The Tower (Part 1)

*Zane*

Tide sprinted up the spiral of stone stairs with his two partners following closely behind him. He was sure that he would reach the top of the stone tower hours ago, but it seemed the tower was much taller than he thought. After all, structures could be as tall as they wanted in a VRMMO like Quest.

Anything is possible in virtual reality.

"What's the news on the Titan Guild N1ght_Gh0st?" Tide asked while glancing behind him towards a youthful dark elf. "Are they still following us?"

N1ght_Gh0st grunted in response, sweating dribbling down her face.

"They're still following us and it doesn't look like they're gonna stop anytime soon." N1ght_Gh0st said raspily in jagged and out-of-air breaths.

Tide grimaced.

"Have they set off the traps?"

"They have, but it's not slowing them down. They must have a mage with them that can dispel traps."

Tide clicked his tongue in annoyance. He wanted to climb the tower without anyone following them, but that seemed impossible now. They were now in a race to the top.

"I'm pretty tired right now." N1ght_Gh0st said. "We could always stop and defeat them here so that I could-."

"No." A muscular wolfman named Arch interrupted bluntly. "We must reach the top floor. We have to retrieve the Instruments of Creation before anything else."

N1ght_Gh0st grunted in frustration.

"Stupid muscleheads. If you were as exhausted as I am right now you would stop too."

Arch seemed to ignore N1ght_Gh0st's remark and continued to climb up the tower at an astonishing speed. A slight smile cracked Tide's face. He could understand N1ght_Gh0st's annoyance. After all, neither Tide nor Arch were very tired from climbing up the endless stone spiral.

Arch's physical abilities were unparalleled among Quest players. Trying to make Arch sweat was like trying to get a donkey to talk. It was impossible. Meanwhile, Tide was famous for his magical prowess. It was easy for him to use enhancement magic to climb the tower with ease. If anything, N1ght_Gh0st was slowing Tide and Arch down. But it was worth it. They needed N1ght_Gh0st to analyze the surrounding players and traps. Without her, there was no way they would make it up the tower without dying. She was crucial to their survival.

"Mobs incoming from above us." N1ght_Gh0st called out, prompting Tide to unsheathe his sword strapped on his waist. Almost immediately, a multitude of mobs descended upon Tide and his comrades. They were mostly low-level mobs, but enough low-level mobs could kill any player left unchecked. Seeing the danger before them, Tide grasped the sword's hilt with two hands and lifted it over his head.

"Lemme take care of this one." Tide called out.

His partners nodded and stepped behind him. The mobs continued to approach Tide as he powered up his attack, their ugly and slimy bodies thrashing violently on the stone stairs.

'Wait.'

One mob suddenly sprung out from the hoard. A goblin leaped into the air and swung a small, ragged stone sword towards Tide's neck.

'A bit longer.'

Tide could feel the goblin's sword approach his neck; the air sweeping towards his face.

It was time to strike.

'Now.'

He slashed his sword down towards the ground with all of his might.

[Class Skill: Fire Storm]

As his sword reached the ground, a spurt of fire erupted. A storm of fire quickly ascended up the stairway, bringing about a cacophony of squeals and cries as the mobs burnt to ashes. The mobs that stood in his path were annihilated. Soon after, the fire dissipated.

[You have defeated a Low-level Goblin- 35 XP]

[394 More Notifications]

Tide ignored the notifications and instead stared at the burning red longsword that now rested on a stone stair. While its design was certainly simplistic, the only word could be used to describe the sword.

It was magnificent.

Other swords of that calibre boasted of fanciful ornaments and engravings, yet the sheen of uncultured steel from its helm to its tip far exceeded the beauty of any engravings. However, the helm of the sword was the true eye-catcher, fitted with a mysterious yet beautiful crystal that seemed to change colour as you looked at it from different angles.

It was a sword that could channel magical attacks.

The Sword of Order.

"Stop staring at your sword and keep climbing Tide." Arch said while speeding ahead past him, bringing him out of his trance. "We don't have all day."

Tide nodded, hastily sheathing his sword back at his waist.

"We've caught up to them!"

Tide swerved his head down towards the voice below. The Titan Guild had caught up.

"Shit."

Tide grabbed N1ght_Gh0st and hoisted her over his shoulders.

"What the...Don't carry me!" N1ght_Gh0st squealed out. "I can-"

"We need to move." Tide interrupted, beginning to sprint over the burnt corpses at a faster pace than before. "I wanted to conserve mana but it seems that I have no choice now."

Tide zoomed up the spiral with N1ght_Gh0st on his shoulders, using wind magic on top of his physical enhancement magic to climb the tower at an astonishing pace. Despite the increase in speed, Tide could still hear the clomping of feet behind them. The Titan Guild were keeping up with them.

"How far are we from the top?" Tide asked suddenly, aiming the question at N1ght_Gh0st.

"Close. I can sense the boss monster now."

"How long until we reach the top?" Arch suddenly interjected.

N1ght_Gh0st thought for a moment before answering.

"At this speed...at least a minute or two."

Tide and Arch both nodded.

"Can you tell what the boss monster is-"

Tide abruptly cut off his sentence. Sensing an attack, he tilted his head to the left and barely dodged a fireball that was aimed at his face.

BOOM!

The fireball crashed into the wall beside them and exploded, sending debris flying in all directions.

"They're catching up!" N1ght_Gh0st shouted in distress. "We're not going to make it to the top at this rate!"

Arch grunted in frustration.

