The Ruby Magician

Wyn couldn't stop his body from shaking. Despite his feelings towards the Faceless Four he still felt fear consume him. This figure, the supposed statue that appeared in front of the floor portal, was actually the Avatar. The same Avatar that met him during his ill-fated first climb.

The same Avatar that gave him his Tower's Blessing skill and Mushroom Lantern. Though now the item rested on Landon's belt instead of his.

"What is this trial for access to the bridge?" Landon asked, pointing one of his swords to the newly created portal.

The Avatar turned its large body towards the Faceless Four, though Wyn could still hear it as clearly as though it was speaking directly beside him. "My trial is simple - all holders of the Bridge Tablets are eligible to pass, but first must prove themselves. Proof of passage lies in the form of combat."

"So we just need to fight each other and see who comes out on top?" John asked.

The Avatar nodded in agreement.

"That won't be too difficult, then," Jane said, putting a hand on her hip. "We can take care of a full group all on our own!"

The Avatar stomped its onyx staff on the stone floor, commanding everyone's attention. "I said all holders of the Bridge Tablets. Both of your groups will not just be fighting each other."

Wyn looked back to his group, who were all enthralled by the Avatar. John's look of confidence wavered, replaced by fear. Only Marcy looked back at him, worry clear on her face.

He understood her in that moment. They were going to have to survive against both the Faceless Four and the Avatar in the form of not just a floor boss, but a tier boss.

It wasn't that Wyn was afraid to fight. He had planned to take on the Faceless Four, and his goal had been - and still was - to stop them once and for all. Permanently. But with the Avatar joining, it was going to be chaotic. Just what kind of powers did it possess? It looked like a mage with its staff, but how strong was it, really?

Wyn felt a surge of energy as both John and Cal activated their Auras. Corbyn then activated his own, and it was an incredibly thick and dense red aura like blood. Everyone else started their own skills and spells, readying themselves for the inevitable fight. The air became palpable with magic that Wyn could even feel on his skin.

Taking a precious few moments to center himself, Wyn mentally reinforced his resolve. This was not going to be an ordinary fight. It wasn't a spar or a fight where they could escape. He had told his team - his friends - of this likely outcome, and reminded them of the price.

It was kill or be killed. Wyn had no illusions that he was going to walk away unscathed. These people had attacked his guild, harassed and kidnapped his sister, and nearly killed his mentor and Arabelle's teammate. They couldn't be allowed to just walk away. Whatever the cost.

But they were ruthless. Unforgiving and uncaring. They had a killer's mentality, and they weren't going to try and escape, either. Landon would force them to fight until their last breath, which Wyn expected.

And knowing that was why Wyn mentally accepted the possible outcome of him not making it through this fight. But if even someone on their team could make it into the portal, reaching the 20th floor, then maybe some miracle would allow them to survive. Though with the Faceless Four being put down, it meant others would survive, too.

The boss grasped its staff with both hands and raised it into the air, forming a large runic symbol on the ground underneath it that was three circles in width. Wyn recognized some of the symbols in the formation even though he didn't have the lantern.

They were the same symbols as his Drain spell and Siphon skill. Both of which came from the Onyx Magician class line. So that was part of its power, then. It was similar to an Onyx Mage. A powerful one, too, as the spell seemed equivalent to a third tier spell.

In seconds a deep black and silver aura enveloped the Avatar as it lowered its staff. It was ready to fight.

In a blur of movement, Corbyn rushed to the Avatar, pulling back his hand ready to punch as the boss simply remained still. Wyn was surprised by the man's speed due to his bulk, and he cleared the distance so quickly and readied his attack with such speed that even he would have had trouble dodging it.

But then the Avatar twisted its body as it snaked around the man's huge fist, lowering its staff and completely dodging the blow with an equal amount of speed. It then used its momentum to continue to twist and heel kicked the man right in the stomach.

The Climber flew back several feet and landed on his back with a loud thud, shaking the stone floor.

"Now!" Wyn yelled, urging his team to action. They had a plan of attack against the guild, though the inclusion of the Avatar would definitely force them to adjust as needed. But Wyn was confident in them. If they could hit hard and fast, they could make it through.

Marcy and Cedric both launched attacks at Jane and Octavius, who were starting their own abilities. Two small golden domes appeared around both of the masked Climbers as the attacks hit them. Marcy's Multishot bounced off both domes while Cedric's lightning slammed into the dome around Jane, shimmering the barrier and causing it to dim quite a bit.

Then a large ball flew from Jane's hands, who didn't so much as flinch as the attacks were stopped around her. The magic swirled with purple and black, and flew at Marcy and Cedric with a speed that rivaled her arrows. It met a dense barrier from Tasha, though shattered it on impact.

The power was lessened and diverted quite a bit, however, and slammed into the ground near the ranged Climbers. Marcy threw herself to the side to avoid the hit, and Cedric activated his Mirror Image ability while running to the side to escape.

Wyn didn't have time to follow their engagement as Landon immediately rushed him. He twirled his twin swords with a flourish, but Wyn changed his weapon to a spear and thrust it at his waist. Landon lunged to the side to avoid the strike, then was forced to avoid more attacks as Wyn continued to pierce his spear repeatedly in quick succession.

