Soul Nexus: A Fantasy Tower Ascension LitRPG

I pointed at the women as I stepped forward. “I have so many questions.” With each question, I raised a finger on my hand, counting them. “One: Who are you? Two: How did you know I was here? Three: Why should I go with you? Four: Where are we going?”

The wolf woman clenched her fist. “Commander Xantoxu ordered me to find you once you arrived. As for who I am, I am Squad Sargent Lorrean.” She marched up to me and glared downward at me. “Now, are you going to make this boring or entertaining?”

Shadara went to push her away, but I placed my hand on her stomach and shook my head before turning back to the immense woman standing over me. “We’ll follow you.”

Killa crossed her arms and scowled. “Why?”

Thankfully, the wolf beastwoman took a step back and waved behind her. Though Killa asked her questions, she walked with us as we followed the escort.

“It’s because of all the trouble we caused trying to reach Gary,” I told Killa. Killa’s confusion was understandable and obvious. “It’s complicated, but yeah, there isn’t just one Gary. He’s some kind of part of the Soul Nexus itself. I’m not exactly sure how it works, but each Gary is aware of what happens to the other Gary’s below them.”

Killa snorted. “That is complicated. Why so complicated?”

I shrugged. “No idea.”

Shadara kept her arms crossed as she hunched slightly. “They’re just upset that they’re losing the war. So we killed a few hundred undead at one specific fort. That doesn’t mean that they’re after us specifically. They should be thanking us for weakening one fort instead of punishing us by blackmailing us into doing their dirty work.”

I bit my lip. It hasn’t been that bad. She’s just upset that they have been making us fight in the most dangerous sections of the defense. We even got her a collapsable staff for close-quarters combat.

Killa leaned in close to me and whispered, “It sounds like you need to leave for the next floor.”

“I would if I didn’t have to find Gary on this floor,” I whispered back. “He’s supposed to know how to kill that body-snatching assassin permanently. And if it is that woman, then we have no time to lose.”

Shadara joined in on our whispering. “Then why are we following Ms. Slab-o-Steel?”

“Because we don’t want to make enemies,” I answered. “We have to come back here, eventually. We still need food and other supplies.”

Shadara grumbled as she slowed down slightly so that she could sulk in solitude. I noticed one of the wolf woman’s ears was turned sideways. She’s listening in on us, isn’t she?

Affirmative.

I sighed internally as we followed her to a large stone building surrounded by at least forty soldiers armed for war. She waved us in, and I was greeted with an unnerving sight.

The interior was dimly lit, with torches flickering along the walls. In the center of the room, a large wooden table dominated the space. On it rested a meticulously crafted model of a fortified wooden fort. The fort’s intricate details were painstakingly recreated, from the watchtowers and battlements to the gates and walls. Tiny figurines representing undead soldiers and other more powerful undead were positioned strategically around the fort.

Surrounding the table were various beastmen, their expressions ranging from angry determination to exhausted resignation. All of them turned to regard us as we entered.

In the back of the room, a majestic griffon lounged. Its voluminous white wings folded neatly against its sleek body. Its eyes locked with mine. Its front talons scratched softly at the ground as it raised its head.

Behind us, slamming the door shut, stood Squad Sergeant Lorrean. She straightened her back and cleared her throat. “Commander, I brought the human and the slime.”

Positioned near the head of the table, the lion beastman, Commander Xantoxu, stood hunched over and propping himself up on the table. His golden mane framed his face. Scars etched into his fur where his armor wasn’t covering. His amber eyes barely held themselves open. I had never seen such puffy eyes on a beastman before.

When’s the last time he’s gotten any sleep?

Standing tall beside Commander Xantoxu, a tiger beastman stood with his arms behind his back. His sleek, striped fur was perfectly maintained and reflected the meager light in the room. He wore a simple breastplate with pauldrons and a metal pleated skirt. That’s probably not the name for it, but I’m still learning about different parts of armor.

It’s called a fauld.

It still looks like a skirt.

He glared at me with two piercing green eyes before turning to the griffon. “Loran, down.”

The griffon lowered its head. As it rested its head on its talons, it let out a snort. Orange, are griffons intelligent?

They are. Though they lack the biology to communicate with words, they understand them. Griffons also have a penchant for shiny baubles. Your eyes probably caught her attention.

Her?

Yes. The tip of her tail is smooth, like that of a lioness. If they were male, it would’ve had a more pronounced tuft of fur.

Good to know. My eyes are now classified as baubles.

We apologize.

Letting Orange’s unintended marginalization of my eyes go, I continued to analyze the other important people.

Towering over the others, the bear beastman stood with his arms crossed over his barreled chest. He had a massive frame and thick brown fur. His breathing held a constant, deep, rumbling sound that carried through the silence. He didn’t wear any armor above the waist. And even his legs were only lightly armored, more for common decency than protection.

Positioned beside the bear was a female lynx beastwoman. She was the shortest in the room. Her puffy, gray, and white spotted fur and adorable whiskers screamed at me. I suppressed the urge to run up to her and pet her. Her blue eyes darted faster than everyone else’s. She’s studying all of us. Her speed is probably close to mine.

Finally, standing away from everyone, a hawk beastman rubbed the bottom of her beak with a feathered hand. His wings folded neatly against his back. Large, dark brown eyes stared at us unblinkingly. Despite his smaller stature, he held his head higher than the others. His armor was tight, with smooth leather plates.

