"Return? But shouldn't we keep exploring the next floor?" asked Leon.

"Silver Star came with the plan to take the city from LionArk. If we ignore it, Mavelard will fall and LionArk will lose its foothold," Ethan replied.

"I'm the one who built LionArk. I'm the one who brought it to its peak. And during my time, Mavelard became the most promising city," said Ethan firmly.

"I'm here now, with power strong enough to defeat them all. How could I just stand by and watch my city destroyed and taken away?"

Leon fell silent, and so did Risa. They both knew how hard it was to build a guild and manage a territory. Even Risa, who barely knew what LionArk was, could feel how much worry Ethan carried.

"I understand," said Leon.

Ethan turned his head toward Risa, who stood nearby. "Before we leave the Tower, we'll take Risa home first."

"Of course. I'll help you, Ethan."

"And also, tell Jill something. This is a direct order from me," Ethan continued.

Leon listened carefully to every word that came out of Ethan's mouth. He was shocked to hear what Ethan wanted — especially since that wish could easily be fulfilled by Ashley herself.

Even so, Ethan specifically asked Jill to change the rule.

Leon had no idea what he was planning, but an order was still an order. No matter what, he had to obey it to save LionArk and Mavelard from destruction.

"I understand," said Leon.

"We'll have dinner tonight and rest. Early tomorrow morning, we'll head to the first floor — and to Mavelard."

***

The next day.

Crystal Cliff Teleport Point.

Ethan and the others traveled far from the village in the southeast to reach the southern cliff, the only route back to the first floor.

Leon arrived and opened his party panel. He set their destination from the second floor to the first.

Ethan held Risa's hand tightly. The three of them teleported together. They didn't appear at the cliff crystal but at the crystal inside the floor boss's castle.

Their sudden arrival from the second floor surprised many players.

Normally, if someone wanted to return to the city, they could use the nearest crystal without going down to the first floor.

Some assumed Ethan and his group had business in a village, but they were wrong.

Ethan walked through the forest path from north to west —toward the Blood-Cursed Tribe's village.

Along the way, he encountered a few low-level kobolds that were easily defeated with a single Crimson Slash.

All five kobolds died instantly.

He gained EXP and gold, though not as much as when he killed lizard monsters.

After turning right, more kobolds appeared —all below level 40, giving about the same rewards as before.

[Congratulations, you obtained loot:]

[+1000 EXP || +500 Gold || +500 Contribution Points]

Ethan kept moving toward the village until he was stopped by a few guards carrying spears. They stepped out of the forest to block his path.

They were shocked to see Risa with him. Everyone knew she had left on a journey to the fiftieth floor.

"Lady Risa?" one of them greeted.

"What's going on?" they asked in surprise.

"I'm bringing Risa home because I have urgent matters outside the Tower. Please look after her," said Ethan.

"You treat our chieftain like she's unimportant. Are you mocking our tribe?!" one guard shouted angrily.

"No! I understand Ethan's situation. You have no right to judge him," Risa scolded the two gate guards.

The men bowed their heads, obeying her. Risa turned around, standing in front of the village gate to say goodbye.

"Thank you for taking care of me all this time," she said with a smile.

"Of course. I'll come back once my business in the city is done," Ethan replied.

Risa nodded. She promised Ethan she would take good care of herself —not just for her own sake, but also for Ethan's side quest.

Ethan smiled at her promise and turned to Leon. Leon gestured toward the south, signaling it was time to go.

After parting with Risa, Ethan and Leon began walking away from the tribe's village toward the southern cliff's crystal.

They could've gone north, but that would take longer —heading south was faster and more efficient.

When they arrived, there were already players gathered at the Tower entrance, preparing for their first raid.

"We're going back, Ethan," said Leon.

Ethan nodded. Leon opened his party panel and activated the teleportation.

In an instant, both of them vanished in a flash of light and reappeared at the crystal gate outside Mavelard City.

Ethan took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He raised his head, gazing up at the blue sky full of clouds —a view he hadn't seen for so long inside the Tower.

Not only that, his PK status returned, and his username glowed red again.

Yet, he didn't wear any guild logo or abbreviation. He had officially left Sword Liberation.

[Leon's Party Disbanded]

Leon disbanded the party so Ethan wouldn't be linked to him. The first thing Ethan did after arriving in Mavelard was open the guild interface.

[GUILD]

[Search Guild: LionArk]

[Searching Guild!] [Guild Found]

[1. LionArk || 3,175 Members || Rank: A (Elite Guild) || Leader: AshleyLeon123] [JOIN?]

Since Ethan didn't belong to any guild, he was free to join one. He tapped on LionArk's details to view the requirements.

[LionArk]

[Leader: AshleyLeon123]

[Join Requirement: Anyone can join]

Jill did what I told her to.

Ethan pressed [Join], instantly registering as member number 3,176. He didn't expect it to be that quick.

[Congratulations, you joined Guild LionArk]

[Visit the guild headquarters and complete guild quests to earn Contribution Points]

[Contribution Points: 0]

This was the only way to handle Silver Star's City Authority Challenge. Many things were happening, but Ethan planned to discuss everything with Ashley first.

"Y-You joined LionArk?" Leon asked.

Ethan pulled out his black mask and put it on before entering the city. He turned toward Leon.

"Tell Jill to change the joining rules back to normal. Limit the entry again," he said.

"Understood," Leon replied.

They walked through the main street toward the LionArk headquarters. Leon contacted Jill as they went, explaining what Ethan wanted.

He assumed Ethan would join the City Authority Challenge. With both Ethan and Ashley on LionArk's side, Leon believed Mavelard could still be saved.

From a distance, they saw chaos outside LionArk's headquarters —players clashing, LionArk members fighting against other guilds.

"What's going on?" asked Leon.

"Traitor guilds. The city's split in two — those loyal to LionArk and those who turned against it," Ethan said coldly.

"What should we do?"

Ethan shook his head slowly, "Nothing. You don't have to do anything. Leave this to me and Ashley."

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