The Tower, 2nd Floor

The room was...rather simple considering the task the two were undertaking. Lance studied the wooden floors that stood out from the stone that had made up the passageways so far. The boards were worn from time and possibly usage, but sturdy. The rest of the room was about as simple and plain as anything he'd seen so far. A workbench in the middle of the room signified a work station, left here for...reasons.

Lance saw Koko get to work on the bench, crafting something from his magical abilities. Lance checked the gold shield that was on his back. He couldn't use it here, for he'd need an Alchemy set-up to turn that into something useful. He checked his swords, sharp as ever. He realized that after one floor of discovery, he'd collected one material. Granted, he had the opportunity to take a mace, but that just wasn't his fighting style.

A large parchment was handed to him by Koko. Grabbing it, Lance read through the blood writing and realized the opportunity. But they weren't ready for it yet. Heroes have to he mighty strong and willed in order to create a Scroll of Challenge. Lance was nowhere near that level yet and Koko probably wasn't interested. He'd pocket it for now, but with the promise of fighting the being soon.

Casually, Lance looked over Koko's work. "You know," he told the mage, "I wish I had learned a bit more about magical tomes and sigils. Even the smallest stuff could've probably helped me. How did you get the opportunity to join an academy?"

The duo's conversation was cut a bit short, as a Goblin Assassin appears out of nowhere, throwing off a Cloak of Invisiblity right before driving a large blade into Lance's back. The beast screeches with a terrifying howl (Koko has been Feared, -9 Attack and incapable of melee attacking his object of fear), as it follows up on its sneak attack with a strong bitchslap to the warrior's face, knocking him down into the floor. With haste, the hitman tears Lance's backpack off and runs off (Lance's inventory has been emptied), taking back his Cloak and attempting to escape into the darkness of the Tower.

It was a bit puzzling to hear Koko's shock in his answer. Lance was confused as well. "The Magenta family?" he questioned, trying to piece it together. Something was familiar about that name, but he couldn't quite pinpoint where he'd come across it.

Before he had a chance to think it further, a quick noise alerted Lance, but before he could do anything, he felt something sharp hit his back. Lance cried out just as he was knocked across the face, hitting the floorboards below him. Shaking off the sudden attack, Lance quickly pulled the knife out, knowing the quicker it was done, the less it would hurt and the less impact it would have later. He also realized his backpack was stolen, containing the gold shield, the Scroll, and all of his shards, all slung across what he could now see was a goblin racing it's way towards an exit.

"Oh like fucking hell you do..." Lance muttered before glancing at the knife in his hand. The blade was slightly lighter than the hilt, but he could adjust. In fact, it was more convenient this way. He wouldn't have to use one of his prized swords, which he had dropped during the surprise attack and were now laying on the floor. It was also convenient that the Goblin had chose to leave the weapon in Lance's back. He could still see the Goblin, fidgeting under the Cloak he had while trying to turn invisible once more. He had to throw it now.

Realizing at the last second that the shield that was in his backpack would block a killing shot, he instead threw the knife in a discus style, skimming the floor, aiming at the Goblin's heels. If his toss was as true as he felt it was, the blade would cut straight through the left heel, rendering the thief incapable of running away. Lance quickly got up and grabbed his swords, standing straight up and seeing the result of his incredulous throw.

Lance's throw aimed true, and crippled his target effectively. The goblin tripped and fell to the floor, the magic of his cloak interrupted by the hit, revealing the monster that had tried to rob him.

Although the throw kept the beast from retreating, it wouldn't keep him from putting up a fight. Getting himself up as quickly a he could, the Assassin pulled out a Powder Bomb from his bag, and quickly took aim in Lance's general direction. He wouldn't throw it yet, however; he'd wait until Lance approached him to throw it, giving him a better chance of catching his victim in the blast.

The sickening thwok! of metal cutting through skin was all Lance needed to hear to know his projectile had hit his target. He watched the semi-cloaked figure fall down, unable to run, the cloak catching behind the goblin and revealing it's ugly face. Lance knew it couldn't go anywhere immediately and started walking towards the thief menacingly. He saw the goblin pull out something and arc it behind him, to potentially throw at him.

