The Ruby Magician

Floor Two

Group: 6/6

Primary Quest: Traversing the mysterious graveyard, you've reached the dark and hallowed crypts of the local city of Valeford. The town guard mentioned disappearances and odd noises in the crypts, and you've come to investigate.

After easily passing the first floor, the group was pushing themselves to progress faster. Finishing the first floor proved to be the quickest floor they'd cleared yet – the entirety from opening portal to finishing the zombie horde boss took less than an hour.

The second floor was similar, though slightly longer.

A half hour had passed after entering and the team already made great progress through the maze-like crypts. The floor was a series of narrow stone-lined passages with occasionally large rooms. Traps were common along with more zombies, though both weren't difficult.

It took the group a little over an hour and three dead ends before they found the boss and exit. The boss was a trio of magical ghosts, all of whom were completely resistant to normal weapons though everyone in the group had magical ones. They defeated them quickly and gathered their meager rewards.

Floor Three

Group: 6/6

Primary Quest: Ghosts have been forming and escaping the crypts, but you've only scratched the surface. A larger threat seems to loom. The local city Valeford is under threat of an undead scourge – will you be too late to stop it?

The initial high of clearing two floors in just the first morning of the season was swept away in an instant. Immediately outside the portal was the exit of the crypt and outer skirts of the city, lit by the same silver glowing moon in the sky along with a far more dire source.

Red and orange flames pocketed buildings in the distance, causing a massive, collected plume of black smoke to rise into the night sky. The flames were so pronounced that it easily lit the area where the group found themselves despite the city being what appeared to be around a half mile away.

Worse, their entire proximity was swarming with undead monsters, both zombies that shambled on the ground and ghosts that floated in the air above.

As Wyn was taking in the surroundings, Marcy fired an arrow at a zombie that was only a few feet away from him. He noticed the enemy but knew he had plenty of time to react based on how slow they were. When he summoned his weapon as a glaive for the next enemy further away, he was surprised to see it speedily walking towards him.

His weapon made short work of the enemy with one powerful swing, but groans and growls in the distant dark made Wyn cautious. Ahead of them, the path to the city was obvious, but there were easily dozens of groupings of monsters that stood in their way.

"We need to move," Wyn said. "Cal, John, bring on the Auras. Tasha, go ahead and protect us three with Arcane Aura."

"What's your plan?" Cedric asked, stepping away from another zombie as Cal bashed it into smoke with his huge mace.

"We're going to rush the monster wave ahead of us while you, Marcy, and Tasha fly above, keeping the ghosts away and peppering monster groups ahead with spells. We could make it to the city quickly if we push ourselves."

"I like the sound of that," John said. He held his greatsword with both hands and glowed with multiple layers of magic.

Marcy and Cal continued to keep the immediate monsters off of them while everyone prepared. Wyn felt the enhancement of Sprint take over in addition to the effects from John's and Cal's Auras. He then cast Drain on himself while activating the speed boost on his boots. Changing his glaive to a longsword, he held the weapon with both hands as he itched to fight.

The rush of the stacked magical effects was invigorating, and Wyn had everyone move at once. The zombies were completely useless against their combined power, and all three warriors were killing multiple undead with each swing of their weapons.

Moving to the city, Wyn felt like a god amongst mortals. Dizzying displays of magic forged their path, decimating groups of zombies before the three Climbers on the ground even approached, and Wyn felt untouchable. No enemy came close to harming, or even touching, the team. The undead monsters were wheat stalks harvested by death itself.

The shrieks of the ghosts were distracting, but Marcy was able to dissipate each one with a single, magical arrow. She shot her bow with rapid precision, loosing arrows nearly as quickly as the melee Climbers managed their weapons. Her bow empowered each projectile with magic, though she was adding additional magical properties with her equipment that gave passive, small buffs without the use of mana like the bow. It made her arrows nearly as strong as using spells without any additional resource.

