Noah leaves the scene after picking up his sword.
The loud collision from the waterfall was heard all across the forest especially Nero who was just near from the place it happened.
"What was that?" Nero looked at the sky as the bird scatters, flying away from the scene.
He looked back to see what it was cannot discern what it is.
Instead of going to the withered zone, Nero picked the vines area as going alone to the other side might be a suicide mission.
As he entered the vined section the trees were making a cracking sound.
A sound like it was moving on its own. Strange.
It was also eerie yet he remained composed with his trusty cloak.
He coated himself with it for more protection as he travels into the vines where the place becomes tighter.
"This place is bigger than I thought." After saying that.
A loud smash in the ground was heard close to where he was.
"Another one?" He asked.
He rushed to reach the end while slashing the thorns he encounter along the way to quickly see the end.
Once he reached it, he finds more vines being tangled at the entrance creating a blockade.
"Damn it." He cursed, casting up a fireball to burn these roots.
The vines emit a high pitch scream that a plant normally doesn't make.
It also sounds humane.
Once the vines fall into ashes, Nero goes through the entrance.
Leaving him to see an opened area where Lady Fen was standing while Vanessa was laying on the ground.
There was a monster in front of Lady Fen.
It was a forest creature that is double the size of her.
"I have to help them." Nero approached Vanessa who was struggling to sit. Her staff was also laying on the ground.
Lady Fen starts circling the monster.
The monster then bawls up its fist and smashes the ground where Lady Fen was on.
She managed to dodged it.
While that was successful, Vanessa on the other hand was caught by the attack as she flung when the ground shakes up.
Vanessa started screaming as she does her best to grab her staff that is flying with her. Once she grabs it, she closes her eyes and prayed.
"Vanessa!" Lady Fen was distracted by that to which the forest creature uses as a chance to call for its roots and creep up all the way to where Lady Fen was standing and binded her feet.
"Damn it. This annoying plant!" She groaned as she tried her best to escape to no avail.
Vanessa was still in the air during this time who is free failling to the ground but somebody managed to catch her in time.
They landed safely as the man carries the frail Vanessa.
"Thank you... Huh?" Vanessa was caught off guard to see Nero who is carrying her.
"Good going, brat!" Lady Fen cheered.
"I saved you. Is that how you should thank me?" Nero looked at Vanessa with such eyes.
"What? Hey! I'm not rude, shut up. Put me down!" Vanessa looked away.
"Okay." Nero replied as he lets go of Vanessa who fell on the ground.
"You brat!" Vanessa screamed.
"I will beat you when I can finally move!" But as she was cursing Nero.
"Vanessa, Lady Fen needs your help." Nero's word suddenly surprises Vanessa.
"What do you mean by that?" She cannot help but to actually listen on what Nero is saying.
"You see her position?" Nero pointed at the roots tangled in Lady Fen's legs.
The vines holding half of her body made it hard for her to do anything, but her hands were free.
"Could it be that the monster can only root you twice?" Vanessa looked at Nero.
"No. Just where are you looking at?" He asked her to observe again.
The monster was in fact not struggling to root more as it unleashes more on the binded area. But the distance was making it difficult for the monster to do so as it was limited in terms of reach as the other parts of the vine were still reaching for her.
"Lady Fen will use an electric move. Look at her hand." Vanessa turned her head to Lady Fen who is gripping at the monster's vine that is attached on her legs.
"You're the only one who can save her." Nero said to Vanessa.
"You can use your staff to cast up a fireball towards those vines. You're a mage, right?" Nero looks at Vanessa's staff that is beside her.
"She can handle the rest after that." With that, Vanessa was convinced and grabbed her staff tightly aiming at the vines near Lady Fen.
She closed her eyes and manifested her energy to build up towards her staff.
Energy started appearing outside her creating an aura that passes through the staff, it then starts to vibrate from faint to violent until it summons a small magic circle where a fire ball appeared in front of it.
"Oh my god, I did it!" Vanessa couldn't believe it but as soon as she lost her focus the flame flickers.
"Focus!" Nero alerted her in which she got startled before going back on closing her eyes and recalling the energy once again.
