My dreams were haunted by memories of my time in the tower. An endless swarm of creatures surging towards me. The stress and pressure of keeping the mindless beasts in front of me and away from the support team behind me. Only this dream did not follow my memories. The creatures started growing in size, becoming not only larger, but faster too. Unable to hold all of them back, one managed to move around me before laying into the team. The support team were able to hold their own against a single of the creatures but a moment later a second and then a third creature pushed through my kill zone. The yells and screams for my help sent a surge of panic and despair through me.

My own yell woke me up as I rushed up only to feel myself surrounded by soft bedding. Looking around I saw the familiar sights of the guest room Teek provided for me. The room was not completely dark but had a small lamp by my side that gave off a soft yellow glow to the space. Pushing myself back against the headrest I ran my hand over my face and hair as I got my breathing under control.

Bad dreams were nothing new for me. Failure was something I never allowed myself to contemplate. From the moment I stepped into that dead tower I resolved myself that I had to sacrifice everything of myself so the people of that world would have a future. Even though I was not particularly close with most of the support team, I still felt responsible for their welfare, so dreams where I fail, knowing it would be the end of the world are the dreams that both shake and motivate me.

“Bad dream?”

Khemrok was sitting in a lounge chair in the corner of the room with a book in his hand. He must have been stone still for me not to notice him right away.

“Something like that.” Scratching my chin, I looked around the room for other surprises. I spotted what looked to be the remains of my shirt piled up on the floor.

Noticing where I was looking Khemrok said. “Your shirt did not survive the spar.”

A memory of a giant rushing towards me flashed through my mind and I let out a chuckle. “Spar? I hardly had time to even blink.”

Khemrok closed his book and stored it away. “Is that what you remember?.”

Grabbing a shirt from my storage I pulled it over myself before swinging my feet out of the bed. Something felt off about the orc and it took me a moment to realise what it was. Sitting on the side of the bed I looked at him and noticed that he was watching my movements very carefully.

“Why are you here, Khem?”

From all my interactions with the orc over the past few days, he has always been passionate and almost confrontational with his words and actions. Now however he seemed… almost polite.

“Master Teek asked me to watch over you after you ingested the miracle berry.”

I let out a chuckle. “Miracle berry? He really did not hold back.”

“He had no choice.” Khemrok took in a deep breath. “Who are you Reigner? I have only even seen three people move like you did.” He held up three fingers and counted off them. “Master Teek, My grandfather, and the Hero of the Tower.”

“Move like what? All I remember is getting hit. Once.” I slipped on some summoned boots and got to my feet.

“You almost killed him. You severed one of Master Teek’s arms and almost his leg in less than a second later.”

My legs suddenly felt weak, and I let myself sit back down on the bed. Looking to Khemrok I couldn’t find a trace of humour on his face. I don’t remember anything like what he is stating. Thinking back to when Teek half carried me to the room I don’t remember him missing any limbs. Pushing myself to my feet I strode to the door by Khemrok and opened it before walking towards the training room. A fight like that had to leave signs of damage. Khemrok trailed behind me, making noise as he rose from the chair and knocked against something behind me. Possibly the door I swung closed without looking.

Signs of destruction were apparent before even reaching the training room. There were thin cuts all over Teek’s home that you could peer through. Some walls had new, odd shaped, windows or doors with slabs of debris on the ground. As I reached closer to the training room more of the walls and ceiling were criss-crossed with long thin lines from a sword. Stepping around fallen debris I made my way into the training hall.

Blood was splashed all over the walls with more sword slashes lining almost every inch of the walls. There was only one section free from the deep slashes and that was against one of the walls where a bench sat. Likely where Khemrok was sitting. Around the bench were more splatters of blood lining the wall like a macabre painting.

No one could survive losing so much blood. The memory of Teek’s friendly smile as he carried me to my room crossed my mind and I had to grip the doorframe to keep my balance. Did I really do this? I felt sick to my stomach and felt like puking.

“Easy there Reigner. Slow breaths, everyone is okay. Master Teek is taking with a guest in the dining hall.”

Khemrok was standing behind me with his hands in front of him, half way between either wanting to pat my shoulder or push me away, I couldn’t tell which. His words helped me calm down however, and I felt a shift in the environment.

Looking around I could see that the cuts and slices in the walls, ceiling, and floor were starting to shrink and seal themself. The debris on the ground started floating back to its original position before merging with the wall around it. I felt one of the cuts where my hand was resting shrink and vanish completely. I couldn’t feel any sign of damage after running my fingers over the section. The only signs that a life-or-death battle was fought were the massive amounts of blood splatters lining the training hall’s walls, floor, and ceiling.

Pushing past Khemrok I headed to the dining hall. I had to see Teek for myself. I never thought that I could lose control like that. As I reached the dining hall, I saw that Teek was talking to someone I was familiar with. A golden haired man with a shiny suit. It was Mr T.

