Chapter 31: Chapter 34 – Ju Long’s Death

Heaven Floor Four.

Now that they defeated King Ouzo, the party continued their climb after a heated debate. Alvaro looked at the roster list he kept in his pocket:

Alvaro, Party Leader, Rank S Sage,

Hama, Earth Mage, Rank S Sage,

Astrid, Fire Mage, Rank A Sage,

Ju Long, Tanker, Rank A Sage,

Berringer, Scout, Rank A Sage,

Lydia, Healer, Rank B Sage, and

Theseus, Navigator, Rank C Sage.

“Was this really the right decision?” Alvaro asked himself. The Fourth Floor’s difficulty grew exponentially, and their path up the mountain grew incredibly complex.

Would they all survive?

It had been one month since they started climbing Floor Four, and Alvaro was starting to regret ignoring Theseus’s plea to not continue. Staring at the list, he wondered who would die first. Theseus and Lydia were weaker, but they were also on the backline in fights. He, Hama, and Ju Long took the brunt of the damage, so he had to keep an eye on those two.

That night, Alvaro snuck away from the campfire with Astrid. Kissing each other, Alvaro stopped suddenly.

“What’s wrong?” Astrid asked. She knew he and Lydia were deeply in love, and it was not uncommon for polygamy to exist on planet Ryko. She caressed him to comfort him.

“Was I wrong?” He asked.

“What’s done is done. Tomorrow, we face the behemoth. This may be our last night together. Let’s make the most of it.” Astrid took off Alvaro’s shirt off lustfully.

***

The next morning, they arose from a forced sleep to challenge a beast known by Theseus as the Behemoth.

A Rank F Royalty Realm Beast, the Behemoth was a species native to Heaven that appeared on Floor Four. Every beast was born in the Sage Realm, and every adult Behemoth was at the low Royalty Realm.

With Ju Long tanking and the rank S party members doing damage, they should be fine. Although they were weaker than the F Ranked beast, their coordinated party could take down the Behemoth unless something unexpected happened. Because Behemoths were mindless and couldn’t use skills, its strength was incomparable to a real F Rank King or Queen.

To put it in perspective, this was like a group of seven experienced Captains taking on one weak and delusional Suzerain Lord. There may be injuries or even casualties, but the number advantage of experienced adventurers was enough to subdue the unintellectual beast.

Hama patted Theseus on the back as they set up their traps to lure the beast into.

“You’re doing well kid, keep it up.” He smiled. Although some of the veterans were young, like Lydia, most of the members were middle aged. Theseus was on the younger side compared to Astrid and Hama, but in the end, they were all veterans of the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Thanks Hama.” Theseus weakly smiled back.

Ju Long watched the interaction with disdain. Theseus proved himself reliable enough as they climbed, but he and Berringer still thought they would’ve done better with another tanker instead of a navigator. Regardless, they were stuck with this weaker support instead. Shaking these thoughts off, Ju Long sighed to himself. Theseus was a nice guy; he shouldn’t be too critical, especially at this point.

Surrounding the Behemoth blocking the path, the party members attacked. The Behemoth looked like a gigantic woolly mammoth but was peaceful by nature. They attacked the Behemoth for its meat, fur, and tusks rather than out of necessity.

Berringer tied the beast up with his, Silky Trap skill, and they made haste defeating the Behemoth. It was almost too easy.

“Good call Theseus, where to now?” Alvaro asked that night as they feasted on the Behemoth.

“We can continue further into Behemoth territory, or we can face the Heavenly Trial of Zombies. The zombie waves will seem endless, and we will lose all of our supplies. But, in the end it’s safter than going further into Behemoth’s territory. Alone, they pose no threat, but in groups, they are unbeatable and more hostile.” Theseus told Alvaro in front of their nightly campfire.

“These Behemoths are easy to take down though!” Berringer laughed.

“He’s right Theseus.” Alvaro concurred.

“Why bother with a zombie horde when we can fight these slow-moving beasts?” Ju Long scoffed.

“I think we should trust Theseus.” Astrid interjected, surprisingly. Hama looked at Astrid curiously.

“Why do you think that?” Hama asked.

“That was just one Behemoth. Imagine facing multiple of them at once.” Astrid said, logically.

“What do you think Lyd?” Alvaro turned to Lydia, who blushed.

