Jace was at a loss for words. Out of all the times they've saved him, he couldn't find a way to give that back. In a way, he had seemed selfish for taking in their help with only being a burden to the squad.
But giving him a Relic was totally out of the question. Actually, it was out of everything, even from the Tower.
'She's not serious, is she?'
He stared into her smiling eyes, not sure what she was expecting in return. Nothing could compare with giving someone a Relic for free.
If something truly came that easy, it always followed with a cost.
"What do you want?" he wearily asked her. "Details of my Soul? You want my Blessing? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you cannot trade—"
She smacked his shoulder and clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Were you not shown love as a child?" she scoffed. "I'm trying to help you, Jace, stop being so weird."
"But your AGL, it just went down by three Soul Points. It's too drastic, you're going to feel it."
"I'll be fine."
"No, you're not," he slipped off the (Ring of Haste). "Take it back, seriously, I can't let you do this to yourself."
Even removing the Relic from his Soul, he admitted internally that it felt bitter. His body was turning heavy again.
"Jace, I already said no." she declined the ring. "Don't make me rethink my decision again."
"That's exactly what I want you to do."
"Why the hell are you being so caring? Stop lying to yourself and take the damn Relic, what's making it so hard for you to do that?"
"Because you're going to be like me."
Her face softened, taken back by his response. Then she turned back to him.
"Final decision, Jace," she stared into his eyes. "Do you want the Relic or not, I won't give it to you again."
He gave the ring back to her.
"No." he said. "I don't want it, Erin, I can't let myself take this away from you. You should never replace my spot as the failure in this squad."
It was hard to tell what she was thinking through the dark. But she groaned, snatching the Relic from his hands and slipped it back onto his finger.
[Relic Obtained: Ring of Haste]
The sudden echo of the Soul surprised him. Then a sharp pain stung from the side of his face.
Erin had slapped him.
Jace rubbed the lingering sensation on his cheek. He watched her stand from the grass and walk away, heading back to the sleeping squad.
'She's impossible…'
He looked back at his right hand. The ring was shoved on his ring-finger.
"Thank you!" he shouted to her. "I hope I'm not taking somebody else's proposal!"
It could have been his imagination playing tricks with him through the dark. But, even so, it was good to hear her laugh again.
***
After a total six days of slaying monsters in the Whispering Woods, the squad had finally decided to descend from the ninth Floor.
Jace sat in the grass clearing, forever surrounded by dark trees and protruding roots. There was a subtle gold mist floating through the air as he had just finished an encounter.
He opened his soul again, wiping the sweat from his brow.
[Name: Jace]
[Rank: Climber]
[Level: 9]
[HP: 98/114]
[MP: 0/20]
From the start of their expedition, and until now, he had leveled up four times. Thanks to the (Ring of Haste), his entire time of fighting had changed since then.
He lifted his head, hearing the Soul echo in his ears again.
[You have 4 Soul Points remaining.]
'Now, it feels like a good time to invest.'
Jace glanced around at the floating mist, taking in the aftermath of his fight.
It was four Savage Boars, consecutively attacking him, while a few Wicked Crows tried to pick him from above. He had slayed all of them by himself.
Even if it sounded miniscule, three additional Soul Points from the Relic made a major difference. Jace couldn't even say they were real threats compared to how fast he moved.
'Here goes.'
[STR: 2 > 4]
[END: 1 > 2]
[AGL: 2 > 3]
Jace confirmed his Soul Points.
Then a surge of hot radiance circulated through his body as if someone had poured straight fire into his veins. Until finally, the heat had subsided, welcoming him back into his senses.
He gritted his teeth in pain, enduring the last waves of his insides burning. It was more than uncomfortable.
'That's what I get for holding onto Soul Points.'
The Soul echoed into his ears.
[Your Soul strengthens…]
He opened his Soul window again.
[HP: 98/128]
[MP: 0/20]
[STR: 4]
[END: 2]
[AGL: 3 + 3]
[INT: 0]
[WIS: 0]
'INT and WIS will probably stay at zero. Sorry, Soul, I'm not that type of Climber. Maybe some other day, I'll come around to it.'
He deeply exhaled, setting his mind inside a reforged body. His movements felt even quicker, seamless, and refined from the husk he had before. Perhaps, he should have done this from the start.
'Whatever. I got what I came here for and that's experience.'