Halfway through the floor, Wyn noticed a glowing pack of zombies that carried weapons. He wasn't sure what their effect was, but he assumed they were champions.

They never stood a chance against Tasha's magical beam of divine magic that tore through them like John through Cal's food.

A seemingly endless number of zombies peppered the path, and Wyn thought the entire city had been turned to zombies. There had to be over a thousand zombies they killed, by far the most they had encountered at one time.

Soon they reached the edge of the city, and the monster wave turned from dense to spacious. In front of the smashed and ruined city gate was a group of about a dozen monsters, all of whom glowed green and were bulbous, fat creatures.

Marcy shot one, causing it to expand and grow three times in size before exploding in sickly green gore. Everywhere the monster's body touched sizzled and burned as though it was acid.

Wyn pointed forward with his sword. "Ranged attackers, take them out! Everyone else behind me!"

Marcy continued to fly overhead and started releasing Multishots into the glowing bosses at the same time that Cedric summoned a lightning storm that coursed through them in seconds.

Tasha, back on the ground, formed a large magical barrier beside Wyn several layers thick as the bosses started expanding in size. Grotesquely green fluid erupted all around the area, completely blanketing the barrier and the group's vision. The translucent barrier sizzled as the thick fluid slowly fell, and then the outermost layer popped. More fluid was sent flying, but the remaining barrier held as it dripped to the ground around them.

"Gods, that is sickening," John said, waving his hand in front of his face as though to get rid of the smell.

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Wyn curled his face in disgust. The smell was atrocious, but he knew if that fluid actually covered them they'd be dealing with something far worse than a foul smell.

After a few more lingering seconds the fluid dissipated and the portal turned from red to clear, signaling their clearing of the floor.

"Is it just me," Wyn asked, looking around at the burning buildings in the city. "Or are the bosses far harder compared to the rest of the floor?"

"Dealing with acid like that isn't great for young Climbers," Cedric said. "With some decent equipment they should be protected better than you think, but yea, they've been specialized so far."

Wyn also knew that healing magic could heal acidic burns from monsters fairly well, though it was a more intensive injury that usually required more than one spell or potion to completely recover. That in of itself wasn't too bad, but when rookie Climbers barely had one or two potions to their name, that was a big deal.

Added to the fact that zombies dropped poor rewards, most Climbers were looking at only getting rewards from the floor itself. That meant this season was going to be rough for new Climbers.

But it was still a good season for them, as they had both class abilities and equipment abilities to propel them forward. If they were smart about their approach and the higher tiers followed a similar path of increased difficulty, there was a good chance they could consistently climb in the third tier and possibly even advance.

It was a strange realization that struck Wyn as the group readied themselves to progress to the fourth floor. Would newer Climbers get frustrated at the imbalance, or would they try to push on? That depended on the Climber. Most likely would get frustrated if they only wanted treasures.

It also presented a unique opportunity for their guild to train those very rookie Climbers that would go looking for an extra advantage to try and progress. An advantage like having an active, higher tier Climber as a teacher. Like the Dawn's Light guild that was about to start providing teaching services.

Hopefully no one would be seriously hurt this month, but Wyn had to admit – he was looking forward to the possibilities for his guild.

Floor Four

Group: 6/6

Primary Quest: Valeford is in ruins. The town is all but gone, buildings burning and the citizens dead or missing. What gods-forsaken person or people brought this upon the city? And what would happen if the terror is released into the greater world? Maybe additional answers can be found in the parts of the city that remain.

The portal shift was sudden and strange. The third floor boss area was at the front gate directly outside the city, while the portal leading into the fourth floor seemed to be at the heart of the city itself.

Normally the floor encouraged exploration and laid out challenges, which was what Wyn expected. He thought they'd end up just inside the gates, then would need to traverse the dying city before finding the end of the floor. Instead, they were shunted to the main road that had a very clear path forward.

"What in the heavens is going on?" Cal asked. He pointed further down the wide dirt road with his mace. "Does that look like a town hall or governmental building to you?"

