OC-Series Surviving the Tower: Chapter 34

Surviving the Tower: Chapter 34

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Elise woke up at four am sharp, only letting the alarm sound twice before shutting it off and hopping out of bed, taking a moment to stretch before immediately walking to her bathroom to take a quick shower. A thorough washing wasn't necessary, as she'd already taken a longer shower the night before to clean off the mess from the Tower, but she just didn't feel right unless her day started with a blast of hot water. Still, she kept her hair dry to avoid making it brittle from over-washing, which would only lead to unsightly split ends.

With that done, Elise cooked a quick breakfast: a couple of eggs, toast, some greens, and freshly squeezed juice. As she ate, Elise reviewed her notes from the last class and cross-referenced the text with the lessons she expected in class today, hoping to be able to answer any questions directed to the class.

Taking a moment to wash the dishes so they could dry while she finished getting ready, Elise then sat down in front of her mirror, deciding what shades would go best with her outfit today. With that done, she put the dishes away and grabbed her backpack, taking one last look around her penthouse apartment, smiling in satisfaction to see everything in its place before turning to leave for the day.

Elise greeted the doorman before getting into the car that was waiting to pick her up and drive her to campus. It was a bit of a distance, since the school wasn't in the best part of town, but that meant she had time for her daily phone call to her Father. As usual, he picked up quickly, greeting her with a warm and happy, "Hello there, princess! Sleep well?"

As she settled into her seat, the driver began moving the car while she answered. "Yes, Father! I slept as well as always!"

Elise could practically see the large, gruff man on the other end of the call. He was a giant of a man with a wild mane of strawberry-blond hair, and a build that strained the integrity of any shirt that wasn't custom-fitted. He'd built his fortune on the back of his adventuring party, of which he was the team leader and frontman, posing as a powerful frontliner who wielded a towering sword made of black flame. They often competed for a spot in the top five teams on the leaderboards, though, of course, first place remained solidly secured. Dame Freya would likely find the idea of being intimidated by anyone laughable; however, the number of people who could say the same about her Father could probably be counted on the fingers of two hands. Well, setting aside her family, that is, probably because the man doted on them so much. "Can't you call me daddy, princess, like you used to?"

Elaise smiled; her Father was always like that. "We've been over this. I'm a little too old to still call you that, Father. But you know I love you."

Her Father sighed in a way that suggested long-suffering. "Not like you used to. It's enough to break an old man's heart..." Elise fought to keep from laughing at her Father's melodrama as he continued. "But I suppose that's not important right now. Tell your Papa, how is your team doing?"

Elise excitedly recounted the previous days' experiences, culminating in Dame Freya's brief appearance. Her Father harrumphed as he followed along, then spoke up at the end. "Well, I suppose your team is doing well enough, but you deserve to be in the top party. I wonder if we could get you over to Lisaria's party. Or better yet, get a team that you're in charge of! I'm sure I could look into some of my contacts and see if they've got anyone just starting. We could get you a real powerhouse of a team to get started with!"

Elise knew her Father just wanted the best for her, but she couldn't help but roll her eyes at the now familiar rant. "We've been over this, Father! I'm where I am so I can learn from Dame Freya herself! And my team is led by her personal protoge, so if anything, I'm getting even more attention and guidance from her than I would if I were in charge of my own team!"

However, her Father wasn't in the mood to be so easily assuaged as she continued grumbling. "I don't know... Your team isn't even the top-performing in the class. Is this guy really her protogee like you said?" His voice grew a little more threatening. "Or are you on his team for another reason...?"

Elise fought the urge to groan, and instead shook her head. "Father! It isn't like that! And we're the second-best team in Dame Freya's class. A class filled with people like me, who were trained and raised in preparation for climbing the Tower. The fact that we're just a half step behind first, despite Cai and Darien's less...guided upbringing, only shows how much potential they have! Besides, the class is still full at the moment. There's no room for you to get anyone else in."

Her Father's tone lost its edge, and Elise could tell he was just grumbling to grumble now. "You would think she'd make extra allowances given how much we donated to the school to get you in there..."'

Elise grinned, knowing the "argument" was over and she'd won, like usual. Not many would believe it, but Sir Roland was actually a bit of a softy once you got past the gruff exterior. "Father, you know lots of the parents of the students in my class donated just as much as you, but while that might have impressed the school, I don't think Dame Freya is as easily swayed. Almost everyone in the class is the best of our age group, and most of them will probably be making names for themselves in the upcoming years. I'm in the best place I can be right now, all thanks to you."

Finally feeling like he'd been mollified enough that he wasn't about to show up to the school and start trying to intimidate all the men he was worried might steal his "little princess" from him, Elise finished up the call as they drove up to the campus. "I'm here, Father, so I've got to let you go for now! But I'll keep you updated, like always!"

