Chapter 59: The Weight of Command (1)
Three days after their return to the capital, the party gathered in Celestial Peak’s briefing room. Sunlight streamed through the observatory’s old dome, catching dust motes in slow spirals.
The room smelled of old paper and the faint ozone of warding magic. Valerie Mayfeather sat at the head of the table, her TUFF GRANNY mug steaming beside a stack of mission dossiers. Boris the Yeti snored in his small form near the window, utterly indifferent to the proceedings.
Nathan sat across from her, his party arrayed around him. Mirko was in bunny form on his shoulder, fully recovered, her green fur bright and her pink eyes alert. She’d been insufferably pleased about her return, composing a short song to her Own Resilience that Nathan had refused to let her perform aloud. Kuro sat on the table near his elbow, a small black shape with white mask-markings, her dark eyes tracking every movement in the room.
Elise was composed as always, her staff resting against her chair. Dillon lounged with studied casualness, but his fingers drummed against his knee—a tell Nathan had learned to recognize. Garrett sat straight-backed, his mace stored, his summon mark pulsing with the steady crimson glow of Red’s recovered self.
Valerie took a long sip of tea and set the mug down with a decisive clack.
"You’re not ready for another High Class Tower. Not yet."
The words hung in the air as no one argued.
"Your coordination is solid. You move well together. You trust each other. That’s good. But you need more experience with varied environments. More practice adapting when things go wrong... and they will go wrong. That’s the nature of climbing."
She slid a dossier across the table.
"Mid Class Towers. The Tower of Verdant Scales. The Hollow Barrow. The Sunken Depths. Nothing above Mid Class until I say otherwise. You clear these, you build your foundation, and when I think you’re ready, we talk about the Tower of Ash again."
Nathan pulled the dossier toward him. The Tower of Verdant Scales was listed first. It was a Mid Class Tower in a forested region a few hours outside the capital. Seven floors. Reptilian enemies. Straightforward. Manageable. Exactly what they needed.
"We understand," Nathan said. "I’ve been thinking the same thing."
Valerie’s sharp eyes studied him for a moment. Then she nodded, satisfied. "Good. Then you’re learning. Go clear it and Come back in one piece. Dismissed."
---
The Tower of Verdant Scales rose from the forest like an ancient tree grown monstrous.
Its exterior was a vertical garden of moss-covered stone and twisted roots, vines thick as serpents winding up its walls. The entrance was a natural archway formed by two colossal oaks that had fused into the Tower’s structure years ago. The air was humid and green-smelling, heavy with the scent of wet earth and blooming flowers. After the dry, ashen heat of the Tower of Ash, it was almost pleasant.
Almost.
The party stepped through the portal and into a world of green shadow.
Floor 1 was a dense thicket. Old trees grew through the stone floor, their roots cracking the masonry. Bioluminescent fungi cast pale blue light across the moss. The first Green Scaled Crawlers came skittering out of the undergrowth. lizard-like creatures the size of large dogs, their scales green-brown, their claws sharp enough to tear stone.
Nathan’s [Hunter’s Insight] painted their trajectories. "Four contacts. Left side, two. Right, one. Center, one circling. Our Standard formation, now!."
Mirko shifted to humanoid form in a burst of green light, her sword already drawn. "I have the center."
Elise’s Frost Golem materialized beside her, eight feet of crystalline ice radiating welcome cold. Dillon’s Cloud Serpent crackled to life around his shoulders, its static energy fully restored. Red’s wool hardened into armored plates as Garrett hefted his mace.
The party moved like a machine that had been oiled and recalibrated.
Mirko’s [Impenetrable Fortress] caught the center Crawler’s lunge. Then Her counter-stroke took its head.
Elise’s [Mana Bolts] froze the right-flank Crawler mid-leap, and Dillon’s [Quick Draw] shattered it before it hit the ground.
Garrett intercepted the two on the left—[Impact Strike] doubling his mace’s force, crushing one Crawler’s skull while Red’s horns caught the second and sent it tumbling. And Nathan’s [Mana Arrow] finished it before it could rise.
