The sunlight was almost blinding. Jace laid on the Port for a while, spreading his arms like he had never breathed clearer air than that metallic madness. The blue skies had looked like it came directly from his dreams as he finally kept his fluttering eyes still.
With his body practically melting into the crystal pedestal, he opened his Soul.
[Name: Jace]
[Rank: Climber]
[Level: 13]
[HP: 96/130]
[MP: 20/20]
[STR: 5]
[END: 2]
[AGL: 6 + 3]
[INT: 0]
[WIS: 0]
[Skills: (Wide Slash - Lv. 1), (Strike - Lv. 1)]
[Blessings: (Blessing of Starch - Lv. 1)]
[Curses: (Curse of Unbridled - Lv. 1)]
[Relics: (Ring of Haste)]
He stared at the strange expansion to his Soul. Now that his memory felt whole, he remembered the Soul echoed about a Curse.
Immediately, he curled up and magnified along the lines of the (Curse of Unbridled).
[Curse: Curse of Unbridled - Lv. 1]
[Type: Active]
[MP: 0]
[Description: Uncontrolled, unrestrained, there is no force capable of limiting you.]
He felt his stomach drop.
'I…have a Curse? That damned crimson slime was a Curse?'
Curses are meant to ruin a Climber's Soul and in compensation, they are given new unique powers that are unordinary to anyone else.
But Jace had never sought for Curse, not even in any future expeditions because of their terrible drawback.
And knowing the cruelty of the Tower, all of them were bound to be unforgivable.
He desperately patted around his body, checking for any strange transfigurations done by the Curse. To his surprise, there were no additional body parts or any loss to his five senses.
Because the Curse was an Active. It would not take effect until he wills it, just like any of his other Active Skills.
'Thank goodness. A new finger would have been a joke gone too far—neither does that mean I'm giving the Tower any suggestions.'
Instead of dwelling into the future consequences of the Curse, Jace decided to turn his attention around him, taking in the view of Sun Valley.
The eleventh Floor was another Safeworld, with warm light and another peaceful community of humans, living along the folding valleys that stretched beyond their eyes. In the valleys were dense, tall, green forests which were only blinded by their mass color and distant fog.
Though the Port Town had taken the majority of the meadow space between the valleys.
There were brick buildings with asphalt roofs rising high in elevation, stacked close together as if they looked to grow upward in an incline, and countless flights of steps flooded in any direction, providing pavement for the residents to traverse easily throughout the steep town.
Jace stood from the crystal pedestal, despite his wobbling legs, and stepped onto the stone path. The area of the Port was empty, so there were no humans to see his humiliating struggle to keep his balance.
'My legs are already killing me…why does it feel like I'm walking for the first time?'
He discarded his thoughts. His priorities came first. The funds that the old man had given him were going to be of greater use.
A new sword, a new set of leather armor, and a cozy inn for a place to stay, preferably somewhere expensive with a lot of room.
With another exhale, and the eagerness of spoiling himself, he wobbled through Sun Valley in another humble beginning.
***
What felt like several hours later, Jace slumped onto his velvet blanket, totally drained from the walking, and stared at the slanted ceiling with the smell of fresh wood. His room was nothing short of luxurious.
Two windows with heavy and dark drapes were framed on his bedside wall, setting a beautiful view of the valleys and the Port Town. He also had a connecting door to his own personal washroom, a separate chest for his belongings, and neat drawers that stood next to his bed. The orphaned boy couldn't have been any more happier.
He had barely spent any of the chrome coins in his pouch. That was the most profitable part of the day.
'I would have never guessed that old man was filthy rich, seriously.'
Jace's new leather armor was properly tailored, which had taken longer than he wanted because of the process of measuring the right length for his body. Though, his bracers and cuirass were nothing different.
The same thing could be said for his new silver sword. He chose not to splurge into any other expensive weapons and resolved in the familiarity with the silver blade. But it was a little disheartening seeing his comfort crowded together in a barrel with its other manufactured replicas.
