From the loot Ethan obtained, his attention was drawn to an item called Fragment Artifact Map. He brought it up and pressed the [Use] button.

Through the same system panel, Ethan saw a large map of the first floor, his exploration map. But by using that fragment, he could now see a red dot located in the southeast.

The location of the red dot was in the southeastern area that Ethan and Leon hadn't explored yet.

Even so, he was sure that the red dot showed the place where the tower artifact was located. The new Tower design forced Ethan to search for the artifact like before.

Without clues or guidance. He had to do it on his own.

"What's wrong?" Leon asked, putting away his bow and standing next to Ethan.

He looked at the digital map on the system panel, staring at the enlarged red dot area that Ethan had highlighted.

"This," Ethan said, "There's a chance this is where the Tower Artifact is."

"Tower Artifact? I've heard of that. What kind of stuff does it contain?" Leon asked.

"Many things, all of them high quality."

"If I had to guess, maybe the first floor's Tower Artifact contains a Rare Crystal Spirit or other items, not weapons or equipment."

Leon nodded, his hand on his chin, as if trying to think hard. He offered to Ethan that they should go and check that area.

"Should we go there?" Leon asked.

"Depends. This artifact could benefit us, so there's no harm in trying."

"Still, I'm sure this item's been taken dozens or even hundreds of times already. Don't expect good quality," Ethan replied.

"Does it really decrease?"

Ethan nodded. There was a limit to how long artifact quality stayed good.

If someone got it for the first time, its quality would be at its best.

However, if Ethan took it after it had been claimed, say, 250 times, the chance of getting a high-quality item was extremely low—less than 0.001.

That made Ethan consider whether he should go there or not, since it was already dark outside the castle and dangerous for the weak Leon to wander in the forest at night.

But if Ethan went to the second floor, he still couldn't be sure whether he would find a village right away.

In the end, Ethan decided to leave the castle and return to the village to rest.

They had to move quickly so that the LionArk team could get rooms at the village inn.

Resting outside the inn was common, but it didn't improve their sleep quality.

"We're heading back to the village," Ethan said firmly, and Leon agreed.

***

Night.

Eastern village.

Once again, Ethan didn't manage to get a room for the night. He had to sleep outside like the night before, while Leon was in charge of lighting the campfire.

Since Ethan decided to return, he clearly had a chance to check that artifact later.

After all, the tower artifact was still valuable. Even if the quality wasn't great, it could still boost strength—especially Leon's.

"There are a few things I need to adjust in my attributes. I'll go to the city to buy some items," Leon said.

Ethan nodded, letting Leon leave while he sat in front of the campfire.

Sitting alone without his black mask, he noticed a few women from other parties glancing and sneaking looks at him now and then.

"Ethan?" someone called.

He turned and saw Silva coming with Ulrich and their guild party. Like Ethan, they hadn't gotten a room, which meant they had to rest outside again like yesterday.

"Looks like you didn't get a room either. Mind if we join you?" Silva asked.

Ethan nodded, letting her, Ulrich, and three other party members rest near their camp.

Ulrich looked frustrated—many things had happened to his team today, leaving him tired.

He told Ethan that they had run into the Red Tattoo Tribe in the west—a brutal tribe that attacked anyone entering their territory.

"What made you go there?" Ethan asked.

"The Tower Artifact."

Ethan frowned and turned to Ulrich. He said they had obtained a tower artifact fragment after defeating a monster in the forest.

When they used the item, a glowing red dot appeared on the map in the western area. That made them curious, so they went to check it.

However, they gave up because the Red Tattoo Tribe was too strong. Not only did they use poison weapons, but they also knew powerful magic spells.

I have to admit, the Blood-Cursed Tribe is strong.

I could defeat them, but others probably can't.

Ethan started putting all the information together. Ulrich's guild party had low levels—Ethan guessed they were about the same as Twin Sun's.

A tower artifact guarded by a strong tribe like the Blood-Cursed Tribe meant the items inside had high quality, possibly rare to epic items, or A to R rank soul servants.

Ethan also remembered the tribe mentioning something about Bloodblade Ashura.