"Koko!" Lance called to the mage, "See what you can do about that bomb in his hand." He held up his guard against the creature, to where just in case the goblin threw it, he could strike at the projectile and bat it away. Meanwhile, he waited for Koko to disarm the creature.

The quickness of Koko's sigil blast honestly surprised Lance, considering how hesitant the mage had been thus far. However, there was no time to congratulations as he now had to deal with a goblin who thought this brilliant plan.

"Hey buddy," Lance approached the thief and placed the edge of the blade against it's throat. "Would you kindly return my items to my possession? Otherwise, I'd have to acquire them by other means. And, quite frankly, I don't exactly know what that means for your health."

The goblin spat in Lance's face. It grumbled angrily, and took the backpack he had stolen off his back.

However, instead of giving it back, he reached into it quickly and tore up the Scroll of Challenge inside. The parchment reacted violently to its destruction, and slowly but surely, the Champion it was meant to spawn materialized...

Wevvoz the Warpriest has been summoned! With his Crossbowblade and Chaos Tome, the titanic elite, clad in the finest of armor, made of hundreds of small, light aluminum plates laced together with chainlinks, he bellows a brutal warcry as he takes a stance against his two challengers.

Three Warpriest Disciples come running in from the darkness, taking a stance behind their master. Each draws a long rapier, and take their stance behind their master.

The Warpriest was not to be influenced by magic so easily; the Leech Koko attempts to cast on him fails to steal his lifeforce. The chains that tried to hold him shattered as he tore them apart with one great gesture. His disciples however, do find themselves trapped by the caster's binds.

Speaking in ancient tongues one could only dream to understand, Wevvoz opens his Chaos Tome and brings forth a random burst of magic...

From the tome, lightning begins erupting violently, blasting bolts in every direction of varying strength.

Angered by Koko's meet attempt to hold him, he takes aim with his Crossbowblade, and pulling a trigger on the large sword's grip, he blasts a large, lead bolt in the apprentice's direction, coated in venom.

Seeing as though Lance hasn't quite attacked him yet, he took a defensive stance yet again; waiting, maybe hoping that the warrior took the challenge.

While Koko went on the offensive, drawing Wevvoz's attention, Lance took the time to get ready. Looking at what he had, he decided to keep the gold shield on his back, which could probably do nothing against that Crossbowblade, but may do wonders against the Chaos Tome's magic. He didn't know enough about the shield to make a sure guess, but any little bit would do.

Now the question came: should he eat a shard? Lance now had all of them at his disposal and knew that it would be stupid to not use one while he still had the chance, especially whist fighting an opponent such as Wevvoz. But which one would he use? Lance was more than familiar with all the shard's abilities, but his personal favorite was the Fire Shard. Cheap, yet a strong enhancer of Lance's abilities, Lance used those shards far often than any of the other ones and knew how to fight with it. However, this wasn't a normal opponent. This was Wevvoz, a person who was incredibly resistant to magic. While offense was great, he'd need a somewhat defensive strategy.

Lightning started striking around him, casted by Wevvoz, causing him to cover his head and roll to the left. Luckily, none had hit him. But the electric attack made the decision of what shard he should consume to maximize the effect.

And that's why when the Warpriest took aim towards Koko, Lance pulled a shard out of his bag, then whispered to it. "Da mihi virtutem lapis terrae..." Consuming the shard, he felt the power surge through him, felt it coarse through his whole body. He felt more...stable. He developed a spiritual connection with the ground and the rock around him. He could control it...manipulate it to his design.

He was the rock around them.

And when the Warpriest turned to his direction, setting himself up defensively, Lance was standing there, a potent aura emanating from his body...one of stable power, not wild like when he consumed Fire Shards.

