Project Seraphina [LitRPG, Magitech, GL] -
3.41 The Third Ascent VII
I’m roused from my idle meditations by the cutest moan I’ve ever heard. Were it not for the fact that we’re still on the fourteenth floor of a Tower leading up to hell itself, and that Lindsey would never hear the end of it, I might just be tempted to take Chloe right then and there as she rouses herself awake.
Maybe that’s the true hell of the Tower Gauntlet. Being constantly in close proximity to my best friend, now lover, going through harrowing challenges where life and death are balanced on a knife’s edge, and being unable to give her the comfort we— admittedly, both of us— desperately crave in these most trying situations.
“How are you feeling, love?” I whisper.
“Ugh…” Chloe trails off and stretches, giving the absolute cutest expression as her arms and neck pop multiple times. “Kinda tired still. But otherwise I feel better than I ever have.”
“I can relate,” I say.
That surge of energy that comes with gaining a level is… a bit too addictive to be entirely healthy, and when gaining two or more levels at once, the rush is downright intoxicating. It’s a bit surprising that there haven’t been even more reports on the news of people who go on rampages, chasing that high. I suppose that’s a testament to how society has deflected those baser desires toward adventuring and dungeon crawling, where people can utilize those aggressive tendencies in prosocial ways. Or at least, not actively-antisocial ones.
I’d never really understood why people went to casinos, or took up skydiving or similar before. I do now.
“How long has it been?” Chloe asks a few seconds later.
I do briefly consider teasing her, but decide against it. “About ten minutes. Lindsey and Stefan are out keeping watch.”
“Ah. Are we still on the fourteenth floor? It feels… A lot less cold now.”
“That might be partially my fault. And also partially that those snowbeasts were somehow causing the blizzard and extreme temperatures with their own magic.”
It’s not exactly a warm summer afternoon on the floor, but compared with the frigidity we had to deal with not an hour ago, it’s positively balmy. Comfortable even, if most of that can be attributed to the beautiful woman currently nuzzling up to me. I stroke her hair, and sure enough, it still smells absolutely divine. Even here, with the stench of death still vaguely lingering, mixed with the smell of burnt… well, everything. Even the pouches at my side got a little singed, though the spell seems to have avoided doing much more to my possessions.
And yes, the [Level Apples] are safe. Safe and uneaten, though they are looking mighty tasty right about now. Though, I set the matter aside. Considering how much Experience I’m needing for these levels and how much more I’ll need for future levels, it’s probably best to wait until I’ve just reached Level 63 and gain the maximum benefit from it.
If we don’t have another encounter as close as this one.
“Can you stand?” I ask.
“I… Do I have to?” Chloe gives me a coy smile. “Can’t I just stay here and enjoy the warmth and the view?”
“It is a nice view, indeed,” I say, gazing down at Chloe and maybe peeking just a tiny bit underneath her robes. “But we should probably think about heading to the next floor sooner rather than later. We don’t know when that thing is going to show up again.”
“We don’t know if that thing will show up again.”
“It showed up once, and that’s two times too many.”
Chloe offers a small nod of assent before finally— and with some reluctance— getting up from my thighs. Just as we get back on our literal feet, Lindsey approaches in a blur that even I have some trouble following.
“Glad to see you’re both awake and on your feet again. Looks like we’re being given another opportunity to skip ahead, this time to–”
“Nope, nope, absolutely not!” Chloe says.
“I’m inclined to agree with her on this one.” I take her hand and give it a gentle squeeze. “You might not have seen it, but Chloe was in far too much pain maintaining her spell for so long against those beasts. And I wasn’t feeling that much better.”
“Fair enough,” Lindsey says. “We won, but I agree that it was far closer than was comfortable. However, I feel it pertinent to mention that the Experience–”
“Was absolutely not worth nearly getting ourselves killed over it!” Chloe exclaims. “Or have you forgotten that none of us are going to be able to protect anyone if we’re dead.”
“She makes a fantastic point,” I say. “I’ve got plans for the rest of the week, and a brush with death isn’t on the agenda.”
“Oh please, Seraphina,” Lindsey says with rolled eyes. “You brush with death seemingly every day. No one who comes into this hellhole doesn’t. Just because you don’t fancy a trip down the River Styx doesn’t mean you two aren’t constantly flirting with the reaper.”
I sigh, knowing she’s right. “So, the next two questions are: Where is Stefan? And where’s the staircase?”
Lindsey points to my right. Sure enough, there he is, probably half a mile away. And there’s the faint shimmer of something next to him. It’s hard to tell for certain, being outside of the range of [Archangel’s Gaze], but it looks like a translucent staircase up to the fifteenth floor.
“You ready?” I ask Chloe, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
“As you might say, no. But I’m as ready as we’re ever going to be.”
Hand in hand, the two of us follow Lindsey as she leads us over to where Stefan is standing, looking around, and, admittedly, looking incredibly bored. But at times like this, after fighting for our lives and emerging victorious, yeah… I understand that no news can be very, very good news indeed.
“Glad to see both of you are alive and kicking after that,” Stefan says.
His words are sincere, but his tone feels a bit off. A bit… depressed, dare I say. I wonder if he’s just feeling a bit powerless after the last fight, given that Chloe and I did so much of the work. I don’t think he should be; he was our key to winning the fight against the Armored Arachnid.
