[COMBAT INITIATED]
[ENEMY: Cave Slime (Lvl 12) x6]
Level 12 Cave Slime was the magical equivalent of a puddle. I could kill six of them with a single Arcane Volley on a good day.
Today was not a good day.
[STATUS WARNING]
[MP: 1,204 / 342,568]
[HP: 2,880 / 4,217]
[STAMINA: CRITICAL]
I dodged left as a slime launched itself at my face. It crashed against the cave wall, releasing a wet thud, before reassembling into a jiggling green heap, its viscous tendrils snaking towards me once more.
Two more slimes closed in from the right, with one perched on the ceiling, an action I thought was impossible for these creatures, but this cave seemed to have its own set of rules.
"Arcane Bolt!"
[SKILL: Arcane Bolt — Cost: 80 MP]
[DAMAGE: 4,218 → Cave Slime (Lvl 12)]
[Cave Slime defeated! +12 EXP]
[MP: 1,124 / 342,568]
One down, five to go. The bolt instantly annihilated the slime, which was satisfying, yet also embarrassing, because I had to use a specialized ability on a creature that a level 20 could clear with a simple stomp.
My mana pool, which should have been a boundless ocean of arcane power, was running on its last legs. I had been working on contracts nonstop for days, trying to repay the Guildmaster's debt as quickly as possible so I could return to the tower. Back to my true calling.
Back to floor 100.
Back to Victoria.
I shut my eyes for a moment. There she was, just like always, standing on the pavilion, looking at me and smiling. Sometimes in my head, the scene kept going. She would smile, then reach for my hand and whisper, "come with me," and we would stroll through the palace, exploring her gardens, her library, and her personal quarters, where —
A slime hit my shin.
[DAMAGE RECEIVED: 8 HP]
[HP: 2,872 / 4,217]
Right. Cave. Slimes. Job. Focus.
"Mana Shield!"
[SKILL: Mana Shield — Cost: 200 MP]
[INSUFFICIENT MP FOR SUSTAINED CAST — SHIELD DURATION: 3 SECONDS]
The barrier flickered to life for seconds, allowing it to deflect the falling ceiling slime, then it shattered.
Three months ago, I could hold a Mana Shield for 45 minutes. Now, I was carefully metering out even the most essential defensive spells.
But it was temporary. All of this was temporary. Every time I defeated an enemy and gained 12 measly experience points, I was one step closer to paying off my debt and returning to the tower full-time. And once I killed the demon queen, I would walk into Victoria's throne room and kneel before her. She would look down on me and smile that smile, and she would say —
What would she say? What would she say when I told her I avenged King Cealgach? That I climbed a hundred floors and killed the unkillable for her?
Maybe she'd cry. The good kind of crying. I would get up and gently wipe away her tears, and she would smile slightly, and I would do the same before we shared a tender, hesitant kiss.
"Arcane Volley!"
[SKILL: Arcane Volley — Cost: 320 MP]
[Cave Slime (Lvl 12) x5 defeated! +60 EXP]
[MP: 804 / 342,568]
[ENCOUNTER COMPLETE]
[LOOT: Slime Core (Common) x3, Viscous Extract x2]
I dropped down to the floor of the cave. My legs trembled. My staff clattered beside me. I sat there in slime residue, breathing hard, and let myself drift back into it. The fantasy. The future.
Obviously, Victoria and I would live in the palace. She'd insist. I'd likely respond with a polite "oh, are you sure, I don't want to impose," to which she might retort, "you killed a demon queen for me, I think you've earned a bedroom." We would then share a bedroom, as is customary between married couples, and I would wake up each morning next to her. Her hair would be a mess from sleep, and she would gaze at me with tender eyes, saying "good morning." I would reply with the same, before possibly asking her if she would like me to massage her shoulders. As I began the massage, it would gradually move downwards, and she would let out a soft moan and--
Nope. Too much. My face was on fire. I pressed my palms against my cheeks and squealed.
