Ethan stared at Ryan for a few moments. He had always needed money, and Ryan's offer was indeed tempting. But to join his group... What did that mean?
"What do you mean by joining your group?" Ethan asked. Beside him, Elaine also looked at Ryan with curiosity.
Ryan glanced briefly behind him and walked closer to them. He then spoke in a whisper. "I have some friends waiting on the Third Floor. They're finding it quite challenging to face a monster guarding something there. With your abilities, I'm sure we can defeat it easily."
Ethan and Irene both furrowed their brows.
"What do you mean you have friends on the Third Floor?" Ethan asked. He thought that Ryan wanted to recruit them into the army of Invited who were currently with them.
"Well, what can I say... It's a bit difficult to explain. But, I'm actually an Invited who joined the group that entered the Tower a year ago."
"What?" Now, Irene looked shocked.
Ethan stared at him, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Then how can you be here?"
Ryan looked troubled. Initially, he had thought of keeping most of the details from them and just promising a large sum of money. But somehow now he was sure that Ethan wasn't someone who would join without knowing more details. He hoped he was wrong.
"Listen, it's not important, okay? What matters is that I'll give you a lot of money. So, are you willing to join me?" Ryan said. Now his face had become a lot calmer. His smile returned.
"Answer me first, how can you be here?" Ethan insisted.
"It's a secret. I'm not sure if I can share it with you because you haven't decided to join us yet," Ryan replied.
Ethan remained silent for a moment to think. Ryan seemed like someone who had a lot of access and power. He had money, so he must want something else. That 'something' must be significant enough for him to be willing to return to the First Floor and face these difficulties again. That made Ethan curious.
"If you want to recruit me, you also have to recruit her," Ethan said, cocking his head at Irene.
"Sure. I'll be glad to have both of you on the team. But I'm not sure if I can afford Mrs. Evernight," Ryan replied.
Irene looked at Ethan. "So you want to join them?"
Ethan nodded. "Yes."
But Irene knew that Ethan had another plan besides just money. She had a little bit of thought about what he wanted.
"Alright. I'll follow him," Irene said.
Ryan's smile widened. "Alright. That's good news!"
"What will you do with those people you just helped?" Ethan asked.
"We need them to pass this floor," Ryan answered. "That's what we have to do. Hopefully, both of you aren't someone with noble morals."
Ethan was actually quite surprised by his words. Initially, he thought that Ryan was a hero figure who would do his best to save all of these people. Turns out he just wanted to exploit them.
---
Sitting at a safe distance from the rest of the Invited, Ethan, Irene, and Ryan exchanged solemn glances as they discussed something.
"So, what did you guys face down there?" Ethan asked, his voice low and serious.
Ryan hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"We encountered a monstrous creature," he began. "It had scales as hard as diamonds and was nearly impossible to defeat. It was a formidable opponent, we barely made it out alive."
Ethan listened intently to their words, his brow furrowed in concern.
"Sounds like you guys had a rough time," Irene remarked. "We've been hearing rumors about that creature from the other Invited on the Third Floor. They say it's one of the most dangerous monsters in the Tower."
Ryan clenched his jaw, his mind racing with thoughts of the powerful monster they had faced.
"It certainly lived up to its reputation," he muttered, his voice tinged with frustration. "We lost three companions to that monsters."
"What is it guarding? Something that you wanted so bad," Ethan asked the most important question for him.
Irene beside him also looking at Ryan expectantly.
"It is some type of armor," Ryan began, his eyes flickering with a mixture of caution and excitement. "They say it offers great protection for the body."
Ethan and Irene exchanged intrigued glances, their interest piqued by Ryan's words.
"How great?" Ethan asked, his voice laced with curiosity.
Ryan shrugged slightly, his expression thoughtful. "No one knows for sure," he admitted. "But the rumors suggest that it offers the best protection for the Guardian at the Fourth Floor. It could be armor forged from the scales of the monster itself, or something even more extraordinary."
Irene's eyes gleamed with anticipation as she considered the possibilities. "If it's as powerful as you say, then maybe we should indeed getting it," she remarked, her voice tinged with excitement.
Ryan nodded in agreement, a determined glint in his eyes. "Exactly," he said.
Ethan and Irene exchanged a knowing glance. There is another thing going on inside his head. How many of that Gear is there? Is it enough for all of them.
Then, as if reading their thought, Ryan said. "Don't worry. My source said that the number of the armor will spawn according to the number of Invited after they defeating the guardian."
"Oh, that's good, then." Ethan smiled. But he didn't immediately believe Ryan's words.
"Now, we need to take on the next challenge before we can fight this Floor's Guardian," Ryan began, his gaze fixed on Ethan and Irene. "The next trial we face will require sacrifice. A lot of it."
"What do you mean by sacrifice?" Ethan asked.
Ryan sighed heavily. "I mean that in order to pass through the next challenge, we'll need to make some difficult decisions," he explained. "There will be obstacles in our path that can only be overcome by sacrificing the lives."
"We can't let ourselves be swayed by sentimentality," Ryan continued, his voice firm with resolve. "Our priority is to reach the top of the Tower, no matter the cost. And if that means making sacrifices along the way, then so be it."
---