The woman looked pleased, then turned and called out to her friends. They walked up to Ethan and Leon, introducing themselves one by one.

They said they were from the Twin Sun Guild, a rank B guild under the supervision of LionArk in Mavelard City.

Leon didn't know much about them; Ashley hadn't explained many things about the guilds.

Still, he felt optimistic that the Twin Sun Guild wouldn't betray LionArk.

After that, Ethan didn't see any other guilds volunteering to work with LionArk. It seemed people were still wary of outsiders.

"All right. What's our plan now, Ethan?" Leon asked, turning to him.

"For now, we'll move into the Dead Forest area while collecting information about the first floor of the Tower," Ethan replied.

"Whether it's about the monsters or the floor boss. If we're lucky, we might even find a Tower Artifact."

Leon nodded. The leader of the Twin Sun raid party, the same woman who had greeted Ethan earlier, also nodded. Her name was Megan.

"Understood. We'll follow your lead."

Ethan didn't respond. He simply started walking away from the entrance area toward the depths of the Dead Forest.

They weren't the only ones. Other players were doing the same. Faint sounds of explosions echoed in the distance—signs that battles between players and monsters were already happening.

As Ethan and the others walked along a dirt path through the forest, a group of monsters suddenly appeared, blocking their way. Ethan instinctively stopped.

"Who wants to deal with them?" Leon asked.

Ethan smiled and turned toward Megan, extending his hand to invite her and her four teammates to take the first fight.

"Are you sure?" Megan asked. Ethan cleared his throat, showing not the slightest hint of hesitation.

Getting such a chance wasn't something Megan and her teammates wanted to waste. They charged forward and engaged five red-skinned kobolds.

"Why'd you let them fight first?" Leon asked. Ethan stayed silent.

He had a clear reason for doing so. Their party had more members, and Ethan didn't know their exact level yet.

By watching their combat ability, he could gauge how skilled the Twin Sun Guild's raid party was.

That way, he could also map out potential risks—like the chance they might turn against LionArk later.

Red-skinned kobolds were aggressive monsters that fought in packs. Their level was 33, easy enough to deal with.

Ethan could've wiped out all five with a single skill attack, but he chose to keep his power hidden.

Instead, he used the kobolds as a way to assess the Twin Sun team's abilities.

In less than twenty minutes, Megan's team managed to defeat them.

They gained not only EXP and gold but also Contribution Points based on the monsters' levels. The higher the level, the more contribution points they earned.

"Should we share the loot?" Megan asked, walking up to Leon.

"No. You can keep it," Leon replied. Ethan remained silent.

Five people killed five kobolds in seventeen minutes, and judging from their damage output, I'd say their levels are around 35 to 40.

After dealing with the kobolds, Leon's team and Megan's team continued on.

They turned at a crossroads and encountered more kobolds—different variants with higher levels.

"Your turn this time," Megan said.

"What do you think?" Leon asked Ethan.

"Can you handle them on your own?" Ethan asked back.

"M-Me? I don't know. If there are too many, it might be tough," Leon admitted.

Ethan nodded, then glanced over his shoulder, signaling Lyodra to prepare.

[Aggressive Mode: Soul Servant]

[Lyodra Vulkanis (Lv. 10) || SR Rank || Passive → Aggressive || 1000 MP]

He summoned his soul servant, Lyodra, in front of him. A bright red light flared from her body—sign that the aggressive mode had been activated. Leon flinched, and so did Megan and her entire party.

"One of my soul servants will help you," Ethan said.

Leon nodded. He and Lyodra dashed forward, taking on the kobolds head-on.

The battle was fierce, but thanks to Lyodra's power, it stayed under control. The kobolds' HP dropped rapidly until they were completely defeated.

In less than fifteen minutes, Leon and Lyodra had taken down all five level 35 kobolds—much stronger than the red-skinned ones Megan's team had fought earlier.

[Congratulations, you obtained loot:]

[+1000 EXP || +500 Gold || +500 Contribution Points]

Each kobold gave 200 EXP—less than monsters of the same level outside the Tower.

Since they fought as a group, everyone shared the rewards, though those who dealt more damage and scored the last hit received extra.

"I only got 750 EXP," Leon said.

"The split depends on total damage. Naturally, EXP distribution varies," Ethan replied.

Megan and her team watched what Ethan and Leon did.

They weren't lucky enough to witness Ethan's real abilities firsthand, but even his soul servant alone was powerful.

They could only imagine how strong Ethan would be if he used his own skills.

"What's our next move?" Megan asked. Ethan turned toward her.

"We'll keep moving while mapping the area," he answered. Megan and Leon both nodded.

They went deeper into the Dead Forest, where the danger grew with every step. The deeper they went, the clearer the constant sounds of battle became.

For most players, the monsters on the first floor were easy enough to defeat—but their sheer numbers made each fight tricky.

From their mapping, they had already covered the western area of the forest. The southern area was the Tower's entrance, while the east and north were still unexplored.

Day turned to dusk, according to the digital clock on Ethan's player dashboard. Yet, there was no visible change in the sky—it still glowed with that eerie crimson red.

PUFF!

A burst of purple smoke erupted from both sides of the forest path. Ethan tensed up, ready for a possible ambush by monsters using poison as their weapon.

"What is this? A trap?!" Leon shouted, instinctively covering his nose.

Megan and her teammates did the same, but the purple smoke grew thicker and heavier. Even inhaling a bit could be fatal.

Soon, everyone but Ethan collapsed. The poison infected them quickly, turning their pulses purple as it spread through their bloodstream.

"E-Ethan... my chest... it's tight..."

Leon fell unconscious, gasping for air, followed by Megan and the others.

Only Ethan remained standing. His toxic resistance buff made him immune to mid-level poisons like this.

There's no way kobolds could set a poisonous trap like this. It must be the work of something smarter.

"Show yourselves!" Ethan shouted.

From both sides, a group of humanoid figures emerged. They weren't players—their cursors were red.

They wore clothes made of animal hides and plants, with bone ornaments hanging from parts of their bodies.

Their weapons were crude wooden spears tipped with sharpened stone.

What stood out the most were the red tattoos etched all over their bodies—abstract patterns that looked strange to Ethan.

"You're not monsters," Ethan said firmly.

"You're the monsters to us!" one of the men shouted, pointing at him.

"Hand over your weapons and all your gear, and we'll let you die peacefully!"

Bandits? A savage tribe? Are they the native inhabitants of the Tower world?

Interesting. He might be able to get valuable information from them. But a fight seemed inevitable.

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