Awakener's Guide to Climbing the Tower

Arrows fell from the battlements in black waves. They struck shields, shoulders, and throats. Goblins dropped beneath the feet of those behind them, only to disappear under the next line as the army continued pressing toward the wall.

A canon roared from the eastern tower.

BOOM!

The stone beneath Misha’s boots shook. Smoke rolled across the battlement, thick enough to sting her eyes, and a second later the shell struck the clearing.

KRA-BOOM!

Goblin bodies flew into the air.

Captain Reinhardt paced behind the archers with his sword raised, his cloak snapping in the wind. "Second line, loose! Oil teams, hold until they reach the trench! Do not waste it!"

「 Skill in Effect: Weapon Mastery」

Misha drew an arrow, the bowstring settled against her cheek.

「 Hand stability increased. Tremors suppressed. 」

「 Mental focus sharpened. 」

She released. The arrow slipped through a gap between two shields and buried itself beneath a goblin’s jaw.

「 You have killed a Goblin!

EXP +3 」

The loosed another arrow.

「 You have killed a Goblin!

EXP +3 」

The timer hovered above the battlefield.

「Time Remaining: 00:26:41」

It had started the moment the first goblin reached the base of the wall.

Clang!

A hooked ladder struck the battlement several places away.

Soldiers rushed toward it, hacking at the ropes while goblins climbed from below.

On another hooked ladder, one reached the top and caught a defender by the wrist.

Misha turned, her arrow struck the goblin through the eye. Its grip loosened, and the soldier kicked it from the wall before another could take its place.

"Left tower!" Reinhardt’s voice cut through the smoke. "They’re shifting archers west!"

Misha nocked another arrow and looked toward the western tree line.

The Hobgoblin Commanders remained near the rear, just beyond the clearing. They had not joined the charge, not yet.

One pointed toward the wall. The goblin archers changed formation.

Misha lifted her bow, then stopped as she noticed something. There should have been someone beside her.

Hiiro had occupied the space near the ammunition crate, complaining every few shots that he was given a bow with terrible handling. Astrid stood two paces beyond him, firing between the gaps in the crenellations.

Both positions were empty. Only the abandoned quiver remained.

Misha lowered her bow, her gaze moved across the battlement. There was no Hiiro and no Astrid in sight.

A cold pressure settled beneath her chest.

"Caius!"

He stood farther from her, purple mana burning around the head of his staff-spear. He swept the weapon sideways, lighting tore through three goblins climbing the same ladder. Their bodies locked, smoked, then fell backward into the creatures below.

Caius turned toward her.

Misha shoved past an archer carrying fresh arrows. "Where are Hiiro and Astrid?!"

His eyes moved toward the places they had occupied and paused.

Caius scanned the wall, then the courtyard below. His jaw tightened when he found neither of them. He had not noticed either until something caught his attention.

A flash of black moved above the western trees.

Misha followed his gaze and saw it as well.

The flying carpet skimmed beneath the canopy far beyond the wall, barely visible between branches. One figure sat near the front with both hands on the tassels. Another crouched behind him, firing toward the goblin rear.

"That dumbass boy..." Misha’s teeth pressed together hard enough to hurt.

Hiiro had gone anyway.

After everything she said, he had waited until the battle became loud enough to hide his departure and slipped from the wall.

Astrid had gone with him. Misha almost found that worse. That girl was supposed to possess the judgement Hiiro lacked.

BOOM!

Another cannon fired.

The blast swallowed the carpet from view for several seconds.

Misha stepped onto the edge of the battlement before the smoke cleared. Goblins filled the ground below. Their bodies packed the trenches, and more poured from the forest behind them.

There was no route through, not without spending too much time and blood cutting one open.

She clenched her fist. "They’re going to get themselves killed..."

Caius planted the base of his weapon against the stone. Purple mana spread from the point of contact in thin branching lines. It crawled beneath his booths.

He held out his free hand. "Then we go to them."

Misha looked down at his palm.

Only that morning, she had accused him of lying to her face. She still did not trust him but still, that can wait.

She caught Caius’ hand and his fingers closed around hers.

The purple lines beneath their boots flared.

Krrrshh!

The battlement disappeared.

===

Two and a half minutes ago, Astrid had seen Hiiro leave because he possessed none of the skills required to sneak properly.

He had crouched while crossing the courtyard. The rolled carpet struck above his shoulder like a black flag.

When a soldier looked toward him, Hiiro had stopped moving entirely.

After an uncomfortable second, the man continued carrying his bundle of arrows toward the wall.

Hiiro waited until he was gone, then nodded to himself as if his technique had worked perfectly.

Astrid had watched from the stone stairs until he reached the western platform. Then she followed.

By the time she stepped onto the platform, he had already unrolled it across the ground and pressed both hands against the silver embroidery.

She stepped onto the rear just as the carpet lifted.

Fwump.

It dropped again beneath her weight.

Hiiro lurched forward and caught himself on both palms. His teeth clicked together hard enough to make him wince. Then he twisted around and saw her. "What are you doing here?"

Astrid sat with one knee raised and drew her sidearm. "Preventing you from becoming a corpse."

"I wasn’t going to become a corpse." He pouted.

"You were sneaking away alone."

"I was repositioning."

Her eyes moved toward the battlement above them. Misha remained on the wall, bow raised toward the approaching army and Caius stood several paces away. Neither had noticed them yet.

Astrid looked back at Hiiro. "We can still wait."

The carpet rose over the edge of the western platform.

Hiiro leaned forward, guiding it down along the outside of the wall. "We’re already committed."

"We have moved three meters."

An arrow struck the stone above them.

