The Ruby Magician

The portal shimmered with its usual magical aura, one of many in the portal room at the base of Alistair. Wyn was making some last-minute adjustments to his equipment, swapping potions on his belt and rearranging his backpack.

But most of all, he was trying to ignore Daniel who stood beside him.

Unfortunately it wasn't working.

"I'm really not sure about this," Daniel said, fidgeting with the staff he held with both hands. He looked strange wearing climbing equipment when he normally only wore a mundane, Red Mage's robe as his usual garb. But both Wyn and Arabelle insisted on procuring some magical equipment for him, despite his protests. "The first three floors were enough, and here I am, somehow agreeing to climb this nonsense of a floor!"

"You'll be fine," Arabelle said, lightly patting him on the shoulder. "Remember that Wyn and I both cleared the floor with just us, and with you coming along it'll actually be an easier challenge."

"So, I'm useless cargo, then?" Daniel asked.

Wyn chuckled. Seeing Daniel flustered was actually far funnier than he thought. "No, Daniel, of course not. Your magical ability is the strongest out of the three of us. We just have better equipment."

"Though the few items you let us get for you do look nice," Arabelle added.

Wyn didn't quite agree as the items didn't match very well, but that didn't matter. They were effective and would help, and that's all that was needed. The elder insisted on the minimum equipment needed, saying he wanted them to keep their own items and he didn't want to be a burden. Wyn thought that was ridiculous but didn't argue.

Daniel would never be useless cargo, but he could easily walk behind them through the entire floor and be just fine. Wyn would never tell him that, though. There was a reason they wanted him to come along, and it wasn't just to watch them defeat everything.

Daniel huffed and grumbled while staring at the portal.

"Are you going to be like this the entire time?" Arabelle asked.

Daniel opened his mouth to speak but paused. His demeanor visibly softened, and he actually smiled. "I'm sorry. Truly. I'm just…"

"We know," Wyn said, placing a comforting hand on the man's shoulder as he trailed off. "We really will all be okay."

"We're the Ruby Magicians, after all!" Arabelle said with a smirk.

"And a family," Wyn added.

Daniel's smile widened and Wyn felt him stand a bit taller.

"If no one else will go, then I'll start," Arabelle said, trying but failing to subtly wipe her eyes. "Ladies first, after all." She then stepped forward into the portal and disappeared.

"Right," Daniel said, tapping his staff on the ground. "On we go."

Wyn watched him step through the portal then immediately followed him.

Seeing Daniel stumble as they entered the fourth floor brought another smile to Wyn's face. One he quickly suppressed after hearing Arabelle giggle and seeing Daniel blush.

"It's been a while," Daniel said quietly, using his staff to hold himself upright. "Even going through the first three floors was jarring."

"You'll be back to yourself in no time," Wyn said. "Just stick to the plan and we'll make it through the floor without any major issues."

Daniel held his staff close but nodded in agreement.

Wyn looked to Arabelle, and they both set out to start through the traps that made up the first part of the floor.

The siblings had convinced Daniel into climbing with them on the fourth floor for a specific reason. They decided to keep it a secret, wanting to reveal it at the end of the floor after they killed the boss.

Daniel had already proposed to Wendy, ready to start a new life together as husband and wife. He had expressed that he planned to finish out a year in Alestead, mentoring other Climbers and helping Wyn and Arabelle, while saving up money to start their new life in her hometown. Daniel had no family left and nowhere else to go, but Wendy had family in a small town closer to the country's capital. It would take them several weeks of travel to return, then they'd need to start from scratch building a new life. They didn't plan to have children, but instead wanted to help Wendy's family as a sort of small community however they could.

Wyn and Arabelle decided to help jump start their funds by donating and selling whatever they earned during the climb, hoping to secure as many gold crowns as possible as a gift before they parted. If they combined their earnings, they could likely earn close to a thousand crowns or more, and it would be more than enough to build a home and secure their future. Daniel and Wendy weren't poor by any means, but having the extra funds meant they never had to worry about money. They weren't planning on living lavishly, but frugally in the company of family.

While other Climbers looked to secure funding to last generations or have enough to live a wealthy life, Daniel was the kind who only wanted to help others. He had had a rough time in the tower city, and he deserved to be rewarded in his retirement.

Hopefully they would find plenty of good treasure when they came to the actual enemies.

Navigating the traps took longer than it did when just Wyn and Arabelle climbed together, despite them being easier and less deadly. Not because Daniel wasn't a capable teammate, either. It was because he kept stopping to ask questions about the traps or study them to see if he could work out a pattern.

"Why am I not surprised you want to learn everything about the traps you possibly can?" Arabelle asked.

