Chapter 365: Change of Plans

Kael’s fist struck the green barrier again, sending fire erupting across its surface. The Lesser Death Knight slid backward perhaps half a step before planting one armored boot into the dirt and stopping completely.

That pitiful distance represented the result of nearly an entire hour of fighting. Kael had battered his gauntlets, depleted most of his internal energy, and spent his final twenty stat points on Dexterity for half a step.

The additional Dexterity helped him follow the Death Knight’s sword, though following the weapon and overpowering its wielder were two very different accomplishments. Kael could dodge most attacks now and occasionally launch a counter, but nearly every attempt met the same tower shield. Green aura absorbed the impact, and all his effort achieved nothing.

Kael backed away as the massive sword swept through the space his neck had occupied a moment earlier. He ducked beneath the returning blade, stepped inside the Death Knight’s reach, and punched with Fire and Heft igniting together.

The collision produced an explosion that made the tower shield shudder. Fractures spread across the green aura, but the Death Knight immediately twisted and slammed the shield into Kael’s shoulder.

Kael flew backward, struck the ground, and rolled with the impact before using the momentum to regain his feet. Pain screamed through his shoulder, but he ignored it as the Death Knight advanced with the same speed, posture, and power it had possessed at the beginning.

The undead showed no trace of exhaustion, while Kael’s breathing grew heavier with every exchange. The difference between them had become painfully obvious.

His runes and increased attributes could no longer close that difference. Even the explosive strength produced by the Demon Fist gave him only enough power to remain involved in the battle.

Kael had spent an entire year training beneath the Fist King, and that year had transformed him. His current body possessed capabilities that other climbers at his level would struggle to understand.

Internal energy had given him a second progression system completely separate from mana. His titles had stacked enough physical bonuses that he had spent most of his climb punching monsters dozens of levels above himself.

The Fist King would still have destroyed this creature. Kael knew his master might have been challenged by the Lesser Death Knight, but the old bastard would eventually have won.

Kael lowered his gaze toward his fists and finally understood the difference between them. Statistics had carried him far, while the Fist King possessed experience earned over an entire life before entering this world.

His master had fought people, monsters, wars, and things Kael still knew almost nothing about. The Demon Fist had been built from a lifetime of understanding that Kael could barely comprehend.

Kael possessed extraordinary numbers, while the Fist King understood how to use every fragment of what he had. Kael had only learned the first Chapter of that knowledge, and even his understanding of that remained incomplete.

He knew the basic stances of the Demon Fist, including how to position his feet, transfer force from the ground through his hips, and drive the entire body behind a punch. The first Chapter of the Wonderlusting Demons covered the same foundations through basic movement and directional changes.

Both manuals offered the beginning of something far greater. His master had made the restrictions surrounding that training perfectly clear.

Kael glanced toward his hands, where dark rings remained locked around his wrists. Matching fetters encircled his ankles beneath his boots, adding a constant restraint to every movement he made.

These were far more dangerous than ordinary weights. The Fist King had placed them upon Kael at the beginning of his training and repeatedly warned him to leave them in place until he completed the first three Chapters of both manuals.

Kael had only completed one Chapter. His body remained nowhere near ready for what would happen if he released the restraints.

The Death Knight moved and snapped his attention back toward the battle. Kael ducked beneath the approaching sword, then raised both arms when the tower shield followed.

The impact threw him backward again. Kael landed beside the burly climber, who had finally abandoned what remained of his shattered sword.

Blood soaked one side of the man’s armor, and several deep cuts crossed his arms. He looked worse than Kael felt, which was an impressive accomplishment given how terrible Kael felt.

Farther back, the spear wielder sat against the wall while soldiers worked around her ruined shoulder. She could still stand, but properly using her spear would be impossible until the damage received treatment.

The mage remained in position by force of will, maintaining the purple chains around the Lesser Death Knight as their glow faded. She drank another mana potion, shook the empty bottle when nothing happened, and reached for another only to find that one empty as well.