"Alright, so first thing's first..." Lance was speaking methodically, as if he had a plan of attack layered twelve moves into a fight. He quickly smashed his hands down, bringing three separate parts of the rocky ceiling upon the three bound disciples. Since they wouldn't be able to move, the sudden weight brought upon them should kill them instantly. This would leave Lance and Koko to battle Wevvoz without the help of his disciples, a fortunate advantage.

And as for Koko...well he figured the mage was resourceful enough to have blocked the projectile in some way or another. He'd proven himself so far in situations like these. He didn't worry about him.

Lance set himself up in a ready stance, looking at Wevvoz directly in his eyes, and giving a slight wink.

Lance's transformation grants him +3 Defense and Intellect, in addition to his newly adopted magic influence.

The three disciples are crushed by the stones that the warrior drops on them.

Wevozz flashes a smile at Lance, right before going ham on him; he lunges forth, and throws a barrage of slashes, swipes and stabs towards the lightly armored fighter.

After he'd launch his initial strike, he'd once again trigger his Tome and release another burst of chaotic essence...

This time, a burst of red mana shot into the Warpriest, forcing him into a bloody rage! (+4 Attack, -2 Defense; Next three successful attacks critically wound their victims.)

The Warpriest's sudden charge would be enough to make any young warrior falter back on the defensive and Lance was no different. However, the knowing smile Wevvoz had given before lunging forward was enough warning for Lance to be ready for a powerful stroke.

So when Wevvoz brought his sword down in a slash, Lance stepped forward and brought his double blades upward to meet the Crossbowblade. A massive clang! followed by the jarring of the impact spreading throughout his entire body told him he had succeeded. The impact was enough to push Lance backward, keeping him on the defensive and letting Wevvoz continue his onslaught. With every stroke the Warpriest made, Lance countered with a flawless defense. Meeting every slash, he countered and parried his way out of the barrage. With a final thrust forward, Lance shoved the Crossbowblade back towards Wevvoz, making the mighty warrior lose his momentum. Meanwhile, he used that time to flip backwards and gain a minuscule break from defending such an attack.

Suddenly, Wevvoz was using his tome once more. However, instead of destructive like the lightning had been, he used the essence on himself, enhancing his own power. Lance knew this onslaught would be much worse than the initial one had been, but he didn't have time to adjust his strategy or set himself for a different tactic. He could only watch Wevvoz charge at him once more with blinding red fury behind that cruel smile. Lance braced for impact.

But impact never came. Lance saw something materialize in front of him, something that stopped Wevvoz in his tracks. It was a shield created from magic, and Lance knew who was behind it. Thanking Koko in his head for the break, he adjusted himself and noticed an opportunity as the shield began to crack from the Warpriest's barrage. Rather than take a defensive stance, Lance set himself up in an attack position and waited. The shield was getting weaker and weaker. Wevvoz's fury strikes continued on and on, never slowing.

Suddenly, the shield shattered in front of him. Now... the thought was instant and instinctive to his tactics as he lunged forward in perfect time. Just after Wevvoz struck the shield down but right before Wevvoz could strike at the dual-bladed warrior, Lance struck with precision. He wanted to preserve as much of the armor Wevvoz carried as he could so he could use it himself. So, rather than go for a body shot, Lance took a shot for the neck where a gap in the armor usually lay. The slash would be perfectly timed and even if there was armor around the neck, his Haven Swords had yet to come into contact with a material they couldn't cut through with enough effort. And Lance was giving it everything he had in this stroke.

Lance's brutal strike left a hole in the champion's throat, immediately bursting blood from his jugular.

The warpriest, shocked by his imminent defeat and desperate to do something, he reopened his tome, hoping it would cast something useful...

Instead, it backfired, and struck the already doomed fighter with a strong curse, ending him.

The Warpriest falls to his knees, and utters his final words: "Well done." Wevvoz turns to dust, leaving behibd his glorious equipment.

