Tower of Avarice: A LitRPG story

Chapter 24 – Floor 2: Part 6

Mathew returned to the Temple to level up immediately after leaving the casino. With the cube worth twenty-five thousand Aether and a crystal charged with the soul of a member of House Wilde, he was already third of the way to clearing this floor, and he had only been here a day.

Emotionally and spiritually exhausted from collecting sacrifices of living people, he would return to the Temple to level up rather than sleep at the Mayor’s house.

The less time he spent here, the better.

Bellmare was an evil place covered in a beautiful and benign veneer. Using the lives of six people every year to fuel their prosperity was abhorrent, made worse that everyone took it as a matter of course.

Entering the empty Temple just before sunrise, Mathew sat on a pew in the back of the long stone hall and brought up the level-up screen.

Name: Mathew Larson

Discipline: Coward (Level 1) -> Coward (Level 2)

Charlatan (Level 5)

Level: 6 -> 7

Aether Required: 21000

Aether: 25212 –> 4212

Attributes

Body: 1.9 -> 2.1

Mind: 2.6 -> 2.7

Spirit: 0.3 – 0.3

Blessing

Create and Control Flames III (Max Tier)

The Coward’s Brand (Tier 1)

“Confirm.” Mathew said, and the familiar feeling of warmth swept through his body. Making him stronger and fast, the body stats improvement was immediately noticeable. As for his ‘Mind,’ the effects were more subtle.

He could recall every interaction he had on this floor with perfect clarity, but strangely, the previous floor was ‘fuzzy.’ Some of the faces were blurry, as were the town he stayed in and August City.

Worse still, his memories of outside the Tower were growing increasingly hazy. Maybe it was just in comparison to the new memories he made with his upgraded ‘Mind,’ but his life before the Tower felt like a dream.

Shaking off the thoughts, Mathew closed the screen.

He would need twenty-eight thousand Aether for his next level up and forty thousand to upgrade his Blessing, ‘The Coward’s Brand’ to Tier 2.

Feeling refreshed, Mathew left the Temple and began to trek through the streets toward his next destination.

Wedged into the corner of the city closest to the wall and farthest away from the Temple, the ‘Lower East’ District had another name that was far more common and well-used than its official title. The ‘Slums’ were where the city's poorer citizens resided.

To Mathew, it was as easy to find as the docks or the casino had been. All he had to do was follow the signs of destitution. Buildings became older and less grand, the roads dirtier and less maintained until the paving stones turned into dirt and mud.

Clean clothing in thick wool, cotton and silk turned to hoarse hemp and cloth, often patched or with holes. If Mathew stood out in the other parts of the city, he was like a beacon in the Slums.

He had grown accustomed to the stares, so with the morning sun just rising to the East, he entered the Lower East District looking for the House of the Destitute.

Unlike the Livermore’s or the Wilde’s, who were more like families with hundreds if not thousands of extended relations, the House of the Destitute was a Clan. As part of the agreement to join, they would provide shelter and food to its members, but once a year, anyone from the clan could be called upon as a sacrifice.

Mathew had no idea what they wanted, maybe a bigger stipend from the municipal government in exchange for providing victims to the ritual? In his brief conversation with the Mayor, before he left, the man had been vague about why they were holding out this year.

The road eventually turned to mud, and some enterprising individuals had placed planks of wood to create walkways. Even those were covered in a layer of filth, and Mathew’s clean shoes were soon sullied. Ignoring them and the variety of awful smells that were assaulting him, Mathew continued on toward the large building in the area.

A ramshackle establishment, it was a housing complex that the Clan owned, with their senior leadership occupying most of the space. From here, they distributed food, clothing and other supplies to the thousands of impoverished people of Bellmare, as well as the surrounding areas.

Walking up the street along the wooden boardwalk, Mathew was stopped by a large gathering of children at the entrance. Ranging from only a couple of years old to teenagers, each of them was wearing warm clothing but showing patches and frays.

“You the Champion?” An older boy asked from where he was sitting on the step, eyeing Mathew carefully.