"Each one is different," Daniel said, closely examining the log that harmlessly rested at the end of a tight rope. "They're unique in that way! Have you ever considered that every season has different ones but there's a series of patterns to them different from monsters?"

Wyn furrowed his eyebrows. "No, I haven't. How are they different?"

"There's a fine book in the library that recounts this phenomenon…"

"Of course there is," Arabelle muttered, making Wyn chuckle.

"Essentially," Daniel continued, "Alistair has a source of about two dozen different styles and methods of traps, though they appear slightly different based on the environment. A falling trap, for example, could be like a shallow trap with spikes in one season and an endless void in another. But at its core they're still the same trap – they both will have some type of covering that is triggered by weight, then expose themselves."

"Why haven't you shared this before?" Wyn asked.

"He did with me," Arabelle said. "Or at least some of it. During my training."

"Ahh," Wyn said, nodding his head. "That makes sense, then."

"Why?"

Daniel patted the log beside him. "Because Ardwyn never had the patience to let me train him! He just ran inside here like a crazed lunatic looking to climb."

Arabelle laughed, and Wyn just sighed.

"But traps can't be that unique if there are only two dozen styles of them," Wyn said sometime later, after they had bypassed another two traps on the floor. "Not like monsters, at least, since there are so many."

Daniel pounded his staff against the ground. "Ahh! Now, that's where you're wrong! Yes, there are hundreds, possibly more, different kinds of monsters. But how many monsters are you able to study?"

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Wyn thought about it, and Daniel had a point. They couldn't study monsters at all. They either attacked them outright posing too much of a danger to do anything except fight or flee, or disappeared soon after being killed being unable to examine.

"None," Wyn finally said.

"Exactly! Traps, though, can be viewed, researched, and noted for future reference much better than monsters."

"Except for the new Climber that has the monster taming class, right?" Arabelle asked. "If he can control monsters, then they can be docile and studied while he's on the floor?"

Daniel snapped his finger and barked a laugh. "Precisely, Arabelle! Yes! Of course we can't take the monsters out of the tower, but while inside, some guild officials have been very interested in studying the first tier ones he's able to control. If he can progress to higher floors and control them, too, well…" he trailed off, staring wistfully at the night sky above them.

"Why can't you bring monsters out of the tower?" Wyn asked. "If he can control them, then they'll just be docile, right?"

Daniel stared at Wyn, stopping on the grassy path. He sputtered, trying to respond but not forming words. After a few seconds he stopped to compose himself. "You can't just release monsters into the city, Wyn. It's not possible."

"Says who?"

"Says… well… history!"

Wyn smirked. "The history we know is a literal thing of the past. That's obvious with the new classes and new floor dynamics, like the one we're currently working through. What's stopping him from bringing a monster back through a portal just like how we bring items? Morals?"

Daniel's face shifted from confusion to horror. "Gods, you're right. That could be… if the monster somehow breaks from the control, though, that could be absolutely disastrous."

"I don't think he should do it," Wyn said, continuing on down the path leading the small group. "But it's just a thought."

Daniel didn't respond, and Wyn knew exactly why. He was thinking of possibilities for it to actually be feasible.

Wyn wasn't one to think about ways to improve records or research as a Climber, but he did appreciate adapting and changing to best deal with what was given. It was something he always believed, and a large part in why he kept his class of Ruby Magician despite people saying it was a poor choice. If they could somehow use a friendly monster to study and keep people safer or understand the magic better, Wyn wasn't going to argue or stop them.

He just didn't care to be involved in it. He'd support others who wanted to, though, like Daniel or other Climbers wanting to better themselves. But he knew his strengths, and that wasn't one of them.

Continuing on in the floor the trio remained safe while Arabelle and Wyn set off and avoided the traps presented. They were deadly but avoidable, and Daniel loved pointing out each of their intricacies and differences.

As they came to the end of the path where the large, open clearing was signaling the last part of the floor, they all stopped to prepare.

"Alright," Wyn said, standing in front of Arabelle and Daniel. "How are you feeling?"

Daniel looked past Wyn at the quiet glade and simple wooden cabin. It was eerily still, though they all knew what was waiting once they stepped into the open clearing. Just like the rest of the floor, it had a strange, creepy feel.

"I'm feeling nervous, if I'm being honest," Daniel said.

Wyn softly smiled. He felt strangely comforted from Daniel's honesty. Here was a man who climbed into the third tier with two class upgrades, and he was nervous about finishing the fourth floor.

Given his history, though, Wyn didn't blame him. Which was why he patted Daniel on the shoulder to give some comfort. "We'll be just fine. If you want to wait here, Arabelle and I can advance, and -"

"No," Daniel said, cutting Wyn off. "As I said before, I refuse to be a burden."

