The Ruby Magician

John took another bite of the sausage, his cheeks ballooning from the ungodly amount of food. Wyn wanted to laugh because he thought he looked like a squirrel hoarding nuts.

Tasha scoffed. “You really should learn to moderate yourself when you eat. That’s just… disgusting.”

John shrugged before swallowing. “I can’t help it. I’m nervous!” He immediately forked a piece of yellow fruit Tasha called pineapple, though Wyn hadn’t seen it before. Apparently it was reserved for higher society or popular cities like Alestead. At no point in his military career did he ever come across it.

“You’ll be fine,” Wyn said. He took a sip of his water. He and Tasha already ate a moderate breakfast waiting on Cedric and Marcy. The pair said they were meeting Faye first thing that day but were now running late. The next part of the combat trials were supposed to start in half an hour, and Wyn was restless. They wouldn’t be late or miss their slot as neither he or John were supposed to go for the first several matches, but he wanted to see the competition and mentally prepare himself. Getting a good seat with the group was important, too.

During their breaks between runs of the secret room the day before, the group talked about their strategy for the last trials. The combat trials were straightforward, but the individual and group trials were a bit harder to predict. The layout was supposed to be each Climber showing off their skills against training dummies, but Wyn thought it would be hard to truly determine someone’s abilities and a group’s dynamic against stationary dummies. It was the safest way to show magic and lethal skills, but he still felt there was something missing.

So, they discussed repeating their strategy from the secret room since their formations and preparations worked well, and Wyn and Tasha came up with an idea for the individual trials to make them more dynamic. The others questioned it, but by the end of the day they came around. It was certain to cause some heads to turn.

He couldn’t wait to put it into practice. If it worked well, which Wyn knew it would, it would make their group standout. As long as no one else had the same idea, of course. But the individual trials were laid out so group members would participate one after the other. It was designed that way so one member wouldn’t go first in the trial and another towards the end, preventing them from climbing if they wanted. They would all go in a certain time block to have the opportunity to climb around the trial schedule.

According to the notice they all received the night before, the day was going to be full from morning to night to make up for the lost day yesterday. The combat trials would be in the morning, followed by the individual and group trials for the rest of the day. Wyn had a feeling that they weren’t going to be climbing today, but with how much they were able to repeat the secret room yesterday, he didn’t mind at all.

Wyn looked behind Tasha’s shoulder and saw Marcy and Cedric enter the dining hall along with Faye. They spotted the trio at the table and Faye made a big gesture of waving, obviously excited to see them.

“Sorry we’re a bit late,” Cedric said.

“Don’t worry, we have plenty of time,” Wyn said. He passed around plates and started pouring water into their glasses while they began picking at the platter of food in the middle of the table. “I wouldn’t mind getting a good seat, but I don’t think we’ll miss our trials.”

“Ehh, the combat trials won’t be too full,” Faye said. “It’s the individual and group trials that will be packed. Now those you’ll want to be early for. Trust me.”

“Why is that?” John asked. He reached for another hunk of potato but Tasha gently smacked his hand.

“Those are the trials that really showcase how we collectively use the tower’s magic. As a Climber, you see and use magic all the time. But think about the merchants or citizens of the city. They see all of us walking around with our big swords or scary looking armor, but don’t really see what we see inside Alistair. Those two trials give a sneak peak at what Climbers can do, and there’ll be more people watching those than any other trial. It’ll be a spectacle!”

“Good,” Wyn said. Those trials were going to be his time to prove himself once and for all.

Faye smiled broadly at him. “The rest of the Twilight Blades are especially curious to see how a Ruby Magician fights. I know some of us have already seen you climb, but the others haven’t. And I have a feeling there’s more you haven’t showed yet.”

Wyn shrugged. “Maybe. I guess you’ll just have to see.”

Faye laughed and clapped her hands, startling the others. “I love it! And that goes for the rest of you. We’re really routing for you, you know.”

John nearly choked on his water, and Marcy began hitting him on the back to help.

“Faye said they’re looking for two groups this season,” Cedric said. “If we perform well for the rest of the trials, there’s a great chance we’ll get an invite.”

“No pressure,” Marcy muttered under her breath.

“We have some tricks under our sleeves,” Tasha said. “I feel confident that you and the other guilds will see our value.”

Faye nodded seriously. “Oh? What kind of tricks?”

“You and everyone else will just have to find out,” Wyn said. “But trust me when I say it’ll be memorable.”

Faye clapped giddily. “Fantastic! That means more money for me!”

Wyn didn’t understand what she meant, but before he could ask Tasha timidly asked how the climb went yesterday.

Faye’s happy demeanor shifted to be more serious. She didn’t look upset, but rather focused. Wyn recognized that look. It was the look of an officer having to give a grim report.

