The final boss on the fifth floor was a coin toss of who'd you get. It drew from any of the previous monsters on each platform and floor that a climber had traversed, so that you never knew exactly what combination you’d fight. A single boss—or a series of mini-bosses—was not even guaranteed. A few times before, there had been hordes of lower-grade monsters instead of a tough boss, though such instances were much rarer and only likely when no climbers had crossed over in some time. As though the floor had backed up and needed to release its creatures after the latest boss monster had not died in time.
In such instances, almost invariably, the climbers had fallen or been forced to flee. Twice, they had fled and led the horde all the way back to the starting zone where a pitched final battle was conducted. Numerous buildings and people had fallen during that period, with the culprits then blackballed for their actions. The few that still lived, that is.
It was because of this that Arthur’s group travelled across the perimeter of the third platform searching for the teleportation platforms, charting their way by utilising the maps they had purchased, and approaching landmarks with some trepidation. Keeping in view the arc of the towering mountains in a distance, the land that sloped up steeply and delineated the end of the third platform to their right, they traversed the marshy platform battling monsters in search of their final victim.
When they finally reached that encounter, having made their way nearly halfway around the floor, it was to meet the most dreaded of groups: a hive of deadly, overgrown wasps. In sight were only a half dozen in number, hovering over the open ground of the teleportation platform, the worn stone that marked where it was located, and the standing columns that would host the gate. However, only a fool would think that those six, human-child-sized wasps were the only ones to watch out for. Especially not when the nest, built between the gate columns, had a large opening.
"Shit, shit, shit," Arthur muttered when he was informed of the danger. "Do we know if anyone else is trying to go up?"
"None," Mel said immediately.
"We can't wait!" Casey interjected at the same time.
"Those are the worst to fight. You know that. These might not kill us with a single sting. But the boss is almost guaranteed to end any of you." He grimaced. "I probably could survive one. Maybe two. Probably not, though. And I definitely don't want to test that idea."
"We can't wait. We've lost too much time," Casey repeated. "We have to push ahead."
"I know, but..." He waved at the stone platform. "This is bad. This is dangerous, to the nth degree."
"C’mon, boss. Don’t be a chicken, lah," Jan said. "We can do it!"
"I liked you better when you were pessimistic," Arthur growled.
"Seriously, Art. We just need to take out their wings. If we hit them from range, it'll be fine," Leia said. "We got quite a bit of ranged attacks, right? Fire, all of that."
"Slingstones aren't great." Mel muttered. "Casey might be okay. We really need Karen..."
"Aura of Fire." Arthur said, softly. "Too late to go back for her."
"You're the one wanting a way out," Casey pointed out, before she waved a hand and cut him off. "So how are we doing this?"
Arthur sighed but stopped complaining. He turned to Uswah who detailed the surroundings to him. Not that there was much to explain. The clearing around the teleportation gate was clear, beyond the gate itself and the flying hornets. The ground around it, though, was made up of the same trees and marshland as the rest of the forest, which meant occasional low-hanging vines, a lot of thorny shrubbery, and not a lot of cover otherwise. Most of the hanging vines weren't that large and they were few enough that the hornets likely could either dodge through them or break through as they flew in.
They could, if they wanted, surround the location. So long as none of them were spotted, the hornets weren't exactly flying out of the base to hunt down climbers, which left them easy to ambush. Of course, they still were missing a few important factors, like how many of the creatures there were within the large nest, how far they'd chase if they had to break off, and how fast they'd react to an attack. Did they have to kill a certain number of hornets or would they leave the nest regardless?
"Alright, if we're doing this, we're doing it smart. We need a breakaway location." He frowned, thinking. "I remember a stream leading towards a pond a half-hour back. We never checked how deep the pond was."
"Why... Oh, you want to jump in," Mel corrected herself before she finished. "Not large enough for all of us."
