"Quit moving so much, Worthy! You're going to offset the rib! Then, it'll be real pain."
Esme hated healing the injuries of conscious people. Worthy had just had his rib cage damaged, so it made sense that he could not hold himself steady.
That understanding didn't make this situation any less irritating.
"Sorry, I… thought it was a good chance to hit him good." In an ideal universe, Worthy would've gone in and dealt a strong blow to the man's stomach that'd have made him falter.
That kind of universe didn't exist, as far as he was concerned.
The cowboy had left out bait for him to take, and he candidly bit it.
Esme showed a gentle smile. "Don't lose sleep over it. Honestly, you did better than I thought you'd do — for whatever that's worth. Today and yesterday. It's pretty impressive."
Cross hadn't stuck around after the fight, so he didn't give any feedback to Worthy. There'd be nothing different than what he'd said yesterday, though.
They all said the same thing, commenting about how Worthy exceeded their low expectations. It was a spectacle, one they'd gossip about to fill the void that'd opened before his arrival.
Somehow, though, he was stuck playing the role of Walkyr's sparring partner.
He didn't complain much. Fighting someone with so much experience was good for him. Learning to fight by fighting was a principle of growth. If only his opponent wasn't a hazard to his well-being, it'd be an occurrence he looks forward to.
'Oh, who am I kidding? This is honestly pretty beneficial. Cross will probably never train me again, unless I get Esme to poke fun at him again.' The provocation of Esme wasn't something he accounted for when explaining his theory to her, but it was a welcomed outcome.
Without it, he'd have certainly gone into the fight blind and would've no doubt bored the gunslinger to death. That's when the real dangers emerged.
"Still, you should be careful who you end up making your enemy. In this place, connections are key. I realized it pretty quickly, which is partly why I decided to become a medic here."
The unspoken reason, which Worthy knew well, was because Esme wanted to have a shield against Haul in case the woman was vengeful for her son's debts. Albeit, the woman probably didn't care about the underworld anymore than she did her child she left to tend to it before jumping into the tower.
Worthy smiled. "Thanks. I think I'll be more careful about who I quarrel with from now on."
"With that said, I don't think he's my enemy."
Curiosity was coating Esme's expression. "The guy broke your hand and your ribs. I don't know if you'd call him a friend."
She was right. Friends wouldn't go as far as breaking the limbs of their companions. There was a lapse in that thinking process that Worthy only thought of recently.
"True. But, in this place… I think it's safer to assume someone is your enemy or your friend, rather than something in between. Indifference will get you killed, right?"
Esme went quiet, momentarily. She considered his answer to her question. Then, eventually, just smacked him in the back of his head. "No, that way of thinking is stupid. Keep thinking like a kid and leave that complicated thinking to the adults."
In truth, she didn't agree entirely.
Considering someone your friend simply because they were not yet your enemy was immature thinking. Betrayal did not come from your enemies, thus it was welcoming your back to anyone with open arms.
Worthy may not have thought the same as her, but that didn't mean the principles changed. If anything, they were reinforced more. Ignorance did not excuse you of consequence in law. The laws of the world were not kind to those who were foolish.
Still, she didn't disagree with the prospect of Walkyr not being the child's enemy. The reason being, the man couldn't stop smiling. Of course, he could simply be a deranged lunatic who likes beating children — she hadn't weighed that option out — but that didn't seem to fit him currently.
It was only after this did she realize the mistake of slapping a child who'd just had his ribs cracked in the back of the head.
"A—Ah. Shoot. Hey, wake up!"
>>><<<
Esme and Worthy were seated at a table some time later, food laid out on plates in front of them. They were in a section of the sanctuary that resembled a restaurant — or what Worthy would've called a cafeteria, if not for his vague understanding of school.
The boy had never gone to school before, but his little sister dreamed of it. When he finished the climb, he'd make that dream a reality.
But, that was neither here nor there now.
Now, the child was focused on a delectable dish of pancakes he'd scarfed down. The sanctuary, truthfully, was like a machine. People had Rewards tailored specifically to their post. Cooks had abilities that could bring food into existence through various sources and sometimes through nothing.
Meanwhile, there were others with abilities that could effectively keep the place clean and fresh. Worthy hadn't thought about it, but a place with hundreds of people underground should've been bound to have a profound odor. Certainly when everyone here was coming from the carnage outside, which carried a repulsive scent of its own.
Needless to say, the food that the cooks provided here was a delicacy. Sort of like he imagined the various drinks those manning the bar created were.
"This. This is what I'm climbing the tower for, Ms. Esme." Leaning back with a pleasant smile, Worthy placed a hand on his stomach. It'd been so long since he'd eaten something this good that his body just couldn't adjust.
Ever since coming here, it felt like the things that'd been missing in his life were falling into his hands.
Food.
A hot shower.
A comfortable bed and warm sheets.
One could easily get comfortable here, forgetting the reality of the world outside the safe haven. Someone could live the rest of their life down here without even trying to climb higher. It was a real town, almost. An underground town for the lost.
Esme had just finished her own dish, her face now resting in her palm. "Yeah? I can imagine. You're from Malas Town. Rumors say most of your town is full of cannibals."
"Hm…" He contemplated, but eventually replied, "I guess it is. There's a district underneath the city, an old mine. Cannibals lay underground, just like us here now, and come out at night and try to drag anyone who gets too close into their section. Once you're dragged down there, you're as good as dead."
