“And you are confident that your ploy is going to work?” Alexey asks from within the next safe chamber on the successive floor. Is it the twenty-sixth, or mayhaps the twenty-seventh by now? “I do not think I need to remind you that we will only get one chance at this. Nor what the consequences for being wrong in your assessment will be.”

I nod. I remember his words from the first expedition Chloe and I had alongside him. About the dangers of assumptions. Spending too much time analyzing and trying to assess and assume that I know everything there is to know about an enemy, just based on observation and intuition. I think most of his rationale could be attributed to his work as a Drill Sergeant shining through in that statement. A way to knock me off my high horse after my successes to that point and remind me that I’m not nearly as hot shit as my ego at the time would have wanted me to believe.

But I also think there’s a lot of truth to his words. Just because I think I know something doesn’t mean I have proof. As per the famous saying commonly attributed to Mark Twain, it ain’t what you don’t know that gets you, but what you know for sure that just ain’t so. And Alexey isn’t wrong. I don’t know beyond a shadow of a doubt that everything I think I know about the Ultimate Weapon is in fact true. And one misstep or errant assumption would mean a quick and probably still painful death.

I grimace. “I don’t know for sure. And saying ‘I think this is right’ or ‘everything is in accordance with the hypotheses I’ve developed to this point’ isn’t going to win any reassurances. But I can’t think of a better plan beyond continuing to run, and I have to assume that everything is leading to a head soon.”

Alexey shakes his head. “Are you familiar with the saying, ‘Discretion is the better part of valor’?”

Chloe nods. “A fairly common saying. It means that we should be cautious and avoid unnecessary risks.”

Alexey nods. “We do have another path. Continue to employ stealth. Continue to learn, remain cautious. I know you are prone to risk taking. I was eighteen once myself; I know how kids like you are, thinking themselves invulnerable. You are not. And with the power you each possess, you need to be thinking about more than just your own lives now.”

“What do you mean?” I ask. “I–”

“You showed me those logs as well,” he continues. “It suggests that in time, the System’s attacks are only going to get stronger. More City Slayers.” He pauses for a moment, a rare display of emotion overcoming him. “My hometown was wiped out by the attacks weeks ago. I do not know if my elderly mother survived, but I am not hopeful. But because of our efforts, your hometown was spared that calamity.”

He continues, not giving me an opportunity to retort. “Ms. Reed has mentioned your fondness for the saying ‘not taking a risk is itself, taking a risk’. I cannot disagree with the idea your words carry. Sometimes it is necessary to take a risk in order to secure greater opportunities. Like many, I immigrated to the States many years ago, securing my citizenship after many years of service. And though America has many, many flaws, I do not regret my decision.

“However, Ms. Mortensen, I must stress: your life is not just your own anymore. When I first met you, you were a gruff kid from a rough neighborhood with something to prove and a chip on her shoulder toward society as a whole. I can respect that, having seen many of its hellish and gruesome facets myself. If you hate society, hate the government, hate the police and the military and the law and all the other institutions of this country, that is your right. But, I know from everything that you have done to this point, that you harbor a deep compassion for your fellow man and woman. So please, remember, when you wager your own life in your quest for greater power, it’s not just your own life you’re wagering that way.”

I nod in understanding of his words, even though I really don’t like the implication. Never before has society sacrificed itself for my sake. Never have those who had so much money and power— with Chloe’s family the notable exception— ever spared money or even a glance toward me and my parents. And they aren’t really obscenely rich by the standards of some.

Worse, the day the System arrived, common thieves or ne’er-do-wells or whoever it was, robbed my family’s home and killed my mother in cold blood, whether for levels or money just to satisfy some sick, sadistic urge. So far as I know, there was never even an attempt to identify and bring her murderer to justice.

And then, knowing all of this, feeling the same things I’ve gone through, he still wants to give me an Uncle Ben speech about how I owe so much to the people who’ve spat on me and mine for so long.

Yet, I can’t dismiss him outright. Because I do want to be better. And obviously, I do want to survive. For Chloe’s sake, if nothing else.

“I–” I hesitate. “I understand,” I finally stutter out after a few seconds, knowing it’s not very convincing.

Chloe takes my right hand in both of hers, cupping it gently. “Love, I know you’re hurting.”

I lower my head, but I smile softly. No way I could hide my emotions from her with our [Angelic Bond]. No… Even without it, I’m sure she could sense the frustration and roiling emotions just beneath my surface. She’s always been good about that sort of thing.

“I am… I don’t want to go back to being powerless again. At others’ mercy.”

“You don’t have to. I would never ask that of you. You don’t owe your life to the service of anyone. But I know how much you want to protect them, too. And it’s kinda hard to do that while dead.”

