Jace felt a strange shiver on his neck, as if his body was bracing itself for an invisible attack. It wasn't everyday when there was an ability that could peer into another Climber's Soul.
Even if Agnes had meant fair intentions, there was no clear giveaway if she really was on his side. She wasn't looking into his Soul, rather, she was looking into his future.
Determining the possibility of his potential was like a premonition, one that he didn't like the sound of.
The young woman rested her head back, and seemed puzzled through those gray murky eyes.
"Have I mentioned your Curse?"
Jace nodded.
"Do I have to tell you what it does?"
She shook her head slowly, keeping her eyes fixed onto his body.
"Your Soul isn't as dense, which is what normally happens to any Climber with an outside affliction. Your Curse…had found itself intertwined with your Soul. Matter of fact, could you tell me what your Curse is?"
Jace exchanged a look with Erin before revealing (Curse of Unbridled), telling the young woman the properties of his curse as well as its drawbacks.
Agnes raised her eyebrow, studying the auburn boy.
"It's an Active? How? No Curses are supposed to be an Active."
Without having to pry him for more details, the she simply laughed.
"That's a first. If I would have known sunshine was hauling you around…really, Chase, you're full of wonders."
Jace asked her back.
"Are you done?"
Agnes pursed her lips, tilting her head again.
"Three questions, then I will let you go. Would you promise me to answer these truthfully with all honesty?"
Erin snorted from behind the young woman.
"He's somewhat of a notorious liar, you know."
But Jace stood indifferently, keeping his composure from the gazing murky gray eyes.
"Ask away."
Agnes started with her first question, her eyes burrowing deeper into the auburn boy's Soul.
"Do you have any relations with the four horsemen of the Tower?"
Jace narrowed his brow.
'The four horsemen of the Tower? What's she talking about?'
He said back, confused by the random question.
"No."
She asked another.
"Do you have any other Skills that could alter your Soul Points?"
Jace answered again.
"No."
Agnes broke away her gaze, seemingly unsatisfied by his repeating answers, though she asked her last question.
"What was your life before you became a Climber?"
The question had caught Jace off guard, mainly because he had never thought of his past. From being abandoned by his parents, raised in a crowded orphanage, then finding purpose in pursuing the harrowing fate as a Climber, he couldn't fabricate a grand story of his childhood.
The auburn boy had a troubled look on his face. For a few seconds of silence, he answered the question blankly.
"Nothing special."
Agnes looked back into Jace, not into his Soul, but to himself.
"Alright, that concludes our meeting."
Jace watched her resume rummaging through the basket of candies like their tense conversation had never happened. He looked to Erin and said:
"I'll be outside."
He closed the door behind him, sitting on the doorstep, taking a breather from that ordeal. If that slobby woman was serious on her behalf, then his license would be received by tomorrow. The Ports could be finally of use to him.
'Just what type of person did you know, old man?'
He scratched his auburn hair, shielding his eyes from the beaming sun. A few minutes later, the door opened as a blonde girl nudged him.
Erin sat beside him. She had still looked stunning, despite being secluded in one of the quiet parts of the Port Town.
She pulled her soft blonde hair loose from the pony tail, playing with the tie as she conversed with Jace.
"You're one of the few Climbers this year that asked her to forge a license, or so she says. I thought Agnes had only been known to foretell Climbers of their Soul."
Jace rested his hands, staring at the other empty housings.
"Has she done that to you?"
The blonde girl smiled, bumping his shoulder.
"Are you trying to find out my Soul, too?"
Jace felt a bitter taste in his mouth, choosing to flip the conversation.
"Is there anywhere else you want to take me?"
"No, not really, nothing comes into mind."
He turned to her slightly.
"Then, could we ascend the Tower?"
Erin sighed, as if she had known that matter had been pestering him.
"Just the two of us, right? With no certain healer, no line of reliable defense, and poor composition, how far would you think we'll make it?"
"I don't care about any of that. I was stuck playing the role of a human while you and your party went about as Climbers. Do you seriously think I'm scared of any of the Tower's monsters?"
"What about me, jumpy, what if I get dragged into your insanity?"
Jace grimaced.
"If you were worried about yourself, then you wouldn't have dealt with me from the beginning. You've seen me bleed and bruise, what difference does it make if you see it again?"
Erin's face strained with an irritated expression.
"I know what you're trying to do, and it's suicidal. I'm only with you to stop you from that. I assume anyone else with a decent mind would tell you the same thing."
Jace scoffed at the thought of someone else understood himself better than he did.
"Really? And what would I possibly want?"
She matched his eyes.
"Ascend into the highest Floor thinkable? Take down the unholiest monster possible? I knew you were easy to read but sometimes it's more annoying than you think."