In the pile of loot, there is 174 gold coins, a Crossbowblade (+5 Attack, Functions as sword and crossbow), the Chaos Tome (+5 Intellect, -1 every other stat; casts a random spell, casters with 20+ Intellect can cast whatever they please!), 2 vials of Life(Brings 1 entity to full strength), a kit of Hydrasteel Plating(+5 Defense, +2 Speed; Wearer cannot be mortally or critically wounded by Blunt weaponry), and a Charm of Nullification (Blocks magic if Defense beats Intellect/Faith).

Lance nodded his head in agreement, handing him the Tome and the other Vial of Life. Looking back on the money, he realized he could use the money as more gold material and pocketed it as well. No sense in leaving an asset behind. He studied everything else and realized the Crossbowblade was still among the unclaimed items. He picked up the functional blade and presented it to Koko.

"I want you to use this weapon," Lance told the caster. "Magic is a valuable tool of functionality to have, but it's always good to have something that can be used to strike down foes when magic alone won't do the trick." Setting the blade down in front of Koko along with the Tome and the Vial of Life, he walked towards the wall and, still having his earth abilities for a little while longer, parted the wall in front of him, revealing a hallway for the two to pass through. "If you're worried about how to wield a blade, I can teach you a few things."

Another thing that caught Lance off guard was his view of Koko. Their relationship had turned from acquaintance to a traveling companion within the span of one floor. He remembered when he'd first encountered the caster, scared of any slight noise. Perhaps the response to the tower's might was merely initial, Lance thought. But, nevertheless, he enjoyed the company of the mage.

Giving the young Koko some well deserved time to respond, Lance ventured onward into the hallway, encountering nothing of real substance or notable interest. "All clear," he called back, motioning for the mage to follow.

Lance believed the true challenge of the Tower was not entirely the grueling enemies they would have to fight, but the length of the journey. A hundred floors in such a wide tower was quite a distance. It may even be a continent's distance starting from floor 1 and going onward to a hundred. From what he'd been told, the highest anyone had ever made it was in the upper 30s. Even getting to floor 40 would achieve Lance a legendary status. But he didn't want a marker for other people to try and accomplish and then surpass. He wanted to go beyond the marker to see where the road ends. He wanted to reach the hundredth floor. That was his mission. And he'd reach the final floor or he'd die trying.

Onward the two went, hours passing. No real danger threatened them as they passed through countless hallways and many empty rooms. Lance was a bit perplexed by this. He'd wondered how much loot would be available for him as he passed each floor, assuming that the first few floors would be pretty bone dry. For the most part, with the exception of Wevvoz, he was right. But he didn't expect the place to be COMPLETELY empty, void of everything except cobwebs and dust to fight through. He chuckled inwardly about the thought of an adventurer navigating the dungeon and dying due to a cloud of dust.

Finally, they reached a unique hallway. It looked as standard as any other hallway with the exception of rubble and destruction spanning across it. Chunks of wall were scattered everywhere. The floor was charred at a certain point, the remnants of ground zero to a critical blast. Lance could also see some dried blood staining another side of the area. The air was clear, something Lance noticed last. Had this destruction happened a few weeks ago, it air would be as dusty as anywhere else on the floor.

A battle happened here...a very recent battle.

Koko didn't like the idea of heaving to carry the weapon, but did so just to please Lance. The young mage preferred staves and staffs like the one he was carrying now. It kept things at bay so he could attack from a distance, and the Leech enchantment was just a bonus. He followed Lance carefully, uneasy from all the emptiness of the Tower at the moment and half expected something to just pop out of nowhere. When the found the destroyed area it set Koko on edge, since it was fresh and indeed violent in nature. Koko strode light into the area and found the stairs up to the third floor, turning to Lance and pointing it out to him. "If these are the stairs to the next floor, perhaps this is the aftermath of it's guardian after a fight with a adventurer."

He didn't have to say the second thought that came to mind. He wanted to know who had won that fight, and whether the guardian was still lurking around somewhere. Then again, he didn't really want to run into it if it was still alive. On that note Koko starts up the stairs to the next floor, making a ward in front of him just in case a trap was still present.