Chapter 5: 4. Connection

4. Connection

- Inside of the Soul Harvesting Tower (Level 13) -

Morgan and Ted ran down deep underground an hour after Lucas left the SHT. Passing by vacant compartments with creatures hiding behind corners and rocks, the two advanced with a torch held by Ted.

Morgan, who was behind Ted, noticed gigantic “X” marks in a color of light brown on the walls with strange deformity as if someone applied hot temperature that caused the stones to melt. These strange marks appeared to be as big as Morgan’s height, if not bigger.

“Hey, Ted,” Morgan called while panting from their non-stop running. “I’ve been noticing something. Have these ‘X’ marks been here all along?”

“Ah! Those signs,” Ted responded. “They’ve been here for a good chunk of time. But you agree with me, right? They don’t look like any sword marks and it also doesn’t look like any typical fire cast made them.”

“And they’re quite big… I’ve never seen these things before.” Morgan added.

Morgan came across more of the marks from the previous levels. He assumed there was one on each level, but their appearance was still a mystery.

Are these some kind of landmarks for people to find themselves around this tower? He thought. No. Their positions are too random to be one. All of them are located in the middle of tunnels between compartments.

That deformity, if it had to deal with fire, should’ve left a burnt mark on the wall instead of a brown color. Am I just overthinking this?

These tunnels were only connected to semi-spherical compartments, meaning that none would intersect other tunnels. And in each of those compartments could have several connecting tunnels ranging from 1 to 5. Like a maze, those tunnels could direct a person to progress up or down depending on which they take.

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Compartment Info:

[Level 1-5] Average compartment count on each level: 21

[Level 6-9] Average compartment count on each level: 42

[Level 10-16] Average compartment count on each level: 89

[Level 17-24] Average compartment count on each level: 109

[Level 25-29] Compartment count from level 25 to 29: 1

[Level 30 and Beyond] Average compartment count on each level: 210+

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The misdirections tragically led to dozens of unaware men and women who decided to roam around this tower to lose themselves and even enter down to level 30 domains without knowing. The best option was to wait for more venturers in the SHT to save them or find any landmark that would specify where they were.

If one preferred to go solo down the tower, it was highly recommended to map out the tunnels and the area. Otherwise, one would unknowingly go down even if they believed the tunnels led up.

However, Morgan was skillful at visualizing and mapping. His way of remembering small queues and trivial matters seemed like a talent, according to what his group said.

One job request that he willingly accepted was to help Wit with coin distribution among their party members. The other was drawing a layout for every level that they encountered.

When Wit decided for his group to venture deep into the tower, he and Morgan planned out the most effective routes and decreased the chances of encountering too many creatures at once. That way, they would have enough strength to tackle the ones below and survive without getting trampled on. As a result, Wit placed Morgan in the center of their group’s formation so that he avoided the surroundings and also focused on mapping.

But up until now, he’d just realized the “X” marks sitting idly by in the plain open. It surprised him that he never found them ever since his beginning of mapping the lower levels of the SHT.

Nonetheless, he concluded that the best landmark or directional sign would be an arrow specifying where to go; however, these marks were nothing of the sort.

“What in heaven have you been doing that you weren’t able to see these signs?” Ted turned his head to see Morgan in the corner of his eyes.

“I may have been too busy scavenging the ground. Besides, I’ve only seen three so far since I came down here, so it was very brief.”

“Morg, these eye-balling outfront-noticeable signs have been here ever since you got your wet dream seven years ago. And how long have we been together? Nine years?”

In shock, Morgan looked at Ted with a flustered expression.

“T-Ted! How do you remember that!?”

“Oh, don’t be like that. You, my boy Lucas, and I worked together for so long. And I remembered every obstacle that we overcame and the hardships we’ve gone through.”

Morgan had mixed feelings and was too conflicted to talk back.

