Tower Climber

by Jakob Tanner

  All the smoking climbers stood up straight as Sakura and Max walked past.

  They entered the building through the spinning glass doors into a large lobby full of clerks, at the end of which, were multiple elevators and staircases.

  Sakura approached one female clerk sitting at a desk behind a glass wall, as if she were a bank teller of some sort.

  “Hello,” Sakura said with a smile. “I’d like to help this young man sign up to this year’s term at the climber academy.”

  “Excellent,” said the clerk.

  She reached to get a sign-up form and then paused. The clerk turned back to Sakura and said, “What about the preliminary test?”

  Test!?

  Max’s heart started to beat rapidly. He wasn’t prepared for any sort of examination right now.

  Sakura shook her head. “I discussed it with the climber president. In this case, we’re waving the preliminary test.”

  The clerk nodded then smiled. “Okay, then let me just get the—”

  Max felt a foreboding presence suddenly appear behind him.

  He turned around and looming over all of them was a tall man with long silver hair. He wore a black trench coat, adorned with a beautiful chiseled diamond pin badge. The letter A engraved into the badge signified his rank.

  “And who might you be young man?”

  “Uh—”

  Max was momentarily lost for words, feeling sheer power emanate off the man.

  This was the first climber he’d met who was a higher rank than Sakura and he could sense it in his power.

  “Max Rainhart meet Samuel Archer,” said Sakura. “Samuel is the commander of the healer climbers in the tower-zone. He keeps all of us safe. Isn’t that right, Samuel?”

  The man let out a haughty laugh. “I try my best, Sakura. It’s you who fights on the frontlines of the monster wave month after month who deserves such generous compliments.”

  Max looked between them. They were complimenting each other, but he was sensing hostility beneath their words.

  “May I ask what brings you two to the climber’s guild today?” said Samuel.

  “I’m signing up for the climber academy,” Max said, excitedly.

  The silver-haired man grinned and Max felt as if he’d accidentally stepped into a trap like a fly caught in a spider’s web.

  “How very exciting,” mused the man. “I presume you’ll be doing the preliminary test today then as well?”

  “The climber president waved the preliminary for the boy due to special circumstances,” said Sakura, hints of a growl in her voice.

  “He did now, did he?” said Samuel. “He did no such thing for my son, Cyrus, nor any of the other pupils attending this year. I’ll be bringing this up with him at his earliest convenience—”

  “Hold on now,” said Sakura, going red in the face, her hands clenching as if she was about to swing a fist at Samuel.

  “STOP!”

  The two adult climbers turned to Max.

  “If there’s a preliminary test to enter the climber academy,” he said. “I want to take it.”

  13

  Sakura stood on the balcony of the battle chamber along with Samuel Archer.

  The man stood there looking down at the small arena while resting both his hands on his silver cane.

  The bastard, thought Sakura.

  She’d never liked Samuel or anyone from the prestigious Archer family. He’d heard of the new citizen in the tower-zone and she had a feeling it was no coincidence that he showed up at the climber’s guild that morning.

  “It’s been a while since I watched a preliminary,” mused Archer. “I’m sure this one will be interesting.”

  “Yes,” said Sakura, gritting her teeth. “Very.”

  Sakura looked Samuel over.

  What she couldn’t understand was why this man wanted to thwart Max’s chances at entering the academy. Was it sheer pettiness that his son had to do the preliminary and Max didn’t? Or had it leaked that Max had a unique trait and Samuel was attempting to find out what that trait was.

  Either way, she didn’t like that Samuel was meddling in her affairs.

  A door creaked open and Max stepped out into the battle chamber.

  Sakura thought he looked nervous, but then she thought maybe she was just seeing that because she was nervous for him.

  “I hope he’s prepared,” said Samuel. “How much have you trained him, Sakura?”

  Sakura wanted to knock the man out there and then.

  The patronizing man.

  She hated people like him.

  How much have you trained him, Sakura?

  Samuel knew very well that Max had only been in the tower-zone for three days, half of which was spent in a hospital bed.

  Max stood on the waxed wooden floors of the battle room, waiting for the test to begin.

  The clerk stepped out onto the arena with him.

  “Any minute now,” said Samuel, grinning.

  Sakura gripped her hands on the metal bar of the balcony overlooking the battle chamber.

  She had planned on training him for the next three weeks before the climber academy term began. Currently, though, Max wasn’t ready for any type of fight. Not with his stats and certainly not against the monster they used for the preliminary test.

  Many of the aspiring student climbers had trained for years for their term at the academy.

  Max looked up at her, smiled, and gave a thumbs up.

  The idiot, she thought. Why had he volunteered so willingly to take this test?

  Max stood in the battle chamber, waiting for his test to begin.

  Across the battle chamber from where Max stood was a metal door with the words “Caution” spray painted onto it.

  “Are you ready for me to explain the rules of the preliminary test?” asked the clerk.