The speed at which he attacked negated Landon's ability to counterattack, and the man growled at the sudden change of pace.

"Damn Red Mage," Landon said, hopping away and activating a skill that coated him in a red aura.

He then resumed his previous attack, and didn't bother dodging when Wyn went to attack him. His spear caught Landon in the thigh, but the impact was shallow and heavily dampened. Landon then slashed out with surprising speed, catching Wyn in the side.

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The Arcane Aura that surrounded Wyn was cut through at his ribs after another slash connected on Wyn's other side.

Changing his weapon to a sword, Wyn sliced back, cutting across Landon's chest.

The attack cut through his clothes but left a pitiful scrape on the skin underneath. Wyn assumed the skill he used was Defense Up, something he'd seen Arabelle use countless times before with a similar effect.

Landon laughed while Wyn followed up with Frostsnap, catching Landon off guard. The spell knocked him off balance and coated him in frost, giving Wyn enough of a chance to retaliate. He cast Feeble, opting to enhance the effect rather than duplicate it. The familiar skull appeared above Landon and took hold.

Wyn was about to stab him with another strike when a black staff intercepted his sword. The clash felt like hitting solid stone, vibrating Wyn's hands painfully.

Both he and Landon looked over to see the Avatar holding its staff menacingly as it glowed with its own black aura. It then started attacking Wyn with an intense ferocity.

Using the shield on his arm and well-timed casts of Shield, Wyn blocked or parried most of the blows while trying to reposition himself, but was forced more on the backfoot when Landon joined in the attack. After the masked man scored another deep slash further cutting away more of Wyn's magical armor, the Avatar shifted its focus and left Wyn alone while channeling its speedy attacks to Landon.

Looking past the Avatar, Wyn saw with wides eyes both John and Cal desperately take on the largest of the Faceless Four as the three of them were locked in a battle. The man had shed his cloak and was wielding a black axe that caused a boom against Cal's shield that rattled the stone floor. They had obviously already given each other serious blows, because nearly all of Cal's magical armor was gone and the man had gashes of golden light shining through his copper skin.

When John tried to cut through the man's torso with his glowing greatsword, the weapon glanced off of him as though he were made of hardened stone. He reacted as though injured, though, roaring in anger and stumbling backwards as a golden liquid splattered to the ground. As John closed the distance, the brute wildly swung his axe to try and fend him off.

That was when everything went wrong, exactly as Wyn had feared.

John's cry was only drowned out by Tasha's as he fell back onto the stone floor. His greatsword clanged awkwardly beside him, along with his left arm that was still gripping the weapon.

Wyn watched in horror as John lay on the ground, crying in pain and holding his left arm. The magical armor around him was completely gone, and a white healing aura suddenly appeared around him as the bleeding stopped. But that didn't fix or replace his missing limb.

Tasha erupted in golden light as large wings protruded from her back and a near blinding light popped into existence in front of her. The light shot forward like an arrow, hitting the masked Climber in the chest.

And then it kept going, pouring off of him like a stream of water around a rock. He held his axe directly in the beam's path, seemingly cutting the light in two as he leaned into the attack but was sliding backwards. Tasha's cries for John were nearly as loud as the magic itself, and golden tears fell from her face as she poured more and more of her magical might into the attack.

Cal was there, then, giving a war cry of his own as he raised his massive, reddened mace to the man's back. He brought it down like he was trying to separate the very earth beneath them, and it cracked against the coppery back with a sickening crunch. The man hit the stone floor and shattered it as splinters erupted from the black stone around him. He lay unmoving on the ground, his torso bent at an odd angle, as more golden patches appeared on his body.

Cal swung his mace down on the unmoving body. Then he swung it again. And again.

Tasha's beam of light stopped as she flew to John, cradling his body into her glowing arms.

Another cry pierced the air, this one from Jane. Blue feathery wings that matched the plume on her mask sprouted from her back, then carried her into the air and towards Wyn's group.

But Wyn was brought back to his own fight as a wave of black energy enveloped him, completely dissipating his magical armor and most of the auras from Cal and John. Landon had dropped his swords and cloak and had changed physically while the Feeble effect had disappeared. His legs bent backwards at the knee, his feet and fingers had grown while extended sharp claws replaced nails, and his skin was now a mottled grey. The mask looked like it had become a part of him, and his eyes glowed with a worrying yellow light. He had transformed into that feral state.

Worse, the Avatar had left him to go fight the others.

Wyn moved to help his team, knowing they were struggling, but was cut off when Landon suddenly appeared in front of him.

The corrupted Climber tried to swipe at him with his claws, but Wyn threw up his shield at the last moment. A terrible scraping sound rang his ears, and he nearly lost his footing from the sheer force behind the blow. Landon moved to swipe again, and Wyn repositioned himself to better defend himself. His arm was still rocked by the slash, and his armor was lessened further as Landon shouldered him with surprising force, then kicked Wyn back onto his back several feet away.

