[Congratulations. You have reached the 4th floor of the Tower.]
As Subedei stepped out of the black rift, the dizziness in his head was noticeably milder this time. He quickly scanned his surroundings. The entire area was shrouded in thick fog, with bones and shattered weapons scattered across the ground.
Under the moonlight of the darkened sky, the fog made the place look even more terrifying. A vast plain stretched out before him, and within the mist stood a few dead trees, broken and lifeless.
Suddenly, Subedei spotted something walking toward him from within the fog. Moments later, he noticed many more similar figures moving around in the mist.
Assuming they were goblins, he tightened his grip on his spear and waited.
As the approaching creature came into clearer view, Subedei froze in shock.
It wasn't a goblin.
A white skeleton walked forward, its hollow eyes glowing with blue flames. It wore rusted, broken armor and dragged a chipped sword in its hand. Upon spotting Subedei, the blue fire in its eyes flared brighter as it charged toward him.
The skeleton swung its sword when it was just a few steps away.
Subedei easily dodged the attack, slipped behind it, and snapped its neck with a swift thrust of his spear. The skull fell to the ground, yet the body remained standing.
No notification appeared.
As Subedei stared in confusion, the skeleton began to move again. It calmly picked up its head from the ground and placed it back onto its neck. The fractured bones instantly regenerated.
Startled, Subedei wasted no time. He thrust his spear straight into the skeleton's head with full force.
The skull shattered, bones scattering in all directions as the body finally collapsed.
[You have slain "Skeleton Warrior."]
Only then did Subedei relax slightly.
At that moment, a sharp pain surged from his shoulder. He slowly glanced down to see that the cloth he had used to bind the wound was soaked completely red with blood. It seemed his injury had reopened due to the sudden movements.
He clenched his teeth and endured the pain in silence.
For the first time, Subedei began to regret coming to the fourth floor.
He had been confident that he would only face goblins here but now he knew better. Skeletons roamed this fog-covered land, and dozens of them were already converging on his position.
Subedei noticed that the skeletons only attacked once they clearly saw their enemy. Otherwise, they merely wandered aimlessly through the mist.
Letting out a quiet sigh, he calmly moved toward the area where the fewest skeletons were visible. Every skeleton that charged at him had its skull crushed without exception.
Still, after several intense movements, his face grew increasingly pale.
Eventually, when visibility dropped to nearly zero, Subedei leaned against a dead tree and sat down quietly, remaining alert as he watched his surroundings.
But he had already lost too much blood.
Before he realized it, he lost consciousness.
Sunlight shone onto his face, waking him.
Subedei slowly opened his eyes, startled, and instinctively grabbed his spear. Seeing the sunlight, he realized he must have passed out. The fog had thinned greatly almost disappearing under the sun's rays.
His vision was still blurry, and his face looked deathly pale.
He stood up quickly and began walking forward. After several minutes, he encountered not a single skeleton.
Just as he was starting to feel confused, he spotted several figures walking in the distance.
His vision still hadn't fully recovered, so he assumed they were skeletons and cautiously approached with his spear at the ready.
Then
He heard human voices.
As he drew closer, the figures became clearer. There were four people ahead of him.
Subedei immediately slipped behind a nearby dead tree and hid. The group seemed to be gathered together, talking about something.
Watching them silently, Subedei hesitated, unsure of what to do next.
Suddenly, his hair stood on end.
He quickly turned his head
Someone had silently approached him from the side.
Locking eyes with Subedei, the man instantly raised his sword and attacked.
Startled, Subedei hastily lifted his spear and blocked the strike. The impact made his hands tremble violently.
Ignoring that, Subedei stared at the attacker in disbelief.
The others immediately drew their weapons and prepared to attack as well.
Then
Subedei and what appeared to be the group's leader, a tall young man, stared at each other for a brief moment
And burst into laughter.
"Hahaha!"
They dropped their weapons, raised their arms, and slammed their hands together in a loud handshake.
Smack!
The tall young man laughed brightly.
"I never thought I'd run into you here, Subedai."
Subedei grinned.
"Same here. Never thought I'd see you in this damn place, Zev."
Zev glanced at Subedei's blood-soaked shoulder and pale face, worry flashing across his expression.
"Why are you so badly injured? Don't tell me you ran into the fourth floor boss?"
"And where are the others? Why are you alone?"
Subedei sighed.
"No. I got injured fighting the third floor boss. And I woke up here alone."
"Tough luck…" Zev muttered.
After a moment of silence, Subedei chuckled.
"Damn, you've gotten strong. Just blocking that one strike made my hand shake."
Zev looked surprised.
"You woke up here alone? That really is unlucky."
Of course, he didn't forget to tease his friend.
"Doesn't look like you got a very powerful class either getting wrecked by a third floor boss like that."
Zev smiled proudly and continued.
"I got a special class. It's called Sword Master. The more I use a sword, the stronger I become."
"You were lucky just now. I recognized you otherwise, I wouldn't have held back."
Subedei snorted, unwilling to show weakness.
"I didn't go all out either. You should be grateful I'm injured."
Zev ignored that and spoke slowly.
"I've never seen you this weak before."
Subedei fell silent.
An awkward pause followed. Unable to endure it, Zev finally asked,
"Do you want to travel with us?"
"No actually, you need to come with us."
"Don't even think about going alone with injuries like that."
After a brief silence, Subedei looked at him and smirked.
"Damn it… never thought the day would come when I'd need you to protect me."