration when doing, well, just about anything that’s System-influenced. Which is… pretty much everything, at this point.
The unnatural feeling subsides. My body again feels wholly my own. Just a little bit stronger and tougher. A little bit more, well, me. And with that, I glance over the remainder of my notifications, which are still swarming in.
[Current Stats: [Health]: 6,852 / 11,367; [Ether]: 4,174 / 8,568]
[Current Stats: [Strength]: 103; [Speed]: 105; [Vitality]: 125; [Mind]: 174]
[You have unlocked access to Tower Gauntlet 36121N-96000W Basement Flight. Additional rewards available for clearing supplemental flight. Recommended Level: 75.]
Yeah, not right now. Not today, not next week, probably not next month. But it’s good to know, at least, that there’s something more to do, and some additional challenge waiting when next we need to push ourselves and grow stronger quickly. Considering the political state and the rate at which the System’s threats have been growing in strength, though, that’ll probably come up much earlier than I’d like.
For now though, as the System teleporter appears in the chamber, beckoning us back to the surface, I’m not going to think about it. I think, after the last few days, I’ve earned that much.
As it turns out, we arrive back in the entrance chamber just prior to the six-o’clock deadline on the morning of August the eighteenth. So close, in fact, that the sergeant on duty— the same one as the other day— already has his phone out in front of him, counting down the last couple of minutes until he would have made the phone call. Seeing this, and realizing that yes, we have been awake for about forty-eight hours, causes the fatigue to set in, truly in earnest this time around.
I yawn, my body and mind having still not fully recovered after everything. I turn to the door, opening it, and feel a cool wind breezing in. The skies are overcast, save for a reddish hue peeking in through the eastern horizon. It reminds me of the time Chloe and I were flying home after our adventures down in Red Clay City. A storm is surely brewing, and it feels like we ought to get a move on before we end up drenched in it.
“Ms. Mortensen, Ms. Jacobs,” Nicholas says. “It has been an honor and a privilege working with both of you, but it is time for me to return to my duties once more.”
He offers his hand to each of us, which we shake after the briefest moment of reluctance.
“I look forward to the next time we work together. May that day be far later than I fear.”
“Indeed. By the will of the Goddess, may that day be far away.”
Nicholas rolls his eyes just a bit. It seems that he, too, isn’t happy with the fact that I choose to invoke the feminine Goddess rather than the masculine, capital-G God. But I will stick by that; the closest thing to a deity I’ve ever encountered was Madison, in my past life, and she sure as hell wouldn’t want to be called ‘sir’!
Nevertheless, he accepts it, nodding slightly before surging off with newfound pep in his step. As for what he has planned or what’s going to happen with, well, everything, I guess I just have to take it as it comes. I couldn’t outthink the man before, and I’m sure as hell not going to try now that he’s equipped with the additional processing power of [Mental Partition].
I sigh, taking Chloe into my arms. For a moment, we just hold each other, uncaring for either the sergeant looking at us from behind or from the morning commuters slowly making their way into downtown. My eyes close, not caring about much else than feeling my love’s presence against me.
Chloe yawns again, falling into my arms. Well, I guess I’m going to have to force myself to stay awake just a few minutes longer before I collapse.
We arrive back home, only to have the door thrown open the second I land on the concrete walkway leading up to the front door. Alicia— still feels a bit weird not thinking of her as ‘Mrs. Jacobs’— rushes out, the look of a concerned mother plastered all over her face. Her face looks like her heart is ready to break as she sees me carrying one very cute but equally passed-out Chloe in her arms. And then, as she sees Chloe’s chest calmly rising and falling, the expression of relief is just as intense.
“I’m sorry, Alicia,” I say. “That last trip went a lot longer than we had planned, and we’re both exhausted. I–”
“Sera. I know you two are putting yourselves out there day in and day out. And I know that you two are out there, fighting things I can’t even imagine, so I and my coworkers can be safe. But I don’t need to hear about it, and frankly, I don’t want to know. All that matters is that you’re both back, you’re both here, and for at least one more morning, you’re both safe.”
“Alicia–”
“There’s no need for that right now. Now, you two both need to head upstairs and go directly to bed. And I better not hear any funny business for the rest of the day. You both need sleep. Do I make myself clear?”
I sigh, giving the only acceptable response. “Yes, Mom.”