"You're not being a burden," Arabelle said. "We wanted you to come with us but we also understand if you want a more secondary role!"

"It's not a secondary role if I'm just standing around doing nothing," Daniel replied. "It's just been a while since facing something like this on a floor that's more on the level of the sixth or seventh floor."

"Then you can do what you're used to," Wyn said. "What you've told us you did when you climbed and what you prepared to do today - provide magical support while notifying us of enemies."

Daniel held his staff tight with both hands and nodded. "Okay. I can cast Greater Arcane Armor on each of you and Greater Regen before we enter. That way you don't need to hold back."

Wyn nodded. Both of those versions of the first tier spells were of the third tier, and huge boons. Tasha didn't normally use it because her class abilities gave enough of a boost to the first tier version while keeping the mana cost more reasonable, and Wyn didn't keep them at that high power, instead relying on other spells to support his climbing style.

Daniel was right – with both spell effects active both he and Arabelle could rush in without much need of a defense.

But they both had their own abilities to use, too.

"That sounds great," Arabelle said, while Daniel was already starting the spells. "Wyn, do you want the minions or the bosses?"

"Since it's only two witches, wouldn't it be better to rush them and kill them right away?"

Arabelle tilted her head side to side as she was engulfed in a nearly blinding white and yellow light from the armor spell. Daniel continued to cast the next spell while she replied. "I think it would be better to split up to keep everything engaged."

Wyn understood what she meant, and he had an idea Daniel likely did, too. They needed to make sure all of the enemies focused on them two instead of bypassing them for Daniel. He was more than capable using magic, but he was rusty as a Climber. And Wyn had a feeling both his sister and Daniel himself were afraid that Daniel wouldn't handle himself well under pressure.

That was fine, though. That wasn't the point of the climb. Whatever they needed to do to keep Daniel safe, he'd do it.

Plus, it would be good practice to see just how much he could push himself.

"Then I'll go for the boss and lay down a trap or two along the way," Wyn said, shaking his lantern to change to a dim yellow light that expanded all around them.

After the spells were cast, Wyn activated his own abilities, summoning his weapon as a spear with a longer blade and coating it in a small gale of wind with Elemental Weapon. The effect would be effective against the coming earth-element monsters, and would add some additional magic and damage when fighting the witches, as well.

He felt Arabelle beside him do the same, knowing she was improving her strength and defense while readying her whip. The pressure emanating from both of them was intense from the sheer amount and density of the many layers of magical auras. The quality of the magic surrounding them was palpable, and he felt invincible.

He knew he wasn't, though, and that being too reckless could be costly. Instead, he wanted to channel that feeling into being focused on their enemies.

Stepping into the glade, the familiar rumble came from the ground underneath as dirt and grass monsters rose from mounds and splits in the earth. Six monsters grew to around eight or nine feet tall, with thick arms and legs the size of barrels.

Not wanting to waste time, Wyn rushed forward, his Sprint skill propelling him at blinding speeds. Before he reached the first monster he paused to place a Siphon glyph on the ground, a large trap to help mitigate the minions while helping Arabelle or Daniel as needed. It wouldn't be much, but it would provide an additional layer of protection as she held her ground against the hulking monsters.

The nearest monster shambled towards him as he placed the magical trap on the ground. Wyn smirked at the monster's slow movements, his mind heightened from his skill and body itching to move. Once it was placed, he continued forward again, moving so fast the creatures appeared to move in slow motion like they were trying to move through water.

He struck each one with his spear as he passed them in a blur. His spear coated in the wind-element carved large chunks through them as he slashed across their bodies, not killing them outright but damaging them enough to where Arabelle should have no problem with them.

Then he arrived at the witches. One was already outside the front entrance of the cabin, hovering in the air while tangled and thin hair floated in wispy tendrils. A sickly green aura coated it and it was glaring at Wyn.

Then the second witch stepped out from the cabin, this one looking more male. It wore a similar ragged brown robe on its body and no aura, but it was physically much larger than the female monster.

That was interesting. He didn't expect a male witch boss.

Shaking his thoughts, Wyn immediately cast Flash. Both witches groaned in pain from the sudden burst of bright light, and he then followed up the spell with Feeble.

With his Ability Link activating, he willed the spell to duplicate so it would affect both bosses. The male witch had the familiar skull appear above it and stay, while the female boss had no such effect. The aura around her pulsed and the spell seemed to fail to take hold.

That was fine. He had something just in case that were to happen.

Coating his spear in another magical effect, the familiar red aura of Silence Attack pierced the female witch as Wyn was beside her in a moment. The spear dug deep into her side, causing an ear-splitting shriek from her as Wyn pulled back his spear and black blood sprayed from her side. The sickly green aura around her was gone, replaced by a suppressing red aura from his weapon.

