Jace cautiously looked around, afraid her voice might have reached the wrong ears. Even if his Soul was barely developed, he wasn't comfortable for anyone to know about it.
Keeping the Soul a retained secret was the most precedence rule for any Climber as their greatest advantage depended on being unpredictable and unknown.
For any enemy to recognize Jace's Soul, they could discover ways to exploit him and completely corner him like an animal. It was a fight that had already been lost before it even began.
'How…did she know? She said that Agnes had told her? That damned slob knows about my Soul?'
He recalled his brief conversation with the young woman before he had interrupted her pointless exposition.
Agnes had a Curse, an ability to inappropriately peer into another Climber's Soul without their permission. It was an evil ability, and at the same time, dangerously powerful.
'And she told Erin that easily?! That damned slob can't even keep her mouth shut!'
Jace grimaced, feeling some anger rise through his words.
"What else did she tell you?"
Erin sighed, visibly concerned that her slobby friend was telling the truth after all.
"That's all she told me. But, what does your Curse do—"
He abruptly interrupted her, standing from his chair.
"Not here. Somewhere else."
She was taken back by his sudden manner but it looked like she understood his discretion. Talking about another Climber's Soul openly in public could inevitably endanger that person's life, and in some cases, mark them for death.
After a quick conversation on where they would discuss, they somehow decided to head back to Jace's luxurious inn, just because it was a few blocks closer to the cafe.
They needed a place where it was familiar and guaranteed a space of privacy. A random alley or quiet setting wouldn't work for such a sensitive subject.
Some time later, Jace led Erin into his room, shutting and locking the door behind them. In some other perspective, a fully geared Climber had dragged a beautifully dressed blonde girl into an enclosed building.
Jace refrained from thinking about any astray ideas and focused his mind on the more present matter.
Erin scanned the room, noticing the floorboards near his bed resembled a past bloodied struggle.
Jace painfully sighed, setting his silver sword aside by the door.
"I tried to clean it, but by the time I woke up, it was already soaked inside the wood."
Erin looked back at him, her face still shocked.
"Is that what I think it is?"
He gave a small nod, breaking his eyes from the stained wooden floor, and said back to her:
"Have you ever heard of an Active Curse?"
She also managed to break her eyes away, trying to process the amount of blood that must have come out of the auburn boy's body.
"You have to talk to Agnes about that. I'm not familiar with any directory of Curses."
Jace leaned by the door, unsure of where to take the conversation to next.
But Erin asked him openly:
"What does your Curse do?"
He answered grimly, as if he was living through that painful agony again.
"My Soul Points double, just like that, as simple as it sounds."
"Your Soul Points—double?"
"If I had five STR, then I would activate the Curse, it would turn into ten."
Her eyes widened to the unbelievable.
"Wait, what? It literally doubles?"
He nodded.
"I had the same reaction as you. But after a minute, it reverts back into my original Soul. Then, I bleed, everywhere, blood out of my mouth and everything."
She glanced at the stained floorboard, and hesitantly asked:
"Does it hurt?"
Jace stared at her for a few seconds, then answered:
"No."
Erin sat on the bed, as if she had difficulty processing the information. It was a regular reaction to know a power like Jace's Curse existed. Doubling a Climber's Soul Points was impossible, yet that phenomenon stood right across from her.
Furthermore, Curses were all distinct and never replicated by the Tower. Jace was the only Climber to have that staggering ability.
Erin shifted in the bed, turning to the auburn boy.
"Jace…where did you get a Curse like that?"
Jace decided not to retell his miserable story of how he ended up in that cursed cavern. Ironically enough, the real reason was sitting on his bed as he said back to her:
"It's a long story."
Erin snorted, crossing her legs to face him.
"So, the Curse is an Active, right? It won't take effect until you demand it."
"Right."
"I mean, we're alone, could I see it now?"
Jace's nerves startled, almost like his body was reminding him of the Curse's crippling drawback.
"I don't think that's a good idea."
Erin noticed his change of body language.
"Is it that bad? Is that why you were walking like an old man?"
He cursed under his breath.
'Dammit! Why is she so observant? Do all female Climbers come just as noisy?'
Her face turned worried.
"You said it doesn't hurt. Some Curse that wrecks your legs, doesn't hurt?"
But he lied again.
"If it did then I wouldn't have walked all the way to Agnes's house, right? I'm fine, Erin, seriously."
