Free Web NovelChapter 33: 33. The Grind Resumes
Nathan woke to the sound of Mirko humming.
It was a soft, meandering tune. She was in bunny form on the pillow beside him, her pink eyes half-closed, her ears twitching in time with whatever melody was running through her head.
’You slept seven hours,’ she said, not stopping her humming. ’I am proud of you. Genuinely. I considered composing a song to commemorate the occasion.’
"Please don’t."
’Too late. I have already composed three verses. The chorus involves the words "finally" and "not an idiot. Hmph"’
Nathan sat up, rolling his shoulder. The sharp pain from yesterday had dulled to a faint ache. The healing potion and actual relaxed sleep had done their work. He still felt the cumulative weight of the past week’s grinding, but it was manageable now.
He pulled up his status panel and glanced at three lines.
[Level: 21]
---
[Second Summon: Condition 1 — Level 25. 4 levels remaining.]
---
[Days Until Duel: 10.]
Four levels. Ten days. The math was tight but not impossible. He had gained two levels in one night with the Tower of Shifting Stones. Though the amount of xp needed for next levels increases as he levels up, if he used the XP Boost Crystal strategically, on a high-density floor, something with waves or elites, he could close the gap faster.
Mirko shifted to humanoid form beside the bed, stretching her arms overhead. The morning light caught the green of her hair, the curves of the bodysuit. She caught him looking and smirked.
’See something you like, Master?’
"Uhh.. no? I’m calculating... something... Ah! My levels! Yes, I’m calculating the xo needed." He blushed.
’You’re calculating while staring at my...’
"XP efficiency, Mirko! Tower selection. Mana-to-kill ratios." Nathan swung his legs off the bed and stood, very deliberately trying to hide his blush. "Get dressed. We have planning to do."
’I am dressed.’
"Get... mentally dressed."
’That doesn’t make any sense, Master’ freēwēbnovel.com
"..., It’s early."
---
Breakfast was toast and eggs that Lucy had not set on fire this time, and the Tower registry glowing on Nathan’s interface.
Lucy sat across from him, chattering about a school project on Tower history. "Did you know the first Tower appeared in the middle of what used to be called the Pacific Ocean? It just rose out of the water one day. My teacher said it was taller than any mountain. People thought it was the end of the world."
"Well, It was the beginning of a different one," Nathan said, scrolling.
Lucy considered this. "That’s deep. You’re being deep. Are you okay?"
"I’m always deep, It’s my other brand."
"Your first brand is now being tired 24/7. Deep is an improvement." She stole a piece of toast from his plate. Mirko, back in bunny form now, immediately stole a piece from hers. A tiny breakfast crime wave was forming at the table.
Nathan found what he was looking for. Tower of Emberfall. Seven floors, D-Rank difficulty. The registry notes flagged Floor 5 as a "survival wave" of continuous enemy spawns for ten minutes, increasing in density over time. Most Climbers avoided it. Too exhausting to solo. Too much risk of being overwhelmed.
For Nathan, it was perfect. The XP Boost Crystal would amplify the survival wave’s already-high yield. One floor, maximum efficiency. He could gain two levels tonight if the math held.
"I’m doing another climb tonight," he said.
Lucy’s chewing slowed. "Another one? You just rested."
"A short one. I’ll be back before midnight."
"Promise you’ll sleep after?"
"Promise."
She studied him with the look she’d been using more often lately, the one that said she was too young to worry about things like this but old enough to know she should. "Okay. But if you come back looking like a corpse again, I’m telling Mirko to bite you."
’I would never bite Master,’ Mirko said through the link, then her eyes darted to him suspiciously with a smirk curling at her lips and she added... ’Unless he asked nicely.’
Nathan choked on his toast.
---
The Tower of Emberfall was built into the side of an extinct volcano on the city’s industrial outskirts. The entrance was a carved archway of black stone, heat shimmering from within despite the cool night air. No TCA officials. No spectators. Just the Tower, waiting.
Nathan stepped through.
The descent was immediate. The corridor sloped downward, the walls transitioning from worked stone to natural volcanic rock veined with glowing orange. The air grew hotter with every step. By the time he reached Floor 1’s main chamber, sweat was already beading on his forehead.
Ember Elementals materialized from the walls... humanoid shapes of compressed ash and cinder, their cores burning bright in their chests. Fast. Aggressive. Fragile.