“A simple question makes her blush?” Theseus rolled his eyes. Sometimes, Alvaro was too much to handle.

“I think we can handle the beasts if you’re confident.” Lydia shyly responded. Astrid fumed with jealousy from the side but said nothing.

“Astrid and Theseus’s analysis is right. Multiple Behemoths might be more than we can handle.” Hama disagreed.

“I am confident.” Alvaro grinned and winked at Lydia.

“Tomorrow, be prepared to face more Behemoths.” Alvaro proclaimed.

Taking Lydia by the hand, Alvaro took her away from the campfire.

“That lustful man doesn’t know when to take good advice.” Astrid complained angrily.

“You’re one to talk.” Hama teased.

“Shut up.” Astrid got up and left the campfire as well. Theseus got up and followed her. Hama and Berringer laughed as Theseus walked away. The drama was silly to them.

“Theseus, that brat doesn’t know a thing, does he?” Berringer mumbled to Ju Long, who laughed.

“He knows more than you.” Hama teased the objectively dumb Berringer.

“He got you there!” Ju Long laughed at Berringer.

Theseus caught up to Astrid, who was obviously shaken up.

“Are you okay?” Theseus asked her.

“Why’d you follow me?”

“You… You seemed upset.”

“It’s nothing. You should try to sleep. Goodnight.”

“Wait.” Theseus grabbed Astrid by the arm.

“I know you hate seeing him with her, but his heart is in the right place. Give him a break if you can. Also, thank you for standing up for me back there.” Theseus said. Astrid shook Theseus off of her.

“Whatever. I just said what had to be said. Next time, stand up for yourself.” She went into her tent, signaling for Theseus to leave. Astrid felt bad for treating Theseus that way and turned to apologize, but Theseus was already gone.

***

The next morning, they faced three Behemoths. This time, the beasts defended their territory, unlike the one on the outskirts of their home. Systematically, Berringer worked tirelessly, placing down traps to entangle the dumb beasts. One by one, the Behemoths fell to the party. They had to work harder, but the Behemoths were taken down with fairly minor injuries.

That night, Alvaro asked the same question.

“Where to now?”

“I’m firmly giving the same recommendation I did last night. There will only be more Behemoths blocking the road tomorrow. At least five of them to be exact. It’s not too late to turn back to the Heavenly Trial I recommended last night. Please listen, we won’t survive if we continue into the Behemoth territory.” Theseus said more aggressively.

“Woah, it looks like our little navigator is trying to act tough!” Berringer laughed.

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“Enough.” Theseus yelled. Berringer held back laughter but was also taken aback.

“I won’t stand by idly as our party is slaughtered. We will lose a few days and some supplies, but if we turn around now, we will all survive.”

“Woah, woah, I’m just saying.” Berringer prepared to defend himself.

“Shut up Berringer. He’s right you know.” Astrid growled at the scout.

“Sure, it will be tough to face more Behemoths, but today was fine. I’ll work even harder tomorrow, but I’m sure we can survive.” Berringer shrugged.

“What if we have to stay in their territory for three more days? What about five days? You can’t keep up your traps for that long against an army of Behemoths.” Hama retorted.

“Alvaro what do you think?” The tired Ju Long asked. He was getting a hefty beating from the Behemoths, but he trusted Alvaro above Theseus and Berringer.

“I can take them. We already used two day’s efforts on them; it would be wasteful of our resources to turn around. Leaving the territory could be more trouble than its worth if we face another three Behemoths tomorrow and then the zombie horde.” Alvaro explained. While that was true, the consequences of continuing were worse than one day’s worth of supplies.

“I think Theseus is right, Al,” a quiet voice spoke out. It was Lydia.

“Don’t worry Lyd, I’m still confident we can take them!” Alvaro was taken aback, but this wasn’t the first time she disagreed with him.

“Listen to reason Alvaro. We need to turn back.” Astrid spoke up again, more loudly this time.

“As party leader, believe we can do it. If tomorrow goes poorly, we can turn around.” Alvaro decided.

The night went on, and Alvaro went to Astrid’s tent.

“Can we talk?”

“What about?”

“Come out.”

“Fine.”

Taking Astrid by the hand, Alvaro took her where no one could eavesdrop.

