Tower of Souls

Harvest Ability(Minor Accident)?

Cam wanted to curse the moment he inspected the shaman’s soul. He had no idea what to expect, as the kobold hadn’t used it’s Ability- that he saw-, but surely it would at least be somewhat useful, right? Just about anything could have worked, if properly applied...

”And just about everything would be better than this garbage.” He muttered in annoyance.

The history of Foundation City was long, longer than anyone truly knew, and the history of people climbing the Tower was just as long; Over the years, many people had made a study of nearly everything that applied to the climb- floor difficulties, potential layouts, monster anatomy and behavior... as well as Classes and Class Abilities.

Some Classes and their Abilities were well known and well documented, and some had varying degrees of overlaps- an Uncommon Swordsman did the same thing as an Epic Swordsman, just with different Stats and a different number of Abilities. Of course, someone with an Epic class typically had a different name to show how much it was changed from it’s lesser versions; While at Common or Uncommon, it may still be simply ’Swordsman’, at Rare they were more commonly ’Swift Swordsman’ or ’Brutal Blade’... while at Epic you were likely to find a ’Zephyr Swordsman’ who incorporated some form of wind magic, or a ’Blade Dancer’- though that one was less documented, it was still something that Cam had at least heard of.

And just as Classes were fairly well documented, so were Abilities... And the ’Accident’ line of Abilities was well known. For good reason... And for bad reasons as well.

The higher level ’Accident’- and the even higher level ’Major Accident’- were absolute game changers for a particular Classer decades ago; Both Abilities had a high chance of shifting probability, causing the target to suffer unexpected accidents- particularly by harming themselves when they attack. Though the Abilities only lasted for a few seconds- according to the records Cam had read-, their effect was enough to easily swing a fight in the caster’s favor- assuming the target didn’t resist it.

But ’Minor Accident’... had such a small chance of working that it rarely ever did anything, and the accidents it caused were little more than scratches or bruises; Combined with the short duration of the Ability, it was roundly considered to be basically useless.

The only reason ’Minor Accident’ was so well known was due to the Classer that had it being especially persistent in his climb, managing to rise to a height where his Abilities became truly powerful... Before his luck shifted one day, and his party never exited the Tower.

Grumbling to himself, Cam watched as the soul slowly dissipated, not wanting to waste his one chance for the week on such a useless Ability, before moving to join his Clone.

Seeing Eron quirk an eyebrow in curiosity at what he received, Cam shook his head slightly. ”Minor Accident.” He muttered softly, knowing his Clone would understand- and, judging by their mirrored grimaces, no more words were needed before they moved on.

A kernel of worry was starting to form in Cam’s chest as they had moved, clearing the First Floor methodically; Three side rooms with Kobold Miners, the first couple having a single miner each, while the last held two. Things were going smoothly, even if they hadn’t found another Ability to harvest...

But he knew that these were the easy fights; The further they went, the more Kobolds they would find- including Shamans, and, eventually, the Floor Boss. And he had hoped to have another Ability to help them before things got serious- or more serious, he corrected himself, as trying to clear a Floor solo was already more serious than other climbers would ever imagine.

So, when he saw his Clone hurrying back to him, he knew something was up.

”A Shaman and five miners?” He muttered in surprise as he resummoned Eron, having moved back after subsuming the clone to plan- While it seemed ridiculous to talk to his clone while formulating a plan, as they were practically identical and had the same thoughts, actually having someone to talk just felt more... reassuring... in a way. ”That’s... less than ideal.”

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”Yeah, it is... We could always backtrack and try another path? We’re getting closer to leveling, so there’s a chance we could find more stragglers to push us over. The bonus Stats would make a big difference.”

”Then we run the risk of this group wandering up behind us. Or stumbling on something worse, like a bigger group with more Shamans, before we’re ready for them.”

”But we need less than 400 experience to level; That’s only eight miners!”

”Does the XP seem off to you? Most groups don’t hit level 2 until after the Boss- and some don’t even level up on the first floor if they get a bad Floor or just don’t clear it all! Most group’s levels usually match the Floor they’re going to, though...”

The pair paused, heads tilted identically in thought before they shared a look and spoke in unison. ”...Because experience is split!”

”Five people, sharing the XP...”

”...versus one person taking it all. No wonder we’re so close to leveling already.”

”You know what this means, right?” His clone said with a grin. ”Once we get past this Floor, we’ll basically always be up levels for what we’re fighting!”

”We have to actually get past this Floor for that to matter.” Cam caution his clone- and himself, as he knew they were thinking and feeling the same things. ”And don’t forget, you stop gaining XP for mobs more than three levels lower. That’s one of the main reasons most groups don’t really push as they get to higher floors; They would rather play it safe on Floors below their level.”

”That also means they gain less Xp and level slower.” Eron pointed out with a sigh. ”It’s no wonder no one has passed Floor 50 in a century.”

”No one that we know of.” Cam countered. ”For all we know, some of the big Families and Guilds have teams up there and just don’t publicize it.”

”That’s fair, I guess... But them not pushing is why the Wilds keep getting closer every year. Even if its only inches, how long until the farms are lost? Or our apartment?”

”That’s why food prices are already so high.” Cam grunted, before shaking his head. ”Maybe they’re doing something about it, and just haven’t told everyone? I mean, if the farms are lost, they’ll starve too, right?”

”Maybe. There’s just... too much that we don’t know.”

Silence fell between the man and his clone for a moment as those dark thoughts pressed on them. History told them that Foundation City once reached all the way from the Tower at its center all the way... to the walls of the Tower that they lived in- that was part of the reason so many Classers lived in the Inner Circle, as, according to history, traveling from what was once the farthest ring to the center could take days on foot.

Now... a young man could cross the entire city in a night if he tried... and didn’t have to worry about dodging patrols like Cam had done.

And it was up to Classers to push back the Waste; Items brought out from the Tower all had a Tower Value, and, when properly sacrificed on the Tower Alter- which Cam still hadn’t seen, despite it being in the same square as the Tower-, provided the power to push back the Waste... Or at least slow its encroachment on the city.

The higher the Floor, the more valuable the item, and the more power it provided. It was the responsibility of all Classers to climb and help push back the blight that threatened the lives of everyone... Even if some, like Cole, ran from that responsibility and hid in the Outer Ring as thugs and criminals.

For a moment, the weight of it all pressed on Cam. As a Mythic, his potential was higher than everyone else. Was it greedy, or perhaps naive, of him to attempt the climb alone? He knew that, regardless of which Family or Guild got their claws into him, they wouldn’t dare waste the potential of someone with a Mythic Class. Every one of them would make sure he was part of their best team, full of Legendary and Epic Classes, and given the best equipment possible... A team like that was nearly guaranteed to climb higher than anyone else, possibly higher than anyone in their records...

A climb like that meant more power for the city, and the chance at stalling the Waste- or even pushing it back for once! Was he wrong to go it alone, to want to be more than a pawn controlled by people that had never shown they cared about him... Or even that they cared what happened to the Outer Circle and all the people living there? Maybe he had misjudged them, that they did care and he just hadn’t heard about it because he was so far out... and because he was ostracized even by other people in the Outer Ring?

And, if he failed here- if he died here-, then all he could have done to push back the Waste would be lost.