A few seconds later, the boss had a half dozen holes inside her from Wyn's spear as blood continued to pour out of her like a cracked cup. He barely heard the monster scream for help before he changed his weapon to an axe and beheaded her.

The lone witch remaining was recovering from being blinded, and immediately cast some spell with the same green aura the first boss had. Wyn ran to it and began slashing it with his weapon that was now a shortsword, striking it with rapid moves of both cuts and stabs.

The witch erected a barrier to block his attacks and then flew higher in the air, though its left arm sloughed off as it rose higher along with several chunks of rotten flesh. It growled in anger but then shot a series of green magical bolts at Wyn from above.

If Wyn was slower, he might have had a hard time with them. But with his speed, he didn't even need to try and protect himself. Coupled with the defensive spells from Daniel, he felt confident he'd be fine.

A loud grunt from Arabelle pulled his attention from the flying witch, and he saw Arabelle lashing out at a grassy giant with her whip. Several mounds of dirt were scattered around her, the obvious leftovers from the monsters she had killed, though more were forming by the second. One of them kicked at her, though she blocked it with her shield and held her ground, not even moving an inch.

Wyn realized the problem, though. Daniel was behind her, not moving from his position. He was caught staring at the monsters wide-eyed.

He didn't blame his mentor for freezing in the fight. In fact, Wyn wasn't even upset. He did want to make sure he and his sister were both safe, but they all had means to protect and heal themselves.

What he felt instead that surprised him was sadness and anger. Sadness that Daniel still hadn't been able to overcome his anxiety about climbing despite their conversations. And anger with himself that he had requested Daniel join him and Arabelle to climb so they could share the experience. He meant for it to be a rewarding experience, but he realized it was foolish.

Rushing away from the flying boss, Wyn crossed the glade in moments, appearing beside Arabelle with a glaive slicing away at the monsters. He cast a quick Shield to block an attack on his sister then immediately cast Frostsnap to activate Ability Link.

The freezing spell didn't duplicate but instead grew in power, reaching out to slow and freeze all of the surrounding monsters. Arabelle nodded to Wyn in thanks before looking past him at the boss rapidly approaching them.

Wyn activated the flying enchantment on his boots and rose in the air, ready to meet the witch. Before it came closer, it cast another green spell, this one a grotesque spewing of what looked like sickly acid.

A large barrier blocked the magical attack, larger than anything Wyn had seen before. He looked back to see Daniel raising his staff, his face locked in focus on the boss and his Ruby Magician mark hovering in the air in front of him.

This was Wyn's chance. He ended his Sprint ability to teleport, appearing right behind the boss, then stabbed it deep with his glaive through the chest.

The boss groaned in pain, spitting blood onto the grass below. It grasped at the protruding blade from its body, still alive.

Then a whip with a fanged tip struck the witch in the head while a blast of lightning exploded its head in gore.

Right in front of Wyn, who was coated in the monster's remains.

Wyn stared at Arabelle as what was left of the monster dissipated, annoyance clear on his face. Arabelle couldn't help but smirk.

Floating down beside his sister and Daniel, Wyn looked at the two piles of loot from the witch bosses. Two impressive piles.

"I'm sorry," Daniel said softly.

Both Wyn and Arabelle turned to him, but Wyn spoke first. "There's nothing to be sorry about. I'm sorry if coming here was too much. I just wanted to -"

"We just wanted to be with you here in Alistair," Arabelle said, cutting Wyn off. "There won't be many opportunities in the future, so thank you for deciding to come along."

Daniel smiled softly at both of them, then smiled and hugged each of them. "It was a bit frightening there for a moment. But those loot piles are nothing to sneeze at! Especially for the fourth floor!"

Wyn shared a look with Arabelle, who tried to suppress a smirk. She failed.

Gathering the loot and meeting in the cabin, they were rewarded with a blue rarity wand, two potions, a mound of coins, and several gemstones. They would all be great contributions to Daniel and Wendy, in addition to the rewards they would get once they returned to Alestead.

Storing the items in his pack, Wyn turned to look at the portal in the cabin. But something on the side of the room caught his eye, lit by his lanter's glow. Something he didn't expect to see.

"Wyn," Daniel said, pointing to the wall. "Is that what I think it is?"

Arabelle audibly gasped.

Wyn walked up to the wall and ran his fingers along the glowing runes in the shape of a doorframe. He read "hidden", "secret", "power", "many", "elements", and "flames" in one section, and they repeated throughout the entire framework of runes.

Stepping back, he joined Daniel and Arabelle who kept staring at the wall.

"Yes," Wyn said. "It's an entrance to a secret room."