Chapter 5

"What took you so long?" Crook practically shouted the moment the shop door was completely closed. He tapped his feet against the wood floor impatiently while staring at the three individuals who had just entered his store.

One by one, they removed their hoods, revealing stern looks on their scarred faces. Each of them had dark hair, and they all held very similar features. The biggest of the brutes pulled down the collar of his dark robe, revealing a skull tattoo on his chest.

"Yes, yes, I know who you are. What the hell took you so long?" The merchant asked, pulling a long face and slamming his fist on the counter.

The largest of the men frowned at the merchant's attitude but didn't look at all upset by the little man's tirade. He stepped toward the counter, towering over the little man, and grunted, "What's got you so riled up, Crook?"

"Rock," Crook took a deep breath and bowed his head respectfully. "I'm sorry for my actions."

Rock frowned and shook his head, but before he could speak, one of the other men walked over and leaned heavily on the counter. He was a tall, lean man with a splotchy beard and yellowed teeth. "Stop wasting our time. What business do you have with Skull Mercenaries?"

"Boulder..." Rock warned his little brother, who rolled his eyes and backed off the counter. Boulder grumbled and went to stand with the third and youngest of the brothers, who was browsing the wares, "Sorry for his bluntness, but he's right. You called us here for a reason. Spit it out."

Crook rubbed his hands while sweating buckets. The man before him was known for his strange personality. He might seem polite now, but he could be seconds away from splitting the merchant's head open, "I-I have another target. Are you interested?"

The giant of a man suddenly moved. Crook flinched but looked back up when he didn't feel any pain. Rock was on the other side of the store, "Stone! If you break any of this man's wares, I'm taking it from your cut!"

"S-Sorry..." The smallest of the three stammered.

Rock sighed and returned to the counter, frowning, "So, you have another target? This is the fifth time already. Do you know what that means?"

"Y-Yes. Please tell your boss I'll have the Essence delivered via the usual route," Crook embellished on the matter. Though he knew that he was only supposed to discuss payment with the boss, he would do well to keep these guys happy.

Rock clicked his tongue and growled, "What's the target's description?"

"A young man, around eighteen years old and wearing a set of old leather armor with an outfit from the Academy beneath it. Long black hair. Oh, and he carried a remarkably ornate cane for someone who looked so poor," Crook grinned, knowing they were interested from the look on Boulder's face.

Stone was standing by one of the shelves, writing something in a notebook. Crook assumed that it was the description that he gave.

"What did this kid do?" Boulder asked while looking at the Cards in the display case.

Crook clenched his fists, "That rat threatened me and then stole from me!"

"What did he steal?"

The merchant gritted his teeth, "Does it matter?"

"Answer him," Rock said sternly. A cold feeling washed over the room, and Crook visibly paled.

"A-Alright," he gulped. "He stole a Strength Card, a Dash Card, and a case of Infernal Wash."

"Pffft," Boulder held his hand over his mouth, doing his best not to laugh. "You mean to tell me this boy made a fool of you for two easy-to-get Pure Cards and some fancy soap?"

"Is he just a fool, or does he have a reason for being so arrogant..." Rock wondered aloud.

"He's a damned fool!" Crook shouted angrily, "Since he's a part of the Academy, he must think that we peasants are nothing but rubbish!"

"That isn't anything new," Stone rolled his eyes. "The Academy's students receive more resources than us 'common' folk. That doesn't mean anything. They have no experience and some even faint at the sight of human blood!"

Rock felt that something was missing from this merchant's story. They'd worked for the little man before, and though he was petty, he wouldn't be the type to throw this much Essence away for a few items that weren't worth a tenth of their expense. This kid must have taken something else he doesn't want us to know about.

''Any idea about his whereabouts?'' Rock asked.

"Yes. I had a man tail him when he left the shop," Crook answered. "He jumped on the first carriage he saw and was taken to the Old Boar Forest."

"Very well. We'll bring you his head in the morning. The Wild Boars can take care of the body," Rock huffed and motioned for his brothers to follow him. The trio left the store, and Crook was once again left alone.

