Tower Climber 3 (A LitRPG Adventure)

by Jakob Tanner

  They all sat at the lunch table in front of bowls of carrot soup.

  “You could say that again,” said Gulpo. “How are we supposed to enjoy this soup without flies? They have salt and pepper here, yet where are the rest of the basic condiments!”

  They all murmured with agreement, except for U’lopp who looked down to his webbed feet below the table.

  He didn’t care if the other frog-folk thought it was a bad idea to come here.

  He was more concerned with yesterday’s events and whether all the people in the arena’s audience had survived and were safe.

  And then there were his human friends.

  He hoped they were okay.

  Especially Max.

  Similar conversations were happening across the city, from bar taverns to the quiet corners of people’s homes.

  Same went for the Boldrin team in their outpost as was the case for the Flaron.

  Even the selfish cat-folk couldn’t help but ponder what the previous day’s events would mean for everyone.

  The mood was somber across the capital for the first time in a long while. No one in the lower floors could predict what would happen amongst the tower races next.

  One particular group of humans in a Caesarian hospital, however, were even more somber than most.

  83

  Sakura ascended to floor-30.

  As soon as she materialized on the Caesarian floor of the tower, she marched straight to the capital.

  The city was a ghost town with many mourning and hiding within their homes.

  Still, as Sakura strode the streets with fury and determination, she caught sight of furtive eyes peeking at her through the windows of quiet homes.

  She eventually arrived at the Caesarian healer district and went straight for the main hospital at the center of the area.

  A security guard tried to check her for ID to which she barked, “I’m the freaking climber president of all of humanity and we’re in a diplomatic crisis, so how about you—”

  “Right this way, ma’am.”

  Sakura sighed and brushed her hair out of her eyes and quickly apologized for losing her temper with the man.

  You never know what kind of day someone else is having.

  This epiphany went completely out the window when a group of nurses tried to tell her she wasn’t allowed to go into the emergency room.

  “What do you mean,” she asked. “I have a friend—I mean, I have a climber under my command in dire condition in there. Let me enter at—”

  “Sakura.”

  The climber president swung around to find Sarah and Casey sitting on a nearby set of chairs.

  Their eyes were red and puffy from crying, their skin white as ghosts.

  Seeing the two young girls was like the turning of the tap of all the feelings she’d been holding back.

  All the anger and motivation that had been propelling Sakura since she’d heard news of the assassination and chaos on floor-30, drained away and her shoulders fell.

  She croaked as she asked the girls, “Is he okay?”

  They both shook their heads.

  “What do you mean?” asked Sakura, a horrible feeling piercing through her heart.

  “They won’t let us see him,” Casey finally answered. “The healer spoke to us a few hours ago and hasn’t come back.”

  Sakura walked towards a nearby wall and leaned her head against it. She then pounded her right fist into it.

  She hated feeling powerless.

  She hated feeling like there was nothing she could do for those she cared about.

  She hated that the only thing she could do was wait.

  Finally, the doors from the emergency wing swung open and out came a Caesarian healer.

  His face was cold and emotionless, like many of the professional healers and doctors Sakura knew back in Zestiris.

  Casey and Sarah immediately stood up and hurried over to him.

  “How is he?” Casey asked.

  “He’s alive,” said the healer.

  Casey and Sarah sighed with relief and hugged each other.

  Sakura took a step towards them.

  “Can we go see him?” Sakura asked.

  The healer’s face grew solemn.

  “Not yet,” he explained. “He’s alive, but...”

  “What do you mean, ‘but’!?” Sakura said, exasperated.

  “He’s currently still unconscious and we’re concerned he might not wake up.”

  The brief feeling of relief she’d felt a mere second before now felt like an eternity ago.

  Sakura felt a horrible sinking feeling overwhelm her.

  “I don’t understand,” said Sarah. “We’re all climbers here. We can use magic. Why can’t he be healed?”

  The doctor cleared his throat.

  “It’s the nature of his injuries,” the healer explained. “It was similar to your other colleagues who were brought in two days back, but much more severe.”

  Sakura winced with suspicion.

  She had been informed of the strange attack by the mercenary team’s B-ranker.

  So far none of it added up.

  There should have been no way that the attack could have harmed Harold, a full rank above the mercenary climber, in such a way.

  Unless, the mysterious B-ranker could double their attack power similar to Max.

  Or...

  The realization hit Sakura like a freight train.

  A break-mode could do such an attack.

  She couldn’t believe it hadn’t dawned on her sooner.

  The report she had read told her the attack that had harmed Harold and Blake was a hybrid mesh of bone and flesh manipulation.

  Plenty of climbers throughout the tower had such abilities, but very few of them were considered break-modes.

  In fact, as far as Sakura knew, there was only one person known with such a break-mode ability.

  The Scarlet Demon.

  Max’s sister.

  The realization made Sakura stumble back towards the seating area.

  She practically collapsed onto a chair.

  She was barely listening to the doctor, though she caught his final words.

