"Loot, got to get the loot..." Arthur hobbled his way over to where the body had been, noting it had disappeared after the Tower took its energy back. He grabbed his knife first thing, sheathing and storing it away before looking at the other item that had been left behind. He frowned, wandering over and poking at it, uncertain.
"This wasn't here, right?" Arthur asked the air. "Couldn't be..." After all, it was in the depression where the body had lain. It was pretty much exactly in the middle, still a little soggy from the blood released, the ground mushed up. So definitely the drop from the monster.
On the other hand...
"Why do I get all the weird shit?" Arthur complained as he limped over to his prize and picked it up.
A tapered, oval cylindrical object with slight striations through it, rough and barklike texture. The size of his elbow, which was unusual, because, of course, it was a seed.
Seed of the Kelembai
Effect: Unknown
"Very helpful, Tower." Arthur sighed, then carried it over to his backpack and stored it away safely in the center. Rubbing his face, he reminded himself to be thankful he even got it. Two loot drops - the seed, the hide for his armour - was more than most people got. Even if they'd had to sell stuff like the wasp stingers, because they weren't technically usable loot, he had been luckier overall than most.
Even if all he got were weird shit like this.
"Well, I guess I'll just have to plant you somewhere." Arthur rubbed a hand through his hair, making note to spend some time reading up on seeds. He was sure someone else must have his idiosyncratic luck, so he'd just have to hit the wiki when he got back outside.
Of course, it might be secret knowledge too, but that was why he had friends who knew people. Casey or maybe Rick might be able to get tha information if it was not publicly available.
Which, come to think of it.... "I wonder how they're doing?"
He hoped his team was alright. That they were all doing okay. He had faith in them though. After all, this was just the Beginner Tower. While it was tough, it was mostly because he was new, still learning and rushing through. The others had advantages, both in training or experience.
They'd be fine.
Right?
***
Yao Jing was singing as he walked, keeping pace with the Merchant beside him. The Tower had given him a little gray man, maybe four feet tall at most, though he sat within this steampunked contraption of a skittering bug that contained his goods. The Tower Climber was in a good mood, a new pair of gauntlets on his arm that sparked with lightning every time he snapped his fingers in time to the music.
When he was done, he glanced over at his temporary companion. "So, like that lah."
"The song was... interesting," the small creature said, shaking it's head. "But I do not understand why it is about a wolf..."
"No lah! The hungry wolf is a man ah, one who likes women!"
"But why call them a wolf?"
"Because we get all hungry, you know. Tight dresses, low necklines..."
"Ah... I have heard of this!" The Merchant brightened. "Uncontrollable lust in humanity, due to their year long arousal unlike normal mammals. An evolutionary trait that increases aggression and enforces competition among males!"
"... Eh? Mat nei gong aa?" Yao Jing queried.
The Merchant looked over, shook his head. "It matters not. It's my turn, to sing, yes?"
"Sure, sure." Yao Jing eyes narrowed as he noticed movement in the trees ahead. "Just let me manage this, will you?"
Leaving his spear propped over in the cart, Yao Jing took off running, eager to continue testing his new gauntlets. The others were going to be surprised, when they saw him.
***
Uswah hung in the trees, shadow tendrils holding her aloft and off the ground. Beneath her, the harimau hitam stalked, sniffing the ground, searching for its prey. The boss that blocked the way to the tenth floor had been playing cat and Climber with her for the last two days, stalking her ever since she had attracted its attention.
After so long though, even the massive regeneration of the monster was struggling against the rot and poisons she had embedded in it via her attacks. Patches of fur had fallen off, dark webs of criss-crossing poisoned veins and arteries highlighted across its body. Even now, the monster still moved with the savage grace that had nearly ended her life and took another limb.
As it stood...
Uswah flexed her left thigh, her eyes tightening a little as the pain flowed through her. The numerous bandages around the wound kept the still seeping blood from dripping downwards. She was not the only who could cause aggravated wounds, though in the last day the wound had finally started healing over.
She waited for the beast to be nearly out of range, before she moved, casting the trio of fast moving poison darts at it. They formed from her hand, flying through the air to impact the monster and splash across it's fur, burrowing in through the monster's aura and into the skin beneath.
The creature spun around, even as Uswah pulled on her Shadow Step technique. It was leaping through the air for her, reacting with blinding speed.
Not fast enough, for she faded into the shadows long before it's reaching claws could get her.
Her victory. Now, she just had to repeat it another half-dozen times.
***
Rick cursed, spinning in mid-air as the Gunfighter's Slide took him out of the way of the massive, charging boar. His pistols continued to crack, burrowing shots into the massive, fatty body of the babi ngepit. Less useful, even using hollow point, pancake rounds, when the damn thing was the size of a small house.
It didn't help that he couldn't shoot it head-on. The armoured head just deflected the majority of his bullets, crushed against the dense outer skull. Only by hitting it in the side could he do enough damage, and even then, getting it through the monster's tough skin and fat required careful target selection.
And a little boost from his skills.
Exploding Projectiles were never meant for bullets. They were the kind of technique you used with an arrow or crossbow bolt, infusing a single item that could burrow its way in and then do significant damage that way. Modifying it - or purchasing the modified technique - had cost a pretty penny, but his parents had been able to acquire it for him and had it delivered later on.
He just didn't have the energy to waste on it on the regular.
Skidding to a stop as his movement technique ended, he waited to see which direction the monster turned to face him. In so doing, for a brief moment, he had full sight of the parts his earlier shots had burrowed in and he fired, double-tapping in quick succession to put both charged bullets into the monster.
The resulting explosion was quite satisfying, causing the babi ngepit to buckle, front leg no longer working.
Hurrying backwards, Rick knew he only needed to wait for it to bleed out now.
***
Mel raised her spear again to her opponent. Handsome, tall and elegant, her opponent copied the motion with its blade, saluting her in turn. She found herself sharing a small smile with Koslilia, the Hermit, before they flashed forward. New lover or not, they had a job to do, and training Mel in the use of the new cultivation technique superceded all other considerations.
She elongated her spear, using the technique she'd studied to give her the edge in range once more as she lunged forward. No surprise, Kosilia had recognised the attack, stepped aside to dodge it. But that had just been the start, a moment later a phantom spear followed, at a new angle forcing him to hop back.
Spear of a Thousand Angles was one part martial art, one part Tower technique, one part reality manipulation as far as she was concerned. With the technique, she could manipulate where the phantom spears could appear, but only if she had intended - or would - attack along those lines. To make full use of the technique, it required her to understand her opponent well, to plan their movements, such that she could cover the openings they offered.
It was a technique that was easy to learn and would take a lifetime to Master.
Which was why they fought, over and over again, pushing her to the limit.
At least during the days. At night, well...
The nights were another form of exercise and training.