Our children would be very attractive, indeed. We'd figure out the logistics later. Magic likely had answers for that. Barney would know. Barney was an expert--
The fantasy dissolved.
I pulled out my loot sack and started scraping residue off the ground. Three silver a jar.
And it was all because of what happened after the Midsummer Address.
That night, after Victoria smiled at me, I was supposed to go home.
Barney had left early. He'd carried the banner during the whole address. He'd watched me cry during Victoria's speech. And he'd fulfilled his role as Vice President of the Queen Victoria Appreciation Society with moderate enthusiasm. At the end, he turned to me.
"If you go to that tower tonight, Ayla, I will —"
"I won't! I'm going straight home, I promise!"
He'd left. I'd stayed. I just wanted to see her one more time before she went back inside the pavilion.
What I was expecting was that she noticed me, and started walking towards me. And she said, "You're the mage, aren't you? The one who challenges the tower."
"Yes!" I practically screamed the word. "Yes. Hi. That's me. I'm her. The mage. Every day. For you. I mean... for the realm. For — yes."
She smiled. Her smile started at the corners of her mouth and reached her eyes enough for me to start naming out future children.
"That's very brave," she said. "I hope you succeed."
Five words. A smile. Then, she was gone.
I stood in the dispersing crowd, with my knees not working and my heart doing something medically unsustainable. I knew with unshakable certainty that I could not go home and sleep. Not tonight. Not after that. She was waiting for someone to do it. She was waiting for me.
I had to kill the demon queen. Tonight. Right now.
I went to the tower.
The sun had set, and the sky was beginning to darken. I shouldn't have gone. But Victoria's smile was a stamina tonic that no alchemist could bottle, and I was inside the entrance before I'd even made a conscious decision to walk there.
[WELCOME BACK, CHALLENGER.]
I cleared the floors. Faster than usual. Fueled by something that wasn't mana or potions or rest but was somehow more effective than all three combined. The floor bosses barely registered.
Floor 100. The demon queen. She sat on her throne, looking bored and beautiful in that horrible way she always did. I gave my monologue. It was one of my finest.
[HP: 0 / 4,217]
[YOU HAVE DIED]
[RESURRECTION: COMPLETE]
Barney was furious.
[MP: 312 / 342,568]
[HP: 1,104 / 4,217]
[STAMINA: CRITICAL]
[CONDITION: Post-Resurrection Fatigue]
I wish I had stayed in bed. Every part of my body was urging me to stay there. My MP was at a whopping 312. I had Post-Resurrection Fatigue, meaning my stats were halved for the next six hours. A level 30 creature could have easily killed me.
But Victoria smiled at me.
I grabbed my staff. I had stocked up on potions and supplies before the Address because I'd been planning to do a tower run in the morning. I made my way through the woods.
I would return to the tower. Tonight, I would do it all over again. I would fight the demon queen again. With Victoria's voice echoing in my head and her smile etched on my mind's eye, I would win. I would —
I tripped over something.
The ground disappeared and the world began to spin. My staff slipped from my fingers and clattered to the dirt below. My bag slipped off my shoulder and hit the ground with a heavy thud and rolled just out of reach.
I was upside down, suspended in a net. I was in Seascann Woods with 312 MP and a quarter of my health, with all of my gear spread out on the ground ten feet below me.
I tried to cast anything. A bolt. A shield. A flicker.
[INSUFFICIENT MP]
I tried again.
[INSUFFICIENT MP]
Again.
[INSUFFICIENT MP]
I hung there in the dark, trapped by a device designed for creatures forty levels below me. I could have easily escaped just six hours earlier.
The woods were still. Whoever had set this trap was gone. I was alone, suspended, turning slowly in the breeze. I was only accompanied by the moonlight and the sound of my own breath and the distant silence of a world.
I hung there until the sun rose.
__
I heard them before I saw them.
