“Ms. Mortensen, if you would,” Nicholas says, his voice authoritative, no doubt wanting to figure out what our just rewards are even more than Chloe and I already do.
I do exactly that, starting with the first chest, the one on the left side. Inside is a silver circlet, filigree of roses and vines inlaid throughout the front face. It’s far lighter than it has any right to be, and faintly glows with a silvery aura as I pick it up.
[[Headdress of the Healer]: This silvery tiara is imbued with powerful holy energies designed to augment healing magic. [Defense] +30, [Magic Defense] +55. Provides 50% resistance to [Darkness]-aligned spells and 75% resistance to [Light]-aligned spells. In addition, spells with the [Healing] property are 50% more effective and have their [Ether] costs reduced by 50%. Once per day, the wearer of the spell can imbue a [Healing] spell into the headdress, which will activate upon a trigger condition of the wearer’s choosing. (Example Condition: Wearer’s [Health] falls below 50% of maximum, or below 3,000.)]
There’s absolutely no complaint or further discussion needed. At least for the duration of this Tower climb, Chloe will be wearing it. Chloe nods in agreement, stowing her [Spellcaster’s Hat] into her [Inventory], then tilting her head upward to receive her new headdress. I slide it on, smoothly slipping it through her hair and behind her ears. As I do, its shape changes, accommodating my love’s small frame.
And it suits her perfectly, perfectly adorning the wavy brunette locks. She smiles a smile that could outshine the sun, her entire body briefly glowing as she’s likely performing the imbuing process right now. She looks a bit winded as she finishes, her [Ether] nowhere near its maximum even now, but she’s still absolutely gorgeous and I absolutely cannot help myself as I lean in and give her a quick peck on the lips which is eagerly reciprocated.
“Ahem,” Nicholas says. “Shall we continue?”
I wait a half second, just to make my displeasure at his remark known, before continuing with the second chest. Another piece of head armor, this time in the shape of a rather plain-looking metal helmet. Unlike the classical depictions of helmets in the medieval style— big, imposing, and covering the whole head— this one is more reminiscent of the style worn by professional baseball or football players. Minus the face mask in the latter case. Sleek, form-fitting, and doesn’t cover much of the face, and only some of the sides— the ears and temples, but not too much of the jaw or cheek.
[[Thinker’s Cap]: This chrome-plated cap is imbued with special enchantments that enhance the perception and cognition of its wearer. [Defense] +35, [Magic Defense] +30. Increases its wearer’s [Mind] by 10%. Twice per day, the wearer can cast the spell [Analytical Prognostication]. (Cooldown per use: 1 hour)]
And to my surprise, the System is actually willing to divulge exactly what that spell does.
[[Analytical Prognostication]: Allows the caster to gather all available information on chosen topic, such as a dungeon, a monster, a state of affairs (e.g. a past or recently completed battle), or other pertinent information. Additional information sources might include rumors, including those spoken by the wind and the world. The spell then synthesizes this information, providing the best known course of action. This spell has the [Divination] property, and can be blocked by anti-[Divination] wards.]
I don’t like the idea of being scried on in the slightest. And I sure as the nine hells don’t like the idea of Nicholas having an item like this. Divination spells are particularly pernicious and dangerous, especially in the hands of someone as conniving and clever as he is. However, this is pretty clearly the item he was meant to have out of this all, so I suppose I’ll just have to grit and bear it. I hand it over after a moment’s hesitation.
“Excellent,” he says as he puts it on. “Again, I am astounded at how well-suited these various items are. I always thought it was just a fluke, that the items we got were random and we’d gotten lucky the first couple of times. But after the first two items here are so uniquely suited to Chloe and me, I am beginning to understand why some people are saying that the System is actively encouraging us to get stronger.”
“It’s… certainly an interesting hypothesis,” I say, trying to remain ambivalent about the whole matter, especially knowing he might simply [Prognosticate] my knowledge of the System directly from the world itself. Very frustrating, and part of me wishes that I’d lied and simply said it was my chosen item. One more wrinkle to worry about in an ever-changing world.
Finally, I turn to the last of the three items, and I’m especially excited because this one is almost certainly mine. I open the chest up and find a rainbow-colored bandana, though this one is shaped more like a long headband, designed to be tied around the back of my head with two long streams of fabric streaming down my sides and back. Something akin to common depictions of martial artists, which… Honestly, I guess I kinda am? If I stretch the definition of ‘martial’ and ‘artist’ both to the point where they start crying, at least.
[[Elementalist’s Bandana]: A gaudy piece of fabric in rainbow coloration akin to a tie-dye, and a piece of headwear ideal for those specializing in elemental magics. [Defense] +25, [Magic Defense] +35. Increases all elemental magic damage by 10%. Resists all elemental damage by 10%. In addition, the armor contains the special property: [Rainbow Chain].
[[Rainbow Chain]: When casting any spell with an elemental affinity, the caster begins a Rainbow Chain with a Chain Count of 1. Casting a spell with a different elemental affinity than all previous spells in the chain will increase the Chain Count by 1, to a maximum of 7. Casting a spell with the same elemental affinity as a spell in the current chain will reset the Chain Count to 0. Based on the user’s current Chain Count, the next elemental spell cast by the wearer will have the following effects:
Chain 1: The next elemental spell has its damage increased by 10%.
