Based on a true story.

Kezric stood at the edge of the platform, the First Eos Rock hovering behind him. He looked down at the Assassin training on the Ratz below. He thought to himself as he performed last-minute checks, “Yeah it’s tedious. But it has to be done. I WILL prove those idiots wrong, once and for all!” He checked his backpack for supplies. With 200 White Pills and about 250 Mana Elixer pills, he stood up and proclaimed, “This is it! To battle!”

The young assassin wore a suprised expression as the black-clad, shoeless Hunter suddenly jumped, shouted aloud and began killing Ratz on his way down. However, this was no ordinary trip down Eos Tower. This time, Kez was descending in the name of research. He aimed to prove that one could gain a level, or at least a moderate amount of experience, just from going down Eos Tower and killing things along the way.

As Kez began down, the initial waves of white Rats were no threat to him. He unleashed a volley of Soul Arrows and they sulked in quiet submission as they realized their inadequacy in battle. Kez quickly finished off groups of five or six and climbed hastily down the seemingly endless expanse of Eos. As he progressed, he encountered Ratz of a dirtier variety- though gifted with more stamina, still no match for an Arrow Bomb. He worked his way past the first seven floors, where he found a Lost Soldier and, after a short confrontation with several Dirty Ratz, traded in some trinkets in his possession for twenty Eos Rock Scrolls- an unnecessary commodity which would fetch a high price at market to some lazy traveler.

But his plans would have to wait. . . a powerful lag storm forced him to disconnect. Kez’s plans would have to wait. . . for now.

Once Kez gained a stable connection to the world around him, he continued. Past the familiar terrain of the Outer 90s, a place Kez remembered from his young years as a 2X Archer. He reminisced as he shot down several Chirrpys, almost going mad with power as he slayed his foes with just two shots, a foe he once made sure to engage one by one to avoid a swarm. He almost panicked, having flashbacks of losses long past as he was confronted by similar situations, only to find his old prey now mere cannon fodder. Regaining composure, Kez continued on to the first drop of Eos Tower- a fifteen story fall, and one of the longest falls in the known world. His impact with the ground was surprisingly harmless, an odd effect he had grown used to. Kez had fallen to an area around the 70th floor, and was wary of what lay ahead.

As he slew more of his old foes, he continued on to relatively unfamiliar territory- the 60s. Kez had never spent much time here, well aware that it was on the border of Bloctopus Territory. Long ago, Kez would rather face down an enraged Rombot than a swarm of seemingly harmless Bloctopus, but their strength in numbers was what made them a threat. He continued through the 60s into the 50s, where he encountered Trixters. These tiny spiders were literally no threat, acting simply as doors. However, the path they guarded was what made them fearsome- for the Trixters were the heralds of Bloctopus Territory.

Kez soon landed on the 25th Floor and saw no Trixters. . . and no foes whatsoever, for that matter. He stepped down when he saw a movement behind him, and turned around to see a small, purple cube with tentacles appear. He shot it as quickly as possible, making sure to offer it no recourse between shots.

When it died, its mortal wail seemed to echo throughout all of Eos.

Kez continued on past one floor, encountering NO resistance. Nothing. Not even a scripter to explain the emptiness of the 24th floor. The silence was deafening. And so it continued, until halfway through the 23rd floor.

There was only one bloctopus persent when Kez reached the 24th Floor. As he drew his bowstring back, he could tell what the problem was- but it was too late. His golden Soul Arrow flew towards its target, and struck it down unerringly. Before the body could hit the floor, seven more replaced it. Kez realized he’d never be able to finish them all off and began his retreat. Golem Territory was no better, but at least Block Golems would stay dead.

Kez fought through seemingly endless legions of Bloctopi, only to have them continue to appear and continue their relentless assault. They were truly merciless, and their Kings were even more vicious. Capable of magical retaliation, the Kings were truly forces to be reckoned with, even in one on one confrontations.

Kez reached the bottom of the 22nd Floor. He saw before him, like a beacon of hope, a portal that would lead him to the mercy of Tweeters and Propellys. However, to reach it, he would have to fight his way through several King Bloctopi.

Jumping down from the golden screw he had chosen as his perch, Kez loaded Soul Arrow one last time and began his battle. He fired several Bomb Arrows into the crowd, but every explosion seemed to kill just one and leave others in critical condition- and each time, that one would respawn above and jump down to avenge himself, and he’d usually bring friends. Kez fired on and on, to no avail- each one he killedreturned as an army. Kez was running out of supplies as well, and would soon have to retreat- an impossible task with Kings covering each avenue of escape.

At that moment, a spearman appeared on the scene. He asked for help from a ledge above during what was clearly an inopportune time, and realizing this he leapt down to offer his assistance. With each swing of his crazy scythe-spear thing, a King Bloctopus leapt out of the way, mocking him by paying no heed tto his presence. The spearman soon struck one of Kez’s assailants on the back, and with that the entire herd pulled an about-face and sent the spearman to an untimely demise and quickly went on with their task of finishing the Hunter in the black coat.

Soon Kez ran out of pills, and retreated to the Gumball Machine near the top where he resupplied as much as possible- 21 White Potions. With these, he returned to battle.

At long last, Kez managed to reach the portal. He managed to evade the Kings long enough to reach his salvation- when, suddenly, another King Bloctopus leapt down and knocked him against the wall. Unable to respond, and with several bolts of Bloctopus energy aimed at his face, Kezric said a short prayer and closed his eyes, awaiting the inevitable tombstone.

The Hunter awakened a few minutes later on the ground in Omega Sector. He looked at his Experience Bar and muttered to himself, “20%. Not bad. Sure, I didn’t make it, but at least I made a profit after death, and that’s what matters, right?” A voice in his ear retorted “Not exactly, man. You still had 20 floors to go. YOU PHAIL!”

Somehow, the Council knew of his failure. They were tracking him, most likely. Kez sat down in his green lawn chair and thought aloud “Screw this, man. All this walking barefoot on Legos hurts my feet. Whatever, I’m right about stuff enough of the time as is… I’ll let them have this one.”

And with that, Kez’s journey through Eos came to an abrupt end. At least he got some pictures, if not good ones…