The Leonard had switched from his shattered axe to a sword, and the decision was going as badly as Kael expected. The Lesser Death Knight parried him almost dismissively and sent him stumbling backward.

Kael rushed forward before the undead could capitalize. Frost gathered around his fist as he struck, but the green shield appeared and caught the attack. Ice spread across its surface before the Death Knight swung, forcing Kael to evade.

His eyes flickered toward the fetter around his wrist as the temptation returned. Removing them would make him far faster and stronger because every movement he had performed throughout the Tower had been made while his body fought against their restraint.

The Fist King had designed the training that way deliberately. Releasing the fetters would return all that suppressed movement at once, perhaps giving Kael enough speed and strength to match the Death Knight and finally defeat it.

Then his master’s warning returned. The Fist King had forbidden him from removing the restraints before completing three Chapters because Kael’s body could not yet endure the power they suppressed.

Kael already knew what happened when the Demon Fist produced more force than his body could contain. Muscles tore, joints failed, bones cracked, and internal channels suffered damage even while he wore the fetters.

Releasing them now might allow Kael to win the fight at the cost of permanently crippling himself. His thoughts moved toward the half portion of Elixir still waiting inside his inventory.

The remaining Elixir might be enough to recover from catastrophic damage. It had cured his mother of mana poisoning that should have killed her, so Kael could release the fetters, destroy his body defeating the Death Knight, and drink the Elixir afterward.

He hated the idea immediately. That half portion was priceless because it could save a life when every conventional solution failed.

Burning it because he refused to retry Floor Eleven sounded idiotic, especially when failure here had not yet become death. They could surrender, attempt the floor again, and enter with better preparation.

They understood the floor’s structure now, along with the defensive system and the upgrades that mattered. Kael could begin the next attempt with a complete plan rather than improvising after every wave.

Risking his life, wasting the Elixir, and violating his master’s warning made no sense when the Tower offered another chance. As the Lesser Death Knight swung again, Kael moved away and chose not to counter.

"Back!"

The others heard him and began retreating. The burly man withdrew first, followed by The Leonard, while the mage maintained her spell as she walked backward.

The Death Knight made no attempt to chase them. It merely resumed its steady march toward the fortress as Kael and the remaining climbers gathered near the gate.

For several seconds, everyone focused upon catching their breath. The Death Knight continued walking because it had no breath to recover.

The spear wielder looked toward them from beside the wall. "We can’t stop it."

Nobody argued with her. The mage lowered her staff slightly as the remaining light inside her chains continued fading.

"My chains are almost gone."

"How long?" Kael asked.

"Minutes."

"Can you cast it again?"

She shook her head.

"No mana."

The burly man laughed bitterly. "I don’t even have a sword anymore."

Leonard looked down at his replacement weapon before saying, "This isn’t going to work."

Kael turned toward him and found that Leonard’s expression had become strangely calm. He appeared to have reached a decision and accepted it completely.

"This is the wave."

"What?"

"The one I told you about."

"We noticed."

"I mean the warning was right."

Leonard looked toward the approaching Lesser Death Knight. "We’re wasting our time."

Kael remained silent while Leonard pointed toward the fortress and continued explaining the obvious. "The walls won’t stop it."

"The railguns can’t touch it. Ballistae can’t touch it. We fought that thing for an hour with five climbers and barely damaged the shield."

The burly man grimaced. "We dented its armor."

"And it nearly took her arm off."

Leonard pointed toward the spear wielder. "Broke her weapon."

The burly man looked down at the piece of metal still in his hand. "Broke mine."

Leonard lifted his own sword. "Broke my axe."

His eyes moved toward Kael’s gauntlets. "And those aren’t going to last much longer either."

Kael looked down at the deep cuts running across the metal. The damage made Leonard’s point difficult to argue.

Leonard released a breath before saying, "I’m done."

The mage looked at him. "What?"

"I’ll try the floor again."

"You’re leaving?"

"Yes."