  Max stared at the metal door. Clearly the test wasn’t going to be a written examination. Whatever the test involved lay behind that metal door.

  “I’m ready,” said Max.

  “The preliminary test is simple. I’ll leave the arena and open up that metal door which will send out a monster for you to fight. To pass the test you must defeat the monster by any means necessary.”

  Max nodded. “Got it.”

  The clerk smiled.

  “Don’t be nervous,” she said. “We’ll be sending in a copper-ranked monster so it shouldn’t be too difficult for an aspiring climber to defeat.”

  Max’s only experience with a tower monster was the minotaur from a few nights back and that creature had practically killed him.

  He knew that the minotaur was higher ranked than copper, but that didn’t put his mind at ease.

  “Alright,” said the clerk. “I’m going to leave now. The test will begin shortly after.”

  The clerk walked out of the battle chamber, sealing the door behind her.

  Max’s stomach lurched.

  You can do this, he thought to himself. You agreed to do this. There are going to be challenges along the way and you won’t be able to take a shortcut every time. You need to do this. Plus, you have a unique trait. That must count for something.

  The clerk reappeared on the balcony of the battle chamber alongside Sakura and Samuel Archer.

  The clerk walked past them and went towards a control panel. She pressed some buttons and a loud alarm went off across the room.

  The metal wall across the room began to slowly slide open.

  “Good luck, Max,” shouted Sakura. “You can do it!”

  Max gulped and nodded his head at her kind words.

  The metal doors slid open further, revealing a shadowy dark chamber beyond.

  What the heck are they about to send out at me?

  The figure of a monster took shape and came out into the battle chamber.

  “The preliminary test begins now,” declared the clerk.

  14

  The monster entered the battle chamber.

  The creature was a circula
r purple blob of slime with beady orange eyes. There was a crease beneath the eyes that had a smirking expression. That must be its mouth then.

  The battle chamber was deadly silent. Everyone focused on the battle about to start.

  Max took in the purple blob.

  What the heck was this thing? He figured he should let it strike him first to gather more information on what the monster could do.

  Max readied himself in a fighting a position.

  The purple blob just stood there, smiling goofily.

  “Are you aware that the purpose of the test is to measure your fighting ability?” shouted Samuel Archer from above. “You’ll have to do more than stand there, boy!”

  Max ignored the man taunting him.

  He had a point.

  But Max was in a bit of a bind. His mimic trait was still currently attached to the mending skill of the healers. He had no offensive abilities to use against the slime right now.

  He was woefully unprepared for this battle.

  He needed the monster to attack him first.

  “Hey! Dumb slime creature,” shouted Max. “Why don’t you try and hit me! Free punch on the house!”

  The slime didn’t move. It just stood there with its stupid grin on its face.

  Samuel murmured to Sakura and the clerk on the balcony.

  He couldn’t hear what the man was saying, but clearly taunting the slime was an unorthodox method to use in this test.

  Max had no idea what he had done to that man up there, but he clearly wanted Max to fail this test.

  Max decided he had to try a new strategy.

  He rushed the purple slime with his fist raised.

  “Grown some guts now, have you, boy?” shouted Samuel from above.

  If the slime wasn’t going to attack him, it had left Max with no other options but to go on the offensive himself.

  The purple slime continued to stay motionless in the middle of the battle chamber as Max rushed towards him.

  When Max got into range, he swung his fist with all of his might.

  SMASH!

  A huge pain coursed through Max’s hand.

  The purple slime continued to smile at him, but now it had a pinkish aura surrounding it.

  He had expected his hand to get slimy and wet when attacking the glob, but never had he thought punching it would be similar to punching a brick wall.

  The pinkish aura disappeared from the slime.

  That must have been the monster’s special ability, thought Max. It was able to create an energy shield of some kind that blocked attacks.

  It started to dawn on Max that this was a huge problem.

  The creature didn’t have an offensive ability.

  Without one for Max to mimic, it was impossible for him to win against this thing.

  15

  “Looks like your prodigy is struggling,” grinned Samuel Archer standing on the battle chamber’s balcony.

  Sakura ignored Samuel’s taunts and kept her eyes on the battle chamber below.

  “Is there a time limit on these things?” Samuel asked the guild clerk. “The boy doesn’t seem to be displaying any prowess whatsoever. This should not be a difficult test. How long do we let this sham go on for?”

  Sakura watched Max as he stepped away from the slime and circled around it.

  This might be a lost cause for Max, she thought. She couldn’t see how he could win this.

  Shield Slimes were tricky. If Max had a higher strength stat it could break through its energy shield and then kill it. Or, if he simply had an offensive trait to break the shield. But his greatest strength—his unique trait—was proving to be an incredible weakness in this preliminary test.

  Sakura shook her head as she listened to Samuel plead with the clerk to call off the test.

  “If the boy fails this test,” said Sakura. “He won’t be able to become a climber. Give him some more time.”