Nathan didn’t slow down.
[Hunter’s Insight] at Level 4 mapped six targets simultaneously, tracking their trajectories before they’d finished forming. [Mana Arrow] at Level 3 fired with reduced cost, blue-white projectiles punching through elemental cores with practiced precision. [Focus Shot] at Level 6 charged faster now, the mana compression smoother, more efficient. Half-charge was enough to crack the tougher elementals. Full charge was reserved for clusters.
Mirko stayed in bunny form, bouncing between elementals, [Headbutt] cracking cores that Nathan’s arrows couldn’t reach. She was conserving energy. They both knew Floor 5 would demand everything.
Floor 1 fell in six minutes. Floor 2 in five. Floor 3 in seven. The elementals grew denser, faster, but Nathan’s rhythm held. Draw. Aim. Fire. Move. [Hunter’s Insight] whispered trajectories in the back of his mind, a constant stream of tactical data that had become as natural as breathing.
[Ding! Level Up!]
[Level 22 Reached!]
Three levels to go.
Floor 4 was a narrow bridge over a river of magma. Elementals rose from the lava itself, their forms dripping molten rock. Nathan fought them from the bridge’s center, Mirko flanking, the heat so intense his vision wavered. But the elementals fell. They always fell.
He stepped through the portal to Floor 5.
---
Floor 5 was an arena.
A circular platform of black stone suspended over a lake of fire. Massive chains anchored it to the walls of the volcanic shaft, glowing faintly with heat. The ceiling was lost in smoke and orange haze. The air shimmered.
[Ding! Floor 5: Survival Wave.]
[Objective: Survive for 10 minutes.]
[Enemy spawn rate: Continuous. Increasing over time.]
[Warning: Extraction unavailable during survival waves.]
No escape. No extraction. Ten minutes of continuous combat, and if you fell, you fell into the lava...and died.
Nathan pulled the XP Boost Crystal from his inventory. It was small and glowed with a soft golden light that seemed brighter against the volcanic gloom. He crushed it in his palm.
Golden light sank into his skin, warm and electric.
[XP Boost Active: +50% XP gain for this floor. Duration: Until floor clear.]
"Mirko."
She shifted to humanoid form instantly. No hesitation. No banter. Her sword materialized in her grip, and [Impenetrable Fortress] flared around her frame, mana armor condensing into a barrier that reflected the lava’s orange glow.
"I’ll hold the center," she said. "You pick off anything that gets past me."
"Don’t miss any."
"I am a Knight. I do not miss." A pause. "Mostly."
The first wave spawned. Ten elementals. Then twenty. Then fifty.
The arena became chaos. Mirko stood at the center like a boulder in a storm, [Impenetrable Fortress] absorbing impacts that would have shattered lesser defenses. [Unstoppable Force] built with each strike... first hit, second, third... her blade carving through cinder and ash in wide, devastating arcs. The elementals swarmed her, but they couldn’t break her. She was too steady. Too strong.
Nathan circled the perimeter, [Hunter’s Insight] painting the battlefield in layers of tactical information. Elementals spawning at three o’clock. A cluster forming at the northern edge. A larger elite materializing behind Mirko’s blind spot. He called targets aloud, not because Mirko needed to hear them... she could read his intentions through the link... but because the act of speaking kept his mind sharp.
[Mana Arrow]. The Elite staggered. [Mana Arrow]. Core cracked. [Focus Shot] at half-charge. Elite down.
The Leyline Ring hummed on his finger, mana flowing into his reserves in a steady current. The upgraded regeneration was the only thing keeping him standing. His arms burned. His vision blurred at the edges. But the elementals kept coming.
Five minutes. Six. Seven.
The waves intensified. Larger elementals. Tougher cores. Mirko’s [Impenetrable Fortress] flickered under the sustained assault but held. [Unstoppable Force] reached its tenth strike, and the accumulated force detonated through a cluster of five elementals simultaneously, reducing them to ash.
"Eight minutes!" Nathan called.
"Noted!"
Sweat dripped down his face. His quiver was empty and he’d now switched entirely to [Mana Arrow] minutes ago. The Leyline Ring kept his reserves stable, but the mental fatigue was cumulative. Every shot required focus. Every missed target was a potential breach.