[Floor 1 Cleared.]
They moved upward. Floor 2 introduced Vine Serpents—slender, whip-fast creatures that dropped from the canopy and struck from blind angles. Floor 3 had thick, choking pollen that reduced visibility. Floor 4 combined both hazards, forcing the party to fight half-blind against enemies that could strike from anywhere.
But the party adapted. Elise’s [Mana Shield] deflected the serpents’ strikes. Dillon’s Cloud Serpent used static discharges to clear the pollen in small bursts. Garrett held the rear with Red, his mace a constant, steady rhythm.
On Floor 5, a Vine Serpent dropped from directly above Nathan’s position. He saw it a fraction too late—his [Hunter’s Insight] was tracking three other targets, and this one had been hidden by the canopy.
"Above you!" Garrett’s voice cut through the chaos.
Nathan dove sideways. The serpent’s jaws snapped shut on empty air. Mirko’s [Aegis Strike] scattered it, and Kuro—still in bunny form on Nathan’s shoulder—marked its core with [Weak Point Sense]. Nathan’s [Focus Shot] at half-charge punched through the mark, and the serpent dissolved.
Nathan looked at Garrett. "Good call."
Garrett nodded. There was something different in his eyes, a flicker of the confidence that had been missing since Ashwick. Valerie’s words had stuck with him. He’d spoken up. It had mattered.
Floor 7 housed the Moss Drake—a lumbering, lizard-like creature the size of a small house, its hide covered in thick green moss that regenerated damaged flesh. The fight was a grind. Mirko held its attention with [Impenetrable Fortress]. Elise froze sections of its hide, slowing the regeneration. Dillon’s katana carved away moss faster than it could regrow. Garrett and Red harried its flanks, preventing it from focusing on any single target.
Nathan charged [Focus Shot] for a full thirty seconds. Kuro marked the Drake’s core—buried deep beneath layers of moss and scale. The arrow punched through. The Drake collapsed.
[Ding! Tower of Verdant Scales Cleared!]
[Overall Clear Rank: B]
[Level Up! Nathan Cross: Level 33]
[Reward: Verdant Scale Cloak (Uncommon) — A lightweight cloak woven from Moss Drake scales. Provides moderate resistance to plant-based toxins and environmental pollen.]
Nathan distributed the cloak to Garrett. "You’re our frontline anchor. This’ll help with the environmental hazards."
Garrett took it, turning the green-scaled fabric over in his hands. "Thanks, man."
It wasn’t an S-Rank. But it was a win. The party needed all the wins they could get right now.
---
After the climb, while the others packed up their gear and prepared for the journey back, Garrett lingered at the edge of the clearing near the Tower entrance. He was staring at his summon mark, the crimson glow pulsing steadily.
Nathan found him there. "Red did fine today. Better than fine. You called that ambush before I even saw it."
Garrett was quiet for a moment. "I’ve been thinking about what Valerie said. About being the weakest. About needing to speak up." He looked at Nathan, his expression troubled. "I’m Level 36. I’ve been climbing longer than you, longer than Dillon, longer than most people in our bracket. But I’m still mid-tier. My summon is C-Rank. My skills and class are basic. What if I’m not cut out for this? What if the Tower of Ash was proof that I don’t belong in a party that’s aiming for Elite Class Towers?"
Nathan considered his response carefully. The wrong words here could deepen the doubt. But the truth, the truth might help.
"When Red shattered, you didn’t leave us and extract. You kept fighting. When Dillon went down on Floor 8, you covered his position. When Mirko fell on Floor 9, you were still swinging your mace." Nathan met his eyes. "You’re not the weakest, Garrett. You’re the steadiest. Everyone else in this party has moments where they’re brilliant and moments where they fall apart. Dillon overextends. Elise overcalculates. I push too hard. You? You’re steady. You’re always there. That’s not weakness. That’s the foundation everything else is built on. We need you."
Garrett stared at him for a long moment. Then, slowly, he nodded. "Okay, Nathan."
It wasn’t a full conviction. Not yet. But it was a start, a good start.