"They must be using a team of mages to propel them up the staircase." He said while punching a fireball back down the stairs. "Damn homing magic. How long until we reach the top?"

Arch glanced over to her expecting an immediate response. He was answered with silence. Instead, her eyes were locked upwards. They were consumed with horror.

"Shit."

"What?" Tide snapped.

"W-we're t-trapped."

"What do you mean we're trapped?" Tide shouted out angrily, trying to create a shield to dispel the attacks coming from below.

"There's....m-mobs coming from above...high-level mobs..."

Tide froze.

"Are you positive on this N1ght_Gh0st?"

Tide didn't receive a response, but he already knew what her answer would be. N1ght_Gh0st was never wrong. Her scouting had proven correct every single time. His worst fears had become a reality. The Titan Guild was approaching them from below and high-level mobs were approaching them from above.

They were completely trapped.

"Why have you stopped Tide?" Arch suddenly called out. "We need to reach the to-"

SCRREEEE!!!!

Arch's words were cut off by the sound of shrilling screeches from above.

"They're coming!" N1ght_Gh0st shouted madly, her eyes glued directly above them. "The mobs are coming!"

Arch scowled in frustration and slowed to a halt.

"Shit. This couldn't have gone any worse. N1ght_Gh0st, is there no way around this?"

N1ght_Gh0st shook her head slowly, her eyes never leaving the ceiling above. Tide's heart dropped. They were screwed. All of their hard work and effort would be for nothing. They spent hours grinding the game for levels, raising their ranking on the Quest Leaderboards and barely qualifying for the Ranker Games. Against all odds, they had defeated every opponent set against them. They made the finals, playing against the best players Quest had to offer. And they bested them. They were in front and climbing the tower faster than any other guild or player.

But it was all for nothing.

They were trapped.

There was no way out.

There was no way out...

...

Wait!

Couldn't they just...

"N1ght_Gh0st! Point where the boss monster is."

N1ght_Gh0st suddenly snapped out of her trance, the horror in her eyes disappearing as she returned to reality. She looked at him quizzically.

"Wha...What you mean point where-"

"Just do it." Tide interrupted. "If you point to the boss monster I think we can get ourselves out of this trap."

N1ght_Gh0st's face was filled with doubt, yet at Tide's insistence she pointed towards the boss monster anyway.

"It's in that direction." She answered with confusion in her voice. "But why-"

"Keep pointing and you'll see." He interjected. "Hey Arch! Come over here!"

Arch grunted.

"I can't." He responded, punching the homing fireballs back down the spiral of stairs. "While you two are twiddling your thumbs, I'm making sure we live."

Tide smirked.

"Twiddling my thumbs, am I?"

Almost immediately after he finished speaking, a transparent magical shield appeared in front of them, negating all magical attacks coming from the Titan Guild below them. Arch clicked his tongue in irritation.

"Fine." Arch said. "What crazy plan do you have to get us out of this trap?"

Tide began his explanation.

"We have no way out at the moment, correct?"

"Yeah but-"

"Then how about we create a way out?"

Perplexment shone on Arch's face.

"What do you mean?" He asked confusedly. "How-"

Arch abruptly stopped halfway through his sentence. Realisation hit him. His eyes widened slowly. And then a wide and victorious grin slowly cracked his face.

"You're....you're a damn genius Tide."

Arch quickly scurried over to Tide. Together, they created an odd stance, with Tide forming a circle with hands while Arch lowered down into a fighting stance. For a few seconds, they stood there motionlessly as Tide used mana to power the attack. At the same time, Arch cocked his right arm back and clenched his fist.

"Ready?" Arch asked, looking at Tide for a response.

Tide nodded. Arch punched through the circle with all of his might.

[Combo Skill: Beam of Order]

From nothing, a polarising beam of light appeared. With scorching heat beyond worldly compression, the beam seared through the stone walls, creating a makeshift path from the spiral stairway to the boss monster above.

They had a way out.

"They're there!"

Unfortunately, Tide had no time to celebrate. Down the staircase, a large group of mages and warriors readied themselves to attack. The Titan Guild had finally caught up.

"Shit." Tide cursed. "We're not going to even have the time to escape."

Tide readied himself to defend, preparing a spell to dispel incoming attacks. However, against any warning, Tide suddenly felt himself yanked off his feet.

"Arch!" N1ght_Gh0st screamed out. "What are you doing?!"

Arch did not respond. Instead, he lifted Tide and N1ght_Gh0st and cocked his arm back behind his head.

"Arch! Why-"

"Why am I throwing you into the boss room?" Arch said, finishing off N1ght_Gh0st's question. "Because you two have more of a chance of defeating the boss than I do."

"But-"

Tide suddenly stopped speaking. Astonishingly, he saw a smile was creeping up Arch's face. It was not a victorious grin like before. No. It was a warm smile.

It was a smile filled with compassion.

Tide's eyes widened. Arch was never one to smile. Over the past few years of partnering together in-game, he had only seen Arch smile like that a handful of times. And those times were not ordinary. Only at times of true brotherhood and stress, when everything else seemed to fail, did he smile.

And he was smiling right now.

'Arch...'

Tide opened his mouth to speak, but Arch began first.

"Retrieve the Instruments of Creation." He said with warmth burning in his voice. "I know you can do it."

Tide smiled back. He wanted to say more. He wanted to show his gratitude for Arch's company. Gratitude for his only friend. Unfortunately, an incoming fireball stopped the words from escaping his throat.

"Enjoy the ride."

Arch hurled his arm forward, launching Tide and N1ght_Gh0st up into the makeshift escape path.