Worthy was lucky enough to avoid being dragged away by those cannibals. But, that didn't mean he was safe just from trying to stay away. Humans were desperate creatures who'd do anything to survive, even if it meant putting themselves in danger.
"Sometimes, they'd come deep into the town and drag people away. Thankfully, the one thing everyone agreed upon is that being eaten alive was worse than starving to death in those slums. So, people worked together to drive the cannibals away."
To Esme, that was a chilling thought. Not just because the people living in the slums of the town were fighting against cannibals, but also because the town was so close to the tower that any of those cannibals could be here right now.
"Woah… You really have my condolences, kid. If I were you, I think I would've kil—" Something cut Esme off.
It was the arrival of a man putting something down on the table in front of them.
"Ms. Esme." An older gentleman stood there suddenly, a bit too tense for someone talking to a woman who was probably a decade or two younger than him. Worthy recognized him, but did not know his name.
"Mr. Hiel." Ah, so that was the older fellow's name. "What can I do for you?" Worthy saw Esme put on her best smile when she asked.
"Ah… I was wondering if you'd… I wanted to see if you would…" The awkward man struggled to find words.
During his difficulty in finding speech, Worthy studied his appearance. He was quite handsome, admittedly. Handsome in the way middle-aged men were.
"Would you… like to talk some time?"
Worthy felt like the man had just missed a shot at a dart board. He stifled a laugh.
Esme raised a finger from her face, regarding him with confusion. "Are we not already talking?"
Now, the young man was swinging his feet beneath the table, trying his hardest not to burst into a fit of laughter. Instead, he held a hand to his mouth and looked away, allowing the two to continue their conversation.
"W—Well… Yes, yes. We are talking, but… I'd like to talk more personally. M—Maybe get to know you better."
Esme blinked a few times before she answered. Obviously, this wasn't the first time the man had tried this, but it was his first time being so direct. In the last few days since her arrival, he'd made several attempts to get close to her. "Mr. Hiel, I appreciate your interest, but… I won't be here much longer. Once War Reaver wakes up, I'll be joining him on his climb. How long have you been on this floor, Mr. Hiel?"
Hiel looked baffled by the inquiry. In truth, he hadn't kept count of how many days had passed. Many of the veterans on the floor didn't.
"Erm… Seven years, I believe. Time is very funny here, you see." Awkwardly, the man laughed. Not that it was a laughing matter to be stuck here for this long.
Clicking her tongue, Esme nods in understanding.
"I don't plan to stay here for half that. No, I don't think I could tolerate idling in this place for more than a month. I can't say why you entered, but I came here because there was no other option. The more I climb, the better off I'll be when I eventually either have no choice but to leave, or decide it's worth one final gamble."
It was a polite way of turning the man down. He didn't have the ambition that Esme liked in a man, nor did she have the intention of entering a relationship with someone on this floor. It felt wrong. Beyond the walls of the Devil's Den, only blood and gore resided.
Esme didn't understand how anyone could stomach waking up and realizing their backyard looked like the intestines of a carnivorous beast, one whose stomach acid was absorbed by the flesh it was made to consume. The Second Floor was claimed to be more tolerable than this wasteland, even though it was a city of frozen ruin. At least there, a semblance of normalcy could be discovered.
Here, in this pit of despair and bloodshed, there was no normalcy to be found outside of these sanctuaries. Even then, they are not fully normal either.
The halls extended impossibly and the existence of the stronghold itself was unnatural, kept deep within a mass of meat in a way that should not have been possible. The way that oxygen is provided in a space that should've been depleted from it long ago had not slipped her notice either.
In short, unlike this man who'd grown complacent and accepting of the impossibility of his circumstances, Esme was not content staying here.
Her reason for entering was self preservation, but she could hardly claim to be a survivor while waiting in this death trap.
What if the hidden mechanisms of this sanctuary cease to function, leaving the inhabitants without air?
What if one of the Climbers with an essential Reward died or decided to leave, going out to try and climb higher?
There were too many impossibilities. It was a tempting offer, it was very tempting in fact. The prospect of remaining in what appeared to be the perfect sanctuary had made her wonder if humans truly designed this place as they said.
Although she told Worthy that this place was designed by one of the Five Craftsmen, she doubted that it was all solely their handiwork. If it were, she doubted that they were a mere human like the rest of the Climbers. There were five of them, and an unknown number of sanctuaries spread throughout the entirety of the First Floor.
The status of all of them cannot be known, but she doubted that five men had explored the entirety of the First Floor and built sanctuaries for humans undisturbed… At times, it looked like the tower itself was attempting to construct structures of its own, such as the building where she'd met Worthy.
"In short, Mr. Hiel… I'm sorry. I don't think I can take you up on your offer. Unless you decide you want to climb higher, it's better if we don't speak more than we need to."
That was enough to deflate the man's confidence in continuing further.
Hiel lifted a hand and waved farewell to them, departing with a bittersweet smile. Clearly, he was embarrassed and disappointed. Still, it was good that he didn't have to continue pursuing a hopeless situation.
Worthy studied Esme's expression. She looked unbothered, which she was. "So… you've found yourself with a selection of suitors?"
Esme directed her eyes to the side, sighing. "Finish eating your food and just keep acting like a kid, Worthy. That'll be you some day if you're not careful."
Worthy chuckled and went back to eating.
'Wait… the part about being here for years, or trying to hopelessly flirt with a girl?'