“Can’t do anything about the blood unfortunately, so you will have to clean that mess up yourself.”

Mr T. the owner of the tower, had just accepted a sheathed sword from Teek. I recognised the sword as my own. The very sword that I wielded to defeat the tower guardian in the dead tower.

The first time I met Mr T. he was wearing a fan shirt of some old Earth TV sitcom. He looked much more like the lord of a tower now with a suit made from slightly metallic scales that looked to fit him perfectly.

Mr T. pulled a small box from his jacket and handed it over to Teek. “I know this is something you have been searching a while for. I hope you can accept this as thanks and apology. I’ll be taking measures so nothing like this will happen again.”

Teek opened the box before letting out a laugh of glee. “Very nice.”

Mr T. gave a small bow to Teek. “I’ll be off then. Not much more for me to do here and I have been away long enough.” He started to walk past but stopped in front of me.

Mr T. lifted the sheathed sword between us and smacked the top of my head with the hilt. “Smeg head. I don’t know how you did it, but this sword is mine in payment. Do not try summoning it again. I’ll be placing it in a place where only my power can reach.” He continued past me and Khemrok who was still acting as my shadow.

“Also please don’t damage my precious tower. This sword alone is not strong enough to do what you did.”

We all stood in silence as Mr T. made his own way out of Teek’s home.

“Who was that?” Khemrok asked.

I rushed over to Teek and ran my hands over his tiny body, making sure there were no missing limbs.

Laughing, Teek grabbed hold of my hands. “Stop. It tickles. I’m okay, Reigner. I’m not injured. It takes more than a child swinging his sword to really hurt me.”

A laugh escaped my lips. “A child? No child can do what I saw in the training hall. Are you sure, you’re okay? Khemrok said something about severing your arm.”

“Bah, just a flesh wound. Don’t worry about that. I have recovered from worse.” Teek looked me over and gave a nod. “Good, your body did not reject the berry. You have very strong constitution, Reigner. Lucky for us.” He laughed and patted my side. “It’s time you continued your journey.”

Laughing I replied “Oh, so you are kicking me out after our ‘friendly spar’, are you?”

“No, you are always welcome. Just make sure you bring lots of interesting seeds with you. You must practice harvest!” Turning to Khemrok he continued. “You too! Harvest everything!”

Khemrok stared down at Teek. “Uh, sure...”

Teek gave me a smile. “Reigner is tough, but remember, there is always someone more tough. Be careful, friend”

I clasped hands with Teek and nodded towards Khemrok as I walked out into the canyon.

My time with Teek had been a nice break and sparing against Khemrok had pushed my skills much faster than I would have alone.

My plan was to move towards the tower while killing any tower creatures along the way. I hoped to find the floor crystal and reach the next floor without having to go through a mazer hole.

I don’t know if Zelphar was still looking for me or if he had given up and left the floor but there was no sign of him.

An hour after leaving I heard the echo of footfalls from behind me. Looking back there was a curve in the canyon where the sound was coming from. A moment later and a burly orc came running around the corner. The orc noticed me and picked up his pace a little before slowing down and stopping in front of me.

“Khemrok.” After calling his name I just stood in silence as he took a moment to catch his breath.

“Damn you. How can you move so fast?”

“Fast? I just felt like jogging a little. Why are you here anyway? Did Teek kick you out?”

“Yeah… Told me that I had to get the harvest skill to seventy before he would train me further.”

“Hah, he really is obsessed with farming. You heading to the tower?”

“Yes, I need to report to my clan. I’ll accompany you. I figure you could use the protection of a high floorer.”

“Right… Thank you?”

Khemrok let out a huff and we started walking.

“Master Teek is incredibly isolated here. Stands to reason that he loves his farm.”

“True, but I think it’s more than that. His home, its way too large for just him.”

Khemrok kicked a loose stone ahead of us. “Talking about the other floors?”

“Wait there were more floors?”

Khemrok nodded. “Mmm, I got lost exploring his farm and found a stairway. There were floors that had not been used for decades or more. Master Teek found me after I entered one of the rooms and he was visibly upset.”

“Sounds scary. Sounds like it would take a lot to make that goblin angry.”

“No not angry. He was sad.”

“Sad? What was in the room?”

“It was the room of a climber, filled with armours and weapons hanging off the walls. Unlike the corridor the inside was spotless of dust.”

“How many more floors were there?”

“Hmm, more than four.”

Kicking the same stone, I sent it quite a distance further than what Khemrok managed. Khemrok gave me an annoyed look and I just flashed a smile in return. “Well, we should cheer him up and…”

“And what? Harvest?”

I stopped walking. “Son of a bitch.”

Khemrok turned to look at me. “What is it?”

“He is trying to turn me into a bloody farmer!”

I have met some interesting people in this world so far. The ones I have got to know well in my short time here could be counted on the fingers on one hand. Miko, the young but courageous young woman. Burin, the dwarf that is as quick to anger as he is laughter. Teek, the friendly Exo goblin that befriended me. And lastly and unfortunately, Khemrok, who I had spent the past few days sparing with while a guest at Teek’s home.

