Chapter 458

The switch between the real world and the Tower came with barely a flicker of change, such that Arthur was one moment ascending and the next, stumbling off a raised platform. He felt the lurch of transportation, but unlike previous – he was more used to the teleportation effects. Not so much the sudden drop and change in elevation, but his superhuman reflexes meant that he barely stumbled, even as mud and throw up slipped beneath his feet.

Taking a step and then another, he scanned around him, firming his stance. A quick look around confirmed that, yes, there were a few people waiting around for individuals to appear; but much fewer compared to the KL Tower. Obviously, betting on other’s misfortunes was less of a past-time in the Kuching Tower.

Which made sense, since there were a lot fewer trapped Climbers here. Fewer people in total.

Arthur took a few moments to check the group waiting out, taking in their arms and armour, the way they clustered together. The usual groupings were there – corporate or family Climbers waiting to see if anyone from their groups coming in, the gangs and merchants scanning newcomers for over-stuffed bags filled with whatever goodies from the outside world they’d been paid to transport in – but also, a few Kuching oriented ones.

Amongst them? The orang asli groups, primarily the Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau and Murut tribes of the natives who made a higher percentage of the arrivals and Climbers than in Malaysia. In fact, as a percentage, they made up a significant percentage of Climbers compared to the rest of the population of Sabah and Sarawak. Not only did their background and training give them an edge, the Tower was a chance to improve their lot and their families lot that wasn’t barred to them by education or privilege or idiotic racist chicanery.

They’d be a great recruiting group – if not for the fact that they had their own Clan already, and thus had no use for the Durians. That they had only a single Clan was a source of contention, obviously; with so many disparate tribes but that was a matter of internal conflict – not something they were going to bother with, with an outsider like Arthur.

Finishing his initial scan, Arthur turned towards where the cluster of solidly built buildings were. The Beginner Village on the first Floor was where he could start establishing the Clan, and where – once he got the Clan house sorted – he could dump the extra large bags of stuff. Unlike before, with a place and a Clan to aid, everyone was bound down with a lot of goods.

He debated, briefly, waiting but decided against it. For one thing, his team were tough – and for another, they were under orders to just drop their bags if necessary. Fighting over cookware, clothing, food and other mundane objects was unnecessary. The loss was small enough, and their alliances with people like the triads and gangs strong enough; that they probably could regather all of that – or just get paid back.

No. He had a job to do, and he better get to it.

 

***

 

Arthur slipped through the building, waited quietly in line under the watchful gaze of the Tower watchers. He did not miss them, the way they stared without speaking, the silent, faceless visage that looked back at him. These ones were subtly different, more animal-man mix, a spirit throwback perhaps to the local beliefs. Either way, they were creepy.

By the time he got to an attendant to start work, the entire process of getting set-up - including getting the Manager involved - was old-hand for Arthur. He barely paused as he found and located a building close to where the Tower output new Climbers. Not too close, since the major way out into the fighting fields - really, giant meadows and parks like the English liked to create, without any thought for practicality in a country that baked at 30C+ a year - was to the east. So, edging that way - basically, south-east if you figured north the polar opposite of the teleportation pads.

Not that there was an actual north-south axis around here, just what he made up in his head.

Once he got the building established, the new information floating before him was kind of amusing and fascinating to see.

 

Clan Building Established in Floor 1 of Tower 3313 by Benevolent Durians

Organisational Ranking: 129,671

Number of Towers Present Within: 2

Number of Clan Buildings: 7

Number of Clan Members: 816

Overall Credit Rating: E+

Aspect: Guardianship

Sigil: The Flame Phoenix

 

Not a bad start, and quite the jump in organisational rankings. He knew that he'd creep up a little for a bit, maybe get to the top 110k maybe even crack into the top 100k+'s if he finished this floor. The limits were the number of Towers cleared and they were present within, so he could only see so much improvement. 

More importantly, he was curious about the building he had chosen.

 

Benevolent Durians Clan Building (First Floor, Tower 3313)

Type: Residence

Building Bonus Chosen: Security (Town Guard assigned)

Total Number of Floors: 7

Total Number of Residents: 0

Total Number of Rooms: 97

 

"No change there." He sighed, flicking his hand and making the wireframe and information disappear. Arthur had missed this, missed the way the environment in the Tower itself supported his very existence. He hadn't realised how irritated, how the constant drain on him in the world outside had drained him, made him distracted and grumpy. Like a constant ache that never went away, one that you learnt to live with but never reconciled. 

"So, you're the Durians, eh?" the speaker caught Arthur by surprise, throwing him out of his own thoughts. He blinked, realising that he had been thinking and talking in the middle of the now crowded administration building. No surprise, when the light show that happened brought the busybodies by.

"Yeah. Benevolent Durians," Arthur said. "Arthur Chua. And you are?" So saying, he stuck his hand out after shifting the spear to his other hand.

The speaker took and shook it, tanned and rough grip meeting his own, squeezing down as the bracelet of teeth on their arm jangled a little. Not metallic or plastic, bone had a different tone to the way they struck and shifted, a noise that was more organic and a little hollow. The man who talked was older too, in his late-40s at the least, maybe even older. Hard to say, when being in the Tower and good skincare routines could make quite the difference.

"Inosu Takajan." One last squeeze, not too hard; but firm enough that it told Arthur that Inosu was a heavy physical stat user before he let go. "We were told you were coming."

“We?” Arthur scanned the surroundings by habit, noting there were quite a few of the others who looked like Inosu, members of the orang asli group. Truth be told, they didn’t look that much different from your typical Malay, shorter a little than average perhaps at maybe 5’5” or 5’6”, with the slightly flatter and wider noses and flatter but prominent chin.

Perhaps if he spent more time here, he’d be able to pick out the subtle differences; the same way he could pick out a Japanese from a Korean from a Vietnamese – but even then, all that kind of faded a little these days with the mixing and depending on which part of the country they were from, might blend. Like the Chinese Russians or the tall, northern Chinese.

At a glance though, he figured there were at least a dozen others in here. Helped that a few sported Clan crests on their arms or had them peeking out of their shirts along their pecs. Unlike his own with the durians and flames and spears, theirs had; well spears and bows and a large, spreading tree. Smaller things, bushes or fruit littered the ground beneath the crest, though he didn’t have time to read them all.

“Clan Borneo.” At the look Arthur gave him, Inosu shrugged. “It was the only word we all could agree on.”

“Understandable.” After all there were dozens if not a hundred such small tribes in the country. Some might only be a few hundred large and not have a single Climber, but if you were making a Clan for everyone, you needed a name that worked for them all. He might have gone for some animal name, or a plant; but then maybe there were issues with the variety of that too. What did he know? “So, we going to have a problem?”

“Itu saya question lah.” Inosu said, with a little laugh.

Arthur chuckled, shook his head and waved to the door. “The rest of my people are coming soon, and I want to check out my place. Want to come with?”

The older man held the silence after his question for a long, uncomfortable moment before he eventually grinned and nodded. Letting out a little breath of relief, Arthur headed out with the man.

Maybe, just maybe, he’d start out a new Tower on good footing for once.