Lou Ben walked through the entrance of the second floor, slowly becoming immersed into a dream state.
The second floor going down, had a thick blue fog that could not be detected through normal means, to Lou Ben it seemed safe since he was unable to detect enemies, it was the best choice to travel and await his companions' status to better.
As he walked he played back the fight between him and the undead, he thought about how he could have fought better, more unified with his brothers.
No matter what came to mind, he saw that the two brothers were best used as bait.
He didn't want to think it was the truth but no matter how many times he played it back in his dream-like state, sacrificing his brothers created the best possibilities for I'm to swallow the rewards all for himself.
Lou Ben thought of something else, this time he thought of Qi Shuang and how he went to the palace of sweets to play with women.
Originally he thought it was seen as normal because it was a new world and they had different standards, but then he remembered the sweet girl from the Silver Gate Pill sect.
She was short with soft pale skin, yellow-gold hair that swayed with the wind, teal eyes that pierced the night like pearls shining through the ocean floor, she was curvy and shy.
Lou Ben thought how he would love to make this pill sect member his own.
All sorts of nasty thoughts ran through his mind as he wished to 'conquer' this beauty and ease his heart of this dominant feeling.
He shook his head and tried to remember the sweet smile on Qi Shuang to try to dispel that thought of the yellow-gold woman.
Qi Shuang was sweet and gave Lou Ben the feeling of being a support pillar for him to embrace this world, as if no matter the changes, if she was in his arms, then the world could become ashes and he would still smile.
"That is the power of a true woman." Lou Ben thought.
He kept walking through the second floor that had the fog, the fog seemed to pierce into his mind and bring out thoughts that Lou Ben had repressed.
Lou Ben groaned: "If Qi Shuang is that way, why could I not have more?"
Lou Ben sighed: "If my brothers are a cause for leaving me behind to be powerless, why could I not trample over their bodies first?"
Lou Ben nodded: "It is the way of this world, I am not on Earth any longer. I need to adapt and be selfish. I have been muddle-minded and not thinking of my own needs first."
He shook his head in disagreement: "Although I feel this way, I still have brothers. They have lives too."
"Although I want to conquer more, I still have Qi Shuang… her radiant beauty helps my anguished heart."
Lou Ben continued to fight his own thoughts as he walked through this mysterious fog.
He walked for hours, and days, his partners have yet to wake up, as if inside the space sleeve they were frozen in time.
Through the second floor Lou Ben continued to roam, his stomach started to rumble after what seemed to have passed the first week inside the undead trench.
When he felt hunger a thin yellow energy emerged inside his body, it emerged inside his meridians and flowed with the natural energy he was nurturing through his hard work of cultivating.
Lou Ben groaned: "Hungry… Must find the exit…"
At this point his mental energy was almost exhausted, continuously fighting the thoughts he had repressed about his current life that led him to this state of near hunger and exhaustion.
Eventually Lou Ben no longer argued with himself, he let his mind be free and didn't hold back his ill feelings.
This was the first time he got to think about everything and reflect inward so to Lou Ben it was a heaven sent opportunity for him to face his inner demons.
He felt anguished about mistreating Qi Shuang and swallowing up the rewards when his brothers almost died at the hands of the large undead monster.
Now, he felt at ease.
He smiled as a sparkle lit up his dark abyss eyes: "This is the world I live in. Power reigns supreme. I was only able to swallow the rewards because of power, I was able to taste the sweetness of women because of my current power."
"If I continue then all is normal as long as I have power."
"There is no right or wrong in this world, only those who reign supreme through power. Since one person's fist can overshadow many weak palms, then the same fist is able to form mountains and form politics. That is the world I live in, a stark contrast to Earth…"
Lou Ben walked out of the second floor and met a staircase that led downwards.
He was no longer hungry, nor was he as muddle-headed, he simply wanted to walk out into the sun again.
Lou Ben nodded: "I didn't draw a map of the second floor so there should be no rewards from the mission list. If I can swallow the reward on this floor without anyone's notice then I'll make a huge profit!"
As he reached the iron circle door handle, he thought of two demonic figures, he shook his head and looked through the opening of the door as he continued to open it.
There was no surprisingly large monster as this floor's boss, instead there was a table and two chairs.
The room was just as large as the last.
A shadow-like figure with red piercing eyes sat across from Lou Ben, and raised its hand.
An unseen force dragged Lou Ben through the doorway and towards the table.
He understood that it wanted him to sit, not that he thought he was going to have a cup of tea and a long conversation as if he and this eerie shadow were going to act like long lost friends.
He did think that it was funny, but took this seat.
The shadow engulfed the table and retracted his figure. The table now had a game of chess and invited Lou Ben to make the first move.
Lou Ben opened his eyes in surprise: "This is another world, I can't be surprised at anything anymore."
He was unfazed by the mystical moment that presented itself in front of him.
Instead he thought that this figure was rather lonely, in order to get this far you have to walk through the first floor full of mindless undead, kill the floor boss that defies all logic, and finally walk aimlessly through the second floor that corrupts your thoughts.
Lou Ben moved his pawn to capture the middle but then the image around him changed.
He was inside a flower field!
He was still sitting in front of the shadow figure playing chess but now his peripheral vision was of the same flower fields he envisioned when he was still on earth!
"It's been a long time since then!" Lou Ben frowned.
The shadow figure moved a pawn towards the middle as well.
The imagery around Lou Ben was still that of a flower, but when he looked again, he saw his earth body staring at him from the far horizon, observing, not motioning to act.
"I see…" Lou Ben bit his lip.
He moved a knight towards the middle to continue his lead in this game.
The imagery changed, he was now inside the void, where he spent countless years watching his life playback.
The figure moved a knight to counter Lou Ben and his dominance in the game.
This time he saw his spirit emerge only meters away, watching him play the chess game with the shadow.
"I see…" Lou Ben tightened his brows and looked down at the game of chess.
He moved a piece and saw another figure emerge inside the void, this time it looked like the sun, and the sun was shining on the spirit of Lou Ben.
Many moves into the game of chess later, the figure was ahead by many points, and was about to win via checkmate.
Lou Ben was no longer frowning or tightening his brows, instead he was scanning his mind inwardly.
Many thoughts emerged, and many choices to move forward placed themselves in front of Lou Ben.
He was once again fighting himself and his thoughts.
"This second floor is not against enemies, but instead the worst choice of them all, one self." Lou Ben sighed as he came to this realization.
Lou Ben grabbed his final rook and made the most drastic move: "Check."
He looked up to the figure and although it had no face or discernible features, when he looked at this shadow he felt a smile hidden in the darkness, and a feeling of content as he saw the figure stand up and stare at Lou Ben.