A fan continuation of David Silver's Bind on Pickup! Hope you guys enjoy!
In a town that recently saw three dragons, REAL dragons instead of Dragonkin as everyone assumed, there was a girl trying to climb the tower all on her lonesome... Little did she know that the Tower Watchers we're interested in helping change her path.
This is a fan continuation of David Silver's Bind on Pickup. I really hope you guys enjoy and that David doesn't get upset that I did this!
Collapsing onto the platform to the fourth level, Annabelle decided to take a few seconds to collect herself and think about what she's had to deal with so far. Her first floor was a rush floor, a type of Tower Floor where she had to kill the enemies quickly; Difficult, but doable solo.
Her second floor was a hazard floor, where the hazard was an old rickety bridge that was half rotten over what she could only assume was a bottomless pit. Had she been a class that wore heavy armor, she would have fallen to her death.
Her third floor was the worst, being a limitless horde type... A type of floor that kept spawning monsters until you ascended. To make matters worse, her class, Spectral Lancer, was NOT cut out for that kind of thing, so she had to constantly jump, run, and slice to make her way to the next platform. She groaned when she heard an announcer's voice and realized she'd be doing an arena floor next.
"Why an arena floor...?" She cried out to nobody in particular. Oh, and that was the other thing, she was going to solo the tower. Though at this rate, she might as well look for another party to join her.
"...And his opponent is the manic solo climber, the Lancer that strikes your very soul, Annabelle the Spectral Lancer!" The announcer called out as her platform finished its ascent.
"Hello! I take it that the announcer isn't going crazy then? You really are a Spectral Lancer trying to rise up on your own?" Her opponent asked. Annabelle looked over from the ground and groaned again upon seeing that she was facing the bane of her class. A healer. Specifically, a Divine Lord class, who have always been known as being one of the most infuriating to fight due to their ability to redirect damage and heal themselves.
"Yeah… but I'm starting to think I need a party… There's no way I'm beating a Divine Lord as I am right now…" Annabelle replied from the ground, too tired to get up.
"Well, while you rest and think, why don't we have a chat! I'm Nessa, by the way. Made it to floor 57 before my party had to retreat… I… didn't make it back down," Nessa said as she sat beside Annabelle. "They tried to save me, really! But… A dragon talon shoved in your gut followed by it biting off everything below your waist? Not much anyone outside of an ascended class can do, and even they would be hard pressed to fix you."
Annabelle grunted as she rolled over and sat up, coming face to face with the spirit of the adventurer. "So that really is how a Tower works… Kills off adventurers and then traps their soul so they can do its bidding…"
Nessa giggled and flicked the laggie on the nose, causing her to scrunch her nose and rub at it furiously. "Can't say much, but I can tell you that that's pretty accurate! Oh, hey, if you come across a felisura and geckorian by the names of Ralph and Ghee, tell them I'm doing ok, would you? Haven't seen them trying to climb since… well…" She then gestured to their surroundings.
"I'll see what I can do. Thanks, Nessa. And um… any suggestions on-"
"Nope! Can't help you with that! That part is on you!" Nessa said in a rather chipper mood, cutting Annabelle off before she could even ask.
"Damn… Well, thank you anyway. Tower willing, I'll see you again on a different floor I guess," Annabelle said as she winked out of existence and appeared back at the foot of the tower. She sighed and got up, wincing as she held her side. She had until now managed to ignore the pain the horde of enemies had dealt to her with a combination of adrenaline and potions, but she very quickly ran out of those.
She sighed one last time before leaving the Tower properly. It was time to go party hunting after she hit up the summoning villa! Who knew the Tower could drop summoning eggs?
Annabelle held her breath as she watched the twin fate dice with baited breath. If she were really lucky, she'd get a dragon like the first Tower Climber Summoner Sandra did. But she got three dragons for the price of a single egg, so she wasn't expecting much. Soon the decagons, ten sided polygons that seemed to favor the lower numbers, began clattering and rumbling, starting to spin rapidly.
She heard the matron say something, but she didn't quite catch it as suddenly, the stones flopped to the ground with a loud thunderous crash. When the dust cleared and Annabelle could see properly, the numbers facing them were… twin zeros.