“About what you’d expect,” Faye said. “We didn’t find much. We already knew the second tier was a difficult one, and anyone approaching the 9th floor was receiving personal letters from the city guild to provide extra caution. The group either didn’t heed the warning or decided the risk was worth it. When the guilds repeated the 8th and 9th floors, we didn’t find much variability.”

“Is that normal?” Wyn asked. “I thought the floors always changed a fair amount.”

“Yes and no. Some floors change a lot, some only change a little. The higher floors usually only change their layout with more champions or harder enemies sprinkled in. It’s the only way to make it through the third and fourth tiers. Sometimes though, floors will have multiple paths and puzzles that make it more difficult to predict.”

Wyn thought about the third floor of last season. The temple had several options of progression, so he understood what she meant.

“And knowing what you’re facing is how you make it through the higher floors,” Cedric said. “It’s why keys are so frequently used on the upper floors. You could spend several days just learning a somewhat predictable floor’s layout before being able to safely finish it.”

Wyn nodded along, understanding clicking in his mind. No wonder it took so long to climb the higher floors and why so few people regularly climbed in the third or fourth tier. A bad season meant an entire month of waiting before trying an easier path to the top. But a good season meant an easier path to the top, which likely pushed the guilds to climb more frequently and harder.

“But, business is back to normal,” Faye said. “Well, sort of. Aureus plans to make a restriction on climbing the second tier for the remainder of the month. We don’t know the details, but it’s for the best.”

“Better to stay alive and climb another day,” Marcy said.

*****

Wyn couldn’t help but feel nervous. John’s match was up, and his opponent was a Hunter. The man was tall and stout, similar to Bryce, the Barbarian that joined Devon’s group. This hunter wasn’t quite as a big as him, but still imposing. Coupled with the fact that he was a Hunter made him a serious threat, at least according to Marcy.

Hunters focused more on agility and control, similar to the Duelist Wyn faced. Their abilities gave speed, reaction, endurance, and dexterity skills. When applied to a person who was already naturally strong and large, it made a great combination.

Still, Wyn knew firsthand how strong and physical John was, not to mention trained. He was skilled long before he came to be a Climber, and had improved further since. When not climbing, he often joined Wyn to train, and he was a young but enthusiastic warrior.

Standing on either end of the match arena, both combatants looked equally imposing. John looked more like a Knight than a Squire, despite his lack of knightly armor. His wooden sword and shield were somewhat imposing when he held them, and he was no slouch physically. The hunter, though, wore a sleeveless shirt, exposing thick arms and large hands that both gripped a great axe that was nearly as large as him. How a Hunter could wield and use such a large weapon was beyond Wyn. It looked to be a weapon more suited for the strength based classes that come from Fighters.

Sonya soon called the start of the first round and both men exploded forward. The Hunter was definitely faster than John, and seemed stronger, too. The first swing of his axe connected with John’s shield with a loud thud, knocking him back easily. John grunted and staggered, his face contorted in pain. Before he could recover, the large man was already on him, swinging again.

John barely dodged the attack before swinging his sword in a sloppy slash. Wyn held his breath. John was just too caught off guard. The man didn’t bother avoiding it, but rather used the butt end of his axe to knock the weapon aside.

The round ended a few exchanges later with John losing. It wasn’t pretty.

“Shit,” Wyn said. “He’s good.”

“Really good,” Tasha agreed.

“If he’s not part of a group we should recruit him,” Marcy said.

The others looked at her accusingly, but she only shrugged.

The match continued for the next round, and Wyn saw a slight change with John. Instead of taking blows directly, he deflected the large axe swings with better control, positioning his body to be able to counter to the man’s side or back. His movements were more fluid, his footwork better. Whatever he told himself mentally, it worked. The man was focused.

The round lasted a bit longer, and eventually John made a solid enough hit for Sonya to grant him a point. The Hunter grunted in annoyance loud enough for the rest of the group in the stands to hear.

The crowd let out loud claps with some cheers. Wyn breathed out a sigh of relief. There was hope yet.

If John could use his Squire Aura, there’d be no doubt he would win. But if active skills were allowed, then what did the Hunter have available? Likely some combination that would give him just as much of an edge. According to the others, their class didn’t carry spells, only skills. Passive benefits were still allowed, of course, and Wyn wondered how many both of them had. John mentioned all of his skills, but he had nearly twenty of them. Wyn admittedly didn’t remember them all on top of the rest of his group’s. But, he didn’t need to. He trusted John to be able to handle himself when climbing and he did.

What Wyn did know, was that John had at least two passive skills that were always working. One gave him improved strength and endurance that made him stronger than any normal person could hope to achieve. The other improved his effectiveness with a shield when paired with a weapon. It was why he said he preferred to use one. Apparently the class upgrade also made his one-handed weapon more powerful, too. John mentioned he had more, but flippantly said them when climbing.

