14 Trapped in the Tower      

"Is there going to be a Teleportation Magic Circle on the 5th floor?" Seth asked John as they resumed their journey towards the 4th floor of the tower.

"No, only on the floors divisible by ten."

"So, that means that we have to walk again going back."

"That's the gist of it."

~SiiigGhH~

". . . That's why I don't like going to higher floors."

"At least we don't have to fight every boss here to reach the next floor."

Once a boss was defeated, it would open up the next floor, but the boss wouldn't respawn anymore unlike with the beasts roaming the dungeons. 

Currently, large guilds, together with the Association, were doing their best to defeat the boss on the 47th floor to open up the 48th.

Seth knew that information, but he had to ask for confirmation. 

There were Teleportation Magic Circles every tenth floor that would teleport everyone to a floor with Magic Circles. There was also a Magic Circle on the first floor, but it was only for returning from the above floors. It couldn't be used to access any floor above.

Seth shifted his focus to the 4th floor. This was the floor where the White Key stated -- the hidden dungeon. 

"Aren't we going to sleep?" whispered Kith.

"Maybe they want to reach the fifth floor first."

"It's already 8 in the evening."

"Don't you sleep until morning?"

"Yeah, because I'm just scrolling over my phone. This is different. Carrying 20 kilos of bags over my shoulders and walking nonstop for hours, my body is already at its limit. I need to sleep and rest."

'It was perfect,' Seth thought to himself. While the others were asleep, he would search around the 4th floor for the hidden dungeon.

"We'll sleep after we clear the 5th floor," announced Roger.

Seth and the rest of the Gofers exchanged concerned looks. Did that mean they wouldn't be able to sleep the whole night?

Kith nodded at Roger while eyeing John. "Talk to him, man."

"Do you want me to get killed?"

"We're the ones who are getting killed here."

The others argued amongst themselves, their murmurs filling the air. But Seth only observed Roger's group.

It didn't escape his notice that some of them briefly looked over at their group and smirked.

Seth's instinct told him that they were up to no good.

"Excuse me," Seth spoke up, causing everyone to stop and look at him.

"What is it, cripple?" one of the Ascendants barked. "Do you need to pee?"

The other Ascendants laughed.

Seth's expression remained unchanged. "We need to sleep. If you didn't know, we're only humans and we're already past our limit. Any more, and we'll die of exhaustion."

John and the others were surprised at Seth's boldness. Who would've known that the cripple had guts? Despite losing his arms, he made up for it with courage.

John was baffled because the Seth he knew would never speak up like that. He would just lower his head and accept whatever the Ascendants told him to do because he didn't have a choice.

'He really changed. I wonder what happened to him,' John thought.

Roger and his crew were silent for a moment before Roger approached Seth.

John and the others' hearts raced with worry for Seth's safety, but none dared to step forward out of fear of being implicated.

Roger looked down at Seth, who didn't avert his gaze. Seth was tall, but Roger was taller and bulkier.

From what Seth understood, Roger could change his body into rock-solid form, increasing his defense and strength. It was a valuable ability that warranted him his rank.

One punch from Roger, and Seth's head would surely be punctured - that is, if he was still human. 

However, Seth was expecting Roger to do so, to see what his stats could do. Instead, Roger placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it.

"Ahahaha. Sorry about that, I got so caught up with our goal that I haven't thought of you," he then addressed his crew. "Everyone, pick up the pace. We're going to hurry and clear the 5th floor, so these humans can rest."

The Ascendants laughed. "Yes, boss!"

Roger smirked at Seth before he walked away, laughing with his crew.

John approached Seth. "Are you okay? Is your shoulder alright?"

Seth nodded. "Don't worry." He did feel Roger's force, but he didn't know if Roger was trying to crush his bones because he didn't feel anything.

Or did Roger held back? Seth didn't know. 

"Looks like we're still going to the 5th floor," Kith spat and muttered under his breath. "Bunch of jerks. They wanted us to suffer. It's obvious now."

"Let's just be thankful that they don't plan on killing us," John said.

Seth didn't comment. His instinct was telling him that they should leave this place, but he wasn't sure if what he was feeling was from Roger's group or the dungeon itself.

Seth could take care of himself, but John and the others . . .

Now that Seth thought about it, John and the others were too tired to escape and too weak to go back to the lower floors.

They were trapped here, and they had no choice but to follow Roger and his group whether they liked it or not.

Seth took a deep breath. He was about to tell John and the others to head towards the 5th floor. 

Based on the time that they were walking, Seth deduced that the entrance to the 5th floor was nearby, instead of going back to the entrance of the 4th floor.

If they were lucky, their could be Ascendants from the Association stationed at the entrance there. They could ask for help. 

They could also ask for help from the passing Ascendants as well. However, everyone knew that Ascendants preferred not to get involved in another group's business to avoid conflict.

Besides, Ascendants rarely cared about humans and their struggles. Slowly, they were becoming like arrogant gods.

Seth was about to tell John his plan when a loud voice hollered,

"Hey, you guys hurry over here!"

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|| A/N ||

What could it possibly be?

I mean, it's practically screaming in neon lights at this point! 🤔✨

Onward to the next chapter!