"Is… isn't that what-"
And then the rattling began anew. This time, however, they landed stacked. On their edges, as if defying the laws of gravity and reality itself. The golden numbers over the judging stones flickered and jumped, unable to decide on what to proclaim. Until they did, and seven counts of seven appeared over them.
Both the matron and Annabelle had to dive for cover as the stones basically exploded with mana and two forms came tumbling out, screaming profanities and fighting. One appeared to be a minotaur and the other a griffon that had a scaled and feathered tail. The minotaur reared back a fist and slammed it into the griffoness that he had managed to pin below himself.
"How about now, weak shell!?" He called out in triumph.
"Eat shit, mud drinker!" She snapped back, pulling out a kunai from somewhere and trying to stab him. They both quickly realized that they couldn't harm one another when the blade sparked against his skin, as if he was covered in some kind of armor despite them both being naked as the day they were born.
"E-enough!" Annabelle shouted, forcing her will upon the two of them, and making them behave.
"Hrk! Wh-what foul m-magic!?" The minotaur snapped through gritted teeth as he tried to fight the magic forcing his body to obey and get off of the griffoness, who was also struggling to resist and attack everyone since she wasn't where she was supposed to be.
"Wh-where are w-we…?" She demanded through her own grit teeth.
"Well… You're in Despara, a Tower town in the country of Hynberg," Annabelle answered, worried about how her summons were talking.
"Interesting… something similar happened once before, a few months back when…" The matron mumbled before sharply turning and leaving.
"S-so… Um… Are you two from the land of magical talking ponies…?" Annabelle asked nervously, suspecting she already knew the answer.
"Yeah. What of it?" The griffoness replied, stumbling slightly when Annabelle quickly undid the summoning magic that was binding them.
"Damn… Was hoping that would work… So uh… You two are stuck here now…" Annabelle informed the duo, taking a cautionary step back and grabbing hold of her spear in case they decided to attack her.
"Seriously? We don't have the option to go back to that shit show of a world?" The griffoness asked.
"Good riddance, if you ask me. Tired of trying to collect debts from you, weak shell," the minotaur said as he crossed his arms and looked sidelong at her.
"And I was getting tired of you and all your limp horn punches."
"Really? You wanna start this-"
"No! No fighting inside the town walls…" Annabelle shouted, stopping them before they got back into blows.
"Hmph… Lame… Well, I guess you're responsible for us now then. Name's Aurora, so ya know. Half Dragon half Griffon," the griffoness told Annabelle.
"And I'm Stone Head-"
"Because of how stubborn he is." Aurora said, cutting off the minotaur.
"Weak shell, I will throw you into a tornado." Stone growled out.
"Please just tell me you guys know how to fight…" Annabelle begged.
"Yeah. I live in a dangerous part of the world, and Stone, here, lives nearby. We're unofficial guards of our town, and something tells me that we're not on Equis…" Aurora said, taking note of the strange creatures poking their heads inside.
"Gee, I wonder what gave that away…" Stone mumbled as he looked away, snorting in agitation. "Surely not the fact that she called this place something that doesn't exist in our world…"
Annabelle sighed and rubbed her head, tired of their bickering. "Let's just… find someone willing to climb the tower with us and get you two classes and guildchains…"
"So let me see if I understand this right… You're telling us that those rumors of the three dragons, two of whom were highly important figures as one was the aid to a princess and the other a chosen representative of the dragon race for the School of Friendship that's ran by aforementioned princess, disappearing for several months and going on some insane adventure were true?" Aurora asked Annabelle as they sat around a table in the guild hall. They were supposed to be discussing classes and what the two new members were good at, but they couldn't seem to focus on that.
"Yes, that's what she said, pebbles for brains. Now then, I'm thinking you should go Shadow Stalker, since what I know of you lines up well enough with that class, provided we can get back on topic!" Stone snapped.
"R-right… So, I'm a Spectral Lancer, an Advanced Class that focuses on quick movements and using the enemies life force against them. Great against spectres and wraiths and things like them, but I can't really do anything against golems or things that don't even have life energy to begin with…" Annabelle said, explaining her class. "Shadow Stalker is another Advanced Class that we'll have to find out in the wild. Its focus is on quick movements and concealed weaponry, so I guess it would work best for you, Aurora, since I still don't know how you're carrying all those kunai…"
"And me? Gonna suggest something racially profiled like Barbarian?" Stone growled out.
"Only if the horseshoe fits…" Aurora mumbled under her breath.