A voice called his name. As a young boy with dark buzzed hair came from the bushes, he noticed the dissolving golden mist in the air.
"I thought you were dead," Heather stepped through. "Why did you run so far from the fight? I get you wanted to divert the monsters but you could have died."
Jace picked himself up from the grass. He had separated from the squad's grouped fight in order to test his Soul alone.
To find out how fast he could actually run. After gathering the monster's attention, he provoked them to chase him.
He outran them. Primitive, wild boars that spent their lives hunting, Jace had left them in the dust. A mere human was able to best the agility of monsters.
Though the Wicked Crows were a problem, that was because they were mainly airborne. The bloodied scratches and picks on his forearms proved his arrogance clear enough.
But, nevertheless, it was a total difference. Jace was becoming stronger.
The rest of the squad followed behind Heather, each of their gear and armor tattered with dirt and tears.
Jace fixed his eyes on someone else. He started to feel worried, a feeling which he never thought someone like him would come across.
Erin's leather armor was ragged, loose from her bracers, but she didn't look to be bothered by the damage. Of course, Brita was always there to heal their wounds.
But the image of Erin struggling the fight, admittedly, troubled Jace in his heart. She was supposed to be fast, evading the monster's attacks in a contest of speed.
It pained him seeing her reduced to this.
'That was supposed to be me. She had taken my place of being the loser.'
Heather walked in the center of the clearing, moving along the members of his squad.
"As I said before the encounter," he sheathed his sigil sword. "We're going to descend to the seventh Floor. I'm sure you all would have wanted to stay longer but our provisions are growing thin."
Klav frowned and was confused on why everyone was starting to glare at him.
"So other than being stranded," Heather continued his proposition. "It's better for us to return back to a Safeworld. But we're making good progress so far, especially for Jace."
Jace slightly nodded, indifferent to the open insult. Everyone else in the squad must have already hit the limit for the Floor, so he was the only one having the benefit of gaining experience. They could have descended earlier but instead chose to spend a few extra days just for him.
'How considerate.'
Then a harsh, short screech came from above them. Two Wicked Crows dove into the squad at high velocity, aiming to lodge their sharp beak into the humans.
Before Heather and Klav could draw their weapons again, Jace had already jumped in the air before them.
He flashed his silver sword in a swift motion, cutting through both of the crows.
[You have slain Wicked Crow. You have gained experience.]
[You have slain Wicked Crow. You have gained experience.]
Jace landed back onto the grass, trying to ignore everyone's dropping jaw.
Instead, Klav whistled as if he was impressed.
"Someone has been feeding their Soul," he chuckled. "I guess we have to start treating you like a Climber now, bread-boy."
Heather released the grip on his sword, seemingly impressed by the stunt. He turned his attention to one of the dissolving corpses, spotting the golden mist encircling into a mass of pure energy.
They all stared into the entrancing creation. The Wicked Crow was dropping a reward.
Thoughts similar bounced from their heads. Could it be a Blessing, or a Curse?
'Did the Tower finally decide to give me some respect? Did it finally see the nature of my struggles?'
Then the mist began to form, not into a golden flame as he hoped, but into something oval.
'A Relic? I didn't think common monsters could drop something so valuable.'
Jace realized what the mist was doing.
'You can't be serious—'
The loaf of bread blankly dropped on the grass.
They stared in shock, and then turned to look at Jace.
Jace was trying his best to stop himself from destroying the Blessing.
Heather sighed, almost like he was disappointed, and tuned out the loud laughter coming from Klav. He fished a shard of crystalized glass from his back pocket.
"Are we all ready?" he asked the squad.
Klav wiped the tears from his eyes, still chuckling, as he came closer to the Port Crystal.
Brita and Erin did the same, facing their bodies to the crystal.
Jace kicked the loaf of bread far into the trees before following behind them.
'I swear I'm just testing my STR. Goodness, Soul, just when I thought you would run out of jokes. You and the Tower are both a comedic duo and I'm both of your punchlines.'
Heather crushed the Port Crystal in his hands, immediately shrouding the squad in a familiar hum.
The Soul echoed into their ears.
[Soul detected.]
[Beginning descent.]
Jace lifted his eyes and, somehow, found themselves in Erin's.
The shimmering lights made it difficult to read her lips. But he thought she was smiling.
'Is she trying to make fun of me, too?'
[Process successful.]
[Climber Jace has descended to the 7th Floor, Hailfen.]