B2 chapter 44: Getting Caught in the Rain

“How many do you think are out there now?” Sebastian asked me.

We were sat in the pit wondering how long it would take before the hunting party eventually found us.

“It’s still just the four,” I replied. “They can’t call for further reinforcements. It’s part of their rules. The only reason why there’s four out there now is that us being together created a loophole that they could exploit. Technically, you should only have to worry about fighting two of them if they come back.”

He grimaced. “Or more likely, they just leave us down here to starve and watch the Golden Door timer run out.”

“Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that. With any luck, they’ll be compelled to come down here and fight us one at a time. Then we’ll fashion a ladder out of their bones and be out of here before you know it,” I half joked.

“Is that how you solve all your problems? With a pile of corpses?”

“Hasn’t failed me so far,” I said, but my heart wasn’t in it. We were truly stuck without a way out.

“You know this is your fault, right?” he said.

I angrily turned to him. “My fault?”

“Yeah, if you hadn’t been running so fast and been paying attention, we could’ve avoided this.”

I laughed darkly. “You’re unbelievable. If I’d been running slower, then you would’ve fallen in first and trust me when I say that you wouldn’t be here now, blaming others for your problems.”

“Nah, I would’ve dodged them,” he said. I almost said something mean, but then he smiled and I realized that he was just fucking with me. I pictured him trying to do that in mid-air and laughed. It felt good to laugh. It let off some of the tension surrounding our predicament.

I’d come a long way since our first meeting and, I suppose, in a way, he had as well. It was a nice moment. Of course, he ruined it by opening his mouth again.

“Do you have anything to drink?” he asked me. I frowned at him, hoping he wasn’t serious. “What? It’s not like we’re going anywhere. Besides, I’m cold and it’ll warm me up.”

I rolled my eyes. “Like you don’t have a stash tucked away in your inventory somewhere.”

Sebastian looked offended. “No, I was serious back on the boat when you asked me to give it up.” He sighed in disappointment. “You’ve probably only got that flask anyway, so it wouldn’t even be worth it. I hate pina coladas.”

My eyes lit up. The flask! Of course. I pulled it out of my inventory and inspected it.

*Item Identified!* [The Flask of Eternal Refreshment (Unique)] – This flask contains an infinite amount of piña coladas. Drink up and enjoy one of earth’s classic beach cocktails while sailing the high seas. Note: tiny umbrellas are not included and must be sourced locally. The System is not responsible for any choking hazards that may ensue. This item is for one use only.

I got up, unscrewed the flask, and tipped the contents onto the ground in triumph. We were going to be alright. This stupid System’s gag item is going to rescue us from the pit, after all. Who says alcohol can’t save lives?

“Come on. We’re getting out of here,” I said, feeling heroic.

Sebastian remained seated and watched me with a look of bemusement. My feeling of heroism lasted about twenty seconds and died when I compared the rate at which the flask was pouring out liquid to the size of the pit. This was going to take a really long time.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

Several hours passed and so far, the cocktail had covered the ground and made it up to our ankles. My rescue plan was laborious, and I was getting tired of switching hands to stretch one of my arms. I couldn’t just leave the flask on the ground either because once it was fully submerged, it would stop pouring out liquid. Gotta have gravity and the right air pressure for this magic flask to work.

“My arm’s getting tired. You want to takeover for a bit?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Hey, this was your plan.”

God, what an asshole. He’s really going to just sit there and make me do all the work?

“My plan to save both of us,” I said. “You know what? Never mind. Once we get out of here, I’m stealing every kill I see. No experience points for you.”

We settled into an awkward silence, so I turned my mind back to what I’d do once the golden door was over. I wouldn’t be taking Tanver Vhar’s advice. There was a lot of power left to be claimed by climbing this tower and I intended to take all of it. That way, I’d have the best chance at protecting myself and those that I care about on the outside. Although at this moment, all I wanted was to get back into my apartment and take a hot shower.

Sebastian, who was trying and failing to stay as dry as possible, slipped in the pina colada. The back of his clothes were soaked through and his face wrinkled in disgust. “It reeks of coconut and depression in here. Like a sad luau.”

“Yeah, well that’s the smell of freedom today,” I replied, feeling extra chipper after witnessing his fall. “You’re welcome.”

I switched the flask to my other hand and tried not to think about how long it would take to fill this pit. It might literally take all the time we have left for the door quest.

More time passed, and I was losing the will to live.

“Hey, if we don’t make it out of this pit in time and the door closes forever. Can you do me a favor and drown me in this?” I asked.

“Sure, as long as you kill me first.”

“Agreed. It’ll be something to look forward to before I drown myself.”

More time and more empty conversation passed by. We weren’t friends and maybe we never would be, but anything was better than listening to the sound of falling water. Now, the disgusting cocktail was almost at our necks.

“We’re going to have to start treading cocktail soon,” I told him.

“It’s still mostly water. You can just say treading water. Eww.”

