Left Over Time

[Time remaining: 1hr]

It had been a grand total of almost exactly three days since we had entered into the second floor of the tower and despite the fact that we had cleared it on the first day that did not mean that we could leave.

For the time left we just had to wait and endure. It was lucky then, that we had brought a sufficient amount of food.

Yes, we could have survived on nothing but water for the three days but we would have been severely starved. Something that I didn't want to experience ever again.

Yet even though we were stuck here did not mean that we were stagnant. Both Ellaine and I had taken the opportunity to acquaint ourselves with the items that we had been given.

Of the two items Ellaine had been given the most useful to date had been the [Black Glove of Lilies]. As although the white glove could heal, the black glove gave a much needed boost to her stamina.

Yet it came with a certain caveat that we had come to a conclusion of. The black glove would only restore stamina upon feeding on the blood of the enemies. It didn't matter if the blood was splattered on the ground or on the glove itself.

The only thing that mattered to it was that the blood was spilled. We had found that out while sparring against each other.

Since we did not have any blunt weapons and neither did either of us want to use our sheathes to fight we fought with sharpened blades. Meaning that it was inevitable that we were going to draw blood.

And during the fight when Ellaine had drawn blood, it had floated and been turned into stamina for her use. Enough that she was able to overwhelm me with the sudden burst of speed.

But that was not the only thing that we found. As my own item's uses were found through sparring as well.

The blue greave restored my mana while the red greave recovered my stamina. Or health if you wanted to be more specific.

Honestly both of our items weren't that powerful in their own right but when combined with our combat power they would be devastating on the battlefield.

Just the fact that I was able to recover my mana with a mental switch meant that I could use my mana more freely instead of conserving it for big uses.

For a moment I just lay my head against the chapel. Looking to the dark sky. Next to me Ellaine was doing much the same.

Finding solace in the tranquil moon. It was honestly quite beautiful, a shame that this would be the last night of this peace. As we had agreed to rush through the next floors together, at least up until the fifth floor where the first major roadblock would occur.

…

[Mihr Masamune]

Vitality: 3

Strength: 2.8

Dexterity: 4

Mana: 9.9

[Skills]

[Memoria(rank 1) (49.73%) Allows the user to remember] [Swordsmanship rank 1 (91.96%)]

[Mana Manipulation (rank 1 84.74%)] [Fire Resistance rank 1 (35%)]

(A/N: as someone pointed out, thanks for that btw, I accidentally copied the wrong stat sheet this is the right one.)

…

I had grown quite a lot during this time, the greatest of which would have to be my mana. It was almost in the realm of a red stat.

And I would bet anything that within a couple of floors I would be able to grow it to a red stat. Meaning that I would just keep on growing in power.

Yet this all hinged on the fact that I kept on creating miracles, clearing the floors in ways never thought possible. A stat growth of this caliber was only ever seen when achievements of our magnitude were shown.

I had asked Ellaine about the average stats of a second floor climber, comparing them to mine and was pleasantly surprised.

As according to her the average climber had an average stat of 2 and their highest only reached to maybe 3 at the highest.

My Vitality and Strength were both on the higher end of the spectrum while my dexterity at a 4 was a full point ahead of most of them.

Then there was my Mana, it was at 9.9 meaning that it would be a red stat soon. A feat that most only achieved, according to Ellaine, after challenging the ninth floor.

I couldn't help the smile that found its way to my face. I really was strong compared to them but I was not as strong as I wanted.

These were average scores, taken from the average climber. Not a ranker, one of the beings that I knew I wanted to ascend beyond.

When I had asked Ellaine what they would have had at this point all she could do was shrug. Apparently the rankers were quite hush hush with their stats. Not telling anybody.

As the hour ticked down, I looked over and found myself staring at Ellaine. Her own stare piercing my own.

"Ready?" I asked, watching the seconds tick down.

She nodded, a smile matching mine on her own face. It highlighted her features, making her seem like even more of a knight than she already was.

[Time remaining: 3… 2… 1…]

…

I sipped at the tea in my hand, the man in front of me sipping at his own tea.

"What did you want Half?!" I scowl out yet Half just calmly sipped his tea.

"Nothing, nothing" he placated, that damned smirk on his face.

"I just wanted to know how your cute. Little. Junior. Was doing."

His eyes were dripping with arrogance and it was rightly deserved. After all the ranker had made it farther than even I had.

"She is doing quite fine, nothing noteworthy that someone as grand as you should need to know."

He nodded and smiled.

"Then you wouldn't happen to know about a certain smith."

For just a moment, not even that, I stiffened but it was noticed.

He smiled and left, leaving a cold cup of tea behind.