They were enough to make Wyn jealous. Though John couldn’t use spells, he at least had a nice arsenal of abilities to utilize when needed.

Wyn had to admit that was a nice benefit. Still, these trials accounted for more than just tower-granted magic. Each person’s non-magical skill in combat played a large role, and that was where John could be victorious if he concentrated. His time training before coming to Alestead was showing its worth.

The match continued with John winning the next round but losing the fourth. Moving to the fifth and final round made the crowd fully engage, and they were clapping and cheering all throughout their fight. Some in the crowd were standing and yelling, with Wyn hearing calls of support or disdain for both Climbers.

Sitting on the edge of his seat, Wyn could see both men still had plenty of energy left to fight. Their hits weren’t slowed at all, their movements just as quick as when they started. The Hunter was faster and stronger than John, but his attacks were sloppy and disorganized. If he had any sort of training he’d be an excellent combatant, but he seemed to only rely on his physicality. John, on the other hand, was far more skilled, and his sword and shield were more suited for sparring than a large axe.

With a loud yell, the man swung down as though chopping a tree, and John leapt away from the weapon. He rolled on the ground and sliced at the man’s knee, but he pulled it away in a flourish while hopping back. It was strange to see a man his size so nimble, so quick.

John tossed his shield to the side and gripped his sword with both hands. The crowd reacted with louder applause while the man snarled in defiance. As he rushed forward to chop him down, John rolled to the side again, feigning another hit. The man dodged like before, expected John to slash at him. But there was no sword there to avoid. Instead, John waited a moment then sprang forward using his sword to stab the man directly in his chest. The wooden weapon connected with the Hunter’s stomach, and Sonya threw a hand up to reward him the point.

Wyn and the others stood and cheered along with the rest of the training hall. The match was certainly exciting, and Wyn was thankful his teammate and friend was victorious. On the other hand, it also meant there was a chance Wyn and John would have to fight each other, but that would be a worry for later.

John received congratulations as he returned to the stands. Each of them in the group offered praise and he beamed with pride.

The next few matches went without as much fanfare. Wyn did watch with extra interest as Bryce, the Barbarian in Devon’s group, overwhelmed his Templar opponent. While she was a nimble and strong Climber herself, the man was exactly like the Hunter John faced - strong, large, but also quick. Whatever passive bonuses his class gave, he used them to great advantage. He also was skilled, too, and Wyn immediately wondered how much training he had before coming to the city, like John. He started the match wielding a mace that he was able to use either one-handed or two-handed, and consistently changed up his attacking speed and positions to keep the woman on the defensive. When she was finally able to score a point in the third round, Bryce changed weapons to two short swords. During the fourth and eventual final round, the man was a terror, whirling around as though he was made of wind.

Needless to say, the match drew quite a bit of applause from the crowd. Wyn had to admit that the combat trials were quite the spectacle, and understood what Faye meant by saying it was more of a spectator’s sport. If the crowd was this involved now, he wondered how much they would cheer for the individual and group trials. Wyn was certain the hall would be packed after lunch.

Returning to the matches, he watched as more Climbers sparred. His match was towards the end, and the board had him down as facing a Warrior. From what John said about the class, they had the most skills out of any class, though their bonuses were a bit lackluster compared to others. That was unfortunate for Wyn, as it meant there was a possibility they had passive skills that would give them an advantage.

Before his match started, Wyn walked over to the weapon rack. There were a few spears to choose, and he took his time inspecting them before making his choice. He heard his name called, and looked up in the stands to see Daniel and Wendy sitting together with a small basket of food in the woman’s lap. They waved and smiled brightly at him.

Wyn couldn’t help but smile and wave back. It was heartwarming seeing them together, and encouraging that Daniel was wearing his red Ruby Magician robes. He wasn’t wearing their signature hat, but Wyn assumed it was so people behind him could still see.

Taking a deep breath, Wyn walked up to the match arena and waited for Sonya. One of the judges came up to the woman and spoke in her ear, and Wyn wondered if something was wrong.

“Welcome to our next match in the combat trials!” Sonya said, engaging the crowd. The people responded with claps and applause. “We have a slight participation change but it won’t affect the trials whatsoever!”

Wyn cursed. What could they have possibly changed?

“Please welcome Wyn, the Ruby Strategist!” Sonya said, waving with her arm. The crowd was subdued but not as much as when he was first introduced. There was still time to win them over, at least.

“There was a last second change with his opponent, but fear not - here she is now!” Sonya said as she pointed to other side of the arena.

Wyn clenched his jaw and felt his heart race. He subconsciously gripped his spear harder, anger rising. This wasn’t minor. It was deliberate. And how it happened he had no idea.

The other participant stepped up to the arena, axe in hand. Sonya continued with her introduction though Wyn barely heard her words. “Please welcome Lucy, the Barbarian!"