“That’s what they say. I’m Mathew. I’m looking for whoever is in charge of the Clan.” Mathew replied with a shrug.

“Are you here about the sacrifice?” Another teenage girl asked from where she stood beside a few other children. Her dress looked to have been a bright white when it was new, but it had a yellowish tinge to it now from too many washes over too many years.

“Yeah. Can you let me through? Or better yet, guide me to whoever I need to see?” Mathew asked.

“Prove it.” Another teen said. Standing on the steps, he towered over the others.

“Excuse me?” Mathew asked, taken aback by the directness of the question.

“Prove that you’re the Champion. I don’t believe you. I think you’re someone the Mayor dressed up to look like a fool and parade himself down here.” The teen challenged.

Mathew stared at him for a moment, considering, before nodding.

“Fine, but then you’ll take me to whoever’s in charge.” Mathew ordered. Focusing on a clear spot on the muddy road a dozen feet or so away, Mathew snapped his fingers.

A fire roared to life, reaching nearly ten feet in height. The kids around him jumped in fear, taking a few steps away from him as they stared at the flames. A more adventurous youngster stepped forward, tentatively reaching out her hand toward the conjured fire.

“It’s warm.” She said in surprise.

“Now, who do I have to see about the crystal?” Mathew asked, letting the fire die. The children’s expressions had changed to respect and awe at his capabilities.

“Wait here, I’ll go get her.” The teen who had challenged him said, quickly running up the steps and inside the building. As soon as he was gone, the children bombarded him with questions. He tried to answer them as best he could.

“No, I’m from a place called New York.”

“Yes, I can do other things, and no, I’m not going to show you what.”

“I’m twenty-seven! Why would you think I’m hundreds of years old!?”

The questions kept coming, and once the teen from before returned, this time with an older woman in tow, he was relieved to see them.

The older woman was wearing a sweater and long skirt, both in muted greys and browns. She had white hair, but her face lacked wrinkles. Her hair made her look older than she was.

“He’s the Champion.” The teen said dismissively, gesturing to Mathew.

“I could guess that, Garrick. Take the others and go.” The woman said, letting out a sigh at the comment and waving them all away. Before Mathew could speak, the woman continued.

“You want the Crystal.” She stated, and Mathew knew it wasn’t a question.

“I’m going to save us all a lot of time. If you want it, you’re going to have to do something for us first.” The woman said.

“Alright, what do you want?”

“Look around you. The City pays us a pittance for our sacrifice. Enough to survive on but not enough to thrive. We want our fair share. The Mayor and his ilk think that we’re just chattel to be used as they see fit. If you want the crystal, we want our fair share of the rewards.” She stated.

“I’m not sure I can do that. I don’t have much say on how things get distributed.” Mathew replied, only for his wristband to vibrate. Burning words appeared above the silver bangle.

Offer the House of the Destitute their desired share of the Rituals bounty?

Yes / No

Note: You will receive no Aether bonus for clearing the Floor if you accept this deal.

Mathew stared at the words for a moment before lowering his wrist and looking at the woman. He took a deep breath, slowly exhaling.

“I want to help you. I truly do. But I’ll be honest with you: if I give you what you want, it’s going to make things much harder for me in the future. If I agree to give you your part, what’s in it for me?” Mathew asked, cringing slightly on the inside as he said it.

He felt like he was standing in front of a charity, demanding they pay him their fair share when people were starving all around him. He felt awful, but he didn't know if he could succeed without Aether and the levels and Blessings it provided. He needed to go further up the tower to find Emily and ensure she was safe.

And a small part of him also wanted to reach the top for himself.

The woman stared at him for a moment, judging him, before nodding.

“Give us our fair share, and I’m sure the gods will respond to your kindness.” She said, and his wristband vibrated again.

(Modified) Offer the House of the Destitute their desired share of the Rituals bounty?

Yes / No

Note: You will receive no Aether bonus for clearing the Floor if you accept this deal, but your following Discipline selection will change to reflect your actions.