"Haah..."

The merchant sighed and rubbed his temples for several minutes before finally calming down, "They're right, it isn't worth it to bother them over some kid. That doesn't mean that I can just let it go..."

Crook clenched his fists tighter as he thought of the Essence he'd thrown away while disposing of the evidence. Each of those salves would have pulled in hundreds of Essence.

''Those fools just don't understand. If I were to do nothing and my employer were to find out, it would be my head and not the kid's...''

As the bandits set out to the Old Boar Forest, Aurora sat in her seat at the front of the class. She was glancing back and forth between her notebook and a large, open book filled with images of Cards with brief descriptions beneath them. One of the Cards within her Deck was active, muffling the ruckus of the rowdy class behind her.

The Card was deactivated when she felt a light tap on her shoulder, and she huffed in annoyance before turning around. The afternoon sun shone through the window and blocked her view, something the Academy designers obviously didn't consider when the building was erected.

"Miss Aurora?"

She knew that voice. Aurora raised her hand to block the stream of light, revealing the face of one of her least favorite classmates, Zachary Gray. He was second in the class, just behind her. He had blonde hair, was very handsome, and though he'd always seemed kind, the guy gave her the creeps. His posse of low-life cheaters and rich boys stood behind him, glaring at her over his shoulder.

"What do you want, Gray?" She asked sharply, hoping he'd make it quick so that she could get back to work. Senior year was coming to an end, and she wouldn't have access to these resources once it was over.

Zachary smiled, ignoring the cold attitude, "Miss Aurora, would you mind if I borrowed your notes on the progression of the Demon Rankings?"

"You can't use your own?" Aurora snapped, "The end of Academy is still a few days away... don't tell me you're getting lazy, number two?"

"Hah. You'll have to excuse me, Miss Aurora. It seems that I've lent my notes to the wrong person, and they misplaced them," He smiled at a chubby young man standing behind him, but that smile did not reach his eyes. The plump man shriveled under his gaze, and Zachary's attention shifted back to Aurora. "Even if I had them, your notes are likely leagues better than my own."

"Your poor judgment is not my problem, Zachary," Aurora turned around, activating her Sphere of Silence Card and returning to her studies. A dark gaze replaced the man's usual, pleasant demeanor, but it passed as quickly as it came. When he turned to his friends, he still seemed to be the cheerful young man he'd been moments before.

Compared to his seemingly tranquil attitude, the heavy man who'd misplaced the notes looked livid, "How dare you act like you're better than us! You're just some bitch from a third-rate merchant family! If you don't treat Sir Gray with respect, I'll-"

"You shouldn't show yourself in such a way, Graham. It isn't proper. Besides, she's still one of our classmates," Zachary's arm extended in front of him, blocking the angry man from touching the young woman. He shook his head, "Besides, it isn't like she can hear you."

A fetching young woman with auburn hair standing close to Zachary huffed in annoyance. Her face flushed as she glanced between the young man and the beautiful woman who stood at the top of the class, "How can you be so kind to her while she's treating us like trash? You aren't any less important than those from the Noble Families."

One of the other students nudged Zachary with his elbow, "I don't blame ya. I'm a bit infatuated myself. It's a shame she's so cold."

The auburn-haired girl clenched her fists and glared at the back of Aurora's head. A mere merchant's child didn't deserve to have so much attention.

Zachary just shook his head at all of this, not voicing his thoughts to those bickering around him. Before the group could get even more riled up, the classroom door opened, and a chill washed through the crowd of students.

Miss Warren stepped in, carrying a stack of papers and a few old, leatherbound books. The chill in the room dissipated once all of the young men and women had taken their seats. She nodded in approval before walking down the stairs toward the oversized blackboard.

Aurora closed her notebook, deactivated her Sphere of Silence, and watched respectfully as the professor closed the door. Miss Warren walked down the stairs and stopped about halfway up with a frown on her face. She stared at an empty seat on the far end, closest to the window.

