Tower of Paradise

Chapter 76: The fourth floor

I glanced at KathyIn. The girl was so scared that her whole body was shaking uncontrollably. When she confronted me earlier, she seemed very strong and, certainly, she was. But at the end of the day, she was just a fifteen-year-old girl and, above all, a woman, who by nature tended to be more sensitive to explicit horror. I didn't blame her; even I felt deeply disturbed and fearful of what we had just witnessed.

I crossed my arms and sank into my thoughts. This floor was an extremely complicated labyrinth and, within it, lurked a mutant that we couldn't kill no matter what we did. There was no way to avoid this reality and no way to emerge victorious through direct confrontation.

The ideal would be for us to reach the next floor without encountering the reptile-spider... It was easy to say, but... would it even be possible?

I lowered my arms and looked at the floor, frustrated by the situation.

Damn it!

Should I leave everything to luck?

Trust that we wouldn't encounter the beast?

No. I couldn't let desperation affect me.

I will survive no matter what I have to do!

Armed with that unshakeable resolution, I looked back at KathyIn. She continued with her gaze fixed on the screen, her posture vulnerable as she clenched her teeth, as if trying to contain a scream that threatened to escape from her throat.

Perhaps she didn't want to see it, but she needed to get used to witnessing death if she wanted to survive in this relentless place. Perhaps she was trying to obtain more information about the enemy, which was an intelligent decision.

As I suspected, her sense of survival was good. I stopped observing her and turned around, determined to move forward.

—Let's go. —I said simply, walking towards the door that was now in front of me.

—If we go there, won't we encounter that monster? —KathyIn seemed undecided, fear intertwined with the need to survive.

—It seems so. —I replied frankly.

—You'll go knowing that? —KathyIn expressed, moving her hands in a gesture of disbelief.

—Will you stay here forever? —I turned my head while looking at her fixedly.

—No, but... —Her voice faded, unable to offer a viable alternative.

—You already know it very well. Once you enter a floor there's no turning back. You must continue. If you don't like that... —I turned in the direction of the corpses hanging from the ropes—. You can make the same decision... that they made facing this dilemma.

KathyIn moved her head and looked at the bodies, her hands visibly trembling at the terrible quandary.

—We only have two options. —I breathed deeply—. Either we continue knowing what awaits us thanks to those screens. Or we give up and hang ourselves like they did.

KathyIn hugged herself, seeking a comfort that neither of us felt.

—Hurry up. Choose, I won't stop you.

—You're really good at talking. —KathyIn looked at me with a forced smile and sighed with evident weariness.

—...Heavens. This is crazy. This place is really crazy. —She said while walking towards me, resigned to moving forward—. Why did I have to end up in a place like this...?

KathyIn grumbled while I adjusted my mask with one of my hands, grateful for the small shield that allowed me to hide my own emotions.

—And why with you? —She added, more to herself than to me.

Both of us stopped in front of the door. Suddenly, I turned, leaned my back against the door and looked at KathyIn intensely.

—...What? —She asked, visibly nervous at my unexpected behavior.

—What skills can you use? —I inquired directly.

Although we had already discussed the topic briefly, neither of us had been completely honest. I knew that we had both withheld information until the end, a natural self-protection measure in this hostile environment.

—Two. —KathyIn hesitated for a moment, but finally responded.

—My innate ability is Ice-Make.

It was an ability that allowed reducing temperature to extreme cold levels. These freezing temperatures gave her the capability to produce ice and frost at will, generating multiple layers of solid ice just by touching something to create a variety of objects with the aim of using them for various purposes, both offensive and defensive. An impressive power, without a doubt.

If I remembered correctly, Emilia seemed to have an innate ability with the lightning element. I briefly wondered what had become of her, but shook my head. It wasn't the time to remember the past; the present demanded all my attention.

—Do you really only have two? —I asked with certain suspicion.

—Not trusting people is a bad habit. —KathyIn pouted, puffing her cheeks in a gesture that made me smile.

—What can you do with the ice? —I insisted, needing to know the exact scope of her abilities to formulate an effective strategy.

—I can create ice birds. Since I'm still a beginner, I can only control one bird from a great distance. I can also share vision with it, which allows me to see what the bird sees. —She explained, rolling her eyes but finally providing me with a satisfactory answer.

It wasn't a bad ability; in fact, it was quite good and could be crucial in our attempt to navigate the labyrinth.

I brought my hand to my chin, thoughtful. Anyway, it was going to be complicated to deal with the Reptile-Spider even with those abilities. No way around it, we couldn't ask for more. KathyIn already had skills that in this case were much more useful than mine. I wasn't in a position to criticize others when my own capabilities were limited against such a threat.

—What about you?

I twisted my lips, having naively believed that she had already forgotten to ask. I was grateful for wearing a mask on my face that hid my expression. I understood that I couldn't lie to her; she would know instantly and that would only generate distrust between us, something we couldn't afford in these circumstances.

—I have three. One ability that temporarily increases my stats and the other allows me to replenish my energy reserves. You already know the last one.

I was deliberately vague with the descriptions. Giving unnecessary information would only give me a headache. I just needed to release a bit of information to gain her trust without raising doubts about my true capabilities.

—Well... can we continue now? —She asked impatiently.

—Yes.

It didn't really matter if she trusted me or not. If she died in the mouth of the Reptile-Spider, on the contrary, it would be better for me... That would give me some additional time to find a safe route.

This was precisely the reason why climbing the tower was so dangerous: because anyone could betray you at the least expected moment.

I put my right hand on the doorknob and opened it slowly. The door yielded with a chilling creak that reverberated on the walls. We entered languidly.

It was safe to assume that this was the most dangerous mission I had faced so far. Unlike the other floors where I could at least fight, crawl, or battle, here I couldn't do any of that. I had no choice; each one was forced to find their own answers to the problems that arose. I knew I couldn't flee; I had no option but to risk my life and survive at any cost.

Then, before my eyes, a dark passage was revealed.

[Public mission begins: Cross the labyrinth.]

[Conditions: Contributions of 10% or more.]

[Reward: 40 Soul Fragments.]

[Private mission activated: Assassination.]

[Target: KathyIn.]

[Reward: 80 Soul Fragments.]