"No, I was going to say that you should start as a Bulwark, heavy armor with a sword and shield that focuses on defensive maneuvers, or a Rivener, big blades with big damage. From there I don't really know…" Annabelle said, rubbing her temples as she was quickly getting fed up with their apparent rivalry. 'Seriously, if they hated each other so much, but haven't killed the other yet, then they should just get laid already!' She thought to herself.
"Hmph… Fine. We need someone that can heal us and someone that can defend. I'll play along for this and become your iron wall. Bulwark is where I'll start," Stone said as he finished filling out the guild registration paper in front of himself.
"And from the looks of it, Interceptor is the closest thing I'm going to get for a starting point of what I'm familiar with without having to deal with the pesky Ninja clans of the area…" Aurora said, grumbling faintly as she also finished filling out her own paperwork.
"So that just leaves our healing and general support…" Annabelle said, sighing faintly as she mentally went over the frighteningly short list of classes that could fill one or both roles. "Like hitting a pebble in a stone golem…"
After a long process of proving that Stone Head and Aurora weren't monsters, or even summoned monsters, the trio walked outside and headed for the gates leading to the green fields just outside the town.
"Alright, so while most of my skills won't work properly on the slimes or whatnot, I do still have my Spearholder skills to fall back on," Annabelle explained as she pulled out her physical spear. She hadn't used it in a little while so she swung it around a bit, reacclimating herself with its weight.
"So… what? We just do what we do best and kill anything that moves and isn't on in our party?" Aurora asked, twirling one of the knives she had been given for her Class.
"Hmph. Only you would think it to be that simple, weak shell," Stone said as he shifted his armor to more comfortably sit on his unusual frame.
"Listen here, skid mark, I will roast your nuts if you keep calling me that," Aurora retorted as she felt her draconic heritage starting to flare up and demand she put the minotaur in his place. Didn't help that the griffon part of her was also getting fed up with being called too weak to escape her egg when she was born.
"Enough! You two need to get along, or we won't ever get past the first floor!" Annabelle shouted, shoving Aurora back with the butt of her spear.
"You act like that's not going to-"
"Because you two are in my party, and because I never made it past floor three until today, I have to start all over. I don't know what our first floor is going to be now," Annabelle said, cutting off Stone's proclamation that they would be fine.
"Ah. So it does adapt to the party as best it can… well then, I guess we should work on fighting together for a bit, then on our own so we can get as much practice learning what our individual classes can do," Aurora said as she almost instantly understood what was happening. She also blinked when she figured out how to view her status screen and squawked in shock as she did. "Wow, I… really am not meant for direct fighting with a strength score and constitution score so low… Dexterity and agility are on up there with wisdom not too far off… Intelligence isn't too bad either…"
"Hmm? What are you talking about?" Stone asked, curious about what she was now mumbling about as she seemed to be swiping a single claw in the air.
"Oh, she's checking her status page. Didn't need to tell her how to find it…" Annabelle said, watching the griffoness scroll.
"Really? Can you check my stats? Pretty sure my strength is higher than hers," Stone said with pride.
"Well… That's because it is. Your strength, physical defense, and constitution are much higher, but her speed, dexterity, and agility can only be described as being on par with a mastered Advanced Class and Basic Class that were built to be used together," Annabelle said and began to compare their stats.
Stone was easily the bulwark and bruiser, his strength and physical defenses higher than her own. Aurora was clearly meant to be difficult to pin down unless you got the jump on her or managed to somehow trap her wings… which raised the question of why she was being held by the minotaur who clearly wasn't able to sneak up on her as she suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared behind a slime, cutting a cross slash into it while still clearly reading. Annabelle shook her head and went back to comparing their stats, and blinked when she realized something… The two other members of her party were polar opposites. Where one was good the other was bad.
Stone was a brute, simply put, as all his good stats were in being an unstoppable force or immovable object. Aurora, on the other hand, was as deadly with a dagger as the frozen winds of the northern continents were cold. Swift and agile, she couldn't be pinned down unless she wanted to be pinned. And Annabelle's stats were more well rounded, but leaned to being a fast hitting dexterity combatant. They needed a magic user, and badly.