At some point the magic circle that's one suddenly turned into two making it even stronger and bigger.
Nero was surprised by this sudden power spike.
However, the magic circle immediately went back to normal as it goes back into one.
"Take this, monster!" Vanessa shouted before blasting the fireball towards the monster.
She recoiled back due to the heaviness of the magic.
The fireball travels towards the creature and Lady Fen saw this wondering what it was.
As soon as she figured it and saw the monster distracted by the lights of the fireball.
She knew she has to grab the opportunity.
"Time to cook you up, you piece of trunk!" She squeezes the vines sending a huge amount of electricity onto the vines travelling towards the body of the monster.
The vines slowly lose its grip towards Lafy Fen's legs and the fire ball quickly followed through creating a blast as it came contact with the electricity coursing the monster's body.
The half of the monster's body was blasted in half leaving a visible damage in its weaken state.
The monster screeched unleashing a frightening sound that stunned everyone.
Its body was slowly burning but it managed to stop the damage by severing its dead half.
The monster was nothing but a half plant.
When suddenly its roots starts spreading from the missing area and regenerated by creating a new half of its body.
"It has regeneration?" Lady Fen couldn't help but to be in shocked by this sudden ability.
"Well plants are mostly known regeneration abilities due to its relation with earth." Nero added.
"Just what the hell is this forest?" Vanessa slowly stood up while picking up her staff still shaking from earlier.
The monster is still regenerating itself and Lady Fen was not gonna wait any more until this monster is back on its feet.
Rushing towards the monster, she bashes her gauntlet to each other till it creates a small spark.
She then amplified those sparks with her own electricity making the metalic gauntlet as a conductor which sends shock all throughout her body making her hair stand.
The closer she gets the more electricty sparks comes out from her body.
The monster notices this and in attempt to stop her from closening the gap, it tried to use its roots to grab her.
But she was quick, alert, and even more cunning than before.
With no Vanessa in mind dodging attacks like these would be a walk in the park for her.
Vines rising from the ground or attacks like trying to stab her couldn't even graze her at all.
She rushes in and once the distance is only a meter away.
She unleashes her wrath, using the sharp end of her gauntlet slashing through its body.
The after effect shows up as the monsters body started shaking violently and electricty comes out from its body.
"I call that the thunder claw!" She proudly puts her hand on her waist, having her hair finally falling down as she passes all the electricty inside her body into the monster.
The monster unleashes another wave of scream that is resembling human voices having its range from a young boy to an old woman.
"Those might be the victims that suffered from this monster." Vanessa holds her mouth trying not to puke.
"Let's go to Fen." She looked at Nero before going.
As to where Lady Fen was standing, the monster slowly withers and creeps into the ground leaving a mysterious medium sized chest covered in roots.
"This must be the reward." Lady Fen inspects as she touches the leaves.
The vines were covering the so-called reward and the only way to unveil it is to remove the thick vines.
She starts removing them one by one.
"I wonder what it is." She said.
"Let us help." Vanessa said which made Lady Fen to turn her head.
"Are you okay now?" Lady Fen look worried when she looks at Vanessa.
"Yes, I am. Thank you." Vanessa smiled.
"But I got to say, I thought this kid was dead. There were two loud noises in the forest we were in earlier and we didn't see you at all." Lady Fen says before putting her attention back at the trove.
"Not to mention, you also saved Vanessa." Vanessa puffed.
"What about Diego? Did you find him?" Vanessa looked at Nero as she helps on removing the vines.
"No, I believe he was in another place." Nero replied.
"What about Noah?" She asked once again.
"Don't worry about that guy. From seeing him first hand. I knew there was something within him." Lady Fen stopped all of a sudden.
"Something? Like what?" Vanessa then turned her head to Lady Fen.
"He is different. It's like it's not his first time. But to back it up, his strength feels divine?" Vanessa couldn't help but to get shocked by Lady Fen's statements.
"Well he did say this isn't his first time, right?" Nero squeezes in the conversation.