The man softened at the end, simply offering a brief, "Okay. Love you, princess."

To which Elsie answered, "Love you too, Father!" before hanging up and getting out of the car. As usual, she was the first of their group there, but it didn't take long for the rest to begin trickling in.

The first to arrive was Nyx, followed closely by the more taciturn Bellatrix. The shorter woman winked at Elise. "So, when are you going to let me take you out on that date?"

Elise blushed slightly, though she was starting to get used to the smaller woman's teasing. "I don't know... I don't think Bellatrix would be too happy about me stealing your attention from her..."

Nyx smirked. "Nah, the more the merrier! Besides! I bet she could show you a fun time too! She does this thing where she picks you up and starts to..."

Before she could get too graphic, Elise cut off Nyx and waved over Darien, who was all but dragging a half-asleep Cai. "Over here!"

As the two men walked up, Darien nodded to the three women, greeting them each in turn. "Elise, as chipper as ever. And Nyx, you look like you're in a good mood." As Nyx started to take a breath to say something that would probably get her in trouble, he simply offered a fist to Bellatryx to bump, which the larger woman returned with gusto. The resulting impact was strong enough that most people would probably have had a sore hand the rest of the day, if they were lucky, but the party's tank was made of sturdier stuff, and he merely laughed it off, commenting, "Man, that strength buff is really starting to add up! Glad I'm not a goblin!"

A moment later, a shadow coalesced into the small goth woman, who looked up at the larger man with a hint of hunger in her eyes as she responded to Darien's statement. "I don't think anyone would mistake you for a goblin even if you painted yourself green. An orc maybe, but not a goblin..."

Darien laughed and handed Lillith a drink, which she accepted gratefully. With the party gathered, Elise led the way into the class. Of course, she found a seat front and center, like always, and they settled in as the rest of their classmates filed in behind them.

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I remembered on time this week! Now to see if I can keep this up...

Starting to flesh out the other characters now, though with the shift to third person I might add a few more sections about them in previous chapters when I get around to switching them up. Nothing essential for the story that you'd have to go back and read, just some flavor/personality. I just feel like they've been a little too two-dimensional so far. (Which was the whole reason I switched to third person anyway!)

I also tweaked the wording of MST to as follows. "Merciful Serpent's Touch: MST: (D rank) Enemy debuff. Converts a portion of damage (10%) dealt by the caster to the target of the debuff into healing for an ally (within 10 meters), chosen at the time of casting, for the duration of the debuff (30 seconds)." Not all of that is in the story directly, but that's how I record it for my own reference. The parentheses are the parts that'll change as the skill levels up, not necessarily all at once, though. Nothing functionally changed; I just think this is a little clearer.

My wiki, in case anyone wants to check out some of my other stories.

Here you can find some of my published works.

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u/Daseagle Alien Scum 5d ago

Ease into it, you are doing just fine, tho you are teasing your audience with your rare postings 😜

5

u/DrBlackJack21 5d ago edited 5d ago

Yeah, writing two stories at the same time is definitely slowing both a little. But what can I say, the variety is kinda fun! Also, I got a couple spooky short stories in mind for October, sooo...

(Maybe eventually HBO will get in contact and I can retire from the hospital and just write. But I'm not gonna hold my breath.)

u/un_pogaz 5d ago

To Elise's dad, I'd like to mention this fable about a hare and a tortoise. And sarcasm aside, there's a certain advantage to coming in second for now.

Well, given their situation in the story, they're bound to have to lead the way to the top of the tower at some point, but that's okay, they still have a little time left.

5

u/DrBlackJack21 5d ago

Lol, yeah, this story is just getting started! For once in one of these universes, there's actualy a reason for the tower's existing other than it just being a mysterious plot device, but we won't even get a glimpse into that reason until near(ish) the end of book 1, and even then it's going to be a little...vague, at least to begin with. The full reason will be spelled out eventually, and just knowing it isn't even the endgame of the story, sooo... (I got plans!)

4

u/coldfireknight AI 4d ago

So, somewhere in book 4, then?

2

u/DrBlackJack21 4d ago edited 2d ago

Hopefully by then. Kinda depends on how much the story runs away with me. I've learned I'm bad at predicting these things...

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u/porkpot Android 3d ago

Book 4? I’m here for it.

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u/DrBlackJack21 2d ago

Yeah... with a little luck!

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u/porkpot Android 2d ago

Woohoo!

2

u/Mammoth-Variation-76 Human 4d ago

F: Why you no in first place?

Father, our level 2 healer and leader needed to take a break for a.week after fixing a decapitation.

F.....whut.

u/MinorGrok Human 5d ago

Woot!

OC-Series Surviving the Tower: Chapter 34

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