Tower Climber (A LitRPG Adventure, Book 1) Jakob Tanner (reading comprehension books TXT) 📖

and something I used to do a lot more often before I unlocked my profile and trait, and—I don’t know—I wanted to share something close to my heart with you.”

Max blushed.

“Casey, I don’t know what to say,” he said.

“Don’t say anything,” she said. “Keep it in your pouch or on your bedside table. It’s a good luck charm.”

Max smiled. “Well, thanks.”

Sakura and the instructor giggled in the kitchen, lost in their own conversation.

Max figured this might be the best time to continue their ongoing discussion about what to do concerning Samuel Archer.

“We heard him right,” said Max, speaking almost in a whisper. “He mentioned going beyond the wall. He’s doing something in the outer-rim, which as far as I know, is completely illegal. People’s lives could be at risk.”

“What do you think we should do?” said Casey. “Should you tell Sakura?”

Max shook his head. “He’s too powerful. Going to Sakura would be like going through the proper channels, he’s amassed too much respect and status within the climber’s guild for people to start a direct investigation into his affairs. We’re the best people for the job as no one is paying attention to us. Furthermore, if we tell Sakura, she might not let us go and she might even tell other high-ranking climbers and we don’t know who’s on Samuel Archer’s side.”

Casey nodded.

“Whatever we do next though,” said Max. “We’ll have to be very careful. Spying on Samuel Archer has the potential to be more dangerous than anything we’ve yet experienced in the tower so far.”

67

In the build-up to the new year Max and Casey gathered as much information as they could easily and safely acquire.

They shared what they’d each discovered out in the city streets during the new year’s parade.

Casey hadn’t found out much, but Max had investigated routes out of the city and into the outer-rim. Every day, garbage trucks left the tower-zone to deposit garbage in a dump in the outer-rim. More suspicious was that Max saw Samuel Archer talking with one of the city climbers who escorted the dump truck, which led Max to only one conclusion: whatever Samuel was up to it involved climbers entering the outer-rim surreptitiously through the garbage trucks every day.

“That’s crazy,” said Casey. “What do you think he’s planning?”

“I don’t know,” said Max. “But whatever it is, it can’t be good.”

“So what do you think we should do next?”

“We need to figure out a plan to get out into the outer-rim ourselves and follow those dump trucks,” said Max.

Casey paled and let out a long sigh. “We could go to jail for something like that. We could get expelled from the academy. We could lose our chance to take part in the final exam and—I can’t believe I’m the one to say this—we really should be studying and training for that right now, rather than investigating one of the strongest climbers in all of Zestiris.”

“So you’ll make me go out there on my own?”

Casey groaned. “I guess not, plus I’ve never been out there. I’m both scared and excited to potentially see the wondrous world of the outer-rim.”

Max’s memories of the place rushed back to him.

“Trust me,” he said. “You’re not missing much.”

“Okay, but we still haven’t figured out how we’re going to get out.”

“We’re going to figure that out right now,” said Max, walking back through the crowds of people waiting for the new year’s fireworks to go off.

“How are we going to do that minutes before the new years fireworks?”

“I know one person,” Max said, “who I think might be able to help us and I highly doubt she stopped her normal routine for new year’s celebrations.”

They hurried through the streets of the tower-zone as the new year’s fireworks exploded and flashed in the sky above and headed towards the city’s main library.

Casey was surprised when Max pushed the door open and it wasn’t locked.

It was as Max had expected.

The librarian girl was at her desk, pouring over a book as she usually was.

She didn’t take a day off even on December 31st.

“Oh, excuse me, we’re closed,” she said in a half-whisper. “Oh, it’s you.”

She clearly recognized Max and remembered him from when he was inquiring about books on the endless forest last time he was there.

“As I said before, we’re closed, so you really shouldn’t be here,” she said, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “But since you made such interesting inquiries last time you were here, I am curious to know what you’d like.”

Max cut straight to the chase.

“What do you know about the different exits and entrances between the tower-zone and the outer-rim?”

Her eyebrows raised and her eyes widened, shocked by the question.

“Such information is not publicly available,” she said. “But there are old books on the planning and building of Zestiris in the restricted section. As a librarian, I had the privilege to look some of them over. If I were to tell you anything though, I could get my librarian status revoked and, worse, be arrested.”

They were asking a lot of her, Max realized. But without a way to follow Samuel’s henchmen, they’d be leaving the entire city—both zones—at risk.

“Listen,” said Max. “We believe something very dangerous is going on. So we’re going to check it out. Worst case scenario, I’ll personally take the blame for any trouble you get into. Best case scenario, you’ll be commended as a hero of this city.”

The girl’s cheeks blushed.

“Not too many librarian heroes are there?” said Casey.

“No,” said Max. “But there should be.”

The librarian sighed.

“Okay you’ve convinced me,” she said. “What do you want to know?”

68

A few days later, Max and Casey went to Hawker’s Alley to pick up supplies.

The market was less crowded, people still sleeping off their new year’s hangovers even a few days after all the celebrations.

There were even less stalls open, but the one Max was hoping to be open was.

“That’s the one,” he said to Casey as they walked towards it.

The stall was one that sold magical