Aurora followed the woman's gaze and took note of the empty chair. It seemed Rowan hadn't shown up for the afternoon class. That was strange...

Though Aurora had never paid attention to her lower-ranking classmate, the look he'd given her this morning had thoroughly ruined her day. She was at the top of the class and had worked hard to get there. Where did some scholarship student who couldn't keep his grades up get the balls to look down on her?

"Has anyone seen Mister Wilder?" Miss Warren asked loudly while continuing down the stairs. Some snickered, and others looked between the empty seat and the teacher, wondering why she cared.

Aurora took one more glance at the seat, rolled her eyes, and turned her textbook to the page they were studying the day before. She didn't have time to deal with some loser who wouldn't bother coming to class just before the final exam.

Miss Warren took in all her students' actions, sighed, and rubbed her temples. She wished they would care more about one another... having a solid team that one could trust was just as crucial in surviving the Tower as having knowledge.

"All right! Everyone open your textbooks," she used a Card that allowed her voice to reach everyone in the room. "Miss Aurora, please remind everyone where we left off."

Shhwoo!

A thin blade tore through the air, slicing wind and leaving a barely visible tail behind. A boar's head thudded to the ground, rolling slightly before coming to a stop. Not a drop of blood remained on the blade, and the warrior behind it stood as clean as if he'd just dressed for the day.

"Six hundred ninety-two..."

Without a second glance at the corpse, I tore off into the next clearing. Though many Climbers would kill thousands of Wild Boars before heading to the Second Floor, they took the time to cut out the Essence. This was the reason very few folks had found out about this task.

If I had a full Deck, maybe I could rip out the Essence as I went, but I wasn't ready for that as things stood. The best I could manage was to kill a couple hundred boars an hour and return to collect the Essence later. I wasn't expecting to get much of it. Climbers, hunters, and other creatures regularly roamed these parts... and none would pass up such an effortless fortune.

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The sun had already begun to fall, leaving long shadows dancing wildly between the trees. I was only left with a couple hours to finish my task... It was more than enough time to do the killing, but the number of boars in this area had begun to thin. I'd already relocated twice, and it seemed I'd have to do so once more before the day was through.

Leaping over some overgrown bracken, I found myself face to face with three startled boars. I smiled. My feet hit the ground, and before they could charge, I activated Dash.

Jogging around a tree on the other side of the clearing, my grin broadened when I heard three soft thuds in the grass behind me. My control had increased exponentially over the last few hours, and I could now alter the distance or even change the direction of my Dash before the Ability hit its limit.

Training the body was one thing, but conditioning my mind to better control spells in the future... I shook my head, "One thing at a time. Can't let this old mind wander."

Casting Dash every time the cooldown was over, it only took a few minutes to make it several hundred yards further into the forest. I burst from the thicket and found myself in an immense plain... and there were Wild Boars as far as the eye could see.

"This..."

I couldn't believe it. Several hundred of the tusked beasts wandered aimlessly about, sometimes stalking off into the surrounding trees. If I were right, this must have been the spawn zone for these simple creatures. This had to be a spawn zone.

But this was more than a spawn zone... This was a Climber's paradise.

Well, it would have been if I had a full Deck. With the few Cards I had, taking them all at once would be the equivalent of suicide. Fortunately, I had a solution for this.

With practiced movements, I pulled out two of the throwing knives from the pouch on my belt. I clambered into the lowest branches of a nearby tree and chose a boar that was about a fifth of the way into the crowd. My arm heated up as the Throw Ability was activated, and I aimed for a plump spot on the beast's backside.

Swoosh!

With a flick of my wrist, the knife left my hand and flew toward the creature, striking it perfectly in the rump. The boar cried in anguish and thrashed about, crashing into the beasts surrounding it before turning toward my position and barreling toward the woodline. Each boar that it knocked into followed suit, and they formed a small stampede that paraded loudly through the woods.

"One, two, three..." I counted forty in total. It was a bit more than I'd meant to pull, but it wasn't more than I could handle. The small horde of swine raced harmlessly by the tree where I was perched, smashing the brush and leaving a blatant path with which to pursue them.

