"So far, we haven't fought one single monster... Isn't that odd?"
Rio nodded to his party member's question with a frown. He felt like he was walking on Axel's palm, following the script he had made.
"Maybe he is just gathering power by defeating the skeleton warriors?"
Another Hunter asked.
"... Maybe. We won't know for sure until we find him."
"But where is he? We lost him quite a while ago, right? And the open path doesn't have a clear boundary, we can't follow it willy-nilly."
"He is probably at the tower of the Lich King... While the dungeon layouts have changed, the boss rooms have remained the same... Let's just go. We can't waste time here."
Rio started walking, but another party member stopped him.
"Grand Master... The effects of the holy barrier are being reduced due to the undead energy on the floor... It'll be hard to maintain it inside the tower at this rate."
"Haha... So you were aiming for that, weren't you, Axel?"
Rio let out a tired laugh and held up his hand.
"It's fine. I can fight without it if necessary... But it was a foolish move to rush after him like this."
"Should we head back, Guild Master?"
"No, we can't. He's gaining more power every single day. If we leave him be, he'll become too powerful for us to handle. Let's take him down while he's weak."
Rio's words raised the morale a bit. The group then headed towards the tower in the centre of the city, unbeknownst to the fate they were about to suffer...
--------------------------------
"How are you doing?"
Yurei happily called out to an Undead Mage as he passed by it. He was currently on the third floor of the tower, seven floors below the chamber of the Lich King.
So far, none of the tower mages had tried to stop him. Unlike the ghouls and zombies on the third floor, these mages were fully sentient and capable of rational thinking.
Then... Why were they killed so easily before? As far as Yurei remembered, floor six was no big deal to B-rankers and above.
"Maybe the quest is at fault for this... ?"
It was possible... No, it was probably what had happened.
"Halt!"
As Yurei tried to move to the fourth floor, the large death knight standing before the doors stopped him.
Yes... A death knight.
"Why is a third-floor boss here?!"
Yurei panicked inwardly as he replied to the question. The guards on the lower floors were just undead mages... This was absurd.
"His Majesty has asked to see me."
"I was not told about anything like that!"
"He did... I am here to report about the intruders!"
"Intruders? There are scouts for that."
The death knight growled in a deep voice.
"Why is this death knight so particular about details... And why is the power scaling so high?!"
Yurei grew more fearful... He still remembered how powerful the death knight was... Sure, he had defeated one using Drake's body, but that was more of a momentary impulse than anything.
He didn't have any hopes of taking one head-on right now, at least not with an Undead Mage's body.
"Battling an undead-type physical-attribute monster with another undead-type monster which only excels in magic... Is a bad move."
Yurei sighed and tried to continue his facade.
"There are scouts, but the enemies are taking them out fast! They are strong!"
"What are the skeleton warriors doing?"
"They-"
Before he could complete his words, the tower suddenly shook hard.
"What's happening?!"
The death knight hissed at the spirit, who quickly thought of an idea.
"The intruders! They have broken in! Hurry, you need to stop them!"
"I am in charge of the doors here! I shall not leave!"
"Then at the least, let me explain the situation to His Majesty! Or do you want him to face defeat?"
"You insolent fool!"
The knight stabbed its sword into the ground with a loud sound. But then it calmed down and stared at the corridor behind Yurei.
"... Fine. Go forth. I'll hold off the intruders here."
"They have already broken in?"
Yurei couldn't help but ask. The knight glanced at him and just said in a cold tone...
"I don't hear any spells nor do I hear any sword clashes... The intruders are probably too strong for them. Here, take this. Will let you pass through the higher floors easily."
The death knight suddenly pulled out a silver medal and handed it over.
[You have received an item]
[
1. { Sigil Of The Tower Guard }:
Durability: 1/1
A sigil belonging to the tower guard of the fourth floor. Lets the user pass through the floors without being stopped.
*Does not let you pass through the King's Chambers
]
"This... Thanks. This will help."
"Now, go!"
Yurei hurriedly passed through the now-open doors. The knight closed the doors as soon as he was inside the corridor leading to the fourth floor.
"... That was nerve-wracking... Let's just go."
The spirit groaned and moved his body towards the fifth floor.
--------------------------------
"Hah... We caught the first three floor monsters off-guard but... The undead energy is strong."
Rio groaned as he cut down the final mage on the second floor. These monsters were slow... But they were clearly stronger than before.
Or at the least, tougher.
"My sword's chipped..."
"And my power's weakening..."
The party members complained as they dragged their bodies through the floor.
"Just bear with it for a bit longer. We should be catching up to Axel soon."
Rio assured his comrades and moved up to the third floor.
They cleared the third floor in record time without much of an issue, before finally arriving at the door leading to the fourth floor.
"A death knight?"
The guild master frowned and looked at the knight guarding the door. It seemed to have noticed them too, as it held up its shield.
"Let's get this over with. We already defeated one on the third floor, shouldn't be an issue here!"
One of the party members yelled and dashed forward.
"Samuel! Stop!"
Rio cried out, but it was too late.
The death knight swung its sword.
"Wha-"
Samuel couldn't finish his sentence before he was bisected into two parts. The sword was so fast that it was almost impossible to dodge... For most people.
"Tsk, unusual trajectory... It's more intelligent than the other death knight we faught!"
Rio gritted his teeth and prepared for a bloody battle.