He answered without hesitation, having already accepted the consequences of his decision. Leonard looked toward the approaching Death Knight and spoke the words needed to end his attempt.

"I give up on this trial."

A system window appeared before him, and Leonard confirmed the option it presented. "I’ll try again."

Light surrounded his body before he disappeared. Kael stared at the empty space where Leonard had stood.

"Wow."

The burly man grunted. "He didn’t even say goodbye."

"Consistent, at least."

The spear wielder slowly stood with her damaged arm strapped tightly against her chest. She looked toward Kael before addressing him.

"Redhead."

Kael already understood what she intended. "You too?"

She nodded. "I’m sorry."

"Don’t be."

"I mean it."

She looked toward the battlefield. "I’d stay if I thought we had a chance."

Kael could hardly blame her after she had nearly lost an arm. The burly man sat heavily upon a broken piece of stone and looked toward the fortress.

"The next attempt won’t be like this."

"Probably," the mage said.

"We know what we’re doing now."

He pointed toward the walls. "We wasted a lot at the start. Next time, we reinforce early. Save contribution properly. Repair the gates before the trolls arrive."

The spear wielder nodded. "And there’s almost no chance we get this wave again."

The mage looked toward Kael. "This isn’t worth dying over."

Kael remained silent, so she continued. "We have one life."

That mattered because this floor followed the ordinary rules of the Tower. Dying here meant dying for real, and the Tower would not care how bravely they had fought afterward.

The spear wielder offered Kael a faint smile. "Thanks, Redhead."

"For what?"

"Keeping us alive this long."

Light surrounded her before Kael could answer, and she disappeared. The burly man stood next and offered Kael one hand.

Kael looked at it briefly before accepting the handshake. "Next time?"

"Maybe."

The man laughed. "You’re still weird as hell."

"I’ve been told."

"And whatever the fuck you did with that cannon was insane."

"That too."

"Try not to blow yourself up."

"No promises."

The burly climber vanished, leaving only the mage beside Kael. Her chains were fading rapidly now as she looked from the Lesser Death Knight to him.

"You should leave too."

"I know."

"I’m serious."

"So am I."

She gave him a tired smile. "Good luck, Redhead."

"You too."

The mage disappeared, and the battlefield fell quiet around Kael. Thousands of soldiers remained behind the fortress walls, the civilians still waited inside, and the magus continued preparing the portal beside the crystal, yet Kael had become the final climber on the floor.

A notification appeared to confirm it:

[You are the final Climber remaining on Floor 11.]

[Would you like to continue the Floor?]

[Continue] or [Abandon Floor and Retry].

Kael stood alone against it with half an Elixir, damaged gauntlets, and depleted internal energy. Continuing under those conditions crossed the line between persistence and refusing to acknowledge an impossible situation.

Every previous floor had taught Kael something, and failure could teach him as well. He could retry with a better team and preparation, and perhaps the Tower would generate a different final wave.

There was no reason to gamble his life when the Tower itself offered him an exit. Kael reached toward [Abandon Floor and Retry] and allowed his finger to hover above it.

Another notification appeared before he could make contact:

[An adequate amount of Causality has been paid.]

Kael froze and stared at the unfamiliar message.

"What?"

The previous window disappeared and was replaced by two new notifications:

[External intervention has been acknowledged.]

[The Tower has accepted the offered Causality.]

Cold settled through Kael as he read them. He had seen the Tower change rules before and had never enjoyed the experience.

Another message appeared:

[Floor Rules are being amended.]

"No."

The next notification declared,

[You are no longer permitted to abandon Floor 11.]

Kael stared at it. "No."

[You are no longer permitted to retry Floor 11.]

"No, no, no. Wait, Wait, Wait, Wait!"

Another message announced,

[The Final Wave must be completed.]

Kael’s jaw slowly tightened as the conditions continued changing around him.

[Failure Condition Updated.]

[If the Lesser Death Knight reaches the Heart of the Fortress, Floor 11 will be considered Failed.]

[Failure will result in Death.]