What had once been the reception of the ruined skyscraper had been transformed. Ronan had been surprised to see not a single remnant of any technology. It was almost as though the system had removed it on purpose.

The desks and security barriers were mangled and broken. Vibrant vines and a few tenacious trees had broken through the marble tiles and spread across the high-ceilinged room. As he passed the first of the plants, Ronan swore he felt a subtle tingle in the back of his mind.

Like a mental wave.

Is that because of the Tellen Mark of the Guardian Initiate? If I can somehow get the plants to help fight the boss it would be amazing, but I'm not sure how mobile ivy is… he inwardly joked, though he was half-serious.

If animals and humans had been transformed by the system to this extent, who knew what changes the flora of Earth had gone through… Not to mention any alien plants from the other three planets that had been merged into their new homeworld. It was an interesting line of thought. The Tellen were sentient trees, so there might be others.

"I'm guessing the lifts won't work anymore. Looks like we're gonna have to take the stairs to the top. Odds on the boss being on the highest floor?" Ronan said.

"Pretty much guaranteed," Keith replied with a snort. "This is going to take a while."

"We better get started then. I think I can see them over there." Ronan pointed towards a glass sign that showed an icon of a staircase. It had presumably once been lit up, but the power wasn't working anymore.

They were halfway to the broken door, hanging off a single stubborn hinge, when Ronan felt a spike of pain in his head. It was pushed away by his mental resistance within a breath's time, but an orange blur was already shooting towards them.

Ronan didn't waste any time in reaching inwards for his stamina and mana. With no time to check the monster's level, he wasn't going to take any chances.

Double strike and magic strike activated, his fist flew outwards to meet the incoming fox. There was a sickening crunch and scarily little resistance as the two met. Ronan felt a hot, wet mess splash over his face and chest as his fist tore the fox apart.

You have killed [Four-Tailed Fox Lv.48]!

Experience has been split among your party members!

Party Experience Bonus has been applied!

+592 Copper Credits

+1 [Pugilist II] Mastery

+1 [Stamina II] Mastery

+1 [Mana I] Mastery

+Fox Fur (Uncommon)

"Gross, dude," Keith said, wiping some fox guts from his sleeve.

"Bah, stop complaining. It will dissipate into nothing soon enough," Ronan teased back, though he had to admit it wasn't pleasant being covered in the beast's insides. He spat some iron-tasting blood from his mouth as they continued towards the stairs.

There weren't any other foxes in the lobby, but Ronan was sure there would be plenty more waiting for them on the path to the boss. He hoped for a real challenge, which most of the foxes wouldn't provide.

Is the boss going to be a nine-tailed fox? Getting some real… shinobi vibes here. Might be an entertaining iteration, Ronan thought to himself with a nostalgic smile on his face.

When Ronan gently pulled on the broken door, he'd half expected the remaining hinge to give out and snap. However, it simply creaked ominously, but held strong. The two men entered the stairwell, looking upwards and wincing at the journey ahead of them.

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"That has to be at least thirty floors, right?" Keith muttered. "Are we planning to stop at every single one? That's a lot of foxes…"

Keith made a decent point. I feel as though it makes more sense to head straight for the boss. Either it's weak enough that I can take it down now, or I'll need to massively increase my strength. Whatever the case, it's better to find out sooner rather than delaying.

Once Ronan had considered the issue, he replied to Keith. "I think we should go straight to the top and find the boss. There's a chance it isn't even here, although I'm fairly convinced it is based on the general vibes of the place."

"That works for me. Better to conserve our strength. Walking up this many stairs is going to suck, even with all these stats I've gained."

"You're telling me."

Unfortunately for the two men, the staircase only ended up taking them to the twenty-fifth floor. "Do you remember how many floors the shard has? Probably isn't the same anymore, but it might help us estimate," Ronan asked Keith.

Knowing the formerly spoiled man, he would know something like that. Keith shook his head. "I don't know, I only went once. Maybe like… eighty?"

"Only fifty-ish more to go then! I think we'll end up having to fight quite a few foxes in that case. Maybe it's on purpose? The terraforming possibly made the environment suit the mutated animals," Ronan said, voicing his thoughts out loud for Keith's benefit.

"That makes sense. Wouldn't surprise me if the system made it as difficult as possible for us to actually survive on our planet…"

Ronan snorted. "Alright, let's head inside. Get ready for a fight and keep your mind sharp. These foxes love their illusions."

They entered the room and immediately halted. It was unrecognisable. What had once been a restaurant or possibly office had been entirely subsumed by an urban jungle.

Ivy and moss grew on every available surface, and there was somehow a thin layer of soil covering the floor. Ronan had to remind himself he was twenty-five stories in the air, as he briefly felt he'd walked through a portal to some sort of forest.

Once the shock subsided, they began to make their way through. There was a rough path, but no clear direction for them to head in. "We'll have to look around to find the next staircase upwards," he said, before ripping a large vine in half to clear the way forward.

"Please don't tell me you're about to suggest splitting up," Keith hissed.

"Well, I wasn't, but now that you mention it… It would be quicker. I'm sure you can handle the foxes here. This is only the first challenge, they shouldn't be too high level," Ronan replied, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Yeah, fuck that. You might be ridiculously strong, somehow, but I'm not. Keep clearing the path and I'll watch your back."

"Alright mate, if that's what you want." With that decided, Ronan continued to clear the path forwards. They didn't have to wait long to encounter their first opponent.

Ronan felt a sharp spike of pain in his head, followed by two orange blurs racing towards him from different directions. He only noticed them because he'd been keeping an eye on his overgrown surroundings.

He sidestepped the first diving canine, before planting his foot and smashing a fist into the second. He winced as the beast's claws tore down his arm, but he felt the crack of a rib as his blow glanced across its torso.

The fox he'd hit went flying into a nearby pillar, letting out a high-pitched whine. The other snarled and spun on its paws, before leaping at Ronan. The beast was fast, and constantly sent mental attacks and attempted to use its illusions to manipulate Ronan's perception.

Unfortunately for the fox, Ronan's mental resistance was too high for its pitiful attempts to make an impact. Having already defeated Vulparis the Trickster, no ordinary fox was his match. He parried and evaded its furious claw swipes for a few bouts, before spotting an opening which he exploited with lethal efficiency.

Keith had put the other fox out of its misery while Ronan dealt with the second. Unfortunately, they were too weak to really provide a challenge and their level too low to give Ronan any meaningful experience.

You have killed [Four-Tailed Fox Lv.48] and [Five-Tailed Fox Lv.53]!

Experience has been split among your party members!

Party Experience Bonus has been applied!

+1 Bronze Credit

+314 Copper Credits

+3 [Pugilist II] Mastery

+1 [Stamina II] Mastery

+2 [Anti-Magic] Mastery

+1 [Pain I] Mastery

+Fox Fur (Uncommon) x2

No sooner had they defeated the first foxes, did the tidal wave of beasts appear from their burrows and hidey-holes in the overgrown tower floor. "Looks like we'll be fighting a lot more foxes than we bargained for on the way up," Ronan said to Keith. "Don't die."

"As if I'd die before you claim this sector and I can go back to living a carefree life," he retorted, his sword taking on a shimmering red glow.

Ronan shook his head at the man's nonsense. He was a little optimistic about this tower. That had actually been one of the first five-tailed foxes he'd encountered. Seeing as this was only the first 'challenge' floor in the tower, Ronan felt that by the time they reached the top floor he might actually be pushing himself to beat the orange-and-black-furred beasts. He couldn't wait.

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