The final boar passed by unawares, and I activated Dash. My body lurched forward, and the Ability's momentum carried my blade directly into the pig's skull. Almost no sound was made as my feet lightly tapped the ground, and I directed the skill to launch me toward the next target, Pierce already active.

The target was run through, and I drove the second small throwing knife into the beast's eye before choosing my next target. Two boars had died, and the small horde ahead of them were none the wiser.

Over the next several minutes, I chased after the slowly diminishing pack, striking down one after the other until those in the lead began to take notice. It was too late for them. The boars' numbers were down to twenty-six, and just like the mindless Crazed beasts on the next Floor, they'd charged in a straight line... and corralled directly into a small clearing I'd passed before finding the spawn zone.

With their momentum gone, the overgrown pigs couldn't bust free from the other side of the clearing. Turning around was hardly an option for the thick brutes either. A smile crept on my face... I took a deep breath and...

"Hooowwwoooooooooooo!"

A deafening howl escaped my throat, sounding close to that of a wolf's. The effect was immediate. For a moment, all was still, and you could almost cut the tension in the air with a knife. Then, trapped and facing forward with no means of escape, the Wild Boars scrambled into one another, trampling their peers into the ground. I smiled, knowing that my kill count was rising.

This was a trick I'd picked up from a Climber I met on the Sixth Floor and also something they didn't teach in class. Even if mobs or demonic creatures were to be the direct cause of death, if you indirectly forced it, the Tower would grant you the kill. This was tricky, as the Tower would grant kills for actions like area of effect Spells or forcing beasts to slaughter one another... but when it came to locking a beast in a building and forcing the roof to cave in... nothing.

I waited until the boars' frenzied movements had ended, and then I made my move. With a Dash and a few light steps, the heads of the final beasts fell to the ground. Unfortunately, I hadn't come out of the mess unscathed.

"Almost seven hundred boars and not so much as a speck," I grumbled. "Then just one simple herd maneuver and these boots are stained so badly that even the Infernal Wash won't be able to clean them properly."

I sheathed my sword and continued grumbling as I pulled my knife from the leading boar's thigh. Begrudgingly, I held on to the blade and made my way around the edge of the spawn zone... without cleaning myself. Infernal Wash may not have been a rarity after the Fifth Floor, but getting another case of the stuff so easily on the First Floor would prove to be a challenge.

Quiet grumbles constantly sounded from beneath the forest canopy as I trudged along, my blood-soaked boots squelching with every step. Each time I heard the noise, I couldn't help but cringe and force myself to ignore the warm, wet feeling between my toes.

It only took a few minutes of searching to find another similar clearing... and then the game began again. The efficiency was much greater than I imagined, and I finished the task just as I lost sight of the sun behind the trees. It had been a long afternoon, and the blood-soaked floor of the forest was a testament to my perseverance.

I stood in the center of another small clearing, the corpses of nearly fifty Wild Boars strewn around me. Sweat poured from my brow, and my clothes nor armor had been spared from the shower of blood that had occurred only moments before. Though, most of the mess had come from harvesting the corpses while waiting for my reward.

"Haahhh..." Heaving a sigh, I stretched and pulled the open vial of Infernal Wash from my pack. Without hesitation, I pulled the cork and emptied the contents onto myself, my clothing, and my weapons. Dim, red light encased my being as the blood and grime turned to dust and blew away in the wind. "Now... where is it?"

I sheathed my blade and watched the skies. This was something I'd never experienced before, but based on the information from the Network, the Tower should gift me with a Card any moment now. According to the data, each of the Secret Achievements could reward the Climber with one of four Cards based on the task. Most thought the selection was random, but a few believed that the Tower would bestow the Card that would benefit the Climber most.

It took another few seconds, but I finally felt a change in the air. A warm breeze surrounded me, the sound of music tickled my ears, and a golden light fell through the canopy of the trees. Within the rays, a small, rectangular shape slowly emerged.