She sighed, reaching over and grabbed the single vial of potion from his drawer.
"You still have this?"
"Am I not supposed to?"
"How charming, you're keeping things to remember me by."
Jace inwardly groaned before she stood from his bed, walking next to him.
Erin grabbed his arm, as if she was warning him.
"Also, Agnes wants to see you again. I'm not sure what for, but she's never been inclined to meet another person. Maybe…it's because of your Curse?"
He indifferently shrugged.
"Do I really have to go?"
"She's not a hard woman to please, Jace, you can definitely find what you're asking for."
"I think I can find anything inside that house—"
She smacked his shoulder.
"Come on, jumpy, while we still have the time."
Jace watched her leave from his room, walking down the halls as she waited for him to follow.
'Jumpy? She's giving me a nickname?'
With another suppressed groan, he left his room and followed behind the blonde girl again.
Some time later, they were on the same path to Agne's humble abode. If anything humble had meant absolutely hazardous. Jace didn't understand why the damned slob wished to meet him again, judging by their previous sour interaction.
He had already found a way to ascend the Tower, hitching on other Climber's authority through Ports like he always had. Erin just became his reliable substitute. She was already comfortable with the auburn boy and was even in accord with his plans.
Though, as they spent some of the time conversing, his plans had posed some evident flaws.
Firstly, two Climbers in a single expedition sounded too impractical. Of course, with Jace's stubborn tenacity and Erin's abilities to track monsters, their composition was far from the general norm of a squad. There had to be an even line of firepower.
Jace couldn't handle a wave of an encounter by himself, no matter how much he dreamed about that, it was simply inconceivable.
Erin could provide covering support, shooting arrows from the shadows and striking monsters that were vulnerable. But her strong suit was to be unseen, not to contest the front-line with close combat.
They had no balance in their synergy, so if there was an instance for one of them to fall short, it wouldn't have been long until they were completely overwhelmed. Jace would need to have a competent squad if he truly hoped for a steady gain of experience.
Unfortunately, he had already burned that bridge.
In the most worthy scenario, the two Climbers would have to find an encounter against a single enemy. While it would vastly lower their risks from the Void, it would also dampen their gain of experience, slaying each monster individually. Compared to fighting in a full battle of monsters, the difference was significant.
Jace felt like his head was throbbing with those pesky thoughts. He didn't want to think Erin was trying to detour him away from his plans, rather she was keeping him alive. His eagerness of trying to venture into an expedition by himself was a death sentence.
In any legend or heroic story, Climbers had never started an expedition alone. They were always surrounded by their friends and allies, defeating monstrosities by the Tower with their squad.
Because that was the way it was supposed to be.
He continued matching his pace with the blonde girl, lifting his foot with the other, over the tiring steps of the Port Town.
Erin glanced at him again.
"You've brung your sword?"
He looked at his sword, figuring he had instinctively strapped the sheath at his hip when they had left.
"I bring it wherever I go."
"You're not going to kill her, are you?"
"Only if she wants to spoil other people with my Soul."
Erin snorted into a half-smile, handing him a basket of fashioned candied delights, the same gift she had brought the slobby woman before.
He found the colorful assortment of wrapped candies at an eyesore.
"Do you seriously bring this every time you meet her?"
She stretched her arms, raising her white blouse over her waist as she nodded.
"Agnes is my friend. I'm not showing up to her door with empty hands, am I?"
Jace sworn he had heard that somewhere before, but scoffed the thought away and asked:
"She's your friend?"
"I've been a Climber for like five months. You're surprised when I make friends along the way?"
"Would you say Heather and his squad your friends?"
Erin spared another quick glance at the auburn boy, with a hidden grin that tugged across her lips.
"They're my squad members, but that doesn't mean they're any less invaluable just because I don't give them candies."
"So being locked inside your home, cut away from civilization, and fed with absurd amounts of sugar is a good friend?"
She snorted again, turning her face ahead.
"Just for that, jumpy, you'll carry the basket."
Something inside him ached when she mentioned that ridiculous nickname. Instead of letting out a snappy remark, he weighed the straw basket in his hands. It was around eight pounds, and considering how compact the candies were, he refused to believe that slob consumed this much in a day.
But, after all, the Soul had its own regenerative properties. A Climber couldn't be defeated by a mundane cardiac problem. For them to die, was to be slain by a terrifying monster.
Or another envious Climber.