Moving to stand up, Wyn saw Landon close the distance in the blink of an eye. He was about to be speared through with the beast's claws when an arc of lightning blasted it in the side. A whined cry left Landon's lips as he was knocked to the side, then berated with talons and a beak attack from Marcy's deathhawk.

Given a moment to recover, Wyn looked over to see two copies of Cedric rushing to help the others. Octavius was on the ground, blood pooled around him as he lay unmoving but blackened from lightnight and fire. Marcy was flying in the air from her cloak, but Wyn's heart fell when he saw her face bloodied and her left leg was missing from the knee down.

Just what in the gods was happening?

Cedric summoned a storm and launched it towards the others. The gale knocked Jane off course but she righted herself quickly. Four balls of magic swirled around her body, two of them creating a continuous stream of purple magic that was locked onto Cal. The man was falling to his knees as a faint white light that surrounded him vanished.

"I'm sorry," Cal breathed, before his armor clanged onto the ground. His body rapidly withered and dusted into the air, spread into Cedric's wind.

Tasha yelled once again, flying up on her angelic wings towards the flying phoenix. She erupted in a whirlwind of multicolored lights as two of Jane's magical balls combined and honed in on her. Falling from the sky, Tasha was silent as her body collided with the black stone and rolled towards John. Her smoking, blackened form lay unmoving.

Enraged, Cedric hurled more magical attacks, catching the flying woman with arcs of lightning and whips of water, sending her careening to the ground in a heap. She stood, aiming another attack in the sky, then unleashed a vortex of half a dozen magical balls all the size of her torso.

Two of them slammed into Cedric and three honed in on Marcy, catching her off guard and withering her body. The entire left side of her body was gone as her flight stopped and she fell lifeless to the black floor.

Wyn blinked rapidly as he had trouble processing what he was watching, and he fell to one knee in sorrow. His allies were dead or dying. The Faceless Four were losing, too, but it didn't help. Even though Daniel and Arabelle were safe, his fears were still realized - he had failed his team.

Before, Wyn had frozen and cost more of his soldiers to lose their lives, and in effect he had lost his sense of worth. Coming to Alestead and climbing the tower was supposed to be a fresh start. He was supposed to atone for those past mistakes, be better and help people survive. But here he was, bringing death and pain back to those he cared for.

A pained welp drew his attention, and Wyn looked over to see Landon's human body rolling on the ground. The Avatar was on a knee, heavily leaning on its staff, its torso rising and falling with ragged breaths. Gashes covered its body and dark blood ran from injuries both seen and unseen.

Still, the Avatar stared directly at Wyn, its gaze unreadable. It then looked around the area as it studied the others before returning to Wyn.

As though drawn to it by an unspoken agreement, Wyn stood and readied his weapon. This fight wasn't over. There was still the possibility of earning the right to enter the portal to the 20th floor, and maybe there would be hope for his friends, after all.

The Avatar mimicked Wyn, standing and holding its staff as Wyn held a spear in his hand. Landon was on the ground unmoving, and Wyn didn't care if he was dead or alive.

Leveling its onyx weapon, the Avatar took a deep breath before wordlessly advancing with thunderous steps.

Wyn matched its intensity with his own brewing rage. He activated one ability after another, coating himself in what boosts he had available from both his class and equipment. When the Avatar reached him, he sidestepped its staff and lashed out with his spear. The bladed tip cut through the boss's side, spilling more black blood as it changed its direction to try and keep up with Wyn.

But Wyn teleported behind it, cancelling his speed skill so he could reposition himself for a better angle. The stab into its back was equal parts satisfying as it was effective, sinking several inches into the nearly stone-hard skin.

Reactivating the speed skill was easy as Wyn had plenty of mana remaining, and he kept the pressure on the boss as he dodged quick staff strikes, rolled under wide sweeping leg kicks, and slashed when the opportunity arose to whittle down the Avatar. A few errant hits connected with him, erasing the rest of his magical armor, but his equipment and resolve kept him in the fight.

It wasn't thirty seconds before the boss was nearly in ruins, and Wyn was hovering over it ready to deliver the final blow. He held his spear at its neck, his grip shaking from the intensity of the fight.

The avatar met his fierce gaze with calm acceptance. A small nod was all he needed to ready himself to deliver one last strike.

But then Landon was behind it, raking his twin swords across the Avatar's back. The boss shrieked in surprise, falling to the floor while its staff clattered beside it.

Landon and Wyn locked eyes for only a moment before Landon began running to the portal.

"Go," the Avatar said, coughing up more black blood.

Wyn sprinted to the portal as fast as he could. Landon was fast, closing the distance to the bridge portal quickly, but Wyn was gaining on him. He ignored the dwindling fight around him, unsure of who was coming out victorious. He sincerely hoped Cedric and John were still alive, but his entire focus with each step was on making sure he beat Landon to the portal.

Right before Landon reached it, Wyn realized he wasn't going to make it on pure speed alone. The masked Climber was fast, and his determination was carrying him to reach the portal after striking down the Avatar. Just as Landon was about to reach it, Wyn cancelled Sprint and teleported directly in front of the swirling magical doorway.

Touching it a moment later, Wyn felt the rush of the portal strangely envelop both him and Landon together.