Khemrok turned out to be a very annoying travel partner. Even more annoying than my own shadow.

A large dark green hand landed on my shoulder, stopping me from moving forward. “Where are you going?”

We had just reached a split in the canyon, and I had started to follow it to the left. The tower compass that Miko insisted I purchase pointed in that direction.

Dusting my shoulder from Khemrok’s hand, I turned around to face him. “This is the way towards the tower.”

Khemrok snorted while pointing down the canyon I selected to walk down. “That is the wrong way.” He shifted his arm, so he was pointing towards the path that led to the right. “This is the way to reach the tower.”

The compass I held in my hands was clearly pointing to the left path. “The compass disagrees with you. That would be walking away from the tower.”

“Hah. Left to yourself you would take the path that adds an extra day to reach the tower. This way is much faster.”

Bullshit. “How is that way faster? We would literally be walking in the opposite direction of the tower.”

Taking a step closer, Khemrok glared at me. “Have you even been on this floor before? Hah, did not think so. Following your little toy would be a complete waste of time.”

I had to supress the urge punch the orc in his confidently incorrect mouth. “Fine! You lead.”

He made a noise of satisfaction and started heading down the left path.

Before he could take a third step, I placed a hand on his shoulder. “Where are you going?”

“We agreed that I would lead us back to the tower.”

Frustration was building inside me and It took an effort to speak calmly. “Yes. However, you just said that the path leading to the right was the way to go.”

Khemrok snorted as he slapped my hand off his shoulder. “What are you saying Reigner? That way is the complete opposite direction of the tower.”

He walked forward a few metres before noticing I had not moved. “What’s wrong? Are your legs sore already? Do we need to take a break?”

My hands involuntarily squeezed themselves into fists. I did not bother looking at the orc. I knew that seeing his annoying face would break what little control I had left. I counted to ten while taking deep breaths. Once I felt calm enough to continue, I started walking down the left path. I really hope we run into some tower monsters. I needed to punch something.

My wish was granted a handful of minutes later as the path bent around and revealed a camp of large rats, between six and seven feet tall, wearing clothes and wielding pickaxes. Once they noticed us, they let out a shriek and charged. I cast Identify on one of them.

[Rat Ogre]

Health: 520 / 100%

Class: Miner

Level: 5

Race: Rat Ogre

Khemrok flexed his arms before pulling out his two axes. “Nice, a Rat ogre camp. I was just thinking I wanted to hit something.”

Annoying, he is so annoying. Letting out a breath I looked to him. “You really are gifted, Khem. Do you have an aggro skill?”

Looking to me from the side of his eye he replied. “I do but never bothered using it. Don’t even need it when all you need to do is kill everything.”

I summoned a spearbolt and launched it towards one of the charging rat things. “I thought so. Must be a passive skill, right? Max rank too?”

Experience gained

Khemrok threw one of his axes. After landing a hit and slaying the creature it vanished and returned to his hand. “It’s not a passive skill. Why are you so curious?”

Summoning a large two hander hammerbolt I launched it at full forge towards the group. “You are so god damned annoying!”

Experience gained

Experience gained

Experience gained

Clearing the camp of rat ogres did not take long, and after slaying the last creature I met with Khemrok who was staring into a dug-out tunnel in the side of the canyon. Even though the battle was quick It allowed me to channel some of my pent-up energy and frustration.

“Want to take a look?” I asked while peering into the tunnel.

Khemrok kicked one of the nearby bags, spilling out unprocessed ore. “Nah, it’s just an Iron mine. Although it would be worth reporting the location to the clan. Now if it was a crystal mine that would be quite something.”

Shrugging, I decided to go with his decision. I would have just ignored it if I was alone.

Khemrok eyed me before flicking a coin towards me. “Here. I’ll buy out your half.”

The coin turned out to be a gold coin. I raised an eyebrow at the orc.

He grinned at me. “If claimed and mined then this place might earn the clan a gold in profit each month. That’s including all the expenses of extraction and processing.”

“Fine with me. Not like I even knew people would be interested in a place like this.”

“Hah. Let’s go.” Khemrok did not bother checking the corpses. After looking at two I could only find heavy lumps of ore and rusty pickaxes so decided to leave the rest alone.

As we reached the edge of the camp Khemrok turned to me. “You should dismiss your items. Makes it easy for someone to track you.”

The camp behind us was filled with conjured weapons sticking out of rat ogre corpses, wooden supports, and all over the ground. “What do you mean, dismiss them?”

He looked at me for a moment before bending over laughing. “Ah Reigner, I fully agree with Teek. You really are a child.”

He continued laughing for a while, occasionally stopping to look at me, only to start laughing uncontrollably again.

My hands clenched tightly into fists as I thought to myself that Khemrok really was gifted.

+1 to Unarmed skill rank.