Fragments scattered across Astrid’s shoulder.

She lifted her firearm. Mana flowed from her palm into the grip. The engraved channels along the weapon flashed blue, a bead of compressed mana formed inside the open chamber. Then she pulled the trigger.

Kshing!

The mana bullet tore across the clearing and struck a goblin archer through the shoulder.

Ice burst from the point of impact, frost crawled over the creature’s arm and locked it to the bow before the force threw it backward.

Hiiro glanced over his shoulder. "Nice shot."

"Turn around, Hiiro."

He ignored her words and faced forward, his eyes widened upon seeing a trunk fill his vision.

He yanked the right tassel. The carpet banked so sharply that Astrid’s knee slid across the fabric. The back corner clipped the tree, sending leaves and pieces of bark spinning behind them.

Astrid caught the carpet’s edge with one hand. "You cannot steer!"

"I avoided most of it though."

"That is not how avoiding works!"

"The important parts of us survived."

The carpet slipped beneath the canopy.

Branches whipped past them. Ferns brushed the underside whenever Hiiro flew too low, then vanished when he overcorrected and sent them climbing toward the leaves again.

Astrid kept one hand braced against the carpet. "Hiiro, we can still turn back."

Hiiro ducked beneath a branch. "No."

"You have no reason to refuse."

"I have several. First and foremost, the plan is good."

She sighed heavily. "You were told not to use it."

Hiiro’s mouth tightened. "That sounds like an adult word for ’I don’t want you doing something useful.’"

Astrid fired past him.

Kshing!

An ice bullet struck a goblin scout in the knee. The creature fell with a shriek, frost locking its leg against the ground.

"Misha’s not entirely wrong though," she said, lowering the weapon. "She just wants us safe."

He remained silent this time.

A group of goblins crossed ahead.

Hiiro pulled both tassels and the carpet shot upward. Astrid braced one foot against the edge, firing downward.

Two goblins dropped. A third raised its bow but the carpet had already disappeared into the branches.

Hiiro’s laugh carried through the trees.

"You’re enjoying this too much."

"We’re expecting a high-risk flank behind an enemy army on a flying carpet." His grin widened. "This is objectively cool."

She could only heave out a sigh. "Seriously..."

Hiiro pushed the carpet faster. The wind dragged at his coat and tossed his hair into his eyes. He shook it back, missing another branch by less than an arm’s length.

Astrid’s hand closed around the rear tassel. "We can still–"

"Still no."

The carpet slowed behind a rise.

Through the trees ahead, the rear of the goblin formations came into view.

Six Hobgoblin Commanders stood among a cluster of archers and mounted Chieftains. Smaller goblins carried replacement weapons between them while two Wargs paced in restless circles.

Hiiro lowered the carpet behind a rocky rise, its silver tassels barely touched the grass.

Astrid crouched, the sidearm held close to her body.

The nearest Commander turned slightly.

Both of them froze when its gaze passed over their hiding spot and returned to the battlefield.

Hiiro slowly released the breath trapped in his chest.

Astrid reached past him and caught both tassels before they floated out from behind the rocks. She leaned close enough that she did not need to raise her voice. "Now what?"

He glanced back, their faces inches close. "What?"

"You brought us here." She pointed toward the six Commanders with the barrel of her sidearm. "How do you plan on distracting them?"

Hiiro studied the goblins, then the carpet, then the ground beneath them.

Astrid followed the order of his attention and understood a second too late. "No."

Hiiro shifted his feet beneath him.

Her eyes narrowed. "Hiiro, I’m warning you."

"I pull aggro. You clear the adds and pressure the backline. Once the boss units commit, we kite east, reset their positioning, then burst whichever one overextends."

Astrid stared at him.

Several seconds passed and the wind moved through the leaves above them.

"What?"

Hiiro blinked. "Which part?"

"All of it."

Hiiro opened his mouth, then apparently, remembered how long his previous explanations had taken. He stood and grinned at her. "You’ll figure it out from context."

Then he jumped.

Astrid reached for the back of his coat, her fingers missed by an inch. "Hiiro!"

He dropped through the branches, leaves exploded around him. Then he caught one limb with both hands, swung beneath it, then released. His body twisted once before his boots struck the forest floor.

Thud!

Three nearby goblins snapped toward him.

Hiiro rose from his crouch and rolled one shoulder as the grin on his face widened.

"Okay." He lifted both fists. "Let’s sequence-break this encounter."

"..." Astrid pressed two fingers to the space between her brows.

The nearest goblin charged, its hooked blade swept toward his neck.

Hiiro stepped forward, not back. He slipped beneath the blade, one hand guiding the goblin’s wrist past his shoulder. His palm struck beneath its ribs.

Before the creature could fold, Hiiro drove a knee into its chest.

The goblin lifted from the ground. Hiiro caught its belt, turned with the momentum, and hurled it into the second attacker.

Bam!

Both bodies struck a tree.

The third goblin thrust its spear. Hiiro twisted aside. The blade skimmed his uniform.

He trapped the shaft beneath one arm, pulled the creature off balance, then stepped inside its reach.

Elbow.

Thwack!

Palm.

Thump!

Each strike landed before the goblin recovered from the one before it. Its head snapped left, chest collapsed inward, then legs flew out from beneath it.

Hiiro released the spear which made the goblin strike the ground.

Two more came from his right and left. He shifted between them so quickly that one struck the other.

Clang!

He ducked beneath the crossed weapons, drove both fists into their stomachs, then sprang upward.

Both creatures crashed backward.

More nearby yellow eyes had begun looking his way.

Hiiro spread his arms. "Yes, that’s right." His voice rose over the fighting. "Aggro secured."

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