But at the same time, I can also grasp that societal expectations for how men and women interact with one another are not so easily overcome. Men are seen as stronger, more physical. As breadwinners and protectors. The System has changed the physical reality that men are, on average, somewhat stronger than women. Chloe looks like a complete waif even now, and yet, I’m sure she could lift a small car off the ground. Maybe even over her head if she needed to. She definitely could if I cast [Angel’s Grace] upon her first.
I think back to those doofuses in the dungeon all those months ago. They got superpowers just the same as everyone else, and never once thought that Chloe and I would have gotten them too. Or learned how to use them. Ah well.
Lindsey just rolls her eyes and takes Stefan’s hands. “I told you, Stef, no need to put up an act around us.”
“But–”
“You don’t have to lead all on your own, you know. I know that you might have had to at the start. And when we were dealing with the Order cultists, you were inspirational and the force that kept us all together and united toward that end. But right now, it’s okay not to be the leader or the strongest person here.”
“But–” Stefan starts again.
Lindsey wraps her arms around Stefan’s waist. “That’s what being part of a unit is all about. We have different members of our unit, each of which has different responsibilities. We don’t expect our reconnaissance scouts to also work the kitchens, now do we?”
Stefan’s face visibly grimaces. He must know already exactly how tasty Lindsey’s attempts in the kitchen turn out— never edible. And, though he purses his lips for a couple of seconds, unclear how to respond, he ultimately is forced to concede the point.
Lindsey seems to be quite pleased with herself, holding back a smile as Stefan stutters with a suitable retort, but ultimately lays her head on his chest. “We all have our roles here too. Chloe is a healer, Sera is a source of heavy burst damage. I handle reconnaissance and dealing with fast foes. And you’re by far the bulkiest of us, able to take massive amounts of damage without even being fazed by it. Bet you’re almost to ten thousand maximum health, right?”
“One or two more levels away, yeah.”
“Sera, Chloe, do you have anywhere close to that much?”
“Nope,” we both say instantly. Even had I been close— and six thousand really isn’t— I know damn well the answer Lindsey needs me to say.
“I saw how valiantly you fought back then,” Lindsey says to Stefan. “And how you continue to do so every day. But I am proud of you no matter what you do or don’t accomplish on the battlefield. You’ve shown dedication to protecting people, and that’s a lot more attractive to me than your admittedly very nice muscles or how hard you can punch something.”
I’m not sure how much of Lindsey’s blatant flirting is sincere interest and how much is just trying to smooth over Stefan’s ruffled ego, but in either sense, it seems to be working. It is interesting, I mention to Chloe telepathically, how much different this Lindsey is from the one I’ve come to know and respect as a friend and quasi-mentor. Then again, I’m sure I’m a different person around Chloe than I am when I’m not. Not that I’ve ever really been without Chloe for very long ever since the System arrived. We’ve been all but attached at the hip, and quite frankly, I can’t imagine things any other way.
After a couple more minutes of quiet conversation, the three of us head up to the fifteenth floor. And to our shock and delight in equal measure, it’s a teleporter floor. No one says a word. There is no discussion. After making it through the hell of the fourteenth floor and into the sanctuary of the fifteenth, we all march directly into the transporter. The System sends its familiar message, letting the four of us know that we’ve made it to the fifteenth floor, and registering our information so that we can return here from the entryway.
And after that’s addressed, we return, the brief dizziness of the teleport lingering longer than the last time. Probably due to our fatigue and the fact that none of us are anywhere close to our maximum [Ether] capacity. Lindsey and Stefan exit the portal first; meanwhile, Chloe still looks half-asleep, resting her head on my shoulder.
I can’t blame her, having experienced her thoughts and hurt through our bond. Even the surge of strength from gaining two levels isn’t going to so easily overcome all of the pain and strain— mental and physical— that she experienced over the past hour or so. I’d carry her if she wants me to, but she rejects my offer, wanting instead to walk out of the Tower under her own power.
Another few seconds of adjustment follows as we open the Tower’s main entrance, letting sunlight fill the otherwise dark chamber. We step outside, feeling the heat and mugginess of the sweltering summer day, something that, for a few brief moments, actually feels decent after the blizzard. A momentary comfort which quickly subsides, replaced by the familiar unpleasantness I’m accustomed to during this time of the year.
“So, what now?” I ask Lindsey and Stefan. “Are you two going to stick around, or head back?”
“Hmm…” Lindsey takes a few seconds to think on the question. “I think we’ll come back in a week to do this again, so the two of us have a chance . What do you think?”
“A week sounds good,” Stefan says. “I could stand to do some more training and practice with my Skills between now and then.”
“I agree,” Chloe says. “I need some time away from all this after that last battle.”
I nod. “And I could use the time to craft and study glyphs some more.”
“I think that settles it,” Lindsey says, waving her goodbye before taking Stefan into her arms. “Our reasons are each our own, but it seems like we’re all in agreement. I look forward to seeing you all next week.”
“You two take care too,” Chloe says.
And with that, they’re off. And so are we, a few seconds later. A hot meal and a hotter shower both sound way too good right now.
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