Chain 2: The next elemental spell has its damage increased by 20%.
Chain 3: The next elemental spell has its damage increased by one-third (33.33%).
Chain 4: The next elemental spell has its damage increased by 50%
Chain 5: The next elemental spell has its damage increased by 50%, and its [Ether] cost reduced by 10%
Chain 6: The next elemental spell has its damage increased by 75%, and its [Ether] cost reduced by 25%
Chain 7: The next elemental spell has its damage increased by 100%, and its [Ether] cost reduced by 50%. The spell further gains the [Piercing] property, ignoring all elemental resistances, immunities, and reflection/absorption.]]
Yep, that’s mine. Sorry, [Bandana of Swiftness]. It’s been a good run. I’ve loved wearing you, through the good times and the bad. And I’m sure there’ll be quite a few people who will hate the change, and miss the bright pink swath of fabric that’s become nearly as much of a fashion statement as my teal wings. But sometimes, that’s just the way it’s gotta be. And hey, the System called this gaudy as well. So maybe this will catch on as a fashion statement in due time as well.
“Well then,” Nicholas says, his new hat nearly as goofy-looking as mine. “I believe all three of us have gotten something worthwhile.”
Chloe and I nod in agreement.
“With that, I believe now is an appropriate time to take a few minutes of a breather, hydrate, get some appropriate rations consumed, and prepare ourselves for the remainder of the Tower. You two may rest first; I will keep watch for any signs of errant monsters, although I do not think they will attack so soon after clearing out such a powerful beast.”
“Not even the Warden?” Chloe asks.
“It may, though if it does, we will be powerless to resist it. However, I do not believe it to be as big of a risk as Ms. Mortensen’s earlier claims have made it out to be.”
“Why so?” I ask.
“While there have been a couple of occasional sightings or near-sightings of the Warden, almost all of them have been concentrated on the lowermost floors. And then, by the people with the highest levels. In short, I believe the Warden’s job is less to hurry people along the Tower at a grueling pace, and more to keep people who are grossly overqualified for a particular floor from stalling too long. Right now, we are near the top of the Tower, and are very likely at or just below the Tower’s recommendation for what level we ‘should’ be at.”
I sigh, acknowledging Nicholas’ point. Still, having felt that terror in two lifetimes, I don’t exactly like the idea of putting myself in the path of that monster. A little hypocritical, coming from Ms. ‘Not Taking a Risk is itself a Risk’, I acknowledge.
Chloe and I each pull some leftover lasagna from our date night a few weeks ago. It’s still just as warm and flavorful as it was the night we got it. The cheese remains perfectly cooked, the fennel seeds pungent and aromatic, the sausage and tomatoes juicy, the noodles tender without becoming floppy. Sheer and utter perfection, and even I can admit it was worth every penny.
“So, how are you feeling?” Chloe asks me.
“I… I’m feeling well. Maybe a little too well. Hard to believe there’s only a few more floors left until this gauntlet is done.”
“You’re sad about that?”
“I mean… Not so much sad as… well, it’s…”
“Yeah, we’ve been working on this for so long, and now it’s going to be over soon.”
I nod in agreement. “Have you settled on continuing to work as a medic at the local hospital networks?”
“As much as I can. Internal bleeding, most traumatic injuries, even a lot of severed limbs. I can cure those with ease. Though I have realized that my healing magic has its limits. I’m no [Surgeon], and I can’t magic away diseases of old age or general poor health. Worse, magical healing tends to be completely ineffective and counterproductive against cancer. Though, in that case, I can at least speed up the recovery process once modern medical treatments remove it.”
“Hopefully some high-level [Alchemists] or [Herbalists] can concoct the sorts of treatments that can take care of the things that [Healers] and [Saintesses] have trouble with.”
“That’s the hope, though currently, there aren’t any particularly high-level ones locally.”
Chloe trails off, a bit of wistfulness in her words. It makes sense. There’s not a lot of intercity travel anymore. Ever since the rampage of the City Slayers, only a small trickle of people are still traveling internationally, or even interstate. There have been some refugees who have been trickling in, either from cities which didn’t survive, or people who’ve lost everything in their hometown and are looking to start a new life away from what they’ve lost. There’s also the occasional merchant convoy— which nowadays is a considerably more accurate description than ‘over the road truckers carrying goods from factories around the country’. And of course, there’s the occasional military transport and news reporter— professional and amateur alike.
Thankfully, there’s still enough working television, radio, and internet infrastructure that we’re not completely in the dark about events that are going on elsewhere. And citizen journalism is still alive and well, propagated through various social media websites and forums. But the world feels— and is— a lot larger and less well connected than it was just a couple of months ago.
The rest of our, admittedly far too short, lunch break proceeds uneventfully, and before fifteen minutes have passed, Nicholas returns, nodding solemnly.
“I believe we should get going. I’m sensing a presence, and though I do not think it is the Warden, I would rather not end up facing it if it can be avoided.”
I sense it as well. And, with the three of us unanimous in that opinion, we head back into the arena where we fought the It That Lurches in the Eclipse, and out of the other pathway, the one that leads toward the top of the Eclipse Tower. I hope.