“I know you’re worried about the plan but-“ Before he could finish, Astrid kissed Alvaro.

“I’m not upset about that. I’m jealous of Lydia you idiot.” Astrid stripped down.

“You don’t have to be jealous Astrid. I love you both.” Alvaro said as he also stripped.

“Whatever.” She whispered and kissed him passionately.

***

The following day was even harder than the last. Minor injuries became major injuries as they made their way about halfway through the Behemoth territory.

Bloodied, Alvaro asked Theseus his usual question that night.

“Where to now? We made it halfway through; is it worth it to turn back?”

“It’s too late now. You didn’t listen to me while you could. We have to keep going now.” Theseus said angrily.

“Oh no, the little navigator is mad.” Ju Long whispered to Berringer. Nobody heard them, but their stifled laughter was heard.

“Stop laughing you two, look at your injuries.” Hama scolded. Ju Long was covered in bandages, and Berringer was nearly drained of aura and looked as pale as a ghost. A large gash of blood was stitched up on Berringer’s face.

“Alvaro is still confident, so I can’t complain,” the weak Ju Long said in a hoarse voice, but reality was setting in. For the first time, he looked at Theseus differently, who had spoken up for his sake the past few nights.

“You can’t even speak properly.” Astrid shook her head. Alvaro’s arrogance was getting on her nerves.

After some tried to sleep, Alvaro came to Astrid’s tent again.

“I’m sorry; I’m too tired tonight.” Astrid said, and Alvaro left, going to Lydia’s tent that night instead.

Astrid sat thinking, alone. Was she a fool for messing around with Alvaro? Is she stood up a little more for the little navigator, they wouldn’t be in this risky situation. Was her lustful feeling for Alvaro blinding her from reality?

Walking to Theseus’s tent, Astrid knew he was still awake.

“I’m sorry for being short with you the other night. You’re turning out to be a much better man than Alvaro.”

Theseus lay in his sleeping bag, pretending to be asleep. He didn’t respond, and Astrid left.

***

Nine Behemoths stood between the party and freedom from the territory. Berringer, not able to move, was taken away by Hama towards Lydia for healing.

“Can you hold on Ju Long?” Alvaro yelled.

“Yes.” He grunted softly, clearly unable to keep going.

“I trust you.” Alvaro yelled again and fought off three Behemoths alone.

From the trees, another Behemoth appeared and made a beeline for Lydia, Hama, and Berringer.

“I’m sorry, Berringer, Alvaro.” Ju Long couldn’t hold on much longer.

“Alvaro, I can keep them back, give me three minutes. You, Astrid, and Theseus should make sure that Behemoth doesn’t kill them.”

Theseus and Astrid understood what he was really saying:

Leave me behind.

Alvaro turned and asked, “Are you sure you can keep them at bay?”

Unable to process the situation, Alvaro was preoccupied by the surviving Behemoths. They had already killed five, and now, five remained. They couldn’t win.

“Come on, Alvaro, it’s only three minutes.” Theseus yelled, and his eyes locked with Ju Long, who nodded to him weakly.

“Good luck, Ju Long.” Astrid wiped a tear from her eyes, and they hurried away. The last thing Theseus saw of Ju Long was his back, firmly upright, against four Behemoths.

***

“Damnit, if only I hadn’t been knocked out.” Berringer cried out desperately that night. He blamed himself.

“No, it’s my fault.” Alvaro was also in tears. Now that he was lucid and out of the fight, he realized how arrogant he had been, ignoring Theseus, Hama, Astrid, and Lydia. He had to take his navigator’s opinion more seriously, but he also had to stay true to himself as well. This mistake cost the life of their tanker, and more importantly, their friend.

From then on, the party dynamics changed.

Berringer went to bed alone every night. Before, he spent his time around the campfire all night bantering with Ju Long.

Astrid stopped spending her nights with Alvaro altogether after Ju Long’s death. Her time was better spent around the campfire hearing Hama and Theseus’ stories.

Hama and Theseus grew closer, telling their stories, while Astrid listened quietly. Her feelings for Theseus slowly grew.

Meanwhile, Lydia and Alvaro spent every night together.

The tension building up within the party soon cumulated in the deaths of Astrid and Hama. From then on, Berringer rarely said a word, Lydia and Alvaro became inseparable, and Theseus prepared for his inevitable death.

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