"See you all inside."
After seeing the party leaders' confident nods, I walked toward the rift. My comrades followed closely behind me.
The huge crowd of trainees and the lobby supporters around the square erupted with cheers upon our departure.
"Victory to the Raiders!"
"Fortune to the Raiders!"
The deafening cheers were immediately silenced once we walked through the rift and entered the mirrored chamber.
As always, I turned to the shining mirror on the furthest left.
[Climb the tower and save the world!]
[Main Dungeon]
[Floor conquered - 19 -]
When I first arrived to the forged land, I was filled with great conviction that I would reach the top of the tower and save our world.
I was convinced that nothing would stop me to achieve that goal.
But having climbed this far, I would be lying to myself if I claimed I still felt the same.
When did the doubts began creeping in?
There were so many things suggesting me that my grand mission was impossible.
That there was no way a flawed person like me could overcome all the great trials the tower had to offer.
I managed to get by till this point. Somehow my meager power was still enough to overcome our great hurdles so far.
But what if I finally faced an obstacle that was completely impossible to overcome?
What would I do then?
What if the twentiethfloor was that obstacle?
[Main Dungeon, the current challenge floor is the 20th Floor.]
[The doors will open after ten seconds. Get ready!]
The familiar bluish-white light soon engulfed my comrades and I.
We could feel the environment shifted from the mirrored chamber into something else.
Once the light subsided, my party found ourselves in a dark circular room, right at the bottom of an extensive spiraling staircase.
"Where is this? Some kind of tower?"
Shanny stated.
I turned and found a small wooden door behind us.
But as I reached for the door handle, a strong barrier blocked my hand.
"It seems like we can only proceed upward."
"The mission window has not appeared yet. Probably we'll discover our objective at the top of these stairs."
Jonah said.
I nodded.
"I don't sense anything with my mana yet. But we'll ascend in formation."
My comrades and I then carefully climbed through the spiral staircase.
It was quite a long climb. The structure we were in must be rather enormous.
Eventually we found the end of the stairway once we discovered the dark night sky at the open ceiling above.
The staircase ended in a round opening which led us to the surface.
"Stay alert. There might be enemies waiting for us out there."
I warned my comrades.
They all readied their weapons and climbed out of the opening while maintaining their battle stances.
It was the right move for what was awaiting us.
After leaving the spiraling space, our party found ourselves in a vast circular rise which overlooked an ocean of dark clouds.
The structure was like a towering stone pillar which had been sliced evenly at the top. Its entire expanse was about as vast as a large training ground in the lobby.
We could not see the base given the cover by the dark clouds. But we would most certainly die if we were to fall off the ledge of the rise.
And, as expected of a Quintal Trial, we were not alone up here.
[Danger!]
[Danger!]
[Danger!]
Three large creatures were chained on the circular rise. Each of them was easily the size of a two-storied house.
One was a giant lion-headed beast with sharp fangs and claws seemed to be made out of steel. Its thick mane was made of large golden thorns instead of fur.
[Guardian of the Chaos Plain]
[Nemeas the Hunter Lv.???]
Another was a huge bull-headed humanoid beast. Hot steam flowed out of its nostrils. Its eyes were the color of blood.
[Guardian of the Burning Desert]
[Astreon the Decimator Lv.???]
The final one was a large gray lizard with glimmering scales which looked tougher than steel. Dark sizzling liquid was pouring out of the creature's jaw.
[Guardian of the Dead Marsh]
[Nagia the Devourer Lv.???]
All three of the creatures looked intimidating and powerful.
But we were not surprised to encounter such monsters in this fourth Quintal Trial.
"Are we here to subjugate these creatures?"
Darius asked.
"They're still restrained by those large chains. We should be able to easily kill them in this state."
Devisha said.
I shook my head.
"It doesn't seem we're allowed to kill them just yet."
A strong barrier was placed between our party and the three beasts.
The mission had not started yet.
Something still needed to happen.
"Oh what fools the lot of you are…"
The voice of a young lady echoed throughout the rise.
[Danger!]
Following the warning sign, a freckled girl cladded in dark robe emerged from behind the chained beasts.
She seemed to just be entering her 20s. Not that much older than Vallerynne and Arian.
The mysterious girl reminded me of those timid noble daughters that would be terrified to leave their mothers' side.
But this girl was not the type to be terrified. Not if there was a silver medallion of a four-legged serpent hanging on her chest.
[Witch of Kali]
[Arrenna the Beastmistress Lv.???]
My comrades and I immediately readied our fighting stances upon the girl's arrival.
The strong barrier still stood before us. But we had to be ready for when it finally disappeared.
"Your effort is futile. There will be no victory for you."
The girl said as she twirled her hands.
Dark mist emerged from her pale skin and formed into sharp tendrils.
"No victor will be had in this eternal war. Neither you nor us."
The girl flicked her hand and the sharp tendrils pierced through the chained beasts, massacring them to death.
Screechh!!!
My comrades and I frowned at the girl's action.
She killed all those dangerous creatures herself.
What was she trying to do?
"Surrender, false heroes."
The girl sounded as she produced a dagger from her robe.
She then pointed the weapon's tip to her heart.
"Surrender…for all is already lost."
The cultist proceeded to stab her chest with the dagger, killing herself right there and then.
My comrades and I were left dumbfounded by this peculiar outcome.
"What just happened? What's going on here?"
Shanny said with a deep frown.
Shingg!!!
A bright crimson light suddenly burst from the girl's corpse.
It formed into a large magic circle which covered the entire rise.
A dark art spell performed through self-sacrifice. A Sixth Circle magic.
"Everyone, get ready!"
I warned my comrades.
The beasts' corpses suddenly melted into dark substance.
They flowed and converged onto the girl's lifeless body.
The substance gathered and accumulated until they formed a large mound.
Then the mound began to take shape into a giant creature of nightmare.
[Warning!]
[Warning!]
[Warning!]
"What in Surya's name is that?"
Devisha whispered upon what just manifested in front of us.
A giant four-legged beast with claws of steel, each limb was easily the size of a mature oak tree. Its entire body was covered in thick fur which was dripping with dark substance.
But that was not where the peculiarity ended.
It had the head of a thorn-maned lion. On its back, emerged a second head in the shape of a steam-breathing bull. And extending from its rear, serving as the creature's tail was a long-necked lizard head which jaw dripped with sizzling dark liquid.
Now I could see why Master gifted me those monster books.
[Danger!]
[Mutated Chimera]
[Cursed Abomination Lv.52]
Screeech!!!
A level 52 enemy. It was the strongest the Raid Team had ever face in the forged land.
With the emergence of the large monster, the strong barrier blocking our party immediately vanished.
The mission window then emerged before us.
[Floor 20]
[Mission Type – Subjugation]
[Objective – Annihilate the enemies!]