I reached toward the shape, which drifted out from the light, landing in my open palm and killing the theatrics. The wind, the music, and the lights vanished as one. Curiously, I scrutinized the metal Card, my Demon Glass already in my hand.

The face of the Card held the figures of two men. One of the men was slightly injured, and the other waved a pair of glowing hands over the wound. My visage brightened the moment I recognized it, and I shifted my gaze to the words on the Demon Glass.

[Card Name: Heal]

[Class: Spell]

[Rank: Blessed]

[Level: 1]

[Essence: 0/1000]

[Foundation: Intelligence, Wisdom]

[Effect: Grants Wielder the ability to heal wounds that aren't excessively deep. The injury can not be under the effect of any damage over time ability, infected, or in critical locations. 5-minute cooldown. Effects of the healing are determined by the Wielder's Intelligence. The cooldown is dependant upon the Wielder's Wisom]

After reviewing the text, I shoved the Demon Glass into my pack and carefully placed the Heal Card into my Deck Box. It may have only been a Blessed Rank Spell, but a Climber without some way to heal might as well hang up his hat and forget reaching the higher Floors.

Something rustled in the brush behind me, breaking me away from my thoughts. I whipped my head around and found three rather large men standing behind me. Each was donned in a familiar cloak that I recognized from the images shared by the Tower Network. These guys were members of the Skull Mercenaries.

So... the merchant has made his move.

The smallest was carrying a pouch, grinning from ear to ear as he weighed it in his hands. I eyed the bag, trailed down to examine the man's boots... Then, my grin widened as well.

I was in need of some new boots.

"I hate coming to this place," Boulder griped, tossing a small, glowing ball back and forth between his hands. "It's so humid... couldn't we have just waited for the kid to come back?"

Rock grunted and kept walking forward, but Stone scoffed at his elder brother, "What's got your knickers in a twist? Look at all this loot!"

Stone bent down and held his hand over a corpse. His palm lit up, and after a few seconds, the boar's skin began to stretch as if something were trying to get out from the inside. Stone made a small nick with his dagger, and an Essence shard burst out and flew straight into his hand.

"Just look at this," he said, tossing the Essence into his bulging pouch. "I've already gathered almost a thousand of these things. What kind of loon goes hunting and doesn't gather up his haul?"

Rock shook his head, ignoring his younger brothers' bickering. Something felt wrong. This was supposed to be an Academy student, but these kills were too clean. At first, there had been a mess, and the kills were a bit sloppy... but for the last hour, there hadn't been an ounce of blood splattered around the wounds.

Then, they'd come across the first clearing. Several corpses were strewn about, and many were stomped and bruised... like they'd been struggling to escape some terrifying enemy. It was like the kid had gained several years of experience after just a few hundred measly boars. Though they'd gotten a profile from the kid from their rat in the Academy, Rock felt as if he didn't have enough information.

"But he's still only a kid... Right?" He mumbled, glancing at the carnage around him. Just ahead, the blood on the corpses had yet to thicken. They were getting close. "You two look alive... We're close."

His younger brothers grinned and jogged up next to him, Stone tossing his treasure up and down and Boulder dismissing the glowing ball. Rock pushed aside the thick leaves of another bush, exposing another clearing with several dead boars. But this time, there was a difference.

Standing in the center, with his head cocked to the side, looking at the three brothers, there was an attractive young man with a frown on his face. He had long black hair tied into a ponytail and bright green eyes, and there wasn't a speck of dirt on his person. Well... aside from the ugly blood stains on his tattered boots.

What stood out the most was the long, black cane with the ornate silver handle. That confirmed it. This was the youth named Rowan Wilder.

Rock felt unsettled as the fellow stared at each of them with a discerning glare. Those weren't the bright, hopeful eyes of a young man. Those were the eyes of a man who'd seen blood. The man's focus shifted to the bag in his younger brother's hands... and then, for some reason, to his feet.

The young man grinned, sending shivers down Rock's spine.

"It seems that you gentlemen have saved this old man the trouble of a lengthy walk," the youth continued to smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I suppose I'll have to thank you properly."