  “We believe that if he doesn’t wake up in the next five days,” said the doctor. “He won’t wake up at all.”

  Sakura was now overwhelmed with shock.

  She was distressed about the state of Max’s health.

  And even more surprised by how he’d been put in that state.

  So, he finally found her then, Sakura thought.

  He had confronted the truth that many of the older climbers of Zestiris, herself included, had never chosen to tell him.

  His long lost sister wasn’t the little girl of Max’s memories.

  Even still, Sakura thought, recalling the way Max spoke about his sister.

  The way he talked about her innocence, her playfulness—it made Sakura question her belief that Elle Rainhart was really the cold-blooded killer who carried the title of The Scarlet Demon.

  Even now Max’s determination to find her and bring her home made Sakura think there was more to the girl than any file or rumor about her could sum up.

  Sakura didn’t know what to do with these thoughts.

  She doubted the villainy of The Scarlet Demon, while waiting to see whether or not she had managed to kill her own brother.

  Casey and Sarah sat down on either side of her and placed their hands on her back.

  She couldn’t believe it, said Sakura, wiping a tear from her eye.

  She had to hear it all recounted from Max.

  It was the only way it might make sense.

  She couldn’t fathom that he might not wake up from the attack.

  It’s not possible, she thought, refusing to believe it.

  He has to wake up. He has to!

  84

  The three women spent the night in the hospital wing’s waiting room.

  They all struggled to fall asleep. At midnight, Sakura encouraged
the girls to sleep, promising she’d wake them if the doctor returned with any news.

  It was almost seven in the morning now and there hadn’t been any updates.

  Sakura got up, immediately feeling cramps and stiffness.

  She stretched and then decided to go search for some coffee.

  She roamed around the hospital wing until she found a manatech coffee dispenser.

  You’ve got a hand it to the Caesarians, Sakura thought as she used the device to create a hot cup of black coffee. They make top-quality manatech.

  She sipped on her coffee slowly and leaned against a wall.

  She recalled the healer’s words from yesterday.

  If Max doesn’t wake up in five days, he might never wake up at all.

  They were now on day two.

  It was going to be a long couple of days.

  Sakura looked up and down the hall.

  Max isn’t going anywhere, she thought to herself. And I do have two other climbers I need to check up on.

  Sakura followed the signs in the hospital wing and eventually found the recovery ward.

  Despite it being quite early in the morning, she could hear a lot of commotion coming from nearby.

  “You shouldn’t be out of bed,” cried a nurse.

  “Is our cooking not good enough for you?” said another. “Why are you using our staff kitchen!?”

  The cries of frustration made Sakura only more curious and confused.

  What the heck is going on over there?

  At first, she thought it might be old man Harold up to no good, and she was prepared to give him a strong punch to the shoulder and she didn’t even care if he was an injured patient.

  But she was quite shocked to find the irritated nurses surrounding Blake who was clad in a hospital gown.

  “You need to go back to bed,” shouted a nurse. “You should be resting. Not doing whatever this is...”

  “Can’t you see I’m cooking?” groaned Blake.

  Sakura was now even more confused.

  Was Blake partaking in some kind of alternative medicine?

  This whole situation felt odd and bizarre.

  “Um,” said Sakura approaching the scene of commotion. “Is this man bothering you?”

  All the nurses turned to look at her.

  “YES!”

  Blake blinked at the sight of the climber president and stuttered, “Sakura, what are you doing here!?”

  The nurses did a double take between Blake and Sakura.

  “This is Sakura,” they whispered. “The woman he won’t shut up about. Oh my gosh, what’s going to happen next?”

  The nurses began to slowly drift to the back of the room, blushing and giggling.

  “What a romantic reunion,” they whispered to one another.

  Sakura’s eyes narrowed. “I was checking up on you, goof.”

  With the nurses now out of the way, she could see what Blake had been doing to cause so much commotion.

  On the kitchen surface was a pack of instant noodles, eggs, and bacon.

  He couldn’t be...

  Blake laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.

  “I’ve just been practicing is all,” he said.

  Then, his eyes narrowed and a flash of a serious and determined look flickered across his face.

  “But, it looks like I have to cut my training short,” he declared.

  Blake grabbed a bowl and got down onto one knee and presented it to Sakura.

  “Sakura—I, humble Blake, have made you this bowl of bacon and egg ramen. If you enjoy it, will you please consider going on a date with me?”

  Sakura’s eyebrow twitched.

  Part of her wanted to say: I rushed up to this floor, worried about all of you, and here you are up to your regular hijinks!?

  But she didn’t say that because for Sakura bacon and egg ramen was a sacred culinary art and even though she had her doubts about Blake, she didn’t have her doubts about the potential deliciousness of a bowl cooked correctly.

  She grabbed a spoon and took a taste, managing to get a bit of broth, noodle, bacon, and eggs in one bite.

  All the nurses in the kitchen watched the climber president taste the bowl of ramen with silent rapt attention.

  Sakura closed her eyes as she pondered the mix of flavors in her mouth.