"Yeah. It'll fit like maybe three unless it's a real sinkhole." He held a finger up. "Let's call it three, we'll check. That's one group. That leaves at two more groups then, that we should find places to run to." Thinking, he added, "Maybe a spitting toad base? I doubt they're friends..."
"And get attacked on both ends?" Rick said, doubtfully.
"Maybe not. But I don't think a lot of ponds or the like are around," Arthur pointed out.
"I can scout." Uswah offered.
"Me too." Leia stabbed her finger in the opposite direction of the pond that they'd marked with a stone. "I'll head this way. Even if it's a clearing or a particularly dense set of bush, it might be enough if it's far enough away."
"They track," Lam pointed out.
"Splitting up the forces still isn't bad," Eric said, jutting his chin out as he defended his sister.
"Didn't say it wasn't," Lam said.
"Okay. Three forces, our scouts check out for places to run to. If things go bad, we retreat. Each group moves independently for the retreat, because the hornets are going to chase them back anyway, so that'll be fine," Arthur said, firmly so as to avoid the burgeoning argument. He really didn't want to get involved in that, though the constant chaffing between his two seniors and the rest of the team was annoying to him. "We hit the first group with as many ranged attacks as we want. Question is, do we want to deal with the nest at all?"
"Deal with?" Casey said. "You mean destroy it."
"Yes. Fire and torches, light it up. Maybe see if we can maybe put some flames right in front of the openings to encourage the hornets not to come out, you know?" Arthur said.
"Might wake all of them up instead," Lam cautioned.
"I know."
"What?” Uswah asked.
"Other option is we wait around, hope they don't come out to kill us. It'll be tricky, especially because there's no guarantee the big boss won't come out immediately. Even if it does, there's also going to be someone who needs to be targeted to deal with it." Arthur hesitated, then sighed. "That's probably going to be me. If I keep it busy, you guys can finish the rest that come out."
"You lazing around then, ah?" Yao Jing said, teasingly.
"Why not me?" Rick asked, touching his shotgun.
"Firstly, we've seen how fast they move. You might miss," Arthur said. "Secondly, you don't have armour. I do. Thirdly, I can survive getting stung, you can't." He hesitated, then added, "But you should take a shot, when you get it. After I engage."
"Fine," Rick said.
"Why does no one want to live?" Arthur grumbled.
"We're climbers. None of us are exactly stable, you know?" Rick said with a grin.
Yao Jing snorted. "I don't wanna die. I won't lah."
"Nor do I," Mel said, softly.
"And I know I'm getting out," Casey said, firmly. "This is just a necessary step to taking control of the company and rising in its ranks."
Arthur opened his mouth then shut it after a moment. He never did get how the need to be a Tower climber and getting higher up on the Chins’ ladder—or any major corporation in Asia—tied together. After all, climbers had a short shelf-life overall, the need to enter Towers driving them on as their body broke down and they lost energy outside of the Tower. Without Tower energy, they would eventually die if they didn't reenter it, even with a large surplus of stones.
Well, that was the theory. He guessed if you were the Chins or a large enough group, they could supply the increasing amounts of stones needed, lengthen the amount of time before it was necessary for you enter the next Tower. Then again, he also knew that a Beginner Tower was just the first, like what a Bachelor's degree was in the past. A starting point for the professionals.
If you wanted to go higher, you often needed to dip into other Towers, get better qualifications. Some of that, he knew, was because the big companies played dirty, fought and killed one another when necessary. Not always, of course, but when violence was something that you learnt as you climbed a Tower, the habits didn't necessarily go away.
Sometimes, it felt like they'd devolved with the appearance of the Towers. Gone back to the time of the Romans or the eighteenth or nineteenth century, when commerce was still being run by savages.
"Whatever," Arthur said. "We good for this?"
He checked around, scanning the group for objections. Noted none, because they didn't have that many strategies to use. Not here, not with the information they had or their abilities. Maybe another time, with more skills and techniques. For now, it was simple.
Hit them, hit them hard, and get out.