“Anyways,” Ted continued. “These ‘X’ marks were here for a while. I first saw them when my boy and I began our venture 11 years ago. If you didn’t notice them for this long, you’re gonna get swooped by a monster from above one day. Also, that’s quite ironic of you since you're the mapper.”

Shut up… Bad timing, that’s all… Morgan silently murmured with embarrassment.

As the two kept progressing down the SHT, Morgan brought more of his attention toward the walls. The only pattern that he picked up about these marks was that they were only on the left side.

Strangely, these are so noticeable compared to other sword marks made during combat.

They didn’t have any pattern to their placement. Rather, it looked like these identical ‘X’ marks only revolved around the center of the tower.

Hm…Maybe I really am just overthinking this. But if these huge marks were to be from combat, then they must be made from someone, someone who is very strong.

In recent years, more people have entered the SHT in hopes of hunting creatures, obtaining their materials, and selling them for coins. However, the number of men and women that pursued slaughtering caused a decline in the creatures dwelling in the upper levels.

Morgan realized that these creatures reappear during the night when the SHT becomes void of people scavenging around. It was also the time of day when it closes. A large cover seals the entrance for anyone daring to enter to think twice, because there were also men guarding the place. But there have been reports of creatures appearing from the walls, mainly through entrances and small crevices.

Like a vertical tunnel system, all around the tower, in far-reaching horizontal tunnels and compartments, there were dozens of holes of various sizes spotted along the sides.

No one knew where these varied-in-size vertical tunnels led. Some attempted to dig for the truth behind these holes, but eventually, they gave up due to the sheer depth they had to excavate. And from the increase of people entering the SHT, these tunnels were more inactive. Some got covered up by webs and small debris.

Morgan thought this would be a threat to the people who were beginning to venture deep into this tower.

Newcomers would strictly focus on weaker opponents, consequently lessening creatures' popularity and eventually never appearing. As a result, those newcomers would inevitably progress to lower levels until they hit a deadlock where monsters were too challenging to face. Let alone if they didn't possess a map, the SHT would bring them to their demise the lower they went.

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Without the experience of battling against creatures with moderate skill requirements like those in level 15, the stories of them disappearing and not returning alive would be ever so real.

Level 1 to level 5 were bare, and the remaining levels up to level 15 had very minimal monster encounters. After that, monsters were more frequent and incredibly strong until a drastic difficulty spike occurred in level 30 and beyond.

People who already had the fighting experience, like combat skills and fire strength, would keep progressing deeper into the SHT. On the other hand, newcomers saw no point in coming along unless they had a death wish.

This diversity was the reason why groups got formed - to overcome the large gap between the strength among their peers. However, the result would mostly come out as ill-intended. Thefts were high, and trust was low, which was why many went solo-venturing.

But this also raised the concern of groups and individuals with strength that could out strengthen theirs.

Level 42 - the lowest level anyone has gotten and returned alive. What a number… Quite terrifying to see such a number being displayed in the inn, Morgan thought.

If there are people out there that are this strong, and if we had to fight against them, could we even last for a second?

Looking at the “X” marks gave a daring thought of what the world had in store for them, and Morgan began to feel hopeless.

“By the way,” Morgan recalled.

Ted turned once more back at Morgan in curiosity.

“Those men are beginning to appear out of nowhere.”

“Ah. Those men in the market? That’s right! I heard they were called mercenaries. Hm, when did they appear again?”

“Just a couple of days ago.”

“I see. They do look troublesome.” Ah, maybe I should’ve warned my boy about them, Ted said with a slight disappointment in his sudden forgetfulness. “Why speak about that all of a sudden? If it’s about our plan to escape, then I can understand.”

Morgan lowered his head and gazed at the darkened ground. “It’s just getting on my nerves.”

Suddenly, Morgan slowed his running and gradually came to a stop. Ted stopped as well and shined the torch behind to see Morgan a couple of meters away from him.

“Morg,” Ted said worriedly. “What’s the matter?”

