Ethan and the others walked into the castle through the front door. Every now and then he glanced to the side, watching other players who came with the same goal—to defeat the floor boss.

Inside the castle, Ethan's attention was drawn to a massive door deeper inside.

It was shut tight, and many party teams from other guilds were waiting in front of the stone gate.

There were a total of 17 party teams waiting to challenge the floor boss.

That was quite a number, making Ethan and Megan's team get a different order number.

Ethan already knew how the floor boss challenge worked. Each party would take turns fighting the floor boss.

Those who lost would be sent out of the boss room with nothing in return. From what Ethan saw, the rules were still the same as before.

Even so, the boss room only recognized one party at a time, meaning there was a chance that LionArk's team would have to face the floor boss alone without Twin Sun's help.

Not long after, the door to the boss room opened. Everyone turned their attention to that spot, including Ethan. He saw three people coming out, one of them badly injured.

"They went in with five, but only three came out."

"There's nothing anyone can do. Dying in the boss room means dying for good."

Seeing that made several other guild parties refuse to challenge the floor boss. It was clear they were afraid of dying if they tried to fight it.

"We better level up more before fighting the floor boss."

"Let's get out of here. I don't want to die."

Crowds of guild parties began leaving the boss area, faces filled with resignation, as if they had no other choice. Out of the seventeen guild parties from before, only six remained.

Those six seemed confident they could defeat the floor boss. Megan watched the other eleven leave, doubt surfacing in her mind.

"What do you think, Leon?" she asked.

Leon stayed silent, unable to answer right away. He too was watching the others leave.

A bit of uncertainty crept into his heart about taking on the floor boss challenge.

Only Ethan seemed sure of himself and his team. Even though Leon couldn't see Ethan's face behind the black mask, he still believed Ethan could finish the floor boss easily with his power.

"What do you think, Ethan?" Leon asked.

"What?" Ethan replied flatly.

"The floor boss. Are we going to fight it?"

"Of course. Why ask?" Ethan answered.

Leon gave a small smile. That one short answer was more than enough to show how confident Ethan was.

He turned to tell Megan what Ethan said.

"I see. I'm not sure about my team, though. I don't know if we can handle it," Megan said.

"That's why I let you kill the monsters earlier. The EXP and battle experience you got will help when facing the boss," Ethan explained.

"But the floor boss challenge only allows one party per fight. Since we're in different parties, you might have to face it without us," Leon added.

Megan's team began talking among themselves, worried about the same thing Leon had mentioned. Ethan didn't respond. He just stood quietly as they discussed it.

Megan went back to her team to talk about their plan. Leon stayed beside Ethan, his eyes following Megan's group.

"They're going to have a hard time fighting that boss," Leon said.

"Let them. They're not part of LionArk's party. Cooperation between two guild parties isn't something the system recognizes anyway."

"You're right about that," Leon replied.

Before long, Megan returned to Ethan and Leon. Her team had made a decision, and she came to tell them.

"So, what did you decide?" Leon asked.

"We realized we can't defeat the floor boss alone yet. We're still not strong enough. So we've decided not to challenge the boss today," Megan said.

"But we're asking you and Ethan to hold off too," she added.

"No," Ethan said firmly without even turning around.

"The longer we wait, the less time we have."

"B-but we—"

"You need to grow stronger without our help. If we keep helping you, how will you ever improve?" Ethan interrupted, finally turning his head to look at her.

Megan froze, shocked and unsure how to reply. But deep down, she knew he was right. Her team really wasn't strong enough.

What she'd asked for would only slow down LionArk's progress, and she didn't want that.

Leon didn't say anything. Even though he was the party leader, he knew Ethan's power far exceeded his own. In the end, he could only follow Ethan's decision.

"I'm sorry. But maybe we can work together again on the higher floors," Leon said.

"No need to apologize. We're aware of our limits," Megan replied.

That day became the farewell between LionArk and Twin Sun. Megan bowed her head, thanking LionArk for all their help so far.

She truly believed LionArk would reach the highest floor that few guilds had ever achieved.

Before long, Megan and her party left the black castle, leaving only Ethan and Leon waiting for their turn to face the floor boss.

"Didn't see that coming, huh?" Leon said, hands on his hips.

"There's nothing they could've done. Their levels are too low. Forcing it would just get them killed," Ethan replied.

Leon went quiet, watching Ethan carefully. With the confidence Ethan carried, and his terrifying strength, Leon was sure Ethan could defeat the floor boss easily.

One by one, the six remaining guild parties entered the boss room. Some managed to kill the boss and move up to the next floor, while others failed and came back out, some with their teams intact, others missing members.

When the area in front of the door finally cleared, Ethan and Leon entered after Leon registered their team.

The door closed behind them, and torches flared to life, forming a circle around the wide room.

Leon summoned his bow, no arrows in hand since his weapon had unlimited shots.

From the ceiling, a six-meter-tall monster appeared. It looked like a kobold, but it held a magic staff and its body was covered in red tattoos that resembled runes.

A kobold with a magic staff? That's weird.

Leon's eyes widened. He stepped back several times, bowstring already pulled and ready to fire.

Ethan stepped forward. He summoned Bloodblade Ashura and gripped it in his right hand. His hair instantly turned red, and his eyes glowed crimson.

[Mode Ashura Activated]

A powerful surge of energy pulsed through Ethan's body. Leon squinted, curious to see what Ethan's true power looked like in battle.

"Watch its attacks. It fights from long range," Ethan warned, and Leon nodded.

With lightning speed, Ethan dashed forward and leapt high. Leon released his bowstring, sending thousands of blue arrows raining down on the kobold boss.

The monster raised its staff and formed a magic shield, blocking the rain of arrows. Leon clicked his tongue in surprise at its defense.

But through his eyes, he could see Ethan landing powerful hits that actually hurt the boss.

Ethan's attacks came as slashes, thrusts, and strikes. The kobold looked overwhelmed.

Despite Ethan's smaller build, his movements were sharp and quick.

Leon thought about helping by drawing the boss's attention, but then something surprising happened.

[Blood Kobold Boss (Lv. 40) || HP: 10450/12000]

Ethan hadn't even used his skills yet, but the boss's HP had already dropped. Seeing that made Leon feel almost useless in this fight.

Getting behind the boss, Ethan swung his sword upward.

Ashura Rift activated, releasing three fiery claws that tore through the air and struck the monster's body. It couldn't dodge.

[Blood Kobold Boss (Lv. 40) || HP: 10450/12000]

The kobold's body burned, then split into three pieces, matching the arcs of Ethan's attack.

He jumped back and landed next to Leon, who hadn't even fired his second shot.

"Is it over?" Leon asked.

"Yeah."

A second later, the kobold's body exploded violently, scattering into small chunks of flesh.

Ethan drove his sword into the ground, shielding himself and Leon from the blast.

[Congratulations, you have defeated the floor boss]

[Name: Blood Kobold Boss (Lv. 40) || HP: 0/12000]

[Congratulations, you have obtained loot]

[+2000 EXP || +1000 Gold || +1000 Contribution Points || 1x Soul Servant Fragment Chest (Rank A) || 1x Uncommon Crystal Spirit Chest || 1x Artifact Map Fragment]

[Congratulations, Raid Party Leon has advanced to the next floor]

[Floor 1 → Floor 2]

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