Headed by a Snake

The stairs were modeled after those of a mundane tower's, incredibly uneven and circling counter-clockwise so attackers had the wall to their right. While not aesthetically pleasing, the defensiveness of the design was laudable.

If the choice was purposeful, the Tower Wizard was a smart man. Tycon did not like to have intelligent men as his enemies.

Wolfrider led the way. Tycon forced him to. The Bronze-Rank Warden was as hardy and resilient as he was, but Tycon was better suited to utilizing his Support skills from a safe position with Sasha.

"Master Lone, how is Mister Levi's halberd ability?" Tycon asked Lone, "Was it effective?"

"Actually, yeah." Lone tilted his head up in thought, "More than a few times, the mimics were distracted by Wolfbanger's weird attacks and they tried to attack him but they couldn't."

Tycon nodded, "It's not a common practice, using a halberd. The fighting styles of the Green Circle Druids prefer bludgeoning weapons like staves and cudgels."

Lone raised an eyebrow, "Huh? Then... why are you having Levi use a halberd instead? Wouldn't it be better for him to fight how he was trained?"

It was a good question.

It was usually best for a combatant to use weapons they were most comfortable with. Swords or axes were likely better for Lone than his wolf-hammers. The dark iron hammers, however, were of higher quality than anything Invictus had come across.

"Wardens forego a shield, unlike Heavy Armor Knights like Leserre. They don't need a free hand for defensive spells, like Swordmage Dragan. With a Warden's thorn-enchantments and Mist-Form Weapon attacks, they remain a threatening presence on the battlefield even without. A hafted weapon only increases that threat."

"Ohhh," Lone nodded in understanding, "That makes a lot of sense... What weapons am I good for, Boss?"

Tycon mulled over the thought, "You are naturally strong and attack quickly, without allowing the enemy respite. A quick barrage of attacks suits you more than the single-sword precision of Mister Wroe's fighting style or Korr's heavy-handed attacks."

"Quick and without letting the enemy react... So like... axes and swords?"

Tycon smirked and nodded, "Excellent judgment. I'm of the same mind."

Tycon sighed before adding, "Admittedly, I was hoping you'd pick up the Fighter Class by now, with all the training you've done... Either your Affinity Rate with the class is low or..."

Or Lone was not suited for combat and would take moons and years of training more to become strong. Any warrior could be trained and will improve over time. In an adventurer's guild, however, the slower learners would quickly be overshadowed by the gifted.

As Guild Invictus routinely utilized a small team instead of squads like Guild Staghorn or whole platoons like the Sea Wolves, if Lone wasn't capable of learning quickly enough, he'd be better suited returning to Nice or Merylsward instead of continuing to travel with him.

"Or what, Boss?" Lone asked.

"No, nevermind." Tycon changed the subject, "Perhaps we should train you in more weapon fighting styles? Weaponmaster is a good class. And it's always good to pick up new skills."

"Yeah. I love picking up new skills. Both Tamaki and Wolfbanger said that I picked up the survival and tracking skills really well," Lone smiled with pride.

Tycon halted his ascent up the steps. Sasha's face abruptly collided with his behind.

The chocolate elf pouted, aggrieved.

Tycon poked her cheek, "I'm sorry, little one."

"What is it, Boss?" Lone asked.

Tycon cursed inwardly for having missed the details. Lone must have had a higher affinity to the Ranger class than to Fighter. Dual-Wielding Rangers were well known for their quick attacks and took easily to forest environments-- it was a perfect class for him.

Tycon punched Lone in the kidney. He twisted his side in surprise to the sudden shock. (Tycon held an arm out so he wouldn't fall down the stairs.) "We're going to train you to be a Ranger."

Lone rubbed his leather-armored side, "Oh, wait, like the elven Rangers from the legends?"

"There's plenty of human rangers, as well," Tycon rolled his eyes. "I don't have the patience to teach you any elven swordsmanship."

Elven sword techniques were trash. They were only effective in the hands of the elves because adult Elven Rangers practiced their arts for upwards of a hundred years.

"Oh... alright," Lone sounded disappointed.

[Wizard Tower: Floor 2]

Guild Invictus reached the second floor of the Wizard Tower, coming upon a hallway filled with the shattered white marble. A severed statue head peered up at Wolfrider with lifeless eyes. He gingerly kicked it away.

The hallway was filled with pedestals, each with written plaques on their bases, each base noticeably bereft of a statue.

White-marbled statue... corpses, for want of a better word, were strewn about the hallway. Angels had their wings forcibly torn off and shattered against the walls. A massive bear was missing a hole in its center, whereabout its heart would be. More than a few demon statues were crumbled to dust, with only the occasional horn or hoof hinting at their previous owner.

Lone whistled, "What do you think happened here?"

The serene decor of the courtyard contained dilapidated statues of gently posed creatures. The broken statues in the hallway were in varied states of desperate combat or horror... with a few of them bleeding from their eyes, mouths, and other orifices.

Tycon inspected one of the statues, assisted by his System's analysis, "It's not blood."

"Wh-what is it, then?" Lone asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Tycon frowned.

Lone gulped... but nodded.

"It's a naturally occurring bacteria that lives in soil and water that produces a bright, jelly-like pigment."

Lone stared blankly.

Tycon took a deep breath and sighed, "It's not blood. Just... just trust me on that."

"I... err... alright."

...

Barza Keith, the Lone Shadowdark, walked warily down the red carpet hallway, making sure each of the statues he passed by was truly dead.

He was tired of animated creatures beating the hells out of him... but at this point, nothing truly surprised him anymore.

Sir Tycon had revealed that a new training regimen was in store for him... According to the green-haired noble, once he class-changed to Ranger, he would be able to practice Bronze-Rank techniques. That meant he'd be able to effectively use mana... And that meant he could use what Yaeger taught him.

He didn't want his weakness being the reason he lost someone else important to him.

And it was pretty nice that he was going to get paid! He had originally signed on as a free-hire, so it's not like he was actually expecting a salary. He might even be able to afford soap, so he could clean his armor!

Soap was expensive, but a single bar was so strong that it would easily last a few weeks, only using a small chunk at a time. It was more important to him that the stink of sweat was gone, rather than smelling clean.

Wolfbanger paused, pointing ahead of the group.

Lone's eyes opened wide, realizing he recognized the statue ahead.