“What?”

“Some of it got in my mouth.”

“Hah, serves you right for be an asshole about everything. You know I don’t mind you being your own worst enemy, but it’s really annoying when it affects the rest of us. It’s like a toxic cloud of radiation that breeches your self loathing containment shield.”

He waded further away from me to the other end. “How about we both say nothing and you stick to your end of this disgusting pool and I’ll stick to mine then,” he offered.

“Sounds good to me.”

We spent maybe half an hour in silence before breaking it, but in our defense, silently watching a pit fill with liquid is worthy of winning at least a silver medal at the boredom Olympics. I mean, it is right up there with watching paint dry. Some experts might even consider this a form of psychological torture.

At least we were swimming now, but it meant I had to hold my arm up above the water now to keep filling it up.

“Do you think it’s weird that the Shrikon haven’t found us yet? Like, is the enchanted pit blocking their signal?” Sebastian asked.

“I’m just assuming they’re waiting for us when we get to the top. Maybe they’ve got some of those foldout camping chairs that they’re sitting in. A nice table laid out, a fire pit all prepared, and all just waiting to cook us.”

His eyes narrowed as he took my comment seriously. “You think they eat people?”

“You don’t get sharp teeth like that from just crunching on celery and leaves, evolutionarily speaking.”

“But I don’t want to get eaten,” he said, sounding concerned.

“That’s too bad.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m pretty sure I can outrun you.”

He gave me a cold smile. “That sounds dangerously close to ‘getting a baby axe in the back for cowardly fleeing’ kind of talk to me.”

We laughed, and I was starting to wonder if we were getting drunk just off of the fumes or if this place was slowly driving us mad.

Eventually, Sebastian took pity on me and assumed flask pouring duty. We were only halfway out, but he held it onto it all the way to the top to show me that he was an equal contributor to our rescue.

When we finally reached the surface, he went to hand the flask back, but the thing crumpled into dust. He looked apologetic, but I shrugged. It was a one use only item, and it had saved us. I couldn’t have asked for more. Even better than that was that there were no Shrikon around, so we were clear to keep moving north towards Shanker territory.

The area seemed somewhat devoid of animal life at first, though I warned Sebastian to keep looking up at the trees. Shanker monkeys were excellent climbers and were very good at sneaking about. In our current condition, it wouldn’t be hard for a pair of them to silently drop from above and slit our throats before we even knew they were there.

As before in this dense jungle, sound was our best friend. So when we heard monkey howls, we knew were going the right way.

The monkeys in question turned out to be a small group of six that were playing on a patch of open ground past some bushes. We stayed hidden and watched to see if more showed up. Six monkeys I could handle and what’s better is that they’d replenish my healing blood gem.

When it looked that was all there was I was, I was about to stand up when I heard a loud rustling noise further away from us. I waited until the biggest gorilla that I’d ever seen in my life emerged from the bushes. It was six feet tall when walking on all fours and all black. Its fists and feet glowed with a faint orange hue every time it touched the ground that said to me it had hidden magical talents.

The little Shanker Monkeys bounced up and down excitedly, and a couple even climbed on the gorilla’s shoulders like they were a family. And maybe they were, but I didn’t like the look of that gorilla. Plus, it was impossible to know if we’d crossed in Shanker territory or if they’d simply crossed out of it. The sound of fighting might draw the Shrikon back to us.

The situation had become too risky for me, especially with my blood reserves so low. So instead, we hid and hoped they’d pass by. But when they seemed content to sit and play, we backtracked a little to go around them. It brought us to the bottom of a rocky hill and it was there that I saw a cave entrance.

It was clearly man-made or alien made. Someone had carved a doorway and tunnel through the rock with an extreme level of precision. They were some vines covering the entrance that suggested that nobody had used it for some time.

“What’s that?” Sebastian asked.

“It’s a random cave. Come on, nobody’s hiding in there. Plus, it looks like trouble. We should move towards the source of the fire that shot into the sky. If there are others on the island, then they would have seen it too.”

Sebastian was barely listening to me and was moving towards the cave.

“Don’t,” I warned. “It’ll be trouble.”

Sebastian looked desperate. “There’s supposed to be side quests on these islands with valuable loot. You’ve seen me fight these things. I’m no good to anyone right now. You said it yourself. I need an edge and I need more power.”

I wasn’t sure that I’d used those exact words, but he went inside before I could respond.

Goddamn it. This is a bad idea. We still needed to stick together. If nothing else so that the signal on our collars stays distorted. Against my better judgment, I followed him into the cave.

As soon as I was a few steps in, a hidden cave door slid down and sealed us inside.

“Great,” I said sarcastically.

[Welcome Tower Climbers to the latest Challenge Room. A place where danger is risked and fantastic prizes can be won. Participation is mandatory. Please make your way through the tunnel to the starting zone before the tunnel is filled with poisonous gas.]

“Hooray,” I muttered.