Floor 8
“Up, up and away we go, wherever we stop, there’s how we know we’re slow,” Arthur muttered, watching one after another of his friends disappear.
Only Yao Jing and Jan were hanging back, his erstwhile bodyguards till the last moment. He looked around, saw Noor and Lei Jing, gave them a nod. It amused him a little, to see Fang Chien hanging back, Harish glowering beside him. The gang of 04 had taken the worst losses, now just a part of the Ghee Hin. No one wanted a group that small, prone to mistakes and just overall, incompetent. The actual contract itself had been simple enough to sort out, after he had the wording and details passed through a lady who had been an actual lawyer beforehand. Not contract law, but real estate, and certainly not magical contracts though there had been some discussion about pushing her forward so she could help.
If she could get over her own fear of the last few floors.
Arthur shook his head, dismissing the thoughts for now. Later. It was his turn, and time to go. Handing over his seal, he waited for the contribution to be deducted. He had exactly enough, mostly because he'd transferred over any extra to be kept by Li Sun, this floor's boss, to hold.
"Alright, any last minute concerns?" No one spoke up, not that he expected it. "Then I'm off, like a prom dress."
Not that Malaysia did proms. But American culture and TV shows had a way of creeping in. Just like Bollywood and Tollywood movies. Or anime. Or, well, any major country that wasn't Malaysia with its still struggling cultural exports.
Then, light. A twisting sensation.
And he was gone.
***
The last three floors of the Tower were a weird one. They deposited you at the bottom of a mountain range, and you had to climb it. Each floor was just a continuous land piece from the previous one, with the only demarcation being the presence of the floor boss in-between. You had to climb your way through, doing battle with the monsters and collecting whatever resources you wanted and crossing higher till you hit the end. Wasn’t a single mountain he had to ascend, but a series that he had to traverse.
Where a final battle awaited; expect that one was another change in tune.
But he'd worry about that problem later.
The first question was whether he took the easy route - the beaten down path before him - and walked it, or if he intended to bushwack his way directly upwards. You could do both, the trial didn't enforce movement in any way unlike some Towers. There were advantages and disadvantages to both methods, and Arthur once more weighed the question in his mind.
Take the obvious route and it would be much easier walking. The ground was firm, the bushes cleared out on either end, there was no chance of getting lost. However, the path went through a number of switchbacks, meandered back and forth, did have offshoot pathways that could lead someone to take the wrong way if they weren't paying attention. And, of course, the monsters were all waiting for you.
Attacks were literally guaranteed, and would be numerous. There weren't many places to rest, and even those resting places weren't guaranteed to be safe. Still, it was a pathway and safe - if long. None of the monsters were going to be that difficult, ranging from everything they'd fought before - the babi ngepit, the kuching hitam, the jenglot and even the creatures from the platform. Anything he'd fought, was open.
Then, there was the bushwacking. Cutting upwards, heading straight instead of following the road. Cutting through areas where he might not want to do the trail. There were advantages - the total amount of distance he would have to cover would be less. At least three to four times easily, especially if he only needed to walk straight up.
He could do some of it, what with Cloud Steps and his willingness to cut his way through. He had a parang, and while it wasn't his favorite weapon, it was perfect for this kind of bushwhacking. Cutting his way straight up, pushing ahead with no intention of taking the main route.
Initially, it wouldn't matter, the trail would cut back and across from reports. However, at some point, the trail and the way up would diverge significantly. There would be a lot of time where he would just be walking, upwards. And that was the danger, because he did not bring with him a compass, did not have a cultivation technique to guide him through the wilderness.
Someone who had never cut through a forest might think it was simple - all he had to do go was up. For the most part, that was right - but he was crossing and ascending a mountain range. That meant that there were times when he'd be going down, times when he might have to deal with difficult terrains - cliffs that he couldn't ascend or rivers that couldn't be forded.
Worse, while the attacks were fewer theoretically, it was not guaranteed. At this point, they went from a relatively regular series of encounters to randomness. He might get by without an issue, just push his way upwards and ignore the major problems. Or, he might end up stumbling into a middle of a goblin village and fight his way through them.
"Make a choice, be the choice, if you aren't a fool, you'll never be able to find a soul."
Arhtur sighed.
"Risk or reward, but at the end, where's my lumpah going to be?"
Head turning side to side, trying to figure out which way to go. He'd already had this conversation, over and over again and eventually, he sighed. Recalling everything people said to him.
Putting his feet on the trail, he started walking, spear held by his side as a walking stick with the metal butt hitting the ground, eyes searching for problems.
"Don't take risks, Arthur." Pitching his voice higher, a quiet mocking tone. Changing it up a little with each sentence. "You're the Clan Head. You cannot be killed." Growing gruffer, trying for Yao Jing. "Be good lah. We head up first, take care of it for you."
Then, laughing to himself, he discarded his mocking. He wasn't in a safe zone anymore, and the monsters were out there.
The only question was when they arrived.
***
"Leeches! Leeches!" Arthur growled, jumping into the air and releasing the Refined Exploding Energy Dart at them. He watched the attack spin down into the ground and slam into the middle of the swarming pack. The explosion threw the leeches into the air, puncturing their skin and leaving globules of blood and meat to rain down.
Arthur spat, feeling dirt and other unmentionables in his mouth. Taught him a lesson to be talking. Still, for all his distractions, he caught the leaping harimau hitam with the tip of his spear that he'd been carrying next to his chest, shifting it a little so that the creature pinned itself on the weapon.
He tore it sideways, spinning it so that monster slammed into a tree nearby.
Legs bunched, he landed and struck out with his spear. Once, twice, thrice. Using it like a swirling, sewing needle to punch through the swarm. So many of them, but not an issue because he was stronger and faster than when he'd first met them. He was better, than he had been.
He'd trained, he'd sparred, he'd gone through everything his tsifu and seniors could throw at him. But there was no substitute, in the end, for real experience.
In a blink, the monsters were dead, their bodies dispersing. No damage, the only thing he lost was a Refined Exploding Energy Dart which he pulled towards him now and stored in his second dantian. Then, stones to collect, and time to move on.