"Alright… So none of us are meant to be casters, and that is bad. We need someone to help with spells, both beneficial and aggressive. You two are polar opposites. Where one is good at something, the other is bad, and the only place you both overlap is in the magic area where neither of you have a drop of magical aptitude. I suggest we work one what we have, like Aurora said a few minutes ago, then go back to town and pick up a vitamancer and an elemancer," Annabelle said, closing all of the windows she was looking at.
"Hrmm… I don't like the fact that I share something in common with that… feather head, but I suppose it makes sense," Stone said as he watched Aurora casually kick a slime at him, causing him to lash out with his blade and smack it into the ground, a leaking gash across its bulbous body.
Annabelle finished it off by jabbing her spear into it and twirling, causing the spear to glow as she used the first skill her Basic Class learns, Pierce. She smiled when the magic holding it together formed a couple gold coins. "Yes! Alright, so we should absolutely be careful about how many we kill and how quickly we do it too! Otherwise we'll make something too strong for us to deal with right now!"
"You doubting how good we are? Fine! Shield Rush!" Stone shouted as he charged at a slime that leapt up at Aurora's back, hitting it with his shield and causing the blob to bounce away harmlessly. Aurora glanced back and whispered her skill, appearing behind it and launching it upward with a slash of her daggers. Annabelle blinked as she noticed how Stone was positioned, angled downward somewhat like he was acting as a ramp.
She smiled and charged up his back, hearing him grunt slightly beneath her as she took a breath and stabbed her spear into the slime and used another skill of hers, one she hadn't fully mastered yet. "Sky Drop!" The skill causes her and her target to race to the ground with her spear embedded in it, taking the force of the fall for her.
"Woah… Ok, if that glow is an indication of a skill, then what was that other one you used? The one where it sounded in your hand?" Aurora asked as she watched the skill Annabelle had just used.
"It's called Pierce. It's the first skill Spearholders learn," she replied with a smile.
Several hours of careful hunting despite Stone's protests, the group had managed to acquire a good amount of gold and even a piece of gear for the minotaur to use. A new sword that let him start learning the skill Double Slash alongside the shield which was teaching him Shield Rush.
"Alright, this is a good haul for our first day hunting. Aurora has a good grasp of her skill, and Stone has an instinctive knowledge of where the enemy will be and can intercept them. So far, so good… But the two of you going at each other in-between fights has got to stop, or we won't survive," Annabelle said as she helped carry the loot, a menagerie of potions and gold, back to the town.
"What do you expect me to do when he runs off before we can catch our breath?!" Aurora demanded, jabbing an accusatory claw at Stone.
"Hmph. You two just don't have the will to fight to your last," was his only response to being called out for being too much of a warmonger.
"She is right about that, Stone… Please slow down a bit so we don't end up being without a shield, alright?" Annabelle asked the minotaur, who huffed and looked away.
"Fine… I'll resist the urge to charge into combat…" he said, grumbling a bit.
"And don't think you're clean Aurora, because you keep throwing your daggers and disarming yourself. You need to break that habit because we can't have you without your blades," Annabelle said as she turned to face the griffoness next, causing her to flinch.
"Yeah… not used to not having all my kunai on claw…" Aurora admitted, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.
"That's fine and all, but please try to remember that alright? Otherwise the blacksmith we end up going to will get very angry with us very quickly…" Annabelle said as she gently pet Aurora… who quickly lept back, glaring at the offending appendage as her feathers fluffed up.
"What was that?" She asked, clearly not used to whatever Annabelle was doing.
"Huh? You mean you've never…?" Annabelle asked in return.
"No. The only interactions she's had were when she'd come to defend Burntrock or sell fireweed to the local blacksmiths. Very gruff and short," Stone said as he huffed and crossed his arms across his chest in disappointment.
"Well if it wasn't for the minotaurs selling out my parents, I might have had a proper family!" Aurora snapped back, growling dangerously as her feathers ruffled, the ones on her tail vibrating and producing a rattling sound not too dissimilar to a rattlesnake.
"And I keep telling you, the Head family had nothing to do with that! Scorching skies, we actually tried to help! But you never wanted to listen to that, did you!?" Stone shouted at her, slamming a fist into the ground as he came eye level to her.
"You… you did…?" Aurora muttered in shock, taking a step back. "I… I didn't… Sorry…" she said, looking down to the cracked cobble street in dismay. She had a lot to think about, and thankfully the other two knew better than to disturb her while she did some self reflecting.