>>6323475Everything about this Crowley guy was way too suspicious. You found his Crest, his relationship with those two Gallowglass brutes, and even his mannerisms to all be on the odd side. Perhaps strangest of all was his helpful nature. That he’d stuck by you for the fight against Mystletainn, even choosing to watch over you while you were rendered unconscious, was something you had a hard time grasping. It wasn’t as if you were friends. You were both rival contenders for Yulia’s hand. You couldn’t have been surprised if he’d swiped your badge while you were out. But he hadn’t. And having an ally ahead would be helpful. Particularly if you came up against the pair of Arios and Leonora. After all. until you managed another rest, you only had one charge of Macuil left.
You toss Oleg’s badge towards Crowley, who catches it mid-air.
“Great! I knew you’d see it my way. We make a good team, you and I!”
>“Yeah, sure. Let’s get on with it then. To Floor 28.”>Turn 18/40>Floor 28/40You and Crowley find yourselves in the midst of a grey and dreary swamp. The two of you are almost knee-deep in still water, surrounded by a seemingly endless array of trees covered in thick moss. A light fog hangs in the air, hampering your visibility. When you use your Torch spell to light your surroundings, you expect to be jumped by a gaggle of monsters, just like what happened on the first floor. Fortunately though, this time nothing happens.
“Now it’s a swamp!” Crowley exclaims with surprise. “This tower truly is marvelous. There’s seemingly no end to the surprises packed on each floor!”
>“Easy for you to say. You should have seen the floor that was made entirely of lava. Or the one with the snowstorm, or even the waistdeep shitwater. You’d be changing your tune pretty quickly then.”“Perhapos Xenophanes employed all these different environments for the purpose of testing sorcery. It’s only natural some of these floors would be less hospitable than others. But for a place like this to exist, it’s a genuine feat of ingenuity the likes of which no other country can claim! I wonder if it’s perhaps even possible to change each floor to one’s own liking.”
>“Ow!” You slap the back of your neck at a sudden sharp prodding. Examining your hand, you find the crushed remains of a mosquito. “Did he really need to make these things so real? What fucking purpose do these serve? Let’s get this over with.”You and Crowley slosh through the water. You pay attention to every shadow that you pass, expecting an ambush to strike at any moment. Other than the mosquitoes harrying you, nothing else seems poised to strike. The more you press on though, the heavier the swarm grows. You finally come across a stone outpost, the first landmark you’ve encountered yet. Something massive slowly crawls along its wall, and the swarm of mosquitoes seems thickest here.