“Whatever it is, something is going to happen. The same thing happened back then…” Morgan paused for a moment as Ted continued to look at him with a hurt expression until continuing his speaking.

“All of us just want to leave this place. We had no intention of coming to this place and risking our lives just for some money. But with so many more coins to gather, I feel like our time is slowly coming to an end.

“I don’t want another person to be taken away. All we want is just to live a happy life. What is the point of doing any of this? People are out there going down 10 levels lower than us and we are just barely surviving from the tower and those people’s mercies. We can barely progress down a level every year… Tell me, Ted, is my plan a failure? Are we going to die before we-”

Before noticing, Ted was right in front of him. He placed his hand on Morgan’s shoulder and stared at him with an assured look.

“Morg, stay strong. You don’t want to lose anyone again, right? This is why all of us are here together: to fight. We all share a common goal and I promise we will achieve it even if it will take our whole lives. Whether it’s about that prophesied child or about those mercenaries, we will keep fighting.

“And even if we might be weaker than other people, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible. When something happens, all of us will be here for you, and you will be here for us, got it? Without our connections, none of us would be here fighting like this and this eagerly. Your plan is not a failure. So don’t talk like that, understand?”

Morgan couldn’t think of what to say but only nodded. Ted turned back around with last pats on the shoulder to brighten up Morgan’s mood.

“We have to face the truth and go along with it. We all were born from the same or different backgrounds, but that’s what makes each and every one of our group members special. You aren’t the only one in odd ties with your past. I promise you - all of us met each other because we all had a connection when we were little.”

“Now,” Ted grinned at Morgan. “What you need to think about right now is to give a hand to your friends who are still alive. Keep your head up and protect the ones who are with you. Come now, they’re waiting for us!”

On times like these, Morgan thought that he was grateful to have comrades that supported each other no matter how weak they were. It’s that support and connection that made him journey down the SHT with everyone.

With a moment of inhaling and exhaling in relief, Morgan stared at Ted with a composed grin.

“Waiting for us?” Morgan spoke in a high manner. “Aren’t you the one that’s going to cut down the goddamn trees? Now look who’s not thinking straight!”

“Haha!” With a burst of laughter, Ted began to run once more with excitement. “That’s more like it! If your mouth behaves with high energy, then let’s see if your legs do the same!”

“Now you’ve said it.”

In the end, it became a race between Morgan and Ted on who will make it down to level 20 first.

 

- Lucas / Located in the Central District -

Leaving from the SHT, he ran on a curvy road branching out from the Central District arms that divided the market into two sides. He was back to his usual route whenever he headed home after his work inside the tower.

When making weaves through the rough path, he saw rows of destroyed houses stretching miles upon miles without end on the sides. He ran by houses devoid of life, and sheets of metal used for shelter were beyond rusted and shattered. Some were ravaged to pieces as they lay on the ground like a waste.

Houses looked as if a large boulder had struck the side of the clay walls. For one, he saw a large swarm of bugs flying about and crowding one particular spot hidden behind the cracked walls. Additionally, during the nights, their house was the only one lit around the vicinity.

As he took the final turn that led to another dirt road, he saw his house roughly 20 houses away. And even from such a distance, he saw the front entrance door of his house wide open. Chills instantly ran down Lucas’s spine, sprinting towards the house that was still intact.

By the time he made contact with the fence-like wall made of clay that boxed the house inside, he rushed to the gateway and turned to face the house in front of him. But then he saw something that he never wished to see.

Whenever Lucas opened the front door to head out and join his group in venturing and gathering materials, he was always greeted by the SHT roughly a mile in the distance.

Their son stood outside with the door completely open while witnessing the same thing as what Lucas always saw, and Rosey was behind in utter shock at her husband’s sudden appearance.

“Honey!” Rosey said in a surprised but defeated manner. “Why have you returned so early?”

Lucas looked back with an expression of bewilderment and loss.

“Rosey, why is Josh outside?”

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