Ethan looked confident in his abilities. After Risa calmed herself and tried to reassure him, she and Ethan walked into the castle through the stone bridge.

Risa kept walking behind Ethan while paying attention to the area around them. Some outsiders were staring at Risa with cold eyes. They could see her red cursor.

Ethan stopped walking, and Risa bumped lightly into his back. The girl looked forward, seeing more people waiting for something.

"What are they waiting for?"

"They're waiting for their turn to challenge the floor boss," Ethan explained.

"Really? Then when is our turn?"

She shook her head, answering Ethan's question. She had no idea when their turn would come because there was no official line in this place.

Her eyes wandered around the area, watching the people here carefully. She would only get her turn once the others finished or gave up.

"Are you alone?" a man asked, walking up to Ethan.

He wasn't alone. He came with four party members. They wore dark purple uniforms, but she didn't know what guild they were from.

"Yes."

"And her?" the man asked, pointing at Risa.

"She's my friend. I have a side quest to protect her," Ethan answered.

"That's a strange side quest," the man said.

"Is that the only reason you're asking?"

The man in front of Ethan froze for a moment, then smirked while staring back at him. Ethan reached his left hand behind him, shielding Risa.

Risa looked nervous. She held her magic staff tightly and prepared to cast her spell.

"I want to invite you to fight the floor boss together," the man said.

"That's clearly impossible. The system only detects one party for each challenge. So how would you fight the floor boss with me?" Ethan asked.

The man looked surprised. He didn't expect Ethan to notice that. He didn't respond, only clicked his tongue and walked away with an annoyed face.

"What's wrong with him?" Risa asked.

"Just a scammer. They can't fool me."

Risa smiled and nodded, believing Ethan could handle everything easily because of his knowledge and experience.

Without them realizing it, a certain party had been watching Ethan from earlier. Their leader, a woman, kept looking at him.

Ethan didn't care about that. He had only one goal: defeat the floor boss and move to the second floor.

Time kept moving. One by one, the parties got their turn to challenge the boss.

He and Risa were still there, waiting for their turn to fight the floor boss. Risa was the most observant person.

She counted the average time each group used to finish the boss challenge.

She concluded that at least 15 minutes was the fastest, and 25 minutes was the longest. If averaged, the time spent to challenge the floor boss was 20 minutes.

"Are you also going to challenge the floor boss?"

Ethan's attention shifted to the side. He saw a woman approaching him alone. He narrowed his eyes.

"Yes."

"My team's turn is next. If you want, you can take my place," the woman said.

"What do you want?" Ethan asked without hesitation.

The woman chuckled, impressed by Ethan's awareness. Yes, she had a reason for offering that to him.

"You're very cautious, Mister Ethan."

"I want to make a deal with you," the woman said.

"You can take my party's turn, but you must help us later," she added.

"Help with what?" Ethan asked.

"Help us find the Tower Artifact."

Ethan sighed. If the tower design hadn't changed, maybe he still knew the important artifact locations. But everything was different now.

Right now, he had no clue where the tower artifacts were. So Ethan's decision was certain. He would not help them.

"Sorry, but you should find someone else. I don't know what the tower artifact is, let alone where it is," Ethan replied.

"Don't worry. I know where they are."

So she wants to use me as a tool to make it easier for them to get the tower artifacts. Pathetic tactic.

Not long after, the boss room gate opened. A party of five came out, with two of them badly injured.

"Well? Your time is limited," the woman said.

"My answer is no," Ethan replied.

The woman started to pout and looked annoyed, not knowing what to do to convince Ethan. But since Ethan had given her an answer, she wouldn't force him anymore.

"Alright. I can't make you."

She and her party walked past and entered the floor boss gate to start their challenge.

Slowly, the door closed again, and Ethan had to wait. That was better than becoming their errand boy.

It wasn't worth it at all.

Ethan and Risa went back to waiting. After a long time, even Risa felt bored. Twenty-three minutes passed, and that party came out with three people limping and injured.

The woman didn't seem eager to teleport right away. Ethan noticed it. The late hour was clearly the reason they didn't teleport immediately.

Three more parties got their turns. Now, after a long wait, Ethan and Risa finally got theirs.

"Tch! Challenging the floor boss alone? Is he crazy?"

"Why does he keep bringing that monster? Does he like it?"

"I bet he'll fail in minutes."

Risa heard their mocking comments and turned to look at Ethan. Surprisingly, Ethan didn't react at all. His face looked calm and cold.

She and Ethan entered the floor boss room. A red kobold holding a magic staff appeared.

Risa gasped, shocked that a kobold she usually saw in forests could have a body that big.

Ethan narrowed his eyes, knowing what this kobold boss could do. With his current abilities, he believed he could defeat the monster easily.

The kobold roared loudly, making Risa tremble in fear. But Ethan calmed her down again, telling her everything would be fine.

Risa nodded. She prepared her spell and stood confidently, staring straight ahead at the kobold boss.

Ethan summoned the Bloodblade Ashura in his hand. When he gripped it, his appearance changed drastically. His hair burned red, and his power surged.

"Hissy. Keep Risa safe," Ethan said.

[Mode Ashura Activated]

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