I braced for impact; I had a feeling that even with my plank covered body that this was going to hurt. The twisting silver rods interlaced together didn’t really scream “easy landing.” But just before I closed my eyes, the side of the tower I was hurtling toward…opened?

  The shifting metallic rods unraveled, making a hole, a barrel sized one at that. I slipped right through, a slight panic building in my chest. Did it know it was me flying through the air? But before I could dwell on it any further, I crashed into something. My back slammed into a pillar on the inside of the tower.

  I shifted out of barrel form the second I fell to the floor. I stood up, rubbing my sore back. “Yep, not doing that again.” I said with little confidence. I stretched my body a bit, making sure there weren't any injuries to worry about, and pleasantly surprised that my stomach wasn’t aching after all that spinning. Maybe not that surprising though, this mimic gene gave me an iron stomach after all. I checked my status bars to get a more detailed report. Stamina was fine, about 90% full after a quick boost from the ferals. Though my mind was getting tired.

  My HP sat at about 85%, pretty good all things considered. Maybe barrel form had some defensive prowess. Something to think about.

  Yet the thought was kicked out of my head immediately once I focused back on my surroundings. I stood in the center of the tower. It wasn’t as huge inside as it appeared from below. The hollow interior was maybe just a tad larger than the boss itself, its radius being maybe around 20 feet. Solid silver pillars, exactly like the one I crashed into, littered the inside of the tower, one being placed about every couple of feet from the next. They weren’t very big; I could wrap my arms around them with no trouble. They must help give the tower its structure.

  My eyes climbed up the tower I sat stood next to. They went up about ten feet before hitting another floor. It’s wild that this tower had floors in the first place. Why would a boss need to make more than one floor to begin with? I figured that damn lizard would make one platform at the very top and just sit there pelting the poor saps below with silver juice.

  I walked up to the edge of the tower, then made a dire mistake. I looked through the shifting silver bars that made up its walls, and saw just how freaking high up I was. The legions fighting off hordes of reptiles looked like children’s toys. Only faint roars of battle made it this high. I leaned away from the edge once my anxiety couldn’t handle it anymore. I looked off in the direction I flew in from. Glenna tossed me up higher than I thought she would. I watched as a few arrows and assorted throwing axes stopped at their max height and fell back to the ground.

  I must have been over three quarters of the way to the top. As I went to celebrate with a quick fist pump, the floor beneath me shook, along with the whole tower itself. I grabbed onto the pillar next to me and looked around. The roar of an explosion resounded above me. I looked up just in time to catch green, roiling energy flash around the tower above me. Another of Jaren’s assaults. I prayed it wasn’t enough to kill the beast. I got this far, I needed to see this through.

  Once the shaking calmed down, I looked around the floor, searching for a way to climb up the tower. “You opened up for me and I appreciate that, but now would you be so kind as to give me some stairs.” I said, mostly out of nervousness. But there was nothing aside from the pillars. “Yeah, didn’t think so.” I sighed, continuing my search.

  I found a way after I looked up at the ceiling again. The center most pillar wasn’t directly connected to the ceiling or the floor. It was surrounded by a hole, kid of like the poles in a fire department. I looked up and down the pillar, then shrugged. “If anything, it's an escape route.”

  I wrapped my arms and legs around the pillar, the smooth yet sticky substance felt weird, but I could climb this no problem. Hell, the sticky nature would help. I started my ascent, making sure of my footing. How many of these floors are there? I wondered as I got close to the ceiling. Would the boss be at the top or would it hide amongst the floors. Maybe that was the reason there were so many. It would make my life easier if it was on the next one. Just a quick mimic and then a terrifying slide down the longest stripper pole on Kniyas. Easy, no muss, no fuss.

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  I shook my head. Yeah, right. Man, I'm so ready for this day to be over. God, I want to sleep.

  Just as I made it halfway through the hole in the ceiling, the tower shook again, this time huge thorny vines slammed into it, breaking through some of the silver rods making up the tower wall and even the pillars inside. I gripped down tighter on the central pillar. But as I did, the pillar heated up. Not enough to burn me, but enough to notice. Then an odd rushing sound came from the pillar. Like water rushing through a pipe. I felt something drip on my head. I looked up.

  “Ah shit.”

  Silver goop streamed down the pillar right above my head. I kicked off the pillar just before the liquid poured all over me. My chest hit the edge of the hole and I climbed up it, rolling away from the central pillar. The silver liquid splashed around the pillar as it flowed downward. I looked over to the vines that broke through the wall. Odd, they didn’t grow from the ground, like plants should. No, these seemed to come from higher up the tower.

  “Lirae must be higher up.” A fact that didn’t bring me any joy. No, it would probably only complicate things. But that didn’t matter. I just needed to get the boss form and I would be out of here. I’ll try to avoid her if I can.

  I looked at the central pillar. “I don’t think I can use this again. I’ll avoid getting slimed by the boss if I can.”

  The silver rods and threads of the tower wall began to stitch themselves back together, cutting around the vines that broke through. They couldn’t quite hack through them though, leaving a small hole in the wall. The boss must be getting weak, or it just doesn't see the point in dealing with these vines. But they might just be my ticket up the tower.

  I tugged on the vines. They were sturdy, like thick rope. They’d hold my weight with no issue. But…

  I peered over the edge of the tower. I gulped before backing away.

  It would be a terrifying climb if I tried it. No telling how the wind would throw me around, let alone Jaren and the light guy’s attacks. If only I had a form that was good at climbing…

  I rubbed my forehead as my front teeth grew three times their normal size. “I can’t believe I’m doing thish.” I said with a slight lisp. “Freaking teef.”

  I climbed up on the bundle of vines. A surge of power flowed through me. Bark Skim, the only ability Squirrel form had, activated. It gave a 20% boost to my AGI and DEX while climbing a tree. I guess it activated for any type of plant, not that I was complaining.

  I clamped down and made my way up.

  The ascent went smoothly enough. I’m not sure if it was Squirrel form or not, but I felt way more confident climbing up the vines. Probably something to do with the fact that Squirrels are used to high places. I even looked down a few times and didn’t piss my pants. Sure, Jaren and company thrashed around, but Squirrel form had no problem just hunkering down and waiting them out.

  It was hot though. Len’s flames only grew hotter the closer to them, I got. I was shocked Jaren and Sparky could fly around in a fight in this intense heat. Or how Lirae’s plants didn’t dry up. I couldn’t help but wonder what I’d be like when I got to their level. What kind of ridiculous feats could I achieve as a high-level mimic? I welcomed the random tangents, they were better than the monotonous climb.

  Separate lengths of vines draped all around the tower, leading me to believe that Lirae has been all around this tower, fighting on different floors. It reinforced my earlier idea that the boss must be hopping around them.

  The patch of vines I was currently climbing didn’t grow all the way to the top. It was only enough to get me a few floors up. If I had to guess there could only be four more floors until I was at the top.

  I climbed up the vines and back into the tower. I dropped to the floor and sat down. Even if the climb wasn’t too difficult, the heat sapped my strength and sweat kept getting into my eyes.

  I wiped my brow, taking in a deep, hot, breath of air. I was tired. Sure not according to my stamina, it sat a whopping 90%. But my mind felt exhausted, if it didn’t sound so presumptuous I’d even say my soul felt the weight of this exhaustion. My eyelids felt like lead weights at this point. But I wasn’t done. The boss was just around the corner. I stood back up.

  HMMPH!

  I froze halfway, slowly tilting my head toward the source of the loud sigh. My eyes shot open, all of that exhaustion evaporating in a heartbeat, replaced with shock.

  “Not around the corner then. More like right in front of me.”