Jace stood from the doorstep, fixing the straps on his armor. Her judgment had felt like someone had poked his heart with a torching steel rod.
"It's up to you, Erin, you can take me through the Portkeeper. But after today, you won't have to if what Agnes says is true on her behalf. After that, I can go on my own. I wouldn't have to be annoying to you anymore, right?"
Erin sighed again, dropping her blonde hair over her face as she mumbled quietly.
"You're just as painfully stubborn."
The auburn boy rested his hand on the silver sword's hilt.
"Are we done?"
She lifted her head, meeting the same manner of his attitude.
"I don't know, Jace, do you think we're done?"
Jace shook his head.
"No, we're not done, there's nothing more I hate than waiting. I would rather spend the rest of my time awake ascending the Tower. And with you, there isn't any other suitable person I could find. Just for today, Erin, would you help me?"
Erin snorted into a half-smile.
"If I were to help you, then, could you answer a question from me? It's nothing personal like Agnes, I promise, but it's something I'd like to know."
Jace nodded.
"Ask away."
She asked him:
"Are you scared of dying?"
He had let the question marinate in his mind for a few seconds, but answered promptly to his honesty.
"No, I'm not, but I am afraid of dying with nothing achieved in my life."
Erin added to her question, directly:
"And what do you hope to achieve?"
He solemnly answered.
"To be stronger than the person I was yesterday."
She averted her eyes, also standing from the doorstep. It was hard to tell if his answer had solidified his chances of using a Port today but he had not lied.
Since his journey as a Climber, Jace had only focused on strengthening his Soul. Forming friendships with other people seemed irrelevant to him. They were only helping factors in his cause, and if they refused to work with him, he severed their connection.
Jace wasn't being harsh, he was being realistic. He didn't need people if people didn't need him.
But the way he talked with the blonde girl, it was different from any other Climber. He wasn't even sure if he was able to refer to her as a friend. It was obvious by how much she had worried about him, though he always assumed that was the general human response for kindness.
Was giving him a Relic, staying by his side in every expedition, saving his life from multiple encounters, and spending unowned time an excuse for kindness? Out of everything that had happened, she was still with him. No ordinary person would have done this out of obligation.
Jace bit his tongue, trying to form an apology for his outburst.
Instead, Erin's voice had cut through the silence.
"Well, first, I have to change. I assume I'll meet you at the Portkeeper?"
Jace turned to her with a confused look.
"We're…going to ascend the Tower?"
Erin brushed the back of her black trousers.
"That's what you wanted, right? I can't just argue with you every time we meet, Jace, but I can at least help you stay alive."
He found it hard to believe the blonde girl was a fool just as him.
"Then, what Floor are we—"
Erin abruptly jogged away from their conversation, heading to the steep decline of the steps. She shouted back at him:
"We'll discuss it there! Wait for me!"
Jace watched her disappear in one of the building's corners as he settled in the silence alone. He lifted his right hand, staring at his glimmering ring.
The (Ring of Haste) had always fit perfectly on his finger.
A few seconds later, he began to walk towards the Portkeeper, realigning his nerves back to the mold of a Climber.
***
Jace stood at the same spot since the start of the day. He waited, pacing around not too far from the Portkeeper, watching other Climbers ascend through the artificial Port.
The humming sound as they shimmered in the air had made him ecstatic. He was about to return to his duty as a Climber after spending weeks living like a mundane human. The grip on his sword and the tightened straps of the dark leather armor had felt foreign.
'I've been waiting for this! Finally!'
Erin shortly caught up beside him, wearing her usual armor for an archer, but her leather was newly tailored and fashioned in another shade of darker green. Her traditional bow slung on her shoulder with a hefty quiver mounted on her back, and two daggers that rested on each side of the hip.
It was unusual looking at her, fully geared as a Climber and without the members of her squad. Because of today, her only assistance was the Soul of an auburn boy.
As they approached the line for the runic Port, the two Climbers had a moment to discuss which Floor would be suitable for the gain of experience. Their expedition wouldn't be long, but should only last a day at most.
In a normal expedition, a Climber's Level should be parallel to the Tower's Floors, so there was a fair encounter between humanity and monster. It was unrealistic for a Climber to venture into somewhere uncharted that was far too dangerous for their Level.
But Jace had never played by the Tower's rules, rather he was born to break them because he refused to submit to its sadistic jokes.
After confirming their destination with the Portkeeper, the two Climbers stood beside each other in the runic Port, awaiting the Soul's message.
Then, the Soul echoed into their ears.
[Soul detected.]
[Beginning ascent.]
Golden shimmers of light came awake, surrounding them as they prepared for the worst to come.
[Process successful.]
[ClimberJace has ascended into the 19th floor, Stoneveil.]