They said that sword belonged to Lord Gor, but Ethan had no idea who Gor was.

Could the Gor they meant be Ashura? Who knows. The game's lore is getting way more complicated than I expected.

"I've never met them, so I'll be careful," Ethan replied.

"You should. They're not monsters—they're humans like us," Ulrich said.

Ulrich explained many things about the Blood-Cursed Tribe, sometimes added by Silva.

Ethan pretended to listen, even though he already knew who they were since he had fought them before.

Not long after, Leon returned after buying several Crystal Spirits for himself.

He was surprised to see people sitting around the LionArk party's campfire.

Ethan introduced Ulrich and the others to Leon. It was easy for Leon to get along with them, and there was no awkwardness among the group.

"I need to buy something at the equipment shop. You guys relax," Ethan said.

He took out a bottle of beer and handed it to Leon. Leon laughed, already knowing what to do with it.

Ethan then walked away from the open area, entering the forest alone with heightened awareness.

His goal was simple—to visit the red dot in the southeast.

He needed to confirm what kind of quality the Tower Artifact had, especially since he had a chance to get it from the kobold boss loot.

Just as Ethan expected, monsters were more active at night. He stopped walking when he saw three kobolds blocking his path.

Ethan pulled out the Tempest Reaver from his inventory, gripping it tightly as his aura changed.

His hair turned ash-white, a sign that Tempest Mode had been activated.

[Mode Tempest Activated]

Ethan narrowed his eyes forward, then dashed at lightning speed toward the three kobolds.

They struggled to keep up with his swift movements.

He slashed one kobold, then moved on to the next until all three were hit by his blade.

The Tempest Resonance Mark activated, and Ethan stabbed his sword into the ground.

SLASH!

That triggered the next effect of the skill—a storm of wind blades that kept cutting through the kobolds' bodies endlessly.

Thanks to his Rage Infinite buff, the skill's damage increased fivefold. That meant Ethan's attack power far exceeded the kobolds' HP.

[Kobold Forest (Lv. 38) || HP: 0/9500]

[Congratulations, you have obtained loot]

[+750 EXP || +300 Gold || +300 Contribution Points || +3 Moon Fragments]

Moon Fragments? Isn't this the material I need for Luna's side quest? How do they have it?

When I killed them during the day, I didn't get any Moon Fragments.

Ethan glanced up at the sky, seeing the full moon shining brightly, its soft light glowing over the reddish night sky. It was strange—yet beautiful.

Does it have something to do with the moon and night? To prove it, I'll have to test it again tomorrow.

The three kobolds' bodies on the ground faded into particles of magic.

Still in Tempest Mode, Ethan ran through the forest, heading toward the southeastern area—the red dot marking the Tower Artifact's location.

It didn't take long before Ethan reached the southeast region, standing before the ruins of a small castle deep within the woods.

Although there didn't seem to be any monsters guarding the area, Ethan didn't let his guard down for a second.

Still in Tempest Mode, he stepped into the ruins and saw nothing but dusty stones and crawling vines around the walls.

Ethan looked left and right, carefully scanning the area. After circling around, he found a wooden door on the ground.

He opened it and saw stairs leading down. It looked mysterious.

Is the Tower Artifact down there? Well, there's no harm in checking.

He took a deep breath and descended the stairs, using a fire orb from Lyodra to light the way ahead.

Ethan arrived in an underground room that contained only a single chest in the center. There was nothing else there—just the chest.

He walked forward cautiously, hoping there were no traps waiting for him.

When he reached it, Ethan opened the chest, and sure enough—it was the Tower Artifact.

[Congratulations, you have obtained Tower Artifact]

[1x Crystal Spirit (Uncommon, Wind Element) || 1x Bronze Portal Key (Ascension Rank: Low) || 1x Floor 1 Map Fragment]

Ethan got the Tower Artifact, but just as he suspected, the quality had dropped. It was likely that many people had already taken this artifact before him, and he was simply unlucky.

There wasn't much to expect anyway. After all, this was a Tower Artifact from the first floor—what else could he hope for?

I should head back to the village.

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