Wyn looked ahead and saw the building Cal was referring to. It did look like an official building, with tall columns at the corners and wide steps leading up to the entrance. He'd seen a few royal buildings during his time in the military, and the building looked very similar to one where the town's governmental body would conduct business. The path was straight and obvious, and the building was nearly two hundred feet away from them.

"That's odd we bypassed most of the city," Cedric said. He turned behind the group and faced the portal, then walked to the side. "I can't even see the outer gate. Why would we start so deep in here?"

"Doesn't matter," Marcy said, raising her bow. "We have enemies. Strong ones."

"Strong for the fourth floor or just strong?" John asked.

"Both."

John summoned his greatsword and immediately cast his Saint Aura. Wyn felt the effects wash over him, and then grow as Cal repeated the gesture.

Ahead of them, near the building at the end of the road, a black cloud formed on the ground. It swirled and thickened, rising into the air like a hurricane, before slowly thinning and dispersing. In its place on the ground were four beings cloaked in shadow, making it impossible to tell their features.

But it was obvious to Wyn that those four beings were monsters. Could it already be the bosses? Why would the floor only be a single fight?

Marcy flung an arrow at the group despite being so far away, and it sailed with impressive speed as a small glowing line of magic. As it neared one of the shadowy figures, a brief wall of darkness appeared, intercepting the arrow and making it disappear. Wyn couldn't even tell what happened, whether the formed shadow blocked the arrow like a barrier or redirected it like some kind of portal.

Granted, a portal power would be a lot for a fourth floor boss. It would take more testing to see what they were capable of. But it was obvious the four in front of them were powerful.

"Magical boss formation," Wyn said. "Move forward together."

Cal and John repositioned themselves in the front of the group to lead and protect Tasha, forming a sort of triangle. Marcy activated her cloak and flew above and just behind Tasha while Wyn and Cedric flanked her. They were close enough that Wyn could still feel both of the Aura effects while in a formation to counter magical threats. Tasha was their primary magical support, though both John and Cal were equipped to defend and handle them. But having her protected on all sides meant they could deal with whatever came their way.

As soon as they started to progress, Wyn realized something was off. More black clouds appeared between the bosses and themselves, though they were far less dense and intimidating than the ones that brought forth the bosses. Two smaller ones formed beside each other, and from the smoke came six monsters.

The monsters looked to be similar to the zombies with rotten flesh and exposed bone, looking like infected and dead people, except this group had additional equipment with weapons and armor. They didn't look to be too skilled based on how they awkwardly advanced, and had no magical aura about them, but they were equipped like a town guard with leather armor and spears or swords.

At worst, they were a distraction from the bosses. But being distracted from the bosses could result in a worse outcome with their unknown magic.

"John, Cal, deal with the soldiers," Wyn said. "Everyone else keep an eye on the bosses."

The six of them advanced as a unit, and when John and Cal sped up to meet the zombies the other four stayed in formation. When they clashed, everyone stopped to stay together.

"They're casting something," Marcy said, then fired another arrow at the bosses further down the path.

Wyn ignored the fighting in front of him as he knew John and Cal could easily handle the six monsters. Looking to the bosses, he saw a large, green and black runic formation on the ground under their feet. Marcy's arrow flew directly at one of the bosses but its shadowy body once again enveloped the arrow and made it disappear.

The formation unfortunately wasn't disrupted.

"Hit them harder," Wyn said. "And Tasha, bring him out. Let's finish this sooner rather than later."

Marcy drew her bowstring again, this time with a real arrow, then cast a spell to attach to it. As her class mark formed at the arrowhead, it glowed with a red light. She then released the arrow.

The arrow didn't hit one of the bosses. In fact, Marcy didn't even seem to aim it at them. Instead, she aimed for the ground right at their feet. No shadows came to intercept the arrow, and it hit the ground with a loud boom, causing a large fiery explosion to engulf all four of the bosses.