  “He doesn’t need any more time,” hissed Samuel. “Any half-witted kid would’ve figured out to use an offensive trait or break through the shield with their strength. You’re telling me your kid doesn’t have an offensive trait and is so woefully unprepared that he doesn’t have a strength stat high enough to compensate for that fact?”

  “Let the boy take his time,” Sakura snapped back at the man.

  The clerk returned to the conversation with a book in her hand.

  “Climber’s guild regulations say the preliminary exam can last up to fifteen minutes,” said the clerk. “So Max still has ten minutes left to beat the slime at which point we’ll call the match.”

  Samuel grinned at Sakura.

  The woman looked down to the battle chamber below.

  C’mon, Max. Do something.

  Max circled the slime once more.

  What was he going to do? The slime must have a weakness of some kind. He needed to break through that energy shield.

  The adults on the balcony looked down at him. Samuel Archer crossed his arms and had an unimpressed scowl on his face. The clerk’s expression was placid like a referee. Then there was Sakura. She looked at him with deep concern in her eyes.

  There must be a way to defeat this slime and pass the test. If he couldn’t, his whole dream was over. He wouldn’t be able to study at the climber academy. He wouldn’t be able to become a tower climber. He wouldn’t be able to search for his sister and see her again.

  Everything he wanted, everything he dreamed for, it all hung in the balance of this one fight.

  This fight that was an impossible match up for his particular ability.

  He walked around the slime once more.

  There must be an opening, he thought. Maybe the shield doesn’t completely surround its body?

  Then he thought of something.

  He rushed the slime once more from behind and threw out a punch.

  The energy shield only formed when an attack came near. If Max was fast enough, maybe he could get an attack in before the creature could trigger its shield power.

  THUD!

  Max winced in pain as his punch made no penetration against the shield slime’s skin.

  He wasn’t fast enough.

  He had to give it everything he had.

  Max threw out punch after punch into the slime.

  His knuckles grew bloody as he tirelessly barraged the monster in an attempt to break through its shield with sheer overwhelming force.

  After fifty punches, Max stood over the slime, out of breath. His fists were callused and bleeding.

  The slime stood there, smiling.

  Not a single one of his punches had made it through.

  “Give it up, boy,” shouted Samuel from above. “A shield slime is one of the easiest monsters to kill in the tower. If you can’t manage to kill it here and now, you won’t ever be able to make it in the tower.”

  Max shook his head.

  Screw that guy.

  He ignored the man and renewed his punches at the shield slime.

  One of these swings was going to break through the slime’s shield and he’d show that jerk above what he was made of.

  The man continued to taunt Max even as he ignored him and focused on the shield slime.

  Amidst all of the punches and pain, Max started to think of a new idea.

  It was a risky move.

  But it was all he had left.

  16

  Max stopped punching the slime.

  He looked up at Samuel Archer, smugly watching him.

  “If you don’t think I can win,” said Max. “If you think I should give up. Come down here and say it to my face.”

  The man smirked. “Gladly.”

  Samuel jumped off the balcony and landed on the arena floor with ease and grace.

  Such was the power of a high ranked and trained climber, thought Max. He won’t see what I’m about to do coming.

  “Young man,” said Samuel Archer, addressing him. “You will not win this—”

  “I’LL KILL YOU!”
<
br />   Max screamed with all of his might and rushed at Samuel Archer with a raised fist.

  Sakura’s shoulders tensed in shock as Max rushed towards Samuel.

  What is the idiot thinking?

  Max was going to get himself killed. Samuel was one of the highest ranked climbers in Zestiris. He could kill Max with ease.

  The boy rushed towards the high ranked climber.

  Samuel merely smirked.

  This was bad, thought Sakura. Samuel wanted this to happen. This was why he was taunting him. He was going to use this whole set-up as a reason to hurt or even kill Max.

  She needed to step in and stop this.

  Samuel Archer smirked at the dumb kid rushing towards him.

  This boy was making it easier than he had planned.

  He could kill the boy right now, if he wanted. Or severely wound him so he’d never climb or fight again.

  Climber law backed him up on this. It was a severe offence to attack another climber outside of a controlled and organized match.

  “You dare to attack me, foolish boy,” yelled Samuel at the approaching attacker.

  He pulled a blue stone from his overcoat and pressed down on it.

  Lightning swirled around the man’s arm and fists.

  He raised his arm and swung his fist so that it would directly clash with Max’s.

  The foolish boy, smirked Samuel. With my lightning stone plus my higher strength stat, you’re about to die, and I won’t even be punished for it.

  The two fists clashed.

  THUD!

  Samuel blinked.

  The boy stood in front of him.

  He was alive. He should be dead right now. Or, at the very least, bleeding to death on the floor.

  The boy was more than alive though.

  The kid was smirking at him.

  What the heck just happened?

  Max pulled his hand away, a pinkish aura surrounding his hand, shattered into a million pieces.

  Is that—

  Is the boy’s trait the same as the shield slime’s? Is that why he couldn’t deal any damage towards it?