Ninth minute.
The final wave spawned everything at once. A swarm of elites, their cores blazing white-hot, their forms twice the size of the standard elementals. They converged on Mirko from all sides.
"Master! The big ones!"
"I see them!"
Nathan drew and charged [Focus Shot] work [Mana Arrow]... Ten seconds. Fifteen. The arrowhead blazed. Twenty. The elites closed in. Twenty-five. Mirko’s armor cracked under the pressure. Thirty seconds.
The cumulative strain of both focus shot and mana arrow drained him. This was a combined skill he had Thought about, focus shot charged and changed the destructive nature of mana arrow more than how it did with normal arrows, but the strain of the combination was too much, to the extent it threatened to decommission him after it’s use.
"NOW!"
He released. The arrow punched through the lead elite’s core and continued through two more behind it, a streak of blue-white light that carved a path of destruction. Mirko spun, her blade catching the survivors, [Unstoppable Force] resetting and building again in the space of a heartbeat.
The last elite crumbled.
Silence.
[Ding! Floor 5 Cleared!]
[Ding! XP Boost Applied!]
[Ding! Level Up!]
[Ding! Level Up!]
[Level 24 Reached!]
Nathan lowered his bow. His arms were trembling. His legs were threatening to give out. But he was grinning.
Mirko walked toward him, sheathing her sword. Her armor flickered and faded. She was breathing hard, sweat glistening on her skin, but her pink eyes were bright. "The crystal was worth it."
He straightened, rolling his shoulders. "Two more floors. Simple clears. Then home."
---
Floors 6 and 7 were almost disappointing after the survival wave. Standard elementals. Standard patterns. Nathan cleared them with mechanical efficiency, his body running on adrenaline and the lingering high of the XP boost. When the final elemental fell, he barely registered the notification.
[Ding! Tower of Emberfall Cleared!]
[Time: 51 minutes 3 seconds.]
[Overall Clear Rank: A]
[Level: 24]
He extracted into the cool night air. The industrial district was silent. The volcano loomed behind him, dormant and dark. Nathan stood there for a moment, breathing, letting the cold air wash over his skin.
Mirko shifted back to bunny form and tucked herself into his jacket. Her warmth was immediate, familiar.
’One level remaining, Master.’
"One level."
’Are you nervous?’
Nathan considered the question. The second summon would change everything. A new Bunny Girl. A new class. But also a new presence in their lives. A new voice in the link. A new dynamic with Mirko.
"Nervous isn’t the right word," he said. "I’d rather go with... Ready."
’Good.’ Her mental voice softened. ’Because I have been thinking. When the new one arrives, she will need guidance. Training. Someone to show her how things work.’
"Someone?"
’Me. I will be her mentor. Her example. Her...’
"Her boss?"
’Her... Senior. There is a difference.’
Nathan smiled despite his exhaustion. "You’re going to make her call you ’Senior Mirko,’ aren’t you?"
’That is... under consideration.’
"Poor girl."
’She will be fine. I am an excellent role model.’
Nathan didn’t argue. He was too tired to argue. Instead, he started walking home, the Leyline Ring humming on his finger, his status panel glowing in the corner of his vision.
One level. Ten days. Tomorrow, everything would change.
---
The apartment was dark when Nathan returned. Lucy’s door was closed, her star-shaped nightlight casting soft shadows through the gap beneath. Nathan paused there for a moment, listening to her breathe, then moved to his own room.
He collapsed onto his bed next to Lucy quietly, to not wake her up. Mirko hopped onto the pillow beside him, curling into a small green ball.
His status panel glowed in the darkness.
[Name: Nathan Cross]
[Class: Archer]
[Level: 24]
---
[Second Summon: Condition 1 — Level 25.]
---
[Days Until Duel: 10.]
One level. One more climb. One more night of pushing himself past his limits.
But not tonight. Tonight, he’d sleep.
’You promised,’ Mirko reminded him.
"I know, I’ll keep my promises."
Nathan closed his eyes. Tomorrow, the grind would resume. Tomorrow, he’d reach Level 25 and summon the second Bunny Girl. Tomorrow, everything would shift.
But tonight, in the quiet of the apartment, with Mirko’s and Lucy’s warmth beside him, Nathan allowed himself a single moment of stillness.