  “And?” whispered a nurse, before all the others hissed at her to be quiet and not ruin the moment.

  Sakura smiled and looked down at Blake who was still on one knee.

  “It has...potential.”

  Blake blinked. “Does that mean then—”

  Sakura blushed. “Yes, it does.”

  Blake smiled, only to turn around with tears in his eyes to the nurses watching on.

  “Can you believe it?”

  All the nurses were crying and hugging each other.

  “I’m so happy it worked out!”

  This is a very weird hospital, Sakura thought to herself.

  She smiled at Blake once more.

  “Now that you’ve gotten what you wanted,” said Sakura, her cheeks blushing with embarrassment from the cooing nurses, “Can you please get back into bed, you dummy!”

  85

  A day later, Sarah rubbed at her eyes, still sitting in the same hospital waiting room.

  She was exhausted. Her body desperately wanted to sleep and yet when she closed her eyes, she couldn’t sleep at all.

  She didn’t think resting would be possible until she knew that Max was going to be okay.

  Casey and her hadn’t spoken in hours. They hadn’t even looked at each other. Not because of any ill will to each other, but just because looking at each other, they would catch reflections of their own sadness and worry and they’d start crying again.

  It was easier to retreat into one’s own thoughts as they waited second after second, minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day—waiting for more news about their friend.

  Still, Sarah thought managing a furtive glance to her companion. Casey doesn’t look well.

  Sarah’s stomach rumbled and she realized she couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten anything.

  She stood up.

  “I’m going to go look for some food for us,” she said. “Is there anything you might like?”

  “Some water,” Casey murmured.

  Toto glanced up to Sarah, with adorable sad eyes.

  “Maybe something for Toto as well,” Casey added. “He likes cheese.”

  Sarah nodded and went down the hall.

  She moved slowly through the hospital, a sluggishness taking over her body as she walked.

  She was both physically and emotionally drained.

  She eventually found the cafeteria and took a step towards the food counter when she felt a dizziness take over her body.

  “Whoah,” said a voice.

  Sarah blinked and saw Oliver, the Elestrian B-ranker, had caught her.

  “Oliver,” she gasped.

  “Are you okay?” he smiled. “You looked like you were about to faint.”

  Will, who was also there, leaned in close to the two of them and added, “You know, Sarah, I was going to catch your fall too, but Oliver has a higher agility skill so he beat me to it. I just don’t want you to think I didn’t want to help you or anything—”

  “That is hardly important right now,” Oliver barked at his fellow Elestrian comrade.

  Sarah giggled. “It’s okay. Thank you, both of you. Can you help me up?”

  They got Sarah back on her feet, sturdy and balanced.

  She thanked the two boys once more.

  She realized she needed to eat a lot more than she had anticipated.

  If Oliver and Will weren’t there to catch her fall, who knew what would have happened? She might have been put in her own hospital bed, at which point she would have been a help for absolutely nobody.

  Sure, she wasn’t really helping Max in any way by sitting and worrying about him, but at the very leas
t she could be there for both Casey and Sakura and anyone else who might need support.

  Oliver and Will glanced at each other, surreptitiously.

  “Um,” said Will. “How is he?”

  The question was a simple one.

  So was the answer.

  And yet, as soon as the Elestrian had asked, tears gushed out of Sarah’s eyes, and she was suddenly shaking all over.

  “Look what you’ve done,” Oliver hissed at Will. He then put his hand on Sarah’s back.

  “Don’t worry,” Oliver said. “I’m sure he’ll be okay. Max is a fighter. I watched him in the tournament. He won’t give up that easily. You’ll see!”

  Sarah sniffled and rubbed her eye.

  “We were going to wait until later,” said Will. “But I think maybe you could do with some cheering up.”

  She blinked and looked up at the boys.

  “What do you mean?” she said.

  Oliver and Will looked to each other once more.

  “Well, you see, we come from two noble houses in Elestria,” said Oliver. “And, well, there’s no way to say this without sounding horribly arrogant so here it goes. Both of our families have deep pockets, so Will and I have been thinking of a proposal for you. We’ve been so impressed with your performance in the tournament, your idealism and optimism, we want to help fund the tower orphanage you spoke about.”

  Sarah blinked with surprise. “You don’t have to do that.”

  “We want to,” they said in unison.

  “Well,” she said. “I don’t even know what I want to do any more.”

  She couldn’t think of the future, not with Max lying unconscious.

  “As Oliver said, Max will pull through,” Will added. “I’m sure of it.”

  Sarah sighed. She was beginning to feel a bit better, feel a tiny tinge of hope for her friend.

  “I hope you guys are right.”

  “I know we are,” said Oliver. “So will you take us up on our offer?”

  Sarah nodded and the two Elestrian boys cheered, triumphantly.

  “I knew it was a great idea when I told it to you!” shouted Oliver.

  “What are you talking about!?” cried Will. “I came up with the idea first!”

  “Don’t fight, please,” said Sarah. “I haven’t fully explained myself. I will take up your offer, but I can’t just yet.”