The crimson glow of the fourth floor slowly dimmed behind him.
Rudra stood at the base of the next staircase inside the Sovereign Tower, sweat still clinging to his forehead and his shoulder still warm from the flame serpent's attack.
Yet his eyes were shining.
Every floor he cleared made him stronger.
The body-tempering art strengthened his physique.
The Iron Spear Foundation Art sharpened his combat instinct.
The Swift Step Technique improved his movement.
And now the Crimson Flame Body Refinement had toughened his endurance.
He was still only a child.
But step by step, the tower was forging him.
Ahead, the fifth-floor gate glowed with deep emerald runes.
The air around it felt alive.
Like the breath of a beast.
Guardian One stepped beside him, its golden spear resting against its shoulder.
"Fifth Floor Trial: Beast Instinct."
Rudra looked up at the gate.
A low growl echoed from beyond.
His grip tightened around the wooden spear.
The massive doors slowly opened.
A gust of wild wind rushed out.
Rudra stepped inside.
6
The chamber was unlike the previous floors.
It was a dense forest.
Ancient trees stretched high into the darkness.
Mist rolled across the ground.
Vines wrapped around towering trunks.
Moonlight filtered down from a sky that should not exist inside the tower.
Rudra frowned.
A forest floor?
The voice of Guardian One echoed through the trees.
"Trial condition: survive until moonfall and defeat the Alpha Beast."
Rudra's eyes widened.
Moonfall?
He looked up.
A silver moon hung above the forest canopy.
Slowly moving across the sky.
This was a timed survival trial.
His heart began to race.
The bushes rustled.
A pair of glowing green eyes appeared.
Then another.
Then five more.
Spirit wolves.
Larger than the one in the Ironwood Forest.
Their bodies shimmered with emerald spiritual energy.
Rudra immediately activated Swift Step.
The first wolf lunged.
He moved sideways.
Its claws missed him by an inch.
He thrust the spear.
CRACK!
The spear struck its side.
The beast staggered.
A second wolf attacked from behind.
Rudra turned and blocked.
The impact numbed his arms.
He was smaller.
Slower.
Weaker.
But he had a technique now.
He remembered Vajra Sen's lesson.
Straight. Resolute. Unyielding.
He thrust again.
The second wolf shattered into particles of green light.
The forest suddenly trembled.
The moon moved slightly lower.
Time was passing.
The wolves attacked in waves.
Three at once.
Then five.
Then shadows moved from above.
A spirit panther leapt from a tree branch.
Rudra barely rolled away.
Its claws slashed the ground where he had stood.
Sweat poured down his face.
He was exhausted.
But the tower was testing more than combat.
It was a testing instinct.
Adaptation.
Survival.
He began using the trees for cover.
The vines as obstacles.
The rocks as shields.
Each movement became sharper.
More natural.
He ducked beneath a wolf's leap.
Countered with a spear thrust.
Used Swift Step to reach higher ground.
Hours seemed to pass.
The moon slowly descended.
The forest grew darker.
Then—
silence.
Every beast vanished.
Rudra's breathing was heavy.
He stood in a clearing.
The moon had nearly reached the horizon.
At the centre of the clearing stood a massive black wolf.
Its body was twice the size of the others.
Silver flames burned around its paws.
Its eyes glowed with golden light.
The Alpha Beast.
Rudra swallowed.
This was the final opponent.
The wolf lowered its head and growled.
The sound shook the trees.
Then it lunged.
Fast.
Far faster than the others.
Rudra activated Swift Step.
Even then, the beast's claws grazed his side.
Pain shot through him.
He gritted his teeth.
The wolf circled him.
Waiting.
Hunting.
Rudra steadied his breathing.
He could not overpower it.
He needed precision.
The wolf attacked again.
This time, Rudra stepped aside at the last possible moment.
His spear flashed forward.
The tip struck the beast's shoulder.
The wolf howled.
But it did not fall.
Instead, silver flames burst from its body.
The clearing erupted in fire.
Rudra's Crimson Flame Body Refinement activated instinctively.
The heat no longer slowed him.
A spark lit in his eyes.
This floor was designed to combine all his previous inheritances.
He understood now.
The tower was not giving random rewards.
It was building him.
The wolf lunged for the final time.
Rudra inhaled deeply.
Planted his feet.
And thrust with everything he had.
The spear struck straight through the beast's chest.
The Alpha Beast froze.
Then shattered into emerald and silver light.
The moon disappeared beyond the horizon.
Guardian One's voice thundered.
"Fifth Floor Trial Cleared."
"Reward Granted: Beast Sense Instinct."
A stream of green light entered Rudra's mind.
His senses sharpened instantly.
Hearing.
Smell.
Reaction.
Battle instinct.
Everything became clearer.
The fifth floor had been conquered.
Above him, the sixth floor lit up faintly.
And far above—
The sealed tenth floor pulsed once more.
The sleeping guardian's aura grew slightly stronger.
Rudra was halfway there.