I chuckle. “Yeah. I suppose it is.”

“So, what is the plan, Alexey? If we’re not going to try to take down the Ultimate Weapon? I do think we should still try to hit Level 64 by the time we reach the top of the Tower. That’s what the Tower itself recommended for completing the dungeon, and as far as I am aware, we’re all ten to fifteen levels away.”

“Redo the lower floors. Or take fights we are reasonably confident against higher up. I do not think the Tower wants us to fight this.”

“And you, Chloe?”

She nods. “I agree with Alexey. Your plan is… a bit too risky, even by your own standards. We can use it if we are truly desperate and have no other alternative, but I think our priority should be avoiding a fight with a monster at Level 159.”

I take a deep breath. “Very well. Having heard from both of you, I suppose it wouldn’t make sense to try to insist on this course of action. I will…” A bit of hesitation creeps into my words. “I will adhere to the advice and decision that we’ve made collectively… even if I fear we’re leaving a potentially gargantuan amount of Experience on the table.”

Chloe gives me The Look.

“I mean it,” I add, looking Chloe in the eyes. “Just like you acquiesced and accepted our decision many floors back, I am doing the same here and now. I’m not sure what else I can say or do to convince you both of the sincerity of my words.”

Chloe narrows her eyes and pulls her lips into the ‘not impressed’ look. However, after a few more seconds— more than enough time to make me sweat— she smiles and gestures toward the entryway.

“After you,” she says.

With a flourish of a deep bow, arm outstretched and everything, I unlock the door and peer through with my Skills. And now we’re outside… No, not outside, although it looks like the surface world below. It’s close— almost indiscernible from the surface world below— grassy fields, blue skies, a few, light puffy clouds, one of which occludes the sun— if not for the tiny imperfections in the mirage. Light that doesn’t reflect off surfaces just right, stones just barely off balance, trees whose leaves sway improperly within the facsimile of the wind, and whose scent is just a bit too oily and mechanical to match the freshness of the real thing. The heat of the sun isn’t blaring as intensely as it should be, instead radiating from the entire sky above.

This is a training simulator, just like the ones Madison and I practiced in.

Bad memories of getting beaten real bad, over and over again. And good memories, spending time with Madison… Just like I have so many good memories of Chloe, both before and after becoming her girlfriend.

No sign of the Ultimate Weapon. We’re still in the space station; it’s still there, somewhere. I can feel that nagging sensation in the back of my mind, alerting me that I’m not safe. Not safe, even by the standards of being in the middle of the Tower Gauntlet with goddesses only know how many floors left until the next time we can leave and see the real outside world again.

For now, though, we have to move forward through the artificial idyll. It’s quiet, yet another reminder of the artificial nature of this space. The leaves do rustle correctly, but it feels like a forest ambience track, right down to the compression artifacts on the MP3. And there’s no birds flapping and cawing overhead, no bugs buzzing around to add to our misery, no critters crawling down on the damp, grassy floor.

“Where to?” Alexey asks.

Not immediately sensing anything, I slowly rise into the air. The simulation world is far bigger than the physical space it occupies thanks to both actual spatial shenanigans and sensory distortions, but it isn’t infinite, and I don’t want to crash into the ceiling unexpectedly.

It takes only a couple of seconds to spot a small dais in the distance. Roughly ziggurat shaped, but only maybe ten feet or so tall and twice that in width. Either it’s mostly underground, or there’s some sort of transportation device on the ceiling. Not really sure which, but it’s the only lead we have as far as I can see within the artificial landscape. And, considering both the Ultimate Weapon and the Tower Warden are threats lurking somewhere else within, there’s no time to dally around and explore the rest of this landscape for the potential of treasure.

“Alexey,” Chloe asks as we jog along at a fairly easy pace. “Is this your first time being in one of these dungeons before?”

“No. I cleared out South County a few days after you did. Set the wrong baseline for what to expect, considering it was cavelike. Like how one would expect an underground dungeon to be.

“There’s also one way up north, about halfway to Kansas City from here, based on the old maps at least. As much as the world has changed, maybe a third of the way at most. Had a mechanical theme. Clockwork, gears grinding all around. The aesthetic was what I think is commonly described as steampunk. Hard to believe such a thing could exist. And now there’s this. Artificial space, a grand satellite, records and logs about this so-called ‘Ultimate Weapon’ and some sort of bioengineering project.

“Before, I thought this was just our new reality. War against monsters, just like how we used to war against other nations and armies. But now? Now I think there’s far more at stake than just monsters attacking major cities every few weeks. And it seems that you two are at the center of so much of it.”