Shrieks pierced the air, all ear-splitting. Wyn saw the bosses stumble as the rune at their feet dissipated and the black shadows flicker out of existence for a few seconds.

That was when he saw more of their features. Strangely, the four monsters seemed human, with intact flesh and normal-looking skin under black robes. Their faces were still mostly hidden, but their only other identifying facial feature was glowing red eyes. Some kind of warped, undead people, then?

In front of them, the six monsters were gone as Cal and John finished their work. Tasha's class mark appeared under feet, and her Calling was summoned.

Baratheon, the angelic giant twice the size of a person that radiated a dense white aura, rose from a kneeling position beside Tasha.

"Go," Tasha said, pointing to the four bosses ahead of them.

Baratheon jogged forward, easily clearing the distance to the bosses, and smashed down with his fists against the closest of the monsters.

The cloaked figure was gone in an instant, reduced to a black cloud of smoke.

The other three monsters flew up and away in the air at the giant's sudden appearance, spreading out to save themselves. All three started firing black magical blasts at the Calling, all attacks the size of a person's fist.

The attacks were stopped by Baratheon's white aura, not doing him any harm. Unfortunately he wasn't able to harm them back, as he tried to swipe at the nearest monster but it was too high for him to reach.

Wyn had the group move forward, then started his commands. "Cedric, Marcy, focus on one and overwhelm it. Tasha, bring the middle one down. I got the third." Activating the flight power from his boots, he drifted into the air, then cast Sprint.

Flying with a ferocious speed, Wyn appeared at the third and furthest boss, slicing at it with his glaive. Shadows appeared around the boss and seemed to redirect or reduce the blade's effectiveness, completely coating its body like it was being enhanced with dark energy, though the boss quickly ignored Baratheon and focused on Wyn. It summoned a black rune and pointed at Wyn.

Wyn felt his mind and body flicker for only a moment, his breath hitching and his mind blanking. The magical attack felt strangely intimate, like it focused on some deeper part of Wyn's existence.

Whatever it was seemed to not take effect, with Wyn assuming he somehow resisted the attack. Not wanting to take a chance again, he cast Regen on the boss.

The monster shrieked in pain as the white aura around it burned its body, causing smoke to rise from under its black robes. The aura was only present for a few seconds, though, as the creature's black smoke fought with the divine spell and cancelled it out.

Doing so caused the monster to completely lose its black aura, seemingly becoming exposed. Wyn took the opportunity to strike hard and swift, slashing at it multiple times with his glaive in moments with his enhanced speed.

He felt no resistance from the monster as it was carved in pieces, shrieking one final time in pain before completely dying.

Sounds of magic pulled Wyn's attention, and he saw the others successfully dealing with the other three bosses. Lightning, wind, and arrows tore through one of the bosses, while the last one was overtaken with white light from Tasha's divine spells. Her healing was just too potent to be stopped from the creature's black aura.

With the bosses dead, the team regrouped in front of the building. The portal at the base of the stairs turned from red to clear.

"Damn," John said. "That was surprisingly entertaining for the fourth floor!"

"I hope that doesn't mean the higher floors will be that much more difficult," Cal said.

Marcy patted him on the shoulder. "You know they will be."

Cal nodded in reluctant agreement.

The six of them collected the few drops from the bosses, which were better than their previous collections but still not terribly great. Taking a few moments to themselves, Wyn did his usual routine of activating his lantern to see if there was anything to note.

The yellow light formed from the mushrooms bouncing inside the glass jar, and Wyn did his typical scan while the others waited. Nothing seemed to appear until he looked near the portal.

Floating beside the portal was another one, twice the size of the floor portal and swirling with a grey and yellow color. Everyone stopped their conversations and stared at the hidden gate.

"You've got to be kidding me," Marcy said.

Wyn laughed. "Looks real to me! Anyone care to stop, now?"

They all looked at him with disappointment. Wyn smirked, then walked into the secret portal.