The tiger beastman waved to the model fort on the table. “Does this look familiar to you?”

I looked at it, and there was something familiar about it. The layout looked similar to the fort where Gary was supposed to be. There was significantly more to the fort than what Shadara and I had been able to see. There was always too much undead to sneak past or fight.

Before I could express myself, Shadara spoke first. “It’s the fort we’ve been trying to get into.” Her eyes took in the entire model. “But it’s the entire thing. How? Why?”

The tiger beastman waved to the hawk beastman. “Captain Orlow here has been watching you with your recent attempts.”

We turned our heads to Captain Orlow, who didn’t move an inch as he spoke. “Commander Rethan is correct. Your activities have been most unusual. Adventurers occasionally slip off to challenge a fort when they first arrive. It’s not unusual. Most of them don’t return because they are killed or escape and don’t try it again.”

He then resumed stroking the bottom of his beak as if it were a beard. “What is most unusual about you is that you keep returning. Seven attempts, always to the same place. They’ve even increased their fortifications, and it still hasn’t slowed you down.”

“You’ve been lucky so far,” the lynx beastwoman said. “Because of your fighting styles—your speed and ranged capabilities—you’ve been able to escape. However, this also establishes that the two of you lack any possibility of besieging the location by yourselves. Your infiltration attempts have been just as hopeless.”

Xantoxu let out a sigh. “What Lyra and the others are getting at is that there is something in that fort. It’s something you want badly, but we can’t figure out what. Orlow had surveyed the entire place, and as you can see, we have no idea what you’re looking for.”

Rethan nodded. “We’ve also come to believe that the undead have been attacking us because of your constant poking. While we have no proof, the timing seems a bit conspicuous. There are two things we need to know from you.” He pointed to Killa. “Who is she, and what is so important in that fort?”

I turned to the slime woman next to me. “This is Killa.”

“Kill a what?” the bear asked gruffly.

Killa rolled her eyes. “It’s my name, you blockhead.”

The bear let out a growl as he flashed his large fangs at my friend. If they’re going to be rude…

“And what we want in that fort is my business.” I narrowed my gaze on the people around the table. “It’s a long story, you won’t believe me, and I have nothing to prove anything I say would be true. In the end, it wouldn’t do you any good to know.”

Rethan slammed his hand on the table, causing the model fort to shake. “Enough.” The griffon raised its head. “This bickering is pointless. We are losing. So if you want something bad in that fort, we’re prepared to offer it to you. The only thing we require is your aid in capturing it.”

I furrowed my brow, my mind racing as I considered the commander’s words. Is he really offering me help? “Why?”

Orlow pointed at the model. “Because we need a victory. This fort, thanks to your efforts, has the thinnest defenses. Although, all that remains are the strongest varieties of undead.”

Shadara scowled. “And what do you get out of the deal? And what is this deal specifically?”

Rethan crossed his arms. “You are to be a distraction. If you survive, we will absolve you of any crimes. You and the slime.”

“Crimes?” Shadara reached for her bow, but stopped halfway. “And what exactly is it that you are charging us with?”

“Terrorism,” the lynx beastwoman answered. “Your appearance with the strange woman causing chaos just before the undead attack is a bit conspicuous.”

Killa took a defensive stance. “I was defending myself and Rina. It’s not my fault your people got involved instead of staying out of it.”

I stepped up and held my arms out to my friends. “Don’t. We aren’t supposed to fight them. We aren’t supposed to make enemies here.”

Killa threw her arms out wide. “They are the ones who started.”

“And attacking them won’t help!” I shouted back. “What happened to you? You weren’t this bloodthirsty before.”

Killa gasped silently before turning her head. “Sorry. Eating everything comes too easily. I broke the desire once with help from my teacher. When I started into it again, it was like slipping into an old habit. Then I sort of lost myself in the killing. I had to be woken up again.” Killa stepped to the door. “I don’t want to cause you trouble. If you ask me, I’ll attack the fort by myself.”

I dropped my arms. “Why would you suggest something like that? Talk to me, Killa.”

“I suck at making decisions. Okay?” Killa turned away. “My self-control is severely lacking. I need people like my teacher, Bark, and you to follow. People like you who help others—that’s why I want to be around you. It’s why I followed Bark, even though he turned out to be different in the end.”

She started hugging herself. “I want to be carefree, to joke around, to laugh, and to experience life. But I can’t do that by myself. There needs to be someone to ground me. Otherwise, I fall back on being a gluttonous, consuming monster incapable of feeling remorse. I thought I was better. But I was wrong. I know that now. I thought I could help. But I was wrong. I need your help.”

I placed my hand on her shoulder. “Killa, do you still want to taste what you eat?”

“Yeah,” she replied weakly.

I turned her to face me. “Then don’t leave me. We’ll make it to the top together. And our first step is to reach Gary. So we’ll attack this fort together.”

Shadara slumped her shoulders before giving a soft chuckle. “Why are we worried about what others on this floor think? If we want, we could just head to the next floor, and nothing here matters. But if you say we need to reach Gary, then we’ll go see him. Him and his little head.”

Xantoxu cleared his throat. “Touching. Who’s Gary?”

I could feel the blood rushing to my head. Our private moment wasn’t so private.