"That's right. When I first met him, he was very strange. Despite his calm and kind demeanor, he struck like someone mighty but at the same time someone who has been fallen." Lady Fen description confused Vanessa but to Nero, it sounded very similar.
"Someone mighty that has fallen..." Nero dwelled on that thought.
"Hey, isn't that similar to Nero?" Before Vanessa could even finish up her sentence Lady Fen puts her finger on Vanessa's mouth to shut her up.
"You brat! It's a taboo to say that name." Lady Fen was panicking.
"Hold on that sounds familiar." The two looked at Nero who is standing before them.
"But he's just a kid. The real one is more potent." Vanessa added while looking at this Nero with disappointment.
"I also had that question. To be named the same as who I was in my past life, wouldn't that cause me suspicion? Especially from a person like Otto. But luckily, they do not gaze upon weaklings. And Otto has also climbed this tower in attempt to search for the truth."
"It would be bad if they knew it was me though." I cannot help but to sweat as I thought of that.
As they were busy talking about the fallen Nero, Vanessa finally picked enough to see the hidden item behind the vines.
It was a magic ring, a key and a magic stone.
Magic ring is useful as wearing one will amplify the user's magic ability. It also allows the user's speed to be boosted along with its mana regeneration.
The key along on the other hand is a black key. The bow of it looks like a clover while its tip is a sharp end like a stem without its root.
The last one caught everyone's attention.
It was a magic stone.
The magic stone is a crystal that only monsters drop when killed, these stands as currency having the price varies from the standard rainbow mechanic.
The ROYGBV rule that is known from merchants on this tower.
At certain floors there will be cities and markets and those are called safe zones. These zones can also appear within dangerous floors.
The magic stone color can only be known once you shine it at the sun.
So Lady Fen holds it and pan it at the sun, the pale color changes into a bright yellow crystal.
"The monster is that high? Oh wow. I always knew I have what it takes." Vanessa exclaimed.
"Oh shut up, I did all the work." Lady Fen laughed at her back.
As they were celebrating, Nero looked back to see someone approaching them from afar.
Lady Fen noticed Nero's sudden shift in attention making her look aswell.
"Hey isn't that...?" Lady Fen was in utter shock.
A man in armor along with his greatsword walks towards them, his white hair swaying with the wind.
There were blood on his cheeks.
"Noah!" Vanessa hugged him tightly while crying.
"I thought you were dead!" She shouted.
"Oh, i'm sorry about that. I wish I could've done better." He smiled while calming her up.
"I knew you could've done it." Lady Fen grinned.
"I was lucky that's all. The rhino and this strange goblin was weakened when they faced me." Noah seemingly embarassed.
"Don't be so modest. You're a beast on your own." Lady Fen tapped on his shoulder.
"So that Rhino suddenly apperance was not caused by an ambush but it was running from someone? But who would that be?" Nero asked.
The group paused for a bit but they couldn't find a definite answer.
"So I assume Diego is not here?" The three nodded at him which made him stiffen.
"My neglience brought us here, I apologize once again." He bowed which shocked everyone.
"No! Don't apologize! It's within our fault too!" Vanessa hurriedly raise his head.
"It already happened anyway, best we can do is to regroup and escape from this hell." Lady Fen added.
"That's right! So don't cut yourself short, okay?" Vanessa looks at Noah who's eyes cannot look at them.
"Mhm. Thank you." Noah replied.
"Let's rescue Diego then. Shall we?" He smiled.
The group is almost complete now, only needing to rescue Diego who was taken on the other side.
The withered zone. The last place needed to visit in the first floor but also because it is where the second floor entrance lies.
A man was just standing there with its muscular body. His face was rather empty, it was just a blank expression while his hammer was laying on the ground filled with blood.
"It's too late." He laughed while his voice was echoing a demonic tone.
Somewhere in this forest, there's also a man standing by himself.
Flames were dancing with the sound on the burning branches.
"Ah, it got away." A sanguine silk fell on the ground.
"My hair is falling again because of my stress." He muttered while the hot temperature of flames around doesn't faze him at all.
"I cannot wait to see you again, Noah." He said before leaving.