CHAPTER 282: A WARM UP

Andrew pressed his earpiece harder as the feed stabilized.

"Confirmed," he said, eyes narrowing. "Broken Dawn entered already, and their numbers are small."

Garth clicked his tongue. "Arrogant bastards. He’s underestimating the Tower."

Yumi, who was behind them poking a blood slime with her toe, frowned. "That actually makes things much easier for us, if you ask me."

Ahead of them, the Adventurer Guild was still fighting. They were clearing Floor 3 the normal way — one room at a time, looting chests, and doing all the optional stuff.

Andrew looked bored.

"Honestly," he said, "if we weren’t on a mission, I wouldn’t even bother entering this Tower."

It was quite the gamble to step into a territory you knew nothing about. Even for someone as powerful and confident as Andrew, the head of their mission, he wasn’t completely comfortable.

For one, they were here in their physical forms — their bodies wouldn’t turn into glowing data upon dismissal or respawn again. This was death — cold death.

"You say that," Garth said, "but your eyes lit up when you heard his name."

Andrew smirked. "Obviously. He’s an anomaly. We’re the Deleters. We delete anomalies."

Yumi hugged herself. "I know he’s been hoarding all the attention ever since the game began, but he’s also been a positive impact. In fact, the chairman literally used his fight scene as a trailer. It wouldn’t be too bad to let him be."

"That’s the problem," Andrew said. "He’s disrupting the original plan for the game. It was meant to be more diverse, with characters getting equal shine. HQ wants to fix that — by getting rid of him."

He looked at the Adventurer Guild squad ahead and smiled lazily. "Let’s join them before that cold swordswoman notices us."

---

Elsewhere... Olympus.

Their formation was clean. There were no shouts or confusion — just a golden-armored squad moving in a straight line through a crimson corridor.

Jack Arefield was at the front. Every time a blood monster jumped out, he would thrust his spear once and kill the monster with ease.

Aria had yet to engage in any form of combat. Her expression was neutral, but her mind was clouded with thoughts.

"Floor 5 follows the same pattern," Jack said without looking back. "Spawn rooms on either side. Don’t split unless you’re confident."

A priest behind him said, "Adventurer Guild just hit Floor 4."

"Let them be. So far, we haven’t found any good treasure — I doubt Floor 4 will be any different," Aria said, finally speaking after being silent the whole time.

Jack nodded. "The middle levels," he said calmly. "That’s where I believe we’ll get better rewards. I have a gut feeling that’s where... that other kid will try to make a name."

"You mean him?"

Jack’s eyes flickered for a second, memories of his fight with Gabriel surfacing in his mind.

"Yes," he eventually said. "Him."

He continued walking.

---

At the same time... Martial Palace.

Liang walked alone at the front. The rest of his martial artists stayed five steps behind, as if they didn’t dare walk beside him. Behind them, Evelyn walked calmly, covering the rear for the group.

Suddenly, he punched once — the air rang out loudly.

BOOM!

A blood wall shattered.

He turned his head slightly. "Do not rely on items," he said. "The Tower is meant for understanding. Feel its rhythm."

"Yes, Senior Liang!" the others chorused.

"Broken Heaven..." he muttered. "You were interesting during the Inter-Guild Event. Let’s see how long you last in here."

Then he walked forward again, barefoot, hands behind his back, as if taking a casual stroll.

---

Back to Broken Dawn.

They arrived in the next floor.

[BLOOD TOWER — FLOOR 4]

This floor was brighter.

Instead of red torches, there were blood crystals stuck into the walls. The ground was smoother, as if cleaned. It looked more like the inner hallway of a palace than a dungeon.

Sophie looked around. "This looks... maintained."

"Means there are intelligent monsters here," Gabriel said. "Blood acolytes, maybe cultists. Don’t let them chant."

As if responding, three robed figures appeared at the far end of the hall. Their faces were covered. Each held a crimson staff.

They started chanting.

Gabriel didn’t give them a chance.

"Anna."

A flash.

Before the robed monsters could raise their staffs, their heads flew off.

They dissolved into red mist.

At the same time, Anna the huntress retrieved her twin chains, which she had used to deal with the robed creatures.

They pushed on afterward.

The monsters here were all blood acolytes, blood hounds, and trap-type blood runes that exploded if stepped on.

They cleared it in under three minutes.

[Floor 4 — Cleared]

They didn’t stop.

"Next."

...

Floor 5.

[BLOOD TOWER — FLOOR 5]

This one finally felt like an actual dungeon.

Long corridors. Rooms on the sides. A mini-boss at the end — a Blood Butcher with cleavers.

It roared.

Cassie gulped, saliva noisily passing through her throat. "That one looks serious."

The Blood Butcher charged forward, causing the ground to tremble slightly, as if a mini-giant was approaching.

"I’ll handle this one!" Ragnarok99 smirked and dashed forward. He swung his sword in a wide arc, closing the distance instantly.

Both struck at once!

CLANG!

A powerful shockwave rippled through the air. The butcher stumbled back, and so did Ragnarok99 — but a grin slowly split across his face.

They exchanged several more blows, and after a minute of back-and-forth, Ragnarok99 finally landed a critical hit, killing the butcher.

From the monster’s corpse, an item dropped. He didn’t waste time and picked it up immediately. His eyes gleamed when he saw what it was — a chest plate.

---

[Chest Plate (Silver)]

[Durability: 200/200]

[Description: A silver-tier armor forged with condensed blood essence, offering excellent defense against physical and magical attacks.]

---

When he saw the description, Ragnarok99 shot a look at Gabriel, silently asking if he could keep it.

Gabriel simply nodded and walked past him.

"Thank you, sir!"

"Let’s keep moving," Gabriel ordered as he ascended the next flight of stairs. "The real Tower starts around Floor 7 or 8 for this difficulty."

Samantha blinked. "Then what are these?"

"Warm-up."