Footsteps echoed on the trail. Multiple sets. Laughter. The laughter of people who were having a good morning and who were about to have an even better one.
Drayk rounded the corner ahead of me. He halted. He glanced up at me. His face went through several emotions at once: confusion, recognition, disbelief, joy, and even more joy.
"Oh," he said. "Guys, get over here!”
His party appeared behind him: four of them, the Ironjaw party, rank B. They were the most petty and assholish group of adventurers in the guild system. I had defeated them in a tournament eight months ago. Cleared their entire group in under two minutes. Drayk, real name Dennis, had never let it go.
Drayk was grinning so wide it looked painful. "Look who it is! The demon queen's favorite chew toy. Hanging in our snare like a rabbit."
"Cut me down, Dennis."
"It's Drayk."
"It's Dennis and your mother knows it. Cut me down."
He bent down and grabbed my pack. My pack, containing all my recent buys: the potions I'd purchased from Orna, the food supplies, and the mana crystals I had been hoarding. He opened it and let out a whistle.
"Wow. You really loaded up, huh? Going somewhere special?"
"That's mine. Put it down."
"Oh, is this a Clarity Shard? Those are worth, what, two hundred gold?" He held it up to the light. His companions gathered around, examining my belongings. "The infamous Moonlit Mage, running around the Seascann in the middle of the night. Where were you headed, sweetheart? Back to the tower to get blown up again?"
"Dude, are you seriously going to rob me?"
He looked up at me. His smile had vanished.
"I'm going to do more than that," he said.
[HP: 0 / 4,217]
[YOU HAVE DIED]
[...]
[...]
[...]
The ceiling above me was made of stone, not the familiar timber of Barney's clinic. The slab beneath me was cold in a way Barney's never was. Barney always put a blanket down first, even when he was pissed at me.
Guildmaster Harlan was standing over me.
"How long?" I croaked.
"Five days," Harlan said, pulling a chair up and sitting down across from me. "Would’ve been dead for good if I hadn’t revived you."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet." He leaned forward. "I didn't do this out of charity, Ayla. I did it because you're useful and I'm not in the business of letting assets stay dead."
[GUILD DEBT: ████████ GOLD]
"That's the base cost," Harlan said. "Plus interest."
"Interest?"
"Monthly. Compounding."
"That's extortion!”
"It’s business. You work it off through guild contracts. Standard loot splits, priority assignments, whatever I need done. You work until the balance is zero. And until then, you don't leave the guild's jurisdiction; you don't take outside contracts."
"I don't have time for this! I need to get back to the tower! I need to —"
"You need to pay your debt. Unless you'd prefer I reverse the resurrection. It's a simple procedure. Quick. I'm sure someone out there will and revive you, right?”
Nobody would revive me. He knew that. I had no one else. If Harlan reversed the resurrection, I'd be dead.
"Fine," I grumbled.
"Smart girl. Your first contract is on the board. Cave slimes. Low priority. Should be easy for someone of your caliber."
I slid off the slab. The floor was cold under my bare feet. I had no boots, no shoes, and no staff. Dennis took everything. Dick.
I tried Barney's clinic on the way to the market.
I knocked. I waited. I knocked again. I could see the light inside. I could hear movement: the shuffle of slippers on the floor. He was right there, just a few feet away.
"Barney?" I said. "It's me."
Silence.
"I know you're mad. And you should be. I promised and I broke it and I'm sorry."
The shadow underneath the door changed. He was there, on the other side of the door.
"I'm alive, obviously," I said. "The Guildmaster revived me. I'm doing contracts to pay it off. Cave slimes and stuff. It's pretty humbling; actually, you'd enjoy watching me be humbled; you should come see it."
Nothing. The shadow didn't move.
"I miss you, old man."
The lights went out. I heard the squeak of his chair as he resumed his seat. Then there was silence.
I waited outside the door for a moment, then I spun on my heels and walked to the market barefoot, asking Orna for a potion on credit.