'I'm not dumb enough to spend all of my money on a sword, sadly, and the chances of finding a Relic in any shop is damn near impossible.'
With his main priorities checked, he walked over to his window and looked over the beautiful view of the Port Town. He had been set back onto his journey.
The journey to strengthen his Soul.
But, to his inevitable surmise, he still had no real authority to ascend the Tower.
Of course, there were Portkeepers in almost every Safeworld, but as he spent his entire stay in the Port Town tending to his needs, he had come across zero Climbers.
That meant there was no ticket for hitching a ride through the Tower. His methods of gaining experience were halted.
He grimaced, slumping back onto his bed again.
'Do…I really have to find that woman? Her name—Agnes, right? Can she really forge me a license?'
Jace had two options. He would become a criminal, ascending the Tower without official authorization, or he could traverse through Gates like the old-fashioned way.
'That's how the First Generation ascended, it shouldn't be any different for me. Find the Gate, pass through, then move onto the next Floor.'
But it was easier said than done. He had no real knowledge of each Floors of the Tower, so finding the Gate would spiral into more problems he admittedly didn't want.
Not to mention the time it would take, compared to ascending the Tower with the convenience of a Port. If he wanted to reach Verdant Maw again through Gates, it would have taken weeks, or months depending on the encounters and unpredictable terrain along the way.
Jace groaned and sat up, reminding himself of how great his life really was at this very second.
He had money, a new sword, new gear, and a spacious room to sleep in. He could last for months if he spent the chrome coins wisely, rationing his pace of meals.
'No…this isn't what I wanted! I didn't come here to live quietly as a human! I have a Soul! I'm trying to strengthen it!'
With his new plan set in motion, he thought to himself:
'I'll find that woman, Agnes, and she'll help me. But…I messed up using the Bypass, wasn't that what the old man told me to give her? Would she take chrome coins? No, I need the money, she can surely take another gift.'
Jace glanced at the small vial of potion sitting atop his drawer next to his bed. Health potions were expensive, he found that out during his trip at the shops, and Port Crystals cost even more.
Would a small potion for Climbers reach the equivalent exchange of a Bypass?
He scratched his head, unsure between the real values of the items.
'It wouldn't hurt to try. The woman sounds nice enough to ask.'
His stomach grumbled amidst his thoughts, snapping him to the gnawing hunger that had stuck with him since his first steps into the Floor.
But before he could spoil himself with a hot feast, he opened his Soul and magnified into his Curse.
[Curse: Curse of Unbridled - Lv. 1]
[Type: Active]
[MP: 0]
[Description: Uncontrolled, unrestrained, there is no force capable of limiting you.]
He read the Curse's description carefully. It didn't sound dangerous, rather, it was far from that. And it required no mana to use. For an Active, that should have been wrong.
'Its…not going to kill me, right? No matter how cruel Curses could be, they had never meant to actually destroy the Climber and their Soul.'
After a few minutes of contemplating, he decided to activate it in the privacy of his room, hoping he wouldn't transform into unimaginable horrors.
'Here goes.'
[Curse Activate: Unbridled]
Instantly, a rush of exhilaration surged through his body, feeling his muscles tense like never before. His breaths accelerated as his arms trembled, by not fear, but the overwhelming strength that was carried behind it.
He wasn't dying like he initially thought. It was the total opposite. Jace had never felt so alive. The feeling could only be described in one word.
It was power. Direct, unfiltered, and raw power that came from his Curse.
With the most reasonable reaction, he opened his Soul.
[Name: Jace]
[Rank: Climber]
[Level: 13]
[HP: 101/(160)]
[MP: 20/20]
[STR: (10)]
[END: (4)]
[AGL: (12) + 3]
[INT: 0]
[WIS: 0]
Jace's eyes widened with utmost shock.