Tower of Souls

”Not like Anomalous weird, just... different.” Eron quickly clarified, easily guessing what was going through the main body’s mind. ”I mean, at least I don’t think it’s an Anomalous Floor-”

”Just spit it out already!” Cam hissed, getting annoyed with himself- was he really like thiswhen he was allowed to be himself? A bit of a jokester, and completely unable to get to the point? He could admit, at least to himself, that he did ramble a little in his thoughts, but-

”Teddy Bears.”

”I’m sorry, but what?” He gaped at his clone. ”Did you say ’teddy bears’? What the fuck does that mean?”

”The enemies look like teddy bears! Like, a little kids stuffed toy!” Eron replied, his own disbelief echoing in his voice. ”Just with, like, flat faces... and armed with bows and slings!”

”Look, just see for yourself!” He finally exclaimed, holding out his hand to be subsumed and share the memory.

Doing what his clone suggested, as it really was the easiest way for him to understand the situation, his mind was already flitting through Eron’s memories even as he resummoned him... And, Cam had to admit, the description was pretty accurate.

Standing roughly three feet tall- about the same size as a Kobold or a Goblin- the primary monsters of this Floor looked like a child’s teddy bear with a flattened face: short fur, ranging from tan to earthy brown to gray to black, covered their bodies, with some of them having lighter patches on their faces and chubby bellies, with two small, rounded ears on top of their head. Wearing what looked like simple leather loin clothes and carrying crude looking bows and slings- with a rare few bearing spears-, the monsters hardly looked like a vicious enemy...

But Tower monsters were exactly that. Monsters. And they would happily rip them apart in a heartbeat.

”Ok, yeah. Teddy bears.” Cam chuckled, though there was a wariness to the sound; While the monsters didn’t look particularly dangerous, this was clearly a new and unknown variation for Floor 2... and likely a very difficult one, just based on their weapons. ”It looks like most of them use ranged weapons, which is a big problem...”

”To say nothing of the fact that their huts are in the trees.” Eron sighed, shaking his head. ”And we don’t have a decent ranged option, either.”

Cam could only nod in agreement as he reviewed the memory of the ramshackle huts, built up among the branches of the trees- granted, they were only about ten feet up, which he was confident he could reach with a good jump thanks to his improved Stats... Still, having to charge enemies with ranged weapons that also have a terrain advantage, regardless of how small, was practically guaranteed to hurt...

”The forest is pretty dense; Think we can sneak close enough to get the jump on them?”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Eron rolled his eyes at the question. ”You literally know as well as I do if that is possible!”

”There’s a difference between remembering it and actually seeing it!” Cam sighed; He knew he was arguing with himself, and that his clone should think of these things as well... but this back and forth also kind of seemed like his way of working through a problem. ”Seriously, am I really this much of pain? Even to myself?”

”You’re only this much of a pain because it is to yourself!” Eron chuckled, but didn’t let the joke linger. ”But, yeah, I think we can get pretty close. Low and slow, like usual, and we should be right under them... But taking five at once means we’re going to get hurt at least a little.”

”Maybe we can lure the spear wielder away and deal with it first?”

”That would probably just put the rest on guard against us, making it harder to sneak in again...”

”Yeah, fair. Think their hut will burn?”

”Ooh, now that is an idea! You want to sneak underneath and give it a try? I can be ready to charge them when they jump-”

”If they jump.”

”Yeah, if they jump... And, if they don’t, they’ll have a harder time getting an angle on you, so the spearman- err, spearbear?- whatever, the one with the spear will probably have to go down after you, and I can look for an approach to catch them off guard.”

”Now that sounds like a plan!” Eron nearly cheered. Quickly double checking that his gloves were snugly in place and his dagger was ready to be drawn, he quickly waved at his other self before leading the way forward, crouched low and moving cautiously...

They had a plan. All they needed to do was execute it- hopefully without getting shot full of arrows by a bunch of teddy bears.

Cam watched, mostly calm, from behind a tree as his clone slowly circled the bears’ outpost...

”Is outpost the right word? They aren’t really a military, or an organized society, so... their home? A house in the trees?” He muttered softly to himself, careful not to let his words carry- though, from the way the bear monsters shuffled around, seeming to chatter among themselves, he doubted they would hear him- not exactly the most alert monsters. ”Yeah, a house in the trees. A treehouse; Sounds... kind of cool, actually.”

The sudden motion of Eron darting forward, right when all the bears gathered on the opposite side of the treehouse, cut off his musing, and Cam clenched his fist around the hilt of his greatsword as he waited for a shout of alarm or the distinct twang of a bow firing...

But, as Eron slid to a halt, back pressed against the tree beneath the treehouse, no alarm was raised... Though, from his clone’s worried look after glancing up, Cam new something wasn’t quite right.

After a second of staring up, Eron glanced his way... and started silently miming something. First, he pointed up, then made a circle with his hands, then he mimed climbing up... and through the circle...

There was a way to climb up to the treehouse! Which, as he reflected on it, only made sense to Cam; How else would the bears get up and down if there wasn’t an entrance?

Thankfully, from Eron’s gestures, it looked like a small opening, just big enough for one of the bears- or for Eron to squeeze through, seeing as the two of them weren’t particularly large themselves... Which likely meant only one or two of the bears could shoot down from there at a time.

Getting a thumbs up from his clone, it was clear the plan was still on.

And a burst of flame flew up from his hands; It was time to see if these ’treehouses’ could burn!