As Josh exited the Tower he came face to face with someone he knew.
Dale stood, no he was struggling to barely remain on his feet. All over his body were deep dagger lacerations.
His left arm was in tatters. Josh could see the Bone.
"Dale, what the hell happened?!"
"Oh? Is that you Josh? Hehe, I finally completed Floor 5!"
Dale had blood covering his eyes, that had prevented him from initially recognizing Josh. He was grinning like a fool. Proudly, not even bothered about his pitiful state.
"Quick we need to get you to a hospital, where…"
"No worries, I've already called an ambulance haha.", Dale answered casually.
That is when Josh saw it. A vehicle coming their way, a flying one. Metalic in an egg shape. It was hovering over the pavement. Josh couldn't believe his eyes. Why hadn't he seen any before?!
A man came out of it. Grabbing Dale, he brought him on board. It seemed spacious enough. Josh instinctively followed.
Before long they reached the H sector that included all the medicinal facilities. Josh had seen similar wounds before, Dale probably wouldn't be able to fight anymore. Or so he thought.
No, turns out a little while later Dale was out all in one piece and healthy. Even then he was still grinning.
"How are these things so efficient?! You were about to kick the bucket a few minutes ago!"
"Hehe, new Tower technology. It uses mana to accomplish amazing things. The only issue is that kind of procedure cannot be replicated inside the Tower itself. Well, for that there are healing pills." Dale explained.
"It's damn impressive!"
"Now I do have a debt with this place, but it was worth it!"
"What do you mean?"
"Hehe, this phoenix picked the hardest challenge option! I have thus received…a memory fragment! I would never have been able to afford a good one in the short term, but now all is good. I even got one that would never appear on the market because of how rare it is!"
Josh couldn't help but be impressed. He naturally understood now what had transpired. Dale needed the skill to hunt more efficiently.
For him contracting a debt didn't matter versus the profits he would get by investing in a new ability.
He had gone for mutually assured destruction with the Boss. He had resolutely given up his left arm to finish his opponent, knowing full well he could come back to the real world to get healed.
"It worked out this time but try not to be reckless the next time."
"Hehe, are you worried about me, Josh? Don't worry. I am weak but I know my own limits very well. I won't ever do something I am not confident in."
Josh nodded. Seems he was concerned for nothing.
"What did you even gain?"
Dale puffed up his chest before raising his hand. On the tip of his finger appeared a small flame. "Very fitting, don't you think?"
"Oh! So you are officially a mage starting now?"
"Indeed! Now after all this I'm famished. Wanna go eat?"
Josh wouldn't decline such an invitation. Heading to the G district they stopped in front of a small restaurant. It had a nice family business vibe. <Unstoppable Diner>
"I thought we would go to the Devouring Panda again.", Remarked Josh.
That is when a shadow passed in Dale's eyes. One that Josh knew very well. Hatred. A deep grudge that he would settle for sure. It was probably the reason for his seemingly reckless approach.
Dale told Josh about it. The girl he loved, that one waitress, had a fiancé from a family arrangement. The man was relatively wealthy and young. Plus he was a Climber with great prospects.
The current Dale couldn't compare. At all. He wanted to declare his love for her. To bring her away with him, but he needed to reach greater heights before he could.
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This was the reason they weren't eating to the Devouring Panda today. For if he saw the man it would completely ruin his mood.
They were seated in the back in a remote corner of the shop. Before long they had ordered a hearty meal, vegetable and meat sauté. It was the friendly and mature waitress's recommendation. It wouldn't necessarily give a food buff but it would satiate the stomach and the soul.
Before long their food came. One that looked even better than the food at the Devouring Panda. The waitress chuckled upon seeing their faces, bragging about how skilled their chef was. Josh couldn't help but agree. It was extremely delicious to boot, especially the meat that was juicy and tender.
Dale had resolved himself to be as hard-working as Josh when it came to climbing. But both still took the time to enjoy the moment. Sometimes, a little respite helped to keep focused in the long run.
Josh took the chance to ask him about Bloodlines, for he knew this friend of his was very knowledgeable.
Josh expected it to be extremely complex and dangerous, but not really. The biggest possible drawback to absorbing a bloodline was making one incompatible with other types of bloodlines.
Most of their information came from one guy called the Blood Emulator, an S Class Ranker. That was both his title and his class. His special ability was that he could emulate other species' bloodlines.
While this ability was especially powerful it had its drawbacks. For instance, he required its target to be near him. This meant that he could only use the bloodline of an enemy.
They always knew their own bloodline better, for it didn't come with the required memories to use it. This point reassured Josh instead.
The Blood Emulator was like a jack-of-all-trades that had to compete with professionals. In short, he was bound to lose, but he could put a great fight. He had trouble with duels but would shine for Boss hunting on Floor 0s for these Bosses had the strongest bloodlines.
From this guy's experience, there were only two possibilities when absorbing a bloodline.
First, simply getting an ability. This was just adding a skill to one's repertoire. The difference being that it was a skill that came without the instruction manual. One would have to slowly figure it out. These skills were also very specific and sometimes really hard to use.
Second, getting a Form. That happened when the bloodline absorbed was especially pure. It was a transformation, a temporary one, that would boost the user in some way. It could even give one access to human defying abilities. A simple example would be a transformation giving one wings or extra arms. While surprising at first it had a lot of potential.
These were the bread and butter of the Blood Emulator. He would spend a while training on each floor with help from teammates until he could use the enemies' abilities.
This made Josh realize that not all classes were equal. Some were better at the initial clearing, some were better at soloing, some shined in a party setting.
Josh couldn't help but ask something that he had been wondering about.
"How do full support classes even clear Floors 5s?"
"Haha, for them there is a secret option. A trial designed exclusively for them. However, this does not mean it is easy in any way. It will test their very limits and can very well lead to death. For example, a healer could be asked to heal under pressure while dodging a strong monster." Dale knew the answer as usual.
Josh figured out for two reasons that he may as well absorb the pearl he had gotten.
First Gluttony sounded extremely powerful. Josh had seen the Floor 6 Boss at work. If he could get the devouring ability Josh would become unstoppable. After all, he was pretty good at multitasking. If he could sleep in a dungeon, why wouldn't he be able to eat!
Second, from Dale's explanation. Bloodlines were pretty much like a lottery. Since no one truly knew how it worked it was enough to just pray for a good one.
Josh at first was thinking of maybe waiting for a stronger rank bloodline, but a higher rank wouldn't necessarily mean a better bloodline. For instance, a whole-body Form would prevent Josh from using his only advantage, his sword mastery.
Josh took out the pearl rendering Dale astonished for he recognized that it was a valuable item. Then Josh started the absorption process right here and then while praying to the Gacha gods. There was a surge of mana going into Josh as the pearl disappeared completely.
Then he felt…nothing at all.
Looking at his status screen he saw…. nothing at all.
His luck was …nonexistent.
Or did something hidden happen? In any case, Josh couldn't help but be disappointed.
That is when came out of the kitchen a man. He was wearing a chef outfit. He was bald and fit-looking.
He headed toward their direction bellowing.
"Who's the bastard that used mana here?! Who was it?!"
He seemed extremely pissed for some reason. Also, how did he even notice it?!
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