"What exactly is... going on?"
John desperately wanted to find an answer, but as Sorvan mentor had pointed out, with his current strength, leaving the team would be tantamount to suicide.
Even if John suggested splitting up, it would surely be rejected. Who would listen to the commands of a silver-tier?
This team was led by Owen, and when Owen wasn't around, the platinum-tier level 9 Andrew took over command.
Even if Andrew wasn't available, there were still Farms and Glena, both platinum-tier level 8. Under no circumstances would command fall to John.
"Was I really not supposed to come?"
It had been three days since they set out, and John hadn't even had a chance to train, let alone find any treasure.
Even when encountering platinum-tier spellbeasts, there was no need for him to get involved; if it was a gold-tier beast, Emily could easily handle it. As for silver-tier spellbeasts? Sorry, none existed here.
The creators of the Tower had never intended for silver-tier individuals to sneak in. What would that be but suicide?
"Now that things have come to this, it's too late to regret. The only hope is that Owen will treat everyone fairly and give you a share of whatever treasure he finds."
Is that likely?
Not really.
John's mana core was a four-element base core, which was no secret. But when Owen retrieved the arm guard earlier, he hadn't even glanced at John, completely ignoring him. Staying with the group, he probably wouldn't even get a taste of the spoils!
...
"Hmm... let me think. The third floor's treasure should be stored in that moving temple—[Perlina's Tears of the Water Dragon] staff—but finding the moving temple won't be easy..."
In the original story, John had only stumbled upon the moving temple thanks to the protagonist's luck. Honestly, with his own luck, Owen thought, it might be a bit difficult.
"No way, could I really run into that temple just by turning around?"
Owen laughed at the absurdity of the idea. But when he looked up, he froze, his expression turning quite dramatic.
"No way! I actually found it?"
Staring at the temple floating atop the massive dragon corpse, Owen swallowed hard, his eyes filled with disbelief.
According to the original setting, the temple of the Water City was built upon the corpse of the water dragon Perlina, drifting along the river, never stopping. Only when you got close enough could you discover the temple's existence.
Owen had always wondered, "That's a dragon's corpse! How did John just take the treasure and ignore the dragon's body?"
But when Owen dove beneath the water, he instantly understood.
The water dragon Perlina's corpse had completely decayed, leaving only a shattered skeleton. Eroded by the river, all traces of mana had dissipated, rendering the bones useless. Taking them would serve no purpose.
What a pity for such a dragon corpse. If it were intact, bringing it back would make his beautiful mentor very happy—maybe even earn him a reward.
Thinking of this, Owen grinned foolishly, and as he approached the dragon's skeleton, his body suddenly melted like chocolate into a pool of black liquid. Moments later, he emerged from the shadows at the base of a statue in front of the temple door.
"Though it took a bit of energy, shadow magic really is more convenient."
As a downgraded type of magic, both blood and shadow magic were looked down upon by mainstream mages, but Owen loved the powerful offensive capabilities of blood magic and the incredible utility of shadow magic.
"However, this temple doesn't seem much different from the desert temple on the second floor."
The exterior had merely changed from a lion to a coiled giant lizard, but the internal structure was essentially the same.
According to the original story, the treasure of the ocean temple on the third floor was hidden within a mural.
To obtain the [Perlina's Tears of the Water Dragon] staff, one had to find the mural, enter the self-contained space within it, and face the manifestation of the water dragon Perlina's power.
The only problem was that the original story was frustratingly vague about how John found the mural.
It said something like, "John was guided by a mysterious force, leading him to an unremarkable mural, which he successfully entered."
Owen figured that he probably wouldn't have the same "mysterious force" guiding him. But he had another method.
The space within the mural existed as a separate spatial fragment on the Tower's third floor.
If Owen could sense the location of that fragment, finding the corresponding mural wouldn't be difficult.
Taking a deep breath, Owen began chanting in an obscure, ancient language.
When he finished, he abruptly opened his eyes, which were now glowing with a six-pointed star pattern, replacing his usual dark red irises.
The entire temple began to shift in Owen's vision.
Everything within the temple started to lose its color, transforming into primitive threads woven together into intricate patterns.
[The Eye of True Sight]
Owen had already seen through this space.
"Found you."
Finally, Owen located the spatial fragment floating in and out of this space, tightly connected yet distinct.
The six-pointed star in his eyes slowly dimmed as he stepped forward and plunged into the mural!
In the next moment, the temple vanished, and Owen found himself on a small island surrounded by an endless expanse of ocean. The only solid ground was the island beneath his feet.
Unfortunately, the original story described this scene only in passing.
The author probably didn't know how to explain how John, a gold-tier, could defeat the diamond-tier shadow of Perlina.
As a result, the narrative glossed over the details, simply stating that John ultimately obtained the [Perlina's Tears of the Water Dragon] master-tier staff.
"So, just how strong is this manifestation of Perlina's power?"
Owen frowned, using detection magic to scan his surroundings, remaining on high alert.
But he overlooked one critical detail—the "island" beneath his feet!
Suddenly, the ocean surface surged violently. Before Owen could react, the "island" beneath him seemed to come alive, lifting him high into the air and tossing him away!
Owen quickly manipulated the air currents to regain his balance, hovering in midair.
"Roar!"
A deafening roar echoed around Owen. He instantly cast the high-level spell [Water Barrier] to protect himself.
As his feet touched the water's surface, the once turbulent sea froze solid around him in an instant.
[Frozen Heaven]!
The icy field rapidly spread, freezing the manifestation of the water dragon Perlina in place. However, Owen didn't let his guard down, maintaining his vigilance.
The water dragon struggled fiercely, smashing its claws against the ice, shattering it with sheer force, and with a thunderous roar, it launched itself at Owen, creating massive waves.
In response, Owen bit his finger, flinging two drops of blood into the oncoming wave.
[Bloodstain]!
The drops of blood spread like ink in water, quickly turning the wave crimson. Within a few breaths, the blood-stained wave broke free from Perlina's control and reversed direction, attacking the water dragon.
"Stronger than the golden lion, but still limited."
After all, it was the third floor's guardian. If it were too powerful, it wouldn't be appropriate.
Typically, a well-coordinated six-person platinum-tier team would have a good chance of defeating Perlina's manifestation head-on.
Seeing Perlina easily dispel the blood-stained wave, Owen wasn't surprised.
After all, it was a dragon that controlled the ocean. Even as a mere manifestation, it wouldn't be that easy to defeat.
"Well then, can you handle this?"
Owen raised his hand toward the sky, and within an instant, dark clouds gathered.
Thunder rumbled ominously, and blinding lightning flashed behind the clouds, followed by deafening roars.
[Thunder's Descent]!
Owen softly uttered the spell's name.
A bolt of lightning, almost bridging the sky and sea, struck down, hitting Perlina squarely between the eyes.
The blinding flash swallowed everything around, leaving only the faint outline of a dragon dissolving at a rapid pace, disintegrating into nothingness.